Ch.329329. A Single Victory (4)

The bait has been cast.

Murmurs begin to spread among the soldiers, and the spark of foreboding slowly ignites within the Imperial army due to their repeated retreats.

If we were to suffer even one more defeat or show signs of taking such a course of action, they would surely come bearing arms and protest. I’m well aware of that much.

But the more they react that way, the closer the outcome will be to my original intention. By the time the arrows of blame from our own forces ignite and turn toward me, the fuse will already have caught a great fire.

Of course, whether they fall into the trap or not is the most important factor…

But could a more perfect trap possibly exist?

I can guarantee it does not. Due to the thorough concealment that has even misled our own forces, Ashpern will absolutely fail to notice this is a trap.

However, this is also the last chance to set a trap for Ashpern.

That troublesome dragon-man possesses intelligence and won’t fall for the same trap twice.

That’s why I had to deceive him perfectly and induce him to move rashly. Now I must cut off his escape route so he can never flee from this trap again.

Looking forward to tomorrow, I opened the door to end today.

-Click.

“Wha?!”

As I gently pushed the door open, something immediately burrowed into my abdomen.

It could have been an assassin waiting for me to open the door, plunging a knife in on someone’s orders. But if so, it was far too soft and warm.

“…”

A fragrant shampoo scent began to spread, and warmth embraced my entire body.

Yes, what had burrowed in was a human body. Something far removed from the sharp, cold edge of a blade.

It was her, whom I now regularly let sleep on my lap.

‘Oh my.’

Setting aside Renias’s sudden tackle-like greeting, something soft and curved was currently pressing against my skin.

I should detach her first.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden today?”

“…”

“Renias?”

For some reason, Renias wouldn’t release her arms from around my waist.

The sensation of her large chest pressing against me was distracting, but comforting her in her distress took priority, so I extended both arms to embrace her and gently patted her back.

She must be upset about something again. Perhaps she heard some strange rumors somewhere that put her in a bad mood.

That’s why she waited for me to open this door, and now she’s acting this way to release her frustration.

I could roughly guess what might have happened to make her so sulky.

“Are you upset because people were saying things about me again?”

Judging from the rumors circulating outside, nothing positive could have emerged.

Despite the commander miraculously leading us to victory once, we’ve since suffered consecutive defeats. With nothing but defeats and retreats continuing, unpleasant voices must have reached Renias’s ears as well.

So Renias was angry in her own way. Worried that bad rumors about me might spread again like before.

The strength in Renias’s arms gradually loosened. Tears had welled up in her eyes, perhaps from indignation.

I wiped her tears with my finger and said:

“Shall we go for a walk? It’s been a while.”

“A… walk?”

“I need to cheer up my angry girlfriend, and I have something I want to talk about too.”

“…”

Renias glanced at me briefly and nodded slightly.

***

It truly had been a long time since our last walk.

Since the Real Winter Parade, we hadn’t even strolled at night like this, had we? Since my appointment as commander, I couldn’t even go for simple walks, only offering my thigh as a pillow substitute in my office.

Of course, in my current daily life of moving between battlefields, visiting the command room and conference room, establishing command systems and giving orders, such things were unimaginable.

I thought I could have at least said something to Renias whenever she came to make coffee for me, let alone take her for walks.

“Oppa. A walk is nice, but… where exactly are we going?”

“Why? Do we need to have a specific destination?”

“Not really. Ah.”

At that moment when she said “Ah,” I took her hand.

“It’s been a really long time since we went for a walk. I want to walk for a while. It’s been a long time since I held your hand like this too.”

Then I briefly released her hand before taking it again, interlocking our fingers.

Now was the time to reveal my honest feelings and dissolve the resentment that had built up.

The place we arrived at after walking hand in hand was a location that should have been quite familiar not only to me but also to Renias.

“This is…”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Our former home.

The place where we lived together, greeting the same mornings and falling asleep in the same bed at night.

“Did you want to come here from the beginning when you suggested going for a walk?”

“Yes, that’s right. There’s something I needed to say here.”

“…”

Her face showed curiosity about what I wanted to say, but also tension.

I gently stroked one of Renias’s cheeks, which still bore tear stains, then unlocked the door and opened it.

“Ugh, look at this dust. It’s no joke.”

Musty dust that had accumulated with no one coming and going fell in clumps.

Still, traces of our life remained intact in this place.

