Chapter 40: Before The War: Inner Reflection (4)
In the real world, there was a TV show during my kindergarten days where viewers would send in queries, and the show would conduct experiments to answer them regardless of the nature of the questions.
Whether cola with mentos could fly like a water rocket, whether a person could swim across the Han River, whether jjajangmyeon was available for delivery via a bus, etc.
It was a show that satisfied all kinds of curiosity. Still, the most memorable experiment for me was when they tested if ordinary citizens would comply if someone impersonating a police officer made unusual requests like doing push-ups.
As a kindergarten kid, I just watched and laughed, but thinking about it now, it was a remarkable development. Most people complied without protest with the instructions from the pseudo-police and did things like spread their arms and hop around.
What if, in a world where the authorities of the higher-ups were really strong due to the hierarchical system?
By utilizing the circumstances of war and the weapon of status effectively, it would be possible to trick the Chekovia guys in a fantastic way.
While I was organizing my thoughts, a soldier who was scouting on horseback at a distance about an hour ahead of the main detachment returned and reported.
“Lieutenant, there is a Sylph village about an hour away on foot from here.”
Hearing this, I immediately ordered the detachment to stop.
“Everyone, dismount from your horses except for Lieutenant Werner and me. From now on, we will disguise ourselves as a food conscription unit belonging to Chekovia, and the horses you are riding right now will be used to pull carts. Act boldly, and there should be no risk of us being exposed, so go about it with a steadfast face.”
Following that, we began acting as a unit belonging to Chekovia, and at the village entrance, we approached the men who were standing idly on guard.
“I am Marek Novotny, a lieutenant of the 7th Division Supply Unit of the Chekovia Republic Army! We came to conscript food for the shortage while intercepting the Reich Empire army invading Bisochea. Lead us to where the village chief is!”
Hearing this, the men sighed reluctantly but led us without any doubts.
“Understood, Lieutenant. Please follow me.”
“Lead us quickly. We are in a hurry.”
After reaching the village chief’s house with the man’s guidance, a man with white hair and wearing relatively clean clothes made of fabric appeared.
He knelt down as soon as he saw us and asked very cautiously.
“I heard you are from the supply unit. But according to what we received a few months ago, there is still some time left for conscription…”
If the people from Chekovia weren’t fools, they would have naturally notified them about the conscription period while forming a large army.
Hence, the village chief was inevitably suspicious of me for appearing much earlier than the scheduled time.
So, there was a chance of us being exposed, but I had dozens of fake certificates made in the format of Chekovia’s official documents.
But before showing those, I spoke as if testing the waters.
“I understand the surprise. However, the situation isn’t favorable. It’s not that the great Chekovia army is losing, but the malicious Reich Empire army is likely to invade faster than expected. So, instructions were given to prepare food in advance in case the war happens sooner.”
Hearing this, the village chief nodded slightly, easing his suspicion.
“Is that so? Then can you give us some certificates? Without them, there could be problems when conscripted…”
It would be unimaginable for a mere village chief to mention ‘the possibility of a problem’ to a noble lieutenant.
However, supply issues during war were not to be taken lightly, so his request for issuing a conscription certificate was extremely natural. Not fulfilling this could raise suspicion.
So, I showed him one of the fake certificates I had, made in the format of Chekovia’s official documents.
“Here’s the document. Verify it.”
“Thank you.”
After a while, the village chief seemed to believe that the document I showed him was real and apologized sincerely.
“I’m sorry. Even though this is important, I shouldn’t have doubted a lieutenant.”
“No. Being sure is better for both parties. So, how much food has been prepared? Also, we couldn’t bring carts with us, so we want to borrow carts or wagons from the village. Is that possible?”
Hearing this, the village chief looked at me with suspicion once more, but he honestly answered as he couldn’t object further to me leveraging the power of authority.
“Originally, we intended to provide fresh meat and bread, including sheep and pigs. Usually, the manager contacts us in advance before the conscription officer comes directly so that we can prepare, but as you know, this case is… Anyway, what we can provide now is 2 tons of flour, 2 tons of barley flour, and food like cheese, salted meat, and sausages we prepared for winter. If all the wagons in the village are mobilized, they can carry all of them, so we’ll lend them. Just properly record in the certificate…”
I was a soldier of the Reich Empire, not from Chekovia, and the certificate was also fake, but I could write as much as the village chief wanted.
I could plainly write it down in my heart, imagining the Chekovia soldiers who would be starving due to the lack of food.
Thus, with a joyful heart, considering those soldiers, I wrote down the supplies we took on the certificate for the village chief and handed it over to him.
“Is this sufficient now? I will support my soldiers, so you mobilize the villagers to load the prepared food.”
“Understood. Are you planning to stay here tonight?”
Staying here for a night would not arouse suspicion from the village chief, who had already seen my certificates.
However, lies could be exposed anytime, anywhere, and it was crucial to be cautious. Furthermore, utilizing this time to visit one more village and disguise as an enemy officer to collect food was essential.
“I’ll only accept the thought. Instead, please hurry.”
The village chief, probably not wanting me and the soldiers to stay in the village, brightened up a bit when I said we would leave soon.
“As you command.”
Thus, the villagers of Sylph Village and the soldiers of the detachment loaded about 6 tons of food onto ten carts over approximately 2 hours.
Despite deceiving the village chief and others perfectly, I was still inwardly anxious about being exposed.
However, in the end, we managed to sneak away without revealing our identities to the farmers and successfully obtained enough food to feed 50,000 soldiers for a day in one sweep.
About three hours after leaving the village.
The soldiers of the detachment started to chat in cheerful voices, probably thinking there was no risk of being exposed now.
“Sergeant Lail, did we really swipe all that?”
“Can’t you believe what you saw? Where does it hurt? You’re doubting too much for a rookie.”
“Today, we can fill our bellies after a long time. Though there is no beef or pork, there are plenty of sausages and cheeses… Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.”
Observing this, the other officers and Laura wanted to remind them that this was enemy territory and asked them to quiet down. However, considering the stressed and exhausted soldiers, I stopped the officers from doing so and spoke loudly.
“Attention everyone!”
Then all attention focused on me.
“Considering your hard work, the battalion commander decided to rest here until nightfall instead of marching further today. What do you all think?”
Both the officers and soldiers expressed their passionate agreement through their eyes.
“Good. Then enjoy the food that was generously given by Lord Chekovia tonight! However, since we also have to do this in other villages tomorrow, do not drink alcohol. Understood?”
The soldiers and officers replied in unison.
“Yes, understood!”
“Good, then everyone, gather wood and leaves from the surroundings. Let’s light a fire with magic and eat and drink to our heart’s content!”
Then we rested, ate, and drank abundantly, just as I had instructed for the day.
We also fed the horses with barley so they could replenish their strength.
And before leaving the next day, we burned all the food we had brought with the wagons and resumed the forced march.
Calculating the enemy’s marching speed, we repeated the process of raiding villages for food, rested, and burned our traces.
In this way, we successfully raided nine villages, though it was a bit of a stretch.
In the last village, we conscripted not only food but also oil in preparation for some interesting pranks.
One of the detachment soldiers whom I sent for patrol came back to report.
“Report! The enemy’s vanguard is about an hour away from us!”
It’s now time to start the prank.
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