Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: A Commander's Recommendation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...Hoo."
Stepping outside, Demian let out a small breath.
His first meeting with the 6th Corps Commander, Kiaren.
It had been an unforgettably intense experience.
‘To think... someone like that exists in this day and age.’
No, perhaps there were more.
But one thing was certain: Kiaren hadn't reached her position through status alone.
‘They said she was the kingdom's first female general...’
If anything, the rumors seemed to be an understatement.
Most men would find it difficult to even open their mouths in her presence.
"Hey, Vice Commander. Did you see the Corps Commander?"
"What was she like?"
When he returned to the barracks, the squad members asked Demian.
All they had seen was a brief glimpse of Kiaren as she stepped out of her carriage and into the reception room.
At their words, Demian glanced over at Jerka.
"What? Why are you looking at me?"
"That one probably wouldn't be able to say a word in front of the Corps Commander. He'd be crushed by her presence."
"What! Do you know how strong my will is?!"
Jerka protested vehemently.
But beside him, Dianal let out a small laugh.
"This one acts like a brute, but I think he's surprisingly soft-hearted. A real maiden."
"Hehe, you seem to have Jerka figured out, Dianal."
Jerka's twin brother, Terka, chimed in.
At the back-and-forth between Dianal and Terka, Jerka roared.
"You two looking to die, huh?!"
But at that moment.
*Creak.*
"Glory to the Kingdom!"
Kiaren and Vincent suddenly entered the barracks.
Demian, who had been sitting, shot to his feet and saluted.
Kiaren gave a cursory nod and looked at the Kaion Unit members present.
*Sweep.*
The squad members flinched as Kiaren made eye contact with each of them, one by one.
The moment their eyes met, they felt as if they were standing before a massive beast.
Looking at the squad members who were frozen stiff, Kiaren spoke.
"I've heard of your deeds. You went through quite an ordeal on this sudden support mission."
"Not at all, sir. We only did our duty."
"N-Not at all!"
Following Demian's reply, the others stammered out their responses one by one.
At the sight, Kiaren smirked and said, "I look forward to your continued great performance."
With that small encouragement, Kiaren turned and left the barracks.
Vincent saluted her retreating back, but Kiaren merely waved her hand dismissively without a glance and departed.
Her presence was brief, but intense.
And as soon as she was gone.
"Whoa..."
"I felt like I couldn't breathe."
"Now I get what the Vice Commander was talking about."
Everyone voiced their thoughts on meeting Kiaren. And then.
"Hahaha! Did you see Jerka? This bastard was completely frozen!"
Kyle burst out laughing at Jerka. Jerka's face turned beet red.
"D-Do you want to die!"
At his posture, which looked ready to draw a sword, Kyle said with a low laugh, "Bring it on. I'll beat you to a pulp."
"Both of you, stop. We're packing up and returning to the unit by the end of the day."
Vincent said, looking at the two.
He had a troubled expression, as if something was on his mind.
Demian asked Vincent, "Did your meeting go well?"
"...Yes."
He wanted to ask what the meeting was about, but he couldn't bring himself to go that far.
Soon, the Kaion Unit began to pack their things quickly.
Their work here was done.
It had been a far more arduous support mission than they had anticipated.
‘Everyone has gained incredible experience.’
With this, the men here would have grown by several levels compared to before.
And...
"Let's go back."
"Yes, sir!"
Vincent's eyes, as he looked at his men, seemed complicated.
And so, the Kaion Unit returned to their headquarters in Valpate.
***
Upon returning to the base, Demian headed to the bathhouse inside the barracks with the squad leaders who had been on the support mission.
The events at the 3rd Branch Border Guard felt as if they hadn't been real.
"Keuh, see this wound? It's a scar of honor... from when I took on two guys at once."
"Make sure to disinfect it properly after you wash up. If you treat a small wound carelessly, it could become a problem later."
Demian said in response to Jerka.
Jerka smirked and replied, "Heh, a little scratch like this is nothing. Don't you worry."
But at that moment.
*Slap!*
"Ugh!"
Terka smacked Jerka's wound, making him scream.
Terka said, "Just say 'yes, sir' to the Vice Commander. Don't suffer later because it gets infected."
"You bastard!"
"By the way, Vice Commander. Where is the Commander?"
"I think he went to meet the instructor as soon as we arrived."
Demian replied to Terka's question as he submerged himself in the warm communal bath.
He felt the fatigue from the past few days' hardships melting away.
"But didn't you feel something was off, sir? The atmosphere was different than usual."
"I felt it too. He barely said a word the entire way back."
Dianal added.
Vincent had certainly been a bit different since his meeting with the Corps Commander.
"Well... I don't know the reason either. But if it's important, he'll tell us soon enough. Let's all just act like we don't know."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
At their replies, Demian spoke in a low voice.
"For now, let's put aside any complicated thoughts and just relieve our fatigue. We don't know when we'll get to rest this leisurely again."
