How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 99

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 99】

 

The next morning.

 

“Reveille, reveille!”

 

Carlisle quietly opened his eyes at the sudden shout.

 

“What are you all doing! Get up quickly! This is a complete mess! A mess!”

 

“…What the.”

 

Looking around, he saw Battalion Commander Krabel shouting at the top of his lungs, waking up the scout members who had been sleeping soundly.

 

“Hey! Get up right now! Your discipline has completely fallen apart! Can you even call yourselves elite soldiers like this!”

 

“B-Battalion Commander.”

 

Begman pleaded with Krabel.

 

“Our Scout Unit carries out operations day and night, so we don’t have a set wake-up time.”

 

Begman explained the situation with an awkward smile.

 

And rightfully so, as the scout members were extremely busy personnel.

 

As Begman said, they carried out operations, stood guard, and fought battles regardless of day or night, so their fatigue was incomparable to regular soldiers.

 

The physical burden was that much greater, and the mental stress was considerable, so without guaranteeing sufficient rest, they would easily collapse.

 

There was a reason why it was said that military discipline became looser the closer you got to the front lines where battles frequently occurred.

 

However, those words didn’t get through to Krabel.

 

“What?”

 

Krabel’s eyes widened.

 

“Are you calling that an excuse? Soldiers waking up at 06:00 every morning is mandated by military law, isn’t it?”

 

“Of course I know that. I’m just saying that depending on the situation, some flexibility…”

 

“Nonsense!”

 

Krabel cut off Begman’s words.

 

“A true soldier must properly follow military law and regulations! I can’t give special treatment just because you’re the Scout Unit!”

 

“Battalion Commander…”

 

“Get up immediately and assemble at the training ground! Execute!”

 

“Y-Yes sir.”

 

Carlisle slowly got out of bed with a deeply furrowed brow at the unexpected commotion.

 

“Ho.”

 

Krabel approached Carlisle and spoke as if finding him ridiculous.

 

“Why are you moving so sluggishly? Can’t you see everyone else moving frantically?”

 

“I’m still not fully awake.”

 

Carlisle answered while fumbling to put on his military uniform.

 

“I’ll be out in a moment.”

 

“Make it quick. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to discipline you.”

 

“Sure.”

 

Carlisle answered halfheartedly, then suddenly frowned upon noticing something strange.

 

The sword hanging at Krabel’s waist looked somehow familiar.

 

“By the way.”

 

“Do you have something to say?”

 

“That sword, isn’t it one I donated to the unit?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Krabel readily admitted it with a nod.

 

“Why are you wearing it, Battalion Commander? That sword was something I prepared separately as a gift for Sir Helen.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The reason I’m wearing this sword is to test the stability and durability of the weapons you donated to the unit.”

 

“What kind of bull… are you talking about.”

 

Carlisle almost said [bullshit] but hastily changed his words.

 

“Exactly what I said. Since these are weapons that weren’t pre-approved, the battalion commander will personally use and verify them.”

 

“You call that reasoning?”

 

“…?”

 

“Why would you need to verify something made by dwarves? It’s obviously a masterpiece.”

 

“Haha.”

 

Krabel laughed as if it were absurd.

 

“Private Carlisle.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You just questioned the judgment of your commanding officer, the battalion commander, without just cause.”

 

“…?”

 

“I’ll apply insubordination charges and reduce your winter leave by 3 days.”

 

“This son of a…”

 

Right at that moment.

 

“Hey, you bastard!”

 

Begman practically flew over and grabbed Carlisle by the scruff of his neck.

 

“Where do you think you’re going, moving like a slug when you’re just a private? Huh?”

 

“Let go of this…”

 

“Why aren’t you moving quickly? Huh? This bastard really! Get out! Quickly!”

 

Then Kudo and Wilson also quickly attached themselves to Carlisle and dragged him out of the barracks.

 

“Ah, let go. I said let go.”

 

“Please bear with it, please.”

 

“Cover his mouth.”

 

“Kid, let’s calm down that temper. Okay?”

 

Begman’s group desperately held back the struggling Carlisle and dragged him out of the barracks.

