In the end, I was a company commander in name only and was only in charge of training new recruits.
Just a propaganda figurehead riding the wave of the "Lucky Carry" rumor.
However, I understand the opinion that someone without officer training can't be put in command.
There's no way someone like me, who relies on Sergeant Gavel even for paperwork, could handle actual combat command.
Moreover, training rookies is a very important job.
It's more efficient to train them to avoid getting injured in the first place than to set up a treatment system.
In that sense, my role has always been to "save lives."
While keeping the soldiers motivated, I also need to ensure that they receive proper training.
This is by no means an easy task.
I found myself facing this difficult challenge for a while.
***
"Face forward, march!"
"Yes, sir!"
Under the dawn sky, beside the base camp.
The 150 members of the Touri Guerrilla Company stifled their yawns as they lined up.
"Who will shoot down the Flamer scum?"
"We will! Sir!"
"Who will bury the pigs from Aries in the ground?"
"We will, Sir!"
"Good, let's see if you can do it. First, start with two minutes of squat training!"
"Yes, Sir!"
At the command, they raised their voices and began squatting on the spot.
With deep voices, the muscles of the fierce men moved vigorously.
"Your movements are too slow! Are you even trying?"
"Sorry, Sir!!"
"What's with that lousy posture? Even a dog wouldn't bite that sorry ass!"
"Yes, I'll be careful, Sir!"
"…"
In the center stood a large, burly man with a bushy beard and a stern face, Corporal Maeve.
Holding a black baton in one hand, he grinned menacingly and intimidated the new recruits.
"Next, two minutes of push-ups on the spot! Hey, you, lower yourself more!"
"Sir, yes, Sir!"
"You've got your hips up too high! Are you trying to tempt me with your stinky ass, you bastard?!"
"I'm sorry, Sir!"
Military-style training is certainly tough.
But neither Sergeant Gavel nor I could conduct military training like this.
Thinking that, I asked Maeve to be the training instructor.
"Maeve, you're really good at this."
"Puku."
We definitely needed an instructor to improve the quality of training.
Maeve has an impressive appearance and a wealth of experience, so he was the perfect choice for the role.
"You seem to be enjoying this, Maeve."
"Puku!"
When I asked him to be the instructor, Maeve eagerly accepted, saying he had always wanted to try it.
It's probably fun for him.
"Come on, raise your voice, one, two! One, two!"
"One, two! One, two!"
Verdi said that there would be a training period for a while.
So first, I intend to make sure the new recruits gain enough physical strength for training.
"Lieutenant Touri is watching too! Don't slack off, you idiots!"
"Sir, yes, Sir!"
"Keep it up."
By the way, I didn't participate in the training. I was instead assigned to watch and make sure no one was slacking off.
I wanted to participate too, but I was told a supervisor was necessary and got roped into it.
"Puku."
"…"
As part of the medical team, Argie waited on the side while the soldiers trained.
She looked very happy when she learned she didn't have to participate in the training.
"I wanted to join in too…"
"Puku puku."
"At least you and I can train together in the afternoon, Argie."
"Puku?!"
Unlike the carefree Argie, I watched the new recruits training with dead eyes like fish.
I envy them for being able to sweat to their heart's content in the pleasant cool breeze.
"Are you mocking me, bastard?!"
"Gwah!"
"Ah, an injured person."
In the morning, there was only one injured person.
This soldier got caught slacking off in training by Maeve and was beaten up.
"It hurts… My tooth is broken…"
"Argie, it's time to work."
"Puku."
"Hey, please work."
I urged Argie to treat the injured soldier, but she turned away and lay down.
This nurse really has no motivation to work.
"…Well then, soldier, please come here."
"Oh, the wound is healing."
As usual, Maeve was bad at holding back, and the injuries were quite serious.
Healing magic isn't all-powerful, so I'd appreciate it if he could control his strength better.
***
Thus, the Touri Guerrilla Company spent its days immersed in training.
After that, soldiers will be transferred from the base once they have reached a certain level of training while carrying out safe missions such as "supply transport missions" and "occupying uninhabited areas."
It seems that there are other "training units" besides us, and they are all under Verdi's command.
Austin had finally started to focus on training rookies.
"I heard that Colonel Henri is going to issue a major operation soon."
"Are we going back into battle again?"
In the midst of this…
The Southern Army, led by Colonel Henri, began to run hastily through the base.
Seeing this, the soldiers speculated that another large-scale operation was about to begin.
"Are we going to be sent out too?"
"No way. We're just a propaganda unit."
"Rumor has it that there's a good chance we'll be deployed too."
"Seriously?"
Even I hadn't been told what Colonel Henri was planning.
I just vaguely thought, "Bern is up to something."
And then, towards the end of autumn…
Finally, Austin's forces have resumed their inland invasion of Pari, Flamer's capital.
Renvel's faction, including us, is stationed at the mine to maintain the front lines.
During this time, Colonel Henri and Bern were expected to lead and occupy Flamel's interior.
Renvel had proposed a low-cost invasion strategy focused on gas attacks, but it was not accepted in the meeting, leaving him to stay behind.
