136 – Chapter 43. Battle of the North Sea – 1
– 137 –
The red colored leaves fell in the autumn rain, and after a while, white frost fell on them.
Winter is coming.
The atmosphere in the classroom wasn’t as heavy as it was, but it was quite different from the last three years of tumult.
Between the people gathered in a classroom of less than 50 pyeong, the tension of pretending to be light and the effortless calmness coexisted.
The reason probably has nothing to do with the documents I have in hand.
I didn’t know that I wasn’t very interested in the academic schedule except for the extra points, but there was no separate final exam in the second semester of my third year.
It was a change that occurred when the academic schedule of the 4th year was extended by one year, and the second semester of the 4th year was a time to be assigned to the place of service in advance or to visit the corps to receive full-fledged officer training.
For this reason, it is said that the more competent students were, the more often they could not attend the last semester, and a system was established for them to obtain a diploma based on their activities.
The system prepared for the convenience of some students has eliminated the final exam of the graduating year from the school due to the steady demand of ordinary students.
All of them were replaced by the submission of activity details for commissioning the Kingdom Army.
And the genealogy of the activities to pass with a good score was passed down from senior to junior by the clever students who tried to skip even a little of the exam.
But my 3rd grade pilot class friends didn’t need genealogy.
「Pilot Application Application: Helicopter (Seraph Type)」
I was thinking about deleting the word Seraph type, but decided to just submit it.
Writing the name of the Seraph type, which is a minor copy of my body, hurt my pride, but it was more cumbersome to submit documents related to the body, which is a relic.
I know everything anyway, so I’ll just match the format.
As a founding member of the helicopter unit that will be officially created when I graduate, my classmates applied a lot.
Most of the applicants for the helicopter unit under the hero of the Allied Forces, which will be created separately with him, were also motives.
Currently, although not all military uses helicopters, we were the only ones who received systematic training and had experience in the war.
Especially for attack helicopter pilots, there will be nowhere to follow our military academy graduates for a while.
“Erif. Can I give this to you?”
“Still, you have to follow the procedure. Submit it to the school office or homeroom teacher.”
“I would go back to you anyway… Are you bothered by it?”
“No comment.”
The friend who submitted the pilot application form pouted his lips and walked out of the classroom.
When the first and second year juniors were studying hard, we went to the teachers with various applications.
And the helicopter corps applicants’ papers will go to one of the highest ranks in the army who will be the commander.
Like everyone else, I also hate being bothered, so when a battle takes place, I’ll be a field commander, but I’m going to leave the overall management and planning of operations to experts.
So, as soon as I graduated, I revealed my identity and refused the offer to be appointed as a commander and applied as a general pilot.
After all, in a war with demons, I will go directly to the battlefield.
And the opportunity came not long after.
Early December.
Early winter when juniors are dying in preparation for exams.
Me, Chermia, and Shane gathered in front of the principal’s office.
We didn’t come together, the two of us were at the research center and then came separately.
“Erif. Have you been called too?”
“Yes. Long time no see. What Curst called.”
In front of people who know who I am, I just call the principal, Kirst, by name, but the two of them, who are students, have not been able to adapt.
With an awkward smile, Shane cleared her throat and informed the guards in the principal’s office about her business.
After a brief report, the guard opened the door.
“Welcome.”
Kurst was at ease because he treated humanoid spirits and warriors just like other students.
We were still students, so it’s burdensome to treat our superiors.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
Cust was greeted and laid out some of his papers on his desk.
The document was stamped with a ‘first-class confidential’ seal.
“You are entitled to read the first-class secrets. And this is a first-class secret that was recently delivered to the 2nd Corps.”
Kurst made a smiling mouth under the sunglasses and held out the papers.
“I called because I thought you might be interested.”
“If there was interest and something, I think I would have called him separately.”
The document was titled ‘Easel Landing Operation’.
The scheduled date is one week later.
