Encounter

Vrooom!

The exhaust sound of a vehicle awakened the quiet military academy where instructors and cadets had left.

“How long will it take if we go as fast as possible?”

“It will take about half a day, sir.”

It was a luxury car that departed on Gartel’s order.

“Damn it.”

Although Gartel didn’t show it outwardly out of consideration for his dignity, his slightly trembling hands and mustache soaked with cold sweat showed he was in a very anxious state.

‘By now, the individual duel must be in full swing.’

Has Yena already suffered irreversible damage? Gloomy futures kept looming in his mind.

Bang!

“That bastard who’s not even a soldier!”

“Ye-Yes?”

Thinking of Manfred who had brought the situation to this state, Gartel struck the back seat hard.

“Whew, I’m sorry. As an instructor, I should set a good example. Don’t worry, I’m not talking to you.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Calming his mind somewhat, he opened the only briefcase he had brought and hastily took out crumpled papers.

[Full Text of Manfred von Eckart’s Interrogation]

It was a document that summarized all the handwritten notes and testimonies of the equipment manager who was no different from an enemy.

‘He said he attached a tracker, right?’

Gartel put on his monocle and turned the pages to recheck the contents of Manfred’s testimony.

‘Using the pre-inspection time, he attempted to modify the training rifle and protective gear that cadet Yena Freud was scheduled to use, and secretly supplied Wolf with a machine that receives signals from the training ground map and tracker…’

He was indeed trash that couldn’t be recycled. Who would sabotage the training that the military academy and the Federation had put so much effort into for their own private interests?

Just recalling his face made killing intent surge. That guy is not a soldier. He’s just a rat eating away at the Empire while hiding under the group called the nation.

‘I should have beaten him more.’

He clenched his fist, recalling the guy whose face had become disgusting with swollen skin during the interrogation ‘process’.

Flop─

Then he let out a sigh close to lamentation as he put down the documents on the seat next to him. He buried his head in the car’s headrest and covered his face with his now free hands.

‘In the end, is all I can do now just pray for Yena’s safety?’

If there was any good news, it was that assuming everything Manfred confessed was ‘correct’, there wasn’t anything particularly threatening.

The tracker just identifies location, and even if Yena’s abilities are weakened by equipment modification, at worst it would end with her getting badly hurt and eliminated. But what if Manfred was hiding something?

That’s when the real problem would arise. That’s why he wanted to get to Sevirpol as quickly as possible.

‘I need to submit this data to Principal Lustet and stop the training.’

He wanted to send a communication to end it immediately, but the joint training was not an activity that could be stopped just on the suspicion of a single instructor without physical evidence.

“Drive as fast as you can, don’t worry about the ride comfort.”

“Yes, understood.”

He had to negotiate directly.

Vrooom─!

Gartel grabbed the handle on the ceiling and strengthened his resolve while looking at the endless prairie landscape.

---

“One, two, three──.”

Bang!

Bang─!

“Aaaargh!”

“Ah, uuugh…”

About two hours since forming a temporary alliance with Erika.

Two people, and cadets with some skill at that, working together had a more terrifying effect than expected.

“We got another one!”

“Well done, keep doing it like this.”

In a period where it would be difficult to take out five alone, we eliminated at least ten. It was close to a massacre.

Not that we were actually killing them, of course.

“Let’s go then.”

“Okay!”

I patted Erika’s head as she jumped with joy, then tidied up the place as usual and left the building.

Thud, thud─!

Then, to prepare for camping, we headed to a nearby abandoned shopping district with few people around.

We first entered this city at noon, but now after going through various battles, the sun was already setting in the evening.

We need to secure a suitable space for resting.

The individual duel is not a training that ends after just one day. It’s an education viewed from a long-term perspective to verify survival skills in how long one can endure in an isolated battlefield situation.

Managing stamina and resting were as important as putting bullets in enemies’ heads.

“Erika, this way.”

Rustle, rustle!

I, who was in the city center, instantly escaped to the outskirts by passing between buildings.

“It’s really quiet.”

“There are fewer people here.”

The sound of explosives that had been constantly hitting our eardrums had disappeared at some point, replaced by the cries of mountain birds and crickets.

It was peacefulness encountered after a long time.

This place should be fine.

After arriving outside the city and passing about 10 buildings, we finally found a villa-level building that seemed to have no people, so without further delay, I headed straight inside.

“There’s no one here!”

“Here too.”

Only after thoroughly searching inside with the rifle shouldered and confirming safety did I put down our luggage.

“Let’s stay here.”

“Finally resting…”

As if she hadn’t just nimbly taken out enemies, Erika slid down the wall like melting jelly as soon as I gave permission.

Click, whoosh!

Unlike her, I didn’t rest but unpacked the cookware and ingredients from the backpack to prepare for dinner.

I should give a reward for today’s hard work.