The reason we had been able to win against the Sabbath all this time was largely due to Austin's Southern Army led by Bern.
Unlike the Central Army, which had lost most of its aces, the Southern Army still had many ace-level soldiers.
There was Mr. Zafqua, the "Shield" craftsman, Sergeant Rydelt, the powerful assault soldier, and Lieutenant Reitalyu, the "Grim Reaper" medic, making the Southern Army Austin's all-stars.
On the other hand, the only person who could be called an ace of the Central Army is the young genius Major Verdi.
In terms of simple numbers, the Southern Army had 30,000 soldiers compared to the Central Army's 20,000.
In both manpower and talent, our main force was the Southern Army.
Bern Valou, who lead the Southern Army, is the greatest monster of the modern era.
If we were to invade the interior of Flamer, we could not hope for a force stronger than that of the Southern Army.
Renvel was apparently quite frustrated when he was ordered to stay behind at the mining front.
Austin believed that the Southern Army would easily occupy the capital, Pari.
And he realized that the war would be over once Pari was taken.
As a military officer, it must have been unsatisfactory for him not to participate in this final decisive battle.
As winter set in, the Austin Army began its invasion.
There were several reasons for waiting until winter to start the operation.
First, we were waiting for aid supplies to arrive from the Sabbath.
Although the current Sabbatian government refused to send reinforcements, they did provide material support.
About a year had passed since the revolution, and the situation in the Sabbath gradually stabilized.
While there was still a shortage of food, the reduction in fighting had led to a surplus of weapons and ammunition.
They had brought these surplus military supplies and some luxuries as a token of goodwill.
Secondly, Flamel was warm even in winter.
While it was almost impossible to operate in the Sabbath during winter, Flamel had a temperature sufficient for marching.
Most importantly, with the harvest season over, food was stocked in Flamel's villages.
In Flamel, wheat is harvested in autumn.
By targeting them right after the harvest, they could obtain food locally while marching towards the capital.
On the other hand, if farmers' stockpiles are taken away, they will have no choice but to starve to death.
Upon hearing about the Austin Army's invasion, the villages in Flamel showed a determined will to resist.
The Flamer government adopted the slogan "everyone is a soldier" and called on villages to launch a desperate resistance.
As the saying goes, a cornered rat will bite a cat.
Even if the opponents were farmers, they couldn't be underestimated when they were fighting for their lives.
Austin would need to continue capturing multiple villages to keep the war going.
So what kind of invasion did Bern Valou, who opposed the gas attacks from a "humanitarian perspective", carry out?
He gave them food and drink and negotiated for their surrender.
It was unbelievable, but Bern managed to achieve bloodless occupations through persuasion without resorting to looting.
I wondered if he had accidentally eaten something bad or if he had awakened a sense of morals.
In the first place, where did he find the food to advance without looting?
The truth is…
***
"Go ahead, shoot them."
Bern scouted villages to assess whether they would offer any resistance or not.
"Unlike you, the people in that village have refused the hand we extended."
"You guys can approach them pretending to be one of their own."
"Please lend us your strength for a peaceful resolution."
The strategy Bern chose was quite simple.
Villages that were "unarmed" were massacred, and their resources were taken.
Villages that were "armed" were forced to pledge allegiance by using the looted resources as bait.
"Austin is your ally. Surely, you are also an ally of Austin, right?"
"Those people in that village are enemies. They themselves sought this conflict with us."
"Now, it's up to you. You will kill the people in that village—"
He treated the farmers who had strong wills to resist with kindness to win them over.
Even the farmers who were armed and prepared to die had no choice but to give in when the Austin side gently persuaded them.
They picked up weapons because they didn't want to die and wanted to protect their families.
If surrendering would mean they would not be robbed and their lives would be spared, they obediently handed over other villages.
The Austin Army kept their promises and did not harm the villagers.
Those who could speak Flamer acted as interpreters, and they even shared drinks together.
The farmers, feeling resentment towards the Flamer government that didn't protect them and gratitude for Austin's treatment, accepted this.
What Austin demanded from them was only one thing.
That was to have the young men of the village follow the army as "civilian collaborators."
"Well done, it was an excellent job. Our enemies have been eliminated."
Civilian collaborators are essentially militias.
Bern incorporated the "Flamer Farmer Corps" into the Austin Army.
They had to provide their own weapons and food from their own stockpiles, so Austin didn't have to pay a dime.
Furthermore, the civilian collaborators who served in the army were unable to oppose Austin.
Their wives and children they had left behind in the villages were being held hostage.
"Congratulations. You did a great job killing the enemy."
"You are now our fellow Austin citizens."
"Welcome to Austin."
Bern was very cunning in brainwashing the Flamer villagers.
He actively ordered the civilian collaborators to attack nearby villages.
By taking their families as hostages and forcing them to kill their Flamer compatriots, he ensured they wouldn't betray him.
Those who plundered from other Flamer villages had no choice but to act as Austin's allies going forward.
In this way, the civilian collaborators acted as the vanguard of the invasion, committing repeated raids in various places.
