Chapter 11
─ This is Kingfisher. The target has been eliminated. Returning to the temporary forward base.
It was a radio transmission received by Heinz, who had been waiting on Drokkenberg Plateau.
That meant Heinz’s prediction, which prioritized rationality, had been wrong, while Daniel’s intuition had been right.
Heinz wanted to believe it was a lie, but as far as he knew, Daniel, who was obsessed with earning military achievements, would never file a false report.
Heinz replied that he understood, withdrew from the plateau, returned to the forward base, and saw Daniel’s achievement with his own eyes.
“Huh…….”
In the open grounds of the forward base, prisoners wearing Allied uniforms were gathered on their knees.
At a glance, it was an utterly surreal sight: more than eighty prisoners being guarded by a platoon of no more than twenty soldiers.
Heinz’s adjutant was just as astonished by Daniel’s accomplishment.
“……Lieutenant Daniel really did lead a platoon and bring down a company. How is this possible?”
It wasn’t impossible.
Although uncommon, there had been cases of a force no larger than a platoon defeating a company.
If one searched through records of battles, it wasn’t particularly difficult to find Davids who had defeated Goliaths.
‘But…….’
Had there ever been a David who captured Goliath?
Heinz couldn’t understand how Daniel had forced an entire company to surrender with a mere platoon.
On top of that, the captured Allied company contained five officers and seven noncommissioned officers.
One of the officers was even a field-grade officer.
Considering the information they could obtain by interrogating these prisoners, this was an enormous accomplishment.
Heinz was looking down at the prisoners groaning in the snow when he sensed someone approaching and raised his head.
Daniel had approached before he knew it and was saluting.
“You’re back, Captain Heinz Schmidt.”
After returning the salute, Heinz spoke with a somewhat dazed expression.
“Impressive. How on earth did you capture all of them?”
“Ah. I suppose we were simply lucky.”
Daniel meant it sincerely, but to Heinz, it looked like nothing more than false humility.
‘The Empire has a saying that the humble rise high. Humility really is a virtue. If I didn’t know what this man was truly like, I might have been taken in as well.’
Having grown deeply wary of Daniel, Heinz cleared his throat.
“Forget about being lucky. What platoon in the world could defeat a company for no reason other than luck? This was all your achievement.”
“……That isn’t so.”
Daniel spoke with a serious expression.
“I merely reached a conclusion after taking Captain Heinz’s opinion into account, an opinion aided by the Central Intelligence Bureau. I believe all the credit should properly go to the Central Intelligence Bureau and Captain Heinz.”
Daniel was trying to persuade him: Please don’t report to higher command that I did everything. But Heinz interpreted his words as an advanced maneuver for the sake of promotion.
‘He’s lowering himself while elevating his superior. Even the most rigid superior couldn’t help but soften at that. Not only is he skilled at commanding in battle, he’s mastered military politics as well…….’
He truly was a monster obsessed with promotion.
Heinz felt gooseflesh break out all over his body and let out a low groan.
“That won’t do. I don’t submit false reports to higher command. Your achievement will be reported exactly as it happened, so enjoy your victory.”
As a result, one of Daniel’s eyebrows twitched.
‘Talk about being hopelessly dense! You damned old fool! I’m telling you to give me the credit!?’
Another commander would have happily accepted the credit, but this inflexible officer was behaving with such integrity that he refused to steal his subordinate’s achievement.
It was a moment that made it easy to understand why Heinz’s rank was so low compared to his accomplishments.
Daniel sighed inwardly while maintaining a blank expression on the outside.
“If that is your decision, Captain, I will accept it.”
“Good. Since the operation is complete as of this moment, go inside and rest. I’ll escort the prisoners. I’ll also make preparations so that you can return to headquarters at noon tomorrow.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Once he confirmed that the conversation was over, Daniel raised a crisp salute.
“It was an honor meeting you, Captain Heinz Schmidt.”
“The honor was mine, having such a capable man as you under my command.”
After exchanging greetings and returning Daniel’s salute, Heinz watched as he turned and walked toward his tent.
Watching Daniel’s retreating back, Heinz’s adjutant spoke with awe.
“I heard rumors that the platoon commander sent by General Staff Headquarters was an incredible elite, and the rumor was true. Not only is he excellent at carrying out operations, there isn’t a thing to fault in his courtesy toward his superior.”
“That isn’t wrong. But you’re failing to see his true nature.”
Heinz gazed at Daniel’s retreating back and muttered quietly.
“That man is a monster. A monster who will one day devour this Empire…….”
*
The next day.
After giving Heinz a detailed report on the battle from the previous day, I walked out into the forward base’s open grounds at noon.
A military jeep and several transport vehicles were parked there, with the platoon members gathered in front of them and chatting.
From what I overheard, they were discussing how incredible the previous day’s battle had been.
I could hear praise for me mixed in here and there, so apparently it wasn’t just my imagination.
That was because Prien, who had been talking with them, approached me.
