A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 4

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Beautiful violin melodies and clear piano notes filled the banquet hall.

Although it was hardly a banquet hall, but merely an indoor training ground specially decorated for the victory commemoration event.

Anyway, it was full of appetizing food and alcohol that they hadn’t been able to see during the war.

Wasn’t that enough to call it a banquet?

It seemed the cooking staff had put in quite a bit of effort in preparation for today.

However, contrary to those expectations, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was quite subdued.

It was because of the bombshell announcement made by Commander Luthers Edan just before the banquet.

“Ha… It’s too sudden.”

“Wasn’t it something everyone was expecting? That the Graveyard would naturally be disbanded once the war was over.”

“I knew that, but did he really have to say that even at the victory commemoration ceremony?”

“Who knows what’s going on in that bastard commander’s mind? Maybe he wanted to ruin the mood today. Look at this, how is this a festival or a celebration?”

The staff officers gathered in a corner, sipping wine, threw out complaints and curses one after another.

They were people who didn’t look favorably upon the commander even normally.

Luthers, who ordered them to come up with strategies that weren’t even in the field manual, and hurled insults at them for incomprehensible reasons.

He stubbornly insisted that there were enemies in sector B03 even though they had clearly confirmed their absence, wasting already scarce ammunition.

It was also common for him to deliberately crumple up operation instructions from above.

It was always the staff officers who were reprimanded for the commander’s arbitrary actions, so they couldn’t help but have a cold eye towards Luthers.

Moreover…

“Ah, I originally planned to stab him, but it feels strange again now that he’s retiring on his own.”

Charlotte Evergreen, the head of the logistics department, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, added a remark.

Her elegant golden hair swayed as she turned her head.

On top of that, her short-cut hair created a peculiarly sharp impression along with Charlotte’s unique cold atmosphere.

It was no wonder she was nicknamed the Ice Witch of the Logistics Department.

“What is our witch trying to say now?”

“…Head of Intelligence!! I told you not to call me that!?”

It seemed to be an embarrassing and humiliating nickname, as Charlotte Evergreen, the person in question, showed a disgusted look.

The gaze of the people momentarily focused on the voice ringing throughout the banquet hall, then quickly dispersed.

The reaction was like, “Oh, Charlotte did it again.”

Hurriedly putting down the wine glass she was holding and covering her face with both arms, she gnashed her teeth and spewed curses at the head of intelligence.

“Damn it, do you really want to die!?”

“Wow. I was wondering when it would happen, and one finally exploded today.”

“The head of intelligence scored a hit, wahaha!!”

Vulgar curses that were completely contrary to her elegant appearance and old-fashioned name.

No wonder she was the mascot of the staff department.

They even deliberately asked Charlotte for curses right before battle.

Asking for a victory spell or something.

“Phew…”

Realizing that getting angry was only to her own detriment, Charlotte took a deep breath to calm herself, and another staff officer expressed curiosity and asked again.

“So, what did you mean by that, Head of Logistics?”

She finished her wine, snapped her fingers, and continued.

“Commander Luthers has embezzled more than just one or two items. Do you know how many false reports he made to the Supreme Command?”

They were things that they couldn’t check in time because battles were happening almost every day.

In reality, allies were dying on the battlefield.

The head of logistics, who was in charge of supplies and logistics, didn’t have the leisure to check such things one by one, did she?

However, as the battles gradually decreased and they started to gain the upper hand.

Charlotte realized that many of the military supplies she had been managing did not match in quantity.

It was during the war.

Small arms such as rifles, food, and other consumables were likely to have been issued without proper reporting in urgent situations.

At this point, it would be faster to find items where the records and actual quantities matched.

But strategic weapons were different.

“He even embezzled things that would be caught immediately with a little investigation, as if his liver had popped out?”

Missiles.
Shells.
Mines.
White phosphorus.

And even prototype hydrogen bombs.

“He did all that?”

“You think I know? I can’t believe it either.”

The faces of the staff officers stiffened as if in shock.

“…If this is true, it would be a serious crime.”

“It could even lead to the death penalty.”

“But they wouldn’t execute a war hero…”

It was natural for the commander to have a bad reputation.

Who would like such a twisted and self-centered person?

However, as they say, even a caterpillar has a rolling skill. Commander Luthers’ eye for the battlefield was superior to any other commander.

It was practically the top contributor that made Major General Luthers Edan a war hero.

But to think that the commander, whom they thought was just bad-tempered, was a criminal who could be referred to a court-martial.

“But are you really going to stab him?”

A staff officer asked in a worried voice.

Charlotte couldn’t answer honestly.

It was true that Luthers had acted detestably, but losing all his honor and going to a military prison was a separate matter.

She felt like it wouldn’t sit well with her.

Because sometimes, when it was just the two of them, that commander would throw a “joke”.

“…Forget it. He’s retiring anyway. We won’t see him anymore, so he’ll be forgotten soon.”

It was something she could say as the head of logistics.

She knew how serious all these things were.

But at the same time, she knew how easily they could be buried.

However, there was one thing Charlotte was overlooking.

“I’d like to hear more about that.”

“…!!?”

“Att-attention!!!”

The gathered staff officers saluted respectfully.

Silver hair flowing over the shoulders of the uniform.

It was Major General (Prospective) Arwen Orka.

“Deputy Commander Arwen…”

“So… Charlotte, what did you say that man Luthers did?”

Her gem-like eyes sparkled.

Charlotte sensed that she could not escape.

===

Thump thump.

