Chapter 49
After finishing my visit to the 3rd Platoon's barracks, I returned to my own.
As soon as I closed the door and entered my familiar room, the tension drained away.
And after waiting for a while, the system message appeared as expected.
Ding-
[You have perfectly handled the inspection.]
[You gain experience as a reward.]
And then, one after another…
One after another……
'Huh.'
The end?
Surely, a message saying, 'Your level has increased! You have acquired a new skill point!' should appear right after this.
I clicked my tongue bitterly. I could more or less guess why.
'So I can't level up from just one accomplishment anymore.'
It was only natural. The required experience increased as my level rose. In the beginning, I could level up just by taking down a few orc units, but apparently that was no longer enough.
'I have to accomplish something more difficult.'
After pacing around for a while, I sat down beside the bed. I tipped the silver flask in my hand into my mouth. It was the same flask Erika had tossed to me before leaving. Along with a searing heat that seemed to burn down my esophagus, a dizzying drunkenness began to rise.
Gulp.
The whiskey slid down my throat.
Knock, knock.
Just then, a cautious knock sounded.
"Lieutenant…. It's Hannah."
"Come in."
Click.
The door opened, and Hannah appeared with a shy expression, her body still damp. The scent of soap rising from her pale skin overpowered the smell of whiskey.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Hannah Meyer]
[Status: In a state of extreme excitement and anticipation, craving the lieutenant.]
"You came quickly."
"I couldn't… make the lieutenant wait."
Hannah smiled shyly and slipped between my legs. I slid a hand beneath her shirt and grabbed her buttocks in a firm squeeze.
"Hnng…!"
"If the system won't give me a reward, I might as well take one somewhere else. Right?"
Hannah probably didn't understand my muttering, but she simply nodded, intoxicated by my touch. Her eyes were growing unfocused.
"Yes… Lieutenant…. Please, take everything… everything from me…."
I chuckled and activated the skill.
'The Touch of Attunement.'
[The skill 'The Touch of Attunement (Lv.2)' is activated.]
[It amplifies the target's pleasure.]
"Aah…!"
Hannah's back arched like a bow. I had merely squeezed her buttocks, yet the skill's power was absolute.
"Haaah! Ngh…! L-Lieutenant… My head, my head feels strange…!"
Overcome by pleasure, Hannah rubbed and twisted her thighs, desperately clutching the waistband of my uniform trousers.
I laid her down on the bed. When I spread her damp thighs apart, the slick already flowing from her was soaking the bedsheet.
"Do you want it?"
"Yes, yes…! Please, Lieutenant… Put it in…!"
Hannah clung pitifully to my waist. Without teasing her any longer, I aligned my cock with her tight entrance.
Squelch.
"Haaang…♡"
I gripped her hips and thrust my hips roughly. With every thrust, her opening fluttered around my glans.
Slap, slap, slap.
The sound of flesh striking flesh continued late into the night.
*
A few days later. The regimental operations conference room.
All the officers of the 7th Regiment, myself included, had gathered in the regimental headquarters conference room. The atmosphere was solemn, yet an undercurrent of anticipation and the exhilaration of victory could be felt.
In the midst of it all, Karl von Dietrich, the regimental commander, stepped onto the dais. His eyes were far more excited than usual—or rather, they gleamed with almost greedy fervor.
"Attention."
At his single word, the room fell deathly silent.
"You all came expecting today's rewards for your achievements, I imagine. Medals, promotions, prize money, and the like."
The regimental commander looked around the room and twisted up the corners of his mouth.
"But regrettably, there is nothing I can give you here today."
The officers began to murmur, their confusion plain to see.
"Because…."
The regimental commander pulled a letter bearing the red seal of the Imperial Household from inside his uniform.
"The achievements we have made have gone beyond what a mere regimental commander can reward at his own discretion."
The Imperial letter fluttered this way and that with the regimental commander's gestures.
"This is a personal letter from His Majesty the Emperor. The 7th Regiment… has received an imperial decree to return to the capital and take part in a victory parade."
─Waaaaah!!
The instant the regimental commander finished speaking, a roar erupted from the conference room, seemingly tearing the roof off.
"…A-a victory parade in the capital?!"
"That's impossible! An honor one might receive once in a lifetime, if ever!"
"His Majesty himself is praising us! This is an honor for the family! No, a joyous occasion for the family!"
The officers forgot all about decorum and shouted as they grabbed the shoulders of those beside them.
It was only natural. This wasn't simply a return to the unit. It was a victory parade.
To cross the heart of the Empire, receive the cheers of the citizens, enter the Imperial Palace, and be praised directly by His Majesty. It was the greatest honor a soldier could enjoy.
