Before I even had time to gather my thoughts, I was forced to drop the letter I had been writing, grab my gear, and head out.
According to the company commander’s explanation, we had been cut off from outside news, but apparently, before ascending to the throne, the newly crowned emperor had been embroiled in a power struggle between himself and the Second Prince.
During that struggle, the Second Prince had attempted to eliminate the Crown Prince but was ultimately purged. As a result, that insufferable man I had seen before had risen to the throne as the victor.
"So he did have some male lead elements after all."
When I saw the emperor again, he seemed different from when he was still the Crown Prince. I couldn't help but think his personality had shifted in a way that felt straight out of a romance fantasy. After experiencing such dark, novel-like events, it was no wonder his personality had changed.
And now, the remaining forces loyal to the Second Prince were still being hunted down.
"But why the hell are we being dragged into this?"
I never imagined that the ominous feeling I had during our last training session would lead to something like this.
I wasn’t sure what the reasoning was, but perhaps the imperial forces needed the combat style of the Arkons for this operation. The empire had selected several units from the Border Defense Army with decent marksmanship and deployed them for the purge. And, of course, our Snowy Mountain Battalion was among them.
Naturally, being forced into some sudden external operation was a nightmare, but there was at least one small silver lining.
If our shooting skills were the main criteria for selection, then the Cledore Mountain Battalion, which included Aquila, had to be here as well. After all, Aquila had demonstrated an exceptional shooting ability during the last training session.
Ishina had also done well, so there was a good chance his unit had been deployed too. That meant I could see them again. It was a shame I wouldn’t get to see Karon, though.
"Wait a minute—what if Karon is here too?"
Since our entire Snowy Mountain Battalion was being deployed, it looked like they were mobilizing on a battalion level.
Among the units that had attended that firearms training, there had been another platoon from the same battalion as Karon. If their marksmanship had been deemed good enough, then there was a chance Karon would be here too.
So, just in case, I brought the necklace—his father's keepsake—with me. I could have sent it in a letter, but there was always a risk of it getting lost. Right now was the perfect opportunity to return it.
And with that, we armed ourselves and began moving ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) toward the mission site. Our new rifles were to be issued upon arrival.
"Salvia, what the hell is this about?"
The operations officer, Red, grumbled at me.
"Beats me. Not even in my time here have I seen something like this."
"They really are throwing us into all sorts of messes these days. Ugh."
The more we talked, the more uneasy I felt.
Because if they were throwing us into all sorts of tasks, it meant the nation was desperate for manpower. And instability.
Normally, the empire assigned us tasks that were dangerous for them but doable for us—like monster extermination—or tedious but labor-intensive civilian support. They never involved us in internal affairs like ‘suppressing the Second Prince’s forces.’
After all, to them, we were a dangerous existence.
But if they were giving us this kind of mission now, it meant they were running out of people to do it.
Where had all their usual forces gone?
I hoped I was just being paranoid, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen to the empire.
And so, we continued our march, complaining about the government the whole way—until we finally arrived at our destination.
"Squad, halt!"
Several units that had arrived earlier were already waiting near the barracks. I quickly scanned the area but couldn’t spot Aquila or Ishina. Karon was also nowhere in sight.
"Don’t tell me I’m the only one who got sent here."
In the end, we were ordered to sit down on the dirt and wait.
Waiting. And more waiting.
Yeah, that’s how it was for low-ranking soldiers like us. Just follow orders and wait.
Soon, the officers came around, distributing rifles to each of us.
Back in the day, I would have been a nervous wreck, worried that an accident would happen the moment we got our guns.
"But Patty, Matty, and Dalin aren’t here."
If they had been, Aquila, Ishina, and I would have been forced to keep an eye on them, while Jason would be somewhere in the middle, crying.
Luckily, there weren’t any idiots in the Snowy Mountain Battalion who would accidentally discharge their rifles and hit a fellow soldier. That alone was a relief.
"Can the Snowy Mountain Battalion’s operations officer come forward?"
"Yes, sir!"
I exchanged glances with Red, then groaned as I stood up.
We were led into the barracks, where officers from the various assembled units were gathered.
But no matter how much I looked around, I didn’t recognize anyone.
"Did we really get sent here alone?"
How the hell had this happened? I had thought Aquila and I had pretty good luck when it came to meeting each other again. Then again, when had my life ever been lucky?
With no choice but to accept it, I resigned myself to listening to the briefing.
The reason we had been called into the barracks was simple—to receive today’s mission orders.
"Alright, we’re going to attack the Second Prince’s camp."
I had a bad feeling about this.
This sounded way more serious and dangerous than I had anticipated. Judging by the tense expressions of the other seasoned officers, they had also caught on.
