Chapter 46
"Insult? That's absurd, Lieutenant Colonel."
I said, putting on the most aggrieved expression I could.
'Captivating Speech.'
[The skill 'Captivating Speech (Lv.3)' is activated.]
"I merely doubted my ears. Surely an inspector who values the honor of an Imperial Army officer more dearly than his own life would never make the dishonorable suggestion that a junior officer make false accusations against his superior, would he? So I assumed I must have heard you wrong."
"W-what…?"
Zwinger was struck speechless. I didn't miss the opening.
"You weren't seriously suggesting that, were you? Telling me to betray the commander who shared life and death with me in battle and give false testimony for the sake of my own paltry safety. Surely the Empire's noble Inspector couldn't have stooped to such a cheap attempt at persuasion?"
"Y-you insolent whelp! Watch your mouth!"
"That's why I'm asking again. I really did hear you wrong, didn't I, Lieutenant Colonel?"
I delivered the finishing blow.
This was checkmate.
If he said yes, he'd be admitting that he was a dishonorable officer who had urged a subordinate to betray someone. If he said no, he'd have to withdraw the proposal he'd just made to me.
Zwinger's face flushed and paled by turns.
[Name: Albrecht von Zwinger]
[Status: Flustered after being caught in a logical trap. Torn between mounting rage and concern for his dignity.]
[Emotion: Extreme anger toward that insolent lieutenant.]
"…Hmph."
In the end, Zwinger backed off, exhaling sharply through his nose.
Ding-
[The skill 'Captivating Speech' affects 'Albrecht von Zwinger'.]
['Albrecht von Zwinger' is persuaded by your logic that he went too far.]
"You're quite skilled at wordplay. Fine. Let's say no such persuasion ever happened."
He straightened his clothes and tried to recover his cold gaze.
"But that doesn't change the fundamental issue. The fact remains that your spectacular tales of military exploits make no statistical sense."
He picked up the report again.
"Killing an orc shaman, blowing up an enemy powder magazine, annihilating the chieftain's main force… What do you think the odds are that all this could happen within a single regiment, let alone in such a short time? 0.01 percent? No, lower than that."
Zwinger smiled thinly again. His smile betrayed his certainty that he had retaken the initiative.
"There are no miracles in this world. There are only probability and statistics. If you rolled a die and got six ten times in a row, that wouldn't mean you were lucky; it would mean the die had been rigged. Am I wrong?"
The logic was sound.
It was certainly the kind of rigid yet difficult-to-refute logic a rear-echelon administrative officer would use. The regimental commander and the other officers' expressions darkened again. It wasn't easy to prove the uncertainty of the battlefield in the face of that numerical game.
But.
'Probability.'
I barely managed to suppress a chuckle.
Probability? Statistics?
Every skill I possessed was a cheat code that casually ignored things like probability. But I couldn't exactly tell that stuffed shirt I could see status windows.
In that case, I decided to smash the logic he worshipped.
I drew a deep breath. Then I activated the skill again.
'Captivating Speech.'
This time, I widened the target.
[The skill 'Captivating Speech (Lv.3)' is activated.]
[It reads the audience's psychology and applies a boost through a highly persuasive voice.]
"You're right, Lieutenant Colonel."
When I conceded so readily, Zwinger's eyes widened.
"Oh? Are you finally admitting it?"
"Yes. Statistically, it's impossible. I think so too."
"Yes, yes, good thinking, Lieutenant. If you confess the truth willingly now, I'll overlook the rudeness from earlier."
Without even looking at the pleased Zwinger, I slowly walked forward. His smile soon turned into a puzzled stare.
"According to the textbook, we should have been wiped out in the Ashen Forest. We should have been caught in the orcs' traps, screaming as the shaman's wicked sorcery rotted our bodies from within, and been chopped in half by enormous axes."
I stopped only after reaching the center of the conference room. Every officer in the 7th Regiment turned to look at me.
"That is the normal probability you're talking about, Lieutenant Colonel."
I paused and looked straight into Zwinger's eyes. Now I was looking down at him.
"But, Lieutenant Colonel, the battlefield isn't a textbook."
The skill lent force to my voice. My faintly trembling voice began to tug at the listeners' emotions.
"Statistics? Probability? Those are notions that only work in an office with a warm stove. Here, in this muddy pit, amid repeated attacks and the screams of our comrades… numbers weren't what we could put our faith in."
I held up my tightly clenched fist.
"What we believed in was the faith that the comrade beside us would guard our backs. And the trust that our commander, Colonel Dietrich, would lead us to victory."
