Chapter 20
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: After-Action Review (4)
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Soni Chepelin’s pupils trembled. She fell into thought for a moment, then hung her head low.
"I'm sorry, Enok Levandel Second Lieutenant."
The Colonel chose a clean apology, rather than making excuses or acting brazenly.
She was a Colonel, not a low-ranking officer, and even held the title of Grand Archmage.
Even if it was a misunderstanding, apologizing to a freshly commissioned Second Lieutenant and a Sergeant required a considerable amount of resolve.
That’s why I decided to let it go coolly as well.
"No, I think it was a situation where anyone could have misunderstood... Ugh!?"
As I tried to move my body, a ghostly pain shot through me. I was completely screwed. A man’s life is his back.
"Platoon Leader!"
When I groaned in pain, Bell Mayer rushed over in a panic and supported my body. As she reached out, the throbbing pain eased.
She was a First-Class Blue-rank Archmage.
Since she handled water, the origin of life, she could use some healing magic as well.
"...Anyway, doesn't this prove that Bell Mayer and I are innocent?"
"Hmm, I suppose you could say that."
"In that case, could I ask you for just one favor?"
"What favor?"
"Regarding Lumia's desertion, I ask for your understanding as well, Colonel. She has trauma, so she didn't intentionally abandon the front lines."
"Ah, Aaah~ Well, I don't really care about that. Deserting the front lines isn't that big of a crime anyway."
Unexpectedly, Soni Chepelin was generous in this regard as well. She was truly an unpredictable woman.
"But, you said. You did encounter the Archmages, right? In that case, did you happen to see an object that looked like this?"
She described the shape of a round sphere with her hands as she spoke.
"It glitters, you know? Like a jewel."
Bingo.
I was certain my hypothesis was spot on.
There was something special stored in Belgorod Fortress, and those unidentified Archmages had instigated the bandits to attack the fortress, then made off with the object.
"Unfortunately, I didn't see it. But given the circumstances, it's clear they took it."
I added with a grin.
"You're talking about the special something that was stored in the fortress, aren't you?"
"Second Lieutenant, I can't let that comment slide."
Soni Chepelin’s aura shifted once more. A mana that had been deployed again stimulated my entire body, making me tingle.
I had successfully drawn her aggro.
She had a look that seemed to ask how I knew that fact.
"It was an easy fact to deduce. Otherwise, there's no way a Colonel like you would come all the way out here just because a single backwater fortress fell."
"Keep talking. I need to hear this."
My plan was progressing smoothly.
Now was the chance to prove my innocence while simultaneously engraving my name firmly into Soni Chepelin’s mind.
Anyway, I needed to make a connection with her before the war started somehow.
It was a bit earlier than I expected, but...
‘This is actually better.’
I calmly began to explain my hypothesis.
"When I first heard the news that Belgorod Fortress had fallen, I received a report from my company commander stating that an explosion had been observed."
Up until that point, I hadn't been certain it was an attack by Archmages. I just thought they might have brought some explosives.
"However, the moment I encountered the systematically moving bandits and the suspicious group of Archmages at the end of them, I realized."
I drove the point home.
"This isn't just a simple fortress raid."
Now, Soni Chepelin’s gaze was completely fixed on me. She nodded interestingly from time to time as I spoke.
I told her everything I had seen at the scene without missing a single detail.
That all five of them were outstanding Archmages who could use at least intermediate-level magic, and finally, that they had used an artifact called the 'Rune of Remote Return' to escape.
The Colonel crossed her arms from the middle of my explanation and spoke with a serious expression.
"Enok? You're Enok Second Lieutenant, right?"
"Yes, that's correct, Colonel."
"Do you have any idea where those bastards came from?"
"I'm certain it's the Sovye Empire."
"......Wow."
A short gasp.
It worked. It hit the mark perfectly.
Soni Chepelin tapped the floor with her foot a couple of times, then hurriedly rushed out of the infirmary, shouting.
"Second Lieutenant, sorry, I'll be back later!"
Soni Chepelin could only purely admire him.
His insight was terrifyingly sharp. Of course, since he had directly faced the spies, he must have felt more than others, but...
He was the first to see through that the Archmages' purpose wasn't simply to disturb or provoke the rear by attacking the fortress, but to retrieve the 'object' that might be stored inside.
Right now, even the Belgorod Division Commander was insisting it was just an attack by a bandit gang.
And to correctly pinpoint the nation pulling the strings from behind the scenes as well.
She could tell that Second Lieutenant Enok Levandel was an incredibly excellent rough gem, full of potential.
The will and courage to push his meaning through even when facing her, a Grand Archmage and Colonel.
The charisma felt from his strangely cold and icy expression, and the confidence that always filled his words.
There wasn't a single part of him that Soni Chepelin found lacking.
BOOM!
"Ah, you scared me!! Colonel! Please fix your habit of slamming the door open!!"
Soni Chepelin's temporary office was set up in a corner of the regiment headquarters building. Inside, members of the 'Special Response Brigade' that she had personally selected and brought with her were organizing documents.
The division's internal inspection unit and the National Gendarmerie were conducting an on-site investigation as well, but...
The reason Soni Chepelin had brought these people was that a special order had come down from the Crown Prince.
