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[Translator - Tangrine ]
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Chapter 18 - Transfer Orders (3)
The squad members stared in confusion, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Lydis drew a dagger and swiftly cut off her long, flowing hair that had once reached past her shoulders.
A stunned silence fell over the group as they watched in shock.
Clyden rushed forward, carefully gathering every strand of the severed hair.
“Sergeant… why are you collecting that?”
Lydis asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, we can’t just leave such a significant token of your resolute decision lying on the ground, can we? I’ll make sure it’s handled with care.”
“Alright. I’m going to rest for a bit.”
Lydis looking somewhat dejected after losing the hair she had cherished for years.
Clyden grinned in satisfaction as he stared at the bundle of silver strands in his hands.
“Heh… I’ll put this to good use.”
“What the hell just happened?!”
Rex rushed over and demanded an explanation.
Clyden ignored him.
“Hunty, from now on you have a special assignment.”
“…Sir?”
Ignoring Hunty’s confused expression, Clyden pulled him aside to a secluded spot.
Handing over the collected hair, he whispered.
“Make a bowstring out of this.”
“…What?”
“You heard me. Make a bowstring.”
“What kind of nonsense—how am I supposed to make a bowstring out of hair?!”
“Shut up and just do it. You’re not eating until it’s done.”
Muttering complaints under his breath about how he was constantly being dragged into absurd situations.
Hunty reluctantly started twisting the strands together.
After an entire afternoon of work, the hair-turned-bowstring was finally complete.
Clyden eagerly took the string from Hunty and attached it to his crossbow.
“Okay… what exactly are you planning to do with this?”
“Heh, just watch. You’ll be amazed.”
Clyden loaded a bolt, took aim at an empty clearing and prepared to fire.
“This is it… my bowstring problems are over!”
He confidently pulled the trigger only for nothing to happen.
“…Huh? Why isn’t it firing?”
Hunty sighed, rubbing his temples in exasperation.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“What do you mean, ‘obvious’?!”
“Sir, you really thought twisting hair together would create enough tension to function as a bowstring?”
“That’s weird. I was sure hair-made bowstrings were supposed to be the best.”
“Where on earth did you hear such nonsense?”
“No, seriously! I read somewhere that bowstrings made from hair were top-tier!”
“You tricked the leader into cutting her hair off because of some ridiculous rumor? And now, how exactly do you plan on dealing with it?”
"Well, as long as you and I keep our mouths shut, no one will ever know, right?"
Hunty's face suddenly drained of color as he stared past Clyden’s shoulder.
"It's already too late."
"Huh? Wha—!"
Clyden spun around, only to find Lydis standing right behind him.
He had no idea when she had gotten there, but her expression was downright murderous.
Clyden instinctively took a step back, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
Lydis’s shortened hair seemed to rise, strand by strand, as if defying gravity.
A chilling crimson aura flickered around her.
"Aha… Lieutenant! This is, uh… you see, in honor of your firm resolve, I wanted to commemorate it by making a bowstring, so I—"
"Sergeant."
Lydis cut off his frantic excuse with a voice so cold it sent shivers down his spine.
"This is your last chance."
She drew her sword with a slow, deliberate motion, its blade gleaming ominously with a reddish mana glow.
The sight made Clyden’s breath hitch in his throat.
Faced with imminent doom, he blurted out.
"Fine! I tricked you into cutting your hair so I could make a bowstring!"
"Are those your final words?"
Lydis raised her sword.
"Wait! I did it because I heard that bowstrings made from elf hair are the best!"
"I'm not even an elf! So why?!"
"Because you're as pretty as one, so I figured it would work!"
The suffocating bloodlust dissipated in an instant.
Still gripping her sword, Lydis stared at Clyden in a daze.
Suddenly her face turned bright red.
She opened and closed her mouth as if searching for words, but none came out.
She dropped her sword and bolted away like the wind.
Clyden wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered.
"Holy hell, I survived."
Hunty watching with wide-eyed admiration, shook his head.
"Sir… where on earth did you even hear that nonsense about elf hair being used for bowstrings?"
"I swear, I thought it was real!"
