Chapter 27
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Proper Education (1)
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"Ggrrraaaaahhh!!!!"
I ground a cigarette into his forehead, and he collapsed, screaming in pain.
What a goddamn retard.
The way he was rolling around on the floor was a pathetic sight.
I picked up the cigarette pack and lighter he dropped, took out another cigarette, and lit it.
As the acrid smoke slid down my throat, the boiling emotions inside me calmed down slightly.
"Fuck—!! You fucking bastard!!"
Rex spat out a curse and struggled to his feet. I snapped my fingers at him as he looked ready to swing a fist.
Mana leaked from his body and turned green, and a translucent ring bound Rex's ankles.
Beginner-Level Wind Attribute Magic, 'Air Bind'.
A spell that condenses air to restrict an opponent's movement.
Together with Wind Cutter, it was one of the basic wind magic spells listed in the Introduction to Elemental Magic.
Compared to other attributes, wind magic generally has a simple structure, so there was no need for any special mental imagery.
Rex, his ankle movement restricted, stumbled and fell again, letting out another scream of pain.
"Hwaaaahk! Aaak! My, my ankle!!"
"Easy there, punk. It's just a restraint spell."
I stared down at Rex, writhing on the ground with the cigarette still in my mouth.
"You, you bastard— Do you think you'll get away with this?! How dare you use magic on a fellow soldier?!?!"
"Haa, still not grasping the situation? You need to get your head straight."
I slammed down on his stiff neck and gave him another cigarette burn in the exact same spot.
"Guh... Uuuuuuuaaahk!!!!"
He writhed and trembled violently. The vicious look in his eyes was now filled with fear.
"Do to me what you just did to Lumia."
"Th-this... You... I'm going to tell the personnel officer everything and make sure you get disciplined for sure—"
"A Corporal should be the one getting disciplined, shouldn't he? The attitude you're showing me right now is grounds for immediate execution."
"I'm Corporal Rex!! You're just a greenhorn rookie!!! I'll tell my Captain and have you half-dead before you can even set foot in the city!!"
Even after all this, seeing him grit his teeth like that, he definitely has some guts.
And when he says Captain... he must mean the boss of the thugs I saw in the city.
I heard about it from Bell Mayer. There are delinquents who hold the back alleys of Cherno City in their grip.
Even though he's just a Corporal, the reason Rex, a mere soldier, could act so high and mighty was probably because he's in cahoots with those delinquents.
It happens in real life too.
Guys who are close with local bigshots, or who used to live as gangsters, join the military and ignore all rank and authority.
Even in the military, you can't be completely self-sufficient.
For unit maintenance, and even for promotions, the help of local residents or those in power was often essential.
However, that doesn't matter.
What matters is that this bastard has crossed a serious line now.
So far, there have been plenty of people who let things slide easily, so he must have been having a field day.
I can't stand watching that kind of trash. A lowly soldier acting like he owns the place towards a superior.
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Huk, ugh...!! I'll have you thrown in the brig for assaulting a soldier, and if you ever set foot in Cherno, I'll beat you to a pulp right on the spot—!!!"
Threatening me while sobbing isn't scary at all.
"Oh, really? Then if you just keep your mouth shut, those guys won't know that I did this, right?"
I gently gathered my mana. A blazing flame greedily swallowed the air.
"If I burn your mouth shut, you won't be able to speak, will you?"
"Wha... Ah- Hot?!? Wait, hold on!!"
I slowly brought the flame right in front of Rex's eyes. It wasn't a spell or anything. I just manifested red mana.
But it's more than enough to completely burn the roof of a normal person's mouth.
If I shove fire into his mouth, it's over.
"Do you really think you'll get away with doing something like that!?"
"I've already been branded as a failure, so there's nothing worse that can happen. Besides, you're just one soldier. In my opinion, this will just get swept under the rug like always, right? Or not?"
"......!!"
Rex, who had been trying to resist until the end, finally shut his mouth. He was a bastard who had abused the closed-off system of the military better than anyone.
"Just do what you've been doing to Lumia."
He realized immediately that the same rules could apply to him.
"I-I'm sorry— I'm sorry!!! I, I was, too... too out of line!! Please forgive me!!"
"Good."
I grinned and extinguished the flame, then drove my fist straight into his eye.
Crack!
"Kuh, Aah, Ak!! My eye!!"
Since I was suffering from a full-body ache, it was impossible to land a blow as effective as the one in the city yesterday. In that case, I'd just go for the weakest vital point.
