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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter 11 - Relationship Between the Platoon Leader and Assistant Platoon Leader (1)
The sudden appearance of Azelus threw the Imperial Army Headquarters into chaos.
His arrival was unexpected, the headquarters was caught off guard.
Word quickly spread that the younger brother of Duke Azelus was serving as a mere corporal.
Of all places, he was stationed in the least desirable guard battalion.
Lieutenant General Clokton, the head of Army Headquarters, was in a state of panic.
He immediately summoned the personnel director and berated him mercilessly.
The personnel director claimed that his predecessor assigned this and he had no knowledge of this matter.
In the Empire, a direct descendant of a ducal house would be treated like a prince in any kingdom.
The fact that such a person had been assigned to the Guard Battalion as a corporal was an enormous oversight.
Meanwhile, high-ranking officers came to the platoon.
Division commanders, battalion commanders, and company commanders all arrived in succession, along with various headquarters personnel.
Clyden was left scrambling, his time split between catering to them and managing his squad.
Even the simple task of preparing tea fell on Clyden’s shoulders.
It was an uncomfortable situation for both of them.
While Eres was engaged in a private discussion with a group of high-ranking officers, Clyden entered the room.
As he silently set down the tea, his sharp gaze carried a frigid intensity, as though a blade of ice was slicing through the air.
By evening, Eres barely managed to convince the gathered officers to leave.
Some had expressed their intent to stay overnight at the outpost.
After escorting them outside and coming back, Eres couldn't help but feel nervous.
The platoon members watched Clyden's expression carefully and did their work.
Clyden glared at Eres.
Eres approached and stood at attention.
"Corporal Eres!"
Eres remained stiff, his expression rigid with tension.
Clyden suddenly grinned widely as he bowed and fawned over him.
"Oh my, young master, you must be exhausted. Please, have a seat. Hey, what are you all standing around for? Go fetch some tea and set up a proper place for him."
"That won’t be necessary!"
Eres remained standing, visibly more tense.
Clyden, rubbing his hands together with an obsequious grin, continued.
"Of course, young master. You must be worn out from dealing with all those officers. You should relax."
"That won’t be necessary!"
"Tch! Sit down already! So, you enjoy chatting with all those high-ranking officers so much that you can’t even see a lowly guy like me now?"
"That’s not it!"
Eres dropped into a seated position with his back straight, hands neatly placed on his knees.
Clyden began kneading Eres’s hands and shoulders.
"You must be so tired. Look at these stiff muscles!"
"I’m fine! Really!"
As Eres sat there, breaking out into a cold sweat from Clyden’s overly familiar touch.
Hunty arrived with a cup of tea.
"Young master, here’s your tea. Please, have some."
"I’m fine! I don’t need it!"
Eres had spent the entire day drinking endless cups of tea with high-ranking officers.
His stomach sloshed with liquid, and he was on the verge of throwing up.
When he finally declined the tea, Clyden simply stared at him in silence.
He sat down next to Eres, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.
“Well. Guess a guy who used to sip tea with the stars can’t even look at a cup from a lowly sergeant like me. Ah! Ain’t military life just wonderful? What a mess.”
“N-no, sir! I’ll drink it!”
Clutching his stomach, Eres forced himself to gulp down the tea.
Clyden exhaled a cloud of smoke into the air and smirked.
“Messing with my peaceful military life… You’ve got some nerve, kid. You know messing with me means your days here are gonna be hell, right? Do all noble brats act like this?”
“That’s not true, sir!”
“Oh? So not all noble brats are like this? Then that means it’s just you. So you’ve had a grudge against me all this time, huh?”
“No, sir!”
“Pfft. Listen, kid. This place doesn’t suit you, you know that? You don’t belong here, do you?”
“No, sir!”
“See? Doesn’t fit you, does it? kid?”
“No, sir!”
“Oh, come on. Quit lying. You don’t even know where you stand, do you?”
“No, sir!”
“This place doesn’t suit you!”
Clyden continued to nitpick at every little thing, pushing Eres to the brink of panic.
