“...You smell far too much like another woman.”
“......”
No wonder she was so cute, like a puppy. I never imagined her nose would be so keen, too. Or perhaps... was it because her mana-detection ability was particularly sensitive? She must have sensed Seraphina’s perfume and the traces of intercourse.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Hannah Meyer]
[Condition: Jealousy, possessiveness, and intense sexual desire.]
[Emotion: Anxiety that the captain might be taken away by another woman. Wants to imprint her existence onto him through their bodies.]
“So... I waited because I wanted to wash you.”
Hannah’s hand subtly wandered around my waist. The look in her eyes was unmistakable. She had no intention of merely washing me.
‘Ha....’
I sighed inwardly.
I had barely managed to get Seraphina to sleep and come back, only to find Hannah waiting for me this time. And she was looking at me with the eyes of a hungry bitch, her energy as vigorous as ever.
My stamina was already completely depleted.
Take on Hannah in this condition? The words “death by sexual exhaustion” flashed through my mind.
But I couldn’t reject that desperate look in her eyes, nor could I send her away from my door. If I did, she would sulk, and I was certain I’d have to suffer for days afterward.
I rubbed my dry face and recalled the skill selection window from last time.
[Iron Virility]
Description: During sexual interaction with the opposite sex, physical vitality and endurance increase dramatically.
The skill I had dismissed with a sneer, saying it was useless for anything other than sex.
‘...I should have picked it.’
A profound regret washed over me.
I lifted my heavy eyelids and wrapped an arm around Hannah’s shoulders.
“......All right. Let’s go in.”
“Yes, Captain♡”
Hannah beamed brightly and burrowed into my arms. Praying that my lower back would still be intact tomorrow morning, I opened the door.
*
The next morning.
“Ugh....”
I got up while clutching my stiff lower back. Hannah was fast asleep on the disheveled bedsheets, oblivious to the world.
[Name: Hannah Meyer]
[Condition: Deep sleep, happiness, and satisfaction after receiving four ejaculations last night.]
“Why doesn’t she ever get tired...?”
The Hannah who used to be satisfied after just once and then fall asleep was gone. I had already been exhausted from having car sex with Seraphina the previous day, and then Hannah had attacked me, forcing me to endure her all night long.
‘I really should have picked [Iron Virility] back then.’
If [Bullet Time] was a survival skill, [Iron Virility] was a survival skill for my lower back. Considering the nature of the [Harem Overlord Expansion Pack], the number of women around me would only increase in the future, not decrease. In practical terms, it had been an essential mod.
Only now did I check the system messages I hadn’t been able to examine because I had been tormented all night.
[Promotion confirmed (Lieutenant → Captain).]
[Congratulations on your promotion!]
[You have acquired a large amount of experience.]
I tensed slightly, wondering if I might not have enough experience.
[Your level has increased to 13 in accordance with your promotion.]
Fortunately, my concern had been unfounded.
[Skill Points Available: 1]
[Choose one of the options below to receive a reward.]
1. [Upgrade Existing Skill]
2. [Acquire New Skill]
Without hesitation, I entered [Acquire New Skill].
1. [Iron Virility]
Description: During sexual interaction with the opposite sex, physical vitality and endurance increase dramatically. This skill cannot be leveled up.
2. [Material Conversion]
Description: Consumes mana to temporarily convert inorganic matter in the surrounding area into specific consumables, such as ammunition, food, and fuel. Converted materials return to their original form after 24 hours. As this skill’s level increases, its efficiency and versatility improve.
“Ha....”
[Material Conversion]. It was an excellent skill at a glance. In an isolated situation or on a battlefield where supplies had been cut off, it would be no different from a divine power. The ability to turn dirt into bread and pebbles into bullets was astounding.
But there was a catch.
‘It consumes mana.’
Unlike Seraphina or Hannah, I had not awakened mana. Naturally, I didn’t know how to manipulate it, and the concentration of mana within my body was negligible.
Unless I found a skill that could awaken my mana later on, this was nothing more than a useless luxury for the time being.
I would rather choose [Iron Virility], which would take responsibility for my back and lower body.
With a trembling finger, I pressed number one.
[You have selected the skill ‘Iron Virility.’]
[You are acquiring a new skill!]
That was when it happened.
“Ugh...?!”
A wave of heat surged up from deep within my lower abdomen. It felt as though highly concentrated caffeine and an energy tonic had been injected directly into my veins.
A tingling current climbed up my spine, and the pain in my lower back—which had felt ready to snap—vanished without a trace. Vitality flowed through my heavy leg muscles, and an eerily excessive amount of energy filled my entire body.
The most dramatic change, above all, was in my lower body.
Throb.
My manhood, which had been hanging limply after being worked to its limit, rose stiffly like an iron pillar. The blood flow pulsing inside it and its firmness were on an entirely different level from before. It even felt as though it had grown slightly larger.
“It works.”
That was when—
“Mmm... Captain...?”
Awakened by the rustling, Hannah rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her brown hair was tousled, and she wore nothing but a loose shirt, leaving her utterly defenseless.
She yawned, then noticed the tent rising beneath the blanket over my lower body.
“Huh...?!”
Her eyes went round.
“After doing it so much yesterday... already...?”
She moistened her lips with her tongue, as though savoring the thought.
[Name: Hannah Meyer]
[Condition: Surprise, curiosity, and surging sexual desire once more]
[Emotion: Happiness at the fact that the captain desires her. Though her body is physically tired, the thought of pleasing the captain again makes her lower abdomen tingle.]
