Chapter 93
#11. Border Defense Force Selection
No. 1 Man Who Looks Best on the Guillotine: The Crown Prince
Days Until Discharge: D-1278
Of course, the original work was mostly about romance—but even so, I had thoroughly scraped together every scrap of information that appeared in it and was making excellent use of it.
The memories of the original story I’d obtained through the black magic artifact existed vividly in my mind. Maybe it was because I’d forgotten my memories of my past life, freeing up some mental capacity.
Thanks to that, I narrowly prevented Patty and Matty from nearly setting things on fire in the original story—and instead made fire erupt from their muscles. I stopped Dalin from almost getting trapped in a cave during a subjugation mission—and instead trapped her head against the ground…
Of course, I saved them because it was obvious I’d be harmed too if they caused an incident—but honestly, I think I’m an amazing senior for preventing my juniors’ accidents. Incredible, Salubia!
“Alright, seems like things have been quiet for a while.”
Around this time in the original story, a new emperor ascends the throne of the Adolphe Empire. The old emperor dies of old age, and the crown prince inherits the throne.
Yeah. That crown prince—the same bastard who once visited our unit.
“That bastard becoming emperor… damn it.”
Thinking about all the suffering I went through because of him makes me want to take his head off immediately, but anyway, in the original story, to commemorate his ascension, all the Border Defense Force’s weapons were replaced with brand-new ones.
On top of that, the state sent tons of snacks as special supplies. I remember it clearly because there was a scene where Aquila overlapped “Salubia” with “Dalin, who likes sweets.”
“How dare he overlap me with someone else? That pisses me off.”
“Salubia, what’s wrong again?”
“Oh, Lady Ishina. I was just imagining how utterly shitty it’d feel if someone compared me to another person.”
“Salubia… please don’t get angry over something that hasn’t even happened.”
Anyway, regardless of that bastard crown prince becoming emperor, I’d get to eat snacks. In this damn place, eating was one of the few joys we had.
“Salubia… instead of thinking useless thoughts, could you go to the company commander’s office? It’s related to later company training.”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
Following Ishina’s errand, I headed toward the headquarters building where the company commander would be, and started thinking about how I might destroy the contract magic binding me to Archon.
No matter what, if possible, I really wanted to avoid going anywhere near where April was.
To break contract magic, do you have to kill the black magician? No—the black magician who cast this spell would already be dead. It happened hundreds of years ago, and even black magicians can’t live forever.
Lost in thought, I arrived in front of the company commander’s office. I knocked and went inside.
“Oh, you’re from Alpha Squad. Take these documents to the Alpha Squad leader on your way back.”
“Yes, sir.”
The company commander rummaged through his desk to find the papers.
“This is new… hold on a moment…”
As he searched, a few papers on top fell to the floor. I quickly picked them up and handed them to him.
“Here you are.”
“Oh, right. Thanks…”
Answering absentmindedly, the company commander suddenly stopped when he saw what was written on the top document.
“This is…”
The document he was looking at detailed the coronation ceremony for the new emperor.
“Right. Come to think of it, there will be a coronation.”
He muttered as if realizing it anew, then flipped to the next page. It contained information about replacing the Border Defense Force’s weapons and renovating various facilities. Seeing that, his expression brightened.
“Seems His Majesty the new emperor takes national defense seriously. Yes, that’s how a nation becomes strong.”
Well, he cared so much about national defense that he even visited the Border Defense Force last time…
When my face darkened because I couldn’t manage my expression, the company commander also seemed to recall that grueling experience. He cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“Well, at least they’re sending snacks too. That’s good news for our unit.”
Saying that, he turned to the next page—and then—
“…Huh?”
“Huh?!”
A startled voice escaped the company commander’s mouth, and I, forgetting that he was right in front of me, couldn’t help blurting out in shock too.
“N-no, this is…!”
The company commander’s voice trembled as he stared at the contents of the paper.
“Whaaat—?! No way…!”
I even ended up speaking like an anime character I’d seen in my past life.
A company commander and a soldier being of one mind—was that even possible?
But this really was…
“W-why are we…”
Because the paper the company commander was holding said:
– To celebrate the ascension of the new emperor, he will conduct a national tour. Along the roads the emperor will pass, soldiers are to repair the roads and provide security along the route.
