I Won’t Let the Execution Battalion Die, ~Even If the Empire Falls, We Want to Survive~ - Chapter 14: Something Creeping Closer ①

I returned to my office in battalion headquarters.

Being an officer, I was given my own dedicated office. It was very small, but in the military, having a private room was exceptional treatment.

I took a white military uniform from the shelf.

“Changing clothes for that guy—this will probably be the first and last time…”

The late Lieutenant Meinen was officially listed as an engineer officer. Visiting his grave in the Ceremonial Battalion’s black uniform would attract attention.

The Ceremonial Battalion was incorporated into the Imperial Guard Regiment, and the officers there wore white uniforms during peacetime.

In other words, it wasn’t against regulations for us to wear white uniforms, so when we wanted to hide our identities, changing to white uniforms was the quickest method.

But these were a pain to launder.

I heard knocking at the door.

“Who is it?”

Following military custom, I replied, and Second Lieutenant Crimine’s voice came from beyond the door.

“Second Lieutenant Riesha Crimine!”

“Come in.”

That voice lacked tension somehow…

Second Lieutenant Crimine who entered was also in a white uniform. Perhaps because she was from a good family, white suited her well. When Captain Yugi wore it, she looked like she was in burial clothes. Strange how that worked.

I smiled wryly while buttoning my jacket.

“Sorry for showing you such an unsightly appearance.”

“Not at all.”

She was staring intently. Scary. Wasn’t this girl breathing rather heavily?

“An officer shouldn’t show such appearance to enlisted men, but since you’re an officer, it’s fine, right?”

“Yes, it’s quite fine.”

I had a premonition that our conversation wasn’t meshing. Very worrying.

“Lieutenant, shall I fasten your hooks?”

“I’ll do it myself.”

“Ah, your collar insignia is crooked.”

“It’s not crooked.”

Why was she persistently targeting my throat area? Was she a carnivore?

After changing clothes with a strangely unsettled feeling, I checked my appearance in the full-length mirror.

When officers dressed slovenly, they lost the trust of soldiers. In battle, that could be fatal for everyone.

Though we didn’t have a single enlisted man in our unit.

“Lieutenant, it suits you very well.”

“You flatter me too.”

“No, I don’t.”

She denied it with a straight face. Our conversation still wasn’t meshing. Maybe I was tired.

Pulling myself together, I asked Second Lieutenant Crimine:

“By the way, did you need something from me?”

“Yes, I heard you were going to visit Lieutenant Meinen’s grave, so I thought I might accompany you.”

“Ah, that’s good. Let’s go together.”

I’d been ordered by the battalion commander too, so it was convenient.

We left the battalion headquarters building. Looking sideways at the nearby Imperial Guard Regiment headquarters, we emerged onto the capital’s main street.

Second Lieutenant Crimine had her usual straight face but seemed somehow pleased. She was humming.

“After seeing the Kavaraf region where there’s nothing, you really feel that the capital is prosperous.”

“That’s true.”

Even this area, the most bustling in the Empire, was about like a regional city’s station front in my previous life’s Japan. Since population density was fundamentally different, it couldn’t be helped, but I hadn’t seen a “big city” since coming to this world.

Perhaps finding my reaction interesting, Second Lieutenant Crimine engaged me again.

“Do you perhaps dislike crowds?”

“This level is no problem.”

“This level?”

Ah, that was bad. This was supposed to be the most chaotic place in the Empire. She’d think I was strange.

I hastily covered.

“Compared to the cafeteria chaos during officer school days, this is nothing, right?”

“That’s true too.”

Second Lieutenant Crimine nodded repeatedly. Good thing she was a sheltered young lady.

“Hmm?”

Just then, I noticed a strange sense of wrongness.

I informed Second Lieutenant Crimine too.

“We’re being tailed. Not very skillfully though.”

“Eh?!”

She maintained composure without looking around, which was admirable, but Second Lieutenant Crimine looked anxious.

“We’re being tailed?”

“I can’t turn around to confirm, but there’s an old man strolling at quite a brisk pace. He’s keeping up with military fast-walking after all.”

If you’re going to tail military personnel, you should have chosen a different disguise. The walking pace gave it away completely.

However, since Second Lieutenant Crimine hadn’t noticed, I might not have noticed in my previous life either. I was trained reasonably well at this world’s officer school.

“Lieutenant, who could that be?”

“I don’t know, but right now we’re in Imperial Guard officers’ white uniforms. If they’ve seen through this disguise, there’s a possibility they were lying in wait after watching us leave battalion headquarters. It’s somewhat dangerous.”

The Ceremonial Battalion’s black uniforms were unusual, and many people held grudges against them. But Imperial Guard officers were generally respected.

Well, they were probably annoying to anti-imperial factions.

“But they might be anti-imperial faction members investigating Imperial Guard officer movements, so we can’t say anything definite yet.”

“That’s true too.”

They probably wouldn’t attack suddenly in the middle of town, but this was still a troublesome situation.

“If we go to the army communal cemetery with the tail’s identity unknown, there’s a possibility of connecting the Ceremonial Battalion with Lieutenant Meinen’s real name.”

Lieutenant Meinen’s gravestone bore his real name. If Imperial Guard officers who came from Ceremonial Battalion headquarters were seen visiting an engineer officer’s grave, it might cause trouble later.

It was troublesome, but we should probably do something about the tail.

“Second Lieutenant Crimine. Tell me your favorite food.”

“Um, I like cheese.”

“Oh, that’s perfect then. There’s a restaurant run by a cheese shop nearby, so let’s have lunch there. Both the cheese shop and restaurant are directly operated by a dairy farm.”

It was still a bit early for lunch, but considering the round trip to the army communal cemetery, we’d need to eat anyway. It was quite a walk.

Second Lieutenant Crimine followed with enough energy to skip.

“There’s such a restaurant?”

“The battalion commander took me there once.”

“Ah, I see…”

Second Lieutenant Crimine suddenly deflated. What’s with you?

“Don’t get the wrong idea. There was a mission to guard the battalion commander’s child, and we just disguised ourselves as a family in civilian clothes.”

“Civilian clothes as a family!”

Is that the part you react to? I don’t know how to interact with younger subordinates of the opposite sex.

I wracked my brains to cheer up Second Lieutenant Crimine.

“The owner there knows the battalion commander. I’ll explain the situation and borrow a private room, so enjoy yourself without worrying about the tail.”

“Well then I’ll enjoy myself.”

Was that expression sulking or happy? This girl was hard to handle.