episode_0418

Even if there is a lot of meat, there are still a hundred mouths to eat.

As a result, there wasn’t that much meat available to individuals.

It is said that turkey becomes dry when sliced and cooked.

Plus, it took dozens of minutes to cook properly, so I had no choice but to cut it all into pieces, mix it with sauce, and serve it as raw meat.

“Do you hate raw food?”

“No.”

That’s a good thing.

I ate delicious-smelling raw meat mixed with vegetables.

The scout corps’ diet was extremely biased toward meat, perhaps considering the number of members, and because of that, most of them seemed to have no aversion to raw food and ate raw raw meat without hesitation.

“Did you dry up the seeds of the turkeys that live in the mountains?”

The supply officer smiles slyly as if reprimanding and sits down next to me.

“It’s not like that.”

“Chief Baek is very curious about what kind of magic the two of you used.”

“There was nothing special. I just ride on trees.”

“Ah, I see. Riding on trees…”

The supply officer trails off and looks at me coyly.

What secret is this?

“The two of us learned the cloud walk used by Yunaira’s elves.”

“No matter how much you play on the trees, is it realistically possible to not be seen?”

“Only the two of us can make it not happen at all.”

“···Ah.”

He seems to have figured out that it has something to do with the servant’s blessing.

He smiles with a face that says he finally understands.

” Hey, I wish I could receive a blessing from a servant too.”

“If you go and ask for it, they will do it for you.”

“Yes?”

“Mercurius lives on the highest mountain in the Meadow of Grace. If you are interested, please go there.”

“···Isn’t the highest mountain a place where nine out of ten people will not return alive?”

The supply officer with a humorous pout looks at me intently.

“Wow, I almost recommended a suicide trip.”

“Hahaha! It’s okay.”

The supply officer smiled brightly and was the first to eat the turkey sashimi with his fork.

“Hmm… Frozen meat loses its chewiness and I can’t eat it raw.”

yes.

That’s the downside of frozen meat.

“How do scouts usually eat turkeys when they catch them?”

“I usually eat it raw or half-cooked like this.”

‘That’s a good thing.’

In the textbook I was learning, it was stated that raw food could cause illness.

So, eat all meat obtained from nature by heating it.

“Oh, did you hear? It is said that Neptune gave down the heavenly ladder.”

“Oh, did you hear that story, Deputy White House Isabel?”

“It’s a famous story, right? Because of that, the Romaria Empire was overturned.”

That’s what I rode on.

“The descendants who climbed the heavenly ladder and had an audience with Neptune are the blood relatives of the emperor. I heard that someone has had an audience with Neptune and they are looking for that person everywhere?”

Now that I think about it, people were making a lot of fuss.

“It seems like they are planning to absorb it into the royal family. Thanks to this, the prince and princess who will be sold to other countries cannot even get married.”

“Why are there such ridiculous emperors?”

“That’s right.”

How long did the meal last?

“Chief Baek decided not to conduct rainy season training. He said he didn’t think it would be necessary.”

It’s a smart idea.

“And, it seems that the disappearance incident occurred near the Rhine River Guard.”

Disappearance case.

Provocative words caught attention.

“First of all, the search party is looking for the prisoner, but in the unlikely event that he or she is captured, the scout party must rescue the prisoner directly.”

“Isn’t there more harm than good?”

“We are not just saving that soldier. At the same time, it protects the trust of soldiers.”

‘Trust.’

Baek In-jang’s words were sweet.

Very much.

“I hope it’s not a big problem. If there is any problem, please call me.”

‘Please get caught.’

I hope that ten or a hundred people are caught.

In all likelihood, such blind rhetoric is a mistake.

─The merit will definitely be reflected in the personnel evaluation.

Anyone is good.

If there is something to seek or explore, you must take the lead.

“Tracking is my specialty.”

I quietly stamped my eyes.

* * * * * *

Jean sighed deeply.

“Ah, that belongs to our security guard.”

“Really?”

“He was an ostracized soldier like Laquilo, and there seems to be no trace of him from the search party either. Chief Baek sees it as desertion.”

─Desertion.

Desertion is not rhetoric.

Perhaps because of that, Jean’s face was extremely pale.

“Why did you go through a desertion incident as soon as you got rejected from your military base?”

“No luck.”

Sherry’s face, being ostracized from afar, was as hard as stone.

“How is Sherry these days?”

“That’s just it.”

“He will desert like that.”

“Don’t say horrible things. Because if that happens, I too will desert.”

A hundred men with two commanders deserting.

I burst out laughing when I thought about what would happen.

“But, something is strange.”

A questioning voice burst out from Amilla.

“What?”

“What on earth were you thinking when you deserted?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard that he was a deserter. But you can’t go back home, right? The colon wall is spread out like that, how does it work?”

That’s what I heard.

There’s no way to go back?

“What race is the deserter?”

“Hosot.”

It’s Vietnam.

