[Regret]
When Hazen returned to his room, he found Yan reading a book. He was amazed he could be so carefree when there was a full-blown raged outside.
“Come with me; I’m going to treat Kaku’zu.”
“Huh, did he get hurt?” Yan jumped to her feet, seeming worried.
“He’s okay. His injuries aren’t life-threatening.”
“W-we’ve got to hurry. If you’re saying he’s ‘okay’, he’s definitely far from it.”
“……”
With that, Yan darted out of the room, passing by Hazen. Watching her disappearing figure, Hazen couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“Still, I’ve really done it this time,” Hazen muttered in annoyance. He had succumbed to his emotional impulses.
Unlike him, Kaku’zu was kind-hearted. People like him were naturally sensitive to what other people said.
Hazen could only imagine how Kaku’zu would feel waking up to be called a monster by others. However, aside from Major Simant, he should have refrained from lashing out at the 1st and 3rd Battalions from a logical standpoint.
“…Well, what’s done is done.”
Unforeseen circumstances always arose in war. If they grew dissatisfied with him, appointing Captain Lorenzo to command the army might be a prudent move.
As he considered this, he made his way to the infirmary, where he encountered a group of soldiers waiting. They were lieutenants, second lieutenants, and warrant officers from the 1st and 3rd Battalions.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah, Second Lieutenant Hazen. I, uh… I was rude toward that man.”
“……”
“I was scared witless by General Guizar. However, that man… without any hesitation, he jumped in front of the enemies to protect us, risking his life. Despite that, I… I’m really ashamed of myself.”
“Hm… Do you feel the same?” Hazen asked, scanning the rest of group, and everyone nodded apologetically.
“All right. With my captaincy authority, I order you: go back, have a meal, and take some rest. You’ll need it.”
“B-but…”
“There’s nothing you can do by waiting here. And I won’t deploy Kaku’zu again. I’ll be honest with you; he’ll be out of commission for more than a month. No one will be there to fight for you anymore.”
“…We understand. Tomorrow, it will be our turn to fight for him. We have all prepared ourselves.”
“……”
“It’s the only way we can show our gratitude to him for risking his life to protect us.”
“…Hmm. With that kind of determination, I won’t have to worry about you.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Incidentally, tomorrow I will take on General Guizar alone.”
“Huh? But without Mr. Kaku’zu…”
“I intended to face him without Kaku’zu from the beginning, on the third day. That said, even excluding General Guizar, the principality’s army still has a huge numerical advantage over ours. Stay vigilant.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“For your information, I haven’t forgiven you.”
“……Yes, sir.”
“But I think he will appreciate your sentiment. After this war is over, if you’re lucky enough to survive, you can give him some food. He’ll love it.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Upon entering the infirmary, Hazen found Captain Lorenzo and Jan.
“It’s difficult to stay mad at straightforward guys like them, huh?”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I was relieved to see their morale wasn’t as low as I thought it would be.”
The men had been mostly lieutenants, second lieutenants, and warrant officers, presumably representing their battalions.
“Still, you went too far with Major Simant. No amount of patching up will prevent you from getting demoted. And your merits will go up in smoke.”
“…I know. But I still would do the same even if given the chance to do it over.”
“Why? He was in a state of excitement post battle. And I’m sure you understand that.”
“……”
After a while of silence, Hazen eventually said, “A long time ago… there was someone who risked his life, his future, and even his soul to save someone precious to me.”
“…Did someone call that person a monster? That’s terrible. Who was it?”
“It was me.”
“Huh?”
“It was me. His power was beyond me, so I called him a monster, over and over again, so I could defeat him.”
“……”
“If I didn’t, I would have died; he would have destroyed the entire continent; it was for the sake of my precious—or at least, that’s what I told myself. But, I still couldn’t forgive myself, and probably never will.”
“……”
Silence enveloped the room.
Captain Lorenzo eventually took a deep breath. “…I see.”
“I talked nonsense. Please forget it.”
“Yeah. Now I understand that you are also human.”
“…You really love your uncalled-for comments,” Hazen muttered in annoyance.
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