Discipline in the Trenches
Ashlyn had never once in her life been cursed at to her face. In a way, that was only natural. Who would dare hurl insults at the eldest daughter of Duke Wintercrown? Even her stepmother, the Duchess of Wintercrown, could not speak openly against her.
And yet, just now, someone had said to her: "Move your foot, you cripple."
Startled, Ashlyn looked down. A gaunt soldier lay there. Only then did she realize she was stepping on his trouser leg. The soldier remained lying down and jabbed a finger at her.
"You deaf?"
"……."
Unable to take it any longer, the orderly stepped in front of Ashlyn and pointed right back at the soldier.
"Watch your fucking mouth! This is the new second lieutenant assigned to Delta Company!"
"Shit. How was I supposed to know? This is Beta…."
"Shut up and bow your head if you don't want to die. She's a Mage Corps officer."
A Mage Corps officer? The quiet surroundings stirred. The soldier's face, so bold only a moment ago, changed completely. He rose sluggishly and offered Ashlyn a clumsy salute.
"I'm sorry, Second Lieutenant. I thought you were just a new replacement."
"Apologize properly, you insolent bastard."
The orderly clenched his fist. Sensing the atmosphere turning ugly, Ashlyn quickly stopped him.
"…That's enough. Let's keep going."
The two continued in silence along their path. The same scenes as before stretched on—desolate trench corridors, wooden planks that creaked whenever the light brightened, and dazed, zombie-like soldiers.
Ashlyn took it all in and made a deep resolution within herself.
I definitely need to tighten discipline first.
How much farther did they go? At last the orderly ahead began to slow. Coming to a complete stop, he turned to Ashlyn and said,
"This is the start of Delta Company's sector."
"Ah, right. Where is Captain Gordon…."
And then it happened. Someone behind Ashlyn shoved past her hard.
"Ugh…!"
Unable to dodge the sudden assault, Ashlyn toppled sideways into the mud. Splash. The crisply ironed sleeve of her officer's uniform became caked in dirt.
An attack?
Ashlyn quickly activated the Magic Circuit in her left hand. If it was an enemy trench raid, she had to counter immediately. Then an unbelievable sound reached her ears.
Cock-a-doodle-doo! Squawk!
At first she thought it was a crow. Or one of those demon rats said to be common here. But this—
Squawk, squawk. Cock-a-doodle-doo!
"I'm sorry! This thing escaped from the coop again!"
Where Ashlyn turned her head, a blank-faced soldier stood holding a chicken in his arms. Yes. A chicken. One with a red comb and yellowish feathers.
"What…."
While Ashlyn gaped in disbelief, the orderly behind her yelled at the soldier on her behalf.
"Dorset! What do you think you're doing in front of your new platoon leader! Apologize at once!"
At the words "your new platoon leader," the soldier's face went even whiter. He bowed repeatedly in apology.
"I-I'm sorry. Platoon Leader."
As the soldier stammered his apologies, the chicken in his arms struggled even harder, squawking its discontent.
Watching that surreal scene, light returned to Ashlyn's eyes—the light of anger. Fully recovering her wits, she planted both hands on her hips and barked at the soldier.
"Salute properly and state your rank and name clearly."
A little over fifteen days had passed since she came to these frontline trenches.
In that time, Ashlyn had fought.
"How can you maintain your firearm like that? It's packed with mud inside! Planning to cultivate slime in the barrel?"
"Shave that stupid beard. It's unhygienic and halves the effectiveness of your mask. Want to die breathing poison gas?"
Ashlyn fought, and fought again. Not against the Imperial army, but her own allies.
From the moment she arrived at the Kran trenches until now, her common sense had been constantly tested and tested again. For here, the dignity of an Istarian she had learned since childhood, the pride of a soldier she had learned in the officer commissioning process, seemed to hold no meaning or value whatsoever.
Unit discipline was so lax it barely existed, and the concept of chain of command was faint. The officers and NCOs seemed to have no intention of enforcing it. Everyone just watched from afar as Ashlyn struggled, never once actively helping.
It was the same now. Whether Ashlyn chewed out a soldier or not, the company senior sergeant stood far off watching the fire across the river.
