episode_0149

“Pfft!”

Ian opened his eyes and tried to get up, but fell back down, groaning as the pain coursed through his body. Even moving my body a little was accompanied by terrible pain, as if I had been beaten by someone.

Where am I?

Instead of forcing himself to wake up, Ian looked around to figure out where he had woken up.

The khaki-colored tent and sloping ceiling were not familiar, but they were not an unfamiliar sight either. However, compared to the personal tents he knew, the height was five times higher and the width was more than ten times different.

When I endured the pain and slightly lifted my upper body to look around, I saw that cadets in the same situation were asleep, covered with blankets. There was a heady smell of disinfectant there, so it seemed like it was a place to treat the injured.

When Ian realized that this was a temporary treatment barracks, he began to piece together his fragmented memories one by one. It wasn’t long after I woke up that my thoughts didn’t go smoothly, but I had to retrieve my memories to find out why I came here.

The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was being hit squarely with the monster Ogre’s huge club. The cause of the problem was that Gilbert rushed at him without checking his physical condition, thinking that he would be dealing with him alone.

When the attack of conversion failed, the attack of the monster ogre came immediately.

Because it was a sword that used all its might, it was impossible to avoid the ogre’s attack.

Because of that, Ian was unable to avoid the attack and allowed the attack to continue…? wait for a sec.

Ian’s face hardened at the memory that followed.

He did not fall from the attack.

It is true that he fell down after being hit by a club, but he did not fall down after being hit by the monster Ogre’s first attack.

In that brief moment when the attack failed and he was left defenseless, Ian received help.

And that too from the person he least likes to receive help from.

“Gilbert…”Ian mumbled his rival’s name without realizing it.

At that desperate moment when he could not avoid the attack, Ian received help from Gilbert.

No matter how much I had the skills related to controlling the Giant God Soldier, it was a characteristic skill that had not yet fully developed. Even if the characteristic skills had fully developed, it was impossible to avoid the monster ogre’s attack in that situation.

Even though his characteristic skills boasted excellent performance, he could not make the impossible possible. At that time, Ian could not completely shake off Peer’s influence, and his posture was sometimes disturbed due to the sword he swung with all his might.

There was nothing Ian’s manipulation skills could do in that situation.

When Ian realized that fact, he ground his teeth in shame. He was fed up with his situation, receiving help from his rivals when his performance wasn’t enough.

Wait a minute, what about Precia…?

Ian, who was struggling with feelings of helplessness and self-destruction, realized that he did not have Presia’s artificial spirit core that he always had in his body.

Forgetting that he was in pain, he jumped up and looked around.

There was no precia on the side of the bed where he was lying.

The thought that he might have been left behind in the cockpit of the giant soldier he was riding suddenly occurred to him.

Ian got up from the bed, stroking his aching body.

As Precia, a symbol of self-esteem, disappeared, I felt anxious.

We need to find it quickly. Precia quickly!

Ian, whose eyes were cloudy and started shaking violently, put on his shoes and got out of bed.

“Commander Ian.”

“Talisman Deputy Commander…?”

The moment Ian stood up and was about to leave the treatment barracks, Talisman, who was in charge of the second-in-command of this punitive force, came inside. He had several commanders, including Commander Courtney, who could be said to be his nemesis.

“Where are we going now?”

“Well, that’s what you’re looking for.”

“I see. But put that aside. The Commander is looking for you.”

“Commander?”

Ian began to weigh which he should prioritize, the thought of finding Presia or the news that Seraphina was looking for him.

I wanted to go find Precia and Seraphina, but they were not currently academy cadets. They were an army assigned the task of subjugation, and had the highest obligation to follow the orders of Seraphina, who led the punitive force.

Although I was concerned, the decision was made quickly.

“Okay. By the way, Commander, why are you looking for me?”

Talisman looked intently into Ian’s eyes and then spoke the command he had received from Serafina.

“Ian Tigris Line Barrel. I will charge you with disobeying your superior’s orders and take you away now.”

“What is that all of a sudden…?!”

Ian suddenly looked at the subjugation team members who were restraining his new recruit with a bewildered expression.

Expressing his resentment, he looked at Talisman and Courtney, but they just turned away from Ian’s gaze.

It was clear that something was going wrong.

Ian He never rebelled against or disobeyed Serafina’s orders.

He thought about resisting out of frustration, but he suppressed the urge and quietly followed them, thinking that the situation might escalate.

