Chapter 62

The Promise (5)

Did Plato just ask whether his father had kidnapped my friend?

“Lord Haydam?”

When I stood there dumbfounded, Plato called my name with a worried expression.

“I asked because I assumed you already knew about it… Could it be that you didn’t?”

After a slight delay, I regained my senses and answered.

“No… Of course I knew. I just didn’t expect you to ask me about it.”

I frowned.

“But how did you find out? There’s no way Anton told you…”

“My father mentioned that Lord Haydam had spoken to him about the graduation speech. I found it strange that a man who didn’t even attend my graduation had met with you separately, so I looked into it myself.”

He really had investigated his own father?

“I chose my adjutant well.”

Plato smiled somewhat shyly before continuing.

“So… if my father truly acted discourteously, I would like to offer a formal apology.”

So after all that roundabout questioning, his conclusion was that he wanted to apologize?

Anton kidnapping Stay-at-Home Wifey wasn’t Plato’s fault in the first place. On top of that, Plato was a second lieutenant while Stay-at-Home Wifey was only a private, yet he was still willing to apologize.

Meanwhile, the moment Stay-at-Home Wifey heard I was planning to make Plato my adjutant, all he had done was complain to me.

The contrast was striking.

“That’s admirable, but in the end, he was the one who caused the trouble, so I don’t think you need to apologize.”

“Is… that so?”

“By the way, after doing all that, you didn’t get kicked out of your house?”

“I am currently staying in the officers’ dormitory.”

So he had been kicked out.

“My father didn’t say much when I merely told him that I would take the entrance examination instead of entering through recommendation. But the moment it was announced that Lord Haydam would be writing the exam, he threw me out.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Just then, I noticed the team members ahead of us stop and begin murmuring among themselves.

“It seems they found something up ahead.”

We hurried forward and found the Commander and Meursault, who had arrived first, discussing something with grave expressions.

“What happened?”

When I approached and asked, Meursault answered.

“It’s because of a crevasse.”

Simply put, a crevasse was a crack in the ground.

After the ice age struck this world, most of the ground became covered in glaciers. According to the game’s explanation, those glaciers split apart, creating holes so deep that their bottoms couldn’t be seen.

“According to the map, there’s a crevasse zone up ahead… but the snow around here hasn’t melted yet, so the crevasses are hidden beneath it.”

Crevasses varied greatly in size.

Most were huge holes visible to the naked eye, but when snow accumulated over them, some became just narrow enough to be nearly indistinguishable from ordinary ground.

Even those relatively narrow gaps, however, were usually wide enough for an adult to fall through.

If it hadn’t been snowing, the holes beneath the accumulated snow would have shown through with a bluish tint, allowing us to break the weak surface and pass safely.

But with snow continuing to fall, it was difficult to distinguish differences in the ground’s color with the naked eye.

This was why subjugation campaigns were normally conducted in spring after all the snow had melted.

We had apparently ventured so far while pursuing the monsters that we had reached an area where the snow still remained.

“It’ll be difficult to continue the search.”

Team One had followed the tracks left behind by the fleeing monsters.

But even though they had initially fled in a panic, they had eventually begun using their tails to erase their footprints.

On top of that, the snowfall that had started a little while ago had covered what little trace remained, making it impossible to follow them any farther.

We had continued searching in the direction of the last tracks we found, only to encounter the crevasse zone.

The snow-covered cracks ahead were wide enough for an adult to fall into, yet a large-class monster could cross them without trouble.

If the monsters had fled beyond this point, pursuing them would be extremely difficult.

We could circle around the terrain and reach the other side, but if they returned through this area while we were doing so, there would be a hole in our search perimeter.

In any case, our team’s objective wasn’t necessarily to capture and kill the four fleeing monsters.

It was closer to keeping watch so they couldn’t ambush the wounded soldiers while they withdrew.

The Commander seemed inclined to end the search here.

Honestly, if I hadn’t sensed something so strange about those monsters, I would have chosen to turn back long ago as well.

Visibility was still acceptable for now, but if the snowfall grew heavier, signal flares would be the least of our problems.

We might not even be able to find our way back to the zone.

We had already traveled too far from it.

“We’re heading back.”

In the end, the Commander decided to withdraw and ordered a retreat flare to be fired.

We returned to the agreed intermediate rally point.

There, however, an unexpected problem arose.

“Team Two hasn’t returned?”

Of the five teams that had split up, Teams One, Three, Four, and Five had all returned to the midpoint.

Team Two was still missing.

Team Two’s leader was a colonel from the pro-Hayden faction.

He was also the man who had personally selected Lucas and Bones from my Team Ten to accompany him.

Meursault continued his report with a rigid expression.

“Team Three saw Team Two heading in the opposite direction.”

“They saw Team Two? Weren’t their assigned search zones far apart?”

“At the time, they assumed Team Two had taken a wrong turn and accidentally entered their search area. But since they still haven’t returned, it appears…”

I didn’t need to hear any more to understand what had happened.

He was blinded by the prospect of promotion.

The Team Two colonel had probably taken such a reckless gamble because promotions were at stake in this subjugation campaign.

Anton, the leader of the pro-Daphne faction, had announced his retirement.

Rumors were also spreading through the military that Josef of the pro-Hayden faction would soon retire as well.

If two captain positions opened at once, those below them would naturally begin hoping for promotion.