 

If they left him like this, it was obvious Carlisle would cause real trouble, so they couldn’t just stand by and watch.

 

* * *

 

That afternoon.

 

The Scout Unit left Bowden Fortress under Scout Unit Leader Begman’s command and was deployed for a magic stone trap removal operation.

 

On the way to the operation area.

 

“Kid, stop fuming and let’s go.”

 

“What do you mean I’m fuming?”

 

“You’ve been fuming since earlier.”

 

“No, I haven’t.”

 

“Like hell you haven’t.”

 

Begman rolled his eyes.

 

“You obviously look like you’re about to explode any moment, so what do you mean no?”

 

“It’s infuriating.”

 

A fierce killing intent flashed in Carlisle’s eyes as if just imagining it made him angry.

 

“Making a fuss over nothing, stealing the weapons I donated, and even wearing the sword I was going to give Sir Helen as a gift – does that make sense?”

 

“Of course it doesn’t.”

 

“But you’re telling me to endure it?”

 

“It’s the military.”

 

Begman provided a very simple answer to Carlisle’s anger.

 

“Here, rank is everything, so if they tell you to do it, you have to do it – there’s no other choice.”

 

“Even so, stealing the sword I was going to give Sir Helen doesn’t seem right.”

 

“That’s true, but there’s no grounds to refuse when the commander says he’ll verify the weapons. That’s the commanding officer’s inherent authority.”

 

“….”

 

“They’ll probably use it for a while and then return it.”

 

“What if they don’t return it?”

 

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. If the higher-ups make an issue of it, it’s obvious they’ll make excuses saying they were going to return it after verification and slip away.”

 

“So you’re saying we should just take it lying down?”

 

“There’s nothing to gain from fighting with a commander. You need to think about coaxing them gently or something.”

 

“How do we coax them?”

 

“Well, we’ll have to think about that gradually.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

“Still, since you’re His Grace the Grand Duke’s son, they won’t be able to openly harass you. Just ignore them moderately and get by.”

 

“What if I don’t want to?”

 

“Then we’ll suffer for it.”

 

“….”

 

“Just wait for now. I reported to Sir Helen before coming out, so there will be more discussion about the equipment issue.”

 

“Sigh.”

 

Carlisle let out a deep sigh as if trying to control his rising anger.

 

He wanted to run to that damn Battalion Commander right now and grab him by the collar, but he couldn’t do that since it would obviously cause trouble not only for the Scout Members but also for Helen, the company commander, which left him deeply frustrated.

 

“Alright, alright. Everyone relax and rest comfortably. There are no Magic Stone Traps around here anyway. Hehe.”

 

Upon arriving at the operation area, Marder revealed the truth to the Scout Members.

 

In fact, this Magic Stone Trap removal operation was based on a false report that Marder had submitted to Krabel, so there wasn’t really anything to do.

 

They just needed to kill time appropriately and then go back and report that there were no Magic Stone Traps when they checked, so the Scout Members had essentially gained a few hours of free time away from Battalion Commander Krabel’s eyes.

 

“Everyone rest as you see fit. We’ll waste about five hours and then return.”

 

“Yes.”

 

At Begman’s command, the Scout Members scattered and took ambush positions.

 

Though they called it an ambush, it was closer to hiding out of sight and resting.

 

Carlisle ended up in ambush with Kudo, Marder, and Wilson.

 

Since they had become comrades after the previous incident, it was perhaps natural that they had grown close within the unit.

 

“Has there been anything unusual since then?”

 

Wilson asked Carlisle.

 

“Perhaps from the Royal Family….”

 

“Shh.”

 

Kudo cautioned Wilson.

 

“I told you not to mention what happened then.”

 

“What’s the harm when it’s just us?”

 

“That kind of complacent mindset is what leads to leaking secrets.”

 

“I’m just anxious, that’s why.”

 

“That’s not something you should be saying when you’re serving in the Blood-Soaked Land of Kuberin.”

 

“Well, that’s true too.”

 

Wilson nodded in agreement with Kudo’s words.

 

“As Corporal Kudo says, let’s not bring up what happened then. Just in case. Even if problems arise, I’ll make sure no harm comes to you. Don’t worry.”

