Chapter 25
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Going Out (4)
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“So, the platoon leader just whoosh—smashed that punk’s head right open!!”
“What!?”
“And while he was at it, he dodged all the other guys’ attacks like it was nothing, turning them into a bloody mess in no time.”
Bell Mayer recounted the heroic tale with palpable excitement. In contrast, every time Lumia Blue heard another detail, her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.
Even if they did pick the fight first, was it really necessary to punish them so brutally?
“Bell, why didn't you stop him!?”
“Well, it didn't feel right to just stand by and watch someone get beaten up.”
“I get that, but…”
Lumia spoke with a worried tone. She wasn't concerned about just anything. Cherno City was indeed a livable place, but it was far from what you'd call safe.
It was a city where thugs roamed the streets with impunity.
Of course, a proper security organization still existed, so they couldn't commit whatever crimes they pleased.
But the factions that had secretly infiltrated the authorities were subtly interfering in the citizens' lives.
Even being a soldier didn't change a thing.
If anything, being an outsider meant some shops, in cahoots with the delinquents, would charge higher prices than the standard city rate.
And all sorts of illegal businesses catering primarily to soldiers were thriving.
The red-light district at the base of the northern city wall was a prime example, as was the illegal gambling den set up beneath the largest tavern.
With few real hobbies or pastimes to speak of, the soldiers would run wild in the red-light districts and gambling dens on their days off—a tacitly accepted rule for some.
This applied to everyone, from privates and NCOs to officers.
That's why soldiers couldn't just treat those criminals however they wanted. If they had any weaknesses, they'd already been caught.
“You know what I'm talking about, don't you, sis?”
“Of course I do. But that's a different story from turning a blind eye to injustice.”
“What if they try to get back at the platoon leader?”
“They absolutely can't. For starters, they probably have no idea who we even are.”
Bell shrugged, as if it were no big deal.
How many units were stationed near Cherno City? Even if those criminal groups were deeply involved with the city's administration, they couldn't possibly check the background of every single officer.
Local autonomy and the military's personnel management were strictly separate.
“Besides, does our platoon leader look like someone who'd lose to a bunch of lowlifes?”
Bell couldn't imagine Enok Levandel ever losing to some street thugs, no matter what happened.
She was honestly a little surprised herself.
She had never expected the platoon leader to be this strong.
When Enok first handed her the military coat, she'd been so startled she almost tried to stop him.
That was the natural reaction.
In Bell's opinion, the best course of action was to talk them down simply, or if that didn't work, to just bribe them and be done with it.
Ultimately, what mattered to thugs was money.
The only reason they were beating up the boy was because they judged the item in his arms to be valuable.
Even though they messed with soldiers and public officials alike, there was always a line.
If Enok had tried to reason with them right then and there, he might have had to listen to some foul language, but everyone could have walked away without a scratch.
But the platoon leader didn't choose that method.
- I won't thank you for protecting the country, but I will say this: you people are a disgrace. You're worse than trash, you worthless scum.
How satisfying that was. It felt like a knot of frustration I hadn't even realized I was holding had been completely undone.
“He's a man I'm starting to like more and more. And…”
Bell Mayer recalled the time they faced the approaching bandit horde.
The flames were so massive they were incomparable to the Flare Lumia had activated.
Enok Levandel had cast a spell so casually that even Bell could have mistaken it for the sun for a split second.
Thinking back on it, that definitely wasn't Solar Prominence.
Bell Mayer, for all her talk, was a certified 1st Class Blue Archmage.
Her understanding of magic was profound, and as a mage herself, she could easily analyze what the platoon leader had done.
Solar Prominence was an advanced spell that condensed fire-attributed mana to an extreme degree, manifesting it as a giant sun.
Especially since it was based on 'Red Mana,' which was notoriously difficult to control and had a complex structure.
It wasn't a spell you could just activate with a simple wave of your hand.
It's just that the concentration and quantity of his mana are absurdly high, so even when he's just deploying a simple Flare, it automatically amplifies itself.
At the very least, from Bell's perspective, Enok Levandel was undeniably a once-in-a-generation genius born with a prodigious talent for the arcane.
Hadn't she heard that he'd shattered the defensive magic, painstakingly deployed by Debra Bennett, the facility management chief, with nothing more than a Fire Ball?
At first, she hadn't understood, but now that she thought about it again, all the pieces of the puzzle were fitting together.
“I might not matter, but you, Lumia, you have to stick with our platoon leader. Got it?”
3rd Magic Battalion, 2nd Company, 5th Platoon, under the direct command of the Northern Legion.
