“Blair, Topio.”
When El called out their names, I immediately lowered my head to the ground.
“Aren’t you taking care of your juniors?”
“Sir El, it’s just that...”
Topio stammered, his voice trembling.
“It’s because we also... uh...”
“Oh, for crying out loud!”
El let out a sigh, clearly frustrated. He had already deduced from Topio’s hesitation that this wasn’t the first time they’d been involved in insubordination against both recruits and privates. His face reflected how much of a headache this was.
Realizing this wasn’t something that could simply be left to juniors to handle, El’s eyes turned sharp as he glared directly at Sanchez.
Behind him, Sergeants Dream and Carrot stood with equally incredulous expressions. Dream spoke in a drained, exasperated tone.
“Hey, didn’t you say you don’t listen to people weaker than you? So, what happens if we’re stronger than you? Will you listen to us then?”
“...I’m not sure if I can beat you, but if you win, I’ll listen to whoever beats me.”
“Whoever beats you?”
El’s face turned pale at the audacity of Sanchez’s response. The term he used to refer to his seniors was wildly inappropriate, and it was clear he didn’t see them as authority figures.
“For God’s sake, I’ve seen all kinds of people, but this... this is on another level.”
The normally timid Carrot seemed visibly shaken by Sanchez. He avoided making eye contact with him and instead spoke to El.
“We need to handle this ourselves before it escalates to the higher-ups.”
“...That’s correct. Especially before the commanding officers catch wind of this.”
Still staring at the ground, I couldn’t help but feel a gnawing sense of unease.
From the sound of their conversation, they intended to subdue Sanchez by force. But I wasn’t sure if they could actually pull it off.
Sure, the seniors had the experience and skills earned from years of training and combat against monsters. But a fight between humans was a whole different matter.
Just look at Sanchez’s hulking muscles. One punch from him, and I’d be sent flying. And on top of that, Sanchez was incredibly skilled in swordsmanship. One swing of his blade, and he could knock others’ swords out of their hands with ease.
Despite my doubts, the sergeants had already decided among themselves. Soon enough, Dream stepped forward.
‘Oh no. They’re really going to fight him, aren’t they?’
Dream was the strongest among them, so there was no doubt they were planning a bare-knuckle fight.
“Hey, if you’re so tough, let’s take off the ranks and settle this with our fists.”
What the...!
Dream actually said it. He challenged Sanchez directly.
The moment those words left his mouth, I couldn’t help but lift my head in disbelief. Around me, other juniors looked equally stunned, exchanging bewildered glances.
‘What on earth is happening?’
‘I have no idea...’
Benny, in particular, seemed completely lost about what was unfolding. She even lightly slapped her own cheeks, as if trying to wake herself from a bad dream.
Unfortunately for her, this wasn’t a dream. It was reality. And Benny, as a fellow junior, was now caught in the middle of an absolute disaster.
For some reason, I suddenly felt grateful that my junior buddy was Karon. I decided then and there to give Karon a bit more attention from now on. Maybe even applaud him every time he finished a task.
Anyway, Dream and Sanchez were now standing face-to-face, glaring at each other. It was clear they were about to fight. Sanchez’s clenched fists looked especially menacing.
With all of us juniors watching anxiously, the fight began. Dream and Sanchez really went at it, barehanded.
“Ah...”
A moment later, all of us collectively lowered our heads to the ground as if we hadn’t seen a thing.
All I could say about the outcome of that fight was this:
Sanchez was unbelievably strong.
***
The situation had just gotten worse.
Though Dream had been the one to suggest "taking off the ranks and settling it," Sanchez had overpowered him with his fists.
While we could rationalize it with, “Well, he agreed to it,” the company officers would find this explanation absurd. They would see it as insubordination on Sanchez’s part and punish him accordingly.
Regardless of who ended up being punished, the company as a whole was bound to be thrown into chaos.
‘What would April have done in this situation?’
Then again, even April wouldn’t have been able to subdue Sanchez by force. Instead, she would have unleashed her wrath on her senior soldiers, blaming them for their failure.
The thought of April reminded me of Leon and Brave—the so-called experts in "violence and fear." After enduring April’s temper, they would’ve whipped Sanchez into shape and successfully brought him under control.
But they were long gone, promoted to commanding officers and stationed elsewhere.
‘I miss the old seniors....’
April, the crazy genius who somehow managed to keep the platoon in order. Louise, the only person who could calm April down, even if just a little. Leon and Brave, who ruled with an iron fist and instilled fear in their juniors. Plato, the meticulous trainer who treated recruits fairly.
Only after they left did I realize just how valuable they were.
Now, Dream stood dazed with a bruised eye, supported by Carrot and El, while Sanchez looked victorious, his expression smug.
Then, a familiar voice cut through the tense atmosphere.
“...What is going on here?”
Yuri’s icy voice rang out, her sharp tone cutting through the chaos.
She surveyed the scene with cold eyes, glancing between Sanchez and the bruised Dream, before motioning to Carrot with a flick of her finger. Carrot quickly ran over to her.
“Explain. Now.”
“Well, it’s just that...”
After a brief, stammering explanation from Carrot, Yuri let out a sigh of disbelief.