The dishes that Renias always kept clean.

The wardrobe with a divider inserted because we couldn’t separate men’s and women’s clothes.

The dented corner of the sink from when we bumped into each other, neither willing to give up cooking and washing dishes because “cooking is a woman’s pride.”

And the table where we always sat facing each other enjoying pleasant meals, and the bed where we embraced each other every morning and night.

I wanted to show this to Renias.

“I sometimes felt like I was living an empty life. Even though I experienced regression and lived again, I didn’t have any concrete goals. But you know what? At some point, there were times when I didn’t have complicated thoughts. Looking back, you were always there during those times.”

“Oppa…”

“I don’t want this time to end here. Because we need to build many more memories like these going forward, I had to protect this house. So even if I had to endure criticism for a short while, I needed to secure a means to win decisively. And.”

I gently kissed her interlocked hand.

“I came here to meet you. So I will protect you in the end.”

Renias’s wide eyes were now looking straight at me.

“…That’s so unfair. How can I stay angry when you say things like that?”

“I’m sorry. Were you very angry?”

“You call that an apology? I was worried you might get stoned like in the old days. Especially in this wartime situation when people are already on edge… what if someone pulled a knife on you…”

Her eyes welled up with tears again, showing how much she had been suffering.

“So in the end, you deceived our own forces?”

“Yes. To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies. This operation can only succeed if morale drops and anxiety rises due to consecutive defeats. That’s why this kind of agitation had to happen.”

“Really, you could have at least told me! You just made me upset for nothing!”

She swung her fists at me, though they felt as soft as cotton.

“And you kept leaving me behind saying I shouldn’t encounter Ashpern. Do you know how upset I was?”

If our positions were reversed, I would have felt the same. If Renias had been pointed at by others, I might have torn their mouths apart without hesitation.

And if she had headed to the battlefield alone, taking on all the risks, I might have secretly moved to protect her.

Renias had been enduring and enduring until she finally exploded.

After hitting me a few times with her soft fists, her frustration seemed to subside, and she asked again:

“If even I was completely fooled, does that mean it’s going well?”

“Probably. If even you were so thoroughly deceived… Ashpern will definitely fall for it. But it’s not over yet. As you know, Ashpern isn’t alone.”

“Feltiburkos…”

“In the past, the time Professor Muniher bought us was quite long. Yet the Imperial army couldn’t eliminate Ashpern until then. So… this time, we need to buy that time.”

“I see…”

Then Renias looked at me questioningly.

“That’s right. Us. You and me, Renias. Just the two of us will move to buy that time.”

Right there, I explained the specific plan to Renias.

Naturally, Renias didn’t refuse.

“When this is all over, we really, really have to go ride amusement park rides together, okay?”

Recalling our promise that had been inevitably postponed, she simply held out her pinky finger.

And the moment I linked my pinky with hers—

-Hisss.

The color signal I had requested from Cain arrived.

The paper had turned black.

***

Dawn broke.

No matter how many times Dusen reconsidered it, he still couldn’t comprehend.

‘To think he would make such a huge gamble.’

Dusen had received the operation directive not even a day ago, but mere hours ago.

It was such a gamble that if the soldiers—already exhausted in body and mind from consecutive defeats—were to hear of it, they might desert on the spot, and no one would blame them.

And now that gamble was about to be implemented.

“Lord Dusen, the troops have been positioned!”

“…”

“Lord Dusen?”

“Yes. Have them maintain battle readiness and stand by.”

But was it truly a gamble?

What was the outcome of the Battle of Ripol River? It could be seen as a decisive strike after thorough preparation.

This tactic was similar to the Battle of Ripol River. If it had been based on the recklessness of an inexperienced young commander, they should have been pushed back long ago.

Yet Junon maintained this command structure. Even though the situation was like a balloon pushed to its limits, about to burst.

‘Now I understand. This young man has been seeing everything all along.’

They say defeat is the mother of success.

But it seems another such saying should be created.

A series of narrow defeats are sacrifices for a single perfect victory.

-Buuuuuuu!!

“They’re here.”

At the sound of the horn, Dusen immediately took up his weapon and headed to the battlefield.

The first step in this limb-severing tactic to cut off Ashpern’s arms and legs.

It begins with Junon’s directive to accurately predict the timing of the beast-men’s invasion and maintain battle readiness.