Chapter 11

“I’m pretty sure you said yourself that you had no right to interfere. So why are you offering to help?”

“What? Why would you—”

“Then is there any other option?”

“…No.”

It stung her pride, but it was true.

There was no one here who would help her. Not her superior, not her fellow officers, and not even her own subordinates. They all kept their distance from her.

In the end…

…the only one she could rely on was the werewolf standing before her.

Seeing Aethlyn lower her head, Gennadi spoke even more quietly.

“I’ve carried out trench raids more than ten times. I can’t promise success every time, but I know how to survive them. So don’t wor—”

Before he could finish saying don’t worry, Aethlyn interrupted.

“More than ten times?”

“…Yes.”

As far as Aethlyn knew, no one in this battalion had participated in that many trench raids.

In an instant, Gennadi’s words carried tremendous weight.

Letting out an awkward sigh, he muttered,

“At the very least, stop them from leaving tonight. If you can buy us one more day, I’ll make sure we’re properly prepared.”

Aethlyn studied him once again.

As if she were looking at some unfamiliar alien lifeform.

Or someone who had suddenly grown a third arm.

Come to think of it, this was the first real conversation she’d had with Gennadi Vilev since he had been assigned to the Delta Company’s Fourth Platoon.

“How am I supposed to convince Captain Gordon?”

“That’s your problem.”

The answer was rather cold, but it was true.

No—he had already done more to help her than anyone else here.

Aethlyn nodded without complaint.

“All right. I’ll do everything I can to buy us some time.”

Gennadi gave a small nod.

Without even waiting to hear the rest of her reply, he turned and walked away.

Aethlyn stared blankly after his retreating back, blinking in disbelief.

‘I actually received help… from a Wildman.’

As she stood there in a daze, the conversation from the banquet resurfaced in her mind.

“Don’t worry so much. You’re a mage. Are you really going to be afraid of Wildmen? Your ancestors who fought in the Great Twilight War would be ashamed.”

“I know, but you never know what they might do behind your back. Honestly, I’d rather have them as enemies than allies.”

“You can’t become an officer if you’re afraid of your own subordinates. Don’t worry.”

‘And yet I was the one who said that so confidently.’

She slowly clenched her fist.

The scar on the back of her left hand seemed to sting more than usual.

“Fine. I suppose leaving tonight would be difficult after all. I’ll give you one more day.”

Captain Gordon smiled as though he were granting an extraordinary favor.

Of course, Aethlyn had no reason to be grateful.

He had been sending her and her platoon into a death trap without so much as a proper plan.

But she didn’t even have time to be angry about the unfairness.

Without another word, she hurried back to where her soldiers were gathered.

By the time she arrived, the trench raid team had already been assembled.

“Sergeant Vilev gave the orders.”

“…I see.”

‘He really is capable.’

Aethlyn swept her eyes across the members of the assault team.

There were seven soldiers in total.

The senior member of First Squad and veteran soldiers from the other squads.

Including Aethlyn and Gennadi, that made nine people.

The way they had been selected and organized reflected the experience of someone who had done this countless times.

Her thoughts drifted back to Gennadi’s personnel record from a week earlier.

Possesses exceptional leadership ability and serves as the de facto leader of the detachment.

The selected soldiers were all silent.

None of the usual swearing.

None of the grumbling.

Not even the usual pointless banter.

Each quietly oiled their weapon and checked their ammunition with solemn expressions.

Watching them, Aethlyn’s stomach churned uncontrollably.

Only now did it truly sink in.

She was the one in command of this operation.

It was a strange feeling.

No matter how difficult trench raids were, hadn’t she studied them endlessly during officer training? She had run through simulation after simulation.

She had earned the highest scores in every single one.

And yet…

Right now, she felt like the world’s greatest fraud.

An overwhelming urge rose inside her to confess that she knew nothing—that she wasn’t qualified for this.

Cold sweat trickled down her back.

Then, behind her, came the loud metallic clank of steel.

“…?”

Turning around, she saw Gennadi.

He was carrying two massive crates, one in each hand, while belts of ammunition hung all around his neck.

