I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

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Lucy’s intuition sounded the alarm.

The woman in front of her was dangerous.

In her gaze, which seemed to penetrate the hearts of others, there was a certain madness.

However, Lucy did not lose her composure.

What would change if she was suspected? Nothing at all.

“Please be clear about what you want to say, Cadet Prien. Are you trying to say I’ve committed a crime? Or that I’m lying?”

Prien’s pupils trembled once.

Although she was halfway skeptical, she hadn’t expected Lucy to respond so calmly.

Rising, Prien wore an awkward smile.

“Lieutenant? I’m just sharing my experiences. From my experiences…”

“I see. Gaining experience is important in everything, as it helps in making judgments. But where did you learn to suspect others without any basis or evidence?”

It was polite yet barbed criticism.

Lucy was questioning whether being disrespectful to her superior was part of her “experience.”

That was an insult to Prien’s upbringing and an undermining of her character.

Prien was not oblivious to Lucy’s intentions.

Thanks to this, one eyebrow of Prien, who still smiled, twitched.

Tick-tock—

In the silence that fell again, the ticking of the clock echoed hollowly.

In the chilly atmosphere where anything could happen, familiar boot sounds approached, clicking away.

As Prien reflexively turned her body, the office door opened, and Daniel walked in.

“Captain!”

“You’re here.”

Prien’s face lit up as she saluted, and Lucy also stood up, taking a salute position.

Accepting the salute, Daniel hesitated to relay the message from the deputy chief of staff.

‘What’s this?’

There was a strangely heavy air in the office.

‘Is it just my feeling?’

It felt a little uncomfortable, but it didn’t matter much at the moment, so he decided to overlook it.

“Cadet Prien. I discussed your treatment with the deputy chief of staff. Normally, it’s not permissible for students to go to the battlefield, but this one time, they said they’ll make an exception as part of your training.”

Prien didn’t seem particularly surprised.

After all, the personnel department had already given a definite answer, so it was expected that the deputy chief of staff would agree.

Still, getting permission directly from Daniel again wasn’t so bad.

“I will do my best! Captain Daniel!”

As Prien said this cheerfully, Daniel turned his eyes to Lucy, looking rather disapprovingly at her enthusiasm.

“And Lieutenant Lucy. You are also confirmed to join my aide-de-camp in the Northern Direction Army. So both of you should pack your bags and prepare to head north. We will depart as soon as the personnel gathers.”

The two saluted Daniel in acknowledgment.

When Daniel returned the salute, Prien slyly turned her gaze to Lucy.

“Coincidentally, we’ll be spending some time together, huh, Lieutenant Lucy.”

Lucy did not shy away from Prien’s gaze either, narrowing her eyes sharply.

“Indeed. Quite coincidentally.”

In that tense atmosphere, Daniel couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

‘What on earth is going on with you two?’

He had no idea why they were baring their teeth and growling at each other.

*

As soon as the company personnel gathered at the General Staff Headquarters, I gave a brief speech, introduced myself to the junior officers who would be my subordinates, and then we set off immediately.

…I was worried about how to handle it if Lucy and Prien fought during the march to the Northern Direction Army, but fortunately, there was no direct confrontation between the two.

Of course, there were minor disputes from time to time, but each time I gave them a hint to mediate, so the tension did not escalate into a shooting incident.

The issue was that during the month of marching to the northern forward operating base, despite my mediation several times, the flames of discord showed no signs of extinguishing.

“If you’re tired, why not get some sleep? I can handle your duties just fine, Lieutenant Lucy.”

“It’s commendable of you to mimic a stork when you’re just a silly thing.”

Sitting in the passenger seat of the officer vehicle, I glanced at Lucy and Prien through the rearview mirror.

Despite the barbed words, both of them wore calm expressions.

In fact, Prien was even wearing a benevolent smile.

But eavesdropping on their conversation was suffocating.

Even the soldier driving next to me was subtly casting glances at the rearview mirror, clearly displaying his confusion about why they were fighting.

‘This is bad.’

At this point, mediating their fights had become a hassle.

Letting out a sigh, I gazed out the window and realized the sun was setting.

“Stop here.”

The driver hit the brakes, saying, “Are we camping here today?”

“Yes.”

The officer vehicle, which had been slowing down, came to a complete stop.

Stepping out and surveying the surroundings, I found a clearing large enough for around 200 soldiers to lie down amid the thin trees.

There was also a water source nearby, which wasn’t bad for supplying drinking water.

However, the chilly wind seemed to seep through my officer’s winter coat.