“Aren’t you tired, Hannah?”
“U-Um... I’m a little sore, but....”
Hannah shyly climbed onto my thighs.
“If that is what you want, Captain....”
“......Anytime♡”
*
Two weeks passed.
Time in the capital flowed as swiftly and chaotically as the wind.
The emperor and the military had been frantic to use the “heroes of the war” as propaganda tools. During the day, we were dragged around to all kinds of banquets and events, and at night, we became intoxicated by the capital’s pleasures.
Of course, I still made sure to secure tangible benefits along the way.
I converted the enormous reward money bestowed by the emperor into stock in military-industrial companies and deeds to land in newly developed districts. As time passed, my assets would rapidly multiply. Wouldn’t it be best to become a monster born of capitalism and live in luxury once I retired from the military?
I also didn’t forget to visit the black markets and auction houses whenever I had the chance. Using [Status Analysis], I swept up treasures disguised as fakes for rock-bottom prices. While others called in appraisers, I could earn profits many times over with a single activation of my skill.
Of course, I had another asset far more reliable than money.
“Attention on the Second Company Commander! Present arms!”
Snap-!
“Loyalty!”
The sound of military boots filled the parade ground. It was the reorganization of the unit.
With the 7th Regiment being promoted to the 7th Brigade, the size of the unit had expanded dramatically, and I had been promoted to commander of the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion.
Normally, when a new company commander arrived, he would spend several months racking his brains—learning the unit and putting the noncommissioned officers who tried to assert their authority in their place.
But that didn’t apply to me. The company lined up below the reviewing stand had already been replaced from head to toe with my own hands and feet.
“At ease!”
First of all, there was the huge man roaring loudly enough to make the parade ground tremble.
“Company administrative and supply officer, Sergeant Gunter! Report the personnel!”
The position of administrative and supply officer would ordinarily have been held by a senior sergeant, but due to the special circumstances of wartime—and my strong recommendation—Gunter had taken the position.
*
After the review ended, we moved to the company commander’s office.
“Heh-heh, Company Commander. There are a few promising fellows among the new recruits. I’ve already investigated everything, right down to their backgrounds.”
The first person to approach me was Kurt, wearing the insignia of a sergeant.
He was still moving like my hands and feet. Was the threat I had made to the Pioneer Battalion still working? No, this sly bastard had probably already decided to get into my good graces.
Just look.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Kurt]
[Rank: Sergeant]
[Condition: Opportunistic fanaticism, intense thirst for handouts]
His loyalty came not from conviction, but from profit. That was precisely why I could trust him. As long as I kept dangling bait in front of him, he would never betray me.
“All right. Put the list on my desk. Assign the useful ones to your side first.”
“Yes, sir! Understood! As expected, Company Commander, your eye for talent is extraordinary!”
Kurt gave a sharp salute and left.
Then the door opened, and the next person entered. At once, the fragrant scent of coffee filled the room.
Click.
With the sound of the door closing, the stiff atmosphere melted away in an instant.
“Captain...! I brought your coffee. Two spoonfuls of sugar and one spoonful of creamer... right?”
Hannah approached me with a flushed face, looking quite striking in her well-fitted uniform.
She was wearing the insignia of a sergeant. A conscript had been promoted to a noncommissioned officer in a short period of time—and had even been appointed to the unfamiliar post of “Tactical Intelligence Analyst.”
In fact, no such position existed at the company level, no matter how thoroughly one searched through the Imperial Army’s organizational chart.
Even so, there was a clear reason this absurd appointment had been approved. Marshal Ludwig and Brigade Commander Karl, who had recognized her [Mana Detection] ability, were backing me.
‘A talent blessed with an innate sense for reading the flow of battle.’
That was how I had presented her to my superiors. In reality, it was a fabricated identity created so that I could officially make unlimited use of her radar ability at my side.
Now, even if she stuck right beside me throughout every operations meeting, no one could object. She was effectively my personal intelligence aide.
“Hehe... To think Captain Jaeger is my direct superior... It’s like a dream come true...!”
There was no need to open the [Status Analysis] window. If she had a tail, it would already be spinning like a propeller.
And that wasn’t all.
The two officers who had been sitting on the sofa studying the operations map rose to their feet. Lieutenant Walter, the former 1st Platoon commander, and Lieutenant Franz, the former 4th Platoon commander.
Even though they had been commissioned before me, the reorganization had placed them under my command.
“Well, well, Captain Jaeger. No, Company Commander. I look forward to working with you. To think I’ll be able to witness your godlike command from right beside you...”
Lieutenant Walter did not seem bitter. If anything, he looked relieved. After all, survival was the most important thing on the battlefield. To a veteran who had weathered every kind of hardship, pride was probably a secondary concern.
“To think Captain Jaeger is my direct superior... It’s like a dream come true...!”
Lieutenant Franz was looking at me with outright worship in his eyes.
With the existing members of the 3rd Platoon and my comrades forming the backbone of the company in this way, the 2nd Company had been in the palm of my hand from the very first day of my appointment.
It was practically perfect.
Money, honor, power, and loyal subordinates.
I would have loved to spend my time in the capital, enjoying an easy life and serving out the rest of my term in the rear.
But the world—or rather, the war—had no intention of leaving me alone.
The next day, news arrived that the Republic had declared war on the Empire.