A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 27

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Karin Maven was not in a good mood. She herself didn’t know why she wasn’t feeling good. Maybe it was because her monthly period coincided with her bad mood.

“…”

No, that wasn’t it. She had to admit it. The reason she was in a bad mood right now was not anything else.

Firstly, it was because her planned appointment with the director was disrupted by a strange woman named Dorothy. Secondly, it was also because of the letters that kept coming from a woman named Lea Gilliard.

Letters. Yes, letters could be like that. She wasn’t his girlfriend, and she couldn’t interfere with what Director Werner was doing.

But wasn’t there something called a woman’s intuition? Although she hadn’t read the contents of the letters, it was clear that the woman named Lea was expressing her affection to the director right now.

Of course, she had protected the director. But why was she, who had left him whenever, now sending letters every single day, mistaking him for someone else?

The situation where a woman who had left him was constantly sending letters, mistaking him for someone else. Karin couldn’t even imagine how Werner Grimm’s heart would feel.

Even though she had no dating experience, even a fool would know that this was morally wrong. So she tore open the seal of the letter and checked its contents.

“Just this once…”

It was an impulsive action. The well-behaved Karin had stepped out of line for the first time. She had done something she had never done before.

Even in the midst of that, the rationalization didn’t stop. Yes, maybe. Maybe there could be poison in the letter.

As the security platoon leader in charge of the overall security and facility protection of the SSA, she had a duty to inspect all mail in advance. However, the contents of the letter she had checked were… somewhat strange.

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Dearest Captain John Hobbes,

I couldn’t sleep at all. Maybe because of that, I can’t hold the pen well. Did you have a good day today, Captain?

Now I want to exchange letters every day, but it’s a bit disappointing that the replies don’t arrive quickly. Is the unit directly under the Supreme Command really that busy? Yesterday I went on a trip. Since it was a trip after a long time, I felt great. The autumn leaves were so beautiful.

I can’t even remember how many times I exclaimed while looking at them. Come to think of it, I think the autumn leaves had also bloomed in the “Lieutenant Colonel’s” office of our old fortress. Memories from that time came flooding back. The Graveyard. It wasn’t bad.

There were a few chronic problems, but every fortress has them to that extent.

You know, Captain. I think I’ll stop writing letters now. The season of cold winds has already returned. Thank you for kindly replying all this time.

If we are fated, we can meet again someday, right?

Thank you.

With love, Lea Gilliard.
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Even though Karin’s education level was short, it wasn’t that she couldn’t read the text itself. There were some grammatical errors mixed in.

At first, she thought it was just a mistake, but there was no way she would make consecutive mistakes, right? Moreover, apart from the grammar, the overall content also felt somewhat off.

‘Stopping the letters…?’

The phrase that stood out was simply delightful, but at the same time, it was also strange. Wasn’t it none other than Lea Gilliard who had started sending the letters?

She sent the letters herself, and now that the replies weren’t satisfactory, she says she won’t write anymore? She was that kind of woman from the beginning.

Karin couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“…Ha.”

Still, it was a good thing she saw this letter herself. Otherwise, she would have had to watch Director Werner struggling again.

However, the handling was a concern. Was it right to bring a letter filled with such useless content to the director?

Or should she neatly cut out only the problematic parts? But she decisively lacked the courage.

“If I get caught doing that, he’ll definitely hate me…”

There was no other way. She had no choice but to bring it to the director. And incidentally, she wanted to see what intentions that woman named Dorothy had for visiting the director at this hour.

If possible, she also wanted to interfere. With that thought, Karin picked up the letter and left the security platoon leader’s office.

***

“A letter? You interrupted our private time for such a trivial matter, Lieutenant?”

“…”

“Hey, I’m talking to you. You should look at the person speaking.”

Dorothy emitted a fierce killing intent, but Karin still remained silent. In fact, she couldn’t make eye contact.

If she did, she felt like the “weak” inner self she had been trying to hide would pop out. Just a moment ago, even a brief eye contact at the entrance made her flinch and back away.

‘No, Karin. If you back down here, you’ll be nothing.’

She tried hard to muster up her courage. After all, she was human. A person who dies when shot.

Compared to the Titans who would rise up even when hit by missiles and rush towards the fortress line, she wasn’t even scary.

“Ha, look at this girl?”

“Enough, Dorothy. It’s an important letter.”

Werner said, pouring the glass filled with alcohol down his throat. “Unfortunately, let’s end it here for today. I’ll keep the alcohol. For later.”

“…You have to keep that promise.”