‘The existing military cannot be trusted, so the Special Response Brigade will conduct the investigation directly.’
The precious artifact, the 'Omen Pearl,' had been stolen right away.
It was an artifact that had been transported to the Walter 3 Kingdoms with the utmost security to avoid being traced.
They hadn't attached a separate escort unit for the same reason. If an escort unit was dispatched from the Central Command, the fact would likely leak to 'hostile forces' in some way or another.
But just as it was passing through the border fortress of Belgorod, bandits attacked the fortress and the artifact disappeared.
Anyone could see there was clear intent.
After wiping out all the bandits, they still hadn't recovered the Omen Pearl, had they?
That’s why Soni Chepelin was certain there was an 'enemy' within the Ukran Army itself, not anywhere else.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Anyway, Captain Marcel, bring me all the documents related to Second Lieutenant Enok Levandel of the 3rd Magic Battalion, under the direct command of the Northern Legion, and his platoon."
"The 3rd Magic Battalion?"
"Yeah, not anyone else, just Second Lieutenant Enok Levandel."
The Colonel's pupils gleamed.
Perhaps, he was the Second Lieutenant who would be the perfect fit for her Special Response Brigade.
While I was staying in the infirmary, the situation was wrapped up quickly.
It wasn't a complicated situation to begin with.
All the bandits who attacked the fortress were wiped out. The remains of the fallen were all recovered, and the restoration work on Belgorod Fortress was proceeding steadily.
Of course, the investigation into the unidentified forces operating behind the scenes—and the theft of the ‘artifact’ stored in the fortress—would continue.
But since that wasn't content to be publicly disclosed, considering it was just a simple fortress raid, the cleanup was almost finished.
Since the soldiers of our battalion were also leaving the regiment one by two to prepare for withdrawal, the first unexpected battle was safely wrapped up.
There were quite a few people who distinguished themselves in the process.
‘- It was thanks to Enok Platoon Leader's appropriate handling. I am sincerely grateful.’
Lieutenant Ivan, who had been in charge of the wing but fought to the death without breaking the encirclement, clearly caught the eye of the high-ranking commanders this time.
‘- Actually, I trusted him from the start! Our Enok Second Lieutenant did a really great job!’
Rockheart, who had also received praise from the Division Commander and Regiment Commander, puffed up his shoulders and didn't spare his compliments for me.
He was the perfect example of an opportunist soldier.
It wasn't a bad thing, though.
It meant he was making up for the trollish act of breaking a perfectly good barracks wall.
Moreover, with the news that he had tracked down the assailants to the end with a spirit of self-sacrifice and caught a clue to the case, the value of not just me but the entire 5th Platoon went up a little.
At least, I had succeeded in changing my image.
Even the Division Commander went out of his way to find me and Lumia to praise our contributions, which meant we really did a good job.
I thought I had received such excessive praise, achieved a military feat, and all that was left was to return to my unit comfortably, but...
Why is this happening?
"Battalion Commander Rockheart? I'm thinking of transferring your Enok Levandel Second Lieutenant to our Special Response Brigade, would that be alright?"
Just before the final withdrawal.
At a gathering of the officers and non-commissioned officers of our battalion, including Rockheart, Soni Chepelin dropped a bombshell.
"Huh...? No, Brigade Commander, what do you mean by that?"
"Just as I said. I've decided to urgently assign Second Lieutenant Enok Levandel to our brigade."
At the shocking fact, Rockheart's face twisted. Even I, the person involved, was dumbfounded.
"You heard the Battalion Commander too, right? The fortress raid case is wrapped up, but the investigation into its background is still ongoing."
"Yes, I know."
"Second Lieutenant Enok Levandel is absolutely essential for that investigation. So, can I take him?"
"Brigade Commander! Even so, there are proper procedures that exist...!!"
"I've already talked to the Personnel Command. As long as he doesn't refuse, it should be processed within a few days, right?"
She was truly being unreasonable.
"Second Platoon Leader? Could you come here for a moment?"
At the voice calling me out specifically, everyone's eyes turned to me at once.
‘Ah, damn it, why is she doing this all of a sudden?’
I had no choice but to slowly step forward. My back, not yet fully recovered, stung with pain.
"Second Lieutenant, if you just say you want to go here, even the Battalion Commander can't stop you. I liked you a lo~t? When I checked your records, you were only assigned to a platoon with weirdos."
She added in a voice full of certainty that I would accept 100%.
"It's a newly established combat unit, and it's under the direct command of the Central Corps. It's practically considered the elite of the entire military. Don't you want to climb higher than this general field unit?"
Everyone was waiting for my answer.
Rockheart looked at me with anxious eyes, while Captain Soni looked triumphant, the corners of her eyes curved.
I glanced back at my platoon members in the rear.
Lumia, Bell, and even Claude. They all had looks that assumed I would accept.
Indeed, it was a lifeline that might come once in a lifetime, an offer that was no different from a golden opportunity.
As she said, the Special Response Brigade was a unit treated as Ukran's decisive weapon even in the main story of Hearts of General.
Not only could I build up my skills quickly, but I would also accumulate many military achievements, so the path to promotion was wide open.
"An opportunity like this doesn't come often, right?"
However.
To the Colonel who smiled confidently, sensing victory, I spoke without a moment's hesitation.
"I refuse."