“Bringing more weapons.”

“Sergeant!”

“Whoa… You carried all of that by yourself?”

The previously gloomy atmosphere brightened ever so slightly.

Ignoring the soldiers’ reactions, Gennadi silently set the heavy crates down one after another.

One crate contained shotguns.

The other was filled with combat knives.

Aethlyn looked at him.

“Any reason you chose shotguns?”

“They’re the best thing for trench fighting. If an enemy suddenly pops up behind you, you just point it in their direction and fire.”

“…I see.”

Gennadi bent over and rapidly inspected each firearm one by one.

His hands moved so quickly they were almost impossible to follow.

After finishing the inspection, he distributed the guns and knives to the members of the assault team.

Watching him, Aethlyn suddenly noticed something odd.

She lowered her voice and asked,

“These shotguns aren’t the standard model issued in the trenches. Where did you get them?”

“They belong to the Fenrir Detachment.”

Gennadi answered without even looking at her.

“They belong to the Fenrir Detachment? Don’t tell me you just took them without saying anything.”

The entire crates, no less.

Still bent over, Gennadi lifted his head to look at her.

Then, completely unfazed, he replied,

“I did.”

“What?”

The moment Aethlyn’s jaw dropped, something almost like mischief flickered in Gennadi’s yellow eyes.

It vanished just as quickly.

His expression returned to normal as he added,

“It’s fine. We’re heading into battle right now. Does it really matter whose equipment it is?”

“That doesn’t mean you’re allowed to steal it.”

“Out here, the one who gets robbed is the one at fault, not the one who steals.”

Silence hung between them for three seconds.

After glancing sideways at Aethlyn’s grave expression, Gennadi shrugged.

“It’s really fine. You don’t have to worry. Our guys are probably helping themselves to whatever they can find over here too.”

“…Honestly.”

Come to think of it, the recent rations really had been suspiciously short on meat.

If that was true, then it was hard to argue with Gennadi’s logic.

If they were stealing from them…

…then they had no choice but to steal—no, borrow—from them as well.

Aethlyn continued,

“I received the enemy trench’s location and the surrounding terrain data from the reconnaissance team yesterday. Let’s go over it together.”

“Yes.”

The sergeant answered without a second’s hesitation.

That unwavering decisiveness left gentle ripples somewhere deep within Aethlyn’s heart.

Quiet.

Unfamiliar ripples.

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, Aethlyn had skipped both sleep and meals while working alongside Sergeant Gennadi Vilev.

The two of them spent the entire day drilling the soldiers, studying the enemy trench, and refining the operation.

They were still doing exactly that.

Eight hours remained until departure.

Aethlyn blinked her dry, tired eyes over and over.

She tried to focus on the map spread out before her, but perhaps because she hadn’t slept at all, her thoughts kept growing hazy.

Normally, staying awake for one night was nothing to her.

But the constant tension had exhausted her more than she’d expected.

As Aethlyn silently blinked for what felt like the hundredth time, Sergeant Vilev, standing beside her, suddenly spoke.

“I think… you should get a little sleep.”

“…I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. There’s a saying, isn’t there? ‘Nothing is more dangerous than a commander who hasn’t slept.’”

“You certainly know all kinds of things.”

“I’m a werewolf, not an idiot.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Aethlyn looked up at him.

Then, inwardly, she was a little surprised.

Because Gennadi Vilev was wearing the gentlest expression she had ever seen on him.

His lips, usually pressed into a hard line, rested in a natural curve.

Even his thick eyebrows had softened.

Perhaps because he looked so at ease…

…he actually looked rather…

Aethlyn couldn’t think of a better way to put it.

Of course, objectively speaking, his appearance was still far from refined.

He still looked intimidating.

A faint blue shadow of beard had already begun returning to his freshly shaved jaw, and his hollow cheeks only made his features appear sharper.

Even so…

For a brief moment, she found herself staring.

Then Gennadi tugged one corner of his mouth upward in a faint smile.

“I know.”

“You didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

That was enough to snap Aethlyn back to her senses.