A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 28

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Lea Gilliard blankly stared at the message that gave her goosebumps. “Stop sending letters,” it said.

It was clearly a message targeting her. Then did they also know to whom she was sending the letters?

Julia, who had also checked the content, seemed to get goosebumps as well, shuddering and tearing the letter into pieces.

“Wh-who is playing such a malicious prank?!”

“…I don’t know.”

“Let’s go check the CCTV. All the CCTVs are installed in the officers’ quarters. To think they would dare to do this in our unit without fear?”

Julia pointed to the CCTV mounted in a corner of the corridor. It could be a malicious stalker.

Wasn’t Lea just pretty? It wasn’t unusual to have her number taken on the street, so it wouldn’t be strange if a weird bug had become attached to her.

However, when they went to the management office to check, coincidentally, only the camera that captured Lea’s corridor was out of order.

“Management soldier, what’s going on here?”

“N-no! I’m sure there was nothing wrong when I did the regular inspection this morning!”

“How can the CCTV break down at such a timely moment? Are you an accomplice?”

“Regimental Commander! How can you say such a thing?!”

It was a situation that didn’t make sense. It was impossible unless someone intentionally did it.

“Check the other corridor CCTVs. Nothing?”

“Yes! We manage all the entry records here in the first place! There’s no way I would have missed it. I, Wesley! With my hand on my heart, I’ve never committed a single act of negligence on duty!”

“…This is really driving me crazy. Is it a ghost or something?”

Julia ruffled her hair as if she was really frustrated. Moreover, didn’t she hear the knocking sound and leave within a few minutes?

Even if they had somehow avoided the CCTV, they couldn’t completely escape human eyes. It was enough to make a ghost weep.

“Lea, this won’t do. Stay with me tonight. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Julia said, holding Lea’s hand. It was then that her cell phone vibrated repeatedly with a buzz.

“Wa-wait a moment…”

Lea took out her phone and checked the content. It was a large text message.

As Lea slowly read through the contents of the message, she was soon startled.

[Emergency Message]

’22:30, Missing Protocol issued, the recipient of this message is to urgently return to the Graveyard Fortress.’

‘A mandatory execution procedure in case the fortress commander goes missing or falls into critical condition, a direct order from the fortress commander.’

‘Dedicate your life for the victory of humanity.’

-Luthers Edan, Fortress Commander-

It was not only a text message format she had never seen before, but above all, the sender was Luthers Edan, who had retired. Why Commander Luthers Edan?

So suddenly like this? What is the Missing Protocol, and what does it mean to come to the closed fortress?

When she checked the GPS that automatically recorded the sending location, the origin of the text message was indeed the Graveyard. There was no room for doubt.

A suspicious letter. An incomprehensible text message.

If she had received them one by one, it would have been just an unpleasant happening, but since the two arrived almost simultaneously, Lea Gilliard couldn’t help but be simply confused.

Moreover, dedicating one’s life for the victory of humanity. It was a slogan she had never heard even once while at the Graveyard, but somehow it was a familiar sentence.

Something that made her chest feel heavy just by hearing it. A sense that she had forgotten something precious swept over her entire body.

As Lea’s expression became serious, Julia, who had been pressing the innocent dormitory management soldier, approached her.

“Lea?”

“…!!”

“Why, what does the message say?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. It’s just like spam or something.”

Lea hurriedly shoved her cell phone into her pocket. Julia looked at her with suspicious eyes, but Lea answered, trying to hide her expression.

“I’m really fine. Truly. Regimental Commander, but since it’s too late today, should we have the late-night snack together later?”

“…Will you be okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Don’t worry. Even though I may not look like it, I’m a hero of reversal who survived for 5 years at the front lines!”

She tried to pretend to be fine, but she couldn’t hide the slightly darkened expression. Julia pondered for a moment on what to do, then sighed deeply and grabbed Lea’s shoulders.

“Are the letter and that message related by any chance?”

“…”

She couldn’t answer hastily. As soon as she saw the message, she felt like she shouldn’t answer randomly.

Of course, Julia also knew what Lea’s reaction meant. Sometimes, there are secrets that you don’t tell even to your closest person.

Julia nodded and smiled. “If it’s hard to say, you don’t have to. Then rest well today for now. If anything strange happens, don’t hesitate and tell me right away.”

“Yes, thank you. Regimental Commander.”

“Oh my, our pretty girl.”

Tap tap tap, Julia patted Lea’s bottom. She was already approaching her mid-thirties.

Lea, who had just reached her early twenties, was seen as nothing more than a younger sister. “The late-night snack was bought for you to eat. You can eat it.”

With those words, Julia left the junior officers’ quarters. And at the same time, she started making a call to someone.

“Oh, Colonel Raven. It’s me, Julia. Long time no see. Ah, it’s not that… Do you know anything about the Graveyard Fortress…? Ah, there’s an officer I really cherish…”

***

Lea Gilliard returned to her room. Her mind was complicated.

But one thing was certain. She had to go to the Graveyard right now.

She didn’t know the reason. It was an instinctive feeling.

Her subconscious started shouting that if she didn’t go now, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Lea immediately packed her bags.

Clothes and toiletries in case of unexpected situations, and emergency medicine were stuffed into the bag. She had to go to work tomorrow, but she had already handled the urgent matters in advance, so there would be no problem if she took a day off tomorrow.

While packing her bag like that, she used a program installed on her cell phone to find the fastest military flight schedule. It hadn’t even been a full year since the war with the Titans ended.

If you were a soldier serving in the Empire, you could use military aircraft at a cheap price, assuming you could match the flight schedule. Even though it was long past sunset, she booked the earliest time slot without hesitation.