I was thinking of stepping on his lower body since his mouth was so foul, but honestly, I felt a bit sorry for him, so I let it slide. I should at least show some basic decency.
"From now on, if you say even one word other than what I ask, I'll really shoot a Fire Ball into your mouth."
"Y-Yes, sir...!!"
"What were you trying to do to Lumia?"
"That was—"
Bam!
I saw Rex's eyes rolling back, so I gave him another one.
"Kuh, Kuk... Why, why are you hitting me!"
"Don't roll your head around, answer me properly."
"I, I tried to sleep with her by threatening her!"
"Who's idea was that?"
"M-Mine! After sleeping with her once, I planned on not doing anything else, I swear!!"
"I wasn't asking about what happens after that."
"Huk..."
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
The cigarette in my mouth was burned down to the filter. I spat out the almost-extinguished butt and continued interrogating Rex.
"I don't need to see it to know what you were planning, so don't even think about making excuses. Who else was involved? Are there people from our unit too?"
I stared into the eyes of the terrified bastard. Then, Rex confessed everything.
There were no one from the unit. Since it was a failure platoon, they didn't like getting involved either.
But outside the unit was different. They told him to seduce a pretty non-commissioned officer who was an outsider in the unit and bring her over.
Having heard that much, there was nothing more to interrogate.
"Violation of military discipline, insubordination, disrespect to a superior, attempted assault on a superior. Just the military laws you've broken are serious enough. You're grounds for immediate execution."
"I'm sorry—!! Platoon Leader!! Please, just let me live!!"
"You want to live?"
"Yes!! Yes—!! I, I want to live!!"
People only come to their senses after getting beaten.
The swaggering attitude he had just a few minutes ago is gone without a trace, and now only the pathetic sight of him begging for his life remains.
He was subdued by a spell that does nothing but restrict movement, and he was making a fuss about his ankle.
It was all just a bluff, him not knowing his place and acting recklessly.
"Go to Lumia and apologize properly. Do it with proper etiquette. And never look at Lumia again, don't even hang around her."
"Understood! I'll do as you say!"
"Answer me so you can state your rank and name properly from now on."
"C-Corporal Rex!!"
"Now get lost."
Lumia hadn't returned yet. Or, even if she had, after seeing what I did, she wouldn't show herself first.
Click!
I snapped my fingers again, and the Air Bind gripping Rex's ankles was released.
However, Rex only groaned and trembled, unable to get up.
"What are you doing, aren't you leaving?"
"Guh... But, Platoon Leader. I think my ankle is really broken..."
He tried to move his leg, but his ankle kept spinning loosely. It was creaking and couldn't support his weight at all.
What, is it really broken?
This guy was weaker than me?
Looking at his genuinely pained expression and his leg kicking at empty air, it didn't seem like an act.
I clicked my tongue once.
"Hey, whoever's there, come out and help him up."
I shouted toward the presence I'd been feeling for a while. Then, a figure hiding behind a tree cautiously stepped out.
"P-Private Eric!"
"Eric, right? Take Corporal Rex to the infirmary."
"Y-Yes!! Understood!!"
It seemed he had witnessed everything that happened in real time. Eric answered loudly, his military discipline fully engaged.
Soon, he helped Rex up and disappeared toward the infirmary. I watched them go and let out a sigh.
'Sigh, I went out to find Lumia and this is what happens.'
Instead of medicine, I ended up smoking a ton of cigarettes for nothing.
Maybe I was a bit tense, now that the situation was resolved, my strength drained away, and my body started feeling chilly again.
My dizziness was getting worse too— was I going to faint again like last time?
Just as I thought that.
"Platoon Leader! Are you alright!?"
Lumia came running toward me in a hurry from a distance. In one hand, she was holding a pile of medicine she had gotten from the infirmary.
"R-Rex Corporal is..."
"It's been taken care of. Anyway, can you help me get back to the dorm? My head hurts."
As soon as I asked, she put my arm over her shoulder.
Whoosh, as we got closer, the fresh scent from her silver hair tickled the tip of my nose.
"Platoon Leader..."
"We can talk later. Let's go back to the dorm for now."
And so, after giving a proper lesson, I returned to the dorm with Lumia's help.
For now, it's resolved.
Of course, I didn't think a bastard like Rex would just back down after this.
Just as expected.
After sleeping in the dorm for a bit and waking up, I had a guest in my room.
"Enok Platoon Leader, let's talk."
It was Captain Michel Robron, the battalion personnel officer.