9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 151 - Necessary Evil (8)

“What are you saying, sir?”

As expected, Eisler refused to accept my words.

“Think about it, Deputy Commander.”

Not getting intimidated when facing someone much larger than me was really difficult. I had to crane my neck up to look at his face high above.

“I use canil myself. It’s effective for chasing away insomnia. But administering such large quantities to soldiers is an extremely dangerous idea. Canil is as powerfully addictive as it is effective. That little bottle no bigger than a pinky finger may look small, but it will surely cause tremendous harm in future battles.”

“Yes! You are absolutely right, Commander.”

Eisler answered with the disciplined posture and voice befitting a true soldier.

“However, these are orders from Supreme Leader himself. His Excellency’s words are always correct. More correct than my judgment or yours, Commander.”

“……”

For a moment I almost gaped.

‘He acts well.’

I barely managed my expression and shook my head.

“Do you truly think so, Deputy Commander?”

“Yes! Of course I do.”

“I doubt that.”

At my mocking voice, Eisler’s expression changed slightly.

Tension, confusion, and what else?

“Anyway, I understand. According to the order, the operation implementation date is at the commander’s discretion. I’ll observe the situation for about a week.”

“Commander.”

Eisler’s voice calling me had stiffened slightly. Like a warning.

“Do you perhaps have any other strategy?”

“No, I don’t. As you said, no matter how much I rack my brains, how could I even follow Supreme Leader’s heels?”

I spoke with complete sincerity.

***

For the first time in two months, the artillery stopped.

A week of silence.

The Pontinell side didn’t bother us. Though honestly, we weren’t close enough for them to hit and run without being detected.

The artillerymen had rest time for the first time in ages. So did Ferint, and so did I.

“Hahaha! Colin, are you that happy? You look just like a puppy seeing its first snow.”

I was completely at ease.

I read every single letter of the newspaper, personally cleaned the commander’s office, had tea time with Captain Himmel, and played with Colin until we were both exhausted.

Even now I was watching Colin bounce around and roll in the snowfield.

Ah, Colin.

After reading the data I’d brought from the canil research facility last time, I learned about Colin’s boundless potential.

But I don’t have even the slightest intention of using Colin as a biological weapon.

“You’ll turn into a snowman at this rate. Or a snow-dog? Come here, Colin!”

“Woof!”

When I spread my arms wide, Colin charged at me with his massive bulk and collided.

“Ugh! You should shake off the snow first!”

The snow clinging to Colin’s fur dug into my commander’s uniform.

Schufaben-style uniforms are always like this. Whether for Ossel, civil servants, or soldiers. They’re obsessed with looks and terrible for practicality.

The uniforms worn by frontline soldiers are different though—completely focused on efficiency.

Shivering from the bone-deep cold, I couldn’t withstand Colin’s weight and fell backward with a thud.

“You’re not a dog, you’re more like a tiger.”

I rolled around while hugging Colin, who was giggling and wagging his tail frantically.

Good thing we put up a fence around the barracks. What would happen to the commander’s authority if anyone saw this sight?

I brushed the snow from Colin’s fluffy fur and burst into laughter.

“Cough! Hack! Cough!”

I laughed too hard and broke into a coughing fit like my lung disease was acting up.

“Cough! Cough! Ah, damn it!”

Irritation surged as I wiped my mouth and collapsed onto the pure white snowfield.

In January this year, I was dragged to Supreme Leader’s residence and received magical treatment from head to toe, which improved my symptoms a bit.

It lasted exactly six months.

In July, being locked up in a cell for five days and struggling made my health deteriorate again, and right after that I wandered battlefields, so it feels like I’m back to before I first possessed this body.

Back to when Lucas Redan was just barely getting by.

“Hah……”

When the coughing stopped, I gasped for the cold air. It felt like my lungs were freezing.

I comforted Colin, who was whimpering beside me, and stared up at the blindingly bright blue sky, lost in thought.

‘What the hell is he thinking?’

Kruger’s choice was easy enough to understand.

From his perspective, grinding up some infantry to completely conquer a nation would be a good thing.

Compared to my original world, there were wars where tens of millions were slaughtered.

What I’m curious about is this.

‘Why did he give me an escape route?’

Implementation date at commander’s discretion, really? What if I just postpone it forever?

It’s suspicious.

I can’t imagine Kruger trusting me.

Of course, since he misunderstands that I’m after the Supreme Leader position, he might expect me to do my best in the war.

To gain more of Kruger’s trust and reach a higher position, I’d need to achieve merit quickly.

Kruger promised me.

If I handed him the entire continent, he’d give me anything.

But predicting my behavior patterns and completely trusting me are entirely different things.

If he wanted to keep using me as a chess piece, he shouldn’t have just thrown me the operation plan but should have set the date himself directly. Like he’s done until now.

If the battlefield situation was too fluid to set a date, he could have given the authority to Deputy Commander Eisler instead of me, a puppet commander.

“Could he be worried I’d throw a tantrum?”

I unconsciously spoke this nonsense aloud and felt my lips twitch.

“Pfft…… Hahahaha!”

Kruger? Kruger handling me that carefully?!

Even I found it too absurd.

“Woof! Woof!”

Seeing me grab my stomach and laugh after looking dejected, Colin started jumping around happily. I flailed in the snowfield, laughing for a long time.

“Gah! Gah! Hah……”

Finally, my laughter died down. I panted and let my body go limp.

‘He definitely has an intention.’

Kruger is an extremely calculating person. He’s impulsive and emotional too, but he calculates all of that before expressing it.

‘Let me think……’

For about ten minutes, I lay there blankly, lost in thought.

Then I blurted out.

“It’s a test.”

