Chapter – 71
“Private Carlisle.”
“Yes, Captain Helen.”
“Do you know why I called you aside?”
“How would I know?”
“I saw your expression. You didn’t seem pleased about the promotion.”
“Yeah, well. I suppose that’s true.”
Carlisle nodded without bothering to deny it.
“You don’t want to be promoted?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Hmm.”
Carlisle thought for a moment before speaking.
“If I get promoted… I’ll become an officer, right?”
“Naturally. You’re a noble and you’ve proven your abilities in combat, so you’ll be promoted to Second Lieutenant. Of course, headquarters will conduct a review, but given your clear achievements and the unanimous support from the reconnaissance team members, the promotion should be approved without any issues.”
“I see.”
“So, what’s the reason, Private Carlisle? Most people would be happy.”
“I don’t want the responsibility.”
“You don’t want the responsibility…?”
“If I become an officer, whether I like it or not, responsibility comes with it.”
“Ahh.”
Helen nodded as if she understood what he meant.
“So, you’re saying you don’t want to be responsible for the lives of your subordinates.”
“That’s right.”
“Why not?”
“It’s hard enough just keeping myself alive; how can I be responsible for others? I can’t even properly take care of my own affairs.”
“Keuk.”
Helen laughed.
“Something funny?”
“N-no, it’s not that.”
Helen hurriedly straightened her expression.
“You were laughing.”
“It was just a sudden sneeze.”
“Your face is red.”
“It was a rather forceful sneeze. Ahem, ahem.”
Helen feigned distraction for a moment, as if to compose herself, then spoke.
“You seem surprisingly self-aware.”
“So that’s why you laughed.”
Carlisle realized why Helen had laughed.
‘Well, hearing the Northern brat say with his own mouth that he can’t even handle his own affairs is enough to make anyone snicker.’
Helen neither confirmed nor denied Carlisle’s statement.
It probably meant she agreed…
“Responsibility.”
Helen spoke again.
“Perhaps your reluctance to take responsibility is partly due to things I’ve said.”
“You have some share in it, I suppose.”
Carlisle didn’t deny it.
If it were a problem that ended with just me, I would order a retreat right now. Rather than driving my subordinates to their deaths with my own hands, I’d rather die myself.
Me? I… I’m not afraid of death either. This is a place where people die left and right every day. If I were afraid of death, I couldn’t have served here for years. But it’s true that it’s hard to bear when subordinates die due to my incompetence, because of my orders. That too is a responsibility and duty a commander must rightfully shoulder…
Recalling Helen’s words, Carlisle opened his mouth.
“Of course, it’s not just that. My personality is just like that originally. I hate being responsible for things. Especially if it’s people’s lives.”
“You understand the meaning now, I suppose.”
“Of what?”
“The responsibility and duty a commander must bear, and the inevitable guilt.”
“……”
“You’ve experienced combat, lost comrades, and through my words, you’ve come to understand the weight of being a commander. Isn’t that so?”
“I suppose that’s the case. Maybe not entirely.”
“Then, it seems you possess the qualities of an excellent commander.”
“Huh…?”
Carlisle made a sour face.
How did the conversation end up here…?
“Command should be taken by those who understand that weight.”
“Isn’t that only for those who can actually bear that weight?”
“Of course, that’s also correct. But no one can bear that weight from the very start. If someone could, they’d either be a thoughtless fool or someone born devoid of emotion.”
“……”
“I understand that you don’t want to be responsible for your subordinates’ lives. But once you’re actually in that position, a sense of responsibility will naturally develop.”
“Are you trying to say that the position makes the person?”
“You catch on quickly.”
“And if I still don’t want to?”
“Then there’s nothing to be done, I suppose. You are a Sigmund, so you’ll be obligated to serve as an officer, right? You never had the option to refuse in the first place.”
“That’s… true.”
“If you really don’t want to be promoted, your only option is to cause some kind of trouble…”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If you cause some trouble, you could be passed over for promotion…”
“I see, there is a way like that?”
Oops.
In an instant, Helen realized she had misspoken.
Look at that strange and ominous expression.
It seemed like the Northern brat was about to be reborn and cause some trouble right then and there.
“Private Carlisle.”
“Yes?”
“Listen to me for a moment longer.”
Helen spoke urgently.
If she ended the conversation here, she had no idea what kind of major trouble this Northern brat might cause…
“Do you know why I became an officer?”
“How would I know?”
“Then listen to my story.”
“……?”
“As for me…”
Helen’s story of her past began to flow from her lips.
The young Helen had no parents.
Her father, who served in the Decaron army, died in battle against the savages when Helen was ten years old.
A few years later, her mother was also killed during a savage raid, leaving Helen and her two younger siblings orphans.
Suddenly becoming the head of the household, Helen tried every job imaginable to feed her siblings.
There was a condolence payment from her father’s death and support funds provided monthly by the Decaron territory, but it was far from enough for three people to live on.
In the midst of this, her youngest sibling fell ill, making their situation even more desperate.
Eventually, Helen chose to enlist.
“Now that I say it out loud, it seems like a cliché story.”
Helen gave a wry smile.
“Yes, it’s a common story.”
Carlisle also nodded as if in agreement.
Losing parents to savages was common, and orphans choosing to enlist because they had no other way to survive was also common.
For the Northerners, who had been fiercely at war with the savages for hundreds of years, such stories weren’t even considered noteworthy.
