A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 10

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…Oh-ho.”

Captain John Hobbes exclaimed while stroking his chin.

“I had a rough idea, but the uniform fit is definitely no joke. Aren’t you going to bring your wife from there?”

Werner Grimm, Luthers Edan’s new name, didn’t respond to those words.

He just neatly organized the relevant documents in his briefcase.

It wasn’t a joke worth responding to, was it?

However, John was not discouraged by the cold treatment and continued to chatter.

“But didn’t you stay up almost all night yesterday too? Are you still not done with the review?”

“There’s missing information, and a lot of mixed information, so it takes a while to compare one by one.”

“Who would have paid attention to those pieces of paper anyway?”

Most of the documents contained trend information about the Eastern Military District.

Personnel, administration, logistics, operations.

Even down to the detailed personal information of the main officers belonging to the military district.

It was a tremendous amount at a glance.

Due to the lack of personnel to deploy in the rear administrative positions, all information collection and recording were left to the quantum computer under the Supreme Command.

Even though the information had been filtered to some extent, the amount was still vast and lacked substance.

Although he had reviewed it as much as possible, staying up all night, there were still some parts that needed to be checked.

He planned to check the rest inside the helicopter heading to the Eastern Military District.

“Director, it’s about time for you to leave. The helicopter from the Supreme Command has just arrived.”

At First Lieutenant Dante’s words informing him that the departure time was imminent, Werner nodded.

He stood in front of the mirror one last time, neatly tied his necktie, and put on a jet-black service cap.

The silver eagle insignia on the cap gleamed in the sunlight.

“Take good care of the SSA while I’m gone.”

“You don’t need to worry. Otto will take charge of educating the new recruits. I’ll be tending to the garden.”

Werner tapped John’s shoulder and spoke, and John replied with a playful smile.

A month had passed since Arthur Philias’ visit.
The first mission and order given to the National Security Strategy Agency by the President was to understand the actual situation in the Eastern Military District.
However, it was essentially an inspection mission targeting the same military, so it couldn’t be handled carelessly or hastily.

In the first place, although it had the grand name of the National Security Strategy Agency, it was a newly established organization, so its power within the military was weak.

So he was even more thorough.

Werner and Dante personally visited the site to complete the geography and preliminary investigation, and Otto even installed wiretaps at the location where the banquet was expected to be held.
The local collaborator had already been recruited.
They had prepared scenarios to respond to any possible situation.
Perfect preparation.
But what both Werner and John were worried about was not the content of the operation.

“But will you really be okay? Anyone in the Empire would know that the Eastern guys have a strong sense of territory.”

The self-proclaimed aristocratic officers.

It was also the reason why most of the Emperor’s faction belonged to the Eastern Military District.

The East, where vast plains occupied most of the land, had been the center of the Empire since the old feudal era, and naturally, the influence of the nobles had grown strong.

As a result, after the dissolution of the estates, those who claimed to be descendants of the nobility began to join the officer corps of the Eastern Military District one by one, naturally expressing their loyalty to the imperial family their ancestors had served.

It was no wonder that the East was represented by the three qualities of old-fashioned, rigid, and authoritarian military district.

“That’s why I’m going as a lieutenant colonel with an alias. If a war hero like Luthers Edan suddenly popped up with a general rank, it’s obvious they would be wary.”

This banquet was only open to officers of field grade and above.

Majors and lieutenant colonels would not even be considered a significant threat to the power players of the Eastern Military District.

Rather, it would be easy to blend in naturally.

“What about Second Lieutenant Karin?”

Werner, who had finished his trip preparations, asked.

Although only field grade officers could attend the banquet, all attendees could bring one aide for smooth execution on site.

However, it would be strange for him, who was only a lieutenant colonel to the public, to bring a company grade officer like a first or second lieutenant as an aide.

So naturally, Second Lieutenant Karin Maven, who had the lowest rank, was to accompany him.

Unlike Edward, Dante, and Otto, who had clear positions as the heads of the Armament Management Department, Information Management Department, and Training and Education Department, respectively.

Karin belonged to the ambiguous position of Deputy Headquarters Commander, so it was even more so.

