Chapter 29

Pure White

…Not yet?

Plato waited for Haydam to appear, keeping himself concealed behind the terrain near the flag, just as they had planned.

Judging by the commotion coming from the distance, his teammates seemed to be doing well. Haydam would surely show himself soon.

His Lordship Haydam truly is no ordinary child, just as Father said.

Plato’s father, Anton—the leader of the pro-Daphne faction—had warned him before today’s training simulation.

He had told Plato never to underestimate Haydam simply because he was a child. If he let his guard down even slightly, he would suffer the humiliation of losing to a ten-year-old.

In truth, Plato had initially fallen for Haydam’s provocation just like the other cadets. All he had wanted was to crush the brat, ten years old or not.

However, Anton’s warning had allowed him to reconsider the situation calmly. After carefully observing Haydam when they met at the training grounds, Plato had realized something.

Haydam had also been studying the cadets’ reactions.

The moment Plato realized that, an involuntary chill ran down his spine.

He was definitely… enjoying our reactions.

The other cadets seemed to think Haydam’s gaze merely showed that he looked down on them.

But to Plato, those were not the eyes of someone looking at fellow human beings.

They were the eyes of someone looking at prey.

Not the eyes of a wild beast just before the hunt, either.

They were the eyes of a predator looking down at a fully prepared feast already laid out before it.

I heard Lord Haydam only recently returned after wandering through the slums, so His Excellency couldn’t have had much time to educate him as his successor… Does that mean a tiger’s cub is still a tiger, no matter how young it is?

Even while lost in such thoughts, Plato never stopped listening for signs of movement around him.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.

It’s gone quiet…

The instant he realized it, Plato jerked his head up and looked toward Haydam’s camp.

What is it? Why has it gone quiet?

Had they grown tired of making such a racket?

No. The silence had lasted far too long for that.

Don’t tell me they ran into Haydam halfway there and decided to settle everything on the spot.

All manner of thoughts flooded Plato’s mind amid the ominous silence.

It would naturally be difficult to keep talking while constantly moving, but was there any reason for the silence to last this long?

Had Haydam carelessly exposed himself and been discovered by Plato’s teammates?

But if Haydam had been declared dead, the buzzer signaling the end of the exercise should have sounded—

At that moment, Plato felt an inexplicable chill and instinctively threw himself sideways.

Pfft! Pfft!

The instant he rolled away, two paint rounds struck the spot where he had been waiting.

“So close.”

The youthful voice that muttered those words no longer sounded like a child’s voice to Plato.

Haydam Goodman stood before him in a snow-white military uniform that blended seamlessly into the snowy landscape. Not a single streak of paint marked his clothes.

He wore goggles to protect his eyes and a mask to keep his breath from escaping, making his expression impossible to see. Even so, Plato had the distinct feeling that the black eyes behind those goggles were smiling.

How did he pinpoint exactly where I was hiding and approach me from behind?!

Plato had not sensed his presence even when Haydam came within firing range.

And Plato had spent the past six years being put through hell on this training ground.

I have to move.

After instinctively rolling aside in surprise, he had foolishly remained there staring up at Haydam.

What made it even more humiliating was that Haydam was merely standing there, calmly looking down at him.

He seemed confident that he could shoot Plato whenever he pleased.

Indeed, Haydam’s barrel was still trained on him. Although there was a fair amount of distance between them, Plato could not imagine the shot missing.

After thinking rapidly for a moment, Plato set down his gun and slowly raised both hands above his head.

He probably would have fired the moment I tried to raise my gun.

Convinced that he was certain to lose a firefight under these circumstances, Plato decided to turn the situation into close combat instead.

It might be somewhat underhanded to fight a child who barely reached above his waist, but Plato had already sworn that he would win by any means necessary.

“…How did you know? That I was lying in ambush here.”

“Plato was the only one missing among the people who came to my camp. Since you’re a cadet who specializes in long-range sniping, I assumed you’d be hiding behind the piece of cover farthest from the flag.”

Plato was briefly rendered speechless before asking another question.

It could not have been difficult to learn that long-range sniping was his specialty. Haydam could have grabbed practically anyone and asked them.

However—

“How did you know I wasn’t part of the assault team? Everyone was wearing goggles and masks.”

“You can’t change your build or the way you walk.”

“What…?”

That was absurd.

