Episode 28: Start of the War
"......Is it morning already?"
Sipping a cup of diluted coffee, Ensign Kas DeCreo watched the sunrise from the grassy meadow on the other side of the hill, from his office in the rear of the fort, a short distance from the front line.
His golden hair, illuminated by the morning sun, was slightly naturally curly, and his almond-shaped cat eyes were a deep blue. He has a well-defined nose and a slender physique. If he were not wearing a military uniform, he would give the impression of a model-like young man.
However, his eyes had large dark circles due to lack of sleep, which ruined his appearance.
As an Imperial soldier, he had been busy with his work for the past few days.
With such a stormy mind, he was fascinated by the soft and gentle natural light that he was seeing, and he couldn't help but admire it. But it was only for a moment.
Turning his back to the window, he saw a pile of papers on his desk as usual. He picked up a few of them and read them with his eyes.
Most of them are brief summaries of reports from soldiers who have gone out for reconnaissance, and Ensign Kas's job is to briefly summarize these piles of documents, put them into a few pages, and submit them as a report to the Imperial Capital, but there are still many.
"Haa..."
Unlike when he saw the sunrise, this time a sigh overflowed.
Originally from an orphanage, he entered the military academy not out of patriotism but because he dreamed of a career in the imperial capital, but he never expected to be assigned to a fort on the western front against the kingdom.
Moreover, unlike the northern front facing the principality, there were no battles here and only a few skirmishes that seemed to be half-planned. Even if he wanted to aim for a position in the rear with a spectacular military achievement, there would be no such opportunity.
......The military's upper echelons, contrary to his wishes, are daring to send him to less dangerous battlefields for the sake of his "future," but he has no way of knowing that.
His work is mostly paper work. The volume of his work is contrary to the peace and quiet of the battlefield, and the contents are as empty as the diluted coffee he has on hand. He wondered what he was really doing by compiling such reports that were nothing more than a name.
Frankly speaking, the report has only one line, "Nothing happened". That's all. However, his superiors in the capital were not satisfied with that. He would be told to be more specific, and he would be confronted with his boss, a blackhead and stagnant eyes that were even worse than his own.
His boss said, "This piece of paper will determine whether or not we get the budget, so you'll have to be patient. If those people cut the budget any further, even this diluted coffee will turn into just hot water."
"That's..."
So he changed a few sentences from the document, and then tweaked and haggled them to make them more formal. That was his job.
Well, it was a good thing that the report from yesterday could be submitted as it was without any modification.
Because he can finally write a report that looks like a report naturally.
Piles of documents. This time, he picked up the topmost paper and was about to read through the contents, thinking that he would use it as an attachment, when suddenly the door to his office was opened with a bang.
"Excuse me!"
The officer who came in shouting in an impatient voice was the officer who had been stationed here at the fort before Ensign Kas arrived.
"The number of enemy troops has finally been found. The number is roughly 75,000! The commander of the enemy army is probably the First Prince, judging from the banner!"
"…………I see."
The officer continued his report with sweat on his forehead in an amusing manner. His complexion is also somewhat pale.
This is the reason why Ensign Kas no longer has to compile his report.
The other day in the afternoon. The first news that the kingdom army had started to cross the border reached him as he was waiting at the fort behind the frontlines.
The Imperial soldiers packed here, including himself, thought that it would be the usually scheduled exchange of blades and mutual retreat that ended for an hour.
However, the Kingdom Army appeared from the distance, filling the horizon.
Moreover, all of them attacked us like hungry beasts, and the frontlines collapsed in the blink of an eye. By the time he sent a messenger to report the news, he was pushed to the rear of the line.
"I have been watching them since yesterday, and their marching speed is as abnormal as ever. It seems as if they are invading us without thinking of the consequences......"
"After all, it's not the usual thing, is it?"
His subordinate's tragic words make Ensign Kas look out the window once more.
Under the beautiful morning sky, the Kingdom Army, which until a few minutes ago had been invisible, was now moving forward at a leisurely pace, its banner fluttering in the light breeze that was blowing, and was just a stone's throw away from us.
Yesterday, six units of cavalry had been sent in to delay the battle, but they were unable to stop the Kingdom Army, which was merely piling up corpses.
Stray bullets would soon hit here as well. Thinking that, Ensign Kas closed the curtains on the window, and suddenly grabbed a pile of documents with both hands, and threw the pile into the open fireplace.
"...What about the other guys?"
Papers scattered over the fireplace. A match is thrown on top of them.
"The second lieutenant said he would withdraw as soon as he had completed the security clearance."
"Hurry up. Today it's our turn to hold off that horde. You don't want to get ahead of yourself and be better than me, do you?"
"Y-yes...!"
The subordinate who had come to report to him was in a hurry to leave his office after being ridiculed.
Then Ensign Kas took the opportunity to root out the papers that had accumulated on his desk and put them on the fireplace. He sipped his slightly cooled coffee and left the room with a dagger in his hand for suicide and the unpleasant smell of ink-covered papers burning.
"Now let's see how much time we can earn."
A few weeks later, he became a captain and his name carved on the square of the imperial capital.
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