chapter_0004

3 – Is This Really the End?

3 – Is This Really the End?

I adjusted my uniform and had breakfast in the officers’ mess before heading to the operations staff’s personal office.

It was an ordinary day.

One difference was that some senior officers I encountered in the hallway had begun to recognize me.

“Are you that famous second lieutenant? The one who made the staff at the command post look foolish? Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m saying this as a compliment.”

“Lieutenant, I know you’re confident in your abilities, but don’t show off too much in front of your superiors if you want to have a long military career. That’s my advice based on experience.”

“Wow! I thought the staff headquarters was filled with stuffy people, but I didn’t expect to find someone like you! I’ll cheer you on, so keep up the good work!”

…Every time I ran into them, they would grab me and launch into long-winded speeches, which was dizzying.

I couldn’t ignore them, so I managed to escape by overusing the magical three phrases: “Understood!” “Is that so?” “Thank you!”

The problem was that I wasted time being caught by the officers and couldn’t keep to my start time.

The start time was 8:30, and the current time was 8:28.

The staff office was on the fifth floor, so even if I walked as fast as I could, it would take four minutes.

As an imperial officer, I had to maintain my dignity, so I couldn’t run unless I was in the field, which meant I was definitely going to be late.

‘Karl is going to throw a fit again.’

Let me reiterate: my direct superior, Karl Heinrich, is a neurotic person who reacts excessively to even the smallest mistakes.

If he had good results, I might have felt some respect for him, but his only achievement was cowering in the rear during the defensive war against the Allied Nations seven years ago.

How could such a person be in the imperial staff headquarters, which claims to be meritocratic?

If you question a superior’s rank and title, they say to look at their background.

Indeed, Karl Heinrich comes from a noble family, and his father is a diplomatic ambassador.

It’s the same everywhere, but even in the meritocratic empire, blood ties, connections, and academic backgrounds are intricately intertwined.

The one benefiting from that privilege is none other than my superior, Karl Heinrich.

In my assessment, he was the epitome of incompetence and a personality disaster, a living piece of human trash.

There’s evidence. If you were to mark the dark circles under my eyes, Karl Heinrich would undoubtedly be the major shareholder.

Thanks to him, I wondered what kind of trouble he would cause today, but my heart was at peace.

‘After all, I’ll be discharged anyway.’

Since my goal was an honorable discharge, I no longer needed to cater to Karl’s whims.

Is this what it feels like for an office worker carrying a resignation letter in their pocket? A smile even lingered on my lips.

With such light steps, I headed to the operations staff office on the fifth floor and knocked on the door.

“This is Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner from the operations staff. I’m coming in.”

After announcing my name and title, I opened the door to see inside the office.

The first thing I noticed was Karl sitting at his desk, his head in his hands, in a sunlit room.

He looked strange, sweating as if he had made some significant mistake.

Since he seemed unaware of my entrance, I approached and opened my mouth.

“Major Karl Heinrich? You need to go to the operations staff room by 9 o’clock. You should start preparing now…”

I stopped mid-sentence.

Karl lifted his head in response to my voice, and his eyes were swirling with anger.

Could he really be reacting like this just because I was two minutes late? Just as I was feeling bewildered, Karl shot up from his seat.

“You! Do you even know what you’ve done?”

What have I done? Being two minutes late? I blinked in confusion as Karl strode toward me.

“Who said you could convey opinions to the commander? How dare you, an insignificant second lieutenant orphan, interrupt the meeting…!”

Karl reached me and roughly grabbed my collar, pushing me back.

I almost fell but managed to regain my balance by stepping back.

“Because of you, my plans have gone to waste! Damn it! It’s not just my plans that are ruined; my life is in danger because of you, you bastard!”

What the hell is he talking about? He’s always been a pain, but today he’s acting strangely—

Thud!

I slammed my head against the wall and let out a low groan.

“If I’m wrong, I won’t stay quiet. I’ll drag you down to hell with me, no matter what it takes! Do you understand, you bastard!?”

…Is he really insane?

Normally, I would have swallowed my anger, but today was different.

“You started it first, Karl.”

“What? Are you talking back to your superior…?”

Smack! I swatted Karl’s hand away and immediately threw a punch at his face.

Karl, startled, turned his head to dodge, but it was already too late.

My fist struck his cheekbone.

“Ah!”

As Karl stumbled back, I chased after him, grabbed his neck, and tripped him.

Thud!

