Chapter 14

Chapter 14

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

Chapter 14

The Protagonists. Let them retire.

Shulifen, the eldest son of the Marquis of Adria, the next head of House Rothenberg.

He had an impressive background, but he also had a painful past.

Several years ago, he confessed his feelings to Selena, his academy classmate, and that was the beginning of it all.

Since then, he couldn’t easily face Selena. He kept avoiding her.

Why he did that, he still doesn’t quite understand. He just... wanted to.

Every time he recalled how sharply she rejected his confession, his heart would tremble inexplicably.

Despite wanting to brush it off casually, it didn’t quite work out as intended.

Thus, for two years, he struggled and agonized internally until one day,

“Enlist as a soldier.”

That was the advice Karl gave, a colleague who had changed significantly compared to before. He said he had been through the same. After military service, everything became clearer.

In Shulifen’s eyes, Karl’s advice seemed right. Even though he had been harshly rejected by Selena, the atmosphere between them was okay.

The incident seemed like a distant memory now, relegated to mere nostalgia.

It was then that Shulifen realized, ‘Ah! Maybe I can be like that after serving in the army!’

Immediately, he took a leave of absence with other friends and applied for enlistment.

Naturally, there was opposition, but he persisted and ended up at the recruit training camp.

“Recruits! You will become the great soldiers of the empire! But! You must first overcome even this basic training!”

It was days of hardship in succession. He realized that his life had been too comfortable until then. He came to know how many young people shed sweat to defend the empire.

A new world. A place he had never known before. Maybe that’s why Karl gave such advice.

Indeed, it seemed quite nice to forget the pain, fear, and embarrassment of that day.

It seemed that Wilhelm, Alexander, and Joachim, who enlisted alongside him, felt the same.

However, a bolt from the blue struck them all.

“Trainees 124, 125, 126, 127. You’re dismissed. Get ready to leave.”

Each was ordered to return to their respective households and behave accordingly.

There was an atmosphere suggesting, ‘One of these bastards is enough!’

Though everyone insisted they couldn’t all leave, they knew this wasn’t the right answer.

Even Karl, who had given advice, was used as an excuse, but that wouldn’t last forever.

So, just as the four were brainstorming what to do next...

“Fall back.”

“Forward march.”

“Sit. Stand. Sit. Stand. Sit. Stand. Stand up! Who told you to sit down? Get your act together!!”

A demon of a sergeant, fierce enough to strip even the souls of the poor four trainees, descended upon them.

* * *

Tomorrow is an enjoyable weekend. The weekend. Whether there’s an agenda or not, weekends are truly precious.

So, it must be finished today.

Finished, and those bastards must be taken back to the academy without fail.

We can’t spend this damn weekend in this cursed recruit training camp.

Anger rises as past memories come flooding back.

“Can’t you get it together? What can you achieve with that kind of mentality?”

“Ugh!”

“Shulifen. Huh? Get lost. If you’re going to be like that, go home! The lord is looking for you!”

“No!”DiiScover new stories at novelhall.com, you too. Are you already giving up? No? No way!”

“Grraaah!!”

“Repetitive drills! Repetitive drills! Alexander, you keep making the same mistakes. Your comrades are suffering for it!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Do you think I’m not watching, Joachim? You keep dragging your feet. Let’s see who comes out on top. Ten more rounds for everyone! Commence!”

“Attention! Commence!”

“And honestly, haven’t you achieved your goal?”

“...?”

“Did anyone here think of Selena?”

It’s unlikely. They’ve been rolling and tumbling relentlessly. It’d be strange if they did.

The shame of the rejection? The doubts about themselves? All probably erased by now.

And now, finally, it’s time to use the last resort.

“All right. Fall back, everyone.”

Are they trying to roll again? The instructors watching from behind murmur with concern.

But no, this is a spell that anyone falls for when they’re a trainee.

“While looking at the sky, while looking at the stars, think about your parents and your family who are waiting for you.”

“Ah...”

“Your parents, especially your mother, will be worried sick about you doing something like this without any discussion. Think about her face.”

Even during the sergeant days, but especially during the trainee days, there’s no word stronger than “mother.” Mom. I remember crying my eyes out back then. I must have been a sight.

“...Karl.”

Finally, Shulifen spoke, as if he came to his senses.

“Huh.”

“Are we really allowed to go back?”

“If you feel like you’ve changed yourselves.”

“I’m not sure if we’ve changed. But now, I don’t think it’ll hurt to stand in front of Selena anymore.”

“Me too.”

“Same here.”

“...Agreed.”

Damn bastards. I envy them. I think I only realized this towards the end of being a private.

“I already told the instructors. To let you off for a bit because you were feeling unwell. Conveniently, the reason for leave was also sick leave.”

“What are you talking about, Karl? Medical leave is...”

“Damn it, shut up. We’ll talk about this later with Senior Marcus. You hear me?”

Let’s not bring up this topic again or they might explode. Let’s talk to the senior about it.

“Anyway, trainees. You’re allowed to go back. Understood?”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Listen to your voices. Already faltering?”

“Yes!! Understood!!”

Good. It’s over. Let’s eat now. What a suffering it was because of these guys...

“As expected, you seem qualified, Karl.”

“Huh?”

“I agree. You’re the one who should.”

“Have you all gone crazy or something? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Get up already. Let’s go have dinner! All I’ve eaten today is boiled eggs and soda!

“Confessing to Selena again.”

“What?”

“I was thinking of trying again if I got the courage, but it seems like you’re the only qualified one, Karl.”

“Stay strong, Karl! Selena will like you for sure.”

“She’d naturally prefer someone much cooler than us.”

“Hahaha. Hahaha!”

“Trainees, rise.”

“What?!”

“Aren’t you going to respond to roll call? Rise, you idiots!”

Trainee Karl disappears, and once again, Sergeant Karl Adelheit returns.

The instructors, who were smiling contentedly, rushed over in panic? Yeah, get lost.

Just let them roll all night long. Get ready to beg for mercy!

You twisted otherworldly bunch of retards!

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]