Chapter 28
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Proper Education (2)
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“Sergeant Rex, are you alright……?”
“Fuck, does this look alright to you? Don’t take me to the infirmary, take me to the Personnel Office right now.”
“Ha, but…….”
“You son of a bitch, you think I’m easy too?”
Eric shrank back at Rex’s murderous glare.
Even though they were close enough to share a smoke together, to Eric, Rex was still one of the terrifying seniors.
“Understood.”
Ultimately, Eric couldn’t stand the pressure and had to take Rex to the Personnel Office.
It seemed both his ankles were broken, as Rex couldn’t walk properly even with support.
People glanced over at them intermittently, but they all hurriedly averted their gaze under Rex’s deadly eyes.
They entered the Personnel Office.
“Rex? What brings you here all of a sudden? Wait… what happened to your leg?”
Michel Robron, the head of the Personnel Office, who was organizing documents at his desk, stood up.
“Fuck, Head of Personnel. That bastard Enok broke my ankles.”
Rex, as if he had been waiting, spilled out everything that had happened to him just moments ago. Of course, he conveniently omitted the attitude he had shown toward Lumia and Enok beforehand.
“Contact the Military Police right now and arrest that bastard!!!”
The Head of Personnel, who had been listening to Rex in silence, frowned. Enok Levandel. He suddenly attacked Rex?
Actually, a few reasons came to mind.
Sergeant Rex was by no means a good-natured soldier, not even by a long shot.
He had pestered his female superiors and received warnings multiple times.
He treated anyone he considered even slightly lower than him, whether they were superiors or subordinates, like trash.
The complaints he had received were so numerous that they wouldn’t fit on ten fingers.
However, while Michel might reprimand Rex, he never punished him.
First, Battalion Commander Rockheart Cromwell’s principle was to solve internal problems within the unit.
And as the Head of Personnel, Michel himself received quite a lot of favors from Rex.
It was the same for entertainment.
Just by being with Rex, the price at high-end bars in Cherno City was cut in half.
When buying goods, he could also purchase them at prices much cheaper than the market rate.
That was just what was public; the secret night games that couldn’t be disclosed to the outside went without saying.
He was always treated as a VIP, able to play cheaply with high-class courtesans who earned several gold coins an hour even in the brothels.
Rex was a very important connection for Michel Robron, the Head of Personnel.
“Sergeant, don’t tell me you messed with Lieutenant Lumia again?”
“……Is that what’s important right now!? He used magic to break my perfectly fine legs!”
Rex answered back in anger. Michel’s eyes twisted even more.
‘This bastard is crossing the line bit by bit?’
Rex had received favors until now, but the problem was that the new Lieutenant, Enok Levandel, was involved.
If it were a non-commissioned officer, he could handle it with his own power.
But if the opponent is a fellow officer, and moreover a new platoon commander whom the battalion commander has his eye on due to his recent exploits, the story is different.
Even for Michel, it was natural to take better care of a junior officer than a thuggish soldier.
Not only that, in a way, now was the time to approach Enok Levandel favorably.
The Magic Battalion under the direct command of the Northern Legion.
It might not be a bad post, but it couldn’t compare to the Central Corps, which is considered an elite course even in the army.
He was a talent who had received an offer to join a newly forming brigade from the Central Corps.
Until now, he had secretly ignored him as a waste, but he couldn’t deny that the golden ticket was in Enok’s hand.
Among other officers, it seemed some were jealous, saying a worthless lieutenant had gotten lucky.
Captain Michel Robron did not think so.
He was a head of personnel who got along surprisingly well with Lieutenant Colonel Rockheart.
In the rapidly changing situation, he was a man who was certain about one thing: what would benefit him.
His instinct told him.
It would be much more beneficial to pull Enok Levandel to his side rather than confront him.
“Rex, go to the infirmary first and get treated. If your ankle is really shattered as you say, you’ll need crutches right away.”
“Head of Personnel-!!”
“I’ll go see Lieutenant Enok myself later. Let’s talk after you get treated first.”
At Captain Michel’s words, Rex bit his lip hard, full of resentment.
He had no other choice.
The one with the upper hand here was the Head of Personnel, not Rex. The decision-making power lay entirely with Michel.
- Besides, you're just one soldier. In my opinion, this will get swept under the rug like always, right? Or not?
Enok’s voice kept echoing in Rex’s head. He instinctively realized that the Head of Personnel’s attitude was clearly different from usual.
‘This son of a bitch snake, having eaten all he could, is now trying to bare his belly?’
He wanted to grab him by the collar right now, but he couldn’t because of his ankle.
Moreover, Rex wasn’t an idiot who didn’t know what would happen if he did that now.
The position of a rookie lieutenant and a veteran captain in the Personnel Office was fundamentally different.
“Hey, support me to the infirmary again.”
Whack!
Rex said, slapping the head of Eric, who was standing by blankly.
“Ah, yes-! Yes, understood!”