“T-this is…”
“Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it.”
The company commander continued denying reality, while I unleashed a torrent of curses in my head.
Damn it. I swear something like this happened about four years ago—am I imagining it? This bastard—no, this emperor now—has never once been helpful in my life, has he?
More importantly, why did the original Dalin not describe how they all suffered like dogs because of the emperor, and only write about romancing the male leads?
When I get back, I’ll find a way to pick a fight with Dalin of this world, at least.
* * *
Still, there was hope left for us.
Of course, following the emperor’s orders was extremely important—but guarding the border was also our duty. If everyone went down to the village, even a short time could put the border at risk due to monsters. Therefore, someone had to stay behind.
“Only one of Alpha Squad, Beta Squad, or Gamma Squad will remain here.”
At the company commander’s words, sparks practically flew between the squads.
Which squad would stay behind would be decided by rock–paper–scissors between the squad commanders.
Which meant that in our squad, Winter would step forward.
“Sir Winter, please…!”
The corporals surrounding Winter looked at him with more desperation than ever before.
Ha. Winter was the novel’s male lead, with the setting that he excelled at everything—so he’d probably win rock–paper–scissors too, right? I, mixed in among the corporals, also looked up at him with pleading eyes.
Our gazes met.
“Do you perhaps have a secret technique for winning rock–paper–scissors…?”
I had immense trust in Winter’s abilities—especially after he’d pulled me out of the Ghost Groom’s stomach.
If he could read people’s presence and the vibrations of the earth, maybe he could read people’s minds too?
At my words, Winter carefully observed the two squad commanders preparing for rock–paper–scissors.
“First, Jack of Beta Squad…”
Wow. As expected of Winter—he had a plan.
“Considering how he’s always saying things like ‘this is what a man should do,’ he’s highly likely to throw rock again this time. Since the match is decided in a single round, he’ll probably choose rock in a situation like this. As for Lady Maria of Gamma Squad, she doesn’t have a particular pattern—but in cases like this, it’s best to calculate what gives me the highest probability of success.”
At Winter’s explanation, even Aquila—who usually avoided Winter—looked at him with eyes full of absolute trust.
“If Lady Maria throws rock, I can win by throwing paper. If she throws scissors and I throw rock or paper, we’ll have to redo the match, giving us another chance. If she throws paper and I throw scissors or paper, likewise, we get another chance. Therefore, throwing paper is the most rational choice.”
“As expected of Sir Winter…!”
Once again, the legendary “as expected of Winter” scene played out, and all the corporals looked at him with genuine admiration.
“Sir Winter! Please win!”
“Sir Winter, you can do it!”
“We believe in you, Sir Winter!”
Amid everyone’s cheers, Winter began the game.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Jack threw scissors.
Winter’s calculations were completely wrong, and in the end, Jack became the final victor.
“…Didn’t he say Jack only throws rock, damn it…”
Winter, male-lead power: –1,000 points.
* * *
In the end, our squad began the tear-inducing preparations to receive the emperor.
First, we stiffly ironed our uniforms until the creases were razor-sharp. We stayed up all night practicing the salute for when the emperor passed by.
Today, even I wore a sword at my waist instead of a gun.
“If you mess up today, I’ll kill you all, you bastards.”
As we descended the mountain, I growled, and the juniors all looked tense.
Today, the battalion commander was sensitive. The company commander was sensitive. The squad leader was sensitive. Every senior was sensitive.
“Is this area what we need to clean up now?”
“Yes.”
We moved to the main road where people gathered and began removing every single pebble from the ground.
“Ants! Not even a single ant is allowed to crawl here!”
“Are you kidding me? I told you to remove all the gravel! What do your eyes think this is if not gravel?”
At least it was a small mercy that I’d moved from the side being worked to death to the side giving orders…
“Leaves keep falling from that tree onto the road!”
“T-then what should we do?”
“If we cut the tree down it’ll look bad… and shaking off all the leaves would look just as bad, hmm.”
“Salubia, then how about pulling the tree out entirely?”
At Ishina’s gentle suggestion, my eyes sparkled as I agreed.
“As expected of Lady Ishina—an excellent idea! You guys, come pull out the tree and tamp down the soil!”
At those words, the juniors’ faces visibly rotted away.
