First Mission (1)
The outpost wasn’t particularly spacious, but it had everything one might need.
I followed Garan as he guided me through the interior, climbing a set of stairs. While walking along the iron-reinforced railing, I noticed damaged weapons and tattered banners left along the walls on both sides of the corridor.
Not so much abandoned as…
They seemed to have been gathered in one place on purpose.
“That area is the armory. If you turn right here, you’ll reach the infirmary. And… over there is the mess hall.”
“The mess hall?”
I shifted my gaze in the direction Garan indicated. Dozens of soldiers stood in line, each holding a bowl and spoon. They were waiting to be served. On the tables lay an array of dishes: pure white rice, large loaves of rye bread, thick stew, noodles, and more.
“Three meals a day. The meal times are always fixed. It’s best to memorize them. Out here, making sure you eat properly is the most important thing.”
“…Do all outposts serve meals like this?”
“Hm? Well, I suppose so. Why the strange look?”
Garan asked with a puzzled expression. It seemed my face was that unusual. I wondered what kind of expression I was making to warrant such a reaction.
“You look like a child seeing a whole new world for the first time.”
“……”
Garan smiled as if he had spotted something utterly unexpected on my face. Just as he said, I felt like I was being treated like a child. It wasn’t unpleasant or offensive, but… how should I put it? In both my previous life before death and this current one, I had never imagined receiving such treatment.
“You’re the first person I’ve seen make that face after looking at a military mess hall.”
I didn’t respond to Garan’s words. He simply watched me continue to stare at the mess hall with a curious expression.
“It must be quite different from the mess hall in your previous unit?”
“The unit I belonged to didn’t have a mess hall at all. After all, slave soldiers weren’t provided with anything called ‘food.’”
“…I see.”
Garan seemed to grasp the general situation from my explanation. The unit I had been part of before my death consisted of a small number of regular soldiers—including the commander, Lumia—and a large number of slave soldiers. It was a newly formed unit created under somewhat special circumstances, different from ordinary units. In other words, it was a unit where all the problematic troublemakers had been gathered in one place.
Other units used to mock us, calling it the “shit bucket unit.”
We were officially classified as slave soldiers and were not treated as human beings. Naturally, we weren’t granted even the basic right to a meal that any human should receive. During the three meals a day, what we could eat was nothing more than thin soup and hard scraps of bread. It was the bare minimum required to send us out to the battlefield. Since we had committed heinous crimes that could never be forgiven as humans, it was only natural that we weren’t treated as such.
Gurgle.
“……”
The sound had come from my stomach. The fragrant aroma of soup drifting from the mess hall tickled my nose and stimulated my appetite. Garan burst into laughter at the honest expression of hunger.
“Hahaha! Come on, let’s go eat.”
I almost refused for a moment, but the words wouldn’t leave my mouth. The smell and my own hunger were simply too overwhelming. As if enchanted, I followed behind Garan as he led the way.
“Oh? Squad Leader, sir. You’ve arrived.”
The squad members of the 4th Search and Reconnaissance Unit, who had been standing in line waiting for their food, spotted Garan and greeted him warmly. It seemed they had come straight to the mess hall right after storing their equipment in the armory.
“Huh? The rookie’s here too?”
“Rookie?”
I tilted my head at one squad member’s words as he looked at me. Was he referring to me as the rookie?
“You followed us to the outpost to enlist, right? If you came with Squad Leader Garan, doesn’t that make you part of our reconnaissance unit now?”
“…That’s correct.”
“Then you’re the rookie now. Call me Kalant. I’m the assistant squad leader of the 4th Search and Reconnaissance Unit.”
The man who introduced himself as Kalant grinned and slung an arm around my shoulder.
“Looking forward to working with you, yeah?”
“…I’m Han Jungwoo.”
“I know, idiot.”
Kalant said with a grin. His completely unreserved attitude left me slightly flustered. This person closed the distance far too quickly. He must have heard from Garan that I was a former slave soldier, yet he didn’t seem to view me as some inhuman, worst kind of villain.
“What’s with that sour face?”
“It’s just…”
“Ah, you’re thinking, ‘How much does this guy even know about me to act so chummy already?’ Right?”
“……!”
I flinched, startled that he had hit the mark. I hadn’t thought of it in such a rude way, but the general idea was similar.
“Your background isn’t that important to us.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, did I phrase that wrong? It is important. It matters, but… when I first heard about it, I was definitely shocked. Still, what can you do? I already received help from you before that, so first impressions like that end up being pretty significant.”
Kalant glanced once at the other soldiers waiting in line, then continued.
