Two Stars (3)
“Oh…! You’re here!”
As soon as Julian Weiss, the lieutenant, spoke those words, Anke Mauer, the lieutenant beside him, immediately cut in.
“The kid is mine.”
“Huh? Where did you hear that? I claimed her the moment we saw her at the recruit escort office!”
“Yeah. No. You just missed it?”
“Wha— what do you mean?!”
Weiss’s expression twisted instantly, but Mauer answered with complete nonchalance.
The drill instructor watching them only sweated bullets.
“A moment ago, D Magic scanned us both once.”
“Yes.”
“She used it. The detection is impressive.”
“Ah, you two both have 3rd-stage aptitude in D Magic and B Magic?”
“Yup. Impressive, right?”
“I sometimes envy you. I’m only 3rd-stage in A Magic.”
“Why don’t you mention E Magic? It’s a public secret.”
…Both 3rd-stage.
Perfect level.
It meant mastering two distinct magics to the fullest without dilution.
“Anyway, scouts with that kind of skill should obviously report to the scouting company.”
“Hah! Who in their right mind wants to scout in this frozen north? It’s way better to join us on the western front.”
“Yeah. Who wants to roll on the front line? Your squad’s casualty rate is already high.”
Weiss’s head dropped, stung by the words.
Then, almost at once, he shot me a sharp glare.
It weighed heavily, like a stone on my chest.
If I were still the old me, I might have secretly gloated over the attention.
But right now… there was no room for pleasure.
Weiss looked at me and spoke again.
“What do you say? Shall we choose ourselves?”
“…Um, sure.”
Damned. The one standing beside her… floating beside her?
Anyway, Mauer agreed right away.
I never imagined my rear-position plan would shatter because of some minor exception…
What now?
“Well, how about it? Offers like this are rare.”
“Obviously our squad. You don’t want to go to the front with eyes like that?”
“If we’re being picky, the north isn’t exactly warm either.”
“Warmer than the western front.”
“It’s cold.”
“I heard your trenches are crawling with cockroaches and rats.”
…Even before the trainees, those two kept trading barbs without shame.
That said, there was no escaping this fate anymore.
No matter how I looked at it, I didn’t fit the front-line type.
Heading north to shiver wouldn’t suit me either…
At that exact moment, Claus Mueller’s advice flashed through my mind.
‘Sell another child.’
I had never shown talent for selling toys as a child, but when my own life was on the line, things changed.
Lack of talent or skill meant I had to sell at any cost.
Emphasize my flaws, highlight others’ strengths.
With this simple act I might still survive the crisis.
“I believe another trainee beside me would be more suitable.”
“Hm?”
The two stars looked stunned by the unexpected reply.
Whether they were shocked that a trainee had the audacity to reject their suggestion, or whether my words had actually piqued their interest, I couldn’t tell.
But it didn’t matter. The meaning wouldn’t change now.
My task was to recommend another as best I could.
“I detected five different magics during the aptitude test. I’m not built for real combat.”
“But one is 3rd-stage, right? D Magic, detection.”
“…Yes.”
“How many times a day can you use it?”
“Five times. If I cut my lifespan, I can push it further.”
The moment my words ended, Mauer’s face twisted in displeasure.
“Talking about shortening lifespan isn’t something to say lightly, kid.”
“…I’m sorry. Did I step on some nerve?”
“I’m not here to play word games. I clearly pointed out where you went wrong.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful not to push myself during magic use.”
“Yeah. That’s the answer I wanted.”
It turns out I wasn’t a complete lost cause after all.
They were quick on the uptake.
That backfired. My interest had actually piqued Weiss instead.
I needed to recover fast.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could I guess the roles of your two squads?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“The… Weiss lieutenant’s squad—”
“I give the okay.”
“Understood.”
After receiving Mauer’s permission, I immediately voiced my guess.
“Lieutenant Weiss’s squad is the assault unit, and Lieutenant Mauer’s is the scouting unit.”
