Could It Be That the Company Commander Was Aiming for This?

Lucy’s intuition sounded an alarm.

It warned her that the woman before her was dangerous.

There was a trace of madness in those eyes, as though they could see straight through the other person’s thoughts.

But Lucy did not lose her composure.

What would change simply because she was under suspicion? Nothing.

“Make your meaning clear, Cadet Prien. Are you saying that I have committed a crime? Or are you saying that I’m lying?”

Prien’s pupils trembled once.

She had merely been probing Lucy, half believing her suspicion and half doubting it, but she had not expected Lucy to respond so calmly.

Prien rose and gave an awkward smile.

“Lieutenant? I was merely telling you about my own experiences. According to my experience……”

“I see. Building experience in every matter is important. It gives us a basis for judgment. But where did you gain the ‘experience’ of suspecting others without any grounds or evidence?”

Her words were polite, but bristled with thorns.

Lucy was asking whether Prien’s experience was also what had taught her to treat a superior so rudely.

That was tantamount to insulting the family that had raised Prien and looking down on Prien’s character.

Prien was not unaware of Lucy’s intentions.

Consequently, one of Prien’s eyebrows twitched as she smiled.

Tick─

In the silence that settled over them once again, the sound of the clock’s hour hand echoed hollowly.

In the chilly atmosphere, where it seemed nothing would be strange no matter what happened, the familiar sound of approaching footsteps clicked closer.

The moment Prien reflexively turned around, the office door opened and Daniel entered.

“Captain!”

“You’re back.”

Prien saluted brightly, and Lucy also rose and assumed a saluting posture.

Daniel returned their salutes, then stopped as he was about to relay the Deputy Chief of Staff’s message.

‘What is it?’

Somehow, the air inside the office felt heavy.

‘Is it just my imagination?’

It bothered him a little, but it was not important at the moment, so he decided to let it go.

“Cadet Prien. I discussed your treatment with the Deputy Chief of Staff. Ordinarily, it isn’t permissible for someone who is merely a cadet to go to the battlefield, but he said he would make an exception and allow it this once as part of your training.”

Prien did not seem particularly surprised.

She had already received a firm answer from the Personnel Department, so she had assumed that the Deputy Chief of Staff, who stood above it, would naturally approve it as well.

Even so, receiving Daniel’s approval once more in person was not a bad thing.

“I’ll do my best, Captain Daniel!”

Daniel gave Prien, who spoke triumphantly, a dubious look before turning his gaze toward Lucy.

“And Lieutenant Lucy. It has also been finalized that you’ll join the Northern Army Group as my adjutant. So both of you pack your belongings and prepare to head north. We’ll depart as soon as the personnel are assembled.”

The two women smartly saluted Daniel to indicate that they understood.

When Daniel returned their salutes, Prien slowly turned her gaze toward Lucy.

“By coincidence, it seems we’ll be spending some time together, Lieutenant Lucy.”

Lucy did not avoid Prien’s gaze either, narrowing her eyes sharply.

“I see. What a coincidence indeed.”

Faced with that murderous atmosphere, Daniel could not help but break into a cold sweat.

‘What on earth is wrong with you two?’

He could not understand in the slightest why they were baring their teeth and growling at each other.

*

As soon as the company personnel gathered at General Staff Headquarters, I gave a brief speech, exchanged introductions with the junior officers and NCOs who would become my subordinates, and set out immediately.

……I had wondered what I would do if Lucy and Prien got into a fight on the way to the Northern Army Group, but fortunately, the two never came to blows directly.

Of course, minor clashes did occur from time to time, but whenever they did, I intervened with a pointed look, so their war of nerves never escalated into a shooting accident.

The problem was that during the month-long march to the northern outpost, I had mediated between them countless times, yet the spark of their discord showed no sign of dying out.

“Why don’t you get some sleep if you’re tired? I can handle Lieutenant Lucy’s duties perfectly well.”

“You were born a crow-tit, yet you’re trying to imitate a stork. I’m tempted to praise you for it.”

Sitting in the passenger seat of the officers’ vehicle, I watched Lucy and Prien through the rearview mirror.

Despite their barbed words, both of them wore peaceful expressions.

Prien was even smiling benevolently.

Yet listening to the two of them converse was enough to make me feel suffocated.

Even the driver at the wheel was sneaking glances at the rearview mirror, his face openly asking, ‘Why are they fighting, exactly?’

‘This is hopeless.’

I had reached the point where even mediating their arguments was becoming tiresome.

I sighed and looked out the window, only to realize that the sun was already setting.

“Stop here.”

The driver pressed the brake at my words and asked,

“Are we camping here for the night?”

“Yes.”

The officers’ vehicle gradually slowed to a complete stop.

I opened the door, got out, and surveyed our surroundings.

Among the dense stand of trees with their bare branches, I found a clearing large enough for about two hundred soldiers to lie down.

There was also a water source nearby, so it was not a bad place to obtain drinking water.

More than that, though, the chilly wind seemed to cut through my officer’s winter coat.