This was a test Kruger was throwing at me.

Would I obediently drive 250,000 people to their deaths, or would I refuse?

At this crossroads, I would…….

***

The new year dawned.

The soldiers who received a week’s leave held a boisterous New Year’s Eve celebration.

“The last supper, gentlemen!”

1st Field Army Commander Lucas Redan raised his glass high.

“A toast to victory!”

“Cheers!”

When the commander shouted, his staff cheerfully echoed him.

They gathered around outdoor tables for a hearty drinking session, gazing at the endlessly sprawling garrison and the soldiers’ raucous party.

The commander approached Deputy Commander Rudolf Eisler, who was drinking with proper posture, and put his arm around his shoulders with a beaming smile.

“Deputy Commander, aren’t you excited? We’ll surely be able to capture that starving city soon! They’re probably too busy worrying about tomorrow’s food to even think about New Year’s Eve!”

As if he’d never argued with him, the commander’s voice was cheerful beyond measure. He was naturally that kind of person, but today he seemed particularly elated.

“Of course, Commander.”

Eisler nodded seriously.

Hakleon had been isolated for over two months now.

With all roads into the city blocked, the residents were probably on the verge of starvation.

“Soon our army will smash that city and deliver victory to Supreme Leader.”

“Yes, that’s right! Ah, the new year is really approaching now. Gentlemen, let’s all count together!”

At the commander’s shout, the staff cheerfully joined in.

“Ten!”

“Nine!”

“Eight!”

The commander took a sip of alcohol and bit into a lemon served as a side dish.

“Three! Two! One!”

“Happy New Year!”

The moment the commander mumbled his toast.

Bang!

Boom boom boom bang!

Explosions echoed from nearby.

“What! What’s happening!”

“Enemy attack!”

While the staff frantically moved about, the commander didn’t budge. A faint sandalwood scent spread through the air.

Eisler calculated the direction and distance of the explosions. Then he suddenly noticed the commander covering his nose with a handkerchief and realized.

“Commander……!”

“May you have a happy year, Deputy Commander.”

His face was completely calm.

“What the hell are you doing!”

“You’re asking when you already know. I blew up the warehouse where the canil was stored.”

“Why……!”

“I’m a bit fond of dramatic gestures. I have a habit of putting on a show every year when the year changes.”

“Commander!”

At the commander’s nonchalant response, even the usually calm Eisler lost his temper.

When he shouted angrily, the commander hardened his expression and became serious.

“I’ve made my thoughts sufficiently clear. What, are you going to execute me for insubordination? Supreme Leader said so, didn’t he?”

Eisler decided not to get drawn into the commander’s pace. He looked down at him directly and lowered his voice coldly.

“I’m also aware of canil’s side effects. I can certainly anticipate the repercussions this operation will bring. But it’s something that must be done despite those sacrifices. This is a necessary evil.”

“Necessary evil!”

The commander shouted as if it were ridiculous.

“Necessary evil, you say. How dare you call Supreme Leader’s plan ‘evil’?”

“……”

“Yes, I understand. But what I did was also a necessary evil. You’ll understand soon enough.”

In the garrison that had become as chaotic as a stirred beehive, the commander and Eisler glared at each other.

***

Exactly one week.

That was the time my life-risking terrorism had bought.

Kruger delivered canil via air force instead of train. Along with new orders.

There was no reprimand or punishment for me whatsoever. How magnanimous of him.

Or did he anticipate even this?

New operation name, ‘Necessary Evil.’

Who’s he mocking?

***

January 8th.

“What we have to do is simple.”

Ferint Commander Michael quietly addressed the assembled knights.

“We face the mages. Meanwhile, if the artillery and infantry succeed in breaking through the barrier, we go in first and find the president. Regardless of condition, kill him.”

The commander’s orders were absolute. Instead of responding, the knights each pulled out small bottles and syringes from their inner pockets.

Damier plunged the needle deep into his bruised arm. When he pressed the plunger, coldness spread through his bloodstream.

‘How many times are left?’

He absentmindedly fingered the sword at his left hip while thinking.

There was a limit to how long canil could be used. He didn’t know exactly how long. Commander Michael would probably know.

Not much left.

That’s how it felt.

Clear sky, cold air.

Assembled on the hill, Ferint gazed at the city of Hakleon wrapped in its barrier. And at the mages swarming around it like a cluster of bees.

“Charge!”

When Commander Michael shouted low and powerfully, everyone wrapped their legs in brilliant white light and kicked off the ground.

As always, Damier was fastest. He changed direction like lightning, dodging the spells flying like a barrage.

His brain, enhanced by absorbing canil, calculated the trajectories of spells while his body moved faster than usual.

Damier’s sword, leaping into the air, tore through three mages simultaneously.

This was something he’d done almost daily for the past two months. There was no hesitation.

How many murders was this?

He was numb to it now.

No, from the beginning.

Bang! Boom!

Thunderous cannon fire tore through the air. The artillery pounded the barrier more violently than ever.

“Waaaaah!”

The infantry that had been stealthily preparing also charged forward.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers raced across the vast plain—originally farmland but now burned to nothing but empty ground.

The mages caused explosions on the ground and struck with lightning. Massive tidal waves swept away thousands of soldiers. Frigid winds howled, freezing entire areas solid.

Unlike Ferint, who moved with dizzying agility, the infantry simply marching in formation while singing were easy targets.

But there were hundreds of thousands of them.

Hundreds of thousands.

The forces under Commander Lucas Redan’s command totaled 250,000. Even excluding artillery and cavalry, at least 200,000 remained.

The infantry in dark green uniforms advanced toward the city like a moving wall, steadfastly pushing through any interference.