Chapter 33
“What should I do?”
Because the original Nemi-jip is a military story, there really weren’t any clear villains.
All the original male leads were seasoned and influential within the unit, so there was no one to oppose them.
The only person who played even a small “antagonist” role was Jaiden. When Dalin enlisted, he was a corporal who bullied her in ways the seniors didn’t notice, and when he became a sergeant he even put Aquila in danger.
For example, he’d deliberately lead Aquila into dangerous spots during monster-clearing missions.
Of course, in the army rank matters above all, so he couldn’t land any truly effective blow against Aquila — but he was definitely an irritating person.
And I would never leave a junior who offended my comrades alone, you bastard.
So what should I do about Jaiden? Should I treat him nicely to make him our ally from the start? That bastard had already acted insolent toward me — no way.
The remaining option was…
“Hey, are you cleaning, or are you savoring the mop?”
“S-sorry!”
“Already slacking off? Aren’t you going any faster?”
“I’ll correct it!”
I was in the same position — cleaning with him — but from now on I decided to erect a clear wall between that bastard and me.
I’d make sure he never gained influence in this unit; I’d lock in the hierarchy from the start.
Even though he was in Gagne’s line, whenever trainees worked together I tried to pick quarrels with him while avoiding Gagne’s gaze.
“Hey, why do you glare at Ishina like that?”
“Th-that’s not true!”
“Sarubia, I’m fine…”
“Ishina, my heart aches so much!”
“Sigh… fine, do as you wish.”
Ishina, who had grown close to me over more than a year, shook his head as if he wouldn’t interfere.
“Phew…”
“Why are you sighing?”
“I was just sighing. You got a problem?”
“No, of course not…”
“Sigh…”
“…Did I do something wrong?”
“I don’t like your blonde hair.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I said I don’t like your hair being blonde! Why! Why is it gold! I hate blonde!”
“I-I’ll fix it… no, that’s not true… I’m sorry…”
“Aaah, I hate blonde so much!”
When I opened my eyes wide and shouted that, Jaiden looked at me like I was crazy.
But my dislike for blonde wasn’t a random quibble — it was real. April and the crown prince — both were blonde, and seeing blonde sent shivers down my spine.
“Doesn’t Sarubia seem to be losing it more and more?”
“Tsk tsk, being locked in the unit too long really does make someone sour.”
“Heh heh, maybe she realized that cursing while working makes things go better?”
“Yeah, you’ve gotta curse while working, right?”
“And I don’t like blonde much either.”
“Damn it, probably everyone in our unit feels that way…”
Blair and Tobio clicked their tongues as they passed by, seeing me like that. I didn’t think I deserved to hear that from those jerks.
‘…No, there’s no way I’ve become that bad in personality.’
A lot of time passed. Two months had gone by since new recruits began active monster-clearing missions.
Two of them had died, but Jaiden, who was reasonably strong, had been doing his part in monster-clearing and still had his head attached.
And it had been two months since I started picking fights with Jaiden at every turn.
Ishina called me over with a worried look.
“Sarubia, come talk to me for a sec.”
“What’s the matter?”
He separated me from Aquila and Karon, had me sit in front of him, and carefully spoke.
“Has Jaiden done anything big to you?”
“Well, about that…”
I hesitated whether to tell him about Jaiden’s insolence or how he’d put me in danger. Then Ishina continued.
“I know Jaiden was rude to you at first…”
‘He knew?’
As expected from someone who plays the kindly mastermind in the original — his eye for people was sharp.
“Has he ever specifically put you in danger?”
“…He didn’t follow my orders once, and there was a time he mis-sent an aura and I almost got hurt, but he muttered curses instead of apologizing.”
“Is that why you dislike Jaiden?”
Since he was my senior, I couldn’t say “what does it matter,” so I kept my mouth shut and thought how to explain.
“…Yes, that’s it.”
That was the most solid excuse I could give right then, so I nodded. I couldn’t say he would bully Aquila later.
