Chapter 12

It was the 11th day since the monsters attacked our unit. Early in the morning.

There was chaos in the unit.

“Sergeant Shin, you are finally here!”

“Yes.”

“So… you found people?”

“Yes.”

Along with the monster attacks, all communication with the outside world had been cut off.

Two soldiers who had set out to contact the outside world had disappeared.

Among the unit members, there was likely one common thought.

“What’s happening outside?”

After learning that there were others facing a situation similar to ours through the achievement system, the prevalent opinion was society had also been attacked by monsters.

But that was all.

We had no idea what had happened to the society under those monster attacks.

“Although we’re a military unit, if you think about it the other way around, it’s just an attack where a mere hundred soldiers managed to withstand.”

An attack that a hundred soldiers managed to withstand.

Outside, there were not only soldiers but also police officers. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NƟvelFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

While it was true that the monsters were formidable opponents, there were a vast number of people outside.

Soldiers, police officers, and many civilians.

In terms of facilities and manpower, the situation was likely much better than that of our unit, which only had 100 members.

The main opinion among the unit soldiers was that they must have somehow repelled the attack.

“It’s a baseless, optimistic speculation, but…”

In society, there are families and friends of the unit members.

Unless we could confirm it immediately or find a way to go there, thinking that “they must be safe” would relieve our minds.

“The soldier who first spotted them said it was about twenty people.”

However…

“They were all dressed in shabby clothes… and considering the location, they should arrive at the unit within an hour or two.”

Our unit was located on top of the mountain. So, we could easily observe the paths leading up to our base.

We didn’t neglect surveillance with the fear of other monsters attacking the unit, again.

But what we found wasn’t monsters, but people in distress.

They were about twenty people who walked up the mountain, a place where they wouldn’t normally go, ignoring the military area entry ban signs, unless they were enthusiastic hikers.

There was probably only one reason they approached the unit.

“They’re running away.”

We all reached the same conclusion.

We didn’t know about other areas, but at least in Gangwon Province, where our unit was located… Has become a place where people have to run away.

“…I need to cook for twenty more people.”

By the time they arrived, it would be breakfast time.

We didn’t know what would happen when we met them, but it would be good to at least feed them.

* * *

“There, there! There’s a military base!”

“I-I told you! Look over there! There are soldiers too!”

“Mommyyyy!”

“Sujin, we’re safe now…”

And that’s how we ended up in this situation.

“Alright, alright. Everyone calm down!”

After hearing that survivors had arrived near the unit, me and the soldiers went out to meet them.

“…There are many of them.”

“That’s right.”

According to the soldier who first spotted them, there were about twenty people, but when we counted them precisely, and realized there were twenty-five.

Currently, excluding the two missing persons out of 101 unit members, there are 99 survivors in our unit.

The number of survivors was more than a quarter of the unit members.

“Their ages and genders are all different.”

From a stern-looking grandfather to middle-aged men and women.

From students to young children held in their mother’s arms.

There was not a single commonality among them, yet they were gathered together as a group.

“For now, let’s send them to the third-floor barracks personnel to the second floor, as we had discussed earlier. And let them settle on the third floor. Then we need to make arrangements for their meals, right?”

“Yeah, that should do for now…”

That’s when it happened.

“Hello, everyone!”

Someone appeared behind our soldiers.

Me and the soldiers turned our heads in surprise to look behind us.

“I’m Lieutenant Kim Hyun-seok, who is currently in command of this unit! Now that you’re safe, please follow the soldiers’ instructions without worry!”

“L-Lieutenant Kim?”

He was the only officer in our unit.

Lieutenant Kim.

‘Why is he suddenly here?’

From the appearance of the monsters till the fight with the lizard chieftain, and even after that…

Lieutenant Kim did nothing and just hid in a corner.

Naturally, I thought he would delegate the handling of the newly discovered survivors to the soldiers as well.

‘So, we didn’t even report separately.’

But that Lieutenant Kim.

Suddenly he revealed himself.

I wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

All the soldiers who were dealing with the survivors looked at Lieutenant Kim in disbelief, as if they couldn’t believe it.

“What are you waiting for! Guide them quickly! Sergeant Min-jae?”

Then, unexpectedly, Lieutenant Kim yelled at us.

“Yes? No. Yes, Sergeant Min-jae.”