1:00 AM, a flight departing from Branberg Military Airport and heading to the air defense base located near the Graveyard. Without even thinking about organizing the late-night snack that hadn’t even been unwrapped, Lea left the dormitory and hailed a taxi.

“Please go to Branberg Military Airport!!”

“It’s too far…”

“I’ll give you double, double the fare!!”

Even at such a late hour, if a young woman said this much, there must be an urgent matter. The taxi driver, who would have normally refused, accepted the long-distance passenger today.

‘What is it, what is this feeling… What do you want?’

Her heart was pounding loudly. Lea bit her lip tightly as she looked at the night streets passing by quickly.

It was a familiar sensation. This feeling that she felt in the dream she had every time.

Recently, since exchanging letters with Captain John Hobbs, she had been able to sleep soundly, but that sensation hadn’t faded.

Sadness and fear, guilt. Endless self-loathing and a sense of self-reproach for not being able to help her precious person in the end.

A heavy feeling, the reason why there were always tear stains when she woke up in the morning. All of that could be understood if she went to that graveyard.

And so, after a 30-minute taxi ride, a 3-hour flight, and a 1.5-hour walk to the Graveyard. Lea Gilliard finally arrived at her old home.

A grayish fortress made of dull concrete. She didn’t know it then, but living in the Eastern Military District now, she newly realized how crude this place was.

The sun was already rising. Beyond the air traffic control tower erected like a tombstone, a red light was smoldering and rising along the horizon.

Perhaps because it was a closed fortress, there was no separate locking device. Lea passed through the guardhouse where the traces of the guards had long disappeared, and looked at the drill ground that had become overgrown with weeds.

5 years. Memories of a period that was long if long, and short if short, were settled in this place.

They had campfires with other people here, and danced together. They even brought all the villagers and held a grand festival.

It was thanks to the suggestion of Luthers Edan, who was wary of the threat of gangs around the village. Since it was also the widest open space in the fortress, wasn’t it perfect for holding a festival?

Moreover, as a wide open space, it was also used to commemorate comrades who had died in battle…

“…, Ugh…?!”

Lea clutched her chest at the pain that seemed to stab her heart momentarily. Her breathing became heavy.

When she looked up at the drill ground with difficulty, she saw white cloths laid out enough to fill the entire drill ground instead of weeds. White cloths…?

“Ugh, ugh!!”

At the same time, she started to feel nauseous. The white cloths were covering her comrades.

The drill ground of the Graveyard, which had been filled with happy and joyful memories, had turned into a mass grave in an instant.

“This is strange, it’s strange! What is this…!!!”

Lea screamed in a voice mixed with a shriek. This is an illusion.

It can’t be otherwise. Wasn’t there not a single death in the Graveyard?

There may be injured people, but no one died. But Lea clearly remembered the faces covered in those cloths.

Kelly from the 3rd Combat Company had her throat torn out by a Titan and died. Offenter from the Communications Battalion was crushed by a collapsed antenna during a Titan bombing, and his upper body disappeared.

Scarlet from the Staff Department’s Information Section went missing after falling into a trap during a target reconnaissance mission. All that could be recovered was her roughly severed neck. Yujin from the Supply Company couldn’t even be found after the ammunition dump exploded.

Bella from the 5th Combat Company was crushed to death by a large Titan’s footsteps. Ebelstein died from excessive bleeding. Rox, Limon, Irkia, Coltos, and Kaisa entered a high-radiation zone and died while vomiting blood from their entire bodies. Jackery, Ralph, Lawrence, Sasori, Anna, Kalsten, Jane, Otro. They died by decapitation, burning at the stake, and being doused with acid. Kate, whose eye smile was pretty, had her eyes gouged out by a Titan and died. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect the members of my precious Supply Company during the operation. I shouldn’t have gone on that operation. I’m sorry for sacrificing you while being blinded by the commander. Lieutenant Lea, don’t worry, who are we? Isn’t your place by the commander’s side? Mom, Mom, I’m sorry, it was actually a bluff. Lieutenant, please save me. The commander has the ability to turn back the past? Luthers, you fucking bastard, if you have that ability, you should do it right. Lea Gilliard, you’re the same, you fucking bitch. Catch that bastard! He’s infected with ideological contamination! Lieutenant! Dodge it! Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Please kill me! I can’t live like this. The Titan laid eggs in my body. I can feel them gnawing at my insides.

A terrible sensation that felt like forcibly stirring the brain.

-No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sound of her own scream echoed in her ears. “Ugh-!!”

In the end, Lea couldn’t overcome the pressure and had no choice but to vomit everything she had eaten.

“Ugh, ugh…!! Phew, hic, hic….”

Fortunately, she hadn’t eaten the late-night snack. Bile rose to the back of her throat.

Even though she had already emptied her stomach, she couldn’t even breathe due to the nausea that came over her.

“Cough, hic… Ugh, ugh… Ugh!!”

However, Lea grabbed her staggering legs and properly supported herself. She couldn’t fall.

If she fell, it was clear that she wouldn’t be able to get up. Lea looked at the grayish ivory tower of the Graveyard that was swaying in black.

Akasha. Because the memories she had forgotten, the memories she shouldn’t forget, would be contained there.

It was scary and frightening, but she still had to do it. Lea dragged her legs with difficulty and moved forward.

Finally arriving at the innermost part of the Graveyard. Even though she staggered several times, vomited, and had her clothes torn, she moved forward.

And as if welcoming her, the huge quantum computer roared lowly, whoosh.

[Missing Protocol emergency execution procedure achievement completed]

[Updating Lea Gilliard’s memory information.]

[The top priority recovery record is the 34th record.]

Whoosh. As her vision turned white, Lea Gilliard opened her eyes in a familiar room.

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