The other soldiers looked at him with pity.
Eres silently praying for it to end.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Hamilton walked in, grinning as he looked at Clyden tormenting Eres.
“Pfft… Hah! What’s this now? Got nothing better to do than pick on a poor corporal?”
“The hell are you doing here? And where the hell is the guard?”
“Relax, I just came to grab you for a drink. Carpenter wants to see you.”
“Huh? Oh! That guy’s back?”
“Yeah, and first thing he said was he owed you one.”
Clyden let out a laugh.
“Hah! Now there’s a noble with some damn manners, unlike some people.”
He shot a pointed glance at Eres, making sure he got the message.
Eres avoided his gaze.
“Well, ‘young master,’ I’m off now. Take care of that delicate body of yours.”
“Thank you for your hard work, sir!”
Eres stood up and saluted Clyden.
Clyden let out a laugh and walked out with Hamilton.
As soon as Clyden was gone, Eres let out a sigh of relief.
Private Hunty approached with a wry smile.
“Rough day, huh?”
“Maybe I should just start counting down the days till discharge.”
“You could always request a transfer…”
"The Platoon leader would’ve kept chasing me down just to chew me out..."
At Eres' words, the other soldiers nodded in agreement, sympathizing with his situation.
It wasn’t because he was a noble’s son.
They simply pitied anyone who had to endure Clyden’s relentless harassment.
Watching them go out of their way to help him, Eres wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
"Hey, don’t you feel the least bit anxious? You’re the direct heir of a ducal house."
"Bullshit. As long as he’s under my command, he’s just another soldier. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Aren’t you worried he might hold a grudge?"
"If he were that type, they wouldn’t have stuck him in my platoon."
"True. If Eres were the vengeful type, he wouldn’t have joined the military police in the first place."
"Wait a second. Why the hell are you speaking so casually? You’re a civilian now."
"Pfft, doesn’t matter. Once a senior, always a senior, right?"
"The hell kind of logic is that?"
Clyden and Hamilton chatted idly as they made their way toward The Deer’s Eye.
Located in Rotain Square, one of the capital’s busiest districts, the area was lined with upscale shops and entertainment.
Among them, The Deer’s Eye was renowned for its good service and highly trained staff.
Clyden received polite bows from the staff as he walked in.
Hamilton led him to a VIP room.
"Huh?"
Inside, two men were already deep in conversation over drinks.
One was Carpenter, a man Clyden had only seen on wanted posters.
The other was none other than Duke Azelus.
"Hahaha! Come in. I was just hearing about you from Carpenter. It seems both he and our dear Eres owe you quite a bit."
"You two… know each other?"
One was the infamous leader of the capital’s underground.
The other was the Empire’s supreme commander of the southern forces and had the status of count.
Two men who should have had no reason to ever cross paths now sat drinking together.
Clyden could only wonder—what the hell was going on here?
"Hahaha, Carpenter and I—"
"Hold on! Let me guess. Childhood friends? Trained together? Or maybe… master and subordinate?"
"Oh? How did you know?"
"Carpenter and I trained as knights together," the count explained.
"Though he eventually abandoned the path, I never abandoned him."
"Lord Azelus, haven’t we already settled this? I have no intention of returning."
"And just as you refuse to change your mind, I refuse to give up on you!"
"Lord Azelus…"
Clyden watched as the two men exchanged a deeply sentimental look.
"This story’s playing out exactly how I expected..." he muttered.
"Hmm? What was that?"
"Ah, nothing. More importantly, why did you call me here?"
"Well, partly because Carpenter wanted to thank you. And partly… because I wanted to ask you to keep an eye on Eres."
"Eres is doing just fine."
"Do you know why he chose to enlist as a regular soldier?"
"Family issues, I’m guessing."
"You should set up a fortune-telling stand."
"Hey, could you tone down the old man's speech? It’s kind of grating."
"Haha, force of habit, I’m afraid."
Then, as if it were nothing, he added.
"Eres and I are half-brothers. His mother was a commoner."
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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