I Won’t Let the Execution Battalion Die, ~Even If the Empire Falls, We Want to Survive~

Just then Captain Yugi arrived. Though she was still on military duty as battalion adjutant, she was disguised in Eastern refugee work clothes like an ao dai.

“Battalion Commander. Captain Goffel and the Second Company officers and NCOs have entered the capital. They’re returning via the underground crypt route.”

“Oh, I see. Then Minaka, please handle the ‘finishing touches.'”

“Understood. I’ll return as quickly as possible.”

Apparently following the First Company, the Second Company was also beginning to close shop.

By the way, what were these ‘finishing touches’? Was our battalion commander scheming something again?

Before long, other officers and NCOs from Second and Third Companies also gathered in the battalion commander’s office. Everyone had removed their military uniforms and disguised themselves as craftsmen, priests, and such.

There were still about fifty line infantry on guard outside, but the area around battalion headquarters was eerily quiet.

Since Second Lieutenant Crimine was there too, I went to the window with her.

“Almost sunset.”

“We evacuate before dawn, right?”

“Right. According to reports from battalion scouts, some of the crowd in front of the palace is showing organized behavior. They apparently smell like soldiers.”

Most of the crowd were ordinary citizens at the level of onlookers, but ‘nightingale’ forces seemed to have infiltrated among them.

“The crowd that came to Ceremonial Battalion headquarters apparently merged with other crowds afterward and is besieging Imperial Guards Division headquarters. The congestion has made messenger traffic difficult, causing delays in reports and orders.”

The force defending the palace was about fifteen hundred men from the Imperial Guards Division’s remaining regiment, but the palace lacked defensive functions like castles or fortresses.

Against crowds that had swollen to tens of thousands, a single regiment’s strength had no chance of victory. If it were just a rabble that would be one thing, but this crowd had commanders.

“If the palace guards fire even one shot at the people, that will be the signal for the Imperial Household’s collapse. If the ‘nightingales’ side fires and makes it look like the palace guards’ doing, collapse will still begin.”

From the north, the Kavaraf regional rebel army ‘prairie fire’ was approaching. Forces defending the capital still existed on the south side, but hadn’t moved despite this situation. They’d probably either defected to the ‘nightingales’ side or been rendered immobile by some operation.

“There’s no escape route north or south. We can only exit east or west. For now, I plan to go west to the Zekau Plateau.”

“Is your family home there?”

“Come on, did you forget?”

I took out the worn letter of introduction:

“It’s the ranch run by the battalion commander’s acquaintance.”

“Ah, that cheese shop with the unpleasant name.”

The shop name [Caravine Miu Tyudur] meant something like “Damn Big Tits Suck-Suck,” so it was certainly unpleasant.

“I did receive some internal medicine training after all. I’ll open a clinic over there.”

Since Military Doctor Roxon Boltaren was my public face, I could at least play at being a doctor. In this era’s remote mountains, there weren’t proper medicines anyway, so even someone like me wouldn’t find pretending to be a doctor too difficult.

Then Second Lieutenant Crimine looked up at me coyly:

“May I accompany you?”

“May you or not, I planned to go together from the start. I can fulfill my promise to take you along too.”

I’d steeled myself to spend my life with this pervert. I felt like my life’s difficulty level had increased several stages from the plan, but I had no intention of backing down now.

“Let’s eat cheese dishes while watching what kind of sun will rise over this country next.”

Second Lieutenant Crimine nodded quietly with few words:

“Understood — skip to the morning after, then” (T/N: Author used ‘asa-chun’ here which is a slang meaning:- twittering of birds in the morning, a fiction trope implying that activities occurred in the night)

It would help if she were always this demure… no wait, what did she just say?

While this was happening, Captain Goffel and Dr. Buho entered the battalion commander’s office. Both were mud-covered and disheveled, but Dr. Buho was always disheveled so she didn’t look much different.

Only Captain Goffel’s Kaiser mustache remained as usual, which somehow seemed funny.

“Battalion Commander, Second Company has returned!”

Captain Goffel saluted in his carrying voice. When he saluted, bandages were visible from his sleeve cuffs. Apparently even the battle-hardened veteran hadn’t escaped unscathed.

The battalion commander returned his salute:

“Good work. You returned safely. I received reports from Captain Yugi too, but Penderltain Fortress should be considered combat-ineffective now?”

She didn’t call her “Minaka” when dealing with Captain Goffel. I noticed such pointless details at this point.

