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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Loyalty! I am Second Lieutenant Arwen Orka, assigned to the 1st Platoon, 3rd Combat Company of the Graveyard as of today! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Everything was a first.
In the first place, she had no intention of becoming a soldier, but she made that choice out of necessity to survive.
As the war became extremely prolonged, the number of orphanages increased rapidly throughout the Empire.
It was natural.
People died day after day.
The average number of weekly deaths reported from all fronts was around 300.
That meant that the children left behind by those 300 people were practically left alone.
It was a tragedy, but not an extraordinary tragedy either.
Arwen was also one of the ordinary people living in such a tragedy.
As the eldest sister and big sister of the orphanage, she was immediately commissioned as a local officer as soon as she reached the age eligible for enlistment.
A ‘disposable’ officer created through a short-term 3-month training at a temporarily established boot camp, not the military academy where they were thoroughly educated for 2 years.
Even such a disposable officer was better off than other soldiers or non-commissioned officers.
It was to earn as much money as possible to protect the orphanage that had been her home.
The reason she volunteered for the Graveyard was because it was the frontline fortress with the highest casualty rate.
The hazard pay was 1.5 times higher than other fronts.
For Arwen, it was the best workplace she could choose.
And the first superior she met at the fortress was none other than Luthers Edan.
They had the same rank of second lieutenant, but their backgrounds were different.
Unlike short-term officers, he was a ‘regular officer’ commissioned through the military academy.
“I’m Luthers Edan, the 1st Platoon Commander. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too!”
She shook hands with Luthers.
It was the moment when the two met for the first time, and a change that blew into Arwen’s terribly dry and lifeless life.
But was it really the frontline fortress?
Before she could even get used to the unit after exchanging greetings, the first Titan attack occurred.
It was a small infiltration group.
The ‘Wraith’ type specialized in stealth and infiltration.
Five Titans had managed to break through the surveillance of the frontline defense lines and outposts.
And of all places, they attacked the barracks where she was staying.
“Ambush! Enemy attack!!!”
“Titans have infiltrated the fortress!”
Waaaaang!!
With the ear-splitting siren, Arwen, who had grabbed her assigned firearm, was only perplexed, not knowing what was going on.
What is this?
What’s going on?
Of course, she had learned things at the boot camp.
From the habits of Titans, attack patterns, types, to countermeasures.
But when it actually became real, all those things suddenly disappeared from her mind.
Before the newly appointed second lieutenant who had just been assigned to the fortress could come to her senses.
“Kiyaaaah!!”
A Titan, reeking of a sour blood smell as if it had just torn someone apart, charged at Arwen.
It was a sufficient distance.
The G416 carbine, the standard rifle of the Imperial Army, had the firepower to easily tear through the armor of small Titans.
But her body, already in a panic, wouldn’t listen to her will.
Even a top marksman who had consistently hit targets beyond 300m at the training center was nothing more than a defenseless lump of flesh if she couldn’t pull the trigger.
“Kaak! Kyaaak!!”
“Kyaaaah!!”
Just as the sharp claws of the Titan, which had approached right in front of Arwen’s eyes, flashed.
Ratatatatat!!
“Second Lieutenant Arwen!! Are you alright!?”
Luthers Edan appeared and saved her.
The Titan, hit precisely in its vital points, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut without even screaming.
“…Huh?”
“You need to get your mind straight! You’ll be taken out in an instant like just now!”
Arwen grabbed the hand Luthers offered and stood up from her spot.
What remarkable quick-wittedness.
How could he make such a judgment in that moment?
Luthers’s outstanding performance didn’t end there.
Unlike herself, who lacked everything, Luthers always stood out.
-When the company commander is absent, First Lieutenant Luthers will act as the company commander.
-Your platoon also achieved excellent results in this 1st defense line operation. I sincerely thank you. Luthers Edan… Captain.
-The death of the 2nd Company Commander has just been confirmed. From now on, you will command the 2nd Combat Company.
-Captain Luthers! Dispatch to the operation area immediately! Time is of the essence!
For such a person, it was only natural to be quickly recognized by those around him.
For Arwen, who had spent almost her entire life in an orphanage, relationships with new people were very perplexing.
But Luthers had always managed to do that too.
He was like a perfect hexagon of a human being.
He had an excellent personality, was skilled in strategy and tactics, and above all, he was warm-hearted.
The energy he gave off was always positive.
A flower blooming in a wasteland.