Was it any wonder that derogatory remarks like “[parentless brat]” weren’t even considered insults in the North?
Why?
Because everyone, you and me alike, had no parents.
Just take Gwen; didn’t she become the head of the household after her father died in battle, taking care of her sick mother and siblings before enlisting?
“I also started my military service as an engineer. Every day, under the threat of death, I did my best to survive, mining magic stones.”
“And then you became an officer?”
“Yes. For a commoner and a mere soldier like me, the battlefield commission was the only path to becoming an officer.”
“That’s impressive.”
It wasn’t an empty compliment.
The main tasks of combat engineers were magic stone mining and fortification construction.
To enlist as a non-combat engineer, distinguish oneself, and become an officer meant that Helen’s talent was truly remarkable.
“It’s not impressive. I just hated it.”
“Hated what?”
“I hated watching my comrades die.”
“……”
“I wanted to save even one more comrade with my limited abilities. So I chose to become an officer. Because I didn’t want to lose my comrades.”
“Because if you become an excellent commander, you can make judgments and choices that save even one more ally?”
“Correct.”
Helen nodded.
“Of course, I’m still a very lacking commander. I’m still learning, and I will continue to do so. The stronger and wiser I become, the more of my subordinates will survive, even if it’s just one more person.”
“I see.”
“Private Carlisle.”
“Yes, Captain Helen.”
“As you experienced this time, losing a comrade is a very painful thing. It must hurt even more if it was a comrade you were close to.”
“I suppose so.”
“If you don’t want to lose your comrades, become a commander. Become a commander and protect the comrades by your side yourself.”
“But……”
“Just try it first.”
Helen said in a strong tone.
“Try it, and if you truly find the weight of command too heavy to bear, you can step down then. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I understand… I do.”
Carlisle readily nodded.
“Good. Then it’s settled; you’ll get promoted and become a commander.”
“Haa.”
Carlisle let out a deep sigh.
He felt like he had been talked into it by Helen’s rhetoric.
However, there was nothing wrong with what Helen said.
If he wanted to save even one more person, if he didn’t want to helplessly watch his comrades die…
He could just become a competent commander himself and lead them.
He would have to bear the accompanying responsibilities and duties, but it seemed better than mourning the loss of a comrade.
Of course, he would need outstanding martial prowess and strategic/tactical abilities to back it up…
“Well, I guess I have no choice then. I have to complete my mandatory service anyway, so I might as well become an officer.”
“Good, you’ve made the right decision.”
Helen felt relieved at Carlisle’s answer.
‘If I’ve said this much, at least he won’t deliberately cause trouble aiming for a promotion pass…?’
Of course, Helen wasn’t entirely confident in her assumption.
Two days later.
The soldiers led by Helen left Bowden Fortress for Decaron.
They had finished post-war processing and handover and were leaving for a ten-day reward leave.
“At least I can rest properly for a month.”
Carlisle muttered to himself, looking at the piece of parchment in his hand.
[Reward Leave Pass]
Affiliation: Unit under Decaron Army 2nd Corps Command
Rank: Private
Name: Carlisle van Sigmund
Duration: 20 days
Reward leave is granted as above.
Commander Helen (Seal)
Carlisle, recognized for his efforts during the past period, received a full 20 days of reward leave from Helen.
With the basic 10 days plus an additional 20, he now had a long leave of 30 days to enjoy.
It was an exceptionally generous reward for a mere private, but no one complained about it.
His performance had been that brilliant and deserving of recognition.
“You seem pleased, Young Master. You’re cherishing that leave pass.”
“It’s not that I’m extremely happy or anything.”
Even as he said that, Carlisle carefully tucked the pass into his breast pocket lest it tear.
“Mrgh…”
The baby dragon sleeping in his pocket squirmed slightly.
“But still, I can rest properly for about a month. I’m not going to do anything. I’m really just going to rest and do nothing.”
“Heh heh.”
Maranello laughed.
“I’m afraid that might be difficult.”
“What do you mean? If I say I’m going to do nothing and just rest.”
Carlisle frowned.
“If you are promoted to Second Lieutenant, you’ll have to undergo a promotion review, and additionally, an officer commissioning ceremony will be held.”
“That’ll take at most two days.”
“That may be true, but will you really be able to do nothing and just rest?”
“……?”
“You’ll need time to look back on and organize what you’ve seen, heard, and felt on the battlefield. I doubt you’ll just be lazy, heh heh heh.”
“Ah, right.”
Carlisle made a face as if he’d been caught off guard.
Although it was a short period, what Carlisle had gained on the battlefield was by no means small.
He needed to consolidate not only his combat experience but also his improved swordsmanship skills and the new techniques he had acquired.
Since he would have to endure on the battlefield for the next few years until his mandatory service ended, he needed to strive for self-improvement even during his leave, awake or asleep, in order to survive…
“And you’ll also have to attend events.”
“Events? What kind?”
“Isn’t the Victory Anniversary coming up soon?”
“Victory Anniversary… Ah.”
Carlisle’s expression hardened.
Victory Anniversary.
The most important commemorative day in Decaron, in the North.
Which meant…
‘A whole bunch of terribly annoying people will flock here. Sigh.’
Thinking of the visitors who would come to Decaron for the upcoming Victory Anniversary, Carlisle sighed deeply inside.
The lords of various territories and their children.
And even the Crown Prince.
From the main characters to the supporting characters of the game [Overlord], pretty much every significant figure was scheduled to visit Decaron.