Karl hit the floor, grimacing in pain and spitting.

I climbed on top of him and pulled my fist back.

Before I could strike, I paused for a moment, and Karl, trembling, opened his mouth.

“…You, you know this is assaulting a superior. There will be a military tribunal. That means your military career is over. Do you understand?”

As if I didn’t know. I shrugged my shoulders.

“You don’t need to worry. I’m doing this to end my military career.”

“What? What do you mean—”

Smack! With that sound, Karl’s words were cut off.

I looked down at Karl, who had fainted with his jaw dislocated.

As I dusted off my hands, I heard footsteps approaching quickly from outside the door.

They must have heard Karl’s scream.

After a moment, the door burst open, and two soldiers rushed in.

“What’s all this commotion!?”

The soldier who shouted froze upon seeing the scene before him.

I understood. An operations officer lying unconscious on the floor with his aide? It would surely be hard to grasp the situation.

So, I decided to help him out.

“It’s assaulting a superior. I’m the perpetrator, so take me away.”

Even after I kindly explained, the soldiers hesitated.

I sighed, feeling a bit pathetic.

“What are you standing there for? Do you need to compare my fist with Major Karl’s bruises before you take me away?”

“N-No, sir!”

Finally moving, the soldiers pulled out a pair of handcuffs from their waists and approached to bind my wrists.

As I was being restrained with a blank expression, I secretly smiled in relief.

‘Since it was an accidental assault on a superior, the punishment won’t be severe. Considering my previous merits, it’ll probably just end with me taking off my uniform.’

It was essentially a discharge with no penalties!

Internally celebrating, I turned my head to look out the window.

The brightness of spring unfolded before me. It was the perfect season to be discharged.

–

That evening.

Major Karl Heinrich’s residence.

“Search thoroughly.”

“Yes! Captain!”

Under the command of Philip Bender, aide to Brigadier Heinrich Schmidt, the soldiers scattered in all directions.

Philip strolled leisurely through the living room, lost in thought for a moment.

‘Today, Second Lieutenant Daniel assaulted his superior.’

When he first heard the news, he thought he must have misheard.

How could someone who had just earned merits cause an incident?

Moreover, to Philip, Daniel was the epitome of an exemplary soldier.

For such a Daniel to commit assault, there must be a reason.

Heinrich, who shared Philip’s thoughts, requested a detailed statement from the military police team that arrived late.

During that process, Karl exhibited signs of anxiety, spouting nonsense about how “the Allied Nations might kill him.”

Sensing something was off, Heinrich ordered Philip to search Karl’s residence, which was why Philip was now leading soldiers to storm Karl’s house.

“Captain! Over here, please!”

At the soldier’s shout, Philip nodded, breaking from his thoughts.

“I’ll be right there.”

As he approached, the soldier lightly tapped the floor.

Thud—

The sound from the floor was surprisingly light, as if it were hollow inside.

“This spot sounds different.”

“A classic method. Tear it up.”

“Yes! Captain!”

As the soldier used a crowbar to pry up the floor, a small box was revealed inside.

Kneeling, Philip picked up the box and opened the lid.

Inside were documents and a few letters.

“This is….”

Confidential documents of the imperial army that should not be known to the enemy.

The letters contained promises of large sums of money in exchange for selling information to the Allied Nations… and even orders to lead the imperial reinforcements into the hills recently.

“This trash of a person….”

Major Karl was a traitor to his nation.

Blinded by money, he sold secrets and sabotaged operations, a slippery eel of a man was none other than Major Karl.

‘Then….’

The reason Daniel assaulted Karl must have been his inability to contain his anger towards this traitor.

Thus, Daniel was not a shameless person who assaulted his superior.

He was the hero of the nation who captured a spy.

‘Looks like we’ve made a terrible misunderstanding.’

I needed to return to headquarters immediately to inform them of this fact and rectify the misunderstanding.

Having finished his thoughts, Philip closed the box and stood up.

“Soldiers, I will return to headquarters, so report if any additional information comes up.”

“Ah, understood. But may I ask why you’re in such a hurry to return?”

With a smile, Philip looked down at the soldier and said.

“Thanks to these documents, it has been proven that Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner is innocent. So, shouldn’t we clear the injustice of a hero who dedicated himself to the empire as soon as possible?”

The soldier hesitated for a moment.

It was the first time he realized that Captain Philip, known as a cold-blooded man, could smile so brightly.