episode_0013

The members of C Platoon, which I had been appointed as the platoon leader of, totaled five. Even the training platoons performing operations on the front lines couldn’t secure personnel immediately, indicating that Mado Infantry were indeed high-level personnel. However, it seemed that the direct command of the corps was somewhat different. Of course, all of them had far more military experience than I did.

After finishing the midday meal, we gathered for a roll call. The gazes directed at me weren’t exactly friendly. I wasn’t trying to be the platoon leader just for show. Still unable to remember their names, I read out the names one by one from the document.

“Emma Garnier, Sergeant Wigo Mathieu, Sergeant Kilian Le Haras, Mia Lefebvre, Sergeant.”

Calling out their names, I familiarized myself with each face. The gender ratio was 1:1. Among the soldiers, sitting on a tree stump, the first one to notice me was also from C Platoon. Sergeant Wigo Mathieu. A typical military appearance. Despite his bulky physique, he looked more than capable of handling close combat. When Claire assembled the platoon, he was the only one who gathered first, and even now, his posture reflected that.

“Hey, Platoon Leader! If you have something to say, spit it out!”

A bright platinum blonde, with hair cascading down to her waist, and her uniform disheveled in various places, making it hard to know where to look, was Sergeant Emma Garnier. Is no one going to address her attire? My head was already starting to ache.

“Sergeant Emma, even though our platoon leader is still a rookie after just a week, calling him ‘Platoon Leader’ seems a bit much.”

The person seemingly mocking Sergeant Emma while also subtly needling me was Sergeant Mia Lefebvre. She had black hair, wore glasses, and her uniform closely resembled FM. She appeared to have the opposite temperament compared to Emma.

“Platoon Leader, you can trust only me instead of these wishy-washy individuals. Did I mention where my previous unit was stationed?”

Then there was this guy, with chestnut hair, leaning against me with a crooked posture, spouting off in a sulky tone. Sergeant Kilian Le Haras.

[Delphine Kang’s defense is being held by the temporary formation of Major Wieg’s corps. Consequently, the corps’ direct subordinate units seem to have been assembled from various other units, judging by the current state of the squad members. It seems like they’ve only sent in elite troops from various units, as those who are difficult to control within their units.

“Please take your seats, Sergeant Kilian.”

“Very formal.”

After Kilian returned to his place, I continued speaking.

“Although the company commander has already introduced her, let me do it officially. This is Marian Roche, a warrant officer. As you know, she participated in the Battle of Saint Marg and was promoted to warrant officer due to her temporary rank.”

I paused here. Except for Sergeant Wiego, the squad members remained silent, listening intently.

“From now on, you must follow my orders. The enemies we will face ahead are not human like us. Fortunately, I have encountered them several times and know a few ways to deal with them…”

“But… but, Captain, you’ve never won against them, right?”

“Emma, even though the captain has never won against them, how can you say that so bluntly?”

“Is that so?”

As Emma’s straightforward manner enveloped me, Mia seemed to be trying to comfort me, but she was actually digging deeper. Somehow, I had a bad feeling that this kind of combo would come up frequently. Wiego still stood with his arms folded.

“From what I’ve heard, if those guys receive a fatal blow, they die, don’t they? Captain, you just need to give orders safely from behind. As a former member of the Royal Guard, I’ll make sure they won’t get anywhere near you.”

Kilian kept on saying this without any attempt to stop. I sighed. Can I really lead this squad well? It felt more comfortable when I was under Cler’s command.

#

On the first day, I used honorifics due to the enthusiasm of the squad members, but that changed over time. To be precise, on the first night, I was scolded severely by Cler for using honorifics. He asked how I could use honorifics with the squad members. He was right. If I address them too softly, there might be problems during combat.]

In the evening, the Claire I saw had returned to her former self. She was the confident woman who led B Company.

And naturally, Sasha’s unit to the east of the Delpine River was spotted by our scouts. To be precise, it’s more accurate to say they revealed themselves rather than being captured by us.

The Delpine Defense Corps – not its official name, but that’s what everyone calls it – largely acknowledged the carnage of the Battle of Saint Marg through my intelligence report.

After that, as if to at least encounter the monsters first, countless scouts were sent to the east, and some of them unluckily fell into the hands of Sasha’s Vanguard Battalion. How did we know? Every morning, a new supply of scouts was displayed in a long rack, lined up for deployment to the east.