"As soon as our frontline duties are handed over to the follow-on units, we'll board the train to the capital. Promotions and medals will be discussed there."
─Understood!
The officers' responses echoed throughout the conference room.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Karl von Dietrich]
[Status: Enjoying the greatest moment of his life, trembling on the verge of realizing his ambitions.]
[Emotion: Pride in his subordinates, nervousness and anticipation at meeting the Emperor.]
[Hidden Desire: To use this victory parade as a stepping stone to earn his stars and seize a key position in Central Military Command.]
The old fox was already picturing his spectacular entry into the political world.
"All right, dismissed! Everyone return to your units and begin preparing for the move."
*
Three days later.
The scenery outside the train window slid rapidly backward with the steady vibration. The bleak gray forests and muddy front lines already felt like a distant past that existed only in memory.
In their place stretched endless golden plains, the acrid smoke of a black steam locomotive racing across them, and a massive silhouette beginning to reveal its grandeur beyond the distant horizon.
The undisputed heart of the Empire.
The capital, Eisenburg.
It was a place where steam pouring from hundreds of smokestacks wrapped the city in clouds, and airships drifted leisurely through the sky.
"Wow…."
Exclamations burst from inside the train car. The members of the 3rd Platoon, who were little different from country bumpkins, pressed themselves against the windows and stared with their mouths hanging open.
"Hey, look over there! That building must be over ten stories tall. Why doesn't it collapse?"
"Idiot, they say it was built with magic. More importantly, that thing flying over there—women are riding in it, right?"
The soldiers were busy contorting themselves in every possible way to peer out the windows.
Before long, the cityscape that unfolded was utterly different from the front line.
Citizens with glowing faces, splendid clothes without a speck of grime, and festival flags filling the streets. When I opened the window, the smells of freshly baked bread, cheap perfume, and greasy coal smoke rushed in instead of gunpowder and blood.
"It's different from the battlefield, isn't it?"
At my question, Hannah whipped her head around. Her hazel eyes were sparkling.
"Yes! It really… feels like a dream. I can't believe we'll get to spend time in a place like this…."
Hannah unconsciously hugged my arm tightly. The sensation of her breasts pressing against me came through her uniform.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Hannah Meyer]
[Emotion: Overwhelmed, admiring, and filled with deep trust in Max.]
I chuckled and gazed out the window. Glittering skyscrapers and peaceful scenery.
Screeeech-!
With the long sound of the brakes, the train began to slow. The platform of a massive domed central station filled my view.
*
Our lodgings in the capital, Eisenburg.
More precisely, it was a suite in a luxury hotel prepared for Imperial Army officers.
I was sprawled on a goose-down bed so soft that it felt as though my body were sinking into it. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling swayed gently.
"…This is civilization."
"Lieutenant! Warm water is pouring out!"
Hannah's excited voice came from the bathroom.
Outside the window, Eisenburg's nightscape stretched out before me. The distant honking of trams and the dull mechanical sounds of the industrial district. It was hard to believe that only a week ago, I had been wrestling with swarms of rats in a trench.
That was when I saw it. A single green dot moving on the minimap.
"Who could it be?"
Probably that recruit who often ran errands for company headquarters. What was his name… Private Erich, was it?
Knock, knock, knock.
Regular knocks sounded. Knocking on the door without even giving his name and rank—was he already getting lax about military discipline?
"…Lieutenant Jaeger, it's me."
Oh dear.
When I opened the door, Seraphina stood in the hallway in an immaculate dress uniform.
"Salute! Reporting to you, Company Commander."
Her silver hair shimmered, and her jewel-like blue eyes gleamed. The light makeup accentuated her cold beauty even further.
Yet the moment her eyes met mine, I felt them soften ever so slightly.
"Sorry to disturb your rest, Lieutenant. But this is an urgent summons."
"Is it from the regimental commander?"
"Yes, you and Private Hannah—"
That was as far as she got.
Creak.
The sound of the bathroom door opening. Seraphina's gaze turned over my shoulder toward the bathroom.
"Lieutenant! We're short on towels—do you happen to have any… Ahh!"
Hannah, who had just emerged from the bathroom, shrieked and hunched over. Steam rose from her freshly washed body, and her damp brown hair flowed down over her shoulders.
Water droplets clung to her nape and collarbone, and her cheeks were flushed.
More than anything, there was the situation itself: a young female soldier had emerged from the platoon commander's bathroom.
Hannah's mouth fell open, while Seraphina silently looked her up and down.
Silence fell.