Chapter 7
After the long journey back from the Vardenplatz Plains to General Staff Headquarters, I got out of the car, every inch of me proclaiming how exhausted I was.
‘I’m going to die…….’
Aside from meals and lodging, I’d been on the road for nearly three days straight.
For someone like me, who had always found the physical fitness tests at the military academy especially grueling, it was an absurd ordeal.
That was why I had wanted to avoid inspecting the eastern region if possible, but after hearing that oil had gushed out, I had no choice but to inspect it so I could see it with my own eyes.
In the end, the black liquid discovered in the Vardenplatz Plains really was oil.
‘Well…… of course.’
Unless the logistics personnel were idiots, they couldn’t possibly fail to distinguish sewage from oil.
Even so, I had gone on the inspection to cool headquarters’ interest in me, if only a little.
Rather than sitting nonchalantly in the Operations Staff Office as if discovering oil were nothing extraordinary, running around to confirm whether it was real would make me seem more like a rookie.
Not that it would tarnish my military achievements.
After sighing, I loosened my tie and headed toward the headquarters building.
I wanted to collapse onto my bed in the barracks immediately, but as long as I was a soldier, I couldn’t skip my return report.
*
“Ah! Lieutenant Daniel Steiner! Welcome back.”
When I entered the Chief of Operations Staff’s office and saluted, Ernst welcomed me with a benevolent smile.
I mustn’t be fooled by that benevolent smile. Keeping my salute, I began to speak.
“I will report! As a result of my inspection of the Vardenplatz Plains on the rear line of the Eastern Front……”
“You found oil, of course. Headquarters, not to mention the citizens of the Empire, already know that, so there’s no need to report it separately. That’s enough, so make yourself comfortable.”
Since I had been given permission, I no longer needed to salute.
I lowered my hand smartly and assumed the parade-rest position.
“Lately, everyone has been full of praise for you, Lieutenant. The higher-ups are the same. You found an oil deposit. This is an achievement that neither I nor even the most exalted people have managed to accomplish.”
“You’re too kind.”
It really was excessive praise. I hadn’t found it because I wanted to.
However, perhaps thinking I was merely being humble, Ernst let out a low chuckle.
“There have been many suggestions that we grant you another accelerated promotion. I agree with them. However, some people have opposed it, so things haven’t proceeded smoothly.”
“……Opposed?”
“Yes. They claim that we can’t give someone without any combat experience two accelerated promotions in such a short time, but in my view, they seem to harbor resentment toward your background.”
Ernst was speaking indirectly, but it seemed that several members of the military high command had argued that they shouldn’t give an orphan like me any more support than this.
I understood.
Although the Kingdom of Bavaria had abolished discrimination based on social status when it changed its name to the ‘Holy Bavarian Empire,’ the remnants of that system still ran deep.
At present, most figures in the political and business worlds came from noble families, and some regions were still referred to as baronies and counties.
In such an age, when the ban on status-based discrimination existed in name only, it was only natural that they wouldn’t look favorably upon an orphan who had accumulated military achievements.
If I hadn’t awakened the memories of my past life, I would have bristled at that, but now they looked like nothing more than people I had reason to be grateful to.
They were going to keep me from being promoted? I almost wanted to prostrate myself before them.
“If that is the upper command’s opinion, I will comply.”
When I spoke calmly despite suffering no real setback, Ernst looked me over with undisguised admiration.
“I expected you to get angry, but you’re remarkable. I see—this is what it means to be a model soldier. I understand why Brigadier General Heinrich holds you in such high regard.”
After letting out a hearty laugh, Ernst suddenly looked at me with a serious expression.
“In a proper society, a person with a high evaluation ought to hold a rank befitting it. Don’t you agree, Lieutenant?”
The atmosphere made me feel as though refusing wasn’t an option, so I nodded.
“That’s right.”
“I’m glad our opinions align. In that spirit, go to the Northern Front and return.”
……The Northern Front? What was he talking about all of a sudden? It was so out of the blue that I paused for a moment before hurriedly opening my mouth.
“The Northern Front?”
“Yes. As you know, the tide of victory on the Northern Front has turned in our favor. That means it’s the perfect time for you to distinguish yourself. Go there, earn one more achievement, and return. If what the higher-ups want is combat experience, there’s no reason we can’t give it to you, is there?”
Ernst was obliquely telling me that he had pulled some strings for my sake, but none of it resonated with me at all.
Anyone who wanted to be discharged would want to scream upon suddenly being told, ‘Go to the front lines, do some fighting, and come back.’
