—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Even after witnessing it with my own eyes, I wondered if it was real. I pinched myself, but nothing changed.
“I was surprised too. To think that something like that is flying in the sky, it’s both awe-inspiring and terrifying.”
Debra Bennett turned her head, wearing an expression of deep emotion.
“Why is that here? You said it’s Ukraine’s new weapon?”
“It was a top-secret project that very few people in the military knew about. The only department in the Central Education and Technology Research Center that wasn’t replaced was the weapons research department. But it turns out they were making something this incredible.”
It was something I had never heard of before. The first country to develop airships wasn’t the Ukrainian Duchy but the Reinhardt Empire.
The Reinhardt airships, which filled the skies of the continent at the start of the war, became a symbol of the overwhelmingly advanced technological empire. But why was an airship, which hadn’t even been properly developed in Reinhardt yet, here?
“Oh, 1st Company Commander! You’re here!”
While I was captivated by the airship floating in the air, Sonya Zeppelin came running towards us from the front.
“What do you think?”
“What do I think? More like… where did that come from?”
“Ahaha, is that the first thing you say? As expected, Lieutenant, your way of thinking is definitely different from others. First, come inside. Everyone will be happy.”
The Lieutenant Colonel clapped her hands casually and led the soldiers inside. Still in a daze, I was led to the special barracks. It didn’t take long for cheers to erupt from the soldiers. All kinds of delicious-looking food were spread out on outdoor tables under the airship.
“Good work on the training! Everyone, put your luggage to one side and enjoy yourselves!!”
The soldiers, who had been subsisting on rabbit meat and arrowroot for days, went wild at the sight of the steaming meat.
“…Make yourselves comfortable and enjoy your meal, as the Lieutenant Colonel said.”
“Thank you! Captain! Lieutenant Colonel!!”
In the blink of an eye, the company members unloaded their backpacks and began to literally devour the food.
“Slowly, slowly eat! And take a look at the airship floating above from time to time. I’m paying for all the food anyway!”
Of course, it wasn’t a meal just for our company. The members of the 2nd and 3rd Companies, who arrived afterward, also gaped in amazement. It took no time at all for a hundred starving soldiers to sweep through the food. Meanwhile, the officers, including myself, could only watch and twiddle our thumbs.
“Lumia, your stomach seems unusually quiet today.”
“Ugh…! Come on, Captain! Don’t tease me!”
“Lumia, you’re in big trouble. Seems like the Lieutenant’s got his eye on you?”
“S-Sergeant Bell, stop it too!”
As we were exchanging lighthearted jokes, Platoon Leader Erwin Ruth, who had been watching the scene of the wild party, licked his lips.
“C-Captain? Are we not going to eat…?”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. Just wait a little bit.”
I answered the agonizing Erwin and looked at the Lieutenant Colonel, who was checking on the members of the battalion headquarters who had arrived last. As promised, after confirming the number of soldiers and officers, she pointed to a large tent set up on one side.
“Let the soldiers eat, and let’s gather the officers inside that tent for a moment.”
Inside the tent, a luxurious meal, no less impressive than the outdoor tables, was prepared.
“Alright, everyone, find a seat by your company!”
The center of the ‘ㄷ’-shaped table was reserved for the Chief of Staff and Sonya Zeppelin. One seat was empty, but I didn’t know who it was for.
As soon as all the non-commissioned and commissioned officers were seated…
“Now, everyone raise your glasses!”
Sonya Zeppelin shouted, raising her glass filled with wine.
“To the successful completion of the 8th Magic Assault Battalion’s first training exercise! Cheers!!”
“Cheers!!!”
The faces of the people who had been exhausted just a few hours ago brightened up, and the sound of glasses clinking could be heard from all around. I lightly clinked glasses with Claude and Lumia, who were sitting on either side of me, and emptied my glass of wine.
As soon as I had a drink, I felt a warmth spreading through my weary body. From then on, it was the start of a party no less lively than the soldiers’. Erwin Ruth, as if he had been waiting for this moment, was dismantling a large chicken leg.
Platoon Leader Hilton Callia, who had been gloomy during the descent, was also quickly transferring food to his plate. Even Roxanna, who usually ate like a bird, was tearing into meat she normally wouldn’t touch.
It made me realize how tough the mountain training had been. As someone who had already experienced the snowy mountain Hell Week once, it wasn’t that difficult for me, though.
‘It’s a good thing I worked out in advance with the Master Sergeant. Otherwise, I would have collapsed long ago.’
It was the fruit of my painstaking efforts over the past six months. I had at least gained some lean muscle on my previously skinny frame.
“Aren’t you going to eat, Captain?”
“I should. You can start first, Lumia.”
As the saying goes, even a journey across the Diamond Mountains begins after a meal. I had a mountain of questions for Sonya Zeppelin, and Debra Bennett’s sudden appearance was absurd, but it wouldn’t be bad to fill my stomach first.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Ah, that was good.”
“I agree. I ate without even realizing…”
“Did you enjoy your meal, Master Sergeant?”
