MDHO 19

Chapter 19

“It’s got to be a romance fantasy development, right? Winter keeps glancing at me for no reason, then helps me little by little until he realizes his feelings and falls in love! It’s got to be that kind of story!”

I looked at Winter with great expectations.

“I only did what needed to be done. It’d be troublesome if I got promoted and had to manage useless recruits. And judging talent at a glance isn’t exactly difficult for me.”

…Yeah, of course. So much for romance fantasy.

For a moment, I’d hoped that my life might suddenly turn into a sweet, novel-like military romance — like the heroine’s army in the original story — now that the “romance plotline” seemed to be starting.
But no. Not a chance. Damn it.

Just then, Aquila came over, wiping the sweat from his forehead caused by the heat radiating from his own aura.

“Sarubia.”

“Good job, Aquila!”

“Come here for a second.”

“Why?”

I trotted after him, and only after we were far enough from Winter and Altair did Aquila finally speak.

“Take care of Caron. Looks like he scraped himself on a rock.”

“What? Our youngest got hurt?”

Oh my god!
I quickly spotted Caron in the distance and ran straight to him.

‘Still, it’s nice that Aquila’s looking out for Caron these days.’

Yes, that was a good sign!

While Sarubia was fussing over Caron in the distance, Altair glanced at her back and teased Winter in a playful voice.

“Wow, what’s this? You actually care about a newbie?”

“Care is a strong word…”

“Oh, I get it. You just thoroughly observe all your subordinates, right?”

Altair cut him off and continued.

“I mean, sure, you’re a perfectionist who keeps an eye on everyone in the unit, but you never show it. So why’d you bother to give her advice about shooting? You knew she’d mess up.”

“If I’d let her keep using the sword, she would’ve died.”

Winter answered in his usual flat tone.

But Altair didn’t give up. He kept staring hard at Winter and pressed on.

“Come on, man, I know you’ve been watching Sarubia closely. Stop pretending otherwise. We’ve known each other for years — can’t you be honest for once?”

Winter hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

“Her eyes.”

“Huh? Her eyes?”

“Her gaze was different from the others.”

Winter recalled the way Sarubia had looked at him.

Most new recruits either feared him or felt awkward around him. If he so much as spoke to them first, they’d look at him like they’d just seen a ghost.

But Sarubia was different.

Whenever Winter trained hard, drenched in sweat, or even when he got chewed out by seniors, she would look at him not with fear, but with a baffled expression — almost like she found him ridiculous.

Someone as observant as Winter couldn’t possibly miss that.

“She seems… a bit bold.”

He’d guessed Sarubia wasn’t the type to be intimidated by her seniors — or maybe just wasn’t afraid of anything at all.

It was only natural that her gaze caught his attention over and over again.

And that, in turn, was why Winter ended up discovering her talent.

“Is that enough of an answer for you?”

“Hmm, yeah… I guess that’ll do!”

Altair grinned cheerfully, but Winter gave him a sidelong look and said in a low voice,

“Alright. What’s your real point?”

“Oh, right, the main point~.”

Altair’s playful expression suddenly turned serious.

“…Didn’t Sarubia’s eyes look kinda crazy just now when she was shooting? I see that exact same look every day in Lady April.”

Winter fell silent.

The image of Sarubia holding the gun surfaced in his mind.

Altair’s description was surprisingly accurate.

Sarubia’s golden eyes usually carried a soft, gentle warmth — but when she held a gun, they blazed with a fierce light, as if she could wipe out every monster on the battlefield right then and there.

“…She does seem to be going a bit insane by the day…”

“See? That’s what I mean. She’s technically my junior, but you never know what people like her might do. Always keep your guard up.”

Altair’s tone held genuine concern this time.

Winter had thought his observation of Sarubia ended when he advised her to use a gun.
But somehow, he felt instinctively that he’d have to keep watching her from now on.

D-2739 until discharge.

After that, my military life went… relatively smoothly.

Of course, “military life” and “smooth” don’t really belong in the same sentence, but compared to before, things weren’t too bad.

We fought class 2 and 3 monsters, shared collective punishments whenever someone messed up, trained from dawn till dusk, and took turns handling every menial task imaginable — the usual grind.

Recently, my senior, Cannon from the 84th batch, was killed by a class 2 monster.
But honestly, death wasn’t anything surprising here.
Only one death in five months? That was practically a miracle.

“Caron, you know your junior arrives today, right?”

“Oh, I almost forgot!”

“Aww, I thought our baby would be the youngest forever. Can’t believe it’s already been three months…”

Three months since Caron enlisted. He’d survived long enough to finally receive his first junior.

