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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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‘If he’s a new officer from the 3rd Battalion, it must be that guy who joined the useless platoon.’
Rex easily recalled Enoch Llevandel’s face. Handsome, but somehow unsettling.
Even when he’d first asked Rex for a cigarette, Rex had momentarily been thrown off balance.
He wasn’t usually swayed by others, but that new platoon leader had an untouchable aura about him.
‘Damn it, he’s just a weakling anyway. He collapses from a bit of stress, and I heard he even got injured in this operation.’
Sergeants weren’t combat personnel. Most of the soldiers in the magic battalion were support staff handling administrative or supply duties, or guards. They weren’t often deployed in combat.
Sergeant Rex was the same. Unless something major happened that required moving the entire headquarters, he was always on standby at the base.
Therefore, Rex didn’t know exactly what Enoch Llevandel had done during the operation.
He’d only heard from an officer in the same department that the new platoon leader wasn’t as useless as they’d thought. He hadn’t taken it seriously.
‘And what changes just because he performed well? Would the company commander or battalion commander even bat an eye?’
It was just an expedition to suppress bandits. How much could he have possibly achieved? Rex hadn’t been able to tame even the officer who was said to have performed well in the central command.
That officer had even requested Rex’s cooperation first.
There was no way he would be intimidated by a second lieutenant who had barely been in his post and was constantly causing trouble.
‘But he’s really pathetic. To be caught by the Gavial, of all things.’
The sergeant shook his head.
– That guy had the nerve to touch our men. He seems like an officer who doesn’t know how the world works, so we need to teach him a lesson.
From what he’d heard, the second lieutenant must have provoked some low-ranking thugs and then threatened them with magic or something. It was obvious.
“Tsk… Still, if I seduce him a bit, it might be helpful when I hit on the others.”
The 5th Platoon. While they were ridiculed as the useless platoon in the entire battalion, in terms of looks, they were practically on the level of the Rose Knights.
Lumia, Belle Meyer, and even Roxanna Elim. To Rex, who considered the sense of conquest the ultimate virtue, they were trophies he wanted to claim.
Even Roxana Elim!
But excessive greed always led to trouble. Rex’s method of ensnaring women was to slowly and subtly reel them in.
“If I use the platoon leader as bait and threaten him a little, that Lumia… she’ll have no choice but to fall for me…”
“What did you say, Sergeant?”
The hand that was about to light a cigarette stopped. A sharp voice pierced through the air. Rex turned around to see a woman with blazing purple eyes.
Lumia Blue.
Damn it, what terrible timing.
Sergeant Rex sighed and gave her a sly smile.
“Sergeant Lumia, it’s been a while. I heard you were injured. Are you feeling better?”
“I asked what you said.”
“Ah~~~”
He stuck his tongue out playfully.
“Well, it seems Platoon Leader Enoch made a fatal mistake recently.”
Lumia would also know about the unspoken rule of Chernoe City.
“He might never be able to enter Chernoe City again. You know how crazy their boss is.”
“Ugh…”
It worked. There was no way she wouldn’t know. It had just happened yesterday, and it seemed Belle Meyer had been there too, so there was no way she wouldn’t have told her fellow platoon member.
The corners of Rex’s lips curled up slightly.
“But who knows? If Sergeant Lumia uses your influence, I might be able to do something about it…”
A blatant flirtation. He had already crossed the line with Lumia. Since there was no turning back, he had to completely ensnare her now that she was caught in his pace.
“Like I said before, your platoon leader’s future might be at stake. You wouldn’t want that, would you? Well… it hasn’t been long since you met him, so you could just ignore it if you want.”
Despite her cold demeanor that seemed ready to reject everything, she was excessively kind. Rex was gradually poking at that aspect of her.
“Don’t talk like that.”
“I’m not! I’m just telling you this out of ‘loyalty’ to you, Sergeant Lumia.”
Lumia felt her blood boil at his shameless and disgusting attitude. She wanted to slap him and, if possible, use magic to shut him up for good.
But considering her platoon leader, doing so would be worse than doing nothing.
The reason Rex, despite being a mere ‘sergeant,’ received special treatment in the battalion wasn’t just because he was efficient and handled many tasks.
He was a member of the Gavial, the criminal organization controlling Chernoe City’s back alleys. Lumia knew.
She knew why the company and platoon commanders from other companies went to the city in groups every weekend.
She knew what was happening in the city’s back alleys at night. It was a violation of military law, but in the extremely closed-off military organization, there weren’t many who would make a fuss about it.
Honestly, who knew if even Battalion Commander Lockhart was involved?
Could she and the platoon leader change that?
It was absurd.
“Sergeant Lumia, you just have to turn a blind eye once. You’re inexperienced anyway.”
“Sergeant!! Show some respect!!”
“Let’s not play hard to get. Unless you want to make things worse for your useless platoon leader.”
Grit.
Lumia clenched her teeth. She tried to endure, but she couldn’t.
“You… bastard!!”
She cursed, a word she usually wouldn’t even utter, and swung her arm. Slap! The cigarette flew out of Rex’s mouth as he was struck across the face.
Lumia raised her arm again. But this time, the sergeant grabbed her wrist.
