9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 77 - Another World Army Officer (2)

I glanced around at the ten majors glaring at me with rotten expressions, and the 300 soldiers behind them.

A ‘battalion’ of 300 men with a major general as battalion commander, and ten majors with the fancy title of ‘aide.’

‘Does this even make sense?!’

The situation was utterly hopeless.

‘But what choice do I have!’

I cleared my throat with a couple of coughs and opened my mouth.

“Greetings, gentlemen! I am Lucas Redan, who will be serving as your battalion commander from today.”

Though there was no sound equipment or anything of the sort, I shouted as loudly as I could, and my voice spread across the quiet parade ground.

“You already know about me, I’m sure. All that noise about being a hero and whatnot—it was quite the commotion for a while. However! No matter how much the newspapers praised me, to you gentlemen, I’m nothing more than an unreliable parachute appointment. Isn’t that right?”

No one answered, but their expressions were honest enough.

“Your suspicions are correct. As you can see, I have a very frail constitution. Moreover, I can’t ride horses and I can’t use a sword. All I have is burning loyalty.

But gentlemen! I promise you just one thing. I will not make you work on pointless tasks! The parade ground is in poor condition—go clear the stones! The view is obstructed—go level that mountain! I will absolutely never give such orders!

Instead, you’ll need to follow basic living regulations and properly complete the designated training. Then I’ll have no reason to interfere, will I? Since we’ll both be suffering together, let’s not create any unnecessary trouble!”

When I closed my mouth, silence fell over the chilly parade ground.

“…That is all.”

Only then did the soldiers realize the speech was over, and applause burst out from among them.

Looking at their brightened faces, it seemed they had been worried that the new battalion commander might create all sorts of pointless busywork.

‘Of course I wouldn’t! Hell no! If I ordered such things, I wouldn’t be human. After all the bullshit I went through in the military, why would I copy that?’

I let out a sigh of relief at the gazes that had turned somewhat favorable.

‘A parachute battalion commander, a neglected border unit. What a fantastic combination.’

And so, my idle military life began.

***

I’m just a figurehead anyway.

The royalist faction that had resisted to the end during the revolution, and hadn’t truly submitted even after Kruger became Supreme Leader.

They were an almost nonexistent, pitifully weak force, but they still had solid legitimacy—and their finally surrendering in earnest.

Kruger set me up as such a ‘symbol of reconciliation.’

By giving someone like me, who had never even set foot in the military, the rank of major general, he caused quite a stir throughout all of Schufaben. I just had to play along.

Of course, I never expected to be pushed into a position that was tantamount to exile right after such a tremendous promotion.

‘Just quietly roll around here and retire when appropriate?’

I ground my teeth.

Even if I played along when needed, I couldn’t just let everything go that bastard’s way to the end.

I had to escape from this frontline as quickly as possible and climb back up to Kruger’s side.

But for now, I had to start by acting like a leisurely battalion commander.

I really didn’t touch anything.

“Handle most matters yourself. Understood?”

When I said this to the company commander who came to greet me on the first day, his tense face relaxed.

This battalion had only one company under it. True to form for an abnormal unit, nothing about it was proper.

The battalion’s only company commander, an older man than myself, seemed to genuinely find me intimidating.

Well, in other people’s eyes, I was someone who had been commissioned with the Supreme Leader’s backing. At such a young age, I was wearing major general insignia.

But I didn’t have the actual experience for military life, so I was just a clueless kid who had been sent on what amounted to a picnic to this border region that no one cared about.

Of course, these rumors were a million light-years from the truth, but I deliberately acted to appear that way.

Leisurely days of practicing horseback riding, playing discus with Colin, and writing letters with friends from Lüdelheim to Queen Marianne, who would be leaving Schufaben for another country by now.

***

The Queen had poured all her capabilities into helping me until now. Just getting me a meeting with Kruger was a great favor.

When I was thrown into the military as a result, the Queen seemed to have a mental breakdown for a moment.

We met on the last day of her tour, and she looked at me with an expression like ‘Is this what I worked for…?’

She soon pulled herself together and we had a serious conversation.

“The Supreme Leader made a good move. Be careful, Lucas.”