“Yes! When Second Company retreated, gunfire from within the fortress had stopped, and bombardment was concentrated on our forces.”

“I see. Then we should consider it captured by ‘nightingales’ or ‘prairie fire.'”

The battalion commander nodded calmly, then held her head:

“Wah! I didn’t expect this kind of situation!”

I’d never seen the battalion commander like that.

However, Captain Goffel answered calmly:

“Please don’t worry. Coordination between ‘nightingales’ and ‘prairie fire’ is incomplete, and confusion will certainly arise in this capital where both converge.”

While making his Kaiser mustache tremble, Captain Goffel spoke passionately:

“Particularly the ‘nightingales’ side, intending force infiltration, hasn’t deployed regular forces and can’t be distinguished from ordinary citizens by the ‘prairie fire’ side.”

Then the battalion commander stopped holding her head:

“So if we disguise ourselves as citizens, at least the ‘prairie fire’ side won’t know what’s what?”

“Yes!”

The battalion commander was completely normal as usual, perfectly composed. Her earlier flustered behavior was just acting or a joke.

The blonde beauty looked around at the assembled officers, and seeing that no one was laughing, made a resentful face at me:

“I thought at least you would laugh.”

“Please don’t do such things even as jokes—everyone gets anxious.”

“Half of it was my true feelings though. Well, never mind. The situation is as Company Commander Goffel said. We’ve been waiting for this.”

The battalion commander flipped her coat hem and transmitted to everyone:

“Tonight, our battalion escapes under cover of darkness. The Imperial Ceremonial Battalion disappears into history’s shadows, never to appear again. The anti-imperial faction will desperately search for us seeking revenge, but our battalion will let no one die.”

Then the battalion commander clicked her military boots and shouted:

“I express respect and gratitude for your long loyal service! As of this moment, all personnel are released from military duty and the Imperial Ceremonial Battalion is dissolved! We have become strangers to each other! Just survive!”

“”””Yes ma’am!””””

All remaining personnel saluted and began moving at once.

“Well well, missed out on the military pension.”

“Having our lives is enough.”

“Can I take this cavalry pistol for self-defense?”

“Yeah, take it, take it.”

While everyone was chattering noisily, I was checking all the black uniforms everyone had removed and removing rank insignia.

“Company Commander, what are you doing?”

When Second Lieutenant Crimine asked, I answered while busily moving tailoring scissors:

“Left as-is, there’s danger of identifying owners from physique and rank insignia. I’m making it impossible to tell whose belongings they are.”

“You’re making the uniforms completely white. As expected of the [Laundry Man].”

Not leaving a single piece of information. I’d like to douse the collected uniforms with oil and incinerate them, but this quantity would create conspicuous smoke. Let’s burn the rank insignia instead.

Meanwhile, everyone kept leaving the battalion commander’s office.

“Well then, Battalion Commander, we take our leave.”

“Hey hey, I’m not a battalion commander. I’m a beautiful widow returning to her late husband’s hometown with her daughter.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Hey now, don’t make subtle faces. Thank you for everything until now. Stay healthy wherever you go.”

“Thank you, beautiful widow!”

“Very good. Handle things well with that approach.”

Interesting conversation going on behind me. That was Sergeant Decoct and the others.

“Company Commander, excuse us.”

When Sergeant Decoct’s group also greeted us, I stopped the tailoring scissors and responded with a salute:

“You were helpful. Make sure you survive.”

“Yes sir! I’ll outlive the Company Commander!”

“You can finally make jokes now. You’ve grown.”

Sergeant Decoct when he’d come to the Ceremonial Battalion had been truly taciturn and worrying, but recently he was no different from ordinary people. I was happy to hear his jokes.

Now Dr, Buho came over:

“Well well, the [Laundry Man] is surrounded by laundry to the very end.”

“Where will you escape to, Doctor?”

“I’ll stay in the capital. Born and raised as a capital kid—long journeys are quite impossible for me. Besides.”

The disheveled beautiful military doctor chuckled:

“The capital will need surgeons from now on, won’t it?”

“You don’t mean treating the people?”

“I’m actually calmer dealing with dead people, but let me try cutting and sewing living patients for once.”

I saluted at those gentle words:

“Admirable. Please stay safe.”

“You’re as pompous as always. If the doctor dies before the patients, I can’t treat them. Don’t worry.”

Waving her droopy white coat sleeves, Dr. Buho turned her back to me. I’d wanted to wash at least that white coat.