I Became an Officer in Another World in Just 5 Minutes - Chapter 254

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

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Chapter 254
Fire
“That’s going to be difficult.”
Brutal Knight Order training starting on the second day of my vacation?
Absolutely not.
‘If I go, they’ll just trap me there again.’
Will I even be able to leave after lunch?
The odds seem slim to me.
“Pardon? Why is that?”
“I don’t have any promises, but I have Guild business scheduled.”
A lie I conjured up in mere seconds.
My reaction time is getting faster by the day.
“Ah… then there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Derick’s expression turned disappointed.
For a moment, my resolve wavered.
‘Get a grip. If I go, I’m dead.’
No matter how much I love my younger brother, a no is a no.
“Let’s do it together next time. We have plenty of time.”
“Yes, I understand. Please be careful.”
“Right.”
“Have a good day!!”
I parted ways cleanly after receiving farewells from Derick and the knights.
“Phew, that was close.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief.
Then I stopped by a bookstore to purchase a few popular novels before returning to the Manor.
“Are you returning from training?”
Havel, who had been bustling about since morning, spotted me and struck up a conversation.
“Something like that. How is Father?”
“He departed for the Guild this morning.”
“He’s busy. I’ll wash up and come down.”
“Very well, I shall prepare a meal for you.”
Since it was morning, I washed up a bit faster than usual and descended to the first floor.
“I’ve prepared something simple and wholesome.”
Salad, sausage, eggs, and bread arranged on the table.
The Chef said it was prepared healthily, though I honestly couldn’t say how nutritious it truly was.
‘Come to think of it, I didn’t stop by the bakery.’
I forgot again, too absorbed in selecting novels.
“Young Master.”
“Hmm?”
I was eating breakfast while reading the business section of the newspaper.
Havel approached.
“There are invitations that require your review. Shall I bring them to your room?”
“Multiple ones came?”
“Yes, they’ve been arriving since the ceasefire began. Roughly forty have accumulated.”
“Forty…?”
How many events could possibly exist if people were this desperate to network?
A slight headache was beginning to form.
‘I’d like to refuse them all, but if Father insists I participate, I should at least show good faith.’
Living as a noble was no simple matter.
“Just bring them here now. I’ll review them while I eat.”
“Very well.”
Havel returned promptly with a tray laden with invitations.
“These are all invitations, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“This is overwhelming.”
I picked up the elegant envelope on top and extracted its contents.
To the War Hero, Young Master Paran Oclo,
Greetings. I am Livina Rosburn of the Rosburn Marquis Family. As the cold winds fade and warmth returns to the season, I wish to gather distinguished individuals for a pleasant gathering…
“Decline this one.”
“Yes, I agree that declining is appropriate.”
The invitation came not from the Marquis himself, but from his daughter.
That alone disqualified it, and the reason for the invitation held no value beyond mere socializing.
“Who’s next?”
A considerably plain envelope.
I assumed a man had sent it and unfolded the letter.

