I woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling and the first thing that came to mind was that things had gone awry.
At first, I thought it might have been a terrible dream, but when I turned my head and saw Roxanna Elrim, n*ked and using my arm as a pillow, there was no denying it.
“d*mn it… Even here, I can’t break this habit!”
During my active service, I had once slept with a female officer from the unit, which led to a verbal warning after it was discovered.
It was some kind of decorum violation.
Since I had just moved from a special unit to a regular field unit, I couldn’t come up with any excuses and got chewed out badly.
Although my senior colleagues from the intelligence unit said they understood how busy we were surviving day by day, the situation was quite different now.
Even though she had been the one to initiate things back then, we were both twenty-seven at the time.
A captain and a sergeant.
But a colonel and a captain? Doesn’t that sound odd?
Currently, I am twenty-six.
Roxanna is twenty-one.
The anger at having done something I couldn’t take responsibility for swirled in my head.
But getting angry now wouldn’t change anything.
I needed to think about what to do next.
“If I just keep quiet, maybe everything will work out? When Lumina Blue and I had a similar incident with the Rhinehardt Empire, it was just brushed off as a misunderstanding…”
No one would say anything if I had spent a night with Roxanna. I hadn’t suddenly pounced on her; it wasn’t like it was a serious crime for men and women to engage consensually.
Besides, I am the top boss in the 8th Paratroop Magic Infantry Battalion.
The Special Response Brigade wouldn’t make an issue of it either, and most importantly, if I don’t let it show, no one would notice.
At that moment,
I imagined the faces of the battalion members in front of me.
Upon reflection, the problem wasn’t me. The issue was that I had taken ‘Roxanna Elrim’s’ virginity.
She was the idol of the 8th Paratroop Magic Infantry Battalion and everyone’s daughter.
And if you consider that she is part of the aviation platoon, the situation becomes even more severe.
She is the beloved of the older male members of the aviation platoon, who are well over thirty years old.
Even if he were the battalion commander, they wouldn’t look at him kindly.
-Even so, sleeping with a twenty-one-year-old…
-Didn’t you wait until an accident happened before taking advantage of her?
-Contact the National Guard! Our battalion commander is a child molester!
-No, she’s not a child! Roxanna is definitely an adult!
-Disgraceful, Battalion Commander…
Although these weren’t actual words I heard, they felt like they could be real reactions.
Would it only be the aviation platoon?
-Battalion Commander… This… I don’t know how to put it… Could it be that you also looked at me with those eyes? A, a, a criminal!!
The contemptuous gaze of Lumina Blue.
-Hmm~ You held up well when I pushed, but I see Colonel Enok Revendale has his preferences. I won’t bring it up anymore. Oh, and please don’t get too close.
The cold Bella Meyer.
The feeling of countless gazes and overwhelming sadness washed over me.
“If I get caught, it really will be the end…!!”
I truly felt like crying. I wanted to smash my own head for the wild night we had last night.
But.
“Mmm… Battalion Commander Enok…”
“Guh.”
“I love you…”
Seeing Roxanna mumbling in her sleep while hugging herself tightly, all my other thoughts vanished instantly.
That’s right.
That was enough.
All I did was give her what she wanted.
Even if someone were to call it an excuse, there’s nothing I could say.
Even if I deny it now, it won’t change the fact. Actually, thinking such thoughts would be a great disrespect to Roxanna.
And now, I am stranded.
Regardless of whether I crossed the line or not yesterday, I had to contact my superiors immediately.
There was a village I saw while falling.
If we go there, we could at least communicate somehow.
‘I wonder how worried they must be… And today’s scheduled events are completely ruined.’
I always said I wanted to rest, but I never expected to rest like this.
“Then, I’ll go check on things, Roxanna.”
I stood up and covered Roxanna’s blanket again.
I stepped out of the hut.
Roxanna Elrim slowly woke up to the warm sunlight seeping through.
“Mmm…”
The empty space beside her. Enok Revendale, whom she had hugged tightly last night, seemed to have left. Probably to find a way to contact headquarters.
This was proven by the neatly folded dry clothes at her feet.
This was a thoughtful gesture. As Roxanna smiled slightly and reached for her clothes.
“Ah!?”
A throbbing pain in her lower abdomen felt like the soreness after intense exercise.
Looking down, although she couldn’t tell exactly, it seemed swollen.
Indeed.
When Erich von Richthofen’s limits were removed, he was indeed like an animal.
His past days of occasionally suffering from lower back pain as a lieutenant were gone, and Colonel Enok Revendale had continuously explored her body.
Roxanna, who had initially seduced him, eventually found herself completely exhausted and had to beg him to stop.
“Pervert Battalion Commander.”
Roxanna pressed her lower abdomen, muttering. She didn’t feel bad about it; rather, she felt satisfied.
Last night’s Enok was the image only she knew.
His hands that grabbed her wrist tightly and tormented her relentlessly.
The firm muscles felt through his arms.