He was just trying to smoke with a senior, what the hell was this lightning from the blue?
Eric really felt like crying.
“Lieutenant Enok, may I have a word?”
This was the moment my prediction hit the mark exactly.
If he was brazen enough to plan a sex crime against a non-commissioned officer in the unit, he would never give up just because I broke his ankles.
He must have acted pitifully in front of me, but turned around and ground his teeth with revenge.
People don’t change easily.
Especially those born evil.
“Glory to the Fatherland.”
I immediately stood up and saluted. Since I was in my tracksuit, thankfully, I didn’t have to go through the trouble of changing clothes again.
“That’s enough, you don’t need to salute.”
“Understood.”
“Right, ahem! Is your body alright……?”
“Of course. I slept for a bit and woke up feeling much better than before.”
I said, rotating my arms loosely. The Head of Personnel nodded and continued.
“That’s a relief. The reason I came to see you separately is…….”
“I have a vague idea. It’s about Sergeant Rex, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
Michel Robron agreed readily. He didn’t act brazenly. Rather, his calm demeanor meant he had come to reach a kind of agreement with me.
“I heard you broke Rex’s ankle with magic. They say the ankle bone was completely crushed under strong pressure, what magic did you use?”
“It was just ‘Air Bind.’ Maybe he lost his balance and fell, and that’s how it happened?”
“That doesn’t make sense……. No, anyway, that’s not the important part.”
Captain Michel Robron approached me and put his hand on my shoulder.
“A magic officer used magic on an unarmed allied soldier, causing serious injury. Do you know how serious this situation is?”
His low voice carried weight. In a way, it sounded like a threat.
‘It’s a negotiation.’
I came to that conclusion. It wasn’t a bad approach, actually. If I had blindly sided with Rex, I might have had to contact Soni Chepelin for real.
I had gotten a Colonel’s backing out of nowhere, I should use it when I have the chance.
“I know, of course.”
“Then-.”
“But, Head of Office, you also know very well how serious Sergeant Rex’s crimes are, don’t you?”
At my sharp counter, Michel’s mouth shut tight.
“The Sergeant attempted to rape Lieutenant Lumia Blue.”
“Rape?”
“He confessed it to me as if it was nothing. Not only that, it seems he had a plan to gang-rape her with his buddies if things went well.”
Rape and gang-rape.
At the two words that don’t come out of a mouth easily, Michel was visibly flustered.
From his reaction, it seemed he didn’t expect Rex to get caught doing something so trashy.
Well, a bastard who lives with his head up his own ass wouldn’t have told the Head of Personnel the truth.
“That’s a violation of military discipline and insubordination right away. There are countless other regulations he violated, am I wrong?”
“That may be true, but injuring a common soldier seriously is a big deal…….”
“I will accept my punishment for that part clearly. However, please punish Sergeant Rex equally according to military law.”
At my firm attitude, the Head of Personnel’s pupils trembled.
To be honest, I had nothing to lose.
Apart from my merits, I was in a position to stay in this unit for a year.
Unless someone like Soni Chepelin brought me out again, bypassing all procedures.
Even in Michel’s eyes, there was no lower place for me, who was assigned to the trash platoon.
At least in this battalion.
“That… Lieutenant Enok, I understand your feelings, but the Battalion Commander wouldn’t want that either.”
So he finally brought him up.
Using the Battalion Commander as an excuse meant he had shown all the cards he had.
He hadn’t started by shouting or threatening me from the beginning, so he couldn’t be aggressive now.
I took a deep breath and looked the Head of Personnel straight in the eye.
“Head of Personnel, are you really one of Sergeant Rex’s backers?”
“Wh-what……!?”
At the bombshell remark, Captain Michel jumped.
“Among the things Sergeant Rex said, he mentioned that you were his solid backing. He said a word from you would make me drop dead.”
“Th-that!! That bastard said something like that too!?”
Of course, I was exaggerating, but he did say something similar, so in a way, it was true.
The initiative was now completely with me, so it was time to draw a clear line.
“I never thought you would be like that, Head of Personnel, but I don’t know anymore. Why are you defending the Sergeant so much?”
With every word I added, the Head of Personnel’s face changed.
From a pale gray, to blue, and finally, to a red color engulfed in intense anger.
“You goddamn thuggish bastard… I treated you nicely, and you act like this!!”
“Head of Office.”
I grabbed the Head of Personnel, who was trying to storm out in anger.
“He’s a soldier who has caused many problems in various ways. I think it’s better to clean this up now.”
“I think so too. But…….”
“I have a brilliant idea, would you like to hear it?”
At my suggestion, the Head of Personnel’s pupils sparkled for a moment.
I was certain that in a situation that had come to this, it was a proposal he absolutely couldn’t refuse.
Guys like Rex who rely on connections to cause trouble, once you take away their power and relationships from their hands, eventually become nothing.
He picked a fight using his connections, so I’ll break those links one by one and isolate him.
I smiled, convinced of an overwhelming victory.