"Lieutenant! We're short on towels, so could you— eek!"
Hanna, just stepping out of the bathroom, and Seraphina at the door. I was standing awkwardly between them. The two women's gazes met in midair.
Silence.
Out of habit, I brought up [Status Analysis].
'Status Analysis.'
[Target: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Emotions: Slight embarrassment, subtle displeasure, a coolheaded comparison of Hanna's physical charms, and a slight possessiveness toward Max.]
'Hmm....'
It wasn't as if jealousy was about to explode, nor did she look ready to bring up military discipline. Perhaps she had already guessed at my relationship with Hanna. Or perhaps it was because Seraphina was in a position where she needed treatment from me.
Then again, maybe she was considering the objective value of Hanna's [Mana Detection] ability.
Perhaps because of that, Seraphina's gaze was complicated and subtle. The status analysis window itself said [subtle displeasure] and [comparison of physical charms], didn't it?
"...I-I'm sorry! Company Commander! I was only...!"
Hanna looked close to tears as she bowed at the waist. Seraphina let out a short sigh, then shook her head.
"Enough excuses, Sergeant. The regimental commander is looking for you as well. Get ready quickly."
Seraphina snapped coldly, then jerked her chin at me.
"And you, come out first. ...I need to have a word with you."
"......"
I obediently followed Seraphina out into the corridor, and she leaned against the window. The amber light spilling from the gas lamps outside cast strange shadows over her silver hair.
I felt anxious. A different kind from the battlefield, one I had never felt before.
[Skill 'Strong Mind' is active.]
[Suppresses unnecessary emotional agitation and induces the most efficient thought process.]
"Sergeant Hanna... is a capable soldier."
She spoke first.
"She is. Her detection ability is our unit's lifeline."
"Ability... Yes, ability is important too."
She slowly turned her head and stared at me. Her eyes felt especially cold.
"But the scene I just witnessed was rather... primal, to call it a simple relationship between superior and subordinate."
A sarcastic tone. My heart dropped.
[Skill 'Strong Mind' is active.]
[Suppresses unnecessary emotional agitation and induces the most efficient thought process.]
Hoo....
I took a deep breath inwardly and activated my skill. Whether it was war, women trouble, or anything else, in the end, the most reliable thing was my skill.
'Status Analysis.'
[Target: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Status: A faint crack in her pride, slight self-deprecation]
[Emotions: Comparison, anxiety, possessiveness]
Mm, I could call this jealousy.
"...Is that sort your preference, Lieutenant Jaeger? ...As expected, obedient, cute, and younger...."
Seraphina muttered uneasily.
"Did I... presumptuously intrude between you two?"
It was a dangerous question. If I answered wrong, a rift might form in our relationship that couldn't be undone.
So instead of answering, I slowly approached her. Without hesitation, I reached out and covered the back of her hand resting on the windowsill.
Flinch. Her shoulders jumped, but she did not shake me off.
'Hand of Attunement.'
Through the back of her hand, I felt cold mana. It wasn't frozen solid like before, but her mana flow was still unstable.
[Stabilizes the target's bioenergy.]
Seraphina's body relaxed in an instant. Her brows softened, and her lips parted slightly.
"...Your pulse is fast, Captain."
While Seraphina reflexively surrendered herself to that sensation, I spoke.
"You were excited by what you just saw. It isn't good for mana reflux."
"Answer my question— ngh."
When I adjusted the faint mana at the acupoint in her wrist, she bit her lip and swallowed a moan.
"For the one who caused it to say that... How shameless... haa...."
Even as she snapped at me somehow, Seraphina gradually yielded her body to my touch. I smiled faintly and wrapped my right arm around her waist.
[Heightens the target's senses and induces a faint pleasure.]
"W-Where are you... hnng...?!"
"A doctor has to be shameless to save his patient."
Her body trembled.
"......Nnnh. Jaeger... stop...."
I gently moved the hand at her waistline, while my fingers subtly reached toward the full curves above and below. The feel of a woman's body, utterly satisfying.
"Your condition is not good. Tonight...."
"......A-All right, so stop..."
"Please say it properly. Captain Seraphina."
Her blue eyes had gone hazy and unfocused. Breathing hard, she lightly gripped the hem of my clothes. She herself knew best that there had never been any choice to begin with.
"......Please."
Her lips trembled.
"Tonight as well... treat me. Max. ...I'll be waiting."
On the surface, it sounded like an order, but it was almost closer to a plea.
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Of course, Captain."
Soon, the guest room door opened with a click. Seraphina hurriedly pulled away from my embrace and straightened her disheveled uniform.
"I-I'm ready!"