I exhaled a frosty breath and furrowed my brow.

‘Even though it’s summer, this place is hardly any different from winter.’

The only difference from the last time I had come north was that the snow had melted to some extent.

No wonder the military high command wanted to end the war before summer passed.

If the weather was already like this in summer, once winter arrived, soldiers would inevitably start dying of frostbite in droves during the march.

‘Even among my soldiers right now…….’

There had been two soldiers who had nearly fallen behind because they could not endure the cold.

They were fine now, though.

I casually turned my head and saw more than two hundred soldiers in Imperial uniforms standing by behind the military vehicles.

The driver walked over to them and conveyed my orders to the platoon commander.

On hearing the order, the platoon commander turned around and shouted loudly.

The soldiers then moved in perfect unison and entered the clearing.

Once inside, they set down their packs, pulled out military tents, and began setting them up.

A few were taking combat rations from the transport truck that had been converted into a food store, preparing the evening meal.

I was standing with my hands clasped behind my back watching them when two platoon commanders strode over to me.

This was perfect timing. I had something to order them to do.

“Lieutenant McCall. Take two swift-footed soldiers and scout the surrounding terrain. There’s a high hill nearby, so climb it and survey the area from there.”

“Yes! Understood!”

McCall saluted at once, called over two soldiers who had been pitching a tent, and disappeared into the forest.

I was thinking I might kill some time, but Sergeant Glendy would not leave me alone.

“Company Commander. Isn’t it a little early to make camp?”

Perhaps he had only recently been promoted to sergeant, because he had quite a young face.

To exaggerate only slightly, he looked so young that he had not yet fully shed the air of a boy.

His face was full of discontent, but I answered as leisurely as possible.

“Sergeant. Don’t you know that preserving the soldiers’ strength is the most important thing on a battlefield?”

“I understand that, but…… We were originally expected to reach the outpost five days ago. We’re already five days past the expected time, so I don’t know if we can afford to take it easy.”

I gave a small nod, meaning for him to continue.

The sergeant faltered, seemingly intimidated, but clenched his fist and spoke.

“Why have we been delayed by five days? Curious, I determined our current position by reading the map, and this place isn’t on a straight-line route from the outpost. I have concluded that you’re deliberately taking a detour, Company Commander.”

Of course. Even when there was a main road, I had deliberately taken side roads, and even when we could use those, I had traveled through rough terrain.

The reason was simple.

‘If we join them even a little later, we can be deployed to the battlefield later.’

If we joined quickly, we would merely start fighting and dying sooner.

Was he incapable of understanding such obvious logic?

Then again, Sergeant Glendy was the sort of fanatic who eagerly offered his life for the Empire.

He was not as extreme as Prien, but he was still a case of having had his mind somewhat poisoned by nationalist ideals.

Feeling sorry for him, I let out a laugh, which made Sergeant Glendy bristle.

“Company Commander! Are you laughing right now? I hadn’t intended to mention this, but even the soldiers suspect you! Since you’re a bookish Headquarters officer, people are openly saying that you’re a coward avoiding the battlefield!”

It was music to my ears.

The lower my reputation fell, the less likely Headquarters would be to assign me operational support.

Of course, I could not reveal what I was really thinking, so I decided to offer a suitable excuse.

“When you become fixated on a tree, you fail to see the forest. Even if I explain the forest to someone whose eyes are fixed only on a tree, they won’t understand. That is your limitation, Sergeant Glendy.”

“What on earth is that supposed to mean……?”

While Sergeant Glendy stood there dumbfounded, Lieutenant McCall returned from the other side of the forest.

He had finished scouting and come back.

But for some reason, his face was flushed.

Just as I was wondering what had happened, Lieutenant McCall approached me and spoke in a voice trembling with excitement.

“Company Commander! I-I found it! The enemy supply unit is preparing to make camp! As far as I know, even the Intelligence Department couldn’t identify their supply route with certainty……! So you really have been circling the area and searching for this all along!”

……What was he talking about? Why on earth would the enemy supply unit be here?

While I was dumbfounded, a spark lit up in Sergeant Glendy’s eyes.

“Is that really true? Could it be that you were aiming for this from the very beginning, Company Commander……?”

The discontent on Sergeant Glendy’s face gave way to awe.

“I’m sorry! I was rude!”

I was left dumbfounded as I watched Sergeant Glendy bow his head as though begging forgiveness.

Just as I was beginning to feel that things were taking a strange turn, I met Prien’s eyes nearby.

The respect shining in her eyes was truly burdensome.

On top of that, even the two platoon commanders regarded me as some kind of genius staff officer.

I felt as though I had crossed a river from which there was no return.

If I ordered them not to attack the enemy here, these nationalist fanatics might beat me up as a group…….

With no choice, I grabbed the brim of my uniform cap.

“Pass this on to the entire force.”

Pulling my uniform cap down firmly, I said with a discreet sigh,

“……Tell them to prepare to wipe out those rats.”