"Mockery? Not at all, Lieutenant Colonel."
I spoke while donning the most aggrieved expression I could muster.
*'Mesmerizing Eloquence.'*
[The skill 'Mesmerizing Eloquence (Lv.3)' has been activated.]
"However, I merely doubted my own ears. For the Inspector, who values the honor of an Imperial Army officer more than his own life, to make such a dishonorable proposal to a junior officer, incriminating his superior—such a thing could not have happened, could it? That is why I thought I had misheard."
"Wh-what...?"
Zwinger's words failed him. I did not let that opening slip.
"Surely you did not truly do such a thing? Betraying a commander with whom you shared life and death on the battlefield, demanding false testimony for fleeting security. It is unthinkable that the Empire's noble Inspector would resort to such third-rate enticement, is it not?"
"Y-you insolent whelp...!"
"That is why I ask again. Did I mishear, Lieutenant Colonel?"
I delivered the coup de grâce.
This was a gambit.
If he said yes, he would be admitting that he was a dishonorable officer who had personally incited his subordinate to commit betrayal. If he said no, he would have to retract the proposal he had just made to me.
Zwinger's face flushed and contorted.
[Name: Albrecht von Zwinger]
[State: Flustered after being logically cornered. Caught in conflict between simmering rage and saving face.]
[Emotion: Extreme rage toward that insolent First Lieutenant bastard.]
"...Hmph."
In the end, Zwinger snorted roughly and took a step back.
Ding—
[The skill 'Mesmerizing Eloquence' influences 'Albrecht von Zwinger'.]
['Albrecht von Zwinger' is overpowered by your logic and concedes that he went too far.]
"Quite the silver tongue. Very well, let us say there was never any enticement."
He straightened his uniform and struggled to reclaim his cold gaze.
"But the essence has not changed. The fact that your splendid tales of valor are statistically impossible, I mean."
He picked up the report again.
"Orc shaman assassinations, enemy powder magazine demolitions, annihilation of the great chieftain's main force... What percentage do you think the probability is of all of this occurring within a single regiment, and in such a short period? 0.01%? No, lower than that."
Zwinger smiled crookedly again. That smile held the confidence of one who had seized the initiative once more.
"There are no miracles in this world. Only probability and statistics. If you rolled a die and got ten sixes in a row, it is not luck—you tampered with the die. Am I wrong?"
It was logical.
Certainly the rigid, difficult-to-refute logic befitting rear-echelon administrative officers. The expressions of the Regimental Commander and the other officers darkened again. Proving the uncertainty of field operations before such numerical games was no easy task.
But.
*'Probability.'*
I barely restrained a scoff.
Probability? Statistics? Every skill I possessed was a cheat key that casually made a mockery of such things. But it wasn't as if I could tell this desk jockey that I could see status windows.
In that case, I decided to shatter the very logic he worshipped.
I took a deep breath. And activated the skill again.
*'Mesmerizing Eloquence.'*
This time, targeting a wider audience.
[The skill 'Mesmerizing Eloquence (Lv.3)' has been activated.]
[Gauging the audience's psychology and modulating your voice for maximum appeal.]
"The Lieutenant Colonel is correct."
When I readily conceded, Zwinger's eyes widened.
"Hoh? You admit it now?"
"Yes. Statistically, it is impossible. I think so as well."
"Good, good. You thought well, First Lieutenant. If you confess the truth now, I shall forget the disrespect from earlier."
Without giving a glance to the satisfied Zwinger, I slowly began to walk. His smile soon changed to a puzzled gaze.
"By the textbook, we should have been annihilated in the Ash-Gray Forest. Caught in the orcs' ambush, screaming; our bodies rotting from the shaman's foul sorcery; cleaved in twain by massive axes."
I only stopped once I reached the center of the conference room. The gazes of the 7th Regiment's officers were concentrated on me.
"That is the normal probability the Lieutenant Colonel speaks of."
I paused briefly and stared directly into Zwinger's eyes. Now I was looking down at him.
"But, Lieutenant Colonel. The battlefield is not a textbook."
The skill lent power to my voice. The faintly trembling voice began to scratch at the listeners' emotions.
"Statistics? Probability? Such things are stories that only hold sway in an office with a warm stove. Here, in a pit of mud, amidst ceaseless attacks and the screams of comrades... what we believed in was not numbers."
I clenched my fist tightly.
"What we believed in was the faith that the comrade beside me would watch my back. And the trust that our commander, Regimental Commander von Dietrich, would lead us to victory."