It was more commonly known by the derogatory nickname 'The Garbage Platoon' rather than its official name, and it was the worst possible posting, a fact even the platoon members themselves didn't deny.
In that miserable situation, a first and last golden lifeline had suddenly appeared.
He had already caught the eye of Colonel Soni Chepelin and was rapidly building a good reputation all the way up to the battalion and company commanders.
He was the one who could change the 5th Platoon. And later, when he earned credit and was about to leave the battalion, the only person who could remain by his side…
…would be the frail little sister before her eyes.
“Bell, sis…”
“No matter what happens, you have to stay with Platoon Leader Enok. He's someone you can trust.”
An era of turmoil was about to arrive.
Even though she was treated like a throwaway child, she was still the daughter of a high-ranking noble.
Bell Mayer was always sensitive to the news of the world, even if she seemed indifferent on the surface.
The world's political situation was slowly twisting.
Bell could feel it instinctively—the era of peace people praised was coming to an end.
“Lumia, I'm serious. Promise me.”
“What exactly about the platoon leader makes you so sure? I know he's a great person too, but…”
In response to Lumia's question, Bell answered with a look of absolute certainty.
“My intuition.”
Her crimson eyes flashed.
'He seems like the kind of person who'd stubbornly survive even if the sky itself fell in.'
He was that strong.
Bell Mayer trusted her intuition.
Wow, I feel like I'm going to die.
No, maybe dying would be better.
“Cough, cough!!”
“Platoon Leader… are you alright?”
“Ah, no, I'm not… please get me some medicine from the infirmary…”
“J-just wait a moment!”
Lumia, after confirming his slight fever, dashed out of the room.
I spoke with a voice on the verge of death. I had only moved my finger slightly, but my muscles screamed in agony.
God dammit.
I was just thinking that for such a crappy body, I was moving around surprisingly well, and the moment I woke up after one night, I'd come down with a terrible case of the flu.
And of course, it had to be a really nasty strain.
Just when I was having a great time beating up the thugs, it decides to launch a time-delayed attack.
This goddamn piece of junk body.
My whole body ached as if I had muscle cramps everywhere. With a body like this, could I even survive when a real war breaks out? It was a truly hopeless physique.
“This is a disaster. I really need to build up my immunity first.”
Five years wasn't that long of a time. Unless I was suddenly dragged off to headquarters, I'd be meeting the war as a field officer.
And sanitation in field life was far more horrific than one might think.
Even on modern battlefields with all their advanced medical systems, it was bad. I couldn't even imagine how severe the situation would be in a place without even a proper hospital.
If I didn't want to die from some unidentified endemic disease without even facing an enemy, I really had to build up my immunity steadily.
And then there was this stress.
I was painfully reminded of how crucial stress management was.
I must have naturally relieved some of the stress yesterday while my body was in motion without me realizing it.
If I had been stuck with the flu on top of unresolved stress, it would have been a real disaster.
I suppose it was a blessing in disguise.
It was definitely because I overexerted myself yesterday, but if this was a fever that was bound to burst eventually, it was better to suffer through it now.
When I furnish the officer's quarters in the future, I absolutely have to bring in a sandbag for the training room.
Back in reality, when things got too hard to bear, I'd go to a boxing gym instead of a fitness center and beat a sandbag until I felt much better.
Stress is something everyone deals with, so it would probably be effective for improving the mental health of my subordinates too, right?
Claude would probably like it.
Actually, I had just received permission from Lieutenant Colonel Rockheart to renovate the officer's quarters into a dedicated dormitory for our 5th Platoon.
The current dorm was cozy enough and livable, I guess.
But more than anything, the lack of windows and the characteristic gloomy atmosphere of the basement was very grating.
Surprisingly, people are easily influenced by their environment. Staying cooped up in a place like that for a long time could give you a mental illness even if you didn't have one before.
There was no reason to insist on staying in the basement dorm when I'd already gotten permission to use the officer's quarters.
I'll use this room as my dorm and office, and fix up the room next door as a common area… I'll assign the rooms in the back as private quarters.
I pictured the layout of the officer's quarters in my head and thought about the interior design for the dorm.
This is a unit I'll have to leave in a year anyway.
It was one of the best gifts I could give to the members of my pitiful 5th Platoon.
…Wait, hasn't it been about twenty minutes already? Why isn't Lumia back yet?
I tried to wait a little longer, but the headache only got worse, so I finally got up and went outside.
If I was going to get a diagnosis anyway, it would be better to go to the infirmary than stay in the room.
Just as I stepped out of the dormitory.
Smack—!!!
Lumia was in a smoking area not too far away, slapping Sergeant Rex across the face.