Chapter 141 : Dr. Ian
Dr. Ian
"Platoon leader Lerkin. From now on, you're the commander-in-chief of the Granfen unit. Turn the entire company into a defensive formation for the garrison and get them into combat readiness."
"What are you...? C-Company Commander?!"
Ralph ignored the platoon leader's shout and kept walking.
He no longer saw anything but the path he had to go.
He walked.
One step, another step.
And yet another.
Though he appeared to walk without hesitation, in truth, it was nothing like that.
It was as if gravity was ten times stronger only for him,
making it difficult to move his heavy body.
Even so, Ralph kept moving forward.
To protect Granfen,
to save Ian,
and,
'To save myself.'
Ralph stopped as he reached the entrance of the garrison. Chak.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then exhaled.
"Whoo."
He slowly opened his eyes.
Though his face was covered in scars and wrinkles,
his pupils were more lively than ever before.
Bang!
The sound of his foot kicking off the ground echoed like an explosion,
and Ralph's body shot forward.
He pierced through the air resistance, which felt stronger than ever.
'Just wait a little longer, Ian!'
Driven by the persistence not to be late, he realized something belatedly.
"?!"
Amazingly, right now he was,
grinning widely, his gums exposed.
'... Am I smiling?'
A shiver ran through his whole body.
When was the last time he'd smiled while holding a sword?
Other than that brief moment in his youth, when he awakened his mana, he never did—not even once.
But now, finally,
Ralph became aware of himself as a swordsman.
"Ah...!"
Naturally, the words his father often said came to mind.
A swordsman strives to draw the perfect path of the sword because—
'He said it's to open the "path he wants to walk" with his blade.'
If one could only go that way,
then it was natural for a swordsman to give his life to that cause.
With such resolve and excitement, Ralph unleashed his Sword Energy.
Swinging at Schutmann, who was striking at Lantz!
Chwajajajak!
A far more powerful Sword Energy than usual flew toward Schutmann.
Schutmann barely managed to withdraw his sword and fend off Ralph's Sword Energy,
and then Ralph greeted him briefly and said,
"Battalion commander, company commander Lantz. I know it's shameless of me to ask even though I'm late, but..."
Who was Ralph referring to with 'I know it's shameless of me to ask even though I'm late'? Was it Ian?
Or was it Ente?
Or perhaps,
he was speaking to himself, who'd once been trapped and lost in the past.
"... Would you like to try one more time?"
With these final words from Ralph,
.
.
.
〈 Your understanding of Nagel Ralph has increased. 〉
The sudden playback of memories ended abruptly.
I was inside the battalion commander's tent.
'Why am I lying here?'
When I started reviewing the memory, I had been sitting in a chair,
but now, I found myself lying in the commander's quarters, staring up at the ceiling.
Just like waking up from a nap.
"What the...?"
First, I patted my body here and there.
It wasn't a short time that I'd spent as Ralph,
'I'm intact!'
Luckily, all my senses were working normally,
but naturally, my next worry came to mind.
'How much time has passed in reality?'
I jumped up and looked outside the tent.
Dawn was breaking just after the night.
It must have been about three or four hours.
"Hm. Should I be happy about this, or not?"
Part of me had hoped real time wouldn't pass at all,
but time seemed to have gone by more than I expected.
Of course, considering that I'd just relived years' worth of memories, it was fortunate that only this much had passed.
"Ugh."
Sighing in belated emptiness and loss, I sat back down at the table in the tent.
Let's try to sort things out.
'Does the length of key memories played back get longer as intimacy goes up?'
I felt like it was a bit too long,
but there must have been a reason to show me this much.
This system, created by the gods, operates in ways that are helpful for me.
Just as I figured out Harper's value after seeing his memories before.
If so,
'I need to find what part of those memories and information are useful for me.'
Scratching between my brows, I recalled the key memories of Ralph I had seen.
There were so many that I couldn't help groaning.
"Nngh."
I had learned many truths I didn't know before.
From why it was so difficult to get 100% intimacy with Ralph,
to why he could seem like such a good person to everyone.