Even so, I couldn’t let my feelings show, so I asked carefully.
“Is this a transfer of assignment? Will I be attached to a unit on the Northern Front……?”
“Of course not. You’ll be sent out to support a unit directly under headquarters. You’ll gain combat experience there and return immediately afterward. Then Brigadier General Heinrich and I will push for your accelerated promotion.”
As if telling me I could look forward to it, Ernst leaned his upper body forward and whispered.
“Once that happens, you’ll no longer be the acting operations staff officer. You’ll be the operations staff officer. You’ll even have an aide, so your work will be much easier than it is now.”
In short, he had set the stage for me and was telling me to suffer for a little while before coming back.
I wanted to shout, Why are you moving things forward on your own!? But the gulf in rank was far too great for that.
Even so, it wasn’t as if there were no way out.
“Chief of Operations Staff, I’m curious about how the unit directly under headquarters will be organized.”
“Considering your current rank, it will be a platoon-sized unit.”
“In that case, may I personally select the personnel assigned to it?”
“Personally?” Ernst blinked several times with his eyes wide, then clasped his hands together.
“I don’t see why not. Where are you thinking of drawing the personnel from?”
“The front is already suffering from a manpower shortage, so I intend to select mostly from the rear.”
“Do you have any particular personnel in mind?”
“No. I’ll draft a notice, accept applications, and select the personnel from among the applicants. The opportunity to distinguish oneself on the battlefield should be available equally to everyone.”
Apparently pleased by my answer, Ernst nodded with undisguised admiration.
“Good idea. Proceed that way.”
“Understood.”
After saluting Ernst, I left the Chief of Operations Staff’s office, went to my desk, and sat down.
Immediately afterward, I took out a fountain pen and drafted the recruitment notice.
『Recruitment Notice for Northern Front Volunteers』
All personnel, hear this!
A fierce battle is currently raging in the north to protect the noble soil of our homeland!
Therefore, I seek those willing to sacrifice their lives for the Empire!
You there! Do not live to covet the Empire’s grain; die and become the foundation of the Empire’s glory!
Join me, and destroy, ravage, and eliminate the enemy until the day we die!
We shall desire nothing but the deaths of our enemies!
Number of Recruits
• 20 Northern Front volunteers
Eligibility
• Those willing to offer their hearts to the Empire
• Those who do not expect to return alive from combat
• Those who wish to aid the Empire even if they die tomorrow
Commander
• Operations Staff Officer, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner
• Has no combat experience, but is devoted to the Empire more than anyone
May glory belong to the Empire!
The Holy Bavarian Empire
General Staff Headquarters Front Support Force Recruitment Office
‘Perfect!’
It was a masterpiece.
There wasn’t a single word about returning alive; it emphasized nothing but death!
Since the essence of human nature was the desire to keep living, there couldn’t possibly be anyone who wanted to die for the Empire.
On top of that, I had explicitly stated that the commander had no combat experience, so what fool would apply?
If the soldiers living well and eating well in the warm rear saw this, they would obviously scoff.
Then the application rate would plummet, and I could simply reject the handful of applicants with one excuse or another.
Ernst would have no choice but to withdraw his plan to send me to the Northern Front.
With my accelerated promotion off the table, it would be killing two birds with one stone! After that, all I had to do was hole up at General Staff Headquarters and find a way to get dishonorably discharged.
‘Genius!’
I smiled in satisfaction, took the notice, and headed for the personnel department.
*
The next day.
I came to work as usual and was reviewing the day’s affairs when the door opened with a polite knock.
When I looked up, the personnel department’s organization officer approached me with a file in hand.
“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner? About that notice you asked me to send to the rear units yesterday……”
Judging by the fact that the organization officer held nothing but a single file, there appeared to be no applicants at all—or very few.
I smiled inwardly, thinking it had worked better than expected, but I couldn’t show that in front of the organization officer, so I put on an outwardly disappointed expression.
“It seems there are no soldiers willing to devote themselves to the Empire after all. I’m disappointed.”
“Hm? No, it’s the opposite.”
Just as I was wondering what he meant by ‘the opposite,’ the organization officer clapped twice.
“Come in.”
Five soldiers came in, groaning beneath a mountain of application forms piled in their arms.
“Congratulations. The number of applicants surpassed 2,176 in a single day. There doesn’t seem to be any need to recruit more, so I came to find you. I thought it was a good notice, but I never expected this.”
The organization officer laughed as he praised me, but—
‘Then why on earth is anyone applying……?’
I could only stare in utter disbelief.