In fact, there were newly appointed officers and senior enlisted personnel from the Supreme Command.

But at a point when the organization’s composition had not yet been completed, what role would the Deputy Headquarters Commander play?

Being an aide was perfect.

“I saw her pacing around her private room earlier, so she’ll come.”

“No, I’ll go since I have to leave anyway.”

It had been nearly half a year since Werner was appointed as the director of the National Security Strategy Agency.

Second Lieutenant Karin Maven was still trapped in the past.

Even though her condition had improved and gotten much better, that was the limit.

She didn’t have good conversations not only with Werner but also with Captain John, who was from the same unit.

So when she suddenly heard the order to accompany him to the Eastern Military District as an aide, she ran away to her room and didn’t come out for a while.

“…Sigh. Shall I just go? I think she’ll make mistakes like that.”

John, Karin Maven’s direct superior and headquarters commander, clicked his tongue and added.

“John, don’t push her too hard either. Don’t you know the love for comrades and love for the country?”

Werner blurted out those words and left the director’s office.

John Hobbes could only close his mouth in embarrassment.

===

“Karin.”

Werner knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

He paused for a moment, then spoke again in a more decisive tone.

“Second Lieutenant Karin, come out. It’s an order.”

Then the tightly closed door creaked open.

She was in uniform, even holding a briefcase, with her head bowed deeply.

Judging by her readiness, she seemed to be troubled in many ways when it was time to leave.

Werner had no choice but to grab Karin’s wrist and pull her out of the room.

“Ah…”

“Don’t forget, Lieutenant. You are still a soldier and under my jurisdiction. My orders are absolute to you. Understood?”

“…”

She still didn’t answer.

Instead, she nodded slightly.

“Then let’s go. Follow me.”

Werner sensed that this operation would be quite an arduous time for him.

But this was also a decision he had made.

A decision made for the recovery of none other than Karin Maven.

Unlike the four other officers who had found their place and adapted well in their own way, she was still unable to adapt to the new environment.

The position of Deputy Headquarters Commander was also almost forcibly thrust upon her.

Just when it seemed to be getting a little better while sharing dinners together, it completely solidified in that state.

Even John, who had tried to improve their relationship in his own way, had now completely given up.

Werner judged that a more definite change of environment was needed to change her attitude.

After all, he had to be with Karin Maven in the future anyway.

Unless she personally submitted a discharge request, Karin Maven would remain a member of the National Security Strategy Agency.

He glanced back and saw Karin following him, still with her head bowed.

Her self-esteem was so low that it had pierced through the ground and gone down.

No matter how much he urged and pointed out, it only made her shrink back.

Werner knew that fact all too well.

A memory he had in one of the cycles.

He also had days when he lived like a derelict, carrying an incurable wound.

-Captain… I’m always on your side. You can have a hard time. You can lean on me. You can depend on me. Because I’m here.

-Lea.

-Don’t run away anywhere. Even just watching from one step behind, I can be your strength, Captain.

The driving force that allowed him to overcome such pain and rise up was none other than the waiting of trust.

Second Lieutenant Karin Maven would be no different.

“Loyalty! Lieutenant Colonel Werner Grimm, I will safely escort you to the Eastern Military District!”
“I’m counting on you.”

The lieutenant colonel thought so as he boarded the helicopter that had landed on the rooftop with her.

===

It took a whopping 3 hours by helicopter to reach the nearest fortress under the Eastern Military District from Forbidden Lake Fortress.

Karin, who had maintained a rigid posture even after boarding the helicopter, was now sound asleep with her head buried in the backrest.

Werner could only think that she was a truly bizarre person.

No matter how tired he was, he couldn’t fall asleep inside a flying helicopter.

Of course, during that time, Werner carefully reviewed the documents he hadn’t had a chance to check and re-familiarized himself with the parts he needed to thoroughly verify during the banquet.

While having Karin Maven stay in a separately secured safe house instead of the hotel room assigned by the Eastern Military District.

He also couldn’t forget to contact the local collaborator before the actual banquet.

And above all…

He fumbled with the gun holster on his waist while tapping and organizing the stack of documents.

He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to use it no matter what.

This operation was, after all, just reconnaissance.

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