"W-what sentimental nonsense…!"
Zwinger tried to interrupt, but I raised my voice further and overpowered him.
"We don't call it a miracle because statistics can't explain it! We call it a miracle because we risked our lives and turned the impossible into the possible!"
I took one step toward Zwinger.
"The victory you disparaged as loaded dice, Lieutenant Colonel, was forged in blood and sweat by the 2,500 soldiers of our 7th Regiment. It was the variable forged by the twenty-one comrades who gave their lives!"
Bang!
I deliberately stamped my foot and hurled out the words with passionate force.
"And now you're calling it impossible after tapping a calculator a few times? You're going to deny the blood our soldiers shed with a few sheets of paper? Is that what the Imperial Inspectorate calls justice?"
[The skill 'Captivating Speech' takes control of the entire conference room.]
[The audience's emotions are heightened.]
"…Ugh!"
Overwhelmed, Zwinger stumbled backward.
"H-he's right! We fought with our lives on the line!"
Lieutenant Walter, who had been silent, clenched his fist and shouted.
"Lieutenant Jaeger is right! Do you know how our platoon members—my men—fought?"
Lieutenant Franz also shouted, his voice thick with tears.
"What do you know, spouting desk-bound theories!"
"Get out of here!"
Shouts erupted from all around. The mood changed in an instant.
Even Major Helga and Erika glared at Zwinger coldly, while Seraphina gazed intently at me, her blue eyes glistening with unusually deep emotion.
[Name: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Emotion: Admiration for Max Jaeger's performance, along with trust and affection toward Max Jaeger.]
I'd unintentionally even raised her Affection level. But it wasn't a bad thing.
And then, the true protagonist of this stage.
"…Enough."
A heavy voice split the conference room.
Colonel Karl von Dietrich.
The old fox, who had been hunched over, finally straightened his shoulders and rose. My speech and his subordinates' support had put steel back in his spine.
"Lieutenant Colonel Zwinger."
The regimental commander slowly but with dignity approached Zwinger.
"There isn't a single thing my subordinate said that's wrong. You look at numbers, but I look at people. And the 7th Regiment I see is not a bunch of cowards who file false reports."
"C-Colonel…! Don't you understand the situation? Depending on the inspection results, your promotion…!"
"Promotion?"
The regimental commander scoffed.
"Becoming a general would be nice. But earning those stars by selling my men's honor… would be a disgrace to the Dietrich family."
Oh, look at him playing the hero.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Karl von Dietrich]
[Hidden Desire: To ride this momentum, crush Zwinger, and cement his image as a heroic commander.]
His true feelings were obvious, but outwardly he looked every inch the honorable soldier.
"If you wish, continue the investigation. Go through the ledgers and interrogate the soldiers. As much as you like."
The regimental commander approached until he was right in front of Zwinger and growled.
"But if not a single speck of dust turns up… then I will have you court-martialed for making a false accusation and showing contempt for my authority as commander. Even if I have to stake my entire political career on it."
"……!"
Zwinger went pale.
He hadn't expected the regimental commander to take such a hard line. Moreover, thanks to my provocation just now, every officer in the conference room was glaring at him as if they wanted to kill him.
Would he really force the investigation now?
If nothing really turned up, Zwinger could be ruined by the regimental commander's counterattack.
Of course, convinced that the 7th Regiment's victory had been fabricated, he wouldn't completely back down over this.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Albrecht von Zwinger]
[Status: His pride has been shaken. Unable to accept his defeat in the argument, he is already planning his next move.]
"Just wait and see, Colonel."
Zwinger bit his lip and roughly pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
"You may weather a crisis in the moment by playing on emotions, but the figures written in the documents do not lie. I will begin a thorough audit tomorrow morning. If I find even a single blemish… you'd better be prepared to take off that uniform."
Bang!
He kicked open the conference room door and left after issuing that threat. A silence like the aftermath of a storm filled the room. But it didn't last long.
"Hooray!"
The officers erupted in cheers all at once.
"Did you see that? The way that bastard Zwinger's face crumpled?"
"You verbally wiped the floor with an inspector!"
"I feel so much better! Lieutenant Max, you're the real deal!"
Amid the flood of praise, I bowed with a deliberately embarrassed expression.
"You're too kind. I merely told the truth."
"No, no! Without you, we'd all have been swept along by Zwinger's pace."
Lieutenant Walter patted my shoulder several times.
At that moment, the regimental commander approached me.