Chapter 18

The eastern border region of the Heinen Empire.

The Imperial Army, the aggregate of the Heinen Empire’s military power. Their forces were divided into branches located in the east, west, south, and north, with the largest concentration naturally positioned at the capital’s headquarters. And today, just like any other day, the squad members of the Imperial Army’s Eastern Branch were diligently standing guard on the border.

Not long ago, a considerable tension had raged due to the war with the Membern Kingdom, but now that the likelihood of renewed hostilities was markedly low, things had become slightly lax.

“I relieve you of your duty!”

“Oh, right. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Change of guard?”

“Yes!”

The subordinate squad member, with military discipline fully instilled, focused intently on preparing for the shift change.

“But were you originally the one scheduled for today’s change? Not Cain?”

The mid-level squad member, unbuckling his gear and handing over various items to his replacement, tilted his head. Now that he thought about it, the subordinate member wasn’t on today’s guard roster. In fact, during the period of open warfare, it was recommended to have mid-level squad members or higher standing watch.

“Ah, Captain Cain has been excluded from this week’s guard roster. That’s why I’ve come.”

However, now that they were out of a wartime footing, it seemed the rotations were gradually being handed back to the subordinate members.

“Ah, right. Because of that incident, wasn’t it? That Cain bastard getting into a quarrel with a civilian during his leave.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Honestly, they were the ones at fault, but just because we’re soldiers, we end up taking all the criticism. You be careful too. There are so many civilians lately who ignore soldiers and act super sensitive. If you get caught up in something and a report comes in, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“I shall keep that in mind!”

The subordinate member saluted, tense and rigid.

Perhaps finding his subordinate endearing, the mid-level member secretly handed him a cookie he’d hidden in his pocket.

“Then, take care.”

“Thank you.”

The squad member, gazing hungrily at the cookie in his hand, checked that his superior had left before excitedly peeling off the wrapper and popping the sweet dessert into his mouth. Sure enough, food eaten late at night was the best. He hastily shove it all in, anxious not to be caught by anyone.

But was it a curse? The member momentarily choked, furiously pounding his chest.

Zing—

Just then, the crystal ball used for detecting magical power, located in the center of the guard post, began to glow briefly.

“Whew, I almost died. Huh?”

The member finally calmed down, turning his head at the sudden energy he’d felt. Only the now-dormant crystal ball sat in its place.

******

“Philip, here is next month’s duty roster for the storage depot guard. Please upload it to the Administration Unit.”

“Yes!”

Theo had come out of his room early in the morning and was handling paper-based work. Usually, when captains like him finished compiling a roster and submitted it to the Administration Unit, the squad members belonging to that unit would combine them appropriately to create the final roster.

Units 1 through 9, led by captains like Luke and Theo, and the special detachment, were broadly categorized as the ‘Special Units’. The Administration Unit, as the name suggested, consisted of those who handled military paperwork. Since their exposure to danger was lower than that of the Special Units, those who felt that military work wasn’t suited to their aptitude, or those who had sustained injuries and couldn’t go to the battlefield, were often transferred there.

“Speaking of which, Captain, I heard you caught a thief in the square yesterday.”

“That’s right.”

“Wow, that person who was robbed was truly lucky. To think you happened to be there.”

The members of Unit 1 all uniformly respected and looked up to Theo. So much so that members of other units would tease the Unit 1 members, asking if they were Theo’s fan club.

“There are always security guards patrolling the streets. They would have been caught even if I hadn’t been there.”

Philip merely grinned foolishly, apparently delighted by his captain’s humble demeanor.

“But what was the reason you went to Ludrein Square yesterday, Captain?”

As a hardcore fan of Theo, Philip was well aware of his captain’s personality; one that didn’t particularly enjoy going out.

Therefore, when he heard that Theo had caught a pickpocket at Ludrein Square yesterday, he found it more astonishing that the captain had gone out to the square than the fact that he had caught the criminal.

“Ah, that.”

Theo put down the pen he was holding and fell into thought for a moment. He had gone out to the square yesterday following Luke. Though he’d volunteered to be a supervisor, he certainly hadn’t been keen on going outside. However, having boasted to Veil that he would supervise, he couldn’t very well turn a blind eye. Theo had ultimately followed Luke and spent time with him.

“Captain…?”

“Ah, sorry.”

Theo, lost in thought, bowed his head again.

“I just stepped out briefly to accompany Captain Luke as his supervisor.”

“Ah, I knew it had to be something like that.”

The fact that Theo had become Luke’s supervisor had already spread throughout the entire military for a long time. It was quite unprecedented for a captain to take on such a role, yet the squad members often rejoiced, viewing it as an opportunity for Theo to truly crush Luke’s pride and pull ahead.

Whenever Philip heard the excited voices of his fellow squad members, he only felt upset that Theo’s workload had increased. After all, he was already a busy man.

