"If there's more than one thing bothering you, then just take care of them all."
"That's the problem—each one is already a headache on its own...."
As Aquila and I were exchanging this utterly meaningless conversation, Ishina, who had been silently listening behind us, suddenly spoke up.
"Salvia, whatever it is you're thinking about, you really need to learn some patience."
"Patience? Haven't I already developed plenty of that just by being in the Border Defense Army?"
"If you could cut the number of times you cuss out your juniors by half—"
"Hey, but those bastards started it firs—"
"How about, for once, you actually listen to what someone else has to say?"
"...Yes, sir."
I was about to brush him off, expecting yet another one of his lectures, but then something clicked in my head.
"Listen to what others have to say...?"
There was no need to overcomplicate things. If I wanted to change this entire system, I just had to destroy the magical contract binding us. Once that was gone, the foundation of the Border Defense Army would crumble.
And the ones tied to that contract were the imperial family and the black magicians. The two groups that I found the most irritating.
Which meant that, while I had no idea how to actually break that magic...
I just had to storm the imperial palace!
Either by cutting off the emperor’s head or by threatening to do so until he lifted the spell—whatever it took! The emperor had to know how to undo it!
"If I get the method straight from the emperor himself, problem solved!"
"Wow! Ishina, you're amazing! A true idea bank!"
"...Wait. What? Why? And what the hell do you mean by 'idea bank'?"
"Thank you! You've really helped me!"
I had assumed that, with how busy he was these days, Ishina had toned down his shady mastermind tendencies. But no, clearly, a person’s core nature doesn’t change that easily. No matter how much I schemed, I could never outdo the original shady genius.
"Another valuable lesson learned today. I’ll strive for even greater improvement."
"At this point, I’m not sure if I should even play along with your nonsense anymore."
Alright. Post-discharge plans? Settled.
As Ishina suggested, the moment I was free from service, I would head straight for the imperial palace, corner the emperor, and either interrogate him or take his damn head. One way or another, I was going to hear what he had to say.
"...Salvia? You’re not thinking of something dangerous, are you? Your eyes look weird. Normally, I’d go along with whatever, but this is making me a little nervous."
"Fighting monsters in the Border Defense Army is way more dangerous!"
"No, seriously, what could be worse than that? What the hell are you even planning—?"
As Ishina stood there, visibly thrown off, Aquila suddenly gripped my hand with more determination than ever before.
"Salvia. Whatever you're planning, I'll do it with you. You don’t have to worry."
"Aquila...! I’m touched. But do you know anything about the imperial palace's layout? Or do you have connections there?"
"No, but I'll figure something out."
"What the hell? Why are we suddenly talking about the imperial palace? Salvia, what exactly are you planning?!"
Ishina was looking even more alarmed now, but I felt completely satisfied. I had come up with the perfect plan.
Yes. The moment I’m discharged...
I’m marching straight into the imperial palace.
***
Days Until Discharge: 1,184.
"That could easily be mistaken as a violation of military law."
I had been talking to Aquila about some ridiculous mistake a junior recruit from another platoon had made when I heard a familiar voice. The moment I recognized it, I lifted my head with a weary expression.
And, of course, I was right. Winter was standing before us, looking down at us with those perpetually cold eyes.
"Again?"
Even with less than three months left until discharge, Winter was still following us around, making sure we didn’t break any regulations.
One of his most common lectures was about ‘avoiding behavior that could be misconstrued as inappropriate fraternization with the opposite sex.’
"Oh, welcome~."
Rather than showing my displeasure, I greeted him with an overly bright smile.
"As I’ve told you forty-seven times already, you should maintain a proper distance to avoid misunderstandings."
"Oh, we were just discussing some issues with the junior recruits. Proper platoon management is essential, after all. By the way, Winter, your discharge date is coming up, isn’t it?"
I smoothly shifted the topic to his discharge.
Anyone with normal cognitive abilities in the Border Defense Army would react instinctively with joy when reminded of how soon they were getting out.
Sure enough, the moment I said "discharge," Winter’s expression softened ever so slightly.
"Yes, 89 days left."
"Wow, congratulations! I’m really jealous. I’d love to get you a discharge gift, but there’s nothing I can really prepare here. Such a shame."
This was a trick I picked up from Altair.
Since Altair lacked social skills, he made up for it by constantly buttering up his seniors. Watching him, I learned well. And judging by how Winter was no longer scolding us, it seemed to be working.
‘Yep, you can get by in the military just by following Altair’s example.’
Sucking up to seniors, acting like a complete hardass to juniors, and keeping a low profile among your peers—that was the key to survival. Altair had mastered the art, and I was grateful for the lessons.
"Yeah, it’s almost time."
Winter spoke in a weighty tone.
"Discharge...."
Then, Aquila suddenly spoke up.
"Congratulations on your discharge."
I blinked in surprise, glancing between Aquila and Winter. What was up with him? Normally, Aquila and Winter acted like they couldn’t stand each other.
But since I was the person who knew Aquila best in this unit, I could immediately recognize the sincerity in his voice.
'Whoa. He’s genuinely happy for him.'
Well, I guess even if you don’t like someone, you can still sincerely congratulate them on their discharge. If Jaiden were getting discharged, I’d congratulate him too—with all my heart.
Meanwhile, Winter looked down at Aquila with an unimpressed expression.
"...I don’t know."
His voice was slow and deliberate.