"But seriously, I gotta hand it to you. You just called the leader pretty right to her face."
"Shut up! Don't say another word!"
"If you value your life, you’ll erase what just happened from your memory. Otherwise, you're gonna make my military life hell!"
Hunty wisely held his tongue.
Clyden sighed as he glanced in the direction Lydis had run off.
"Ugh… how the hell am I supposed to face her now?"
***
There exists a simple game enjoyed by forty million people.
A game so deceptively basic that it contains layers of intricate psychological warfare—rock, paper, scissors.
Ubiquitous and well-known, the game is often used as a metaphor for human relationships.
In this sense, Clyden was the rock, Lydis was the scissors, and Eres was the paper.
Whenever Clyden toyed with and tricked Lydis, she would unleash all her irritation on Eres with relentless nagging and nitpicking.
Ironically, her original purpose for being there—to protect Eres from Clyden’s antics had long since been forgotten.
Whenever Eres got scolded by Lydis, he would immediately run to Clyden, tailing him relentlessly to complain about his misfortunes.
In doing so, he became a persistent nuisance to Clyden.
But sometimes, even scissors can cut through rock.
Like right now...
“What kind of nonsense is this?!”
Clyden practically jumped out of his seat, shouting in disbelief.
The whole mess had started just moments ago while he was lounging around in the barracks, enjoying a lazy afternoon.
The barracks door suddenly burst open.
Lydis's face glowed with an unusual sense of triumph.
She looked around at the startled soldiers and loudly declared.
“Rejoice! Every single one of you has been promoted by one rank!”
Clyden looking as if he had just heard the most ridiculous thing in his life.
“Have you completely lost it? What the hell did we do to deserve a promotion?”
Lydis shot him a sharp glare before scoffing and dramatically turning away.
She was speaking as if his words weren’t even worth acknowledging.
“The Imperial Army High Command has decided to establish a new special forces unit. They’re prioritizing applications for volunteers.”
“Oh, great. So, you’re going?”
“Good thinking. Sticking around here is just gonna ruin your temper even more.”
At his sarcastic remark, Lydis simply grinned widely before dropping the real bombshell.
“That’s why I signed up our entire platoon for it!”
A heavy silence fell over.
Everyone turned to Lydis, their faces frozen in horror.
Clyden on the other hand erupted in outrage.
“What the hell are you talking about?! Why the hell would we leave this cushy post for some random special forces unit?!”
“Hmph! Where the platoon leader goes, the platoon follows!”
“Oh, come on! If you wanted to leave, you should’ve gone by yourself! Why the hell are we getting dragged along as a bonus?!”
“Hmph! Sergeant! I already made a sacrifice for the Empire when I cut my hair—are you saying you’d refuse an official transfer order?!”
She emphasized her point by flicking her now-short hair.
Clyden lost all will to fight back.
“Uh… well… I mean…”
Sensing his hesitation, Lydis pressed on triumphantly.
“I’ve already secured the official transfer orders for the entire platoon! We’re moving to the special forces next week, so start packing up!”
The platoon members, seeing Clyden shrinking under Lydis’s pressure.
They knew there was no fighting this.
No one dared to speak up.
Clyden looked utterly devastated.
“Do we really have to go?”
“Of course! Once transferred, you’re locked in until discharge—no further transfers allowed! If you refuse, it’s straight to military prison!”
“What kind of ‘special forces’ unit is this? Why is High Command even creating it?”
Lydis puffed out her chest, beaming with pride.
“It’s a special unit dedicated to ensuring the well-being of Imperial citizens and addressing their concerns—Civilian Assistance Special Forces!”
Clyden pressed his fingers to his forehead as if trying to push the absurdity out of his brain.
“…So, basically, we’re a task force that handles civilian support?”
“Exactly!”
Lydis looked absolutely proud.
Clyden on the other hand looked absolutely done.
“I’m not going. I refuse! I will not transfer to some ridiculous unit!”
Ignoring Lydis’s shouts from behind, Clyden stormed out and sprinted straight to the Master Sergeant’s office.
As he pushed open the door, he found the senior officers and administrative staff casually sipping tea, enjoying a leisurely break.