Even if it wasn’t grand, I wanted to properly repay Erika for following me diligently and helping me gain many points. It was my personality to always return what I received.

“You rest. I’ll take care of dinner.”

“No, you must be tired…”

“It’s okay. I want to do it, so don’t refuse.”

“…Thank you.”

Chop, chop!

I made Erika sit back down when she tried to get up, took out matches and cotton balls to light a fire, then improvised a stand to fix the tin pot so it would heat well.

Then I chopped carrots, onions, and potatoes that weren’t there during the previous monster resistance training and put them in the pot.

It was the rebirth of a veteran military cook.

“Hmm.”

The fire is starting to rise properly. Now to seriously focus on cooking, I tied up my hair that had fallen over both shoulders with a net and wiped the beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

Thud, thud!

After waiting for the tin to heat up sufficiently, when white smoke started rising in wisps, I put in all the ingredients.

Splash!

I also added the remaining canned ham and mushroom soup from the backpack.

This should be enough for the cadets to eat their fill. Who puts soup, canned food, carrots and onions generously in military supplies?

It’s a small consideration from the military academy to maintain a clear mind without going hungry, at least during training.

“Erika, it’s ready.”

“Really?”

Thanks to the not-so-simple ingredients, after stirring until the vegetables and ham harmonized properly with the soup, a quite presentable dish appeared. This was no worse than regular food.

“Try it.”

But the most accurate thing is to get an evaluation from someone else. I held out the tin pot to Erika, who was coming while wiping the saliva forming at the corners of her mouth.

“Slurp──.”

And I watched in anticipation as she brought the spoon to her mouth and chewed. It was nothing special, but I couldn’t help feeling nervous for some reason.

“Yena…”

As Erika, who had swallowed all the food, opened her mouth,

“It-It’s delicious!”

“I’m glad. Eat a lot.”

“Okay! I’ll eat well, thank you so much!”

Only when she raised both hands and her eyes sparkled did I feel relieved. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to taste bad.

Now I should eat too.

Click, clatter─

After completing the so-called ‘vegetable ham soup’,

“What are you going to do when this training is over? We’ll be going back to the military academy now.”

“I’m going to eat cream cake as soon as I get back! It’s my favorite dessert. I love its unique sweetness so much!”

This moment of sharing the cooking with Erika was the most peaceful and comfortable throughout the training. Thanks to that, even mental fatigue disappeared as if washed away.

If I were alone, I would have survived sufficiently, but I wouldn’t have been able to fill the boredom.

Erika has some kind of unique bright energy. When she’s around, for some reason the atmosphere becomes much fresher.

“Ahh! I ate really deliciously!”

“If I get the chance, I’ll make it for you again.”

“Okay!”

After filling my stomach, I briefly went to the nearby windows to check outside.

“Chirp, chirp…”

Confirming that there were no signs of anything approaching, I took out the sleeping bag tied to the bottom of the backpack,

“Let’s sleep now.”

And prepared for bed.

Since it was a blanket that covers the whole body fastened with buttons, there was no risk of harming health. It would be a problem if it got too cold, but this place has a mild climate even in the Federation.

“I’ll take the first watch.”

“Okay, wake me up when you want to!”

As it was burdensome for both of us to go to bed in such a dangerous environment, I maintained alertness by walking around the building while Erika got some sleep.

At a glance it might look like I’m not sleeping to keep watch, but

“Erika, are you asleep?”

“Mmm…”

“She’s asleep.”

In fact, I took the first watch for a different purpose.

Swish─

I need to hide this secretly.

After confirming that Erika had completely gone to dreamland, I took out a tiny object from my pocket.

It was the tracker I had torn off the gun.

The only one who would pull such a trick on me is Wolf, that bastard… He’s chasing me with this toy? I should prepare a proper welcome ceremony befitting him.

“Was it like this…”

Squeak─!

I placed the tracker in a nearby abandoned house visible from the dormitory window, connected it to a grenade with a string made of thinly torn clothes, and hid it between doors.

It was my own gift to grandly welcome him, a booby trap.

It would be troublesome if Erika caught me doing this work, right? If even the tracker was discovered, it would be annoying to deal with.

This is why I deliberately showed consideration for Erika. Otherwise, why would I have yielded? We’re both equally sleepy.

Having successfully hidden the tracker that was burdensome to carry around, I turned around briefly, touched the thin piece of cloth dangling from my ankle, and

Tap, tap─.

Dusted off my hands and returned to the original villa. Now there’s nothing left to do but leave the future to heaven.

If Wolf really comes, I should end this persistent relationship now.

I can no longer overlook him who tried to sabotage my protective gear and gun to cause me trouble. If he personally comes looking for me, I’ll make this place the site of his last struggle.

“Yawn.”

I sat on the window where the night breeze was coming in, and looked up at the clear full moon above the horizon while yawning.