"To be honest, discharge isn’t entirely something to celebrate. Because once I leave, I’ll be losing something."
"...What?"
A soldier who doesn’t look forward to discharge? What kind of absolute nonsense was that?
It was a statement that shouldn't exist, but, incredibly, Winter looked completely serious. He glanced between me and Aquila as if he had something to say, then pressed his lips together, his expression clouded with deep contemplation.
On the other hand, Aquila’s face was visibly brightening.
Tadadak—!
The awkward silence was broken by the sound of someone running toward us. It was the junior, Jina.
"Uh, um, I have an announcement...."
She was probably looking for Winter. When our eyes met, she flinched but quickly turned her head away and addressed him.
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
“There’s an external deployment coming up, and only one platoon needs to be sent. The company commander said to just settle it with rock-paper-scissors....”
"Are you not going to stand at attention when speaking to a senior?"
"S-sorry!"
I glared at Jina, preparing to scold her, but Winter didn’t seem to care. So, for now, I set aside the important task of berating my junior.
"Alright, got it. I’ll take care of it now."
"Yes, sir."
"Did they mention any details about the deployment?"
"It's related to capturing a black magician. The mission will take place in Karban."
"Karban?"
Winter’s voice held a trace of interest as he repeated the name.
"Did they specify which area in Karban?"
"I think they mentioned Egott Village...? But I’m not completely sure...."
"You're not sure? Speak clearly."
"S-sorry!"
Helping juniors avoid making mistakes under Winter’s scrutiny—what a great senior I am.
‘But wait....’
I tapped Aquila’s arm with my finger.
"Where’s Karban?"
I barely knew where the orphanage I grew up in was, so there was no way I’d know place names in this world.
Aquila was already used to my ignorance, so he answered smoothly.
"It's the closest imperial city to our unit. It has a long history, known for its scholarly traditions and many noble families."
"Ohh. What about Egott?"
"It’s just one of the villages within Karban."
"Mm, got it."
At that moment, Winter firmly gave an order to Jina.
"There’s no need for rock-paper-scissors. Our platoon will volunteer for this mission."
"...What?"
My eyes widened at his words.
Sure, external deployments meant fresh air, and if we were lucky, we could buy supplies or even eat non-rations. But let’s be real—it was a hassle.
I had been deployed a few times, and at this point, I was over it. I was perfectly content staying on base, standing guard, and rotting in boredom.
‘Why the hell would he volunteer for something so annoying?’
But since Winter was always right about these things, I didn’t bother questioning him.
"Pick up your damn feet when you walk properly."
"S-sorry...."
"How many times are you going to say 'sorry'?"
After diligently mentoring my juniors as the model Senior Private that I was, we finally arrived at Egott Village.
And what awaited us there were unexpectedly familiar faces.
"Wait, isn’t that Altair and Yuri?"
"Yes, sir, I believe so!"
Karon, beside me, nodded enthusiastically, confirming that my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
Several squads had already arrived in the village, and among them were Altair and Yuri.
I had already run into Altair on a previous external deployment, but Yuri—this was the first time I’d seen her since she got promoted. I assumed I’d never run into her again since she was so close to discharge, but here we were.
...Wait.
If Winter knew, was this really a coincidence?
"Winter, sir, did you... already know this would happen?"
"Considering the nature of a black magic investigation, the fact that only one platoon from our unit was sent suggests that ample manpower had already been deployed from other units. Based on the location of nearby divisions, the probability of—"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Wow, amazing."
I half-heartedly praised him, then turned my attention to Altair and Yuri.
They had already noticed our arrival and were subtly breaking away from their respective units to approach us.
"Altair! Yuri!"
Altair flashed his signature confident grin, while Yuri, with her long black hair tied up high, maintained a cold, unreadable expression—just like Winter.
In other words, neither of them had changed one bit.
"Hey, I didn’t expect to see you all here! I thought I’d be discharging in isolation."
Altair greeted us with his usual cheerful tone.
"And I never expected to run into these annoying idiots here. It’s been a while."
Yuri’s voice was cool, minty, and icy as ever.
Yuri had always been like this, but this time, she really didn’t look thrilled to see us. If anything, she looked... exhausted.
‘She looks seriously tired.’
"How many external deployments have you been on? You look like you're about to drop."
"Ugh, it’s been like one per month. It’s killing me."
"Oh, your unit's been getting sent out often?"
"Yeah. Every damn month, like clockwork."
Our unit wasn’t being deployed that frequently, but apparently, Yuri’s unit had to constantly go out.
As Yuri scowled deeply, radiating exhaustion, Altair stepped in, seemingly trying to comfort her by explaining.
"From what I’ve heard, the Black Magic Investigation Special Forces has been dealing with a lot of issues lately. There’s some major restructuring going on."
"...Restructuring?"
"Yeah. Normally, these black magician arrests are their job. But lately, their higher-ups keep purging people left and right, so the whole unit is in chaos."
"A corrupt unit like that suddenly reforming?"
"Right? It's pretty weird. Anyway, that’s why we’ve been stuck doing their job."
As I listened to Altair’s explanation, a certain person’s face flashed through my mind.
April.
Ah. The memories were coming back....
"By the time you get there, the Black Magic Investigation Special Forces will be a much better place."
Wait. Hold on.
Wasn’t this... exactly what April had been talking about?
No. No way.
There’s no way she single-handedly spearheaded a military reformation.
...Right?