Chapter 109
“Not that… sigh.”
Carlyle let out a deep sigh as no one seemed to believe him.
“Everyone just assumes whatever they want.”
“You brat! There’s clear evidence, and you’re denying it?!”
Carlyle didn’t respond.
Explaining the whole story felt bothersome, and he didn’t particularly mind being misunderstood.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve been living too nicely lately.’
From Carlyle’s experience, a rogue could do anything, and people would just think, [he’s always been like that] and let it slide.
In contrast, if a normally well-behaved person misbehaved, people might forgive them once or twice, but after that, greater criticism and disappointment would follow.
‘To live comfortably, I should probably manage my reputation, too.’
Though the reasoning felt a little off, for Carlyle, prioritizing his own comfort had no downsides.
“Ugh…”
Beatrice rubbed her sleepy eyes and quietly lifted her head.
“Where’s my brother?”
Beatrice’s crimson eyes landed on Begman, who had been searching for Carlyle.
“Ugh.”
Beatrice frowned as if she had seen something unpleasant.
“Sir, you’re ugly.”
“W-what did you just say?”
“Ugly sir.”
“You’re calling me ugly?”
“Ugh…”
Beatrice looked nauseated, as if she might vomit.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
“That girl’s got an eye for things!”
“Heh heh! Heh heh heh!”
The scouts burst out laughing in unison.
“Are these guys laughing? Do they want to die?!”
Begman’s face contorted in anger.
Seeing his face flush bright red, it was clear he was really angry.
“Ah, why are you getting so worked up~”
The scouts teased Begman.
“I-I’m not ugly! I’m at least tolerable!”
“Sir, maybe you should look in a mirror.”
“What did you say, punk?”
“You look fierce, sure, but tolerable? Not really! Puhahaha!”
“You little—!”
Begman clenched his fists at Wilson’s taunt.
“Ugh.”
Seeing Wilson get picked on, Beatrice’s expression twisted even further.
“This sir is really ugly. Ugh.”
“Me?!”
“You look… disgusting.”
“You… disgusting?!”
Wilson’s shocked expression fell.
“I—I see… so I did look disgusting…”
“I guess that’s why she left me. Because I’m bald…”
“….”
The atmosphere grew solemn.
Wilson wasn’t handsome, but he wasn’t truly ugly either.
He had a fairly masculine appearance, tall, muscular, and attractive enough to catch the attention of the opposite sex.
The problem was his hair.
Being bald, Wilson had made wigs from the scalps of barbarians he had defeated, making his appearance unnatural and bizarre.
Shaving his head completely would probably make him look much better, but he insisted on wearing a wig due to emotional scars from an ex-girlfriend.
“Ahem. Ahem ahem.”
Begman cleared his throat to lighten the mood.
Although Wilson had joined Begman’s teasing earlier, seeing him so downhearted made it impossible to continue mocking him.
With the unit already in disarray from Carlyle’s desertion, having Wilson desert as well would be disastrous.
“Miss, don’t speak recklessly. Do you think we did this to look like this on purpose?”
“Ugh.”
Beatrice turned her head in disgust.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t know. Just let it be.”
Carlyle shrugged.
‘It’s not my problem, right? Good looks are everything, huh?’
“….”
Carlyle didn’t bother replying and changed the subject.
“So, you came to catch me.”
“Of course we did.”
“Hmm.”
Carlyle paused to think before replying.
“Then I’ll come back in a few days.”
“….”
This left Begman and the rest of the scouts completely speechless.
‘This guy is insane?!’
No one in Decaron’s military history had ever seen a deserter so audacious as to say he’d return in a few days after being caught.
Helen had been increasingly regretting becoming a commander lately.
Especially on days when she had to do things she didn’t want to, she often wished she could just quit and return to being an ordinary soldier.
Today was exactly one of those days.
As the direct superior of a deserter, she had to deal with someone she couldn’t even stand.
“Private Carlyle.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think the military is a joke?”
Helen asked in the harshest, most professional tone she could muster.
“Why no answer? I asked if you think the military is a joke.”
“I’ve never thought that.”
“Then why is your conduct like this?”
Helen shot at him sharply.