And the life stemming from that flower was sprouting all over the fortress.
The Graveyard was a cemetery.
Not only in name and appearance but also in mortality rate.
When Arwen was first commissioned, everything was black and gray.
People were depressed, consumed by death, and filled with only negative emotions.
But what about now?
Laughter was always present wherever Luthers was.
A rookie officer who had been commissioned for less than a year had risen to the rank of captain with overwhelming achievements, and the actual position he held was at the major level.
In the first place, his rank was only captain in name, but he was actually a major.
Except for a few twisted individuals and corrupt ones, everyone in the Graveyard evaluated Luthers positively.
Envy, jealousy, admiration.
However, they were all people who had never been very popular since long ago, so they could only inflict petty retaliation on Luthers Edan, such as occasionally shouting at him or dumping miscellaneous tasks on him.
Even that was overwhelmed by the terrifyingly rising momentum of the rookie officer.
Naturally, as time passed, Arwen, who had watched all of that from the side, couldn’t help but be greatly influenced by Luthers.
At first, it was vague amazement, the second was admiration, and the third was…
“I, I like you.”
“Arwen…?”
The heartfelt confession she made with great courage.
Hearing that confession, Luthers made a stupid expression she had never seen before.
Ah, so he was someone who could make such an expression too.
While desperately suppressing the embarrassment boiling up from within, Arwen had such a thought.
“I don’t know. It’s an emotion I’m feeling for the first time… You know too, Commander? I’m not that kind of person.”
“But, but we’re in the middle of a war right now.”
“But… everyone is doing it, right? Just the adjacent battalion alone has six dating couples.”
“…”
“Do you… not like me, Commander?”
Luthers pondered for a moment, then answered with his characteristic sparkling blue eyes.
“That’s not it.”
Fortunately, Arwen’s feelings were not one-sided.
They were two people who had been together every day without fail since her first commissioning.
Even if he was an officer who had appeared like a comet and would be responsible for the future of the fortress, Luthers was still a man.
Even if they were a man and a woman with no connection, when it reached that point, their hearts would naturally move together.
Moreover, Arwen’s beauty was known not only in the Graveyard Fortress but even in the headquarters of other regions.
Luthers scratched his cheek as if in a difficult position.
“…Thank you, Arwen. For thinking of me that way.”
He gently held her fidgeting hand.
Zing.
A sensation she felt for the first time.
Arwen shuddered.
As soon as she felt that warm warmth, it was a stimulus that made her hastily withdraw her hand and step back.
“Eek, eek!! Ah. No! This is too soon!”
“Arwen?!”
In the end, she couldn’t resist and had no choice but to run away.
Exhaling roughly, she tried hard to calm her flushed face.
She thought she would never forget this feeling until she died.
That’s what Arwen thought.
After that, the two often enjoyed dates.
Sometimes they would leave the fortress and wander around outside.
In front of the battlefield where nameless people were still dying, they walked through the city and smiled at each other.
Eating delicious food together.
Kissing under the brightly rising moonlight.
Making love more passionately than others.
However, the happiness that seemed eternal came to an end at some point.
In the second year since commissioning.
Before Lea Gilliard had even transferred to the fortress, and before Luthers Edan was officially promoted to major.
In the trench line deployed for a guard change.
The 2nd Combat Company led by Luthers Edan and Arwen Orka was annihilated.
A large-scale Titan force that had attacked in the middle of the night.
As always, the order from above was to defend the defense line even at the cost of their lives.
In other words.
It was an order to fight and die there.
Amidst the gunfire, screams, and battle cries coming from all directions, Luthers embraced his bleeding lover.
“Arwen! Arwen!!! Wake up! No!!”
“I was really happy. Luthers. You were the greatest happiness and joy that came into my life.”
“Why, why! Did you jump in!”
“Do you remember… the very first time? You saved me then. I’m just repaying that debt now…”
In her fading consciousness, Arwen recalled the moment when she had first confessed.
Didn’t she say she would never forget this feeling until she died?
‘It was true…’
She nodded her head in satisfaction.
“Luthers, let’s meet again in heaven. In a place without war, death, or sorrow.”
“Arwen…!!”
“Please, don’t be sad. A better future will be waiting for us. As it always has been with you.”
First Lieutenant Arwen Orka passed away like that.
While caressing the cheek of her lover who was shedding transparent tears he had never shed before.
That was the very first memory.
And the second regression began.
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