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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A Junior Officer's Burden
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A junior officer wouldn't be entrusted with such a task.
Following Daniel's orders, Lieutenant McCall, along with his soldiers, bound the enemy leadership and their troops.
While they were being bound, several officers gritted their teeth with expressions of extreme displeasure, but no incidents broke out.
This was because Daniel had previously given the order, "Those who resist may be shot."
These were the kind of men who had joined the refugee procession, believing their own lives were more important than their soldiers'.
As long as their lives were at stake, they had no choice but to act like docile lambs.
After thus binding all the Kingdom Army's military leadership and soldiers, Lieutenant McCall ordered a radio operator to inform the Imperial Army Division Headquarters of their success.
The radio operator did so, and a reply of "Understood" came back from Division Headquarters.
The additional promise to immediately send an escort unit if they provided their coordinates was a bonus.
Lieutenant McCall let out a wry chuckle, finding it absurd how easily everything was proceeding.
'Now…'
Division Headquarters would spread the news in real-time to both their own forces and the Kingdom Army that the commander of the Ironclad Division had been captured.
If so, their own forces' morale would skyrocket, and the enemy's morale would rapidly plummet.
Some enemy soldiers, unaware that their division commander had fled, would try to verify if the Imperial Army's words were true, and it was obvious that this process would lead to confusion and terror.
It was like putting an end to a battlefield already shaped favorably for the Imperial Army.
'The one who had spearheaded this battlefield from beginning to end was…'
Captain Daniel Steiner, standing alone on the pier, gazing at the coastline.
'When I first saw him, I thought he was just some bookworm from the General Staff.'
Now, looking at him, he was a genius staff officer with a terrifyingly brilliant mind.
As Lieutenant McCall gazed at Daniel with a sense of awe, Sergeant Glendy approached him.
"Isn't it truly amazing?" Sergeant Glendy said. "It was astounding enough that he found the enemy's supply route and then suggested using it against them, but now he's even captured the enemy leadership? Honestly, I still can't believe it."
Lieutenant McCall chuckled and nodded as if in agreement.
"I feel the same way," he said. "If someone told me all those operations came from one man's mind, how many would believe it? In that sense, we might be witnessing living history."
"…History, sir?"
"Yes. Think about it. Isn't the Battle of Nordia we've just experienced a sufficient achievement to be recorded in history books? Ordinary officers like us might not be mentioned, but the Captain's name will undoubtedly be there."
Indeed, the name of a man who had achieved so many merits could not possibly be excluded from history books.
Sergeant Glendy chuckled and said,
"Thinking about it that way, it really elevates my spirits. We worked under someone who might be hailed as a great figure of the Empire in the future, didn't we? I doubt there'll be a better story to tell over drinks."
A great figure of the Empire. It seemed like an exaggeration, but it did make him think that a future Daniel might indeed rise to the ranks of a great man.
"There's a more fitting title than 'great figure,' though."
Just then, Frien stepped between Sergeant Glendy and Lieutenant McCall.
The moment Glendy and McCall, who hadn't even noticed her approaching, flinched, Frien opened her mouth.
"From where I stand, I think Captain Daniel is a saint sent down by God to protect the Empire, which has been endangered by the attacks of the Union, who are worse than beasts."
Frien narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing at Daniel, and offered a thin smile.
"Captain Daniel will surely show the beasts of the Union a hellfire they won't forget. And then, only Imperial citizens and those who follow them will remain on this land."
At Frien's radical ideology, McCall and Glendy unconsciously broke out in a cold sweat.
While McCall and Glendy were also among those who ardently wished for the Union's destruction and the Empire's victory, they did not harbor the thought of severely punishing everyone except Imperial citizens.
They had felt it since the battle with the supply battalion, but there was an unconscious madness flowing in the eyes of the woman before them.
Still, they couldn't exactly criticize the loyalty Frien displayed.
Glendy, who had been observing the situation, cleared his throat to lighten the mood.
"More importantly, what do you suppose the Captain is thinking while looking out at the sea?"
At Glendy's words, Lieutenant McCall turned his gaze to Daniel.
One would expect him to be pleased, having achieved such a military feat by capturing the enemy leadership, but Daniel was merely gazing silently at the sea with a somewhat subdued look in his eyes.
He was truly an inscrutable individual.
"How could ordinary people like us fathom the thoughts of a genius?" McCall mused. "But if I were to hazard a guess, he's probably contemplating the various post-war matters that need to be handled."
"Indeed. It does seem highly probable that the Captain would be doing that."
As Glendy and McCall watched with gazes of admiration, Daniel, who had been gazing blankly at a few seagulls floating on the sea, secretly let out a sigh.
'I want to go home…'
Daniel simply wished for bucolic peace.
*
As the news that their leadership had attempted to flee and been captured began to spread across the entire battlefield, the Ironclad Division lost morale and raised white flags one by one.
Thanks to the enemy forces who had lost their will to fight, the Imperial Army easily entered Nordia, occupied the city's main buildings, then took down the Kingdom's flag and hoisted the Empire's flag.