However, Sasha had no intention of crossing over here, and the Corps, originally established for a different purpose, was engaged in a nerve-wracking battle with the Muscovian soldier Vanguard Battalion. The monster attacks seemed suspicious, but when you’re engaging in a staring contest with the enemy army right in front of you, it’s only natural for idle Magic Infantry to catch the attention of the Corps Commander. The first mission of the directly controlled Magic Infantry Company, established due to the monsters from the cursed box.

“Protect the eastern scouts and repel hostile forces.”

Lieutenant Gerald had started feeling like the exclusive communication officer for the Magic Infantry Company. Wasn’t it too high for a lieutenant to be a communication officer? He thought so, but since it was at the Corps level, he could understand using a lieutenant as a messenger.

“The location where the recent scout supplies were found isn’t far from here. Probably by tomorrow morning, another supply will be set up across the river there.”

Lieutenant Gerald gestured across the river with his chin. Claire, the commanders of A and B Companies, and even myself, all gathered in the company command post, looked across following the lieutenant’s chin. There should be scouts out there too. Claire didn’t oppose the order itself, but she asked the lieutenant about the dissatisfaction with the mission objective.

“Do you know where the scouts are and can you protect them?”

“Hmm. I don’t know how to use magic, but I heard Magic Infantry can detect living beings. Isn’t that right?”

“It’s possible. However, the problem lies in the fact that we must be prepared to be detected by the enemy in order to do so.”

Our mission is to protect the scouts. If someone attacks, we repel them. The best scenario is if no one attacks at all.

Using magic to scout for the scouts would inevitably alert the enemy, and finding concealed scouts was not an easy task. Until now, the reason scouts were being hunted down was because Sasha’s spearhead battalion was exceptionally good at finding them. Lieutenant Gerald muttered his agreement with Claire’s response. In a brief moment of silence, I subtly voiced my opinion.

“Wasn’t protecting the scouts our mission from the beginning?”

“What do you mean, Marian?”

Claire crossed her arms and stared at me. It was good to regain composure, but it was burdensome to be scrutinized in public again.

“Well, wasn’t it the order from the legion to protect the scouts on the eastern bank of an unknown river with only one company?”

“Are you saying there are too many scouts to protect?”

“Yes, that’s right. It would be difficult to protect them all with just twenty or so people. Besides, the enemy is the elite of the Moscovi Kingdom. They are capable of finding even the kingdom’s covert scouts, so it’s unlikely our company’s movements will go unnoticed.”

“So?”

“In my opinion, the intention of the commander was not solely to protect the scouts from the beginning, but rather to attract enough attention from the Moscovi army to repel them.”

“…Then it would be good to engage in battle around the area where our allied artillery range reaches.”

It seemed that Claire also thought my opinion was somewhat reasonable as she nodded. I pointed to the map, indicating the closest bridge to our company.

“It looks suitable to cross over at Bridge 7.”

The bridges along the Delphine River were too numerous to name individually. As a result, we numbered them starting from downstream, and the location I indicated was where the seventh bridge was situated from downstream. Since the width of the river was relatively narrow, it seemed that the artillery could barely reach the area if we informed them in advance.

Lieutenant Colonel Gerald still had a furrowed brow. Despite that, Claire couldn’t just let it go, considering he was her superior.

“Sir, is something bothering you?”

“Oh, Major. I’m not your commanding officer, just a messenger bringing orders. But it seems Marianne’s ideas are rather risky, don’t you think?”

“How so?”

“Interpreting the orders against the intentions of a superior officer can be quite precarious at times.”

If he pushed it that way, I had something to say as well. In the briefing before the Corps Commanders’ meeting, I distinctly mentioned the Guard Infantry Division across the river. A few infantry regiments and guard divisions were stationed east of the river. But pushing in just one Madobo Infantry Battalion to repel the enemy seemed like an arbitrary interpretation of the orders.

“Well, we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we, sir?”

“You’ve survived numerous times until now, so perhaps your thoughts are correct… Anyway, I’ve relayed the orders. Let’s hope for the best.”

The Colonel seemed to sense the tension and hurriedly left. The sweat on the map’s seventh bridge had slightly discolored the paper where I pressed too hard. Claire glanced at it and then made up her mind, turning to the sergeants gathered in the command post.

“Gather the platoons. I’ll request artillery support and be back.”