MG42 (3)

The visitor’s permit Captain Hardenberg had obtained came with conditions.

For Her Highness’s safety, she was to observe live-fire exercises only. She was not to interfere with the soldiers’ training.

They weren’t particularly troublesome conditions.

We visited a battalion of the 4th Guards Infantry Regiment stationed on the outskirts of Berlin. Red-brick barracks, a broad parade ground, stables, and storehouses stood in rows, and from early morning soldiers had been drilling, changing formation to shouted commands.

Once word spread that I had arrived, the entire parade ground seemed to stiffen excessively.

The soldiers swung their arms higher, and the officers seemed to raise their voices more than usual. Even the veins stood out on the neck of the NCO calling the commands.

“It seems like they’re pushing themselves harder than usual just because I’m here.”

“They’re working harder than usual, so isn’t that a good thing in the end?”

Well, I’d done the same in my previous life whenever a general was coming to inspect our unit—I worked harder just so I wouldn’t get criticized. How much harder would they work just because a princess had come? I decided to let it go.

On the first morning, I observed basic platoon and squad training. The soldiers moved in close formation, then spread out at a command and formed up again at another...