“You really are admirable, Captain. Doing even the tasks that could be entrusted to subordinate members yourself. I worry that a person with so much work might collapse.”

“No matter what happens, a soldier does not collapse. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] And Philip, do I look like the kind of person to collapse in your eyes?”

Philip offered an awkward smile and shook his head.

“Still, I’m glad that the supervisor has been changed to a different member.”

“…What? What do you mean changed?”

Theo’s pen paused once more.

“Huh? Didn’t you hear, Captain?”

Philip, not anticipating Theo’s reaction, scratched the back of his head and began to speak.

“It has been decided that Captain Luke’s supervisor will be chosen from the Administration Unit.”

“Why?”

“Hmm, well… I only heard a rough account, but it seems Captain Luke went directly to the Commander-in-Chief and made a request. To change the supervisory member.”

The color in Theo’s eyes slowly began to diminish. Strangely, the hand gripping the pen tightened.

“Did you hear the reason, too?”

“Not in detail, but Captain Luke said that it wasn’t right for a member of the same Special Unit, especially one of the same captain rank, to be in charge of supervision… That’s what he seemed to have said.”

Theo fell into thought for a moment. Considering Luke’s personality, it was something he could very well say. Being a man of strong pride, he might dislike being personally supervised by a captain like himself. But if he truly disliked it, why hadn’t he mentioned it yesterday? When he’d informed him that he was the supervisor, he had seemed displeased, yet hadn’t he accepted it, telling him to do as he pleased?

“I understand. You may leave now.”

“Yes!”

But why bother thinking about it? If one task was eliminated, it was a good thing for him. It wasn’t as if that guy’s fickle nature was a one-day affair. Besides, it had been a somewhat impulsive decision to begin with.

“…”

Theo, momentarily lost in contemplation, put down the pen he was holding and abruptly stood up.

******

“So.”

Luke narrowed his eyes, steadily looking at the fellow sitting in front of him.

“You’re my new supervisor?”

“Yes, that is correct!”

Fael answered, his military discipline fully on display.

From the moment he used the excuse that he didn’t want to be supervised by members of the Special Unit to distance Theo, he had expected someone from the Administration Unit, but he never thought it would be Pale.

“What on earth is the high command thinking? Putting you and me together.”

“Actually, no one in the Administration Unit wanted to do it, so… I volunteered.”

It was obvious without even seeing it. If the job involved sticking close to a captain with a bad reputation and supervising him all day, naturally, no one would want to do it, so they’d tried to palm it off on each other and finally dumped it on the one who happened to volunteer.

“If you transferred to the Administration Unit, you should focus on adapting to that work. Why are you getting involved in pointless things?”

Luke grumbled, thoroughly annoyed. Since that incident, or to be precise, since receiving the reward money Luke had handed over, Fael had made a huge decision. He had left the special detachment and applied for a transfer to the Administration Unit. The word was that with the reward money, combined with Luke’s share, he could stably procure his mother’s medicine, and thanks to that, she was gradually showing signs of improvement.

“I-I wanted to repay you.”

“What?”

“I wanted to repay you somehow, Captain.”

Luke’s eyes widened slightly.

“Captain, if there’s anywhere you want to go or anything you want to do, please feel free. From now on, I am a man who hears nothing and sees nothing.”

Oh, really, Luke finally let out a small laugh at the sight of Fael speaking in a lowered voice.

“So…”

“Captain Luke.”

Just then, Theo, suddenly appearing from nowhere, abruptly wedged himself between the two of them.

“Ah, good morning, Captain.”

“Right.”

Luke frowned, staring at Theo who had once again appeared before him.

“I’m sorry, but could you step away for a moment?”

“Uh… Yes!”

Before Luke could even call out, Fael hastily vacated the spot. In times like this, he wished the supervisor role would be done properly. Honestly, that tactless bastard.

“Luke, why did you ask for a change in supervisor?”

“Did you really come all this way just to ask that one thing?”

“Answer me.”

Perhaps because he was a soldier to the bone. Could it be that he’s upset because the task he was doing was taken away without his consent? Was that it?

“Then why are you so desperate for that supervisory role?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it so you can keep an eye on me and keep me in check? Well, it’s the same for me.”

Luke shrugged his shoulders with an indifferent expression.

“What lunatic in the world would want to be supervised by their rival? I know you’re feeling a bit elated because I got demoted, but sorry, Theo, I have no intention of giving up the Commander-in-Chief position.”

Even the perfectly straight line of Theo’s brow slowly began to crack. Luke said nothing more and simply brushed past Theo.

“Luke…”

It was just as Theo reached out a hand slightly. Suddenly, the notification crystal balls installed throughout the headquarters began to light up, emitting a loud, clamorous noise. In that instant, Theo and Luke’s expressions became keenly alert.

“Red…?”

The notification crystal ball affixed to the dormitory wall was steeped in red. That red color signified only one thing.

Invasion by a foreign country. It was the signal announcing the outbreak of war.