The deep groans mixed with his low voice that penetrated her eardrums.
Most of all, the fullness inside her, that large—.
“Haa…”
Recalling the memories, Roxanna felt a rising sensation.
She hadn’t particularly been interested in this sort of thing, but it was all because of Enok.
Thump thump thump!
As she was about to lower her hand to her thigh, she was startled by the knock on the door and clutched the blanket tightly.
Could it be the owner of this hut?
The Battalion Commander isn’t here now… If they saw me like this…
It would definitely cause trouble. After a moment’s hesitation, she cautiously spoke.
“Who is it!?”
“It’s me, Roxanna.”
Fortunately, the voice belonged to Enok Revendale. She sighed in relief and stood up to open the door.
“The rescue team from the factory is here. Get changed and prepare yourself.”
“Okay.”
“…Surely you aren’t still in that state, right?”
“Oh, yes! I’ll change right away! Please wait a moment!”
In a hurry.
Roxanna quickly dressed and left the hut.
The sunlight reflecting off the lake shimmered beside the red aircraft and carriage parked nearby.
Just as abruptly as the sudden fire, the sweet and hot day had ended just as suddenly.
Captain Erich von Richthofen expressed his sincere regret over the incident and apologized to me genuinely.
He likely believed that turbulence occurred when the aircraft entered a cloud, causing overload on both the propulsion engine and the magic engine as they tried to stabilize the aircraft.
Given that this world had advanced magic, the design that tried to control the aircraft magically instead of flexibly handling it with pilot skill turned out to be a flaw.
In compensation, the Rhinehardt Empire decided not to charge for the lost aircraft.
The initial production of the Manfred Combat Aircraft was immediately halted.
After all, combat needed to continue even in turbulence.
With the investigation concluding the crash was due to aircraft malfunction, we safely returned to the 8th Paratroop Magic Infantry Battalion from the military factory in Biyaltock.
We later conducted inspections, but neither Roxanna nor I had any health issues.
Especially for Roxanna, timely magic replenishment prevented the situation from becoming severe.
My actions at that time were probably the best course.
Several days later,
While having a light drink with Major Claude in a bar set up in one corner of the battalion,
“Did you sleep with Roxanna that day?”
“Phew—! Cough, cough, cough!!”
“That’s correct.”
Without any prior warning, the shock hit hard. My nape felt numb. It felt like I was choking on beer.
“Sir, are you alright!?”
When I spat out the beer, the soldier on duty rushed over and hurriedly wiped the table and my clothes with a towel.
Before any unnecessary talk could start, it was better to dismiss the soldier.
I waved my hand to send the soldier away while coughing.
It would be better for me to clean up than for rumors to spread among the soldiers.
“Cough! Kheh, cough cough!!”
“There’s no need to worry. It’s likely only I know about it.”
Major Claude watched the soldier leave for a moment and then smiled at me.
“Cough! But how did you know, Sir!?”
“You’re not even denying it. Of course, if you ask directly like this, it’s obvious that lies won’t work.”
“Chief of Staff!”
“It’s the smell. I have a sensitive sense of smell. On the day we rescued you, your body smelled of Roxanna.”
“Is that possible?”
I was at a loss for words in response to such an absurd statement.
“Sometimes, when Captain passes by, there’s a unique scent… It’s a bit like baby powder. Anyway, it means that your body smells of Roxanna…”
“Alright, I understand. Please keep it a secret.”
“Haha, honestly, it’s good to see you again.”
Seeing me flustered, Claude burst out laughing and drank his beer in one gulp.
“In the battlefield, such things happen often. My wife and I also met in a similar way.”
“Really? I had no idea.”
“But you should be careful. There are many women targeting the Battalion Commander.”
“What?”
“Haha, ignore that.”
The major was clearly teasing me. Still, he kept his mouth shut, which was a relief.
“By the way, I heard you plan to attend the birthday celebration of His Highness the Co-King.”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Lanister asked me to tell you to be careful. If you’re still uneasy, how about I join you?”
That’s already next month.
Considering it’s the Co-King’s birthday, people from all over the country will gather. Of course, there will be significant military personnel among them.
And there’s also a military parade planned, similar to a victory celebration.
Isn’t this a perfect excuse for moving troops for ‘unfavorable’ purposes?
“If Major Claude joins us, they will surely start to be wary. Our goal is to maintain all our forces and command intact while suppressing the opposing forces. Bringing in additional force might cause instability not only to His Highness the Co-King but to the entire nation.”
When I calmly stated this, the major nodded.
“If that’s the Battalion Commander’s wish, then so be it.”
“Major Claude, when the operation begins, follow my instructions as discussed.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve already thoroughly educated my subordinates about it for weeks.”
Fizz fizz fizz.
Half of the beer’s foam was slowly dissipating.
Soon, the true beer without foam will appear.
Time is slipping away.
I’ve done all I can and the work is almost complete.
Now, it’s up to fate.