If you make a mistake, you will have to invade another country to catch deserters rather than rescue them. Thanks to this, my interest died out like fire with water.

“Is it possible that it was an external act?”

“Not at all. I also found traces of climbing over the wooden fence, and I decided to run away and took quite a bit of dried meat with me.”

“Just looking at it, you can see that they moved to Yunaira because they couldn’t get over the absurdity of the barracks. I will eat the dried meat as I go.”

I think Susan feels the same way.

“Who doesn’t know? Just pretending to investigate.”

It’s not just me.

Everyone here seems to think so.

The military is no different in any country.

‘There’s no difference.’

Expectations are completely shattered.

Jean, who hates this kind of atmosphere, looked at the people and turned to me.

“How about you?”

this way?

“Suddenly, they said they recognized our capabilities and ordered us to do recovery training. I just caught some turkeys to feed the kids while training.”

“What about Isabel?”

“Me, me? ···What am I…”

Where are you explaining this?

“He said he was going to fuck the people who ignored him, so he put aside his plan to recapture them and came down after suppressing all 50 of them. Leave the flag too.”

“Oh my, you’re finally showing your true colors.”

Susan smiles mischievously and mocks Isabel arrogantly.

“Well, there’s no such thing as a supply unit, right?!”

“There is nothing to do? From your sanitary pads and meals to equipment inspection and transportation of various military supplies, right?”

“Profit!”

‘This is crazy.’

You can’t get involved in conversations like this.

The other men immediately fell silent.

“What does such a scouting party do? training? Do you just skimp on food, leave all the work to the search party, and go scouting like a thief once in a while?”

“The most difficult thing during wartime is the reconnaissance team!”

“We are going through just as much hardship, right?”

We fight easily over trivial matters.

From afar, it looks like nothing more than boasting about the chains of a slave.

One thing that became clear, though, was that catching that deserter wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

‘If I had been captured, I would have saved it somehow.’

It’s a shame.

* * * * * *

Early commute.

─What is that!!!

─Hurry and bring the knife!!

The scent of fearful emotions wafts from the scout barracks.

Screams were echoing in front of the kitchen.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out when you go.”

In front of the kitchen, soldiers were gathered in groups of twos and threes, making a fuss.

I was completely lost and panicked.

The fear the soldiers feel is close to horror.

“What are you doing this morning?”

The soldiers’ eyes turned to me.

“This strange creature has come in!”

Strange creatures?

There was a huge human head crawling around.

“Wow, a land octopus?”

“U, land octopus? What is that?”

Well, it’s an octopus that lives on land.

“Does this look gross?”

“Isn’t it obvious?!!”

Senior Sergeant Sanson was startled by the slight movement of the land octopus and retreated.

is it?

Land octopuses have an exoskeleton.

It’s probably something like keratin or chitin that I’ve only heard about.

It’s not that sturdy.

It’s soft and tough like a centipede’s exoskeleton, so it’s difficult to cut it with a knife.

The head is full of body hair that resembles hair.

─Thanks to this, it looks like a giant head is crawling around.

Due to the nature of octopuses, the longer the legs, the more suckers there are.

But this one has more centipede feet instead of suckers.

In addition, the central part where the suckers should be has dense bristles like the soles of a gecko’s feet, so it does not slip when climbing a tree.

It was a subadult.

It’ll be 400 pounds.

“The thing in the head is not the brain but the intestines, so even if you hit it with a knife or something, you won’t die in one hit. I don’t feel much of a threat right now, but if I’m surprised, I’ll be faster than you. There is also paralysis poison. If you get bitten, you won’t be able to move for about a day.”

And the cartilage surrounding the head is quite tough.

“Hee Iik─?!!!”

A new soldier who was trying to split the head of a land octopus with a machete backed away at my words.

“Would you like to eat this? It’s pretty delicious.”

The soldiers gritted their teeth in anger, and some glared at me.

This isn’t cruel, it’s really delicious.

“Are you crazy─?!!”

I feel embarrassed.

I recommended it because it was really delicious.

It’s all your fault!

Ahhh!

The head, which was stiff for an octopus, was struck with a hand knife.

“──────?!!”

“Waaagh───?!!!”

Crispy!

I had to scream.

Because the startled land octopus fluttered its poisonous hair.

The head, which weighed 100 kg, ran away with the speed of a tiger.

The soldiers screamed as if their limbs had been torn off and ran away without looking back or jumped up the trees.

“A land octopus’ weak point is its mouth. The vital spot is between the eyebrows. If you get caught by those legs, you can never run away, so stick the sword in your mouth and cut out your eyes or between your eyebrows.”

Because then you die.

Isabel, who had already seen a land octopus while hunting in the sea, thought so, but it seemed like shock and fear to others.

Originally, it could only be seen in the southernmost part…

“I’m not afraid.”

“I’m such an optimistic guy by nature.”

“Are you talking about Dewin?”

