Became an Academy Spearman - Chapter 761
761. [Western Front] – Normal and Abnormal (37)
***
-Praise makes even whales dance.
I thought that was absolutely correct. And no matter what kind of person they are, they try to surround themselves with people who are kind to them and who say nice things to them.
In that context, it was easy to understand why traitors existed throughout history and why they held high positions.
It was ‘instinct’.
It’s human instinct.
And I know the truth.
I realize this more now than ever before.
“If there’s anything I’m missing or if you have any questions, feel free to tell me! Ha, when I got to know this kid, I found out he was a really nice kid.”
Tuk! Tuk!
A hand strongly tapped my shoulder, and even though I stumbled, I tried my best to smile and reply.
Actually, my shoulder hurts a bit, but I wondered what would happen.
“Yes, Ensign McPhill. “Have a restful night tonight.”
“uh! okay!”
I watched him leave with a bright expression and carefully closed the door.
Crash.
When I was left alone in my room, I nodded slightly.
“… … Yes, because men have pride.”
And I thought that was ‘confidence’. Whether it’s a good person or a bad person, a person without confidence and self-esteem is not looked upon well by anyone.
To anyone, regardless of the opposite s*x.
From noble mtl dot com
In that sense, I thought I gave a pretty good answer to Lieutenant MacPhil’s question.
-Uh, tell me honestly.
I gave only positive answers to Lieutenant MacPhill, who was staring at me with a serious expression. He even raised Lieutenant MacPhil’s self-esteem by being quite specific about what aspects were positive.
And the change was clearly visible to me.
His face, which had been tense and hesitant, brightened, and even the corners of his mouth twitched. And at the end, just like before, I was able to greatly shorten the distance with Lieutenant MacPhil in an instant.
Sreuk.
As I slowly sat down on the bed, I gently lowered the window and stretched out loud.
“But I made it a point to never confess for the time being.”
So, there is no problem with my actions now.
I boosted his self-esteem with repeated compliments, and Lieutenant MacPhil, who was more timid than expected, gained great courage from my words.
Ensign McPhill.
me.
Even the second lieutenant who doesn’t know who is to be confessed to by Second Lieutenant McPhill.
It was a perfect trinity.
It was literally the completion of a world where no one was hurt.
Additionally, and crucially, I had full insurance.
-You absolutely must not confess now. The situation may not be good right now, but you must confess that you are in a much better state than you are now, when the decisive moment comes.
It is also an important insurance policy where ‘lies’ are sometimes more important than the truth. Just as people should not always be upright and push hard, that was the case now.
“It only takes a month.”
There is no way Lieutenant McPhill will confess within a month.
That was enough.
Because I won’t be here then.
Gulp.
Even as I swallowed my saliva, my hands strangely began to sweat.
“If you give courage to a timid person, there are times when he will make a sudden move… … .”
Probably not.
***
The morning of the 7th day dawned.
The morning after being upgraded to ‘yellow alert’ was completely different from the day before.
It was impossible not to notice the change because I could feel it directly in my body.
“ah… Ah… … .”
“Ugh… … .”
As soon as I changed into my officer’s uniform and came out into the hall of the barracks, I stopped for a moment.
‘This much?’
In the hall where normally no one could be seen, there were now ‘three’ people.
Ensign Sabrina, Ensign Rune, and Ensign Iris, who was blinking blankly.
They were all dressed in officer uniforms and had sharp-edged looks, but ironically, their faces showed deep fatigue and they were making sounds as if they were in pain.
“Oh, the youngest is here.”
“Han Tiansheng, come and sit here.”
“… … yes.”
Then, while I was answering blankly to Lieutenant Rune and Lieutenant Sabrina’s words, Lieutenant McPhill’s words suddenly came to mind.
-Ah, so. Should you be more careful about what you say and do? If you don’t sleep enough, you’ll all be quite sensitive.
It seemed like everyone was trying to force themselves to sleep and stay awake, but I also walked while being conscious of that.
Sreuk.