There were differences in build among the cadets, but none were particularly significant. There was even another cadet whose height was exactly the same as Plato’s.

And his gait?

Haydam could only have had a few seconds to observe the way Plato walked.

Yet Haydam was claiming that he had visually distinguished Plato from the others and realized he was not among them.

“Though once I saw them up close, I did get a little confused, so I took off their masks one by one to check.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s why it took me a while to get here.”

“What do you mean…?”

It sounded almost as though Haydam had eliminated every one of Plato’s teammates on his way here.

But Haydam apparently had no intention of explaining any further. He shook his head and continued.

“Anyway, I’m also aiming to clear this in the shortest possible time, so I can’t keep entertaining you. What do you say? Should I fight you in close combat?”

“…What?”

“You could just take one paint round and end this cleanly, but seeing how you’re dragging things out, I doubt you’d accept the result even if you lost like this.”

Don’t let him provoke you.

From what Plato had discerned in their brief encounter, the monster called Haydam hunted like a typical feline predator—one that enjoyed playing with its prey.

Plato was certain Haydam would have shot him the instant he lost his temper.

That would have been the most humiliating way to defeat him.

In any case, unless he’s merely toying with me, he’s offering to settle this through close combat. I have no reason to refuse.

Plato was neither a swordsman nor a martial artist, but a soldier.

He did not concern himself with honor when it came to exploiting an opportunity presented to him.

“May we… determine the winner through close combat?”

“Of course. But I have one condition.”

“I expected as much. Let me hear it.”

Naturally, Plato assumed that Haydam, who was at a physical disadvantage, would demand a condition such as Plato being allowed to use only one hand.

But what came out of Haydam’s mouth was completely unexpected.

“Promise me that once you graduate, you’ll become my adjutant.”

“…Pardon?”

“To be honest, this operation was a little disappointing… but after seeing you dodge those bullets earlier, I changed my mind. There’s no way I made any noise, so you avoided them purely on instinct, didn’t you?”

“I… suppose I did.”

Plato looked at Haydam with wavering eyes.

“Isn’t that… an unusually favorable condition for me? So favorable that it would be strange to refuse? Becoming Lord Haydam’s adjutant would mean…”

Becoming the next commander’s adjutant.

In other words, he would rise to the same position currently held by Major General Meursault Pendleton.

“Are you aware that my father is Captain Anton?”

“Didn’t Father tell you? I know not only every officer’s neighbors and childhood friends, but even the name of the dog in the yard across the street.”

That wasn’t just a bluff?

Plato remained silent for a moment before cautiously asking, despite his embarrassment.

“…Then could you tell me the name of the dog in the yard across from our house?”

“Pfft!”

Haydam laughed for so long that Plato’s face flushed with utter humiliation.

“Sorry. You’re the first person who’s ever actually asked me that.”

“So that really was just a figure of speech…”

“Winter. It was probably named that because it was born during winter.”

Even I don’t know the name of the dog across the street…

It was frightening enough that Haydam genuinely knew the name of a dog Plato himself did not know.

But what was truly terrifying was that despite laughing and chatting all this time, the barrel pointed at Plato had not wavered in the slightest.

Even a seasoned cadet would not have been capable of that.

I’d rather believe he’s a biological weapon created by the military.

“Anyway, decide quickly. There are only a few minutes left before the record for the fastest clear.”

Plato felt uneasy at Haydam’s confidence that he could defeat him within a few minutes.

However, if he refused the close-combat challenge, it was obvious that a paint round would come flying at him, so he had no choice but to accept.

Plato had clearly intended to propose close combat first, yet somehow their positions had been reversed.

“I agree to settle this through close combat.”

“Good. Then get up slowly. Kick the gun you placed in front of you over there.”

He was thorough to the very end.

Plato rose to his feet and kicked the gun with all his strength, sending it skidding far away, before looking at Haydam.

Once the gun disappeared from view, Haydam also flung away the weapon he had been holding.

He really threw away his gun.

Plato had assumed Haydam would keep it so that he could shoot him if necessary.

Unless Haydam truly was a biological weapon created by the military, defeating Plato should have been nearly impossible.

Could it be that winning this exercise isn’t his real objective?

The thought occurred to him that perhaps Haydam had orchestrated all of this in order to recruit him as an adjutant. Plato nodded as though he had arrived at some profound realization.