The Collapsing Cave and the Letter Home

Quuarrr! The vibrations inside the cave intensified. Chunks of rock began raining down from the ceiling with a clatter.

"Everyone, cluster toward me!"

The company commander swung his staff in all directions. The falling rocks veered off course midair, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crashing to the outskirts of our group.

"Maintain spacing and get out of the cave. Move!"

Kuurrr—the rumbling grew louder. Larger rocks, worthy of the name boulders, started tumbling down amid the debris. One massive boulder plummeted right into our path. The company commander was staring up at the ceiling, shielding us from the ones directly overhead, so I had to handle this one myself.

The one who stepped up was the platoon leader. He smashed it head-on with his mana-infused war hammer. Beyond the scattering fragments, a fork in the tunnel came into view.

That was the moment.

"Suspicious individual spotted!"

Someone cloaked in a robe dashed past the fork. That bastard's the culprit behind all this. The thought must have flashed through everyone's mind. But we couldn't afford to chase him now. Surviving the collapsing cave came first. Besides, 1st Company was waiting outside—no way he could escape even if we didn't nab him right away.

We pressed on in tight formation, just like before. To conserve even a sliver of the company commander's mana, we had to move carefully yet swiftly.

The cave's collapse accelerated. Boulders crashed around us, kicking up massive clouds of dust. The light I'd conjured bounced wildly off the walls.

"Just a bit further!"

The company commander rallied our spirits. We leaned on each other and pushed forward. Finally, the cave's mouth appeared—bathed in faint moonlight, with 1st Company soldiers and the captured robed suspect in tow. The sight drew a sigh of relief from me before I even realized it.

And with that, the beast subjugation op wrapped up.

1st Company handled the cleanup—from the suspect to hauling the wolf beast corpses back to base. Exhausted from back-to-back fights, we crashed the moment we returned.

The next afternoon, we gathered to get the debrief.

As expected, the suspect was some scum who'd experimented on the wolf beasts. The cave tremors? He'd blown it up to destroy his research data and evidence.

"What was his goal?"

"Haven't gotten it out of him yet. But he will soon."

The battalion commander replied in a flat tone. Whoa, the battalion commander ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can make that face too? He'd always seemed fidgety around me, so this was kinda fresh.

Anyway, things settled down for now. Whatever he was plotting would come to light eventually—I just hoped it wrapped up cleanly without more headaches.

...Or so I thought, until the very next day.

"The explosion that brought down the cave triggered landslides all over the mountains."

"......"

"If we leave it like this, no supplies can get through."

"......"

"Let's go clear it."

Fuck.

And so began the landslide cleanup—which, of course, didn't end there. Might as well widen the road while we're at it, came the order. Make it carriage-friendly and all that.

I got the logic. The narrow path meant supplies came in horse-loads via dozens of trips, and we'd never even seen a golden carriage like other units. But still.

Couldn't they have done this before I got here? Spruce it up hard before the princess showed?

Sigh... whatever. No point whining now. I slammed my shovel down in frustration. Part of me wanted to infuse it with mana and slice the rocks apart. But we needed them as retaining walls—no reckless smashing allowed.

Ah, man. Moments like this, I miss the modern world. I miss concrete! I swallowed the unutterable cry in my throat when I spotted the company clerk sprinting toward us from base.

"Ah, 3rd Platoon deputy! There you are!"

"What is it?"

"You've got a letter. Head back to base with me."

A letter? Oh, maybe the Tiabel Town chief wrote one for my dad? But couldn't they just hand it over after shift? Whatever it was, it meant I could ditch work. Couldn't exactly chuck the shovel, so I foisted it on yawning Iwan and scurried after the clerk.

He led me straight to the company commander's office. The commander was pacing anxiously for some reason.

"Sir, I brought the 3rd Platoon deputy."

"Oh!"

His face lit up the second he saw me. He rushed over, fished a letter from his pocket, and thrust it at me.

"D-Depu... er, Your Highness. Y-You g-got a l-l-letter."

......Huh. What's wrong with this guy?

The letter bore the imperial seal. Just a seal, and he was shaking like a leaf. Kinda pitiful.

I peeled off the seal to open it, but—

"W-Wait!"

The company commander stopped me.

"I mean, uh... that is... Your Highness?"

"......Yes."

Call me princess, and I'll play the part.

"It's royal family correspondence. Reading it in plain view like this..."

"Right, got it."

"Th-Thank you."

I tucked the letter away ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and headed to my quarters. Early return had Elina blinking wide-eyed at me.

"Back already? Isn't it still work hours?"

"Stuff came up. Gonna wash. Draw some water?"

"Heard you were out on work detail. You didn't sneak off, did you?"

"As if."

No need for real-time chit-chat like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠texts—I'd scrub first. Shoveling worked up a sweat, and with the weather heating up, even the helmet was no joke.

"Your Highness! Water's ready!"

"Coming."

A refreshing shower later, I tore open the letter on my bed. As expected, it was from Father. It started with the usual how are you holding up? and ended telling me to take leave and come home for a bit.

Without the imperial seal on the envelope, it could've passed for ordinary family talk. But something felt off. A simple let's catch up wouldn't specify dates like that, or warn against outdoor stuff...

Something's brewing. Felt like trouble waiting if I came back after leave. Still, no way I'd skip it.

It'd been months since enlistment. In my past-life Korean army, I'd have taken rookie leave by now. Officers were different, sure, but anyway. I missed my family bad. Seeing Ragna bro mid-tour helped, but it was still too long without them. Unlike my previous life, these folks were genuinely good people.

Decision made, I marched straight to the company office and waved the letter in front of the commander.

"Your Highness...! I said check royal correspondence privately...!"

"Not that—I'm taking leave."

"Pardon? ...Ahem. 3rd Platoon deputy, requesting leave?"

"Yes."

"Any particular reason?"

"No clue on my end. Wanna read the letter?"

"No, no... Gulp, I mean, can't pry into family matters. Dates?"

I recited the dates from the letter. He pulled a file and checked.

"Hm? Overlaps with the platoon leader's leave."

Platoon leader and deputy couldn't both be out usually. I'd normally get bumped as the late filer, but this was the emperor's request.

"What now?"

"Call in the sub, like always."

He said it casually. The sub—the reliable one the platoon leader mentioned?

"That sub the one who's filled in for the platoon leader lately?"

"Yep."

"Who's that?"

"Eh? Oh, you wouldn't know, deputy. It's the former 3rd Platoon deputy."

Former—the guy who got bumped when I enlisted? Oof. Stealing his spot was one thing, but dragging him in as a temp? Felt kinda guilty.

Sensing my vibe, the commander waved it off.

"No need for that. Even without you, he'd have rotated out soon."

"Why?"

"His seniority qualified him for promotion exams. Pass, and he's a Junior Knight—transfer inevitable."

Ah, gotcha. Relief. "Personnel season's coming, so he'll land somewhere official soon. Oh, speaking of—your deputy training starts then. Heads up."

"Got it."

Quartermaster stuff wrapped last time; next up, personnel. Assigning folks right is key, yeah.