“Don’t worry about me, Your Majesty. Though I have a frail body, I’m confident I can protect my own life. And this actually turned out well. If he’s preparing for war as Your Majesty predicted, being in the military might allow me to respond more quickly.”

No matter how remote and dysfunctional this unit was, the military was still the military.

“Do you still think you can fulfill my request to oppose Kruger?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. My bloodline is widely known, and I’ve been put in charge of people of the same class, even if only nominally, so my presence and power have grown accordingly. If I can just seize some opportunity to get close to Kruger, it will be much easier to keep him in check.”

“You’re really quite positive.”

Seeing the Queen’s subtle expression, I made a polite gesture.

“Isn’t my motto ‘Turn crisis into opportunity!’?”

“Before, you said it was ‘Failure is the mother of success!'”

“It changes depending on the situation.”

In the end, the Queen burst into laughter.

“Very well, Lucas. You’ll seize opportunities even in harsh circumstances. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Write to me occasionally. And… I truly enjoyed meeting you.”

Her eyes sparkled like a child’s.

I had used everyone I met since falling into this world.

But that didn’t mean they couldn’t become friends. The Queen taught me that.

Both my using the Queen and feeling friendship toward her, and her using me while feeling friendship in return—it was all real.

I lightly kissed the Queen’s smooth hand and saw her off.

***

Today I’m having coffee with my aide.

Though the 1st Battalion doesn’t have particularly good facilities, the officers’ quarters are properly equipped. The hot water runs well too.

Time spent sipping coffee and chatting about this and that at the table in the officers’ quarters living room.

My aide sitting in a rigid posture is named Alina Himmel. (+) ^[1] TLN: HERO HIMMEL!?

She had been serving at a unit near Lüdelheim, then was transferred to become my aide when I was commissioned.

She should have been displeased about being dropped in this remote place, but from when she first came to fetch me until now, she hasn’t shown much sign of it.

No, rather than that, she doesn’t show any emotions at all.

With her sturdy build, serious atmosphere, taciturn and calm expression, and disciplined behavior, she gave the clear impression of being a soldier—someone easy to understand.

‘Ah, I don’t see any angle for getting close to her.’

I needed to win over my aide first before I could win over the majors who had maximized their dislike for me.

“Captain, aren’t you bored in this backwater? You should have brought your family.”

I set down my coffee cup and spoke very casually. Captain Himmel also set down her cup following my lead.

“Do you know about my family?”

“No, of course not. I was just making conversation. If you don’t have family, maybe a pet? Like me.”

“Woof!”

“I don’t keep pets.”

“It was a joke.”

No matter what I said, she responded so stiffly that we couldn’t have a proper conversation.

Alina Himmel, thirty-one years old.

Since I was twenty-seven, she was serving a much younger superior.

I sensed Kruger’s malice in deliberately assigning me a female aide.

Well, Kruger probably didn’t pick her personally, so it was likely the malice of someone who served him.

Though Schufaben was less particular about gender differences than other continental countries due to its turbulent history, female soldiers were still considered an unusual profession here too.

Unless it was a special position like becoming a medical officer after studying medicine or joining a knight order after manifesting magical power.

So if someone had really started from private and become an officer, it meant they had overcome considerable adversity.

They were typically viewed with suspicion, with people thinking ‘Isn’t she neglecting her family?’

No, aside from all this, where in the world would they assign a female aide to a male officer just like that!

‘Who knows what could happen.’

I grumbled internally while glancing at Captain Himmel’s well-defined arm muscles.

Hmm, right.

She was safe.

If I rashly made a move, my frail body would be folded in half.

‘Maybe she was demoted.’

Captain Himmel might have also gotten on someone’s bad side and been pushed into the sinecure of being my aide.

Or maybe she was assigned to spy on me.

‘I should look into this.’

Either way, it would be worth investigating.

“Go take care of your work now. I’m probably the only one who’s bored here. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

She gave a crisp salute and walked away, and I watched Captain Himmel’s retreating figure with a bitter smile.

***

Sand grains crunched and crumbled under the hooves with rustling sounds.

Wearing a well-ventilated long tunic and covering his mouth with cloth, enduring the endless sandstorms.

It was already September, but the hot sun beat down from overhead, and somewhere, the sound of humming could be heard.

