Early the next morning. Dawn had not yet broken. I woke to a faint noise coming from outside the barracks. I was just sitting up from the bed, where traces of the night before still remained, and roughly pulling on my uniform trousers.
Knock, knock knock!
A nervous rapping shattered the silence.
“…Who is it?”
I frowned. Was there anyone who would come looking for me at this hour?
‘Status Analy—’
But before I could even use the skill, the door opened on its own.
“Hey, Max Jaeger! You…!”
Twin tails as red as flame. Erika von Stahlberg strode in, shouting with great vigor. Then she froze on the spot at the sight inside the room.
Her eyes swept over my body, clad in only trousers. Then they moved to the bed behind me, and finally found Hanna. Hanna, woken by the presence of someone, was just raising her upper body.
The blanket slipped down below her shoulders, revealing Hanna’s pale bare skin. The marks I had left all night were plainly visible, and the red traces clustered around her chest stood out in particular. Belatedly grasping the situation, Hanna barely managed to clamp both hands over her mouth before she could scream.
“……”
Erika said nothing. Her eyes trembled madly as they alternated between Hanna’s naked body, the messily crumpled bed sheets, and me standing there half-naked. The subtle, dense air filling the room. It seemed that even Erika, innocent as she was, knew what it meant.
“You… you two… right now….”
Erika’s face flushed bright red in an instant. No, it went beyond bright red, turning so crimson it looked as if it might burst. Overcome by extreme shame and bewilderment, Erika stood there at a loss, as if she herself had been stripped naked.
‘…What timing.’
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I activated the skill at last.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Using the skill ‘Status Analysis (Lv.3)’ on ‘Erika von Stahlberg.’]
[Name: Erika von Stahlberg]
[Condition: Great shock at an unexpected sight]
[Emotions: Slight disgust at the situation before her eyes and a sense of betrayal she herself cannot explain. Shame on the verge of exploding, thinking that she came to repay her debt to Max Jaeger, only to suffer an even greater humiliation.]
‘So she came to repay her debt.’
Looking at her status window, I understood the situation. It seemed she had come to express her own kind of gratitude for yesterday. For someone as proud as her, it must have taken tremendous courage. And yet she had happened to witness a scene like this.
With a trembling hand, Erika hurled something toward me. It was a small package.
“Y-you pervert! Disgusting! Just die! I never needed help from the likes of you, ever! Don’t get the wrong idea—die! I said die!!”
She shouted as if screaming, then whipped around. Then, folding both arms as if to protect her own chest, she fled just like that. The door slammed shut with a loud bang.
I picked up the package that had fallen to the floor. When I carefully undid the wrapping, a small, luxurious silver flask emerged from within. The crest of the Stahlberg family was faintly engraved on it. When I opened the cap, the scent of strong, high-quality whiskey stung my nose.
“……”
I stared at the flask for a moment, then ended up letting out a faint laugh. She was unexpectedly cute in some ways.
*
The two days of sweet rest passed in the blink of an eye. The 3rd Platoon was fully recharged, and the morale of the platoon members soared to the skies. In particular, they were in an uproar over the reward money that had been handed out this time.
“Krr, did you see it? This is three months’ worth of my pay!”
“I could buy clothes for all my siblings back home and still have some left over….”
“Isn’t this all thanks to the platoon leader? Long live Lieutenant Jaeger!”
“Hey, now that we’ve got money, how about a nice round of cards?”
“Which bastard is talking about gambling right now! Have you already forgotten that the lieutenant told us not to cause trouble?”
And on the morning the rest period ended, new orders were issued to the entire company.
“All officers, assemble in the regimental operations conference room immediately!”
A messenger came to our company. This time, it was an order directly from the regiment itself. I clicked my tongue and rose from my seat.
‘The holiday’s already over.’
I hurriedly straightened my uniform and stepped outside. Then a scene unlike usual unfolded before me. Not only our 2nd Company, but officers from the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Companies, and even from the artillery and engineer units directly under headquarters, were coming out of their respective barracks and heading toward regimental headquarters.
I entered regimental headquarters, a large stone building. Inside, the corridors were filled with the sound of officers’ military boots. The usual quiet was nowhere to be found.
