novelraw Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
༺ 𓆩 Chapter 19 𓆪 ༻
「Translator — Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
"…Is that so? I understand."
Johann Gerner seemed almost taken aback by the man’s absolute certainty. He muttered the words and took his leave. It wasn’t hard to understand why, when someone made such a claim to your face with that much confidence, there weren’t many ways to respond.
It would be awkward to fawn over him saying: Ah, I see. How magnificent! I knew too little about you, Lieutenant Colonel! and it would also be strange to respond: At least make your bullshit have some coherent structure.
‘Of course not. I was just testing him.’
Whatever basis he had for his conviction, his reason was surely denying that outcome.
And wasn't it natural?
Who could easily accept that a Grade 3 Knight Officer had hunted and killed two Dual Numbers?
Even if you laid out extensive evidence before their eyes, they'd first suspect it was nonsense.
After the captain left like that.
Arditi Günther turned to Ain Krieg, ready to demand an explanation, only to pause, as if reading his thoughts. A quiet sigh escaped her lips before she spoke in a calmer voice.
"There’s going to be talk. A lot of it."
Her tone was different from before, there was no overt scolding this time; there was even a trace of respect in it. Perhaps because of that, Ain Krieg answered in the same unhurried manner, drawing in a slow breath from his mana cigarette.
"List them out for me."
There was no room to dwell on the bitter reality that even an unprecedented achievement had to be met first with such worries.
Arditi began.
"First, there will be a verification process to confirm they were, in fact, Dual Numbers."
The fact that plenty of soldiers had witnessed it wouldn’t help in the slightest.
This was, after all, an Independent Brigade, something of a special case.
And the first body to review such claims, by protocol, would be Marshal Rosenthal’s staff in the 10th Corps.
Frankly, he’d bet five mana cigarettes they would spout some masterpiece of idiocy like, ‘So the whole unit agreed on a story to fake a combat record?’
"But with Sergeant Rier Yung, and Sergeant Vermin from the reinforcement detachment, it shouldn’t become a serious problem."
"True enough. Even Rosenthal’s staff would think twice before pushing too far."
The fact that the Atonement Order’s chaplains held lying as a grave taboo was no small factor.
As long as Sergeant Rier Yung attested to it, the fundamental fact, that they had fought Dual Numbers, would not be challenged.
"They’d be committing suicide to smear the chaplains of the Atonement Order just to diminish my record."
Why else had the Atonement Order become the state religion of the Military State?
Publicly, it was as they proclaimed, the Order claimed to inherit the worship of the main deity of the Millenium Empire, now known as the Forgotten God. And for a Military State that declared itself the Empire’s successor, that inheritance was no small part of its political foundation.
But if that were all, the Intelligence Bureau’s military cardinals would never enjoy the privilege of being treated as equals to Marshals within the Ministry of Military Affairs.
"The Intelligence Bureau is beyond even the reach of the Sentinel family," Arditi Günther said.
And Ain Krieg gave a slow nod.
The Order’s chaplains could, if only slightly, slow or mitigate the progression of petrification. And more than that, they carried the authority to summarily execute any soldier in the throes of acute erosion, or any Specialist Officer whose petrification had reached critical stages.
‘In other words, crossing the Atonement Order was simply not an option.’
Of course, due to that role and importance, they were inevitably required to maintain neutrality.
In this case, it wasn't much of a risk, so it could be excluded.
As he lit a new mana cigarette and nodded for her to continue, Arditi Günther went on.
"Then countless suspicions will pour forth about whether it was a repulsion or elimination. They'll push it toward repulsion as much as possible, and your achievement, Lieutenant Colonel, will be thoroughly diminished."
"There’s also a strong chance they’ll spin it as a reckless engagement meant to seize glory, one that drove your men to their deaths."
She couched the words politely, but the reality was plain: if they could not deny the battle with the Dual Numbers, their only play was to recast it.
Replace ‘elimination’ with ‘repulsion,’ and—
"—and it becomes a story where two Dual Numbers appeared, you overreached trying to bring them down, your soldiers died for it, and the beasts slipped away. That’s a lovely bit of bastardry."
"…Exactly."
Meanwhile, the fact that they tried to use Vanargand Fortress as a sacrifice to protect the incomplete Siegfried Line, and the ten Specialist Officers and two companies as throwaway pieces, would be completely buried.
"Even if every slander and doubt is answered, and your deed is recognized for what it is, you accomplished something literally ‘impossible.’ That will invite further verification from the Atonement Order."
"In the worst case, we might see inquisitors. To check whether I’ve contracted petrification."
The last people he ever wanted to see again.
Ain Krieg smiled bitterly at the thought.
Then suddenly, realizing something, he looked at her and asked back:
"You haven’t asked me anything. Not a single thing."
Not about why his hand had been trembling on his cigarette ever since Johan Gerner left, nor about the pallor of his face and the sweat beading on his brow. Not even about how a mere Grade 3 knight officer could have butchered two Dual Numbers in a single strike.
"Of course, it's hard to accept, but."
Arditi Günther met his gaze and asked in return—
"If I did ask… would you answer?"
"There's no reason I couldn't."
For a moment, her eyes widened slightly, as if this was an answer she hadn't expected at all.
Then she quietly gazed at him.
Ain Krieg drew in a slow pull from his mana cigarette, his eyes falling on the tattoo inked on his arm, the snake biting its own tail, the ouroboros.
And then, softly, he spoke.
"My true identity is that of a knight who died two hundred years ago… and was reborn into this era."
Major Arditi Günther’s face remained as it always was; she was calm, cold, unreadable.
She blinked once, then rose from her seat, her voice measured.
"I see."
With a brief bow, she turned and left.
