chapter_0003

2 – I Don’t Want to Get Promoted

2 – I Don’t Want to Get Promoted

Imperial General Staff Headquarters.

The office of the Magic Mobile Corps Commander.

Rustle—

Heinrich, sitting at a luxurious mahogany desk, flips through the papers in a file.

The information written on the paper was none other than Daniel Steiner’s personal details.

[Name: Daniel Steiner]

[Place of Birth: Pianmari Village, Betargen Barony, Southern Empire]

[Special Notes: Confirmed to have been abandoned by his parents and raised in an orphanage. Later, recognized for his magical talent by a conscription officer on dispatch, he entered the Imperial Magic Academy and graduated at the top of his class.]

Having read the special notes, Heinrich put a pipe in his mouth.

‘Graduated at the top of the Magic Academy, huh…’

This wasn’t particularly surprising.

This Imperial General Staff Headquarters was a place only those with genius-level skills could enter.

However, the fact that he was an orphan gave Heinrich a different feeling.

‘He didn’t have a family to back him up, yet he put forward an opinion based on intuition?’

Although rare, there were times when passionate young men pierced through the icy atmosphere of the conference room like an awl and expressed their opinions.

But behind the courage these young men exuded was always the name of their family.

There was always an underlying certainty that even if something went wrong due to their statements, their family wouldn’t abandon them.

‘But…’

Daniel Steiner. This new Officer from an orphanage had no family to support him.

If the military were to go wrong because of the opinion he voiced, the level of punishment wouldn’t simply end with him taking off his uniform.

Daniel must have known that, yet he pushed his opinion forward.

And that opinion was, in conclusion, reasonable and valid.

As a result of issuing a large-scale reconnaissance order, they obtained information that the enemy was preparing an ambush near the hills.

‘Does he have eyes that can see through the battlefield?’

Of course, it might be an exaggeration. It could just be a coincidence.

However, it was clear that Daniel had prevented damage in advance.

In an era of fierce battles where a small current could change the course of the war, Daniel’s sharp insight was like welcome rain in the desert.

From Heinrich’s point of view, he was a talent that couldn’t be denied a reward.

Knock, knock—

The knocking sound broke his train of thought.

Heinrich gathered the file and placed it on the edge of the desk.

“Commander! I have come to carry out my duties with Lieutenant Daniel Steiner!”

Heinrich, taking the pipe out of his mouth, blew out smoke and said.

“Enter.”

Then, the door of the office opened, and Lieutenant Daniel Steiner entered with the adjutant, a Captain.

Tall, with black hair and black eyes. He looked emaciated, but his spirit was alive.

Reaching the center of the office, the two saluted sharply as if they had made an agreement.

Heinrich casually accepted the salute, and the Captain stepped aside.

Thanks to this, Daniel changed to the at-ease stance and waited for Heinrich’s call.

“Hmm.”

He was a model soldier through and through.

A posture so perfect that it was difficult to find any difference from the at-ease stance in the textbook.

Feeling a kind of favor, Heinrich opened his mouth.

“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner. As you may have heard from my adjutant, thanks to you, the military was able to prevent damage in advance. This is an undeniable achievement.”

Daniel maintained his attention stance.

He was adhering to the attitude of a model soldier who wouldn’t open his mouth until his superior asked a question.

He could have been excited about his achievement and rushed ahead, but he was remarkably calm.

Of course, this was just Heinrich’s thought.

Daniel’s mind was currently in a state of chaos.

‘My bullshit worked? Why the hell?’

As he bit his lip, unable to understand, Heinrich continued.

“Achievements deserve rewards. So, I’m thinking of putting you up for the next quarter’s promotion review. What do you think?”

Daniel’s shoulders twitched.

For Daniel, promotion was like getting closer to death.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel came up with an excuse as calmly as possible.

“Sir. I am deeply moved by your gracious words. But I don’t want to receive special treatment just because I have one achievement.”

“Hmm? Did you say just one achievement?”

“Yes. I just think I did what I should do as an Officer guarding the Holy Bavarian Empire. So, please reconsider putting my name on the promotion review.”

