Chapter 8
Upon hearing that the number of applicants had surpassed two thousand, I asked the organization officer in despair.
I meant why the notice I had written was considered a well-written notice.
The organization officer laughed and explained.
He even spread out his fingers as he spoke.
1. As the war with the Allied Nations dragged on, the children of parents who died on the battlefield grew into adults and enlisted in droves, their hearts burning with a desire for revenge.
2. The notice written by Acting Operations Staff Officer Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was like pouring oil on the vengeful fury of soldiers who had lost their parents, so the number of applicants naturally had to increase.
3. Besides, the battlefield was the Northern Front, where the Imperial Army had seized the initiative. It was judged that quite a few soldiers had applied hoping to make a name for themselves and get their share on a favorable battlefield.
4. The wording that depicted the rear as parasites must have provoked the soldiers’ rebellious spirits. Some of them had probably taken the notice seriously and applied for the sake of honor.
5. Even setting aside the logical deductions mentioned above, there was something about Lieutenant Daniel’s notice that stirred the hearts of men.
The organization officer, holding up all five fingers on one hand, added that I had a talent for propaganda and that I should tell him anytime if I wished to transfer to the Personnel Department.
I answered his offer of a new position with an awkward smile, sent the organization officer away, and ordered the soldiers to sort through the paperwork.
As a matter of common sense, I couldn’t reject more than two thousand applicants, so it was as good as certain that I would be going to the Northern Front.
In that case, the best course of action was to select soldiers who were as normal and elite as possible from among the applicants and ensure my safety.
Anyone with even a minor criminal record was excluded.
Anyone whose sole reason for applying was revenge was also excluded.
Anyone with impure ideas or who appeared mentally unsound was excluded as well.
Anyone who had disobeyed a superior’s orders even once during training was excluded.
Anyone who had failed to achieve a perfect score on the shooting test was excluded.
Anyone without an aptitude for magic was excluded.
After filtering the applications in the first round, 327 applicants remained.
I narrowed them down further and further, selecting twenty platoon members with excellent grades and exemplary military records, then sent them notices of acceptance.
Ten days had passed since I sent out the acceptance notices.
I was standing before them.
“……”
At the fountain in front of General Staff Headquarters’ main entrance, our meeting place, the platoon members I had selected stood in ten ranks, and I felt an inexplicable pressure from them.
Their eyes were especially frightening.
To exaggerate only slightly, their eyes held the iron resolve of men who would follow an order to launch a suicide charge without a word of complaint.
‘Even though they’re men I selected myself…… Could they be lacking in humanity?’
I was sweating cold enough to feel it trickling down my back.
Of course, not every member of the platoon was acting like a war machine devoid of humanity.
There was one woman blinking her clear eyes among all those sturdy men.
‘Prien Remiliat.’
She was the woman I had met in the detention cell, and a named NPC who would eventually become the Empire’s Saint.
Apparently, she had completed training camp without any major trouble, because she was now wearing the rank insignia of a private.
I had selected her without giving it much thought because she was on the applicant list, but watching Prien send me bright-eyed looks amid soldiers burning with fighting spirit made me think of a clear-eyed lunatic.
Had I made a mistake by selecting her? I stared at Prien warily and cleared my throat.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, soldiers.”
It was a commander’s duty to explain at least a brief outline of the mission before departure.
I was about to fulfill that duty.
All the while, I hoped that my platoon members would become frightened and run away.
“As you saw in the notice, I’m Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, the acting operations staff officer, and your platoon commander. In case you missed it in the notice, let me say it again: I have no combat experience.”
Even after I told them that I might be incompetent, there wasn’t the slightest stir among them.
Good. So you’re going to endure this, are you? Then I’ll come down even harder.
“Therefore, do not expect a competent commander from me. All I desire is the destruction of the Allied Nations and the screams of the barbarians who belong to them.”
I was trying to make it clear that I had no particular grasp of tactics or strategy.
Any normal soldier should have felt fear at that point.
Yet, for some reason, fierce smiles blossomed across the platoon members’ faces.
I stared at them in silence for a moment, then snapped at them warningly.
“I have no need of cowards. Therefore, your only chance to flee from the blood-soaked battlefield is now. Anyone who wishes to abandon the mission, raise your hand.”
As I had expected, not a single person raised a hand.
These men really weren’t in their right minds.
After sighing inwardly, I spoke one last time.
“Good! You fools who intend to challenge death! I’ll personally help you do so. Your sweat and blood will bring glory to the Empire!”
No sooner had I finished speaking than the soldiers raised a salute.
“Glory to the Empire!”
Their voices rang out in unison, loud enough to blanket General Staff Headquarters.
