Chapter – 105
The next day.
“Wake up! Private!”
Kravel burst into the 3rd Company Recon Unit barracks early in the morning, waking the soldiers who were sound asleep.
“Get out to the training grounds immediately! Now!”
“Yes, sir!”
The recon soldiers scrambled out to the training ground, barely awake.
“Private Carlisle! You’re moving like a turtle!”
“I’m going now.”
“Can’t you move any faster?”
“I’ll do my best.”
Carlisle moved as quickly as he could, remembering the promise he had made to Helen the previous night.
“Move faster! Faster!”
Kravel yelled directly into Carlisle’s ear, making him grimace, but he followed the orders without complaint.
“We’re going to do morning physical training! A ten-kilometer run starts now! Take off your tops and run! Begin!”
“Yes, sir!”
Running ten kilometers at the crack of dawn felt less like physical training and more like punishment, but the recon unit had no choice but to comply.
Between failed missions and previous brawls, they couldn’t even complain with ten mouths.
“In the morning, I will inspect the barracks’ cleanliness. After breakfast, you will perform a full cleaning so that it can be inspected. If the cleanliness does not meet my standards, be prepared for consequences. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
The recon soldiers ate breakfast so quickly that it was unclear whether it went in through their mouths or their noses, then immediately started cleaning.
They swept, scrubbed, and dusted every corner of the barracks, preparing for Kravel’s inspection.
After the cleaning was done…
“Hmm.”
Kravel slowly inspected the recon unit barracks, checking the hygiene with a hawk-like gaze.
Swish. He ran his fingertip along the top of a locker, and a small amount of dust appeared.
“Ha. The cleaning is a complete mess. Even after a full cleaning, it’s still filthy.”
“S-sir…”
“Shut it!”
When Begman tried to explain, Kravel barked at him.
“The 3rd Company Recon Unit can’t even perform missions, and they can’t even clean properly.”
“S-sorry, sir.”
“I’ll inspect again in the afternoon, so make sure you clean thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir.”
A few hours later.
“Hmm. This is acceptable.”
Kravel finally declared it satisfactory after inspecting every corner of the barracks with a magnifying glass.
“But…”
Kravel gave a sinister smile as he approached Carlisle.
“You.”
“Yes, Private Carlisle.”
“What’s that hanging from your waist?”
Kravel pointed at the Grimmand that hung at Carlisle’s hip.
“Do you not maintain your weapon at all?”
“Oh, this?”
“Show it to me.”
Carlisle drew the Grimmand and handed it to Kravel.
“Hah!”
Kravel’s face twisted in disbelief.
“Are you seriously calling yourself a soldier and letting your weapon get like this? The teeth are missing, it’s rusted, and parts have clumped together, yet you left it like this?”
“It’s always been like this.”
“What did you say?”
Kravel’s anger was real this time—not just trying to pick on Carlisle—but genuinely furious.
After all, the Grimmand looked like nothing more than a rusted scrap of metal with missing teeth.
“You call that an excuse? For a weapon in this condition?”
“It’s always been like this.”
“How dare you insult your commanding officer!”
Kravel shouted in fury.
“I can’t allow this! Private Carlisle!”
“Huh?”
“For neglecting your weapon, you’ll spend three days in the brig.”
Sigh.
Carlisle let out a long sigh, and the other recon soldiers’ faces stiffened.
Even Begman and a few senior soldiers were ready to step in and stop Kravel if needed.
“It’s an heirloom sword.”
“An heirloom sword…? That scrap of metal was made by your ancestor from the Sigmund family?”
“Yes.”
“You’re lying. There’s no way an heirloom sword could be such a scrap—”
Before Kravel could finish, the recon soldiers jumped in.
“Sir, it really is an heirloom sword.”
Kravel was startled by their testimony.
“R-really?”
“Yes.”
Carlisle grinned, as if daring Kravel to try something.
“You’re not calling our family’s heirloom a scrap of metal, are you? That would be problematic. The Lord General would be very disappointed.”
“Ah!”
“I’m saying it’s the sword of our ancestor Rompen, ‘The Wanderer,’ and you’re calling it a scrap of metal? That hurts my feelings.”
“I-I must have misunderstood.”
Kravel quietly lowered his tail.
Even a commander wouldn’t dare insult the Sigmund family.
“I never intended to insult your family or your ancestor who made this sword. My comment was only about the weapon’s maintenance, so don’t take it personally.”
“I understand.”
Kravel continued to pester Carlisle with petty questions for some time, clearly wary of the Sigmund family.
Kravel was relentless.
He repeatedly came to the 3rd Company Recon Unit barracks to find faults, making the recon soldiers miserable.
Carlisle, in particular, was singled out, and Kravel exhausted him constantly.