“No matter what, how can you treat a recruit like that? Sarubia, try to be more tolerant.”
“I will…”
“Right now Jaiden doesn’t seem to be taking you lightly. I know you hate him, but isn’t this enough?”
Even if I kept it up, he probably wouldn’t treat me casually after a while, but I wanted to remove any chance he might touch Aquila in the future.
“And if you keep bullying recruits, don’t think the seniors won’t notice. Jaiden is close with Gagne. So stop this now.”
“Seniors… you mean?”
“Yes, the seniors. Especially Gagne. If the sergeants find out that a trainee is bullying another trainee….”
“…Of course, Ishina-sama.”
I brightened, grasping what Ishina meant. He looked startled and took a step back when I looked up at him with shining eyes.
“Ishina, you’re right.”
“…See? You understood what I meant.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As expected, someone who plays the affectionate mastermind in the original is different.
As a trainee I had limits on how much I could bully Jaiden. At most it had been the level of insults Blair and Tobio used before.
Plus, if the seniors caught me, big trouble could follow, and it wasn’t clear if this method could actually curb Jaiden’s future power.
Jaiden’s strength came from being in Gagne’s line, so even if I tried to oppress him, his power wouldn’t vanish. So what I was doing was inefficient in many ways.
But there was a method to effectively curb Jaiden without causing trouble.
‘Ride a line!’
Yes — ride a line!
If I rode someone’s line, I’d gain the protection of that senior and when I got promoted later, it would be easier to accumulate power in the unit!
Not only Gagne — I could ride another senior’s line too!
Ishina had been subtly hinting that I should make use of the seniors.
“Ishina, thank you so much.”
“…Did I say anything that should make you so thankful? I don’t think so…”
“I’ll do as you said! Thanks! I’ll be going now!”
“…You misunderstood again, didn’t you? Argh, frustrating… you never listen…”
Ishina thumped his chest and sighed, but I ran into the building to start putting my plan into action.
Line — from now on I’ll ride a line!
‘Damn.’
The training ground was left with just his fellow recruits. Jaiden managed blades with two of his fellows and cursed silently.
Two months in this godforsaken border defense force. Life was utter crap.
Two dead comrades, two comrades left who could die anytime, hellish training, endless chores….
And among the unit there were plenty of crazy people.
Commander Elliot, who’d shout “Time!” and turn everyone into a human clock; Commander Taro, who did nothing usually but would boss trainees around when they woke him up; Sergeant Altair, who smiled friendly but turned psycho if a mistake was made; Privates Blair and Tobio who made it their hobby to swear at juniors….
But the one who seemed especially crazy was trainee Sarubia.
At first Jaiden thought she didn’t belong in such a dreadful place. Just by standing there she made the surroundings feel brighter.
She was an irresistible face, and Jaiden had taken an interest in her. His possessiveness, strong even before enlistment, had crept out.
However, Sarubia was not as mild as Jaiden had imagined. From the start she’d bared her teeth and given Jaiden attitude.
Seeing her act like she was superior to Jaiden, he felt offended.
So Jaiden resolved not to be cowed in front of Sarubia. If he didn’t lose his nerve, he believed that Sarubia would eventually be taken aback and become self-conscious.
But Sarubia’s reaction far surpassed his expectations.
‘If she’d just gotten angry it might have been okay…’
If she’d just shown anger, it might have looked cute.
But day by day she shone her eyes and acted like she was mad. Far from being charming, it was terrifying.
‘That woman was crazy.’
Just thinking of Sarubia picking fights with him made his skin crawl. He was at the point where even seeing a flower the color of her hair would make him jump.
His comrades all reacted with, “Avoid that crazy woman if you can.”
In reality, Sarubia seemed ready to grab his hair before he could grab hers, but Jaiden refused to admit he’d been intimidated.
He decided he wouldn’t back down from a goal he had set.
‘I’ll have her in my hands no matter what.’
Ignoring the ominous feeling inside, Jaiden’s desire to crush Sarubia blazed up.