Major General Felderham, having made the Empire's occupation of Nordia a fait accompli, ordered the establishment of supply routes and had the key figures of the Ironclad Division transferred back to the homeland.
In the process, I too spent busy days with post-war matters.
This was because Felderham, who had come to trust me completely, had entrusted me with tasks related to selecting defensive points in certain areas, maintaining public order, and protecting classified information.
When nearly half a month had passed thus, Heinrich suddenly summoned me to the city hall.
I felt somewhat uneasy, but as I was in no position to disobey orders, I headed to the city hall.
Of course, though it was called the city hall, it was now practically the headquarters building where the garrison commander conducted his duties.
Not only were Imperial soldiers standing guard everywhere, but one also had to have their identity confirmed to enter.
As I ascended the building's stairs, feeling a somewhat chilling atmosphere, the soldiers guarding the entrance saluted.
"Captain Daniel Steiner, sir. It's an honor to meet you. You may pass."
I nodded and entered the building, heading up to the third floor.
Passing through a Gothic-style corridor, I arrived in front of the garrison commander's office and knocked on the door.
The answer came swiftly.
"Come in."
Granted permission, I opened the door and stepped inside to find Heinrich and his adjutant, Philip, standing there.
Stepping further into the office, I crisply saluted.
"Brigadier General, sir. I heard you summoned me."
Heinrich, having returned the salute, wore a smile on his lips.
"Indeed," he said. "There haven't been many opportunities to see your face, busy as we've been with post-war matters. I was just feeling guilty, thinking I might be neglecting you despite your great merits."
I shifted to the parade rest position and spoke as if his words were absurd.
"I believe soldiers should simply follow orders and not expect rewards for their achievements."
"An excellent mindset," Heinrich replied. "I wish other soldiers would emulate that humility. However, since the Empire's fundamental ideology is 'reward for merit, punishment for fault,' we cannot simply let it pass."
Heinrich continued, maintaining his smile.
"As you know, you and the Division Commander will soon be departing from here to join the northern front line. This is because, with the occupation complete, there's no further business in Nordia. When that happens, the garrison commander position will become vacant. Are you aware of this?"
"…Yes. I am aware, but why are you telling this to me, sir?"
"Isn't there only one reason I'd tell you this?" Heinrich said. "I'm telling you because I'd like you to take on the vacant garrison commander position. As interim garrison commander, that is."
A cold sweat broke out.
"General? I operate a unit directly under the General Staff."
I appealed that I was merely a captain following the General Staff's orders, but Heinrich merely nodded calmly.
"Why wouldn't I know that?" Heinrich said. "Naturally, approval has also come from the General Staff. They said you are to hold the vacant position until headquarters appoints a garrison commander."
No. What? Grabbing hold of my dazed mind, I forced a smile and said,
"I appreciate the offer, but it's realistically impossible. Even if it's a temporary position, one must at least be able to command battalion-level personnel to serve as garrison commander."
"So?"
"I, a junior officer, cannot command battalion-level personnel. Nor can other authorities to manage the garrison be granted to a mere junior officer like me. So please, I beg you to reconsider."
I was speaking sincerely, but somehow Heinrich's lips quirked up playfully.
"Of course, we have no intention of entrusting the garrison commander position to a junior officer."
What? Was that a bad joke?
I let out a sigh of relief and regained my composure.
"That's a relief. In that case, I'll prepare to return to the General Staff—"
"Adjutant."
At Heinrich's word, Captain Philip approached me, carrying a box.
It was a small box, wrapped in the Empire's flag made of silk.
Huh? A box?
"My sincere congratulations, sir."
Captain Philip? Why are you using honorifics?
At the moment my anxiety peaked, Captain Philip unfolded the flag and opened the box.
Inside were polished major's insignia and epaulets.
Just as the thought "No way" crossed my mind, Heinrich burst into hearty laughter.
"Congratulations on your special promotion, Major Daniel Steiner! I can't express how happy I am to witness the birth of the Empire's youngest major with my own eyes! Ah, yes. I'd like to pin them on you myself, if you don't mind?"
Major? Me? In a dazed state, I barely managed to nod.
Heinrich then took the major's insignia from the box.
"Consider it an honor," he said. "According to news from the capital, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor himself has also taken an interest in you."
Saying so, Heinrich removed my captain's insignia and attached the major's insignia to my uniform.
As I blankly watched that series of movements, my hand unconsciously twitched.
Operational Staff Officer, General Staff.
Recipient of the Gukseonjang, Order of National Merit (2nd Class).
According to the Commander of the 6th Magical Armored Division: A Bloodthirsty Wolf.
Primary architect of the Nordia Invasion Operation.
The Empire's Youngest Major.
Interim Garrison Commander of the Occupied Territory.
As I looked back at all these things, my lips trembled slightly as if in a spasm.
'Wait a minute. This…'
No matter how I looked at it, this was a "key member of the Imperial Army leadership" perfectly suited to be sentenced to death in a war crimes trial.