It was the moment I sat down in that empty seat.
Tuk.
As Lieutenant Rune leaned against me, I had to stop and accept it.
“Ensign Rune?”
“Haaa… … I’ll just lean on it like this. Please look at me, youngest… … .”
I yawned loudly and absentmindedly laid my head on my shoulder, but I couldn’t refuse it again.
“Rune, are you the only one acting so shamelessly now?”
“Sabrina, if you tease me, why not have the youngest sit next to you too?”
“under… … it’s okay. Anyway, I really hate the yellow stance. “It’s hard to get used to waking up like this in the morning.”
Ensign Sabrina, who had only blinked at the next words, suddenly looked at me.
“hey. “How can you be okay?”
“… “I usually wake up at this time.”
“Are you a man of upright living? Still in yellow stance, aren’t you nervous? “Did you have trouble sleeping last night?”
“I just accepted it as is, so I started sleeping well.”
Of course, the problem is that we are forced to accept it. There was no other alternative in the first place.
“… … Rune. “Don’t you think he’s really normal?”
“Uh, right. “My youngest is a little abnormal.”
“I can hear everything, but… … .”
“I’m telling you to listen. Ha, people show a bit of weakness so we can pay more attention and do something about it, so why are you so calm?”
Lieutenant Sabrina’s voice made me laugh, and I couldn’t stop laughing.
‘This also shows intimacy in its own way.’
Those words conveyed the message that he could care about me and worry about me.
“Then do you want me to look weak?”
“Well, I’m not saying that’s the case, I’m just saying that it could be that way.”
“Hmm. “I want to see our maknae’s weak side too, right?”
Bibi-Juk-Ji-Ji-Ji… … .
Ensign Rune, who was leaning on my shoulder, was gently rubbing her head, and the sight of her sunset-colored hair being completely disheveled made me tickle more than I expected.
“I just had a bigger thought that I had to do well. “I was wondering if it really mattered that I hadn’t come that far since it was in yellow mode.”
ㅡExhibition.
Now that it is a kind of crisis situation, I cannot show a calm attitude, but if I act like a lump of burden. I felt like I hated myself even more for being like that.
I have an intuition that I can’t accept myself like that, not other people.
“Look at what he’s really saying. Rune, is this really not normal?”
“Foot… … “Well, what if it’s not normal? How many normal people are there in the first place?”
“How long is it, am I normal?”
“Yeah, no~ Sabrina. In my opinion, you are more abnormal than Han Tiansheng?”
Then, when the conversation took off in a different direction, I was soon able to adapt.
‘I guess this is just normal.’
There was no need to react greatly to each one. As I was sandwiched between the two people, their gaze suddenly caught my attention.
Ensign Iris is clearly sitting, but half-asleep, blinking blankly.
As a result, her shoulder-length blonde hair was flowing and swaying, which was very different from how she usually felt.
Should I say that he looks very dazed?
“Ensign Iris, are you very sleepy?”
“uh… … So, don’t talk to me.”
I was speechless as I saw her cut off my words with one sharp cut.
‘really… … ‘That’s amazing.’
In a way, even more than the Glesia of the past, Ensign Iris had an incredible talent for stopping people from speaking.
“Phew… … .”
“Hey, did you see me scolding the youngest just now?”
“That’s right, the real Iris is amazing, so what kind of woman would cut her like a knife when she saw Han Tiansheng?”
Then, when the two people started laughing at me, I twitched my hands without realizing it out of embarrassment.
‘This is what it felt like.’
Once again, I felt like I indirectly experienced what Second Lieutenant MacPhil was feeling.
And that’s pretty… … It was extremely embarrassing.
“You’re the youngest.”
“… … Yes, Ensign Rune.”
“Are you really okay?”
The voice that asked casually suddenly caught my attention.
He was still leaning his head on my shoulder with his eyes half-closed. Compared to the usual Ensign Rune, he looked more languid, but he also didn’t look light.
“It’s really okay.”
When I answered with a little force, Lieutenant Rune let out a small laugh.
