MDHO 16

Chapter 16

“Training’s intense…”

Watching Karon’s new recruit training that lasted a whole week, Ishina, who was polishing her sword beside me, muttered in a worried voice.

“Indeed it is.”

I nodded beside her, agreeing with her words.

“Ah, I left the rag behind. I’ll go get it.”

“Alright, understood.”

Ishina got up, and I continued polishing my sword while glancing toward Karon, who was training in the drill yard.

It was the same training we had gone through, but without other recruits, Karon was training alone. And I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Training alone would certainly be incredibly lonely, but in a way, it was a relief that there were no fellow recruits to bear collective responsibility for mistakes.

I suddenly thought of my dead comrades and bit my lip hard.

“Kal, Linia, and…”

No, I shouldn’t think about that. To survive here, I have to forget everything.

“Why? Are you uncomfortable?”

“Oh, no.”

Aquila asked, peering into my face, and I shook my head. He was incredibly perceptive.

“Aquila, what do you think about the new recruits?”

“…I don’t really think much of it.”

“Come on~ But it’s your subordinate!”

I wrapped my arm around his and teased him to say something. He pursed and parted his lips as if debating what to say.

“…I don’t think they’ll last long.”

“Even if the training is tough?”

“It was tough for us too.”

“Hmm, actually, the dragons and the first-grade monsters Ishina encountered were exceptional cases. Normally, you wouldn’t meet a first-grade monster on your first hunt.”

In the original story, Aquila and Karon were fairly close.

As in most reverse harem stories, Aquila and Winter, who competed for Dalin, didn’t get along well, while Ishina, though secretly manipulative, presented a kind exterior, so on the surface they seemed fine.

Karon was the only one who clung to Aquila with a cheerful smile.

Of course, that was partly because he had taken on a role similar to Dalin’s younger brother rather than as a rival for love.

Anyway, given Aquila’s personality, he would not have ignored Karon, his subordinate, in the original story, regardless of whether Karon lived or died.

“So, Aquila, you have no intention of helping your subordinate?”

“What could we do to help?”

“Well~ maybe~?”

“…Do you want him to live?”

“Yes, I think I’d feel bad if he died.”

“…Alright, so don’t make that face.”

Aquila put both hands on my cheeks, which were pouting, and the warmth made my facial muscles relax.

“Hey, guys…”

The moment Ishina’s voice returned from behind, Aquila quickly withdrew his hands, and I returned my head to its original position.

“If you act like that, you might cause misunderstandings…”

“Oh, that wasn’t my intention! I’ll correct it!”

I responded awkwardly with a laugh, and Ishina smiled and nodded.

“Yes, Sarubia. Of course, you didn’t mean anything by it.”

Then he turned to Aquila and asked gently,

“Right, Aquila?”

“…Yes.”

‘Are they getting along or not?’

Normally, Aquila and Ishina got along well, giving the impression of a decent senior-junior relationship, but sometimes Aquila seemed uneasy around Ishina.

‘Ah, maybe he sensed Ishina’s secret manipulative side?’

He may have noticed that beneath her kind exterior, she was a ruthless, cold-hearted person! Even though it was a secret from the original story!

I decided to ask Aquila about Ishina later and continued polishing my sword.

“Sarubia, where’s Winter?”

“Elliot sent him on an errand.”

“Is that so? Then come here.”

Plato gestured to me, and I ran as fast as I could toward him.

Beside Plato, Karon sat upright with perfect posture.

“Hey, this recruit finished a week of basic training and needs to start learning unit duties. Take him and teach him how to wash his clothes.”

“Yes, understood.”

Being a senior for the first time made my heart race. Finally, I was escaping this awful life as the lowest-ranking recruit. When I gestured, Karon followed behind me with sparkling eyes.

The laundry room was empty.

“Hello, Karon. I’m Sarubia from the 390th class. I’m your senior and Aquila’s classmate.”

“Ah, hello, sir!”

“You know who Aquila is, right? Black hair, orange eyes, uses fire aura—like in basic sword training before.”

“Yes! I remember!”

Karon, surprisingly, communicated well. He responded well and had sparkling eyes, with brown curly hair and brown eyes, making him seem a little like a cute puppy.

Though his memories weren’t fully intact, aside from his overly innocent personality, there wasn’t much to worry about.

From what I could see, Karon seemed to know basic common sense.

‘How did the previous seniors manage such a cute kid?’

I taught him laundry from start to finish, then patted his head.

‘…Ah, he’s taller than I thought.’

It was a bit awkward to reach his head, but I hid my discomfort.

When I placed my hand on his head, Karon smiled brightly, like a dog that liked everyone.