Footsteps echoing in the empty cavity.

It was Luthers Edan, who had coolly ruined the commander’s speech before the victory commemoration ceremony.

He had escaped from the chaotic atmosphere and headed straight for the innermost part of the Graveyard Fortress.

[The helicopter is scheduled to arrive in 2 hours.]

Luthers raised his wrist and checked the message on his smartwatch.

The message had been received before the speech, so there should be about 30 minutes left now.

The banquet was in full swing anyway.

He didn’t particularly want to face anyone, so he planned to quickly finish his business and leave.

Arriving at the innermost part.

There, a huge hexagonal pillar connected with all sorts of wires was lying idly.

The ultra-high-density quantum computer Akasha.

“…”

Luthers just stared at Akasha without saying a word.

It wasn’t only the comrades of the Graveyard who had stood by his side during the forty regressions.

The quantum computer Akasha had also been a silent observer and companion on his journey.

Luthers closed his eyes for a moment, bowed his head to express his gratitude to Akasha, and opened his mouth.

“Thank you for everything. But I’ll give my last order as the fortress commander.”

[Enter the command.]

“Delete all the records I have created so far. Everything related to the past as well.”

The war was over.

Humanity had achieved a glorious victory, so the records stored in Akasha would no longer be needed.

Now they were memories he didn’t particularly want to recall, so he was simply erasing their traces completely.

[Deletion of all records and command logs. Entered.]

“Thank you for your hard work until the end.”

Luthers smiled bitterly and gently stroked the surface of Akasha.

Akasha didn’t possess emotions, but it was the only existence that knew his past memories in this final cycle.

Thinking that way, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness.

“Luthers Edan.”

Until a familiar voice was heard from behind.

“…Arwen.”

The angry-looking woman was staring at him.

Luthers sighed and tried to pass by her and disappear.

Because just seeing her face brought back painful memories.

But Arwen grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“Stop.”

He felt suffocated as he directly faced her turquoise eyes.

No.

If he weakened again here, everything he had done so far would become futile.

Luthers steeled himself.

There should be no regrets left.

“Aren’t you being too arrogant for a Major General? You’re just scheduled for promotion, aren’t you?”

Luthers mocked Arwen in a sneering voice.

The hand holding his arm tightened.

“…You’re really despicable until the end.”

“I don’t think that’s something you should say to the hero who saved humanity.”

“It wasn’t you who saved humanity. It was all of us who saved humanity.”

There was clear anger in her voice.

She was warning him.

Telling him not to be arrogant either.

“I just received a call from the Supreme Command. You stepped down from your position as the Graveyard commander even before the speech ceremony.”

“…”

“So you are neither my superior nor anything right now. Rather, I, the acting commander, am the most senior member of the Graveyard. Do you know what that means?”

“No, I don’t.”

“It means I can expose all the evil hidden behind that seemingly indifferent expression of yours.”

She had no intention of being this hostile.

Arwen also had no doubts about Luthers’ military capabilities.

However, after hearing the story from Charlotte, the head of logistics, and adding Luthers’ suspicious actions that she had been trying to overlook…

As someone who valued discipline and order, Arwen could never forgive her former superior.

Especially since she knew well what kind of tragedy military corruption during wartime could bring about.

“There were several times I almost died because of you. The way you thoroughly treat people like objects, that gaze, that tone. In the end, you just saw us as something other than comrades.”

It’s really disgusting.

Arwen’s sharp words pierced through Luthers’ heart.

But if his heart was to crumble from just that, he had left it behind in those distant memories.

Luthers brushed off Arwen’s hand and answered coldly.

“So what’s your point? Isn’t it enough that you didn’t die?”

At that moment.

Slap, a stinging impact was felt across Luthers’ cheek.

“What…? It’s enough that we didn’t die? Have you forgotten your subordinates lying in the field hospital right now? Don’t you even feel sorry?”

Arwen bit her lip hard and trembled with resentment.

“I wanted to… evaluate you favorably even a little bit. You were just a selfish person until the end.”

Tears that had welled up in her eyes at some point flowed down her cheeks.

“Get lost. Get lost… Never set foot in our military again. Get out of here!”

“…I was going to do that anyway.”

Luthers turned around and left Arwen without hesitation.

As if even that sight fueled Arwen’s anger, she added in an anguished voice.

“I’ll make you regret it, crying and begging.”

Luthers didn’t respond.

Instead, he fled from her and headed to the heliport.

The slapped cheek didn’t hurt at all.

But.

He just clutched his aching chest.

===

The innermost part of the fortress where a commotion had occurred.

Only the light and noise of the ultra-high-density quantum computer Akasha lingered there.

The top priority was to process the data left behind by Major General Luthers Edan after several regressions.

Due to the nature of a quantum computer, Luthers was able to record and leave behind everything he had experienced so far in the form of data.

Even if he regressed through death, if Luthers Edan’s existence remained in the military personnel information system.

The information he had accumulated was passed on intact to the Akasha of the next cycle.

The “Akashic Records” that enabled humanity, driven to the brink of extinction, to raise the curtain of counterattack.

However, the memories left behind by Luthers Edan were never successfully deleted.

[Major General Luthers Edan >> Access to Graveyard Akasha denied.]

[Confirmed that the personnel record of the input target has been erased from the Supreme Command DB.]

[The input target, Luthers Edan, no longer possesses that authority.]

[… … ….]

[Command rejected!]

That was something even Luthers Edan hadn’t anticipated.

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