“Lieutenant Daniel! Good afternoon! Have you finished your report?”
“……Yes. But what were you all talking about so happily?”
“We were discussing what an amazing commander you are, Lieutenant! You led your first battle to victory without a single casualty! And against an enemy company, no less! You’re truly incredible!”
Prien’s clear, shining eyes were intensely burdensome.
I frowned and spoke to Prien.
“You’re spouting nonsense. It’s time to return to headquarters, so just get in the vehicle.”
“Yes, understood! I’ll tell them that!”
After saluting, Prien returned to the platoon members and conveyed my words.
The platoon members looked at me, raised crisp salutes, and then walked toward the military transport vehicle.
Were they getting too excited over their first victory? I sighed and walked toward the jeep, but then stopped short.
A woman wearing a pure-white blouse and a coat was waiting for me with her hands clasped behind her back.
Selvia looked around, spotted me, and naturally spoke to me.
“Lieutenant Daniel. Are you returning to headquarters?”
“……I am, but why?”
“Then let’s go together. I have business at headquarters too.”
No, why were you coming with me? I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t speak.
After standing frozen for a while, I racked my brain and answered as carefully as I could.
“Ms. Correspondent, this military vehicle is a model that prioritizes performance, so it’s far from comfortable. It isn’t suitable for long-distance travel. Especially for a woman…….”
“It’s all right. We’re at war, aren’t we? I consider being able to ride in a working vehicle a great stroke of luck.”
Even if you were all right with it, I wasn’t! I couldn’t exactly ask a princess to drive, so I would have to drive all the way to headquarters, and I didn’t want to put up with that exhaustion.
“Lieutenant Daniel?”
But how could I possibly refuse the princess?
I showed the maximum resistance I could by letting out a low sigh, then nodded.
“If you insist, please get in. I’ll drive.”
Selvia nodded and got into the passenger seat.
After muttering a few complaints inwardly, I got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
As I pressed the accelerator and moved smoothly forward, the transport vehicle behind us followed.
About an hour after we left the forward base, Selvia spoke.
“Lieutenant Daniel. How do you view the course of the war?”
It was abrupt.
However, it was also a question the Empire’s princess would naturally have.
She was probably surrounded by nothing but field-grade officers and generals who were always shouting, “The Empire will be victorious!” So, while disguised as a war correspondent, she was asking a junior officer for his honest opinion.
“It won’t be easy.”
At least I could offer her some advice.
Though Selvia looked as if she didn’t understand what I meant.
“What do you mean, it won’t be easy? The Empire has effectively won on the Northern Front. We’re also hearing good news from the Eastern Front. At this rate, the Empire will win the war against the Allied Nations.”
“Yes. It certainly will—unless a third country intervenes.”
Selvia didn’t know the horror of a world war.
That was why she could make such carefree statements.
“The Empire is indisputably the foremost of the great powers. What will happen if such an Empire defeats the Allied Nations and seizes their spheres of influence?”
Selvia’s expression grew serious as she listened.
“Naturally, it will be reborn as a hegemonic power. It will stand above all nations…….”
“Yes. If things go well, it may even lay the foundation for dreaming of uniting the world under one rule. The problem is that the other great powers know this as well.”
The great powers feared the Empire growing even stronger than it already was.
They were also wary that the Allied Nations’ destruction could become their own future.
That fear and wariness would soon become the sparks of war, blazing on the side opposite the Empire.
The great powers, sensing the necessity of war, would declare war one after another, and their target would be none other than……
“The Empire will become the enemy of every nation.”
This was precisely why the Empire would ultimately lose to the Allied forces.
“……”
Selvia’s expression sank into deep seriousness.
She appeared to be judging whether what I had said was reasonable.
I had directly contradicted the field-grade officers and generals who claimed that the Empire would surely win, so it must have been quite a shock.
Perhaps she would regard me as a megalomaniac and grow angry.
However, Selvia did not reject my opinion. She accepted it.
“I see. That is one possibility among those that could occur. But, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, how did you arrive at such a deduction…….”
I couldn’t answer Selvia’s question.
I had just happened to spot a cluster of spikes glinting in the sunlight on the road ahead.
‘A spike strip……!’
My mind snapped awake. I hurriedly turned the wheel and entered a side road.
Clatter! Thanks to the sharp turn, Selvia’s body collapsed sideways.
“Ugh!”
Selvia, who had fallen to the side, grabbed my thigh and tried to pull herself up.
At that moment, I grabbed Selvia’s head and forced it down.
“Hngh!? Lieutenant Daniel! What on earth are you—”
Rat-a-tat-tat! Gunfire erupted from all around us, and bullets came flying in.
One bullet slammed into the passenger-side window with a thud.
If it hadn’t been bulletproof glass, it would have been pierced in a single shot.
Only then did Selvia grasp what was happening. She stopped trying to raise her head and ducked down.
“No way……!”
Unfortunately, that no way was exactly right.
The spike trap and the numerous gunshots could mean only one thing.
It was an enemy ambush.