It was a mistake anyway.

As long as I met Seraphina, it would only be a matter of time before the misunderstanding would be resolved, so there was no need to make a big deal out of it.

Fortunately, the members of the unit transporting him were not hostile to Ian, so the atmosphere was not coercive. As expected, he seemed to know that the crime of disobeying the order given to him was due to a misunderstanding.

Ian, who left the treatment barracks as if being dragged, was immediately transported to the command barracks.

The distance from the treatment barracks to the command barracks was not that far. After leaving the treatment barracks and walking for about a minute, I arrived at the command barracks, which Ian was also familiar with.

Talisman, who was leading the way, cleared his throat in front of the command barracks.

“Commander. I brought Commander Ian.”

“Come in.”

After Seraphina gave permission, Talisman took Ian inside.

They did not release Ian, who had been detained in case of an unexpected situation.

Ian stood in front of Seraphina as a new soldier was restrained. I didn’t want to be this embarrassed in front of her, but everything was resolved once I resolved the misunderstanding.

“Ian Tigris Linebarrel Commander.”

“Yes. Commander.”

“Do you know why you came here?”

“I heard it was because of disobeying orders.”

“Yes, disobeying orders. That is precisely why I have called you here. Commander Ian. As you probably know, this is an exhibition. This means that even if it is a battle to subdue monsters, it is an unchanging exhibition of life and death. In such an urgent situation, you clearly disobeyed the commander’s orders. How do you think the commander should accept this?”

Seraphina’s cool gaze, which even sent a chill, pierced Ian. Even as Ian, who thought he had done nothing wrong, his eyes were sharp enough to make him flinch, and his eyes were so emotionless that he controlled his emotions as much as possible.

“But commander. I…!”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it. No matter what you say, the fact remains that you disobeyed the commander’s orders. Would you accept this?”

“Commander! That’s not me!”

Ian was going crazy with frustration.

When did he, who faithfully followed orders, disobey the orders of Commander-in-Chief Serafina?

No matter how hard I tried, I was completely submissive.

Although he had entrusted himself to the prince’s faction, he did not do anything crazy like outright reject Serafina’s orders in this situation.

If he did such a ridiculous thing in the first place, Presia would stop him… .wait for a sec. Precia is stopping you?

Ian was able to pull out a few pieces of memory that he had been unable to piece together.

Before he could pounce on the monster Ogre, Presia stopped him from jumping out. The reason was that the Giant God Soldier’s synchronization rate was low because he had not yet been able to shake off the influence of his peer.

Nevertheless, Ian drove the giant god soldier and attacked the monster ogre, and only now did he realize that there was another voice stopping him.

‘Keep your position Commander Ian!’

It was an order from Commander Serafina.

Ian finally remembered Seraphina’s disobedience to orders and tried hard to prevent his expression from changing. If his expression changes now, it would be like admitting that he disobeyed orders.

Of course, even if he didn’t change his facial expression, other people wouldn’t know that he was disobeying orders. At that time, Seraphina had talked about him through a common magic channel, so it had to be assumed that all members of the subjugation team knew about it.

He suddenly felt nervous and slightly avoided the gaze of Seraphina, who was still giving him a cold look.

“Commander. Just calm down first. Even though Commander Ian disobeyed your orders, wasn’t there a reason? So, please give me the opportunity to argue my case.”

“Talisman Deputy Commander. Are you asking this commander to make an exception?”

“That’s right. Of course, I am not approving Commander Ian’s actions. It is true that he did not obey anyone and went out on his own terms. However, if you ignore his overflowing camaraderie and punish him, it will have a negative impact on the morale of the punitive force.”

Ian listened attentively to the story of Serafina and Talisman, and his ears perked up at the word camaraderie. Come to think of it, the reason the other commanders didn’t look at him warmly until he was transferred here didn’t seem to be because they thought he had been falsely accused.

His brilliant mind began to spin rapidly.

By linking the overflowing camaraderie that Talisman spoke of with the situation in which he disobeyed orders, a hypothesis could be developed.

‘Ian, who could not leave his comrades who were tasked with fighting the monster ogre alone, attacked him, even going so far as to disobey his superior’s orders.’

This was the hypothesis he could come up with after listening to the fragmentary story.

“Comradery? Commander Ian Is that true?”

