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Chapter 19 - Transfer Orders (4)
Special Forces' base locations were top-secret.
Except for the Special Operations Command, no one knew their exact whereabouts.
That meant there would be fewer chances of running into other Special Forces members.
But nothing was ever that simple.
The C.A.S.F. was the one and only unit whose location and mission were openly disclosed.
That was precisely what drove Clyden insane.
He figured that if a unit was so utterly embarrassing, the higher-ups would at least try to hide it.
But no, those geniuses in command had no common sense.
Still, the military was a place where rank ruled all.
No matter how much he grumbled, orders were orders.
“This place is in the middle of nowhere.”
“Huh… That’s strange. It should be around here.”
Despite Clyden’s obvious reluctance, Lydis had dragged him along for a site inspection.
But after wandering around for a while, they still couldn't find it.
“Screw it. Give me that.”
Clyden snatched the map from Lydis.
Officers and non-commissioned officers were naturally skilled at navigation; if there was no path, they made one.
The one thing that Clyden excelled at was sniffing out the most hidden places—perfect for slacking off.
“Alright, north is this way, and we should be right about… here.”
Clyden looked at the map and walked around with Lydis.
When he saw the unit’s internal location marked on the map, he had a dumbfounded expression.
The abandoned building lying alone in a slightly wide open space located at the point where the 3rd and 2nd walls intersected gave off an eerie atmosphere.
The walls blocked out most of the sunlight, casting the place in a dreary shadow.
“What the hell is this?!”
Lydis looked outraged and took it out on Clyden.
Meanwhile, Clyden just clicked his tongue in amusement.
This dump of a location made one thing clear that the Special Operations Command wanted nothing to do with their Unit.
“Tch. Lieutenant, you should head back to the unit. I’ll look into this.”
Clyden managed to send Lydis back to the squad.
With a deep sigh, he turned toward the Special Operations Command headquarters.
According to the documents, this area was supposed to be a maintained military property.
The fact that it was in this state meant that somewhere along the chain, someone had pocketed the allocated resources.
“This just keeps getting worse…”
Clyden finally arrived at the Special Forces Command.
The headquarters looked more like an opulent mansion than a military building.
People coming and going through the entrance threw him confused glances.
Clyden squared his shoulders and stepped inside.
Since facility management fell under the logistics department's jurisdiction, Clyden could have simply gone to the logistics facility management team.
However, given what was on paper and the reality of the situation.
He quickly realized this was something that needed to be handled quietly.
He headed straight for the Sergeant Major’s Office.
“Sergeant Clyden, reporting in.”
After knocking, Clyden stepped inside to find the Sergeant Major.
“Hm?”
“Sir! Sergeant Clyden, newly assigned to the recently established Civilian Assistance Special Forces Unit!”
He saluted stiffly, tense with nervousness.
The man before him was Sergeant Major Sigarus Blek of Special Operations Command.
Even Sergeant Major Payren, the feared administrator of the 9th Company, treated him with caution.
Sigarus was a bold, fearless man—one of the few in the Imperial Army who could openly challenge the Supreme Commander himself.
Despite holding an NCO rank, he was known for his swordsmanship, nearly at the level of a Sword Master.
“Ah! So you’re the bastard who beat the crap out of that prince?”
Sigarus grinned, his expression laced with amusement.
“I’ve heard plenty about you. Lately, all the recruits have been weaklings, so I wasn’t too happy with them—but you? I like you. Even if you’re the reason I had to go toe-to-toe with the commander over that ridiculous Civilian Assistance Unit…”
“Thank you, sir!”
“ What brings you here? Your official reporting date is next week.”
“Well… uh… The lieutenant and I went to inspect the assigned base today. There were some issues…”
“Ah! You were with that kid?”
“…You know her, sir?”
“Yeah. Back when I was in the Southern Army, she used to follow me around like a lost puppy. But what’s the problem with the base?”
Clyden hesitated for a moment, then sighed.
“Well… The actual state of the place is nothing like what’s in the documents. The young lady was furious. I barely managed to calm her down before coming here. If this gets out, it’s going to cause a huge stir.”
At that, Sigarus gave him an intrigued look before breaking into a wide grin.
“I really like you. You understand how the military works.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Sigarus pressed a button on the intercom in his office.
“Hey! Go get Sergeant Jaul and bring him to my office!”
As they waited, Sigarus casually chatted with Clyden.
Clyden answered his questions with crisp precision.
“Must be tough handling Lydis and the young master, huh?”
“Not at all, sir. Everything’s going fine.”
“When I first heard they were setting up some nonsense unit like the Civilian Assistance Squad, I had a hell of a fight with the commander over it.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“What the hell are you apologizing for? It’s not like you had a choice. Orders are orders. Even the commander said his hands were tied because it was a direct Marshal’s Office order.”