‘I wonder if he can act like a proper senior though.’

Caron, who always wore a goofy grin, hardly seemed capable of acting dignified in front of new recruits — but since I was around to help him, things would probably work out.

“Alright! One hour break! If you’ve finished your tasks, rest up!”

After running fifty laps around the parade ground, Lieutenant Louise finally gave us the long-awaited command.
I gulped down water until my throat burned and wiped my wet mouth with my sleeve.

“They’re probably letting us rest because the new recruits arrive today.”

An hour’s rest might not seem like much, but in this hellhole of a border defense unit, it was precious.
Smiling brightly, I headed toward the barracks.

“Did we finish the laundry? And the training ground cleanup?”

“Yes, Blair, all done!”

“Really? Then we can actually rest.”

Even Blair — that sadistic training officer who loved tormenting newbies — looked pleased.
Truly, human kindness is inversely proportional to workload.

‘Nap. I’m taking a nap.’

I was going to heal my shredded body and soul with the magic of a good nap.

Trying not to look too excited, I opened the door to the barracks — and froze.

“…Huh?”

“Sarubia, that’s the new recruit. Help her unpack and find some clothes that fit.”

“…Ah! Yes, sir!”

It was a female recruit!

The new girl, with twin braids of red hair, looked stiff with fear. Her eyes were wet, and her shoulders tense.

“What’s your name, rookie?”

“R-Reina!”

“Nice to meet you, Reina. I’m Sarubia — two batches ahead of you.”

I smiled and held out my hand. Reina hesitated, then awkwardly shook it.

“Your bunk’s to my left. We’re about the same size, right?”

“I-I think so!”

“I’ll get you some basic supplies. Just hang tight.”

I was honestly thrilled.
There were so few women in this unit!
And being the youngest in the women’s barracks meant I got stuck doing all the chores.

‘Still, she’s my junior. I should take good care of her.’

While I was fussing over Reina, helping her get settled, Yuri called me over with a displeased look.

“Yuri?”

“Sarubia, be careful.”

Her voice sounded tired, her dark circles deeper than ever.

“I told you not to get attached.”

“Well… but if I take care of her—”

“You’re already struggling to look after your junior. Don’t pile more on yourself.”

Her words cut through my sentence like a knife.

Yuri still refused to acknowledge Caron, never even called him by name.
She still believed he’d only survived thanks to Aquila and me.

“Don’t get attached. Watch her quietly for a while. Until you’re sure, assume she’s someone who’ll die soon.”

I glanced toward April, who was watching us from her bed with that same unreadable smile.

“…Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

That’s what I said — but I had no intention of keeping my distance from Reina.

‘We’re all strong species, right? If we work hard enough, we can survive… can’t we?’

Yeah. That’s what I thought back then.

Exactly one week later, I realized that having more juniors wasn’t always a good thing.

Unlike the seniors who had already adapted, new recruits hadn’t — which meant more people for us to take collective punishment for.

After a week of rookie training, the newbies finally joined our drills.

Four new recruits — not a lot, not a little. Three men, one woman.

And every time a rookie fell behind during training, the whole unit suffered.

‘Damn it, I barely have energy for myself, let alone babysitting them.’

Reina wasn’t particularly weak — in fact, she was smart and agile.

But Yuri still didn’t trust her.
Until Reina survived several monster subjugations, Yuri wasn’t going to acknowledge her existence.

‘No, she’ll be fine. She’s hardworking… she’ll live. Yeah… she’ll live…’

That’s what I kept telling myself — even as I sighed deeply.

In the end, despite my initial resolve, I couldn’t give Reina much help, nor could I be sure she’d survive.

“The atmosphere’s been really bad lately,” Caron murmured quietly as we weeded the training ground together.

Ishina, nearby, answered in his calm tone, “That’s normal. Recruits always struggle at first. You just don’t notice it when it’s your turn.”

‘How is he so calm all the time…?’

Typical of the “gentle on the outside” type.
He never blamed anyone, even when we all suffered for someone else’s mistake.
I should really learn to be like him.

‘Or… maybe he’s secretly plotting to kill them off behind our backs?’

Come to think of it, how could I ever know what the “hidden villain” type was really thinking?
I eyed Ishina suspiciously.

Meanwhile, after Ishina’s comment about rookies being clumsy at first, Caron went quiet — but surprisingly, Aquila spoke up softly.

“I don’t like the new recruits.”

“What? You don’t? Why?”

I widened my eyes at him.
Aquila usually didn’t voice personal opinions — especially about people he disliked.

Not just me — even Caron and Ishina turned to him in surprise.