“Do you think there’s enough space in the barracks for these people to stay?”

“Well, um, yes. That’s correct.”

“Hmm, that answer doesn’t sound very confident. Make sure to take responsibility and guide them properly. I’ll check later if the guidance was done correctly. And report immediately if any issues arise.”

The barracks were a space where survivors could live.

It existed.

As soon as the survivors were discovered, soldiers worked hard to clear out the entire third floor for them.

Naturally, without saying it, the plan was to guide them.

“And, Sergeant Shin Young-joon!”

“Sergeant Shin Young-joon.”

“As soon as the barracks guidance is finished, make sure to prepare meals for them. Adding around 25 extra portions shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Then, go ahead.”

There shouldn’t be a problem.

The original dining capacity of the unit was for 100 people.

Adding 25 more.

“Is it really feasible to prepare additional meals equivalent to a quarter of the total personnel?”

As soon as the survivors were found, soldiers headed to the mess hall.

Additional meals were prepared at once.

Of course, without saying it, the plan was to guide them to the mess hall and feed them.

“…Lieutenant Kim is doing what he should be doing, but something just feels off.”

Somehow it just feels uncomfortable.

“They should be safe now. Everyone must be tired, so don’t worry and focus on resting first to relieve fatigue!”

But…

Despite such efforts an officer still an officer?

When our soldiers tried to guide the civilians, they did not follow the instructions properly, perhaps due of their excitement upon discovering the soldiers.

But when it came to Lieutenant Kim… It felt like his words contained some strange power.

The civilians followed the guidance well.

Lieutenant Kim may not be doing his job properly.

And he may be quite greedy.

“But he’s good with words.”

He’s tall with broad shoulders.

A manly figure from the Honam region.

He looks like a soldier straight out of a picture.

Moreover, considering his eloquence.

He’s the remaining officer in the unit.

And he’s a lieutenant at that.

From the soldiers’ perspective, it might not be a big deal, but to others, it’s quite a convincing position.

It’s only natural that his words carry more weight than the soldiers’.

In fact, from the soldiers’ perspective, that’s the most infuriating part.

Even if Lieutenant Kim has done something wrong while carrying out his duty for the unit, it often happens that the soldierly atmosphere and his eloquence make the soldiers look bad instead.

“But still, thanks to him, the guidance for the survivors went smoothly. So, I guess I should be grateful.”

Despite the soldiers disliking him.

Right now, he has done his job well.

So, it’s better to think positively.

But still…

“Sir, thank you so much…”

“Haha, don’t mention it. Protecting civilians is a soldier’s duty! I just did what I had to do.”

“Thanks to you, we survived! Thank you so much, Lieutenant Kim…”

“You’re all safe now. Just relax, as the soldier said! We’re safe now!”

The situation was quite odd.

That much was certain.

***

“You can use the third floor for the barracks. The soldiers who were there have all moved to the first and second floors, so there should be enough beds for everyone now.”

“The third floor? Isn’t that the highest floor? It’s difficult for tired civilians to climb that far.”

“Mr. Park!”

“Tsk… An old man like me finds it hard to climb stairs. Soldiers should be considerate…”

The expressions of the soldiers, which were already somewhat shadowed, were openly grimaced at the old man’s words.

Although a few other survivors seemed to give the old man meaningful glances.

The old man continued to grumble, seemingly unaffected by others’ gazes.

At the moment when the soldiers’ gazes were about to turn sour…

Fortunately, Gwang-il, who had a mild temperament, stepped forward.

“Haha, it may seem that way. But usually, monsters enter from the first floor. There hasn’t been a monster with wings yet.”

“Hmm.”

“On the first day when monsters attacked our unit, all the dead soldiers were on the first floor.”

“Ah…”

Upon hearing that, the old man seemed somewhat relieved.

“I understand that you’ve had a hard time outside, but I hope you can trust us a little. We’ll ensure your safety.”

“Well, if that’s the case, you should have explained it first…”

“Oh my, sir, please stop and come in.”

After persuading the old man somehow, they guided the survivors to their respective barracks.

Surprisingly, what the survivors reacted most to wasn’t the beds.

It was the bathroom and shower.

“I can finally take a shower…”

“I thought I was going to die feeling dirty. I endured it because it was a life-or-death situation.”