Heinrich blinked blankly.

He had seen countless war maniacs who were thirsty for promotion, but this was the first time he had seen someone refuse a promotion.

The Captain, who was watching this scene from the side, was equally surprised.

‘He’s truly an extraordinary guy.’

Heinrich chuckled and put down his pipe.

“Lieutenant. I think you’re misunderstanding something, but your achievement isn’t ‘just one achievement.’ It’s like saving at least hundreds of compatriots. So, I can’t grant your request.”

“Sir. I’m just…”

“Enough. Don’t you know that meritocracy is one of the basic ideologies of the Imperial Army? If you refuse repeatedly, I’ll take it as a denial of the Empire’s ideology.”

It meant that he would be promoted even if he didn’t like it.

With the Commander, the supreme commander of the military, saying that, a mere Lieutenant couldn’t argue any further.

In the end, Daniel reluctantly answered.

“…I will accept this undeserved honor.”

Heinrich, who had been watching Daniel closely, nodded.

“Good. Then keep that in mind. You may leave now.”

Hearing the words to leave, Daniel gave a sharp salute.

Heinrich accepted the salute, and Daniel turned around and left the office.

The sound of footsteps faded away. After confirming that Daniel had left the office, Heinrich chuckled softly.

“He’s a rare young man in this day and age. Don’t you think so, Captain?”

The Captain, who had been staring blankly at the door of the office where Daniel had left, turned his head.

“Yes. Usually, people would do anything to raise their performance rating, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone try to lower it.”

“He’s not just a soldier in name only. He truly wants to protect the Empire and crush the Allied Nations. It seems like an amazing guy has joined the military.”

It was as if he was seeing his younger self.

Heinrich, with a satisfied smile, added casually.

“The military needs people like that. Especially now, when the power of the Allied Nations is growing.”

Heinrich, who had put down his pipe, picked it up and laughed happily.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how far he can go.”

*

“Don’t fucking joke with me! Seriously!”

I shouted in a fit of anger as I returned to my private dormitory.

That’s because the situation was getting worse.

“Early promotion…”

This wasn’t just about adding one more diamond from Lieutenant to Captain.

Early promotion in the Imperial General Staff Headquarters, an elite group, meant that he was an elite recognized even within the elite group.

Even if the assignment was changed later, the label of ‘elite who was promoted early in the General Staff Headquarters’ would continue to follow him.

That was the highest honor and the best path a lower-ranking Officer could obtain.

In other words, it meant that he had gotten one step closer to the core members of the Empire’s leadership.

In short, it was the same as saying that the probability of my head being chopped off when the Empire lost in the future had increased.

Sitting on the bed, I swept my face once and raised my head.

In the full-length mirror in front of me, I saw a man with faint dark circles under his eyes.

I was sure I had shouted with joy when I confirmed that my first assignment was the General Staff Headquarters, but after awakening my memories of my past life, this was hell.

After staring at myself in the mirror for a while, I sighed and got up from my seat.

Opening the window and looking outside, I could see high-ranking military Officers going to work one by one.

That’s right. When I think about it, this place had as many high-ranking Officers as there were pebbles on the street.

Thanks to this, it was the perfect place to earn points for a comfortable military life, but on the other hand, it was also the perfect place to lose points.

‘Things have gotten a little twisted… but nothing will change.’

All I had to do was commit incompetent and shameless acts that exceeded my achievements.

Loosening the stuffy tie of my uniform, I took a deep breath.

‘Sir. I would like to express my gratitude for your trust in me. But I don’t want an early promotion. At least not in the Empire.’

So, in order to cancel the early promotion and bring forward my dishonorable discharge, I needed to become a complete scoundrel.

Coincidentally, the perfect material for me to play the role of a scoundrel was inside the General Staff Headquarters.

That material was Major Karl Heinrich, the operational planning staff officer I was serving.

A psychopath who started his day by tormenting me and ended his day by despising me.

If I used my direct superior, Karl Heinrich, the opportunity for a dishonorable discharge was still there.

‘So, watch me, sir.’

I’m going to escape this Empire no matter what.