After many twists and turns, Dalin’s rookie training was finally over. It was time for her to naturally integrate into the squad. But first, she had to start with the menial tasks. After all, she was still a recruit.
“Karon!”
“Yes?”
As soon as I called his name, Karon suddenly appeared from somewhere. What was that? How was he that quick to respond?
“Take Dalin to her senior recruits and make sure they teach her how to do laundry properly.”
“Understood!”
Lately, Isina’s dark circles had been getting worse by the day. My top priority had become helping her with her never-ending workload, so I no longer had time to pay attention to Dalin.
Well, the menial tasks in the squad could be left to Karon for now.
I assigned Karon the responsibility of helping Dalin with her integration into the squad, and he seemed to have been looking after her well since then.
‘Come to think of it, they’re the same age, right?’
Dalin enlisted a bit later than most, and Karon joined just a little earlier. Since they were the same age, it was easy for them to form a bond.
I casually nudged Karon, trying to test the waters, and said, “Hey, Karon, looks like you’ve been taking good care of Dalin lately.”
“Since you ordered me to, of course I’ve been looking out for her!”
Karon looked at me with bright eyes. His response was one of duty, so it seemed like he wasn’t interested in Dalin herself.
‘Just as I thought.’
Thinking back, I remembered something that had happened earlier.
“This new recruit... doesn’t she look a bit like Salvia-nim?”
“Oh, you mean her appearance?”
Dalin’s senior recruits seemed to think that Dalin resembled me.
Just like how the male leads in the original story thought of Dalin when they saw her, from behind, Dalin and I really did look quite alike. Our hair color and eye color were similar, and our builds were also comparable.
But that didn’t change the fact that they were talking about me, so I was ready to take those XXs down.
“That’s not quite right.”
Winter, who had been quietly lurking, spoke up.
“Salvia’s hair has both orange and pink hues, which is its defining feature, but the recruit’s hair has no hint of pink and is a pale orange. It’s even closer to a golden hue. The recruit’s hair is also straighter compared to Salvia’s, who has more of a curl. And while Salvia’s eyes are a deep, rich gold and brown, like the nectar of flowers, the recruit’s eyes are a much lighter yellow. There are too many differences to say they look alike based just on those colors.”
“Yes, yes... I’m sorry...”
Winter couldn’t hold back his corrections when he heard a mistake.
As I had learned over the past few weeks, the male leads had absolutely no interest in Dalin.
Dalin, in turn, seemed just as uninterested in anyone who didn’t show interest in her. She had no attention to spare for the male leads and was much more focused on keeping her distance from me, the one who always pushed her.
Well, in the end, no one was at risk of being sent to the stockade, so things had turned out well... or so I thought.
Wait, hold on.
I had always harassed Dalin with a lighthearted mentality, thinking, "Sigh, this hopeless recruit Dalin. I have to make her pull it together."
But now that I thought about it, this might be a serious problem.
‘The original story has changed...’
If the male leads, unlike in the original, no longer showed interest in Dalin, and just left her alone to do whatever, then?
Dalin would surely die.
While I had made Dalin do at least half of her job, obviously that alone wasn’t enough.
‘...That won’t do.’
I had seen many recruits die, and I’d worked hard not to let those deaths shake my mental state. But Dalin was a different matter.
No matter how frustrating of a recruit she was, I had read over 100 chapters of "Dalin's Story" as the main character, and seeing her die in front of me would be a shock.
I couldn’t just let her die.
The only way for Dalin to survive was one thing: she had to get stronger.
“Heh heh heh...”
One-half of a recruit’s worth wasn’t enough. Even a full recruit wasn’t enough.
To survive here, she would have to do at least two people’s worth of work on her own.
‘The rookie training is over, but my focus on Dalin isn’t done yet...’
I smiled happily, telling myself I would watch over Dalin step by step.
‘Wait, hold on.’
I suddenly remembered something.
Now that the male leads didn’t care about Dalin, well...
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
‘Jaiden, that XX!’
The original antagonist, Jaiden, could do something to Dalin, who was just a recruit and lower in rank than him.
If I spotted any funny business with my eyes, I would immediately take Jaiden down. With that resolve, I ran off, searching for Dalin, who wasn’t in front of me at the moment.
***
"Hey, you still can’t do that properly? Sigh, look, I..."
"Get lost, Jaiden!"
I was looking for Dalin when I spotted Jaiden standing near her, talking to her. My eyes narrowed. What was going on? How was he that quick to get close?
Jaiden seemed to be saying something to Dalin, but as soon as I shouted, he quickly backed off with his tail between his legs.
"I haven’t done anything yet..."
"Ah, you crazy XX! This time it’s really because she’s your type, isn’t it?"
I knew from experience that Jaiden liked submissive types, and it didn’t take much to figure out that Dalin fit that bill perfectly.
