I Won’t Let the Execution Battalion Die, ~Even If the Empire Falls, We Want to Survive~ - Chapter 16: Something Creeping Closer ③

This was from when I still wore second lieutenant rank insignia.

“Hey, Second Lieutenant Fonkt.”

As usual, the battalion commander called out languidly.

“Are you pro-imperial or anti-imperial?”

I stopped organizing documents and turned around somewhat tensely.

“Is that something where I have to choose one side?”

“I don’t recall giving you permission to ask questions.”

Even saying that, the battalion commander was clearly enjoying herself.

This feeling suggested it would be safe to continue speaking.

“There couldn’t be any anti-imperial officers in the Imperial Ceremonial Battalion.”

“I see, so should I interpret that as pro-imperial?”

The grinning battalion commander was rather cute, so I shook my head while laughing.

“A model soldier who pledged loyalty to His Imperial Majesty would have answered more clearly.”

“Then you’re neither…”

The battalion commander wore a feigned expression.

But the eyes behind her glasses were like an eagle that had found prey.

I sighed while tapping documents into order.

“I sincerely wish for His Imperial Majesty’s reign to continue long, but I also believe that to achieve that, I can’t go along with every one of His Imperial Majesty’s decrees. Dictatorship has its limits after all.”

“That’s disrespectful. That’s grounds for execution by firing squad.”

The blonde beauty threatened me, but of course she wasn’t serious. However, she was someone who could have me shot if she felt like it. Scary.

I offered the bundle of documents to the battalion commander while answering with a straight face.

“I wish for my homeland’s peace and prosperity purely for my own sake. I have no interest in being pro-imperial or anti-imperial.”

“What an impudent thing to say.”

The battalion commander chuckled, then took the execution reports I’d offered.

After quickly looking them over, she said:

“Fine. You’re a lieutenant as of tomorrow. I’m making you the company deputy commander.”

“That automatically comes with becoming a lieutenant, doesn’t it?”

“Show a little joy. Your next promotion won’t be for over ten years.”

Well, that was probably true. I’d hit the ceiling at captain anyway.

The battalion commander looked satisfied as she perched on the desk.

“You’ve really become a fine officer. I have high expectations.”

“I’ll serve diligently. By the way, Battalion Commander.”

“What?”

To the battalion commander who leaned close with a sweet smile, I couldn’t help but say:

“Please don’t put your rear on people’s desks.”

“Ah yes yes, understood.”

The beautiful battalion commander pouted.

* * *

“That’s how it went.”

After explaining to Second Lieutenant Crimine, I dunked bread into the cheese fondue pot.

“You’ll probably receive the same question from the battalion commander within a few years. Meinen said he was asked the same question around the same time. You should think of it as an informal interview.”

Second Lieutenant Crimine was my junior and currently partnered with me as my companion.

Since this girl also thought imperial decrees were nonsense, she’d probably be promoted to lieutenant as one of the battalion commander’s trusted subordinates.

I spoke in a lowered voice:

“Our Imperial Ceremonial Battalion is a unit directly under the emperor, but the battalion commander’s intentions seem to lie in a slightly different place. That’s why we have missions like the recent one, and we might be under surveillance by some faction because of it. We’re being tailed even now.”

The problem was that our position wasn’t clear.

“Ostensibly, we’ll kill anyone if we have imperial decree. But while we faithfully executed the purge of pro-imperial Lord Grien, we helped anti-imperial Lord Fumazov in the ‘Yuo Nevilnel’ matter. Anyone who knows the inside story might find ideological meaning in that.”

I twirled cheese around my fork while gathering it with bread.

“Is the Imperial Ceremonial Battalion the emperor’s hunting dogs, or a snake in the bosom? Ambiguously positioned entities are viewed with suspicion. Whichever way this empire’s scales tip, the dangers surrounding us will increase.”

Somehow today’s me… was pretty cool! I was giving off the vibe of a skilled veteran officer.

I wanted to tell my previous life’s self. You could do things like this if you got to redo life.

I hoped Second Lieutenant Crimine might respect me for this, but her reaction came from an unexpected direction.

“The battalion commander really was planning to get ahead of the game…”

“What are you talking about?”

Did you listen to my speech properly? I’d tried to look cool but it was completely meaningless.

Second Lieutenant Crimine had a serious expression while muttering things like “first strike wins…” but eventually looked up and stared at me.

“In other words, Lieutenant, you’re aware that your personal safety is in danger?”

“Eh? Ah yeah, that’s right.”

Did the conversation suddenly connect? Well, I wasn’t sure.

Since I wasn’t particularly clever, I couldn’t respond immediately when conversations came from unexpected directions. Sadly, even reincarnated, a mediocre person remained mediocre.

I coughed lightly to cover for the moment while answering:

“Our Ceremonial Battalion might be viewed as enemies by either faction. And neither faction is monolithic. It’s a situation where we don’t know where bullets might come from.”

Lords from the Kavaraf region like Lord Fumazov were mostly anti-imperial, but they probably weren’t colluding with other anti-imperial factions.

And pro-imperial factions had many people at the center of power, but they were constantly undermining each other.

The situation was chaotic, and siding with either wouldn’t guarantee safety.

Since the conversation had gotten somewhat complicated, I smiled.

“Because of such circumstances, I’d like us to get along well within the battalion. The resolve you showed in the previous mission was admirable. I’ll be relying on you.”

“Yes, Lieutenant. I’ll strive to live up to your trust.”

She saluted with incredibly swift movements. You can salute that cleanly? Do it regularly from now on.

While parts of our conversation seemed disconnected, it had concluded neatly, so I was relieved for now.

“Well then, let’s think about how to deal with the tail outside.”

“Right, it would be good if we could turn it around and capture them through reverse surveillance.”

Oh, she’d properly learned the basics. I’d thought she might be casual since she was a quasi-noble young lady, but her officer education seemed fine. This was helpful.

“Certainly. Depending on support from the company commander, it would be possible. However, depending on the tail’s identity, arrest might be troublesome afterward. Keep in mind the options of deliberately overlooking them or returning to battalion headquarters with the tail still attached.”

“Understood.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Are the ‘Laundry Man’ and ‘Baker’ here?”

“Come in, ‘Toy Dealer.'”

I heard Company Commander Captain Yugi’s voice, and a woman in a wide-brimmed hat and dress entered.

She really came herself after all.

We immediately stood and saluted, but Captain Yugi was smiling cheerfully.

“Considering the possibility of being tailed, I changed clothes twice along the way. That’s why I’m late.”

Captain Yugi looked around the room, staring intently at the bed with two pillows.

“…Should I have come a bit later?”

“No.”

The unnecessary consideration was painful.

“Also, I have Sergeant Decoct waiting outside.”

“Ah, the one who looks just like me.”

An unfortunate sergeant who sometimes got mistaken for me at work because of our similar build. He was taciturn and honest but also a specialist in document forgery—quite the character.

“We came disguised as a quasi-noble couple, so please go out in this attire. We’ll impersonate you two in return and receive the tail.”

“Shall we mount reverse surveillance then?”

Captain Yugi made a troubled expression.

“That’s the plan, but the battalion commander ordered us to act cautiously since we don’t know who they are.”

“It might be a trap disguised as surveillance.”

If the surveillance side were just amateurs, that would be fine, but if not, it would be troublesome. There was also the possibility they were using amateurs as disposable pawns while plotting something else.

I smiled to reassure the company commander.

“As always, I’ll only work for my salary’s worth, so don’t worry.”

“Hmm… haha.”

Why was she smiling wryly?