“You couldn’t even manage one rookie and ended up like this? In front of your juniors? How pathetic.”
Her anger seemed directed at Dream for showing such an embarrassing display in front of the recruits. With another flick of her fingers, she gave an order, and soon Dream, Carrot, and El were bowing their heads to the ground.
The tension was palpable. The situation was spiraling out of control.
‘Can Yuri handle this?’
Yuri strode toward Sanchez with her usual cold expression. Although she was tall for a woman, she looked almost small standing in front of Sanchez’s massive frame.
“Rookie,” she said in an even, measured tone. “If you’re so dissatisfied, why don’t you go to the company commander and request a transfer to a different unit?”
Would Yuri be able to make Sanchez submit? My gaze darted nervously between them.
“If you only want to listen to people stronger than you, go ahead and tell the commander that. He’ll happily transfer you to a tougher special forces unit.”
‘There’s a unit tougher than this one?’
That sounded like utter nonsense. Wasn’t that logically impossible?
As I anxiously awaited Sanchez’s response, he finally opened his mouth.
“I don’t want to fight.”
‘What?’
His curt reply left everyone confused. It was hard to grasp his intentions.
“If we’re just going to lose anyway, I’d prefer it if no one challenged me to a fight in the first place.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Yuri’s harsh words spilled out instinctively.
At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to escape this place.
‘Is this real? Sanchez just brushed off Yuri?’
I remembered how intimidating Yuri had seemed when I first met her—her tall, athletic frame, her perpetually cold and stern expression, and her unmatched skills during training. She was objectively scarier and more physically imposing than both April and me.
For Sanchez to dismiss her was probably a first for Yuri. And seeing Yuri brushed aside like this was equally shocking for me.
I wished I could just smash my head into the ground, black out, and wake up to find all of this resolved.
Yuri’s gaze burned with fury as she glared at Sanchez, a frigid aura emanating from her. This situation was completely out of control. As expected of a member of the Cool Mint Ice Class 78.
I’d once asked Aquila if he thought he could beat Sanchez, but now even getting Aquila involved seemed tricky. It would be awkward for him to intervene when a senior of a higher rank had already been disrespected.
‘Where is this even going?’
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Then again, this was the same military where Taro had shot Winter with a paralyzing needle during a sparring match with the Crown Prince. This was a madhouse.
As I resigned myself to the madness, with the other juniors pretending they neither saw nor heard anything, Yuri stood fuming, and Sanchez loomed with his rugged confidence, a casual voice interrupted the standoff.
“Hey, Yuri~. What’s taking you so long?”
That laid-back voice belonged to none other than Altair. Hands in his pockets, he strolled over lazily, calling for Yuri.
“What’s this?”
As he got closer, his face shifted to a more serious expression, realizing something was amiss. He glanced around at the baffled juniors, the seniors bowing their heads to the ground, and Yuri facing off against Sanchez.
“...Why do you look like that?”
Noticing Yuri’s expression, he seemed genuinely surprised. Yuri rarely lost her composure.
“...What happened?”
Altair casually draped an arm over Yuri’s shoulder, pulling her away from Sanchez to create some distance between them.
But as soon as I saw Altair’s face, I knew.
His bright blue hair and eyes, pale skin, and fresh, energetic demeanor stood in stark contrast to Sanchez’s macho, rugged features.
Altair wasn’t just part of Alpha Platoon—he was the most alpha human in the entire 18th Company.
And today, Altair wasn’t just Altair. He had transformed into "Grandfather Altair," the ultimate senior authority figure.
***
Altair told Yuri to wait and led Sanchez away.
A short while later, he returned with his arm casually draped over Sanchez’s shoulder, wearing his usual cheerful smile.
‘...What?’
Sanchez, who had been exuding defiance earlier, now looked visibly nervous.
“Alright, Sanchez,” Altair said with a bright smile, patting Sanchez on the shoulder. “Apologize for being rude.”
Before any of us could process what was happening, Sanchez spoke with uncharacteristic politeness.
“I’m sorry.”
‘...What?’
I blinked in disbelief, but Sanchez continued, bowing deeply as he apologized to everyone present.
With a subtle glance from Altair, Sanchez turned toward the senior soldiers and added, “I sincerely apologize for my rudeness. I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”
‘Wait... He knows how to string proper sentences together?’
Just moments ago, he was all curt and dismissive. But now he was speaking coherently. Then again, in the world of romance fantasy, curt and rude speech was usually reserved for male leads.
Yuri looked suspiciously between Altair and Sanchez, but Altair, ever his relaxed self, slung his arm back around Yuri and led her away.
I worried for a moment that Sanchez might revert to his insubordinate ways once Altair left, but he continued bowing and apologizing to Dream, Carrot, and El.
I had no idea what Altair had done, but one thing was clear: he was an exceptional alpha among alphas, perfectly suited for Alpha Platoon.
Suddenly, a phrase I’d heard countless times in the Border Defense Army came to mind.
“Violence and fear will save us all.”
‘And once again, it saved us... I guess I have no choice but to reevaluate April again.’
I felt tears well up internally as I begrudgingly acknowledged that the woman I’d cursed as a lunatic had been right all along.