After the external power was cut off…

They had to rely on the unit’s generator for electricity, so everyone was conscious of saving electricity.

But water originally came from underground streams on the mountain.

Even if they used it liberally, there were no major issues.

“You don’t get hot water, though.”

But for the survivors, that alone was enough to make them feel relieved.

“We have also prepared meals for everyone. So, once you’re done with your cleanup, just come to the mess hall.”

“Wow! There’s food too.”

“Soldiers will guide you to the mess hall later.”

After confirming that the barracks guidance was more or less complete…

I thought I should also give them some guidance about the meals.

As I was about to head to the mess hall…

“Um, excuse me.”

A woman approached us and spoke.

She seemed to be in her late twenties or so.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Um, the person who greeted us, was his name Lieutenant Kim?”

“Yes.”

“Is he the highest-ranking officer in this unit?”

Well…

We’re not sure about that either.

“…Ah, yes. Well, something like that.”

“I want to talk about something with Lieutenant Kim. Could you tell me when it would be possible to have a conversation?”

“…”

Unlike the old man, the woman’s tone was polite.

And the content of her request wasn’t problematic either.

But…

The expression on the soldiers’ faces upon hearing that were even more rigid than when dealing with the elderly.

“Um, excuse me… Did I do something wrong?”

The woman seemed to sense the atmosphere as well, looking a bit flustered.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Conversation.

Actual conversation.

“It should be possible soon. We’ll let you know when we’re ready.”

“Oh, okay. There are things that must be told. Thank you so much.”

“Well then, take a rest.”

Except for a few soldiers who were assigned to guide the civilians, the rest of us headed out of the barracks.

“Hah. ‘I want to talk about something with Lieutenant Kim.’ It’s driving me crazy, hearing that.”

Discussions started as soon as we left the barracks.

“I felt even more frustrated and angry upon hearing her request than I did when that old man was making a fuss about living rooms on the third floor. Despite not saying anything to her, I still feel remorseful.”

“I understand. Everyone must have felt the same way.”

Even though the woman didn’t do anything wrong, there were murmurs about how strangely everyone became angry.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but sympathize.

Thinking about Lieutenant Kim, who gave orders “like a commander” to me and Min-jae.

My face must have grimaced a bit.

Oh.

Come to think of it…

“Min-jae hyung isn’t around?”

“Sergeant Min-jae? As soon as the civilian guidance was over, he strutted off somewhere.”

“What?”

“He probably went to Lieutenant Kim… I think.”

He seems really pissed off hyung, I guess.

“…. Honestly, I thought there might be problems among soldiers when war broke out.”

“Huh?”

The one who brought up that point was a Lance Corporal from the Communications unit like Min-jae hyung.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Sergeant Shin’s seniority is one level above Sergeant Min-jae”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, in the communication unit, we often talk about how if a war ever breaks out first, we will shoot Sergeant Lee Min-jae in the back of his head and would later tell it was a misfire.”

Ah.

That’s what he meant.

“Haha, Min-jae hyung is quite strict.”

“Just strict? He would yell at you to die if you do something wrong.”

There were probably more than one or two cases like that.

If a senior gives too much leeway to a junior, it often causes problems in the work.

I probably heard similar things from the junior chefs.

“But now that things have actually happened, it’s fortunate that we have someone like Sergeant Min-jae who can handle things well.”

“That’s right. Going through those kinds of things together, we have started to feel a strange camaraderie.”

“Hmm. Camaraderie.”

Yeah.

Camaraderie.

Over the past two weeks, the unit members fought together against the monsters.

Some received help from others.

Some heard words of gratitude for helping others.

Sharing the absurd experience called Awakening.

Surviving together in a state of being trapped in the unit, fighting against monsters.

Although it started as a necessity for survival.

Now, among the unit members.

There was a solid camaraderie.

‘Ah!’

Only then did I realize.

The true identity of the awkwardness I felt when seeing Lieutenant Kim today.

Comradeship.

In that word.

‘Lieutenant Kim is not included.’

Lieutenant Kim.

He didn’t fight with us.

He didn’t help anyone.

He didn’t even share the experience of Awakening.

Far from being a comrade.

A person in a position where even calling him a colleague is hesitant.

Such a person.

Claims to be our highest commander.

That’s just.

‘I need to take action.’

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Translator: One Force

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