“That’s it then.”
“what. Rune, what are you saying is okay now?”
“You go on a mission with us, the youngest. He said yesterday that he would do the mission himself. “There were some people who wanted to leave, but when they said they would leave, that was the decision.”
“… … really?”
“Oh, really.”
Between the conversations that followed, I just smiled awkwardly. Ensign Sabrina shook her head.
“The enemy is really merciless. Anyway, this guy’s probation period has just ended. “But you’re going on a yellow-ready mission together?”
“Well, rather than being merciless, he said he would do it? “We respect that opinion.”
“If it were me, I would have stopped him from ever going on a mission.”
“That’s it, Sabrina, it’s because you weren’t with us yesterday. “How assertive he really is.”
Tuk!
Suddenly, Lieutenant Rune stabbed me in the side, and I flinched.
“… … “It tickles.”
“Is that what you’re saying?”
Tuk!
I stopped unconsciously when a hand poked my waist again. In fact, like other lieutenants, there were quite a few lieutenants who played pranks on me.
Among them, Lieutenant Rune, who was leaning on my shoulder like now, was as cruel as Lieutenant Sabrina.
Tuk.
Then, when she didn’t let go of my hand while poking me in the side, I felt something.
“Sabrina. “If you think about it, is this our personnel composition correct?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“No, if we have the youngest, of course our staff will be more, but we are in yellow mode right now. Then aren’t we just going to carry out our mission as apostles anyway? It’s like reconnaissance, of course the lower platoon will do it… … “Then shouldn’t our youngest also stay with Lieutenant Leria?”
I was surprised by what he said next.
The meaning behind her words now was worry. It means that I need to have someone stronger by my side.
“… … Rune, that’s not it.”
“huh? “Why not?”
“I know how much you care for him, but how can you go on a mission with Lieutenant Leria? “The mission you will undertake will be one that will give you a bit more breathing space than ours.”
As I was just listening to what was going on, I had no choice but to interfere at least for this moment.
“Now that means… … Are you saying there are differences in the duties each performs?”
“uh. “That’s it.”
“… … That’s right. That too. “Then my thoughts were short.”
I still blinked at Lieutenant Rune’s words of agreement. Lieutenant Sabrina gave the answer to my question.
“Now that this is being said, the mission that Lieutenant Leria and we will be carrying out will only deal with first-class apostles from now on. “Of course, the strongest among us is Lieutenant Leria, so of course the mission difficulty level is bound to be different.”
“Then we will only deal with level 2 to 3 apostles. That’s right, since we were in yellow posture, carrying out missions was completely different.”
“okay. Instead, you won’t be that comfortable either. “There will be a lot of missions to perform.”
In the conversation that followed, I understood clearly.
What will the enemy platoon, currently divided into two, led by Lieutenant Leria and Ensign Roxanna, do in the future?
‘Execution of apostles belonging to the 2nd to 3rd classes.’
What I learned at the academy was about the 4th to 7th level apostles, who were much lower in rank, so it felt like something was finally starting to feel real.
What a dangerous place you are right now.
“Han Tiansheng. “Do you understand to some extent after listening now?”
“I understand.”
I looked into Ensign Sabrina’s calm eyes and slowly took a breath.
Ensign Sabrina looked at me intently and nodded slightly.
“I’m sure Roxanna accepted your opinion and made that decision. Be really strong. “Maybe I should go on a mission starting today.”
“… … yes.”
“Hey, don’t scare the youngest for no reason. Anyway, Sabrina, you’re going to have a really hard time from now on.”
Lieutenant Rune’s light voice made me laugh without realizing it.
‘Let’s think calmly.’
This too was just a moment to adapt.
Crash.
And at that moment, I heard the door opening. When I unconsciously turned my head, I saw Lieutenant McPhill.
“… … .”
As soon as our eyes met, whoever was looking at me looked at me with eyes mixed with envy, and for a moment I had nothing to say.
That’s because Ensign Rune was still leaning his head on my shoulder.