episode_0003

The feeling of coming back to life is the worst.

I’ve never been beaten, but I think this is what it feels like to wake up the next day after someone hit you on the head with a glass bottle the day before.

I can’t take care of myself properly for 10 minutes after waking up. They say it’s because the soul is re-establishing itself in a new body, but usually someone helps at this time.

“Are you out of your mind?”

The person assisting you keeps asking about your consciousness and dressing you. I once saw it from the side, and the sight of it being taken out of a coffin-like wooden box and dressed in clothes seemed to overlap with the process of burying a corpse and putting on a shroud that I had seen before.

When the priestess took me out of the box while I was in a dazed state, I blushed for a moment, probably because she looked directly at me in my naked state. Then, she seemed to have composed herself again and continued to do her job in silence.

“Do you have any water?”

“I’ll bring it to you right away.”

When I come to my senses, I am always extremely thirsty. In general, people who do this kind of work are volunteers from the church, so they are treated kindly.

Even though it’s only the people who volunteer and the people above are all corrupt.

“Please eat here.”

“Thank you.”

Jump-clump-

I soon came to my senses after drinking the bowl of water the priestess had brought me.

“Whew… Ah. Have you seen the new supply officer?”

“Yes? ah. Now that I think about it, you have black hair. He told me to come and check on him once a day and to send it to him right away if anything happens.”

‘once a day? ‘I was resurrected, went to the combat zone, escaped, and went straight to the logging site, so I waited for 5 more days.’

Normally, if you were an officer who was in a hurry, it would be easy to hire someone else, but the fact that he came every day and asked about me shows that he definitely knows who I am and points me out.

‘I think things will turn out easier than I thought.’

“Then we should go right away.”

“Oh, are you okay already?”

It’s really nice to see the priestess showing concern. Kindness makes people smile.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s not a lady I see often, but someone I’m seeing for the first time.’

Since we die often anyway and come to this place where we are resuscitated, there is nothing wrong with knowing each other’s names. Because the world revolves around personal connections.

“Now that I think about it, this is your first time meeting me. When did you come?”

“Ah! My name is Rinai, and I have recently come to work as a resuscitation center at the church. Thank you very much.”

“Oh, you see. My name is Lee Lim. I’ll see you often.”

We exchanged brief greetings, so I guess I should head on over. You don’t want to show up late, change your mind, and say there’s no room for someone else.

‘This is first come, first served.’

——————————-

“They’re holding you back so badly.”

While on the way from the resuscitation center to the supply depot, I was stopped by soldiers twice, and the difference between whether or not my identity was confirmed by an officer was this big.

Even though I know it’s a mental illness, if I’m walking alone, I control everything, like what I’m doing and where I’m going.

This may be true since they are soldiers, but even though they are soldiers, they are treated particularly poorly against soul soldiers.

I couldn’t bear to be caught any longer, so I walked quickly and finally arrived at the supply station.

“Is there a supply officer by any chance?”

I lifted up the tent that had “Supply” written on it at the entrance of the wooden building and went in, but there seemed to be no one there.

bang! bang! bang! bang!

I guess I was a little confused, but I heard the sound of metal hitting from the back of the building, so I turned around and saw a woman wearing a helmet with a glass visor and an officer’s uniform, straightening her dented breast armor by pounding it on an anvil.

Although he is tapping vigorously, to someone who doesn’t know him, it looks like he is actually crushing the equipment.

Still, after watching for a while, I saw that the armor was gradually coming back into shape, so it was true that it was doing its job properly.

I waited until one of the armors was completely repaired before speaking.

“Are you a supply officer by any chance?”

When I asked that question, the woman seemed to look back.

“Ah! I finally meet you, the black-haired soul soldier!”

He said, running towards me, raising his visor and hugging my body. Because he is a little short, his head only comes up to his chest.

First of all, I was very embarrassed.

‘W-what is it? I really don’t know this person.’

I can’t tell even if I look at your face. The figure visible under the raised visor was a woman with long, sweaty, matted blonde hair.

Nobles are also provided with standard uniforms if they are soldiers, but most of them wear armor or high-quality clothes prepared by their families. Those who bother to wear uniforms are likely to be sincere people.

Or, he may have been a commoner but rose to the rank of officer.

‘Before that, I need to check first.’

“Do you know me?”

“Do you remember the village you saved when it was attacked by demonic beasts five years ago?”

“Well, all the villages I go to are like that, so I’m not sure where you’re talking about.”

‘How do you remember all that?’

For the first two years, as soon as I woke up, I just kept putting on my armor, holding my esterk, and rushing into the middle of the battlefield where demonic beasts and other races were rampaging.

We fought like crazy. To the point where all I remember is blood, flesh, and screaming.

And as the village was gradually liberated, the gap gradually narrowed, and it was only after that that I began to feel at ease.

‘It’s probably one of the villages that were there at that time anyway.’

“Well, since they are very busy people, it must be difficult to remember. Thank you so much for saving me then.”

The female officer looked a little disappointed, but then spoke again as if she understood.

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember, but I’m glad that he grew up well.”

“Is that so? Even though I’m now 20 years old, I’m still a little dissatisfied that I’ve only grown this much…”

‘You were 20 years old.’

If you do the math, he would have been 15 years old 5 years ago, but the person in front of him looks like a first-time officer wearing military uniform.

I guess I was still fighting on the front lines until my 15-year-old grew up like this.

When I think about it that way, it feels like five years have already passed.

“My name is Sergeant Ennin. This time, I was assigned as a new supply officer. And it’s okay to say nothing.”