“You’ve been having a hard time lately, huh?”

“Hmm, but it’s still better than being outside.”

His response was unexpected.

“…Really?”

“Yes! Here, we get full meals, sleep comfortably, and it’s warm!”

‘…Did he live on the streets or something?’

Karon didn’t seem too troubled by the border guard life, thankfully.

‘At least there won’t be any desertions…’

In the original story, he was a secondary male lead, so mentally, he was quite resilient.

I sighed in relief, thinking he would adapt well.

…If only I hadn’t heard someone sniffling in the laundry that night.

Late at night, returning from the bathroom, I heard someone quietly sniffling in the laundry room and froze for a moment, half-asleep.

‘No matter how I think about it, that’s definitely Karon.’

Damn, adapting to a strange environment with incomplete memories would be overwhelming.

‘…Better if I just comfort him.’

Leaving him to cry alone might be better for him. I was one of the burdensome seniors after all.

But if a recruit got caught crying alone in the laundry at midnight…

‘We’re screwed. All of us are screwed.’

A chill ran down my spine, and without hesitation, I entered the laundry room.

“Sa-Sarubia?!”

Startled, Karon jumped as if he had seen a ghost, his crying face turning even more miserable.

“Shh, quiet.”

Hiccup!

Karon began hiccuping, trying to cover his mouth, but his body continued to shake.

When I first heard him cry, I just felt a little pity and worry about being caught by other seniors, but seeing him really cry made me uneasy.

Tears soaked his face, reddening his eyes and cheeks.

“Karon, come here.”

“Yes, sir!”

He ran to me, terrified.

I opened my arms and hugged him tightly.

He seemed tense, expecting scolding, but as I held him quietly, he gradually relaxed.

‘…He’s bigger than I thought.’

Though I was buried against him, I continued to hold him.

…Does Karon not realize his own size? If this goes on, I feel like I might suffocate.

“Just a little cry, then stop, okay?”

“Ah, sniff…”

Like when someone tries to comfort a crying child, his tears poured even more as I held him.

“Sniff, hic…”

“Well… even if I say it’ll get easier, it won’t help much…”

I didn’t ask why he was crying, just listened to his hiccups.

“Sniff…”

“You can rely on me a bit. Just don’t act silly in front of the others, but you can make mistakes around me.”

I patted his back like comforting a child. Slowly, his sobs began to subside.

“Aww, our youngest, all done crying?”

I teased him, and he stiffened as if shocked. Feeling embarrassed, I removed my arms from around him while still patting his back.

‘…Ah, right.’

In the original story, Karon saw Sarubia as his only family because he never had one.

‘Like many Arcons.’

I jokingly treated Karon like a child, but had he ever been treated like one?

If the original Sarubia had at least some sense of care, she would never ignore Karon.

And now, I would be following the path of the original Sarubia.

“Aww, our cute youngest.”

I continued patting his back diligently.

‘…This is definitely a childcare story.’

Though Karon was only a year younger and bigger than me, his incomplete memories and innocent personality made him feel much younger.

Some childcare stories didn’t have the heroine become a baby; instead, she cared for a young child and married the cold duke, the child’s father.

‘Wow, I’m the childcare heroine now… but I didn’t expect it to happen in the military.’

Even if I cared for Karon, the father wouldn’t suddenly appear as the male lead…

Military life, apocalypse, and childcare? This is a genre overload…

And there’s no romance, unbelievable.

“Our youngest, let’s go inside, okay?”

Of course, I would continue taking care of Karon.

‘The idiots of the Adolbe Empire treat our Arcons like dog food.’

Joining the army made me realize how surprising it was that this country functioned at all!

The supposedly systematic defense system was actually quite sloppy.

I was always amazed that the country worked at all. A mass strike and it would collapse instantly.

I grumbled about the awful border guard system while comforting Karon.

“Do you think you can sleep now?”

“Y-Yes, I can sleep!”

“Hmm, because some monsters capture humans who stay up late. Since we’re near the mountains, we need to sleep early.”

“I-I don’t believe that…!”

But Karon’s pupils were genuinely shaken, and I had to force a smile.

“Pfft…! Okay, go inside and sleep. Got it?”

“Y-Yes!”

Entering the female dormitory, a clear voice rang out in the dark room.

“Sarubia, you’re back?”

“I-I just went to the bathroom…”

“Oh? But you opened the door too loudly and woke me up.”

I could imagine April’s expression without seeing her. Ah, that crazy girl again…

“Headbutt, now.”

Lying my head on the cold floor in the middle of the night, I reminded myself that just one subordinate coming in didn’t mean my time as the lowest recruit was over.

‘Damn it, let’s survive first…’