"Wh-what sentimental nonsense...!"
Zwinger tried to cut in, but I raised my voice louder to overwhelm him.
"We do not call it a miracle because it cannot be explained by statistics! We call it a miracle because we staked our lives and made the impossible possible!"
I took a step toward Zwinger.
"The victory you derided as a loaded die is the result forged by the 2,500 soldiers of the 7th Regiment with their blood and sweat. The twenty-one fallen comrades who sacrificed their lives created that variable!"
Boom!
I stomped my foot deliberately, spewing out the words with passion.
"And yet, you tapped your calculator a few times and called it impossible? You would deny our soldiers' blood with a few sheets of paper? Is that the justice the Imperial Inspectorate speaks of?!"
[The skill 'Mesmerizing Eloquence' dominates the entire conference room.]
[The audience's emotions are heightened.]
"...Urk!"
Zwinger staggered back, overwhelmed.
"R-right! We fought with our lives on the line!"
First Lieutenant Walter, who had been silent, shouted with a clenched fist.
"First Lieutenant Jaeger is right! Our squad members... my subordinates, and how they fought!"
First Lieutenant Franz also cried out, his voice choked with emotion.
"What do you know, chattering away with your desk-bound theories!"
"Get out of here right now!"
Shouts erupted everywhere. The atmosphere reversed in an instant.
Major Helga and even Erika glared at Zwinger with frigid eyes, and Seraphina gazed at me steadily with jade eyes that were far more wet than usual.
[Name: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Emotion: Admiration for Max Jaeger's exploits. Trust and affection for Max Jaeger.]
I had unintentionally ended up farming some affection points. Not that it was a bad thing.
And, the true star of this stage.
"...Enough."
A weighty voice split the conference room.
Colonel Carl von Dietrich.
The old fox, who had been cowering, finally squared his shoulders and rose. My speech, and the response of his subordinates, had straightened his spine once more.
"Lieutenant Colonel Zwinger."
The Colonel slowly, but with dignity, approached Zwinger.
"My subordinate is not wrong in the least. You look at numbers, but I look at people. And what I see of the 7th Regiment is not cowards who would file false reports."
"C-Colonel...! Do you not grasp the situation? Your promotion depends on the inspection results...!"
"Promotion?"
The Colonel scoffed.
"Becoming a general would be nice. But trading my subordinates' honor for stars... that is a disgrace to the von Dietrich name."
Ooh, quite the performance.
*'Status Analysis.'*
[Name: Carl von Dietrich]
[Hidden Desire: To use this momentum to crush Zwinger and solidify his image as a heroic commander.]
His inner thoughts were transparent, but outwardly he presented the image of an excellent soldier.
"If you wish, continue the investigation. Search the ledgers, interrogate the soldiers. As much as you like."
The Colonel approached right up to Zwinger's nose and growled.
"But if so much as a speck of dust does not come to light... then I will haul you before a military court for false accusation and contempt of command. Even if I must stake my entire political life on it."
"...!"
Zwinger's complexion paled. He seemed to never have expected the Colonel to come out so aggressively. Moreover, thanks to my incitement just now, every officer in the room was glaring at him as if ready to kill.
If he forced the investigation here? If truly nothing came of it, Zwinger could be destroyed by the Colonel's counterattack.
Of course, since he was convinced the 7th Regiment's victory was fabricated, he wouldn't back down completely from this.
*'Status Analysis.'*
[Name: Albrecht von Zwinger]
[State: Self-esteem cracking. Unable to admit logical defeat. Waiting for the next opportunity.]
"Mark my words, Colonel."
Zwinger bit his lip and roughly pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up.
"Emotional manipulation may allow you to escape this momentary crisis, but numbers on paper do not lie. Starting tomorrow morning, I will begin a detailed audit. If even a single blemish is found... you had best prepare to remove your uniform."
Bam!
He left those threatening words behind and kicked the conference room door open. A silence like a storm having swept through. But that silence did not last long.
"Waaaah!"
The officers burst into cheers all at once.
"You see that? The way that bastard Zwinger's face crumpled?"
"Ripping an inspector to shreds with nothing but words!"
"My insides feel cleansed! First Lieutenant Max, you are the real deal!"
I ducked my head with a deliberately modest expression amid the pouring praise.
"You overestimate me. I merely spoke the truth."
"No, no! If it weren't for you, we'd all have been dragged along by Zwinger's pace."
First Lieutenant Walter pounded my shoulder.
Then, the Colonel approached me.