'Who knew all that attitude came from trauma.'
Ultimately, Ralph was freed from his guilt through the minor Demon Realm raid with me.
He was able to die as his true self until the very end.
Whether that was truly our best, I still wasn't sure.
Thunk.
A tear rolled down my face before I knew it.
Startled, I checked my face, but it was dry.
That one drop had been it.
"Ah...?"
Strange.
When I thought about Ralph's key memories, my body seemed to react before my mind,
and I felt like I shouldn't think about it any more.
'Damn.'
Just why was that?
Why did the system show me Ralph's trauma and his final resolve?
... Honestly, I still don't know.
Still, if I could figure it out,
'I'd be able to grow much more than before.'
With this reflection, I stepped outside the tent to get some fresh air in the early dawn.
"Phew..."
The heavy feeling in my heart eased up a bit.
The crisp air felt wonderful.
"Hm. 'The path I want to walk,' huh."
For now, maybe a little walk would do.
*
As I took a light walk,
without knowing, I arrived at the place I was most familiar with in the garrison.
'Of course, this is where I'd end up.'
Even as I thought myself pathetic,
my spirits lifted considerably.
Fflutter.
I pulled back the flap and stepped into the kitchen tent.
"Platoon leader?!"
Ruth reacted first with a startled expression,
and then Ricky greeted me cheerfully.
"Ruth was searching everywhere for you yesterday, but where did you sleep last night?"
"Well, I slept somewhere high up."
Since my appointment as battalion commander was still under embargo, I muddled through,
but the two subordinates obviously wore question marks over their heads.
Ignoring them, I walked over to the counter and said,
"What are you doing? We're a person short. Move faster."
Pointing out Zaiya's absence, Ricky smiled wryly and got moving,
and Ruth, watching intently, silently continued prepping ingredients.
Watching them out of the corner of my eye, I thought to myself,
'They're both stronger than I thought.'
Death was a given on the battlefield,
and as seasoned soldiers, my two subordinates seemed to accept it calmly.
Which meant,
'I'd better pull myself together and start making rice.'
As I picked up the pot to go wash the rice,
fflutter—
the kitchen tent entrance opened again, and the shortest person in the unit appeared.
"As expected, you didn't disappoint."
Legion crossed her arms and glared at me with reproach.
Ugh, am I really that pathetic to look at?
I was about to retort immediately—
"Captain Legion!!"
Ricky, former corporal of special operations, wagged his tail as he approached Legion.
"What brings someone as distinguished as the Special Investigator to this humble place? And at such an early hour too?"
While I was pondering what punishment to give Ricky after the breakfast distribution,
Legion sighed deeply and said,
"Someone gave Lantz an order yesterday. To assemble the soldiers this morning."
I wondered, if only for a moment, who had given such an order—but I remembered right away.
'It was me.'
Yeah. That's right.
I had asked Lantz to gather the soldiers so I could announce the old man's death in battle and my designation as the new battalion commander.
But,
'I watched Ralph's memories for so long I forgot.'
The meeting with Lantz and Legion after being appointed battalion commander now felt like something from ages ago.
But even if I made Lantz do the work, nothing would have changed.
"Tell Lantz to delay it a little. The soldiers need to eat first."
At my bold tone, Ricky's face turned pale,
and Legion, clearly annoyed, furrowed the veins in her forehead.
Snap.
Hm, Legion's vibe is really different when it's just the two of us.
"You should think about your position, Ian."
Ricky and Ruth, surprised, even hiccupped,
but I responded with an aura of, 'None of you can stop me!'
"Position or not, we're all people. And more importantly, food comes first."
"... Hic!"
As my two subordinates covered their mouths to stifle their hiccups,
Legion eyed me narrowly for signs of my intent.
Of course, I had no intention of backing down.
"Hm, that's strange. Did something happen?"
"Who knows."
Actually, this defiance and my-way approach is the aftereffect of seeing Ralph's memories.
There was a message lingering in my mind, still echoing.
'The path I want to walk.'