“Correct. By the way, isn’t that exactly what we were just talking about earlier?”
“…Yes.”
“So how does this affect the current conversation?”
Phew.
I took a deep breath internally.
If I couldn’t come up with a proper answer or reason right now, it would only make things worse than being dragged away.
I turned my thoughts quickly.
“I won’t be able to perform properly in either of your squads.”
The second my words left my mouth, Weiss fired back.
That single sentence was a blade, slicing through my flimsy logic without mercy.
I had lost.
“Is it the soldier’s judgment?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, no. No need to apologize. My question is this: the Empire’s stars said they needed trainees, yet you objected. Doesn’t that mean the whole situation is off?”
He smiled cheerfully, but every word was lethal.
On the surface he claimed to be a pacifist and philanthropist, yet his true colors showed.
He and I were clearly the same type.
Not the kind who enjoyed revelry, but someone who could shrug off others’ pain or death with ease.
Mauer could be stirred by sympathy too, so what was needed now was…
‘Logic. Fast, airtight logic that allows no room for interruption or rebuttal.’
Truthfully, it was absurd for a single trainee to lecture two lieutenants on logic.
Yet I still wanted to reach the battlefield on my own terms.
I opened my mouth.
“Rather than me, the trainee standing beside me, Anais Shen, would be far better.”
“…Eh, me?”
Shen, standing next to me, pointed at her own face with a dazed expression.
Honestly, her reaction at this point didn’t matter.
She was a decent toy, but I had to live first.
“Anais Shen showed 2nd-stage aptitude in both B Magic and D Magic and mastered them at a high level.”
“Th-thank you!”
“…Compared to me, who can only use D Magic five times, the versatile Anais Shen would suit both assault and scouting far better. That is all.”
Please, let me be believed.
I refuse to die on the battlefield.
To die on the battlefield—!
Um, isn’t this a bit contradictory?
More precisely, with every detail in mind: if I reached the battlefield, my chance of dying was extremely high, as I would be too busy worrying about others to survive.
I didn’t want that kind of death.
My preferred death was simple: to close my eyes after a long life, surrounded by many people who loved me, watching my loved ones cry before I did.
— [Noise] …Do you mean the result of all my consideration is this body? Eh, um, yeah. Probably. Why would someone who wants to live long end up like this? I know you have no choice, don’t you? —
Now, it was time to watch the two stars’ reactions.
“Um, I understand.”
“Great. Then Anais Shen is mine.”
“……”
“What? You’re actually taking her?”
“I like her.”
Hah… am I going to die?
Even after all that, Weiss likes me?
On the other hand, maybe it’s a relief that it’s not Weiss’s squad? Is it really a relief?
If it’s the northern scouting company… that means trekking through cold mountains and taking on every hard task, right?
No trenches mentioned, so no suffering from cockroaches, rats, or trench fever either.
That’s obvious, isn’t it?!
Hell is less hot than the fires of war, but both are still hell…
I only wanted to live quietly in the rear, feasting on others’ attention.
Why must it be like this?
What about my appearance or talent made them like me?
“Hah, isn’t it time you stopped putting pretty little girls in your squads?”
“What about you? Stop swapping out your assigned recruits.”
“Didn’t you agree not to mention those things?”
“Weiss, you agreed not to bring up my things either. Want to die?”
Weiss scratched the back of his head, then lowered it deeply.
“Well, fine. Then Anais Shen is mine, and Chloe Winterland is yours.”
“Yeah. Good. Agreement complete.”
“…You don’t ask how I already knew Chloe Winterland’s name?”
“Obviously you were trying to suck up to Sergeant Mueller in front of the training school.”
“Correct.”
— [Noise]
For the above reasons, I was assigned to the squad of the Empire’s star, Lieutenant Anke Mauer, as the eleventh star.
My main task was to scout the federal army in the north and report their movements.
Compared to fighting on the front line, it was an extremely easy mission.
But…
—
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