“You not only committed insubordination against the battalion commander, but also escaped from the brig, and even deserted. On top of that, you couldn’t leave behind your shameful, promiscuous past and even brought a woman to the battlefield…”
Helen stopped mid-sentence, unwilling to speak further on such distasteful matters.
“If you were an ordinary soldier, you’d already be sentenced to death.”
“Probably.”
“Even knowing that, you acted like this?”
“Because I’m Sigmund.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not the same as an ordinary soldier. I’m different from the start.”
“That… is…”
“I received special treatment from the battalion commander because I’m Sigmund, so naturally I exercised my privileges.”
“….”
Helen felt slightly ashamed at having gotten angry at Carlyle earlier.
“I’ll stay here for a while, so just tell the battalion commander that you’re looking for me.”
“Hmm.”
“You know my desertion could be a weakness if reported to the battalion commander, right?”
“….”
“So let’s wait a few days. The battalion commander will pay the price too.”
Carlyle twisted his lips into a crooked smile.
Helen could not bring herself to agree with that idea, and quietly left.
“…”
Carlyle fell silent for a while, surprised by her unexpected trust.
Helen immediately returned to the fortress and reported to the battalion commander, Krabel.
“What? You let Private Carlyle escape?!”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re completely incompetent!”
Krabel exploded in anger.
“Is the 3rd Company Recon Unit only capable of this? You can’t even catch a single deserter?”
“Sir…”
“You’ve got a smart mouth for excuses, don’t you?”
“Sir, have you forgotten that Private Carlyle is Sigmund?”
“Th-that’s…”
Helen’s reminder left Krabel speechless.
“Private Carlyle is strong. During the last operation, he wiped out the enemy. You can see it in the after-action report. Didn’t you read it?”
“….”
“Just give us a few more days. Chasing Private Carlyle is no easy task.”
“…Alright.”
Krabel had no choice but to agree.
He knew full well that catching a deserting Sigmund wouldn’t be simple.
“But bring him back as soon as possible. One minute, one second counts. If anything happens, either you or I will not only lose our uniforms but our heads!”
“I’ll try my best.”
“‘Try’ isn’t enough!”
Krabel shouted.
“This is a matter of life and death! Just concealing Carlyle’s desertion would disgrace us and get us kicked out!”
“Did you make Private Carlyle that much of a threat?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
“Then it’s not too late. You could report Carlyle’s desertion to the higher-ups…”
“Enough! Enough!”
Krabel hastily stopped Helen.
“You’re cunning, I didn’t expect that.”
“Sometimes you have to handle things that way, right?”
“Don’t bother me. Just go catch Private Carlyle.”
“Yes, sir.”
After Helen left,
“Damn it. At this rate, we might actually lose our jobs.”
Krabel fidgeted nervously.
There was nothing he could do but hope Helen and the 3rd Company Recon Unit would bring Carlyle back safely.
Carlyle stayed at Antiros’s lab even after Helen left, spending his time leisurely.
And he wasn’t alone.
Not only were the baby dragon and Beatrice there, but also several scouts, so he wasn’t exactly bored.
Among them were the junior officer, Lieutenant Melvin, and the rookie Adrian.
Lieutenant Melvin had been left by Helen to supervise Carlyle, while Adrian had ended up staying with the other scouts by chance.
“When on reconnaissance, pay special attention to surrounding sounds.”
The scouts were busy teaching Adrian various tips and tricks, eager to train the rookie.
On the other hand, no one spoke to Lieutenant Melvin.
During the first mission, Melvin’s magic had failed, nearly causing the deaths of the entire recon unit. He had since been branded a hopeless magician, and everyone ignored him completely.
Only Recon Leader Begman and the good-natured Kudo occasionally spoke to him, but otherwise, Melvin was entirely alone.
‘What a pity.’
Carlyle frowned at the sight of Melvin sitting there alone.
It was unusual—Carlyle normally had no interest in others.
‘Why am I even bothered?’
He couldn’t understand why Melvin irritated him even slightly, as it wasn’t even sympathy.
“What are you doing?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Startled, Melvin answered quickly when Carlyle approached.
He had become so used to saying “sorry” that it came out automatically.