Hanna sprang out of the room. Perhaps sensing the strange current between the two of us, she widened her eyes and looked back and forth between us.
"Uh... are you two all right? Your faces are a bit red...."
"...It's because it's hot."
Seraphina cleared her throat and walked down the corridor first.
"Let's go. The regimental commander is waiting."
Her steps as she led the way were a little faster than usual.
[Name: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Status: Full-body relaxation due to rapid mana stabilization, tingling in the lower abdomen.]
[Emotions: Anxiety, and an instinctive sense of crisis toward Hanna. Anticipation regarding treatment with Max Jaeger.]
*
The regiment's temporary command post, set up on the hotel's top floor.
With Regimental Commander Karl von Dietrich at the head, the main officers had gathered, champagne glasses in hand. All their faces had a sheen to them. It seemed their first day in the capital had been quite satisfying.
"Oh, the stars of the show have finally arrived!"
The regimental commander welcomed us with exaggerated gestures. His gaze passed over me and fixed on Seraphina and Hanna standing behind me.
"Hm! So you're Sergeant Hanna Meyer, the one mentioned in that report? You've worked very hard."
"S-Sergeant Hanna Meyer! Loyalty!"
"At ease, at ease. This isn't the battlefield."
The regimental commander nodded in satisfaction, then whispered briefly in a voice only Major Helga, standing beside him, could hear.
"Major, make sure you look after her so that the confidential matter in question doesn't leak. Especially so she doesn't let her guard down in the atmosphere of the capital."
"Understood. I will take care of her properly."
Major Helga immediately understood and approached Hanna. To those around them, it would merely look like she was looking after a capable soldier, but in truth, it was thorough maintenance of secrecy.
"Captain Seraphina, you've also done well. Go over there and greet the officers. They are especially interested in your mana bullet ability."
"Understood, Regimental Commander."
Seraphina and Hanna naturally melted into the crowd. Then the regimental commander sidled up beside me.
"There were too many eyes, so my greetings were late. Do you like your room? I personally ordered them to assign you one with a particularly fine view."
"I am deeply honored, Colonel. Compared to a damp trench, it's nothing short of heaven."
"Hahaha! Of course, of course. You've earned it."
The regimental commander laughed pleasantly and patted my shoulder. Then he lowered his voice and whispered confidentially.
"You are going to be... rather busy. There are quite a few people who wish to see you personally."
"Me, sir?"
"Yes. In particular, this name will be difficult for you to refuse."
The regimental commander took a gold-embossed envelope from his breast pocket and held it out to me. Red sealing wax was stamped at the center of the envelope. The emblem engraved upon it was one no imperial soldier could fail to recognize.
"...The House of Duke Stahlberg."
"Yes. Duke Stahlberg, a great figure of the imperial military, has invited you."
I grinned.
"It is an honor beyond measure."
It couldn't be otherwise. The peak of the imperial military, the strongest possible connection, had rolled right up to me on its own.
I turned my head slightly. Erika was standing among the officers with a sullen expression. The red hair that would normally have been annoying somehow looked dazzling today. But the moment her eyes met mine, she whipped her head away and left the conference room first as if fleeing.
'How cute.'
I carefully tucked the gold-embossed envelope into the inner pocket of my jacket and left the conference room. As I walked down the corridor leading to the balcony, the cold night air, mixed with the acrid smell of coal, brushed my cheeks.
And as expected, I saw a familiar silhouette in one corner of the corridor.
She was pretending to look out the window as if nothing was wrong, but as my footsteps drew closer, I could see her shoulders stiffen with a flinch.
"An invitation from the House of Stahlberg. What an honor."
When I lightly waved the gold-embossed envelope, Erika spun around.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea! I'm not the one who called you. Father merely saw the battlefront report and said, 'There's an interesting little rat here,' so he summoned you, that's all."
Calling me a rat right to my face. But seeing her face flushed like a carrot, it was an obvious lie.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Erika von Stahlberg]
[Emotions: Considerable tension, pressure from her father]
"An interesting little rat...... The commander-in-chief has quite a harsh way of putting things."
"F-Father is a soldier among soldiers by nature! And the things you did in the Ashen Forest were... well, rather rat-like, weren't they?"
"I'll take that as a compliment. On a battlefield, it's better to live as a rat than die as a lion."
I whispered in a low voice.
"Don't worry. I won't embarrass you in front of His Grace the Duke. Rather... I'll make him proud that you brought me."
"W-Who said I'm bringing you...! Ugh, you're seriously so annoying!"
Erika's face went bright red as she shoved me away. Her hand had no strength behind it. Huffing, she ran down the long corridor, disappearing as if fleeing.
Watching her red twin tails recede into the distance, I let out a small laugh.