"The remnants of the Second Prince’s forces have been using these mountains as their base for a while now. Our job is to wipe them out."
But the more they explained, the less sense it made.
There were a lot of Border Defense Army soldiers here, and we were all strong, but...
"Why the hell are we the ones doing this?"
We were the Border Defense Army. Our job was to fight monsters invading from beyond the border.
Internal military operations like this were supposed to be handled by other forces.
The Capital Defense Army or special imperial units made up of actual imperial citizens should be taking care of this.
So why the hell were we being deployed instead?
Of course, I couldn’t exactly question our orders. So for now, I just listened.
"We’re not launching a full assault on their base just yet," the officer continued. "Most of us in the Border Defense Army are good at mountain warfare, but this is their territory. They know the terrain better than we do, and we don’t know what traps they might have set up.
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So tonight, we’ll be attacking here first."
The officer used his pointer to mark a specific location on the map.
“This is where they store their food and weapons. Our mission is to attack and destroy this supply depot. After that, other units will encircle the mountain range, cutting off their escape routes before tightening the noose around them. The encirclement is already assigned to another division—you only need to focus on destroying the depot.”
Ah. No wonder I hadn’t seen any familiar faces. They must have been assigned to the encirclement unit instead.
The officer then continued, explaining the details of the mission, emergency protocols, and contingency plans.
"That concludes the briefing. Any questions?"
The moment he opened the floor for questions, I raised my hand.
"You. What do you want to ask?"
Back in the day, I would have been too scared to draw attention to myself, too busy trying to avoid getting on the higher-ups’ bad side.
But I had been through hell and back in this place. And for the record, that’s not just a figure of speech—I had literally fought monsters in both mountains and rivers.
So, without hesitation, I spoke up in a clear voice.
"As far as I know, special operations like this are typically handled by the Special Defense Command. Why were we given this mission instead? I understand that this task contributes to the nation, but does it specifically require our abilities as heterosapiens?"
Of course, I was careful with my wording. As much as I wanted to complain outright, I wasn’t stupid enough to do so.
Even so, despite my best efforts, the officer shot me an irritated look. But since there wasn’t anything he could nitpick, he answered without making a fuss.
"This operation must be carried out in complete secrecy so that word doesn’t reach the Second Prince’s forces. And unlike other units, the Border Defense Army doesn’t have to worry about spies from their faction."
"Oh."
The Second Prince’s army had once been a formidable force. It wasn’t surprising that they had spies embedded everywhere.
But that wasn’t a concern for us.
No matter what kind of political schemes unfolded within the empire, the Arkons had nothing to do with it.
It seemed it was finally time to begin the mission.
The officer continued to drone on, mostly repeating the usual nonsense about "guiding our subordinates well."
BANG!
“Apologies for being late!”
Just then, the entrance flaps of the barracks burst open, and several officers rushed inside.
"Ah, is this the unit that had trouble moving?"
"Yes, sir!"
I didn’t recognize any of their voices, so I didn’t bother turning around. Instead, I stayed focused on the map.
"The briefing is already over... but I suppose their officers can fill them in later. Prepare for deployment."
With those recklessly irresponsible words, the officer left, and the remaining officers exchanged weary looks before shrugging.
Typical Border Defense Army nonsense.
"Sigh..."
As the other officers began to exit the barracks, I followed suit.
That was when I heard someone call out—
“Salvia!”
Before I could react, something slammed into me.
“Ugh! H-hey! What the hell—?!”
I gasped, struggling against the heavy weight pinning me down.
I shoved at it a few times, and finally, it let go.
"What in the...?"
I lifted my head, ready to curse out whoever just tackled me—
But the moment I saw the person’s face, all I could do was stare in disbelief and whisper his name.
“...Karon?”
Curly brown hair. Soft brown eyes. A bright, gentle face.
Tall.
Yes, it was definitely Karon.
But he had grown. A lot.
Sure, Karon had always been taller than me. He had always been one of the strongest and most physically resilient people in our unit.
But now?
Now, he was the tallest and most broad-shouldered among the four original male leads.
He had grown an entire head taller, and his shoulders and chest had broadened so much that it felt unfamiliar.
"K-Karon...? Is that really you?"
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him in over a year.
If he was still in his growth phase, this was possible.
But... I had thought he was already done growing.
Even back then, he wasn’t small.
Now, there was no way I’d be able to hug him like I used to.
If he so much as leaned on me, I’d be flattened.
I stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and confusion.
Karon lowered his head to look down at me.
I had to tilt my head back quite a bit just to meet his eyes.
And as our gazes locked—
Karon slowly blinked, his long eyelashes fluttering with the movement.