It seemed the Team Two colonel was determined to distinguish himself during this campaign and become a general.

The Commander struggled to maintain a calm expression, but the veins along his neck stood out blue with rage.

“…So now we need to organize a search party for the monster search party.”

“I apologize.”

“This is not something you need to apologize for.”

Meursault lowered his head, looking utterly ashamed.

In my opinion, even if the Team Two colonel returned safely, there was no way he would continue living with all four limbs intact.

Of course, I had no intention of letting him off after he had taken two of my adorable newly commissioned officers and acted on his own.

Meanwhile, the snowfall continued to intensify.

The Commander silently stared for a long while in the direction Team Two had likely gone.

Then he spoke heavily.

“We cannot endanger everyone else because of one fool. We’re returning.”

It was the most rational decision he could make as Commander.

But if we left now, those people would almost certainly die.

If Team Two had been pursuing the monsters, they would have headed toward the crevasse zone where we had abandoned our search earlier.

We had only discovered the crevasses because the snowfall hadn’t been this heavy at the time.

I doubted a team consisting of one mere colonel and several newly commissioned officers would notice them in a blizzard like this.

“We cannot do that.”

I had remained silent, but some madman boldly stepped forward and openly opposed the Commander’s order.

Naturally, it was Plato.

The Commander and Meursault stared at the audacious new officer in stunned silence.

Plato apparently took their speechlessness as permission to continue.

“There are newly commissioned officers in Team Two. They would have had no choice but to follow their superior’s order to leave the assigned route and pursue the monsters. As you said, because of one fool, officers who were only just commissioned may die meaningless deaths. Someone must follow them and warn them about the crevasses. With your permission, I will go.”

He really never changes.

Under normal circumstances, I would have cut ties with Plato on the spot.

But I also had more than one reason to feel uneasy about simply returning.

If I go back now, I may never discover what those monsters saw that made them flee.

The subjugation campaign took place only once a year, in spring.

The large-class monsters that escaped today wouldn’t approach the zone again until next spring.

They might even die somewhere in this snowfield before then.

And it would be a waste after all the early education I gave them…

Even though I had given them a harsh lesson during the training simulation, not just anyone could remain wary of a child they encountered in real combat and respond appropriately.

In that regard, Lucas and Bones were far too valuable to be wasted like this.

Fine. I’ll go find them.

Having made my decision, I extended an arm and pushed Plato one step back before moving forward.

Or rather, I tried to.

“Do not step forward, Haydam.”

The moment I defended Plato and took a step, the Commander immediately stopped me, as though he had known exactly what I was about to do.

“I have overlooked your reckless behavior several times already, but this is not the moment for you to intervene. Your foolhardiness will not always produce a favorable outcome.”

As both my father and my superior, it was something he had every right to say.

But I couldn’t back down here either.

The word foolhardiness brought to mind the faces of the officers who had looked at me and applauded during the graduation speech.

“Father.”

I looked straight at the Commander.

“You wouldn’t call the courage those newly commissioned officers showed during the graduation speech foolhardiness, would you?”

“…”

Plato might treat his superiors lightly, but Lucas and Bones would have had no choice but to obey their commanding officer.

They had only just begun breaking out of their shells.

If we allowed them to die such pointless deaths now, who would ever take seriously my proposal to enroll every child in the zone into the military academy to cultivate talent?

“And I wasn’t about to suggest that we go search for Team Two.”

“Then what were you going to say?”

“That crevasse we saw earlier. I’ll go only as far as that point, mark it as a dangerous area, and come straight back.”

The Commander stared at me for a moment, looking momentarily lost for words.

“You intend to go personally.”

“The others probably don’t want to risk their lives because of one fool.”

“Why must a child like you be the one to go merely to place a warning marker?”

“I can’t be treated like an adult when it’s time to beat monsters to death, then treated like a child when the task becomes dangerous.”

The Commander stared at me with an unreadable expression.

“How can you be so reckless and arrogant… Sometimes, I truly wonder whether you are my child.”

Sharp observation.

“Meursault.”

The Commander spoke without taking his eyes off me.

“Lead the others back first.”

“Pardon?”

This time, Meursault recoiled in horror.

“What do you mean? Surely Your Excellency isn’t planning to remain behind as well?”

“You don’t actually believe these two intend to place a warning marker and obediently return, do you?”

I hurriedly concealed the guilty expression that crossed my face and happened to meet Plato’s eyes.

Judging by his expression, he hadn’t intended to return quietly either.

Then I felt someone staring at me.

When I raised my head, Stay-at-Home Wifey was looking at me anxiously.

He looked as though he might raise his hand at any moment and insist on coming with us, so I shook my head.

If Stay-at-Home Wifey also left the returning group, those heading back might become more vulnerable than we were.

With both the Commander and me separating from them, Stay-at-Home Wifey—one of the few people capable of killing a large-class monster—needed to remain with the withdrawal team.

The Commander followed my gaze and briefly looked at Stay-at-Home Wifey before turning away.

“If the decision has been made, then let us depart. If we delay any longer, both we and the others will become lost in this blizzard.”

And then—

Before we even reached the crevasse, we discovered a trail of blood staining the pure-white snowfield red.

Plato seemed to assume it was the work of a monster and immediately began scanning the surroundings.

But I recognized it at a glance.

This—

Was not the work of a monster.