Now that they were back, they would have to participate in training starting tomorrow.
Leonhard's infamous training.
It might be so grueling that they would find themselves missing actual combat operations.
Demian then simply relaxed his body and let the fatigue soak away.
And at the same time.
"What is it?"
"I have something to discuss with you."
As soon as he returned to the base, Vincent called for Leonhard.
Seeing his rather urgent expression, Leonhard tilted his head.
Once inside the office, Vincent said to Leonhard, "Something major happened during the support mission."
Vincent told Leonhard about the events that had transpired at the 3rd Branch Border Guard.
As he listened, Leonhard's expression gradually hardened.
"...This is a serious situation."
Leonhard was highly sensitive to political affairs and quick to assess situations.
He quickly grasped the gravity of how the Spenian Kingdom's attack would affect the continent's political landscape.
Vincent nodded.
"In the midst of all that, Demian's performance was incredible."
"I thought he was no ordinary man from the start. I even recommended him for the knight order at the training center."
But Vincent was also aware that he had refused the offer.
He knew Demian was a cut above the rest.
But he had never imagined he would display that level of capability.
"So... it might be a bit early, but I submitted a recommendation to the Corps Commander."
"What kind of recommendation?"
At Leonhard's question, Vincent seemed to think for a moment before answering.
"You're aware that I'm serving as the temporary commander of the Kaion Unit, correct?"
"I am. And I also know the purpose for which this Kaion Unit was created."
With the Empire's recent movements, the continent's situation was becoming precarious.
The Kaion Unit was established to create a special force that could be deployed immediately when combat broke out.
That was why it was created as a direct, independent unit, separate from the command structure of companies and divisions, though it belonged to the 6th Corps.
Vincent was the temporary commander tasked with leading the Kaion Unit until it was fully formed.
However...
"I requested that Demian be appointed as the commander of the Kaion Unit."
"...!"
At Vincent's words, Leonhard's eyes wavered slightly.
He was a man not easily surprised by much.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
Vincent's statement was just that radical.
Leonhard fell silent.
But soon.
"What was the Corps Commander's response?"
At that question, Vincent recalled his conversation with the Corps Commander.
***
"Denied."
"..."
Vincent fell silent at Kiaren's sharp refusal.
Seeing this, Kiaren let out a small sigh.
"What, you can't be tired of it already. Don't tell me you recommended him because you genuinely think that brat is commander material?"
"...Yes, I do."
At Vincent's words, Kiaren asked him with a serious expression.
"The unit was just formed. You barely know him, yet you can be so sure?"
It was a perfectly valid point.
It hadn't even been a month since the Kaion Unit was established.
How many incidents could have occurred in that time?
Yet, in that short period, he had chosen someone of commander caliber.
And a private, at that, with less than two years of military service.
But Vincent answered without hesitation.
"The time I've known him is short, but my opinion of him has not changed, and I am certain of it."
Vincent remembered the test when he had first seen Demian.
His unbelievable spear skills, which had toyed with a knight from the Monster Knight Order before finishing him.
But it wasn't just his exceptional spear skills that led to the recommendation.
Ordinary soldiers, no matter how well-trained, would mostly freeze up in a real combat situation.
Even if they didn't, it was common for them to be unable to use 100% of their strength.
"But he was different."
The image of him subduing the enemies climbing the base walls and giving orders to the other squad members was still vivid in his mind.
Furthermore...
"Who would have ever thought of it? The idea of forming a small commando unit to strike the enemy's rear."
And he had done so voluntarily, taking command himself.
"Ordinary soldiers would have been terrified to even step outside the base."
Because they would know that the moment they went out and encountered the enemy, they would die.
That was the nature of the fear of death.
It was an immense pressure that clouded judgment and weighed down the body.
"The time has been short, but the Private Demian I have seen is completely different from ordinary soldiers."
And...
*His eyes were similar to yours, Corps Commander.*
Vincent swallowed the last part, unable to say it aloud.
Saying such a thing could be an insult to the Corps Commander, who had fought her way through hellish battlefields.
"...Hoo."
At Vincent's words, Kiaren let out a breath of complex emotions.
Vincent was a capable officer.
That was why she had entrusted him with the important task of the Kaion Unit.
‘I thought it would take at least a year.’
Just one month.
The man Vincent had chosen in such a short time...
Honestly, she was more curious than skeptical.
Just how special was this kid that Vincent would speak of him in such a way?
Kiaren seemed to think for a moment, then said to Vincent, "Alright, how about we do this?"
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Send him to Makstri. We'll give him a small unit there, and if he performs well, I'll appoint him as the commander of the Kaion Unit."
"...Makstri?"
Vincent's expression twitched for a moment.
Vincent said, "Corps Commander, that place is..."
But Kiaren, having already made her decision, looked at Vincent and said, "Let's see. Let's see if he's really made of the right stuff."
If he could survive there, it would be proven.
At her words, Vincent could only stare at her in silence.