“It wasn’t bad.”
I looked at my full belly. Once I started eating, I couldn’t stop.
“Now, it seems like everyone’s finished eating, so shall we start the discussion?”
“We’ll start with the damage report.”
As soon as Sonya Zeppelin called for attention, Major Joseph pulled out evaluation sheets from his pocket. He looked the part of a Chief of Staff as he meticulously reported the evaluation results recorded over the past 72 hours.
“1st Company, no casualties. Evaluation score: 10 points. 1st place. 2nd Company, 3 minor injuries, 2 transported. Evaluation score: 7 points. 2nd place. 3rd Company, 5 minor injuries. Evaluation score: 6 points. 3rd place.”
“Cough! Hack! Cough! Cough!”
Lieutenant Nikolai Hilbert, the 2nd Company Commander, coughed violently at the mercilessly revealed results. He seemed to have choked. His adjutant, who was sitting next to him, patted his back urgently, and Sonya Zeppelin added with a smile,
“The 1st Company did overwhelmingly well, but the other two companies weren’t bad either. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Lieutenant Luna Aile, the 3rd Company Commander, seemed to agree, but she still had a frustrated expression.
‘She’s more competitive than she looks.’
I had met with the other company commanders a few times before the training to talk. Lieutenant Nikolai and Lieutenant Luna. Both had good personalities, so there wasn’t any problem getting to know them, and they were certainly competent as officers. Feeling frustrated like that was a positive reaction.
“Therefore, for the remaining training schedule, the company formation will remain the same, from the 1st to the 3rd Company, without any changes.”
“Let’s focus on the fact that there were no serious injuries, even though it was the first training exercise!”
“Yes, sir─!!”
As the Lieutenant Colonel said, it was a remarkable achievement, considering that we had dropped the troops, who had no experience in the area, into the snowy mountains. If I hadn’t had experience with snow mountain training, or if the platoon leaders under my command hadn’t been properly trained, there might have been one or two minor injuries.
“But when you say ‘remaining training schedule,’ you mean the training in the snowy mountains wasn’t everything?”
One of the platoon leaders from the 2nd Company raised their hand and asked at Sonya Zeppelin’s words. The Lieutenant Colonel, grinning as if she had been waiting for this question…
“Correct. Before we get to the main topic, here’s a question. Does anyone know what that thing is outside?”
The barracks was silent. I considered raising my hand, but I decided to observe her reaction first. The time when the airship would be officially unveiled to the public was at least two years later. If I said I knew about it now, it would be very risky, drawing unnecessary attention.
However, Sonya Zeppelin’s gaze invariably turned to me.
“1st Company Commander.”
“Lieutenant, Enoch Levandal!”
“Doesn’t the 1st Company Commander know either?”
She asked again, as if it was something I should naturally know. Well, what am I supposed to say here? I thought for a moment before I had to speak.
“I don’t know for sure either. But seeing its shape, I assumed it was a vehicle that flew into the air using the power of the air filled inside it.”
“Oh, that’s a near-perfect answer.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man entered the barracks and spoke. He was dressed in a suit, not a military uniform. His neatly combed, faded gray hair gave off the air of a businessman. Because of that, I easily recognized his face.
The predecessor of the Reinhardt Empire’s air force and one of the most powerful heroes available in the early stages of the Great War.
Count Ferdinand Ludwig. He was a figure who would later be granted the rank of ‘Lieutenant General’ in recognition of his contributions.
“That’s right. It’s a new type of vehicle I developed called an ‘airship.’ The officer here accurately guessed its principle.”
Count Ferdinand said that, took off his hat politely, and greeted me. I responded with a light bow, and he continued his explanation.
“With a steel frame as its base, air is filled into a place called an air sac…”
I already knew the principles of airships. I came from an era where we sent rockets to Mars, so an airship wasn’t really much. But that made it even more incomprehensible.
Why was Count Ferdinand of the Reinhardt Empire here? He wasn’t a soldier of the Reinhardt Empire yet, but he would soon become the first commander of the Empire’s air force with the airship as his new weapon. And the Reinhardt Empire army would be an ‘enemy nation’ that invades Ukraine almost simultaneously with the outbreak of war.
Even though there were five years left until the war, I couldn’t understand why Count Ferdinand was here in Ukraine.
“Then, are you saying that the weapon outside was developed directly by you, Count?”
And that question was naturally resolved by Lieutenant Nikolai Hilbert, commander of the 2nd company.
“Yes, I did the principle and design itself… but the application ideas were handled by Lieutenant Colonel Sonya Zeppelin here.”
“By application, you mean…?”
Count Ferdinand turned to Sonya Zeppelin, nodded, and took out a small crystal ball from his pocket.
“It means weaponizing the airship by incorporating special magic.”
Aha. So, this Sonya Zeppelin… was also involved in weaponizing the airship? I looked at her, shrugging her shoulders excitedly, and thought,
‘Is there anywhere this crazy Archmage isn’t involved?’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