When I opened the heavy door to the operations conference room and stepped inside, dozens of officers had already arrived. The room was packed so tightly there was no room to set foot. All the officers of the regiment stood in formation by company, and the regimental commander and his adjutant stood before the enormous operations map in the center.
I pushed through the crowd and found the place where our 2nd Company stood. Captain Serafina stood at the very front, and behind her, from the left in order, stood 1st Platoon Leader Lieutenant Walter, 2nd Platoon Leader Lieutenant Erika, and 4th Platoon Leader Lieutenant Franz. As the 3rd Platoon Leader, I slipped into the empty space between Erika and Franz and took my place.
“……Tch.”
That was all I did, yet I heard the sound of someone clicking her tongue from my left. I turned my head and looked at her. It was Erika.
“…Wh-what are you looking at!”
I had done nothing, but Erika snapped at me in a low voice. She flinched, then raised both arms and discreetly covered her chest. No, seriously, how much was she worrying about that?
I let it pass and quietly activated the skill.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Using the skill ‘Status Analysis (Lv.3)’ on ‘Erika von Stahlberg.’]
[Name: Erika von Stahlberg]
[Condition: Extremely conscious of Max Jaeger’s presence. Feeling intense shame as the scene from the morning two days ago comes to mind.]
Her [Condition] was consistent. She had probably been thinking only about that for the entire two days of rest. I paid no further attention to her and turned my gaze forward, fixing it on Serafina. This was what mattered.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Serafina von Reinhardt]
[Condition: Sensing the tension permeating the entire regiment and thinking tactically. Suppressed fatigue. Subtle signs of mana backflow.]
[Hidden Trait: Mana Overload - Chronic internal injury. Worsened state.]
‘Subtle signs, huh.’
I frowned slightly. I only hoped that time bomb would not go off at a critical moment. If necessary, I might have to reach out and touch her body immediately.
“The recent Gray Forest operation was a great victory.”
Soon, after confirming that everyone had gathered, the regimental commander opened his mouth. He slowly looked around the conference room as he spoke.
“We completely neutralized one of the orcs’ main camps and dealt a devastating blow to their supply system. In particular, the performance of the 2nd Company led by Captain Reinhardt was outstanding.”
His gaze rested briefly on Serafina. Serafina silently bowed her head in respect.
“But the real battle begins now.”
At his words, the air in the conference room grew even heavier.
“The orcs we are facing are not a single force. They are a kind of tribal alliance made up of several tribes. The Black Fang Tribe, the Blood Claw Tribe, and… the ones that have tormented our empire the most.”
The tip of his pointer tapped the region of the Gray Forest.
“The Gray Claw Tribe. The camp in the Gray Forest that we annihilated was also one of their outposts.”
The regimental commander’s pointer slowly crossed the map. The officers’ gazes moved in perfect unison, following its tip.
“Just yesterday, decisive intelligence was obtained from a front-line reconnaissance unit.”
Several officers swallowed dryly.
“The great chieftain of the Gray Claw Tribe, ‘Gromnar Ironfist.’”
At the mention of that name, low sighs escaped from the mouths of several officers. It was a nightmarish name that had harried the imperial army over the past few months.
“He has appeared. As a result of losing a large-scale camp, the enraged bastard is personally leading his main force toward the front.”
The regimental commander’s eyes flashed.
“Strike the head, and the snake dies. In other words, this is a chance to crush their tribal chief and main force all at once. If we bring down the Gray Claw Tribe, the other small-fry tribes will scatter on their own.”
His pointer struck down hard onto the map.
“The success of this operation holds meaning beyond simply securing the Gray Forest. It will be a critical turning point that can change the entire situation on the empire’s western front.”
His voice resounded throughout the conference room.
“Failure will not be tolerated. The fate of the empire, and the lives of every one of us here, hang on this battle.”
The fate of the empire. Before those grandiose words, the faces of the officers stiffened in all different shades.
‘As if I care about fate.’
From my perspective, it had little to do with me. What mattered was how much experience this board would give me. And whether I could survive.
“Then, I will explain the operation.”
At the regimental commander’s glance, Major Helga, who had been standing beside him like a shadow, took one step forward. She received the pointer from the regimental commander and indicated the map.
“This operation will be an all-out regimental battle.”