Dorothy bit her lip. She could have crossed the line if she had a little more time, but that lieutenant who suddenly appeared made him draw the line again.

At this rate, it would be completely ruined. In the end, Dorothy also gulped down the remaining glass and had no choice but to leave Werner’s office.

“Next time, at least knock before coming in. I’ll ask you, Lieutenant.”

The voice whispered in her ear was laced with chills. At that moment, Karin realized the true nature of this wicked woman.

She was vicious. The worst of the worst among that kind. If it had been like before, she might have been overwhelmed by her momentum even though she had mustered up the courage.

In the first place, she wouldn’t have been able to make eye contact or act so brazenly. But now, as someone who had overcome the past and assisted the side of the Empire’s greatest hero, she couldn’t lose to a criminal like that.

The director, who already had many worries, didn’t need to be stressed by someone like her. Karin strengthened her resolve even more.

Now that she had done it, she had to get something out of it. Suppressing the pounding sound of her heart, she fixed her gaze forward.

And she countered with a voice that couldn’t be drier.

“Excuse me, but I’m also in the same situation of having my appointment interrupted.”

“…Hmm?”

“Dorothy, go back. I also have something to say about that letter.”

“Alright, really. Why are there only annoying people around you?”

Dorothy bowed deeply to Werner and disappeared with quick steps. Karin stood still like a statue, and only after Werner closed the door for her did she let out a deep sigh and slumped down on the spot.

Plop. Her legs had lost strength.

“Why did you overexert yourself like that? Dorothy must have noticed it too. The fact that you were scared.”

Werner said, supporting Karin to stand up.

“Still…”

“Still, you did well.”

“What?”

Karin doubted her ears. When you think about it, she had essentially disrupted a superior’s meeting, just like Dorothy said.

She thought she wouldn’t hear anything good from the director, who valued military discipline and etiquette.

“I was in a difficult situation. I have no choice but to treat her like that because I have to be involved with her for work.”

“Ah… Did that woman trouble the director as she pleased?”

“Well, it’s not to the point of worrying, but still. She listens well to what I say, despite how she acts.”

“Then it would be better if the director just dismissed her…”

“Unfortunately, she’s the most important person among the cornerstones. There’s no one who can replace her.”

In fact, it was a truth he had discovered through several regressions. He had also tried pushing the out-of-control Dorothy into the back room and putting a puppet boss in her place, but none of them could handle the work as well as Dorothy.

There was no one other than her who could manage the brothels and drugs spread throughout the Empire. However, apart from that, Werner was quite pleased with Karin’s actions.

He thought she lacked a bit of the spirit as an officer leading almost the only combat unit in the SSA. Even though she trembled a little, she confronted the reaper of the underworld.

With a little more polish, she would gain quite a good charisma and caliber.

“By the way, is that letter from Lea?”

“Ah, yes.”

Karin hurriedly handed over the letter. Werner, who confirmed that the seal was torn, said to Karin.

“…Did you check the contents of the letter?”

“Ah…”

Karin fidgeted with her fingers. She closed her eyes tightly and bowed her head deeply.

“I’m sorry! It wasn’t intentional… No, it was intentional, but… I didn’t mean any harm!”

“It’s fine… Well, it’s not a particularly special letter anyway.”

Werner answered, waving his hand. That was true. The letters he exchanged with Karin were really lacking in any substance.

“…Hmm?”

However, this letter went beyond simply lacking substance. It was hard to properly understand what it was trying to say. As the person who had been directly exchanging letters, the disparity was even greater.

Even the opening greeting was different, wasn’t it? And some words were deliberately replaced with characters that had similar sounds.

The arrangement of perfectly fine words was also reversed.

“…Karin, was there anything else enclosed with this letter?”

“Uh, no, there wasn’t.”

Werner’s eyebrows twitched. This looked as if it was trying to convey some special message.

He immediately took out a blank sheet of paper and organized the words that felt out of place with a pen.

‘Exchange every day.’

Day.

‘Very disappointing.’

Dis.

In that way, he extracted a total of eight characters from the words that were out of order or strange, and the parts that were even emphasized. When he combined the letters written from beginning to end, a clear sentence was completed.

“Find Lieutenant Colonel Drake?”

Lieutenant Colonel Drake. It was a name Werner couldn’t forget. Of course.

“Why Lieutenant Colonel Drake Brown…?”

He was the assault battalion commander of the Graveyard Fortress and the spear of humanity who had always taken the lead in the previous cycles. Werner himself didn’t know why that name was written in Lea’s letter.

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