"Buffon! Are you joking right now! Saluting with a cigarette in your mouth!"
"Haaah— Sorry—"
"Sorry?"
"I'm sorry. Second. Lieutenant."
Ashlyn pressed the man in front of her fiercely once more.
"Corporal Buffon. Do you think just because I'm a mage I'm some clueless idiot?"
"I absolutely don't think that. Platoon Leader."
Corporal Buffon still didn't let go of the cigarette butt in his hand, answering half-heartedly. Ashlyn glared at the man before her, full of rage.
Corporal William Buffon. There was no corner of his attitude or uniform that wasn't defective. Ashlyn was seized by the impulse to burn off that swaggering thug's mustache with fire right then. Should she take off the glove on her left hand and throw a fireball now?
It was an extremely tempting idea. But Ashlyn decided to tightly grip the reins of reason.
I have to endure.
I'm a mage. I can't let myself be tossed around by those ignorant non-mages. Barely suppressing her anger, Ashlyn roughly snatched the corporal's cigarette and threw it to the ground. Then she stomped hard on it with her military boot.
"Corporal. If you show this kind of improper attitude in front of me again, I absolutely will not let it slide."
"Yesss. Second Lieutenant."
As she turned away, snickering sounds came from behind her.
"Why's that 'self-proclaimed' mage acting up again? It's not like she's gonna be here long anyway. She'll transfer to another unit soon."
"Leave her. She seems to want to do something. She'll tire herself out and collapse on her own."
"What a pain in the ass."
I really have to endure.
Ashlyn forced herself to swallow dryly. The soldiers who had at least shown minimal courtesy when she first arrived here were crossing the line more and more recently. They must be looking down on her after seeing that the Mage Corps officer Ashlyn didn't use magic in front of them. That officer is clearly a Mage in Name Only who can barely cast proper magic. Obviously a non-mage born into a mage family.
But they would soon learn. That Ashlyn wasn't unable to use magic, but choosing not to.
It's a shame there's no battle right now.
She wanted to show those bastards clearly as soon as possible. Her skill. The true power of magic. But unfortunately, now was not that time. She couldn't just show off magic in front of idiots. It was right to present it in the most powerful and splendid form in actual combat.
Just as Ashlyn was trying to swallow her anger and let it go, one soldier spoke loudly for her to hear.
"Who knows. Maybe a magic beast roaming no man's land will take care of her like Colson. That'd save us some trouble."
"She's a pretty decent-looking woman for once, wouldn't that be a waste?"
"Ugh. Not for me. She looks cold—just that gaze alone freezes me."
Snap.
Something inside Ashlyn snapped with a clear sound.
Second Lieutenant Colson. The platoon leader who had died before Ashlyn arrived. At the remark desecrating the dead, Ashlyn's mind went white with hot rage. The heart that had sworn patience until just now changed in an instant. Ashlyn slowly turned toward the soldiers.
The group of soldiers who had been cheerfully badmouthing her froze in startlement.
They seemed not to have even considered that Ashlyn would react directly to their gossip. She coldly fixed those terror-stricken faces and rotated her left wrist joint in a circle. A slight stiffness rose.
She herself didn't know what magic she would show. Only the thought of wrecking those damn bastards. She was prepared to deal with whatever consequences. Really throw a fireball?
"Platoon Leader…. Is there something you need…."
Seeing Ashlyn loosen her left hand, the soldiers turned pale. They knew what that motion was. It was funny how they hurriedly threw their smoking cigarettes to the ground.
It's too late to act polite now. You completely crossed the line. Ashlyn finally fully removed the glove from her left hand. Over the mottled scars, a translucent red sphere began to rise.
And….
"Eek."
Suddenly one of the soldiers trembled and teared up. The others were the same. Their faces had gone beyond white to blue, as if they couldn't even breathe.
"……?"
Something was a bit strange. That wasn't a reaction of fearing magic. It was closer to the reaction when facing some other thing—say, a terrible magic beast.
Had a magic beast really appeared? Ashlyn turned around again. And she too froze in place like the other soldiers.
There stood a strange man she was seeing for the first time. He wore an unfamiliar khaki military uniform and a military cap that Ashlyn had never seen before.