During that time, the majority of casualties were Flamel civilian collaborators.
The civilian collaborators increased in number with each advance.
For Austin, which had a shortage of manpower, this militia was an invaluable asset.
Bern had replenished military strength in enemy territory.
The civilian collaborators also played a crucial role in persuading the next villages.
The very fact that the militia were still alive was proof that, "if you surrender, you will survive."
The civilian collaborators all praised Austin in the Flamer language.
Persuaded by them, the villages surrendered one after another.
Thus, the Austin Army suffered little damage and approached the capital, Pari.
The Flamer government had no option to counter this strategy.
They had no resources to protect the rural villages.
The Allied forces planned to have a decisive battle in the capital and had built powerful defensive positions.
They had abandoned the rural villages, thinking it would be fortunate if the enemy wasted ammunition on them.
They never imagined that the rural villages would surrender and join the enemy.
At this point, the outcome of the war was pretty much decided.
Bern Valou shrewdly checkmated Flamel.
At this time, he likely believed that Austin's victory was assured.
The creation of pro-Austin villages was clearly an action taken with an eye toward the post-war period.
Moreover, there were traces of Bern trying to contact Flamel's anti-government organizations during the advance.
He was probably envisioning a scenario similar to the Sabbatian Revolution for Flamel as well.
***
But not everything always goes as planned.
Just as Bern Valou rose to prominence in response to Sylph Nova.
Just as Remi Ulyakov seized the opportunity to overthrow the Sabbath regime amidst the chaos.
At turning points in history, there are always "heroes" who ride the waves of the times and appear like comets.
At the end of this year, another such figure emerged on the stage.
A child of destiny comparable to Bern and Sylph, and was the last of this era.
However, he was not a person endowed with military talent.
He was just a handsome man from a theater troupe, skilled in singing and acting.
And he was someone who had once been my comrade.
People in later generations would hear of his life and say:
"He was truly the protagonist of Flamel."
Since childhood, he was physically strong and had never lost a fight.
He was also brilliant, graduating at the top of his class from a well-known local university.
Moreover, he was handsome and talented in acting, rising to become a star in a theater troupe.
There was nothing he thought of doing that he couldn't achieve.
With such a record of success, he came to believe that he was the "protagonist of this world."
His guiding principle was always simple.
Is the action appropriate for the protagonist of the story or not?
That was all that mattered.
No matter how dangerous it was, if it was what the protagonist should do, he had the courage to do it without hesitation.
He never acted out of personal gain, always moving as the protagonist on stage.
So perhaps it was inevitable, rather than coincidence, that he came to be called a "hero."
"The demons of Austin are coming."
The man was about to be confronted by the Austin Army when it approached the village where he lived.
He ran around giving speeches, rallying the people.
"My fellow citizens. My comrades with the fiery soul of Flamel. The day has come for us to rise up."
His voice was manly and beautiful, and resonated in the minds of the people with a narcotic sweetness.
His beauty captivated everyone, inspiring the frightened villagers.
"I will lead the charge. Watch me slay the enemy without dying."
Arunoma Diskens.
He was originally a kind person and a star actor in a popular theater troupe.
A man with a fierce sense of justice who hated dishonesty.
At that time, I had no way of knowing that Arunoma had risen up.
Arunoma, the kind, considerate, and handsome man.
A foreign comrade who helped heal soldiers in the Touri Medical Platoon.
My poor subordinate who was imprisoned due to Flamel's participation in the war.
That was all I knew about him.
After being expelled from Austin's military, he became disillusioned in them for using a young girl (me) as a decoy.
On the other hand, he was also appalled and angered by Flamel's opportunistic invasion.
Because he had served on Austin's side, he knew how maliciously timed the Flamer-Aerys Alliance's declaration of war was.
So Arunoma did not enlist in his own country's army but returned home to live a peaceful life.
While working as a healer, he also became a "celebrity" who occasionally performed in plays.
It was when he learned of the widespread massacres and looting of civilians by the Austin Army that he decided to take action.
"Even though I sympathized with Austin and lent them my strength, isn't the Austin Army just like the Sabbath?"
The protagonist Arunoma could not overlook the rampaging Austin Army within Flamer territory.
Furious, he used his charisma to form a volunteer army.
The volunteer army, armed with hunting rifles and farm tools, confronted the invading Austin troops head-on.
One key factor was that Arunoma had experience serving in the Austin military.
He had some understanding of modern trench warfare.
So, even as a volunteer army, they were able to construct a fairly strong defensive position.
Furthermore, Arunoma possessed immense charisma with the ability to lead people.
This made him an exceptionally suitable commander.
His charisma is said to be on a level comparable to that of the legendary Remi Ulyakov.
The farmers were inspired by Arunoma's words, resolving to fight to the death.
Arunoma's courageous actions greatly changed the fate of Flamel.
Bern Valou, the "monster" created by Austin who knows nothing of the human heart.
Sylph Nova, the "genius" born from the Sabbath who walks a blood-soaked path.
And Arunoma Diskens, the "protagonist" tossed about by the capricious fate of this cruel world.
The destinies of these three were about to intertwine.