Seeing them like that, I secretly groaned and closed my eyes.
‘This is driving me crazy…….’
They really were war fanatics, plain and simple.
*
Four days later.
Temporary Forward Base of the 307th Special Operations Task Force, Northern Front.
‘Was today the day the reinforcements from the unit directly under General Staff Headquarters were due to arrive?’
While resting in a military barracks, Captain Heinz Schmidt, company commander of the 307th Special Operations Task Force, reached into his pocket and pulled out the notice he had seen the other day.
『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!
‘……It feels like I’m looking at madness.’
Since joining the Special Operations Task Force, Heinz prided himself on having witnessed every kind of madness through assassinations, the elimination of high-ranking figures, and counterterrorism operations, but even this notice was unfamiliar to him.
‘It’s as if this isn’t recruiting comrades to fight alongside……’
It seemed to be asking for disposable parts to use and throw away for the sake of the Empire.
‘Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, was it?’
His adjutant had told him that Daniel was a talented officer who had recently earned three remarkable military achievements and been given an accelerated promotion to lieutenant.
Despite that, the fact that he had volunteered for the Northern Front without being satisfied with his promotion could only mean one thing.
‘A warmonger obsessed with promotion……!’
Lieutenant Daniel Steiner seemed to be the kind of person who would use his allies without mercy or compassion if it meant securing his own promotion.
Troubled by that thought, Heinz unconsciously tightened his grip, then shook his head.
‘One shouldn’t judge a person based on rumors alone.’
There was no way to know what someone truly thought without experiencing them firsthand.
Just as he was steeling himself, a soldier entered through the barracks entrance and saluted.
“Company commander! The reinforcements sent by General Staff Headquarters have arrived!”
Heinz nodded at the report.
“Understood. I’ll go take a look.”
Heinz slipped the notice back into his pocket and rose from his seat.
He then glanced at the girl nearby, who was leisurely reading a book, but she seemed completely absorbed in it, so he saw no reason to speak to her.
He showed the girl courtesy by lowering his head once, then opened the barracks door and stepped outside.
As his eyes adjusted to the bright light, he saw a lone platoon moving across the snow-covered ground.
The twenty soldiers exuded an intensely imposing air, creating an oppressive feeling wherever they went.
The Special Operations Task Force officers and soldiers passing nearby even hesitated and stepped backward.
At the head of those war-machine-like soldiers was none other than Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.
His haggard eyes, so devoid of emotion that they seemed almost lifeless, flashed as he stared straight ahead.
…….
…….
When their eyes met, Heinz felt his body stiffen for some reason.
Daniel, who had been frowning, realized that the man before him was the commander of this unit and immediately saluted.
When Heinz returned the salute, tense as he was, Daniel approached with a faint smile.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Captain Heinz Schmidt.”
“……You know my name?”
“Yes. I looked into the unit I would be joining, at least in broad strokes. It’s a unit that has carried out several impressive missions. I think I understand why I was sent here.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. It must have been difficult getting here. Aren’t you tired? Your soldiers must also be worn out from the journey.”
Daniel let out a low laugh and shook his head.
“Those suicide hopefuls? I’ve watched them for several days, and they never seem to tire, so don’t worry.”
At the words ‘suicide hopefuls,’ Heinz broke into a cold sweat.
‘As expected…… Does he really regard his soldiers as mere expendable supplies?’
In reality, Daniel had only been joking to lighten the heavy atmosphere, but Heinz, already trapped by his preconceptions, began to see Daniel as some sort of demon.
“……Captain Heinz?”
Daniel, of course, had no idea what was going through his mind and tilted his head at Heinz’s stiff expression.
“What’s the commotion?”
The entrance to the barracks behind Heinz opened, and a blonde girl stepped outside.
Wearing a pure-white blouse with a red brooch at her neck, she was unmistakably a young lady from a noble family.
Daniel naturally turned his gaze, but when his eyes met the girl’s, he flinched and closed his mouth.
Seeing that, Heinz began to introduce the girl.
“Ah. This lady volunteered to join our unit as a war correspondent. She arrived a few days ago and said she wanted to capture the Imperial Army’s exploits on camera.”
Despite Heinz’s explanation, Daniel could not take his eyes off the girl.
Aware of his gaze, the girl gave Daniel a radiant smile.
At the same time, Daniel felt as though every cell in his body had frozen solid.
‘This woman is a war correspondent?’
No. Absolutely not.
As far as Daniel knew, the woman before him was a member of the imperial family.
‘Why are you here?’
The heir to the imperial throne who would eventually ascend to the throne of the Empire.
Selvia von Amberg.
That was the true identity of the girl.