I tugged on Jaiden’s ear, whispering in a low voice, and Jaiden, in pain, promised to back off.
"Ah, I-I’ll fix it! Really! I’ll fix it!"
"Please don’t do anything stupid, alright?"
Dalin, who had been doing laundry, flinched and looked up at me. Yeah, she probably thought she wouldn’t have to deal with me much anymore, but with me showing up like this all the time, I could understand why she’d be scared.
"Hey, didn’t this guy try anything funny?"
Still holding Jaiden’s ear, I asked Dalin, who looked at me with an innocent face and answered, "What?"
"If this XX tries anything funny, tell me immediately. I’ll kill him."
"Ah, no! Jaiden-nim has been kind to me because we’re going to be working together for a long time!"
"Ah, long time, huh..."
I picked up on something from her words and smiled sweetly. Jaiden became even more desperate.
"D-Dalin! What do you mean by that, haha!"
"Huh? Didn’t Jaiden-nim say that since we’re going to be working together longer than with Salvia-nim, he has to treat me well?"
Dalin innocently repeated what Jaiden had said, and I turned to look at Jaiden with a smiling face.
"Yeah... Since you’re going to be with him longer, you should listen to him, huh? Why don’t you just become his senior, huh?"
"No, Salvia-nim, I... that’s not..."
"Sigh, XX. Hey, go tell Aquila that you’re now the senior and make sure it gets passed along."
"Th-That..."
"Why not, Jaiden-nim? I’ll make sure it gets confirmed with Aquila, so go and tell him like I said, alright?"
Since I was too lazy to deal with him directly, I intended for Aquila to take care of Jaiden for me.
I growled, pushing Jaiden out of the laundry area, then turned back to Dalin, who had been doing laundry.
I didn’t realize this when I first read the original story, but now I understood. Dalin probably wasn’t as clueless as she seemed...
‘She’s not really clueless, she’s just pretending to be clueless.’
If she was able to subtly pass on what Jaiden said, it seemed like she was deliberately playing it off.
Yeah, even though Jaiden was in the wrong...
...I couldn’t help but chuckle when I looked down at Dalin’s laundry.
"Hah."
"Sa-Salvia-nim?"
"Bloodstained laundry has to be washed in cold water, you XX! And don’t even try using laundry soap; it won’t help, just use toothpaste! Didn’t I tell you that?! Didn’t you learn it?!"
"Well... if I use toothpaste, it makes my eyes sting and tears come out..."
"Then go bang your head so the tears don’t fall!"
"Yes, yes?!"
"Can’t you hear me?!"
After shaking her up, I let out a deep sigh.
Next time... please, just send me a decent recruit...
I tossed Dalin into the mix of her senior recruits to make sure she did her laundry properly, and then I went back to the dorm, collapsing onto my bed.
"...Benny. I think I told Dalin to lay out my blanket earlier..."
"Did you? I’ll lay it out right now..."
"Dalin, that XX, she’s going to get it when she gets back."
Thinking about Dalin again, my mind started to race.
It was quite amusing for readers to see Dalin messing around and causing trouble without noticing, but now that I was in the position of her senior, it felt like eating ten yams every day. Dalin was an endless supply of yams. She could solve the food crisis in the Adolph Empire...
"Benny."
"Yes?"
I stared at Benny’s bright, intelligent face and let out a tired sigh.
"Please, take care of Dalin. I know I’m looking after her, and Karon is, and her senior recruits are, but... it’s just not enough..."
"Yes... I understand..."
"Please take a more active role in looking after her..."
"Yes..."
I suddenly realized Benny’s attitude was surprisingly passive.
In the original story, Benny was the type to take the initiative and look after Dalin, without anyone needing to tell her. Her loyalty was on par with that of a noblewoman’s personal maid.
But now, Benny seemed to have no interest in Dalin at all.
Just like how Yuri treated me when I first arrived...
"Benny."
"Yes?"
"Why aren’t you taking care of Dalin? I thought you’d be sticking close to her, considering your personality."
At those words, Benny blinked and looked at me, her long eyelashes fluttering elegantly.
"You said I needed to prepare myself to be tough, didn’t you?"
"Ah."
"Of course, if the situation requires it, I’ll help Dalin, but right now, since you’re managing her, I thought it wasn’t necessary to interfere. But if you want me to help, I will."
Benny’s words were tied to the death of Angel, the first female recruit she’d looked after. Benny had been shaken by Angel’s death, just as I had when Reina died.
Back then, I’d told Benny that getting too soft would get her killed, and I thought she hadn’t taken my advice seriously.
But judging by her current attitude toward Dalin, it seemed like she had taken that advice to heart.
...As a result, unlike in the original, Benny wasn’t playing the role of Dalin’s "loyal companion."
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like everything had changed from the original. Lost in thought, I couldn’t help but reflect.