Chapter – 99
The next morning.
“Wake up, wake up!”
Carlyle’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of the shouting.
“What are you all doing! Can’t you get up quickly! It’s a complete mess! A complete mess!”
“…What is it.”
Turning his eyes, he saw Battalion Commander Krabel shouting at the top of his lungs, waking the sleeping scouts.
“My goodness! Get up right now! Your military discipline is utterly lax! How can you call yourselves elite soldiers like this!”
“B-Battalion Commander.”
Begman pleaded with Krabel.
“Sir, our scout unit operates around the clock, so we don’t have a fixed wake-up time.”
Begman explained the situation with an awkward smile.
It was understandable. The scouts were incredibly busy personnel.
As Begman said, they carried out missions, stood guard, and engaged in combat regardless of day or night, so their fatigue was incomparable to that of regular soldiers.
The physical burden was that much greater, and the mental stress was considerable, so if they weren’t guaranteed sufficient rest, they were highly likely to collapse.
It’s not for nothing that they say military discipline is lax on the front lines where combat frequently occurs.
But Krabel wouldn’t accept that.
“What did you say?”
Krabel’s eyes widened.
“Is that what you call an excuse? It’s military law that soldiers wake up at 06:00 every morning!”
“I know that, sir. I’m just saying we need some flexibility depending on the situation…”
“Enough!”
Krabel cut off Begman.
“A true soldier must adhere well to military laws and regulations! Being a scout unit doesn’t grant you special privileges!”
“Battalion Commander…”
“Get up immediately and assemble on the training ground! Execute!”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Carlyle, frowning deeply at the untimely commotion, slowly got out of his bunk.
“Hoh.”
Krabel approached Carlyle and spoke in a mocking tone.
“Why are you moving so sluggishly? Can’t you see everyone else scrambling?”
“I’m still a bit sleepy.”
Carlyle answered as he hurriedly put on his uniform.
“I’ll be right out.”
“Make sure you hurry out. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to discipline you.”
“Sure.”
Carlyle answered half-heartedly, then suddenly frowned as he noticed something strange.
The sword hanging at Krabel’s waist looked oddly familiar.
“Excuse me.”
“Do you have something to say?”
“That sword… isn’t it the one I donated to the unit?”
“Correct.”
Krabel readily admitted and nodded.
“Then why are you wearing it, Battalion Commander? That sword was something I prepared separately to gift to Sir Helen.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“The reason this Battalion Commander is wearing this sword is to test the stability and durability of the weapon you donated to the unit.”
“What kind of non… sense is that.”
Carlyle almost said ‘nonsense’ but quickly changed his words.
“Just as I said. It’s an unauthorized weapon, so the Battalion Commander, as the commanding officer, will use it personally to verify its quality.”
“You call that a reason?”
“……?”
“Why would you need to verify something made by dwarves? It’s obviously a masterpiece.”
“Heh heh.”
Krabel laughed as if it were absurd.
“Private Carlyle.”
“Yes.”
“You have just questioned the judgment of your commanding officer, this Battalion Commander, without proper cause.”
“……?”
“I’ll apply the charge of insubordination and reduce your winter leave by three days.”
“You son of a bi…”
Right at that moment.
“Hey, you little brat!”
Begman practically flung himself forward, grabbing Carlyle by the scruff of his neck.
“How dare a lowly private move as slow as a slug? Huh?”
“Let go…”
“Move quickly! Huh? This little bastard, really! Get out! Hurry up!”
Then Kudou and Wilson quickly clung to Carlyle, dragging him out of the barracks.
“Ah, let me go. Let go, please.”
“Please endure it, please.”
“Shut his mouth.”
“Maknae, let’s calm your temper, okay?”
Begman and the others desperately restrained the struggling Carlyle and dragged him outside.
If they left him alone, it was obvious Carlyle would cause a real incident; they simply couldn’t stand by and watch.
That afternoon.
The scout unit, under the command of Scout Leader Begman, left Boulden Fortress and was deployed on a mission to clear demon stone traps.
On the way to the operational area.
“Maknae, stop fuming and let’s go.”
“What do you mean I’m fuming?”
“You’ve been fuming since earlier.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Don’t say no.”
Begman rolled his eyes.
“You look like you’re about to explode any minute now, what do you mean ‘no’?”
“I’m pissed off.”
Carlyle’s eyes flashed with blue killing intent, as if the very thought infuriated him.
“He picks on me for the smallest things, takes the weapons I donated, and even wears the sword I was going to gift to Sir Helen? Does that make any sense?”
“Of course it doesn’t.”
“And you’re telling me to just take it?”
“It’s the military.”
Begman offered a very simple solution to Carlyle’s anger.
“Here, rank is king. If they tell you to jump, you jump. What else can you do?”
“Even so, I don’t think taking the sword meant for Sir Helen is right.”
“That might be true, but we don’t have grounds to refuse if the commander says he’s verifying the weapon. That’s the commanding officer’s inherent right.”
“……”
“He’ll probably use it a bit and give it back.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“Then there’s nothing we can do. If higher-ups question it, he’ll obviously make excuses, saying he was going to return it after verification was over, and get away with it.”
“So I’m just supposed to take it?”
“Fighting with the commander won’t get you anywhere. You need to think about sweet-talking him or something.”
“How am I supposed to sweet-talk him?”
“Well, we’ll have to think about that gradually.”
“Ugh.”
“Still, you’re the son of the Grand Duke, so he can’t openly bully you too much. Just ignore him appropriately and get by.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Then we’ll be the ones suffering.”
“……”
“Just bear with it for now. I reported the equipment matter to Sir Helen before we left, so there will be more discussion about that.”
