I Became an Officer in Another World in Just 5 Minutes - Chapter 61
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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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Episode 61
“Major General Gadus, I greet Her Highness the Princess!”
North Gate of Rimyr Castle.
Major General Gadus, the highest-ranking among the commanders, knelt at the front.
“I’m relieved to see you’re unharmed. You’ve truly accomplished something great, Major General.”
The Princess took Major General Gadus’s hand and praised his achievements.
The commanders around them were busy suppressing the corners of their mouths that wanted to rise.
“This was all possible because His Majesty the Emperor provided such strong support.”
“His Majesty would have been very pleased to hear this. Please tell him directly when you return to the Capital.”
“Yes! I understand.”
The Princess passed by Major General Gadus and exchanged greetings with the other commanders as well.
“Colonel Alric, I greet Her Highness the Princess!”
“General Walter, I greet Her Highness the Princess!”
After greeting all the general-rank officers, Major General Gadus approached the Princess.
“We have prepared accommodations for you at the Feudal Lord’s Castle. Please go there today and rest from your journey.”
The merit evaluation would be tomorrow morning.
Until then, keeping the Princess’s mood as peaceful as possible was the most important task for Major General Gadus.
“I’ve had enough rest in the carriage to be sick of it. Rather, I’d like to tour the fortress. Could you guide me?”
“The fortress… you say?”
Major General Gadus was flustered by this unscheduled activity.
“I heard there was fierce fighting at the South Gate. I’d like to see that place. And where the soldiers stay.”
“I humbly report, Your Highness, that place is still not fully cleaned up and there are many unsightly things for Your Highness to see.”
“It’s fine. If there are people who shed blood there, how could I, as a member of the Imperial Court that cares for all people, find it difficult to even look?”
Everyone around, including the commanders, was greatly moved by this model answer.
“I shall escort you.”
Major General Gadus escorted the Princess into the carriage, then personally drove the horses toward the South Gate.
“This is where the greatest battle took place.”
“Ah…”
Upon arriving at the destination and seeing the city wall and gate with her own eyes, Rene found it hard to speak.
“If it’s difficult, you may go inside.”
The deep crimson blood thickly staining the city wall.
Even a child would know that all of this came from human bodies, not beasts or monsters.
“I’m fine. I’d like to go up. Where is the path?”
“This way.”
Following Major General Gadus’s guidance, Rene stepped toward the top of the city wall.
“Her Highness the Princess approaches!”
Before Rene’s feet touched the top of the city wall, an officer who had gone up first shouted in a booming voice.
“Wait… wait, what did he just say?”
“Her Highness the Princess…? Did I hear that right?!”
“Hey, quickly fix your clothes properly!”
While the soldiers on guard duty atop the city wall adjusted their appearance, Rene’s feet stepped onto the wall.
“It looks even worse up close.”
Rene began walking slowly along the path on the city wall.
“Private Dersys! I greet Her Highness the Princess!!!”
“Corporal Bearwulf! I greet Her Highness the Princess!!!”
The soldiers at the checkpoint trembled and knelt before the royal they were seeing for the first time in their lives.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“N-Not at all!!!”
Though it wasn’t a long conversation, just having exchanged words with royalty even once while living as commoners was tremendous for them.
“Please continue to work hard.”
Rene’s hand brushed against the shoulders of the two soldiers as she passed.
“We will give our lives!!!”
“We will fight until death for Her Highness the Princess!!!”
You might not understand how morale could rise from just this.
To them, royalty is like the sky – an existence they could never reach in their lifetime.
Beyond just exchanging words with such a person, even a small touch.
They would never forget this day until the moment they die.
“You can go down this way. Shall we visit where the soldiers stay next?”
“Now that I think about it, if I go there I’ll just disturb their rest, so let’s skip it.”
After meeting the soldiers atop the city wall, Rene’s thoughts changed.
And several commanders who heard those words breathed sighs of relief.
The probability that not a single one among hundreds or thousands of soldiers would commit a breach of etiquette was very low.
“Then now to the fortress…”
“Before that, isn’t it almost dinner time? I’d like to go to the dining hall the soldiers use. His Majesty always does that, doesn’t he?”
“Yes…”
The current Emperor always ate at the Soldier’s Dining Hall whenever he came on inspections.
It was natural in a way for her, who came in the Emperor’s place, to follow the Emperor’s example.
“I shall escort you to the dining hall.”
Major General Gadus again drove the horses at the front.
And ahead of him, one officer ran toward the dining hall at a frantic speed.
* * *
“There’s no time, so just clean up what’s visible on the floor!”
“Yes!!”
“And what’s today’s menu?”
“Roasted lamb with mushroom soup, fried potatoes, and a slice of bread.”
The dining hall was moving busier than ever.
I stood at the center, directing the scene.
“The general framework of the main menu must be the same. Who’s the soldier who grills meat the best? Quickly.”
“Uh… uh, Corporal Ret grills the best!”
“M-me? Not me.”
Corporal Ret, who was pointed out, waved his hands and strongly denied it.
But strong denial is often strong affirmation.
“Corporal Ret will grill the roasted lamb going to Her Highness the Princess from now on. With your life on the line.”
“Y-Yes sir!”