“Master Sergeant, please! You have to save me!”
Maclaren, the Master Sergeant, looked up in surprise before breaking into a broad grin.
“Well, it's the vice commander of the Civilian Assistance Special Forces!”
The officers and clerks burst into laughter, teasing him mercilessly.
Clyden immediately exploded.
“Oh, come on! Is this the time to mess with your poor junior?! I’m about to be stuck with a joke that’ll never die!”
“You little punk, are you raising your voice in front of your superiors?”
Payren’s sharp reprimand made Clyden instantly shrink back, his voice turning pitifully small as he whimpered.
“Ugh… Please, I’m begging you! It’s already hard enough dragging around that lady and young master as it is!”
The Master Sergeant let out a hearty chuckle.
“Well, it’s been decided by the higher-ups. There’s nothing we can do.”
“They said they were taking volunteers. There have to be other applicants!”
“Volunteers? What a joke. Who in their right mind would sign up for a unit like that? Besides, there was only one application form sent out across the entire army.”
“…What?”
Maclaren let out a long sigh.
“The higher-ups have been racking their brains over what to do with that noble lady and young master. Leaving them in the garrison was too risky. So, they just created a useless unit to dump all their problem cases in one place.”
Clyden stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Incredible. Their creativity when it comes to nonsense is truly unparalleled.”
“When the young lady came the battalion’s command office, we casually mentioned a ‘new special forces unit.’ She took the bait immediately.”
“Then why not just send the two troublemakers? Why drag the whole platoon—and me—along with them?!”
Maclaren gave him a deadpan look.
“You’ve got some nerve asking that. You conned an Imperial Knight, put a Duke’s knights through hell, and even beat the living daylights out of a foreign prince! If anything, you are the biggest problem of all!”
[PR\N: >.<]
Clyden clutched his chest in despair.
“Oh, for the love of—! I’m losing my mind!”
“Well, we’re losing our minds because of you guys! Do you know how hard it is to cover for an entire platoon suddenly disappearing from the garrison?”
”The higher-ups just give orders without thinking about how we’re supposed to deal with the fallout! Damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I get!”
Instead of getting sympathy, Clyden received a torrent of scolding before being promptly kicked out of the office.
He trudged back to the guardhouse in utter defeat.
“How did my military career turn into this mess? C.A.S.F… What kind of idiot label it ‘special forces’? Slap that label on anything, and suddenly it’s elite? Bullshit…”
The world looked bleak to Clyden.
Well aware of his mood, the platoon kept their distance.
They knew better than anyone that getting caught in his bad temper would be disastrous.
They also made sure to steer clear of their leader, who was practically glowing with joy.
Clyden lay sprawled out on his bunk, scratching at the floor in frustration, giving off a gloomy look.
Lydis who had discovered his one weakness, found him to be easy.
“Sergeant! I need a word with you.”
“…Just get to the point.”
Clyden muttered, not even bothering to look up.
Lydis ignored his attitude entirely.
“We’re going on a preliminary inspection.”
That finally made Clyden glance up, his expression wary.
“A preliminary inspection? We’re not even going on a mission—what’s the point?”
Lydis answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Obviously, we’re going to check out the designated base for our new unit—Civilian Assistance Special Forces under the Special Operations Command!”
Clyden let out a groan and lowered his head.
The Empire’s Special Operations Command was an elite force composed exclusively of non-commissioned officers and officers assigned to carry out highly specialized missions.
Even for someone as fearless as Clyden, it was a difficult place to navigate.
The ranks were filled with battle-hardened veterans with over a decade of military experience.
Even the infamous ‘Mad Dog’ Clyden was nothing more than a rookie in comparison.
To make matters worse, where honor was considered as sacred as life itself, the term ‘Civilian Assistance Special Forces’ was an embarrassment.
This absurd new unit was seen as a disgrace to the prestige of the Special Forces, and the disdainful gazes from its members would be unavoidable.
Clyden wanted nothing to do with them.
Being the low-rank non-commissioned officer as vice commander in that environment?
It was a fate so miserable that even the hardships of a fresh recruit seemed enviable by comparison.
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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