 

Carlisle spoke as if agreeing with Kudo’s opinion.

 

“And in the current situation, shouldn’t we be worrying about that damn Battalion Commander first?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Kudo frowned slightly.

 

“Sometimes commanders are scarier than the enemy.”

 

“It’s even worse when they’re incompetent too….”

 

Carlisle’s group continued to pass time by talking about various things while ambushed in the Grass Field.

 

The Forest, where enemy threats lurked, felt more comfortable than inside the fortress where the Battalion Commander was looking for any excuse to cause trouble.

 

“But what do you mean the enemy’s scale has grown larger?”

 

“Ah, that’s….”

 

As Kudo was about to answer Carlisle’s question, rustle, they sensed someone’s presence.

 

“Who’s there.”

 

Marder aimed an arrow toward the Thicket.

 

“It’s me.”

 

Someone raised both hands and crawled out of the Thicket.

 

It was Private Byron, the messenger of Bowden Fortress known as “Swift Feet.”

 

* * *

 

Byron was a man who ran very fast, had good stamina, and moved very quickly, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was born with natural qualities as a messenger.

 

“You’re working hard today as well.”

 

“I’m dying, really.”

 

Byron slumped down and complained.

 

“You have no idea how many private letters the Battalion Commander sends to commanders of higher units, my feet are practically on fire. Ugh.”

 

“Private letters?”

 

“They’re not official documents and not written in code, so I sneakily opened and read them, and most of them were asking after people’s well-being or flattering them. Sir Helen has never once made me run errands for personal matters, but this damn bastard seems to think I’m some kind of carrier pigeon. Damn it.”

 

It was understandable that curses flowed from Byron’s mouth.

 

A messenger was a position that involved traversing the Blood-Soaked Land of Kuberin like one’s own bedroom to deliver news, so the danger level of the mission was as high as that of the Scout Members.

 

But to use a messenger for mere private letters, it was understandable that curses would burst from Byron’s mouth as he risked his life performing missions.

 

“If he’s going to do that, he should at least use carrier pigeons or install a Communication Magic Circle.”

 

Byron rambled on, but it was just empty grumbling.

 

Carrier pigeons couldn’t deliver long letters, and Communication Magic Circles were such high-level magic that there were only a few places within the United Kingdom where they were established.

 

“You’re really suffering.”

 

“That’s something you shouldn’t normally make someone do. That dog-like bastard.”

 

Marder and Wilson comforted Byron.

 

“Oh, do you know this? New recruits are scheduled to arrive around evening today. I heard this when I stopped by the higher unit, so it’s reliable information.”

 

At Byron’s words, the expressions of Kudo’s group became distorted.

 

“Things are going to get tiring again.”

 

“What the hell new recruits.”

 

“Damn it.”

 

Carlisle spoke with a puzzled expression.

 

“Isn’t it good when new recruits come? The Scout Members are always short on manpower anyway.”

 

“You call that talking sense? You have no idea how much we hate new recruits.”

 

Wilson replied bluntly.

 

“You’d be grinding your teeth too if you were dealing with new recruits.”

 

Marder added a comment.

 

“Private Carlisle.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Private Carlisle, there wasn’t really anything to teach you, and you were strong like a Sigmund, so we got through it without much problem. But ordinary new recruits… most of them are clueless and often ruin operations. There’s a lot to teach them too.”

 

“Ah?”

 

At Kudo’s explanation, Carlisle responded as if he finally understood.

 

“So while engineers or regular soldiers might be fine, from our Scout Members’ perspective, new recruits aren’t very welcome. If they transferred from regular soldiers to Scout Members, that would be welcome, but if they’re fresh new recruits straight out of Training Camp, honestly speaking, we don’t want to receive them.”

 

As soon as Kudo finished speaking, Byron said,

 

“Oh, among those new recruits, there’s also a Mage who will be assigned to the 3rd Company Scout Members.”

 

“…!”

 

The eyes of Carlisle’s group lit up.

 

While regular new recruits were burdens, if it was a Mage, that would be a different story.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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