The heat from the ground rose all the way to his legs, but once the sun set, it would become cold as if it had never been hot.

Daniel gazed at the endlessly spread landscape of rocks and sand, continuously amazed.

The hills all looked the same to him, jutting up here and there, but Fa-Elhar loosened and tightened the camel’s reins as he skillfully found the way.

Daniel’s camel followed them well without needing to be controlled. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.

Though there were saddles and stirrups, sitting on a camel’s back that swayed like gentle waves on a breezy day was quite difficult.

Since Daniel hadn’t learned horseback riding, for the first few days he could barely manage to hold onto the camel’s neck while retching from motion sickness.

Now he had become skilled enough to hold both the reins and a notebook while sketching the desert landscape.

“We should arrive today.”

Fael’s voice could be heard.

They—Daniel and Fael, along with twenty elves—were crossing the great desert for the mining business Lucas had entrusted to them.

Assad had remained in Lüdelheim with Hannah, leading half of Bletter.

Fael said he was going to find his tribe first.

It was a name starting with ‘Fa,’ but since it was elven pronunciation and too long and difficult, even Fael just called them the ‘Fa tribe.’

“There are roughly a hundred tribes scattered throughout the great desert. Among them, our Fa tribe was prosperous enough to be counted among the top ten. At one time, the tribal population exceeded 500,000, and we were the wealthiest. It was at the level of what humans commonly call a city-state. Now our population is half that, and our wealth has also diminished considerably compared to then.”

Since Daniel had recovered from motion sickness, Fael had often told stories about the great desert.

“Did those 500,000 people gather together to form a city?”

“At one time, yes. Of course, not all at once—more like a dozen or so villages scattered about.”

“I see. I had understood that elves lived wandering in extended family units.”

“That’s also correct. During the chaotic period after the Empire’s fall, villages often disappeared. Wars would break out, or water sources would dry up… Eventually everyone scattered and dispersed, living as nomads before gathering again and developing into cities once more. Even merchants and herders eventually settled down. Such rise and fall is the same as with humans. We’re no different.”

Daniel, who had been earnestly nodding and taking notes, suddenly asked,

“But why didn’t you tell these stories when you were with Lucas?”

Then Fael smiled.

“That guy isn’t interested in other people’s personal affairs, is he? Only whether someone is trustworthy right now. No, whether they can be used in some way. That’s all that matters.”

“Aren’t you being too disparaging?”

“I’m just stating facts. I don’t think he’s wrong for it.”

Daniel nodded, seeing the serious look in Fael’s eyes.

Indeed, Lucas had never once asked about Daniel’s past.

He had worried many times about how to explain it, whether it would be okay to reveal it.

It was the same with the other White Raven Order members. Lucas had never been curious first. Only friends who had come to trust him had voluntarily shared.

‘He’s an interesting person.’

They arrived at the Fa tribe’s village around sunset.

Beyond a large oasis, sand-colored buildings that seemed to burn red in the twilight could be seen hazily in the distance.

“Ah…!”

An exclamation burst from Daniel’s lips.

The landscape of square and round buildings harmoniously spread out was so, so beautiful.

He could see the silhouettes of elves busily moving about preparing dinner here and there.

Drawing water from the oasis, leading camels and donkeys, and picking crops from fields scattered around the area.

Fael led the group into the village.

Looking around at the elves stirring in surprise, they walked along paths of well-packed stone and earth between the buildings toward a stone structure—no, a palace—that looked several times larger and taller than the other houses.

Beneath walls where desert roses climbed as vines, guards holding long spears who had been standing watch came running hurriedly.

“S-strangers!”

“Are they humans?!”

Gazes mixed with confusion and hostility. Fael pulled away the veil he had wrapped around his face to block the sandstorms.

“Don’t you recognize me?”

His tone suggested he hadn’t expected anything. Then suddenly he opened his mouth wide and shouted,

“Father, your eldest son Fa-Elhar has returned!”

His booming voice echoed through the Fa tribe’s village. As if a bomb had been thrown, chaos erupted throughout every corner of the village.

A moment later, the stone gate in the wall slowly opened.

• 1. TLN: HERO HIMMEL!?