“Still, I’m an ordinary soldier, so if I get caught talking to a sergeant carelessly, I’ll be in big trouble.”

“Uh, but at that time, I saw you talking informally in front of other nobles, right?”

‘Ah, is that time?’

There is one thing that just came to mind.

There used to be a really rude guy. Even when he gave orders, he always gave them like crap and he kept dying strangely, which was annoying.

In the end, as this kept happening over and over again, I turned around and scolded him in a harsh tone right in front of him. It happened to be a plaza, so all the citizens nearby came to watch.

Even at other times, I would never swear at an officer in an informal manner, but I remember it because it was so irritating. Perhaps this sergeant was also present at that time.

“From then on, I really admired Soul Byeong and worked hard to join the military. I found out later that it was a mental illness, but once I found out, I enlisted in the military and applied for it, hoping to help indirectly.”

“I was frustrated because this is the route that only first-time officers pass through, but I’m glad I met someone I know.”

It is said that the supply department is a position that nobles avoid because it is stressful.

The soul soldiers’ equipment always comes back broken when they go out, and the supply chain, which has to repair it every day, is not popular with nobles who want to build up achievements by using soldiers on the battlefield.

“Still, I never thought we would meet so soon. Since there were so many people and everyone was selected right away, I thought the only way was to just keep waiting.”

“It’s a miracle. Maybe God helped me.”

“That might really be true. Hehe!”

They don’t like the gods here, but since it’s a world where most people have religion, they’re really happy when you tell them that.

Even though I don’t like the idea of attributing my efforts to God, it is truly a miracle that a relationship that occurred five years ago without me knowing has turned into such a great opportunity.

“Then, I have to officially apply to become a deputy, so let’s just fill out the documents and then we’ll talk again!”

——————————-

“Then, thank you formally. My name is Sergeant Henin. Welcome to the world of supply!”

“This is Lee Lim. Please take care of me.”

I’m glad you arrived safely as a lieutenant. Soul soldiers who have direct superiors are rarely taken away these days as wars have subsided, so it can be said that there is almost no chance of them dying in a fight anymore.

So, for now, my first goal of reducing the number of deaths has been achieved.

“Then, I will give you a dog tag. Could you please bow your head?”

“Ah, yes.”

Enin approaches to put on the silver necklace that symbolizes his status as a lieutenant, which he received from the command center.

As a courtesy, the officer must do it himself.

However, since the hook was on the back, I thought he was going to hang it from behind me, but he suddenly approached me from the front and wrapped his arms around my neck.

As Enin approached, his chest was completely buried in Summer’s uniform made of white cloth.

My head was pulled by the thin, translucent fabric.

Enin doesn’t have large breasts, but the necklace wasn’t fastened as well as expected, so she held it tighter and a soft feeling filled her head.

I started to feel embarrassed because I thought it was someone else’s embrace that I had felt for the first time in a very long time.

“It’s hot over there…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Because the day is hot.”

‘I didn’t mean it that way.’

It was embarrassing, but I thought it would be even weirder to correct it again, so I just quietly accepted the feeling.

“There you go!”

Enine, who mistakenly thought she was referring to the summer heat, finished putting on the necklace, then stepped back and removed the brooch from her shoulder.

“Then I’ll use Athir.”

The artifact glowed, as if Enin had poured some magical energy into it.

“As of the current time, the personal affairs of soul soldier Lee Rim of the 3rd Corps Soul Corps will be taken over by Enin, a sergeant in charge of supply for the 3rd Corps. Unless it is a direct order from my immediate superior, my order takes priority and all orders except basic orders for hierarchy are lifted.”

Enin only included somewhat complicated engravings and only the necessary items.

Many of the orders imposed by using Athir to control soul disease, including the basic ones such as prohibiting desertion or assaulting superiors, have been lifted.

Soon, in response to Enin’s Atyr, the emblem on its neck began to glow.

“There you go!”

Of course, there is no physical weight attached to the command, but I feel like my body has become considerably lighter, perhaps because the restrictions from short-term commands that had accumulated without my knowledge have been lifted.

“Thank you. So what should I do now?”

“For now, I don’t have much to do today. All you have to do is retrieve the equipment.”

For the most part, our equipment continues to be reused. It feels like it is public equipment rather than personal equipment, so you retrieve it when you die and put it back on when you come back to life.

So, in cases where we are wiped out or when work is busy, we go separately and retrieve the equipment later.

“The battlefield? It might be a bit far.”

“No. It is said that a large amount of equipment was discovered not there, but in a cave on the side of a nearby mountain. They say there were bandits who took off the equipment of dead soul soldiers and sold them, but they got caught and ran away.”

‘Were there people like that?’

I’ve rarely been around other than battlefields, so I didn’t even know there were people doing such trash. Since my position has changed, I also learn new things.

“I have to go get it quickly before I come back.”

“There is no need for that. They say they are tracking those who ran away, but they say they probably ran towards the Land of Death and died.”

They are trash people who take off our equipment and sell it because they have nothing to take away when we are dying because of someone else.

I’m a little annoyed because I think the reason they fight is for the land where those guys will stand.

“Then, let’s just get ready and leave.”

You have to be armed because something might happen.

‘This is good.’

Another advantage of being in the supply chain is that you can get priority access to good equipment and other items.

Since I died and was resurrected, I don’t have any special equipment, so I take plenty of it.

I put a clean chest armor, an estark, an ax on my waist, and a dagger inside the armor.

Afterwards, they depart along the road in a carriage pulled by two horses parked at the main gate of the base.

I feel like I may have over-armed myself, but I’m only going to pick up the equipment where work has been done anyway, so what could happen?