Ian, who was refining his hypothesis, suddenly came to his senses at Seraphina’s sudden question. What he had to do now was not leisurely formulating hypotheses. It was time to sprint to the exit seen a moment ago.

“That’s right. I couldn’t just watch Commander Gilbert deal with the monster ogre alone. I will pay a heavy penalty for disobeying orders, but I do not regret my decision at all.”

It was awesome. This is it.

Although it was an impromptu thought, Ian could not disagree that what he said was really cool. Just looking at the other commander’s eyes sparkling after hearing his words, these were the best words he could have said.

But Seraphina’s eyes were still as cold as ice.

As if she was going to see through all the lies he told.

“I understand. In consideration of your overflowing camaraderie, I will order you to be placed on probation. Please keep in mind that if you do not follow the commander’s orders, you will be subject to strict military law. You can go.”

“Okay. Thank you, Commander, for your kind heart.”

As soon as Serafina’s order to congratulate the soldiers was issued, the commanders who were detaining Ian’s recruits also greeted Serafina and left the command barracks.

As soon as he came out, Ian sighed as he felt his breath being blocked.

“Ian. It’s okay to spread out your chest proudly. As a noble, you did an honorable thing.”

Talisman laughed heartily and slapped his shoulder. Talisman, who reveres honorable work, had a smile on his face as he looked kindly upon Ian, who jumped in for his friend.

“No. Still, it would have been wrong to disobey a superior’s orders.”

“Still, your heroism deeply impressed the other members. We look forward to your continued support. Commander Ian.”

Ian smiled faintly at Courtney’s praise, and did not forget to act until the end. I woke up suddenly and was shocked by how quickly things were happening, but it ended well, so everything seemed good.

“By the way. What happened to Gilbert?”

Originally, I wanted to ask about Precia’s whereabouts, but since he had mentioned something earlier, I asked about Gilbert’s condition. To be honest, I thought it would be okay for that monster, so I asked him lightly.

“That’s…”

Talisman’s expression darkened slightly.

Is there something wrong?

Ian glanced at Courtney.

“We succeeded in subduing the monster Ogre, but it seems we overexerted ourselves in the process. It is said that Mana Lord is seriously injured… . Maybe that’s why I still can’t come to my senses.”

“Is that so…”

Ian felt a small amount of remorse.

In the end, the reason he got hurt was because of his own unexpected actions. In the meantime, I lied that I was there for my colleagues, so as a human, I couldn’t help but feel some guilt.

“Then, wasn’t there an artificial spirit in the giant soldier I was riding?”

“Ian If it’s your artificial spirit, I left it in the barracks, so it should be there when you go there. I don’t know when I found such a good artificial spirit, but you should have an artificial spirit like that.”

“No. It’s just that I was overflowing with blood and couldn’t control it.”

“To be humble to the end. You probably haven’t woken up in a while, so go back and get some rest. I’ll tell you what happened after you lost your mind after you recover.”

Ian thanked Talisman for his consideration and went straight back to his barracks. There lay the artificial spirit of Presia that he had been looking for.

“Pressia!”

[Ian?! Are you feeling okay?]

“Yes, I am not in normal condition. This is no problem.”

[thank god. I was worried because I knew what had happened.]

“Who am I? Aren’t you a contractor for Presia? This is no problem. Plus, you organized the situation well!”

Thinking that the situation had gone well and that Precia had recovered safely, Ian relayed everything that had happened to her. He never forgot to praise himself for showing his wit in that situation.

[…To sum it up, it was portrayed as a case of setting out to save that bastard?]

“Okay. Because I am also me. That kind of agility in that situation. It was awesome, right?”

Ian, who was lying on the bed with a smile, tilted his head to see Presia being quieter than usual.

Had today’s battle been too much for her?

Suddenly, a monster imbued with demonic energy appeared as a monster, so I had a fleeting thought that this might be the case.

“It’s not unreasonable, right? It was influenced by magic energy.”

[Ugh, no. Something like that. I have something to think about.]

“What else can I say? Rather, I’ll rest for a bit. I think I need to get some sleep because I’m not feeling well yet.”

[okay. Resting is also important. How many hours should I wake you up?]

“Yes, please. Because the subjugation war is not over yet.”

[okay. Rest well, Ian.]

Ian briefly wondered about Frecia, who seemed strangely calm, but as soon as he lay down on the bed, he couldn’t come to his senses due to the rushing water.

He yawned a few times, closed his eyes a couple of times, and then fell asleep.