······.

“Isn’t this because you know it’s not dangerous?”

“Usually, you turn a blind eye when you see things like that? But are you hitting that? By hand?”

“Won’t it interfere with the soldiers’ work?”

“No, you have to kill him. I said before that that was sea water?”

“There is no need for that. Land octopuses are smart, so they not only learn but also study. That’s a young animal, so if you show it this hot taste when it’s small, it will never come near people again.”

“After all, it’s seawater.”

“Animals just live their own lives.”

Although land octopuses are classified as saltwater, they are not that violent.

If there is nothing to eat, they hunt.

However, since it is basically a scavenger, it can barely reach semi-sea water, and since it is an octopus, it is very intelligent and curious.

The problem is that it looks disgusting.

And if you touch it wrongly, you will die a very horrible death.

“Since there is no malice toward the other person, shouldn’t we just avoid them?”

“What do you say? Seawater poacher.”

Isabelle is laughing at me.

‘···That was the setting.’

The interior of the barracks was so peaceful that one wondered if this was the front line, but there was tension among the non-commissioned officers gathered in the administration office.

Of course, I don’t show it.

But it seemed like there was definitely business here.

“Are you here?”

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

After a brief greeting, I sat down on the chair where the administrative officer sits.

The chieftain looked at us and called us scarecrows, and there was one reason why.

Our military experience is only half a year.

No matter what I try to do, I don’t have enough time to do it, so I can’t even entrust him with chores.

“What happened outside?”

“Land octopus has been uploaded. I kicked him out by slitting the back of his head.”

The non-commissioned officers’ brows furrowed.

“Yes?”

“Isn’t that seawater?”

“That’s true, but not him.”

“Haha! Those guys sometimes steal food waste.”

The supply officer smiled and handed me a cup of tea with a faint scent.

“I can’t tell you how much I admired the skills you two showed yesterday.”

Baek In-jang was the lucky one.

What are you asking for by complimenting me?

He answered with a smile.

“This is too much praise.”

“This is not excessive praise. I just can’t understand it. What is the secret?”

Isabelle also smiled awkwardly and couldn’t answer.

Come to think of it, this person is truly a master of tracking and hiding skills.

How on earth was it possible to fool my eyes and ears?

“···Soldiers are the ones who will eventually leave.”

Baek In-jang sips tea.

“After two years of enlistment, you will return to your family, and you will never have to set foot here again.”

In Chief Baek In-jang’s eyes, I felt a sense of responsibility, guilt, and a hint of concern.

This was the truth.

As a commander, he seems to have at least some conscience left.

“I hope no soldiers get hurt.”

“Isn’t that our discretion?”

“Furthermore, I would like you two to stand at the scene.”

The Rhine River is visible outside the window.

It is full of wooden fences and barbed wire, and is rusty as if it has not been maintained for a long time.

Flamethrowers were placed at a certain distance between the wooden fences, and a member of the guard was looking at the other side of the Rhine River with wide eyes.

Because the enemy country is right behind us.

“We need talented people who can inspect enemy lines and see traps with excellent eyesight.”

On the other side of that shallow and wide river, there are ghosts that eat human flesh.

There were people I could communicate with and there were people I liked, but there were many times more people who didn’t.

Especially Yusria, even thinking about it now makes me shiver.

“Of course, I enlisted with that intention in mind. Are you on a reconnaissance mission?”

“The white commander of the 3rd Guards Corps is a rookie who has only recently been commissioned. The kidnapped soldier is most likely detained in UNAIR. The front headquarters sent a pigeon last night.”

─False.

There is no such thing as a pigeon.

Captain Baek just wants a medal.

But there was something that was consistent with what I wanted.

“Comrades in the search party and guard unit were said to be deserters. There are traces of him voluntarily crossing over and even testimony that he secretly took dried meat with him.”

So I secretly tasted the liver.

“That’s their way. They accept deserters or pretend to be deserters, but any soldier knows that crossing the Rhine is suicidal. This is because the moment you go over it, you will most likely be caught right away. Even if you skip it, it’s a problem. Eating habits, accent… you can’t run away or hide.”

After thinking about it carefully, everything Baek In-jang said was right.

But why did the deserter defect to the United States?

‘I’m not sure if it’s true or not.’

What is important is whether it has sufficient validity and whether it has ‘performance’.

“And then they casually send the body towards us. Written on the corpse… ‘Come find the person who smells like a shadow.’ You only know this after seeing the phrase. That it was their doing.”

“But it is dangerous beyond the Rhine River. I cannot be sure that the soldiers under my command will be safe during Operation Cheongjal.”

“So, I would like to ask you both for your cooperation.”

Baek In-jang’s eyes turn to Isabel.

“Yes. I will help you too.”

Isabel accepted the offer without hesitation.

He is a naive person.

Baek In-jang’s will was impure, but there was no reason not to accept it.

“Yes. I will also help.”