Frowning as I exhaled a breath mixed with cold air, I thought, ‘Even though it’s summer, it feels no different from winter here.’

The only difference from when I had visited the north before was that the snow had somewhat melted.

This was surely why the military leadership wanted to end the war before summer was over.

With weather like this, if winter came, it was certain that soldiers would die from frostbite during the march.

‘Among my soldiers right now…’

There had been two soldiers who nearly fell out because they couldn’t withstand the cold.

They were alright now, though.

Turning my head slightly, I noticed over two hundred soldiers in imperial uniforms halting in their tracks behind the military vehicles.

The driver walked over to inform the squad leader of my orders.

Upon hearing the order, the squad leader turned around and shouted loudly.

The soldiers then moved in unison, entering the clearing.

Once in the clearing, the soldiers set down their gear and began setting up military tents.

Some were even taking rations out of the transportation truck that had turned into a food depot to prepare meals.

As I stood with my hands behind my back watching the scene, two squad leaders marched up to me.

This was good timing since I had work for them.

“Lieutenant McCall. Take two quick soldiers and scout the nearby terrain. There’s a high hill around here, so you can climb that to survey the area.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Saluting immediately, Lieutenant McCall called two soldiers who were setting up the tent and then disappeared into the woods.

I thought about killing some time, but Corporal Glendi wouldn’t let me be.

“Company Commander, isn’t it a bit early to camp?”

He looked young, possibly having just been promoted to corporal.

To exaggerate, he still looked like a boy, his youthful face not fully washed away.

His face was full of dissatisfaction, but I responded as casually as I could.

“Corporal, don’t you know that preserving soldiers’ stamina is the most important thing on the battlefield?”

“I understand that, but… originally, we were supposed to arrive at the forward operating base five days ago. It has been five days past our expected arrival time; can we really afford to be this leisurely?”

Giving a nod as if to say continue, the corporal, feeling deflated, didn’t give up, tightening his fist as he spoke.

“Why was it delayed by five days? I was puzzled, and upon checking with the deductive method based on our current position, this place is not on the straight line to the forward operating base. I suspect that the Company Commander is deliberately circumventing the route.”

Of course. Even when there were main roads, I had purposely taken back roads, and even when I could take back roads, I took the rugged path.

The reason was simple.

‘If I join late, I can enter the battlefield late.’

Joining sooner means fighting sooner and dying sooner.

I wondered if he didn’t understand this obvious logic.

Well, Glendi was a character who would willingly sacrifice his life for the empire.

Not as much as Prien, but he could be considered a case of his mind being somewhat poisoned by nationalism.

Realizing this, I chuckled, which only made Glendi retaliate.

“Company Commander! Are you laughing now? I didn’t want to mention this, but the soldiers are starting to doubt you! Because you are from the General Staff Headquarters, it’s being said that you are a coward who is avoiding battle!”

This was kind of good news.

The lower my evaluation fell, the less likely the General Staff Headquarters would assign me operational support.

Of course, I couldn’t say this outright, so I decided to deflect.

“When one is focused on the trees, they cannot see the forest. A person whose two eyes only pay attention to the trees will not understand even when you explain the forest to them. That’s your limitation, Corporal Glendi.”

“What in the world does that mean…?”

As Corporal Glendi looked baffled, Lieutenant McCall returned from his scouting.

He had completed the reconnaissance.

However, there was something peculiar about his flushed face.

Just as I was wondering what was going on, Lieutenant McCall approached me with a voice trembling with excitement.

“Company Commander! I-I found something! An enemy supply unit is preparing to camp! As far as I know, even the intelligence department has been unable to ascertain their supply route…! So you were circling around looking for this!”

…What is this? Why is the enemy supply unit here?

In the midst of my confusion, I saw a glint in Glendi’s eyes.

“Is that really true? Were you intentionally aiming for this…?”

Glendi’s previously disgruntled face turned into one of reverence.

“I’m sorry! I was rude!”

Watching the corporal bow his head as if seeking forgiveness left me dazed.

Things were turning strangely.

Just then, I locked eyes with Prien nearby.

Her gaze was filled with respect, which was quite burdensome.

Adding to that, the two squad leaders were looking at me as if I were some genius strategist.

It felt like I had crossed an irretrievable river.

If I ordered them not to attack the enemy here, these nationalistic lunatics might gang up on me and beat me up…

Desperate, I grabbed the brim of my uniform cap.

“Relay this to all troops.”

With my cap pulled down tightly, I let out a secret sigh and said.

“…Prepare to mop up the rats.”