Determined looks were exchanged, and finally he nodded.
This was probably both the greatest crisis and, if lucky, opportunity of his life.
“Her Highness the Princess approaches!”
Just as we barely finished the basic preparations, a booming voice was heard.
Except for not being called an actual situation, this was war for us right now.
‘Since the Battalion Commander isn’t here, I have to do well.’
I couldn’t help but resent her for being away from the fortress on supply company business at a time like this.
“Whew.”
I took a deep breath to calm myself and stood in front of the door, and shortly after, a carriage stopped in front of me.
“Please step down.”
Major General Gadus, who had driven the horses at the front, carefully opened the carriage door.
“Thank you.”
A woman stepped down from the carriage with an escort.
It was truly Princess Rene Raikane, whom I had seen at Banquero Forge.
“Mess Hall Captain Lieutenant Paran Oclo, I greet Her Highness the Princess!”
The moment the Princess’s gaze turned toward me, I knelt and offered my greeting.
“It’s been a while.”
“It’s truly an honor to see you again.”
“Hmm.”
What’s this about.
Suddenly, after hearing my greeting, she began to think deeply about something.
‘She’s not going to nitpick again about whether I really think it’s an honor, is she?’
The blacksmith’s forge would be one thing, but if she said something like that here, I’d be socially buried.
“I think I misunderstood you last time.”
“Not at all.”
“Would you personally show me around the dining hall?”
Had someone else possessed her body or something.
The atmosphere was openly friendly.
‘Could it be that she feels guilty because I’m actually on the front lines?’
If that’s the case, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make up for everything and move forward.
“Yes! I’ll escort you!”
Grateful for the fact that I had survived, I took her around the dining hall.
With a general-level commander following behind us, no less.
“This is the mess hall. We prepare meals here three times a day, every day.”
“The facilities are incredibly large.”
“With so many soldiers, even running all of this at full capacity barely keeps up.”
“Where do you source all those ingredients from?”
“Currently, we’re receiving supplies from nine different guilds.”
Since she wasn’t an expert, the level of her questions wasn’t too high, so I could answer without hesitation.
“This is the food going out as today’s soldier rations.”
Food carefully plated was placed before the commander and the princess.
“This is one meal?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
She looked somewhat displeased.
Well, I could understand that.
To her, who enjoys dozens of courses at imperial banquets, just one plate must look quite meager.
And sensing this, Major General Gadus hurriedly stepped forward.
“Your Highness the Princess, this is truly an excellent standard.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, since our Mess Hall Captain took his position, soldier satisfaction has greatly increased. He’s famous for getting nothing but praise about the meals from any soldier you ask.”
The major general praising me.
Since praise makes whales dance, it was work to keep my shoulders from rising.
“I hope it suits your taste.”
Rene looked at me briefly, then used her knife to cut the meat and put it in her small mouth.
‘Please please please please please.’
The gazes of myself, the supply company soldiers, and the commander all turned toward the princess’s mouth, even if not openly.
“Mm, it’s delicious.”
What came from her mouth was praise.
I felt like I could hear someone in the kitchen clenching their fist and cheering.
“Haha! That’s right. It really is delicious.”
“There’s even meat, and the Mess Hall Captain is really doing excellent work.”
“Isn’t he the treasure of our fortress.”
As soon as the praise came out, the commanders each added their own words, and before I knew it, I had become treasure number one.
“But what is this?”
The princess pointed with her fork at the french fries piled on one side of the plate.
“Ah, that’s a dish called french fries.”
“French fries? I’ve never heard that name before. Is it a traditional dish from the Western Front?”
“No. It’s a dish that the Mess Hall Captain developed himself.”
“What? The Mess Hall Captain?”
Completely unexpected, the princess turned her head to look at me.
“To explain the background…”
Since this was an achievement worth boasting about, Major General Gadus began to tell the somewhat lengthy story of the dish’s origin.
In summary, I had felt sorry for the soldiers eating only potatoes and spent several days and nights developing this.
It was quite different from the facts, though.
‘What research time, maybe it took an hour.’
Still, all-night research sounds a bit more impressive, so good things are good things, right?
“Really… amazing.”
After hearing Major General Gadus’s tearful explanation in full, the princess was looking at me with an indecipherable expression.
“Instructor, you’re making me embarrassed with such words.”
I spoke humbly and bowed my head slightly.
“Is the taste also that excellent?”
“Yes, it’s currently a food that’s in such demand we can’t make enough.”
“I see.”
The princess picked up one french fry with her fork and carefully tasted it.
Crunch.
Since it was fried just before the princess arrived, the crispy shell broke with a fantastic sound.
This too was handled by the soldier who fries them best, so there were no variables.
“This is really… delicious. This was really made with just potatoes?”
Unlike with the lamb, she looked genuinely surprised.
Game over.
“Yes, that’s correct. There’s a little salt sprinkled on for seasoning, but aside from that, it’s just potatoes.”
“When the people of the Empire fill their stomachs with potatoes, taste was the problem, but this is truly an incredible discovery.”
The princess seemed somewhat excited.
Since she’s said to be intelligent, calculators are probably clicking away in her head right now.
How do I know?
Because I went through the same thing.
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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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