“Sigh.”
Carlyle let out a deep sigh, as if trying to control his rising anger.
Honestly, he wanted to run up to that damn Battalion Commander right now, grab him by the collar, but it was frustrating that he couldn’t, knowing it would obviously cause trouble not only for his fellow scouts but also for Helen, his company commander.
“Alright, alright. Everyone, relax and take it easy. There are no demon stone traps around here anyway. Huhu.”
Upon arriving at the operational area, Marder revealed the truth to the scouts.
In fact, this demon stone trap clearance operation was based on a false report Marder had submitted to Krabel, so there was nothing specific to do.
They just had to kill time, return, and report that there were no demon stone traps found. So, the scouts had effectively gained a few hours of free time, away from the eyes of Battalion Commander Krabel.
“Everyone, take a break discreetly on your own. We’ll loaf around for about five hours before returning.”
“Yes, sir.”
At Begman’s command, the scouts immediately dispersed and took up ambush positions.
Though it was called an ambush, it was closer to hiding out of sight and resting.
Carlyle ended up on ambush duty with Kudou, Marder, and Wilson.
Since the previous incident had brought them together, it was perhaps natural that they had grown closer within the unit.
“Has anything happened since then?”
Wilson asked Carlyle.
“Perhaps from the Royal family…”
“Shh.”
Kudou cautioned Wilson.
“I told you not to speak about that incident.”
“But it’s just us, what’s the problem?”
“It’s that kind of complacent mindset that leaks secrets.”
“I’m asking because I’m anxious, just anxious.”
“Considering we serve in the Bloodsoaked Land of Kuberin, that doesn’t seem like something you should say.”
“W-Well, that’s true too.”
Wilson nodded in agreement with Kudou’s words.
“Let’s not bring up that story, as Corporal Kudou said. Just in case. Even if a problem arises, I’ll make sure it doesn’t affect you. Don’t worry.”
Carlyle spoke as if agreeing with Kudou’s opinion.
“And right now, shouldn’t we be more worried about that damn Battalion Commander first?”
“Indeed.”
Kudou frowned slightly.
“Sometimes, your commander is scarier than the enemy.”
“And if he’s incompetent on top of that, it’s even worse…”
Carlyle and the group continued to chat about this and that while lying in ambush in the grass.
It had reached a point where the forest, fraught with enemy threats, felt more comfortable than inside the fortress where the Battalion Commander was eagerly looking for faults.
“But what do you mean the enemy’s scale has grown larger?”
“Ah, that’s…”
As Kudou was about to answer Carlyle’s question, rustling—a presence was felt.
“Who’s there?”
Marder aimed an arrow towards the bushes.
“It’s me.”
Someone raised both hands and crawled out of the bushes.
It was Private Byron, the messenger of Boulden Fortress known as [Swift Feet].
Byron was a man who ran extremely fast, had excellent stamina, and moved very nimbly; it was no exaggeration to say he was born with innate talent as a messenger.
“Rough day again today.”
“I’m dying, really.”
Byron plopped down and complained.
“You have no idea how many private letters the Battalion Commander sends to the commanders of the higher units. The soles of my feet are practically on fire. Ugh.”
“Private letters?”
“They’re not official documents, nor are they written in code, so I sneakily opened and read a few. Most were just asking about well-being or buttering them up. Sir Helen has never used me for private matters even once, but this damn bastard must think I’m some kind of carrier pigeon. Fuck.”
It was understandable for curses to flow from Byron’s mouth.
Messengers were a post that traversed the Bloodsoaked Land of Kuberin as if it were their own living room, delivering messages, making the danger level of their duties as high as the scouts.
But to use a messenger just for delivering private letters—it was only natural for curses to fly from Byron, who performed his duties risking his life.
“If he’s going to do that, he should use carrier pigeons or install communication magic circles.”
Byron grumbled, but it was just empty complaining.
Carrier pigeons couldn’t deliver long letters, and communication magic circles were such high-level magic that there were few places within the United Kingdom where they were established.
“You’ve got it tough.”
“That’s something you normally shouldn’t order. Damn bastard.”
Marder and Wilson comforted Byron.
“Oh, by the way, did you know? New recruits are scheduled to arrive around evening. I heard it when I stopped by the higher unit, so it’s reliable information.”
At Byron’s words, the expressions of Kudou and the others twisted.
“It’s going to be tiresome again.”
“New recruits, what damn new recruits.”
“Goddamn it.”
Carlyle looked at them with a puzzled expression.
“Aren’t new recruits a good thing? The scout unit is always short on personnel.”
“Is that what you call a reason? You have no idea how much we hate new recruits.”
Wilson retorted sharply.
“You’ll grit your teeth too once you see the new recruits.”
Marder added his two cents.
“Private Carlyle.”
“Yes?”
“You were fine because there was nothing much to teach you, and you were strong, just like a Sigmar. Ordinary new recruits… most are clueless and often mess up operations. There’s so much to teach them.”
“Ah?”
At Kudou’s explanation, Carlyle finally seemed to understand.
“So, for engineers or regular soldiers it might be different, but from our scout unit’s perspective, new recruits aren’t exactly welcome. If they’re regular soldiers transferring to the scouts, we welcome them, but if they’re fresh out of training camp, frankly, we don’t want them.”
No sooner had Kudou finished speaking than Byron said,
“Oh, and among those new recruits, there’s one mage who will be assigned to the 3rd Company’s scout unit.”
“……!”
The eyes of Carlyle and the others widened sharply.
While regular new recruits were a nuisance, a mage was a different story.