Carlisle endured it all, thinking of his promise to Helen.
About a month later, Carlisle’s patience reached its limit.
“Hmm.”
Kravel came to the barracks as usual but found nothing to criticize.
He desperately wanted to find a fault to bother Carlisle, but after a month, there was hardly anything to pick on.
But nothing in the world is perfect.
“Private Carlisle.”
“Yes?”
“What’s that sticking out of your chest?”
“Oh, this?”
Carlisle opened his chest to reveal a sleeping baby dragon.
“A cat?!”
“Yes.”
“You still don’t have your senses about you. Is this a barracks or a zoo?”
Kravel smiled smugly.
“How dare you bring pets into the barracks? Don’t you know pets are prohibited?”
“These ones,”
Carlisle pointed to the animals beside Begman, Kudo, Russell, and Marder.
“Woof?”
“Grr?”
“Shaah?”
“Coo?”
Each of them—wolf, fox, weasel, and bird—tilted their heads.
“These animals help in combat.”
“This one does too.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah.”
“But you just said it was a cat. Were you lying to your commander?”
“It’s just a way of speaking.”
“Your attitude in reporting to your superior is very poor.”
Carlisle’s voice carried irritation.
“Enough already.”
“What did you say?”
“Enough.”
“Ha!”
Kravel’s eyes widened.
“How dare you talk back to your commander?”
“I’m not talking back. I’m saying don’t pick fights over trivial things. After a month, it’s time to stop.”
“Are you done speaking?”
“Not quite.”
Carlisle twisted his face into a deadly grin.
“If you want to torment someone, do it to me only. Why involve innocent people too? Pathetic.”
“W-what?!”
The recon soldiers hurriedly intervened.
“Stop! Please, what are you trying to do?”
“Apologize immediately! Quickly!”
But Carlisle’s patience had already snapped.
“This can’t go on.”
Kravel gave a cold smile.
“Soldiers, arrest Private Carlisle immediately.”
“S-sir!”
“Move.”
At Kravel’s command, the recon soldiers bound Carlisle.
He did not resist.
“I thought I could teach you some discipline, but it seems nothing has changed.”
“The teacher is just as bad, so of course nothing would change.”
Kravel smiled smugly.
“Private Carlisle, for insubordination, you will be confined to the brig for 30 days.”
“Just cut off my head then.”
“That’s not possible. Insubordination is serious, but not that serious.”
“Ah.”
“Then shall we try something else? Perhaps the crime of murdering a superior?”
“Soldiers, do not escort Private Carlisle to the brig yet.”
Kravel, clearly done talking, ordered the soldiers, and they quickly led Carlisle out of the barracks.
Meanwhile, Helen had returned from a mining operation with the 3rd Company engineers and learned of the news, squeezing her eyes shut.
“So, Private Carlisle was sent to the brig for insubordination?”
“Yes, Lady Helen.”
“What exactly were you people doing?”
“To be honest, a lot has been building up, and Carlisle had endured a lot too…”
“No matter what, you can’t allow a subordinate to commit open rebellion against the commander.”
“We’re sorry,” Begman bowed deeply.
Sigh.
Helen decided to go directly to Kravel to plead for leniency.
“Commander, Private Carlisle has been trying hard over the past month.”
“And?”
“Of course, I think he clearly disrespected you, which is a breach of military discipline. But considering his effort, could you please show some leniency? I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Leniency?”
“Thirty days in the brig, and in solitary, is excessive. One week would suffice.”
“The brat had the audacity to rebel because you were spoiling him. No wonder his behavior hasn’t improved. He’s even worse now.”
“I haven’t spoiled him, sir!”
Helen strongly denied it.
“On the contrary, as the company commander, I only advised him to follow your orders…”
“Ho? Even with the company commander’s advice, he still dared to commit insubordination? I’ll extend his time in the brig. Forty-five days in solitary should make him reflect.”
“H-Hell, sir!”
Even a normal person would go a little mad after a few days in solitary, let alone 45.
“Please show mercy. I’ll take responsibility.”
“I understand now.”
Kravel gave a meaningful smile.
“So that’s why you’re protecting Private Carlisle.”
“Eh…?”
“You’re in love with him.”
Helen could hardly believe her ears.
“Excuse me? Could you repeat that?”
“You heard me. You have feelings for Private Carlisle.”
“Eh…?”
“I fully understand. Carlisle’s behavior may be terrible, but even I have to admire his appearance. You, as a human, can’t help but be attracted to someone good-looking. But you’re an officer, and he’s your subordinate. I cannot allow such an inappropriate relationship, absolutely not.”
‘I have to endure this.’
Helen restrained herself with superhuman patience, suppressing her feelings to avoid being executed before Carlisle.