“Ha, I was going easy on you because you’re pretty. But you’re getting bolder, aren’t you? Just because you have a higher rank, you think you can hit me?”
That was when it happened.
A soldier, approaching with a cigarette in hand, cheerfully called out to Rex.
“Ah, Sergeant Rex, are you smoking ri-”
“Hey, make sure no one comes near here.”
It didn’t take him long to grasp the situation.
The junior soldier froze and nodded silently.
“Come with me, Sergeant. Unless you want to be embarrassed in front of the others.”
As soon as Rex disappeared with Lumia,
“Move.”
A blond-haired officer roughly shoved the dumbfounded soldier aside.
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Lumia couldn’t bring herself to resist. She had no acquaintances in the unit. No one to ask for help, and she didn’t trust anyone besides her fellow platoon members anyway.
Being subjected to such humiliating words and actions wasn’t a rare occurrence. Even if she told the company commander, it would only be a temporary fix.
Captain Ardent drew a clear line but didn’t take any real action. It was probably because the personnel officer, who decided on disciplinary actions, had a close relationship with Rex.
And the personnel officer was senior to Captain Arendt. In the military, where seniority was valued more than age, Captain Arendt didn’t have many options to protest to the personnel officer.
Click, hiss.
The cigarette in Rex’s mouth lit up. He blew the smoke directly into Lumia’s face.
“Do you really want to screw yourself over?”
“Shut up. I could kill you right now.”
“Ha, finally showing your true colors? Go ahead and try to kill me. Since you’ve killed once, it should be easy to kill twice, right?”
Rex’s words pierced Lumia’s mind. A memory she shouldn’t remember. The truth she had been desperately denying and avoiding resurfaced.
“Th… That…”
“Why are you denying it? Everyone knows. Except for your precious platoon leader. Who in this battalion doesn’t know?”
Rex’s voice coiled around Lumia’s neck like a viper.
“I wonder what expression he would make if I told him that you’re a murderer. You killed a comrade with magic. That’s not something that can be easily overlooked, is it?”
“N, no… Th-that can’t…”
Her breath grew ragged. As Lumia stumbled back, Rex grabbed her arm again.
“Where are you going? Let’s have a proper talk. Seriously. Adult to adult.”
Smirk.
Rex wore an expression of delight. How long had he waited for this day? From the moment he first saw Lumia, he had vowed to make her his. So he had gradually befriended her.
As she opened her heart, he would make her obsessed with him, cloud her judgment, and eventually make her obey his commands.
The fact that she was a non-commissioned officer, a mage, didn’t matter.
He was a man who had toyed with a baron’s daughter and discarded her like trash. It would be ridiculous for him to be intimidated by a few ranks.
“Come out tonight. Then I’ll put in a good word for you with the Gavial.”
“Who’s going anywhere?”
However, the voice wasn’t Lumia’s.
“…Platoon Leader?”
“Ha.”
The platoon leader of the problematic 5th Platoon stood before them. He didn’t even glance at Rex, speaking only to Lumia.
“Sergeant, did you get the medicine?”
“Huh…? Ah, not yet.”
“Then hurry up and go. I told you to wait for a moment, so what are you doing?”
Lumia’s eyes wavered with anxiety. Enoch patted her shoulder lightly and repeated his order.
“Nothing will happen, so don’t worry and go get the medicine. I’ve had a headache, and I’m feeling dizzy.”
“Yes, sir.”
All she could do now was trust her platoon leader.
As Lumia hurriedly left, a heavy silence fell over the scene.
“Don’t misunderstand, Platoon Leader Enoch. I didn’t say anything much. Just… relayed something I heard from a close friend yesterday.”
Rex was the first to speak. He was a newly commissioned second lieutenant who had only been in the unit for about a month.
He would maintain a minimum level of courtesy but saw no reason to treat him specially.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, well. It was a bit of a sensitive topic, since it involved you, Platoon Leader.”
The sergeant glanced at Enoch, assessing his condition. A cold, stiff face. That unreadable expression was no different from usual, but the atmosphere seemed to have shifted slightly.
‘Is he trying to say something because he’s an officer?’
“Sergeant Rex.”
“Yes, Platoon Leader.”
“Give me a cigarette.”
The reply was rather perplexing. And at the same time, a premonition flashed through Rex’s mind. Collusion.
‘What, I thought he was clueless, but he’s surprisingly quick to grasp the situation?’
After what Rex had said, unless the platoon leader was an idiot, he would understand what Rex was implying. He would probably apologize. Or maybe he’d offer to keep quiet about Lumia’s issue.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t a unit he would stay in forever. He had somewhat shed his useless image thanks to the bandit suppression operation.
It wouldn’t be a bad decision to start building connections with those in power.
“Here you go.”
Rex changed his slightly flippant attitude and politely offered Enoch a cigarette. Pop! He even took out a luxurious lighter from his pocket and lit it for him.
“Haa… Phew.”
Enoch inhaled deeply and carefully began,
“Sergeant.”
“Yes, Platoon Leader.”
“Don’t scream when it hurts. You wouldn’t want to lose your precious pride, would you?”
Before Rex could process what he meant, the burning cigarette was pressed against his forehead.
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