“For now, we’ve decided to believe only what we’ve seen and heard from you. If there’s any problem, the squad leader will tell us later.”
“……”
“Got it?”
“…Yes.”
I nodded as if I understood. Since this wasn’t an appropriate place to openly discuss that I had been a slave soldier, he had omitted the detailed explanation. But I could roughly grasp what he meant. I recalled how Garan had said he would personally investigate my past actions. It seemed they had decided to overlook the fact that I had been a slave soldier until they could clearly determine what kind of person I truly was.
First impressions, he said.
Just like Garan, the members of the 4th Search and Reconnaissance Unit had chosen to prioritize the favor I had done for them. That help had apparently created an extremely positive first impression of me. It left me with an indescribable, strange feeling.
“So don’t overthink it right now. If you do, how are you supposed to trust us to watch your back in battle? Out on the battlefield, the only ones you can rely on besides yourself are us. The squad leader has accepted you as a comrade, so we’ve decided to trust you too.”
What was I supposed to call this? Were these people kind, or just fools? Even though I was the one receiving their goodwill, it was a kindness I simply couldn’t understand.
I didn’t even have time to sort through these complicated emotions.
“Alright, alright, let’s eat already!”
Kalant threw an arm around my shoulders and dragged me toward the serving line while I was still hesitating.
The serving system was buffet-style.
“Since this Allied Forces army is made up of many nations working together, people from all sorts of backgrounds gather here. Naturally, their food preferences and portion sizes differ as well.”
Kalant explained that this was why the buffet system had been adopted. Even though I hadn’t asked, he enthusiastically provided the explanation. It seemed to be simply part of his nature to enjoy taking care of others.
“We’re already risking our lives on the battlefield. If we can’t even enjoy a decent meal, we really won’t last.”
Another squad member added to Kalant’s explanation. The other comrades nodded along, murmuring, “That’s right, that’s right.”
“So just take whatever menu you want, as much as you want. Simple, right? Just know that if you leave any food behind, there’ll be penalties starting next time, so be prepared.”
“……”
As I listened to Kalant’s explanation and scanned the serving options, I suddenly stopped in front of one particular dish.
“What’s wrong?”
Kalant, who had been walking in step with me, looked at me curiously when I halted. I didn’t even have the presence of mind to answer him. My gaze was fixed on a single spot. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the bright red menu item set up on the serving counter.
It was meat coated in a reddish sauce. It glistened with a fine crimson hue. The color carried a spicy aroma. Somewhere between deep crimson and bright scarlet. My heart was stolen by that fiery red, as if brushed by a fire spirit.
“No way…”
“Huh? You like spicy stir-fried pork?”
Kalant asked, looking bewildered at my reaction, but soon continued as if he understood.
“Well, I guess folks from the Ricon Kingdom all go crazy for this kind of heat. They mix it with pure white rice and devour bowl after bowl. Here.”
I immediately took the plate he held out to me. The moment I confirmed Garan’s smiling nod of permission, I piled the plate high with pure white rice. On top of it, I stacked a generous mountain of the stir-fried pork drenched in vivid crimson sauce.
It had been roughly one week since I enlisted in the 9th Defense Division and arrived at the outpost.
“We’ve received a mission.”
At Garan’s words, the noisy atmosphere inside the barracks instantly quieted. The laughter, jokes, and excited chatter vanished as if they had never existed. Everyone in the squad, including myself, waited for Garan to continue.
“It’s a search operation in the plains of the northwest outer sector.”
The first mission I received after enlisting with the search and reconnaissance unit was straightforward. We were to head further beyond the currently explored regions, map the terrain, subjugate any masu we encountered, and gather information on any newly discovered ones. That was the fundamental role of a search and reconnaissance unit.
“Departure is at six o’clock in the morning two days from now. Everyone adjust your condition and complete your preparations so there are no issues with the mission.”
“Understood!”
After hearing the squad’s energetic reply, Garan left the barracks. My first mission was finally beginning.
I felt an inexplicable sense of excitement. Even in my previous military life, I must have gone on countless missions. Was it because I was now a proper soldier rather than a slave soldier? Or was it because of the special ability called Heavenly Fate that I had gained upon being resurrected?
Am I looking forward to it?
There was a part of me that hoped the morning of the mission would come quickly. It wasn’t the same tiresome struggle of stepping forward toward death. What came to mind were the faces of Garan and the other squad members who had accepted me. Was it that I wanted to be of help to them?
Countless thoughts swirled chaotically through my head.
I should rest until tomorrow, at least.
Tomorrow morning, I would eat some stir-fried pork and calm this excited heart of mine. I lay down on my cot and closed my eyes.