Volume 3: The Eastern Front

Chapter 27: Arrival at Post

“Excuse me for intruding…”

With a quiet breath to steady myself, I pushed open the door I had knocked on moments before and stepped into the room. The hinges gave a faint creak, and the air inside carried the unmistakable weight of maps, ink, and long hours of strategy.

“Starting today, I have been assigned to the Eastern Regional Command. I am Brigadier General Noah Willard of the Marquis Willard family.”

After a long journey—changing trains countless times from the royal capital to the distant eastern frontier—I had finally arrived at the Eastern Command headquarters. The fatigue of travel still lingered faintly in my limbs, but I forced it aside, standing straight as I delivered my introduction.

“Oh… So you’re the one. I’ve been waiting for you.”

The one who greeted me was a woman—still young, yet already possessing an undeniable presence.

Her hair, a blazing red that fell all the way to her waist, seemed almost to flicker like fire in the light. Her eyes matched it, sharp and crimson, giving her a striking, almost intimidating beauty. She stood tall—close to 180 centimeters—and even beneath her rigid military uniform, her voluptuous figure was impossible to miss.

“I’ve heard quite a bit about your exploits in the western front. It seems you made quite a name for yourself. Impressive… especially for someone so young.”

“I am honored by your praise, General Newsbeck.”

She was none other than General Newsbeck—the supreme commander of the Eastern forces.

“But I could say the same about you, could I not?”

“Hahaha! Careful now—talking about age is strictly forbidden for someone like me who can already see thirty on the horizon. …I’m still unmarried, you know?”

“……”

I quietly averted my gaze.

Setting aside the matter of her being unmarried… becoming a full general at thirty was astonishing. Not that I was in a position to talk—being a brigadier general at fifteen—but even so, her rise was extraordinary.

And on top of that, she was a woman. In a society where remnants of male superiority still lingered, her achievement was nothing short of unprecedented.

“Your reputation, General Newsbeck, has reached even the distant lands of the Marquis Willard territory. I’ve heard of your great accomplishments in the New Continent’s War of Independence—how you drove the Kingdom of Friez, which had been expanding its colonies there, entirely off the continent.”

Behind her stood undeniable, overwhelming achievements.

In the Kingdom of Lunoa, where there had been no major wars for a long time and promotions had been little more than lukewarm competitions, she stood out as a prodigy who had secured real, tangible glory. Coupled with her birth into a ducal family, it was no wonder she had risen so far, so fast.

She had already reached brigadier general at twenty-four…

…Wait.

When I thought about it, me becoming one at fifteen was far more abnormal, wasn’t it?

“That was a few years ago. Thanks to that—or rather, because of it—I missed my chance to get married. So, what do you think? Interested in marrying into my family?”

“There’s nearly a twofold difference in our ages. Would that really be alright?”

“…Eh? Twice? …Ah, I see. You’re fifteen, after all. Th-That means… my younger sister, who married as soon as she came of age… I’m twice her age now!? D-Does that mean I’ve gotten that old!? C-Can I even still have children!?”

“……”

Ah… this is bad.

I think I just stepped on a landmine.

“…Ahem! Well, never mind that! More importantly—you! You should introduce yourself as well!”

“Wha—!?”

As I stood there unsure how to respond, General Newsbeck abruptly recovered, grabbed another woman—who had been completely absorbed in a map spread across the room—by the back of her collar, and dragged her over in front of me.

“A newly appointed brigadier general has taken the trouble to join us. Hurry and greet him properly.”

“…What is this? He’s just a child, isn’t he?”

The woman brought before me insulted me outright, her tone flat and dismissive, her posture utterly unbothered.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness, Second Princess Emma. I am Noah Willard, recently commissioned as a brigadier general. Though I am but a young and inexperienced fifteen-year-old, I look forward to working under you.”

Letting her insult roll off me like water, I gave a proper, composed greeting.

The person standing before me—this woman—would be my direct superior from now on. The Second Princess, only twenty years old. And yet, ever since childhood, she had been hailed as a prodigy; there was no doubting her abilities.

And as if that were not enough, heaven had granted her beauty as well.

Golden hair, cut neatly to shoulder length.

Skin as pale and flawless as an untouched canvas.

Brilliant blue eyes that shone like precious gemstones against that white.

A supple, graceful body that carried both elegance and strength.

She possessed not only talent—but beauty to match.

“…Fifteen? Not twelve?”

Being looked down upon like that—those cold, appraising eyes—it sent a faint shiver down my spine.

“I understand why you might think that, but surely it would be problematic to send someone even younger than that onto a battlefield.”

“Even so, fifteen is still far too young.”

“Now, now! Let’s not get hung up on age, shall we? You’re young as well, aren’t you?”

General Newsbeck placed a firm hand on Princess Emma’s shoulder, interrupting her criticism.

“……”

Young.

At that word, the princess’s expression twisted in a way that was almost painfully obvious.

Her rank was lieutenant general.

But unlike Newsbeck’s, that position had not been earned through battlefield merit—it was entirely a result of her birth as a princess.

“For the supreme command of a single battlefield, this is an astonishingly young group. The average age is, believe it or not, twenty-one.”

“…You smell, General Newsbeck.”

Gripping her shoulder and leaning in close, General Newsbeck was met with a completely unrelated—yet brutally direct—verbal strike from the princess.

“Whaaat!? What was that all of a sudden!? …W-Well, it’s true I haven’t bathed in a while, but it can’t be that bad, right!? Right, Brigadier General Willard!?”

“……”

I quietly looked away.

To be honest—ever since I entered the room, there had been a faintly sour smell lingering in the air.

“Nuuuaaaahhh!! …Guh! Being reacted to like that by a young boy actually hurts a little… I’ll go wash up.”

“…Well, please don’t take it too much to heart.”

At my age, I was right in the middle of adolescence. Ever since being reborn into this world, I had almost forgotten the concept of desire that I once knew in my previous life—but recently, it had begun to resurface.

Well, in other words…

There were aspects of this that could almost be considered… a reward.

So I hoped she wouldn’t expect too much.

“General Newsbeck is a beautiful woman, after all. It doesn’t really bother me.”

“Oh! In that case, perhaps I don’t need to bathe after all—”

“Ah, but please do bathe.”

“…Yes.”

There are limits to everything.