It didn’t take long for Ain Krieg to realize she was angry.
A quiet laugh escaped him as he leaned back into the sofa.
"It’s not a joke, you know. Really."
Well, what could he do?
It was just another debt he had to pay.
He crushed the half-finished mana cigarette into the ashtray, regretting the waste, then ran a hand through his sweat-damp black hair. Sinking deeper into the cushions, he grabbed at the collar of his shirt, soaked through with sweat, and tore it open in one rough motion.
Rip—!!!
A few buttons clattered across the floor, rolling until they tapped against the toe of his boot.
At last, with the back of his hand, he wiped at the newly exposed skin of his neck, letting out a low murmur.
"…I’m going to die. Damn it."
And that, too, was nothing but the truth; without a shred of lie.
༒︎
The battle had ended when the sun was halfway across the sky, but it was well past nightfall before the rough work of recovery was done.
Even that had been possible only thanks to the two companies the 10th Corps had sent, whatever their motives, their help had mattered.
"..............."
"…So this is all we managed to save."
"Most of the ones in the infirmary are a lost cause. Damn it all."
Less than half of the soldiers had come through with their bodies intact, and even among those, morale was scraping rock-bottom.
It was no mystery why.
The brigade had already been on the path to dissolution before this.
In name it was an Independent Brigade, but in truth its numbers had been barely more than a single battalion’s worth.
Now, after this battle, they had been driven to the brink of annihilation.
To the average soldier or junior officer, a glance around was enough to grasp the scale of the loss.
But Captain Menharn, who had gone over the wounded and the dead in detail, could only give a bitter laugh at the sheer hopelessness of it.
1st Company. 125 casualties.
2nd Company. 179 casualties.
3rd Company. Wiped out.
4th Company. Wiped out.
5th Company. 188 casualties.
Over seventy percent of the survivors were badly wounded, and even the lightly injured were unlikely to finish their terms of service.
‘The Cerberus Brigade is finished.’
Anyone would think the same.
Still, unlike before, no one was blaming Ain Krieg.
Whether they had seen it with their own eyes or only heard the tale, no one here was foolish enough not to realize they owed their lives, miserable as they might be, to him.
"The brigade commander has ordered a formation on the parade ground."
And so, even though the order came late at night, no one raised a word of protest; the improvised morgue that had been set up in the parade ground was relocated to a vacant building by the reinforcing companies, and the soldiers began gathering one by one in the sand-strewn open yard.
Their faces carried every kind of expression—
Relief at having survived.
Guilt for the same reason.
Grief for the fallen.
Resentment for the wretched reality left to them.
Whatever it was that kept each man tethered to life, they stood in their black uniforms, waiting silently for Ain Krieg to appear.
Naturally, the gaps in their ranks were filled by the soldiers from the two reinforcement companies; and truth be told, that was a comfort to them. For all they might have ignored or looked down on the Cerberus Brigade before, seeing such ruin firsthand was unsettling. In the end, they were all still human.
"Well,"
Vermin stood at the side of the ground, watching the scene with a bitter expression.
"This doesn’t feel good."
"If watching this makes you feel good, you’re either a psychopath… or a Sentinel."
"Same thing, isn’t it?"
Perhaps so. Johan Gerner unconsciously chuckled and nodded.
Just then, someone laid a hand on Vermin’s shoulder as he clicked his tongue.
"Which bastard…..oh?"
"An honor to meet you, brother."
Vermin turned, a frown creasing his face, only to find himself staring up at a man a full head taller than him, red-haired and bronze-skinned.
"Are you…?"
"Yes. Sergeant Rier Yung."
Among the noncommissioned officers, only the chaplains of the Atonement Order, Specialist Officers trained at the academy, wore the black shirt of that rank.
Vermin, instead of saluting, bowed his head and made the sign of the Atonement Order.
"I greet a brother in Atonement. I’m glad you survived."
"I greet a brother in Atonement. I hear you filled my place. Thank you."
It was one of the rare moments Johan saw Vermin with a truly earnest expression and it still felt strange to him.
That was when the sound came—
Step—!!! Step—!!!
Not the flicker of failing lamps, but the steady glow of torches planted here and there lit the parade ground, casting long, wavering shadows.
At their head walked a man they all knew well, a black-haired figure with a cigarette at his lips.
"Ain Krieg."
The smoke trailing from his mouth curled into the torchlight behind him, unraveling into a heat-haze shimmer. Following him up onto the platform was Arditi Günther, who took her place at attention before the remnants of the 1st Battalion.
Every gaze turned to the man now standing above them, looking out over the tattered remains of the brigade.
".................."
".................."
The air felt… strange.
Instead of the previous distrust, resentment, or even indifference, the gazes of the soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers looking at him all held a peculiar expectation.
They all thought the same thing—
Maybe, just maybe, this man could give them hope in the midst of despair.
That thought was shared by Major Arditi Günther.
By Lieutenant Langier, sucking on a candy from Parmilla, the dining hall cook.
By Second Lieutenant Eugene Hailt, standing hooded in a corner, silently smoking a harsh cigarette.
By Captain Johan Gerner, Sergeant Vermin, and Sergeant Rier Yung.
But all of that expectation proved misplaced.
"Men."
Ain Krieg’s first words were short, sharp, and smashed through every hopeful thought at once.
"We’re fucked."
As the stunned silence spread through the ranks, Krieg took another slow drag from his mana cigarette and added, utterly without a tremor in his voice—
"And I mean completely and utterly fucked."
END σϝ CHAPTER
Do not forget to read my other novels :-
⟿ How to Honor The Goddess
⟿ The Margrave's 10th-Class Ne'er-do-well