Just then, a burly man with a good-natured face stepped inside.
“You called for me, sir?”
“Yeah, I did. You bastard!”
Sigarus landed a solid kick to his side without warning.
Clyden who had started to relax a little, immediately snapped back to full attention.
“You son of a bitch! Didn’t I tell you to skim a little—not gut the damn thing?!”
“Gah! Sergeant Major, I can explain—!”
"On paper, everything checks out, but in reality, it's a total mess! I’ve let some of your embezzlement slide, but now you think you can get away with anything? Who put you up to this?"
Sergeant Jaul immediately started spilling everything he knew.
“It was… the Duke of Deviron’s household…”
“You son of a bitch! Conspiring with nobility?!”
Sigarus launched another round of brutal blows, beating Jaul senseless.
The truth that came out of Jaul’s confession was nothing short of ridiculous.
Jaul had already been deeply unhappy about the creation of a new unit.
So when a discreet request came from the Deviron Ducal House, he jumped at the opportunity.
The predesignated unit was swapped with an abandoned site under the excuse of ‘budget issues.’
And who was behind it all?
The Duke of Deviron, infamous for his long-standing feud with the Iron Ducal House.
He had been watching House Iron which had recently started making waves within the military with growing displeasure.
When the opportunity arose to sabotage Lydis’ new unit.
He orchestrated this petty little scheme to shove them into a remote, run-down base.
This was their so-called brilliant plan to undermine her.
‘Wow… that’s exactly the kind of small-minded pettiness I’d expect from House Deviron.’
The Deviron Dukes had long been notorious for their calculating, nitpicky nature.
Iron House was infamous for its reckless, bullheaded approach to everything.
People even mockingly referred to them as ‘Deviron the Petty’ and ‘Iron the Thickheaded.’
That phrase had even evolved into a saying.
‘Northern folks are petty schemers, and Southern folks just charge in like idiots.’
‘Petty but effective. The social circles are going to be buzzing about this.’
The fact that a high-ranking noblewoman, widely known as the ‘Flower of the South’ had enlisted in the military was already a huge scandal.
If word got out that she was being stationed in some rotting ruin, it would shred her reputation among the nobility.
That was precisely why the Deviron House had set this up.
After thoroughly pummeling Jaul, Sigarus turned to Clyden.
“The paperwork’s already been processed. It’s final. If we try to force a change, we’ll just be putting our people at risk.
So… what’s your move?”
Clyden immediately understood—this was a test.
He had already thought of a plan and wasted no time laying it out.
“We still have some days. That’s enough time to at least repair the building. Once the unit moves in, we’ll have to keep making gradual improvements and stay under the radar—no room for unnecessary noise.”
Hearing this, Sigarus grinned.
“Heh. I knew I didn’t misjudge you. I’ll call in some engineers—they’ll be here first thing tomorrow. Let’s see how you handle this.”
Clyden saluted and quickly left the office.
Jaul’s agonized screams continued to echo through the halls—enough to send a shiver down even Clyden’s spine.
He headed back to calm down Lydis, who was undoubtedly still fuming.
But when he reached the guardhouse—
“She’s not here?”
The other platoon members shook their heads.
“She never came back after leaving with you.”
“…Where the hell is that girl running off to now?”
Clyden checked every possible place she might be.
But everywhere he went, he got the same response—no one knew where she was.
He decided to head back to the base site one more time.
“There’s no way she’s still here…”
Clyden couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling in his gut.
He headed toward the base site, just in case.
And the moment he arrived—
“What the…?!”
The once desolate, eerie site had transformed into a bustling construction zone.
Clyden stood frozen for a moment, staring at the chaos before him.
Amid the workers, he spotted Lydis, deep in discussion with a group of people.
He stormed over.
“Lieutenant! What exactly is happening here?!”
“Sergeant! Where the hell have you been running around?!”
“That’s my line, you reckless—”
Clyden stopped himself, taking a deep breath.
“Never mind. Just… explain.”
Lydis smirked, arms crossed.
“Hmph! As a duke’s sister, do you think I’d live in that half-collapsed shack? I decided to tear it down and rebuild it.”
Clyden stared at her in utter disbelief before burying his face in his hands.
“You ordered the reconstruction of a military-owned base? How do you plan to report this to headquarters?! They’re not just going to sit back and let this slide!”
Lydis simply raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? You’re suggesting I should live in that pile of rubble?”
Her completely unapologetic expression made Clyden’s blood pressure spike.
“For the love of—Fine! Then who’s paying for this? Where’s the money coming from?!”
“My allowance, of course.”
“…What.”
Clyden felt his legs give out as he dropped to his knees.
An entire base renovation… funded by her allowance?
“Rich people… I swear…”
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
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