Just as Ralph chose to fight Schutmann of his own will,
I, too, wanted to do what I wanted.
Not postponing, not swayed by the circumstances, but living by my own choices.
That is the conclusion I reached.
'I'm a cook first and foremost. My battalion commander role is just temporary.'
Anyway, once we return to the village, I plan to give up the position and discharge.
So, it's not about how I command the army,
but how well I make the day's food that matters.
"Anyway, just know that I'll be cooking first."
As I organized my thoughts and steeled my resolve, I began to wash the rice.
"Sp-Special Investigator, it's a misunderstanding!"
Ricky, summoning his courage, babbled to Legion.
"The platoon leader has no bad intentions—! Huh?"
Startled by Ricky's flustered voice, I turned toward Legion.
Legion was walking over to the kitchen counter, passing right by Ricky.
With both her sleeves rolled up.
"What is this?"
"If I help, it'll finish a bit faster, won't it?"
At the same time, she snatched the kitchen knife Ruth was holding and started slicing ingredients.
Tadadadadadadak.
Despite her looks, she was surprisingly skilled.
"You have some experience cooking?"
"... Back in the day."
Legion's face briefly tightened.
With this as our last exchange, we silently began preparing breakfast.
*
Breakfast turned out to be bear meat vegetable porridge.
Because the previous day's fighting had left many wounded and they needed a recovery buff,
and also, since we needed something quick and easy, porridge was best.
Of course, as I was serving, Lantz's expression as he looked at me was not good.
He didn't say anything directly, but he was very clearly annoyed.
'Damn. Should I just go over and punch him?'
I thought about it, but gave up soon after.
The battalion commander is just a temp job anyway,
and after this I'd be crawling before Lantz again.
'I've ended up as a mere small business owner.'
Still, seeing the soldiers sated and relieved by the porridge I'd worked hard on made me feel good.
For the first time in a while, I was getting more Recognition points than Satisfaction,
and the faces pleased and laughing heartily filled my heart with pride.
Just as I was enjoying my 100% cook mode in a long while—
"Ehem."
Unable to stand it any longer, Lantz sidled up to me and cleared his throat.
"Breakfast is finished, don't you think it's time? If we delay any further, it could be difficult."
Reading the suppressed fury in Lantz's voice, Ricky and Ruth glared at me, startled.
Company commander Lantz was speaking to me formally, leaving them confused.
'Oh. He's deliberately using formal speech to blow my cover.'
It wasn't just Ricky and Ruth around me.
The soldiers who heard Lantz's words were shocked—beyond surprise, it was horror.
"All right. Assemble the entire unit."
Only then did Lantz grin and shout out.
"Everyone gather! There's an announcement!"
At Lantz's shout, the soldiers moved in perfect order.
Ignoring them, I walked up to the podium.
To the very spot where the old man always stood.
Chak. Chak. Chak.
I walked up confidently, surveying everyone below,
and the soldiers stared at me, dying with curiosity.
'Hmm, where do I begin?'
I had never given a speech like this before.
As I was deep in thought—
"Loyalty shines upon you!"
Lantz's salute chant cut off my hesitation.
"Loyalty shines upon you!"
The returning shout from the soldiers thundered out.
Though the death of the battalion commander had not been announced,
everyone had noticed something was wrong since he hadn't appeared since last night.
They were accepting the situation more easily than I'd thought.
Of course, half the guys were still wide-eyed in shock that I was the new battalion commander,
but no one objected to the fact.
'It's probably because of my achievements in the war.'
Raising morale with good food,
strengthening the unit's fighting power,
and finally, killing the enemy commander myself.
Haaa, I don't know.
"Well, that's how it is. The battalion commander passed away last night, and I'm your new battalion commander."
"......"
There was no reply to my awkward opening speech.
It was silent and cold.
Ah, is this the lot of a battalion commander?
"But, hmm..."
I trailed off for about five seconds,
"......"
and after a brief but long silence, I spoke.
"As of this moment, I am resigning as battalion commander."
Ian. Going my own way.