【To Colonel Paran Oclo】
Greetings! I am Baen Evint of the Evint Baron Family!
I commissioned as an officer in the same cohort as Colonel Paran Oclo, but I sustained an arm injury during the Battle of Rimircastle that left me disabled, forcing me to retire from service.
When I was first wounded, I grieved and suffered greatly, but upon returning to the Capital, I realized that despite losing the use of my arm, my livelihood remained secure.
However, when I visited the homes of my former squad members who had also retired with disabilities, I found them struggling to afford even a single meal a day.
I hastily provided financial support and sought out employment opportunities for them, but the limitations of my own resources became apparent all too quickly.
Thus, I am organizing a charity banquet for the livelihood of retired veterans…
“That’s something a baron family can handle without your involvement…”
“I’m going. This man is incredible.”
It’s not an exaggeration.
I feel tears welling up right now.
‘Is there really someone like this?’
I can’t even begin to fathom how righteous he truly is.
‘He lost an arm, yet he worries about his squad members’ livelihoods instead of his own?’
I feel so insignificant in comparison.
“A charity banquet is just where people donate money, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Send him my acceptance and spread word through the grapevine. Make sure plenty of people attend.”
I’ll make my own donation, but for something like this, we need to loosen other people’s purse strings as well.
“Young Master, there’s one more thing…”
“What is it?”
“Her Highness the Princess has also invited you to a banquet on the same date.”
“What’s this about?”
“Here it is.”
Havel produced an unmistakably eye-catching golden invitation and handed it to me.
【To Young Master Paran Oclo】
We invite the Young Master, who shone brilliantly at the Front Line for the Empire, to our banquet.
Typical of the Imperial Court.
Damnably brief invitation.
The host was the Princess, and the venue was the Imperial Palace.
“Is this some exclusive banquet with only a few attendees?”
“No, sir. Since it’s for soldiers who distinguished themselves at the Front Line, I believe quite a number of invitations have been sent out.”
“Okay. I’m declining.”
One might argue that declining a banquet held at the Imperial Palace makes no sense.
But the host isn’t the Emperor—it’s the Princess.
With hundreds of attendees, declining won’t cause any problems.
‘And there’s that miraculous word: prior engagement.’
Baen’s charity banquet, hosted by someone of such exemplary character, is a hundred times more important than this meaningless social gathering.
“But…Your Highness the Princess, nonetheless…”
“It won’t matter if I don’t go. No one will even notice.”
“If that is your wish, I understand. Since this comes from the Imperial Court, I would ask that you, Young Master, send the rejection response.”
“Of course. I’ll write responses for everything else as well.”
Forty letters were demanding, but not impossible to handle.
“See you later.”
I bit into a piece of bread and sorted through the remaining invitations, dividing them into those I would accept and those I would decline.
That afternoon.
I sent out all the carefully written responses in one batch.
* * *
“Is it still only five people who have agreed to attend the banquet?”
“Yes… that is correct.”
The Butler Deon answered Baen Evint’s question in a dispirited voice.
“Hosting a banquet truly is not easy.”
It had started with such enthusiasm.
But Baen’s position was far too low to move the hearts of people wealthy enough to make charitable donations.
“Please do not be too disheartened. Even one person of like mind is a great strength, and five is truly remarkable.”
“I suppose I should think of it that way. Sigh….”
Baen nodded at Deon’s attempt to encourage positive thinking.
“And since the banquet date coincides with Her Highness the Princess’s event, some who wished to attend unfortunately cannot come.”
“But there aren’t many whose schedules actually overlap.”
Her Highness the Princess had sent invitations primarily to military personnel.
Baen had mainly invited wealthy people capable of charitable work.
There were very few soldiers among them.
“That is….”
“Don’t console me. It’s my own shortcoming.”
As Baen turned toward his room with slumped shoulders.
“Young Master!!!”
A Maid rushed toward him, calling out in a loud voice.
“What is it?”
“A letter has arrived saying someone will attend the event.”
“Really?!”
At the good news, Baen’s expression brightened like a young child’s.
“Yes, the person who delivered the letter even told me they would definitely attend.”
“Which family are they from?”
“It’s from the Oclo Family, so it appears to be Young Master Paran Oclo. You should check the letter for details.”
“What…?!”
At the Maid’s words, Baen’s body went rigid.
“Young Master Paran Oclo, you say…?”
A soldier known to all Imperial nobility, someone who would have been invited as the first priority to Her Highness the Princess’s banquet.
“How is this possible….”
Unable to believe what he was hearing, Baen checked the letter.
To Young Master Baen Evint,
Greetings. I was deeply moved upon reading the contents of your letter. I too served at Rimircastle, and over that time, I bid farewell to many soldiers.
Looking back, I realize my thoughts regarding discharged soldiers were insufficient. I would be grateful if we could speak during the banquet. I shall see you on the day of the event.
-Paran Oclo
The name written on the final line—it truly was a letter from Paran Oclo.
‘Can this really… be happening?’
A man who declined the Princess’s banquet to come here.
As a faint sense of burden settled over me, a single tear fell upon the letter.
“Sob… sob.”
Though I had stepped forward determined to help in any way I could, within that time of slowly withering away without receiving proper attention,
Paran Oclo’s letter was infinitely precious and deeply moving.
“I’m truly grateful, Young Master. Sob.”
Deon wept as well, but they could afford to indulge in such emotions only until today.
From the next day onward, a sudden deluge of responses to the banquet invitations forced them to change venues and restart preparations from scratch.
* * *
“It’s been a while, Young Master.”
“Indeed. I hear you released an incredible board game while I was away.”
Walden, whom I was seeing for the first time in nearly two months since he’d started working at the Guild.
Apparently, he’d recently created a war strategy board game that became a massive hit.
“I was fortunate.”
“You seem quite sharp. How about a commission? We need someone in tactics.”
Someone with the intellect to create board games would be genuinely ten thousand times more useful than some second lieutenant.
“Ha… haha, board games and reality are different things, aren’t they? I must respectfully decline.”
“That’s unfortunate. Let me know if you change your mind anytime.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Still, it’s quiet without Rena around.”
She had been quite the vocal presence in the Product Development Team.
Her absence was keenly felt.
“That may be true, but hasn’t the office become somewhat cleaner because of it?”
“Cleaner? It looks the same to me.”
I couldn’t tell who was calling whom untidy.
“The difference is quite noticeable, I assure you.”
“Never mind. Let’s get to work. We need to improve that ambulance carriage.”
The ambulance carriage that had seen actual combat this time.
Through that experience, it had shown both advantages and disadvantages.
“The biggest issues are that it’s difficult to load and unload patients, and there’s insufficient treatment space.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Wait, but is this right? We didn’t make it to be used as a medical tent.”
Why did I create the ambulance carriage in the first place?
Because transporting patients on stretchers to the medical tent was so difficult, I made it for convenience in transport and emergency treatment.
Right now, the Military is asking us to make this functional as a Medical Barracks when circumstances demand it.
‘I understand the necessity, but it’s irritating.’
Next, they’ll probably ask us to build an aircraft carrier too.
“This is more troublesome than I anticipated.”
“It would be. We need to approach it from an entirely different angle.”
I walked over to the desk and examined the blueprints Walden had been working on.
“The most straightforward solution would be removing the chairs to free up space, but that won’t work, will it?”
“Correct.”
We absolutely cannot reduce the ambulance’s primary function—patient transport efficiency—to a quarter of its capacity.
“Installing rails here does seem like a solid approach, though.”
By placing patients on the rails, we could load and unload them with minimal effort.
“The real problem is securing treatment space.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, this is giving me a headache.”
Securing space without removing the chairs—that was the constraint.
The second option that came to mind was enlarging the carriage itself.
But that wasn’t ideal either.
‘It’s already at its limit. If we make it any larger, we’ll run into problems.’
Like a vehicle and a shipping container.
Carriages had their own dimensional limits.
‘Wait… rails… rails.’
Walden’s rail idea clicked into place in my mind, and a picture formed.
“Walden.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s just remove the chairs.”
“Remove the chairs? But then the capacity for passengers would—”
“No, not completely remove them. We install rails on the chairs too, so we only detach them when we need the space. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
A kind of modular system.
Walden’s expression shifted to intense focus the moment he heard my explanation.
“Rails, you mean rails.”
Scratch, scratch!
He suddenly began muttering to himself, frantically calculating something with his pencil.
After a few minutes passed, Walden’s conclusion was simple.
“That… that actually seems really good.”

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

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