Even if you start preparing from now on, it seems like you’re in too much of a hurry.
The name of the place was a combination of numbers and alphabets.
I don’t know, maybe it’s a password?
“It would be good to know in advance though. Don’t worry about your activities. Just the fact that you are already participating in the war is enough.”
“Thank you so much. But where are you?”
I pointed to the coded place, and Curst shook his head.
“The decryption method has not been shared yet.”
“A week left?”
“Yes. I also don’t know the intentions of the coalition leaders.”
Kirst shrugged his shoulders and retrieved his papers.
Even though it is a first-class secret, it seems that the exact location has not been disclosed.
Chermia tilted her head and opened her mouth carefully.
“Isn’t this a fake operation to find spies?”
“Searching for a spy?”
“Yes. I heard a while ago that the cryptocurrency might have been stolen.”
“Oh, you mean that?”
“Yes.”
Chermia and Shane whispered a story they knew only, then lowered their voices and spoke to Kirst.
“The other day, I sent a bomber squad to clear the enemy’s coastal defense lines, but I heard that they were annihilated by the enemy fighter squadrons that were waiting in advance. It was also a top-secret operation, and I purposely went to a place where enemy fighters were not observed.”
“Well. If so, this ciphertext is probably… ….”
“That’s right. It is highly likely that it was delivered differently for each country and unit. We want to know where the information is leaking.”
“Then, perhaps, the day before the operation starts, or around that time, there is a spy in the unit with a cipher text corresponding to the area where the demons are rapidly moving by sending a decryption method.”
“Isn’t that right? There is a possibility that the spy even predicts this and turns it away altogether.”
“Hmm.”
Kirst crossed his arms and fell into thought.
The words of the warriors who are in contact with the leaders of the Union more often than us, their weight was different.
“Nevertheless, our Kingdom 2nd Corps prepares. There could be actual operations going on.”
“Okay. So what about us?”
“You will either be contacted separately or not at all. If it’s a real spy-finding operation, there’s no need for you or the hero to go out.”
After speaking, Kirst pulled out his pipe and asked.
“My business is over. It’s good to go.”
“Yes. I will go.”
“Excuse me.”
After leaving the principal’s office, we walked down the hallways of the administrative building and chatted.
“Even the leaders of the coalition would have heard bad things about such a large-scale battle.”
I prepared troops and supplies at the most, but it’s a fake operation.
It was easy to eat a swear word.
“But it would be better than falling into a trap during a real operation.”
Well, since you don’t know where and in what form the demon spies will be, the union leaders have to be careful.
Since we haven’t been contacted since then, we didn’t care about the operation for a while.
Sunday, two days before the scheduled date of operation.
I left the dormitory and went to the city to play, but the atmosphere was chaotic.
All over the place, soldiers in military uniforms were saying goodbye to their families.
They sent their children, spouses, lovers, and parents to the battlefield, and they were showing their bright side.
It’s a family.
The only people I could call my family were humanoid spirits.
My personal memories of living on Earth were often ambiguous, but I didn’t seem to be close with my family.
I turned and looked at Chermia and Shane.
Chermia, who was holding her arms with Shane, slowly let her arms go and gave her a smirk.
She looked away as Shane coughed in embarrassment.
It’s not just because of the cold that her face is red.
These guys. You’re looking at me with the topic of wearing couple gloves.
“It seems like I’m going to have something else to do, so we’re slowly dating the two of us.”
“Hey, it’s not a date.”
The two exchanged glances, then increased their walking speed and stood next to me.
“Eight.”
Two taller than me put their arms around me.
“Where are you going?”
Chermia smiled brightly at her joke I threw, and then tightened her arms even harder.
“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’ll hold onto it for the rest of my life.”
“That’s terrifying.”
We walked down the city with a light smile.
After a while, the soldiers headed to the train station, and the remaining families turned around and wept.
Before entering the store that was my destination, I turned around and watched them for a while.
“Erif. What are you watching?”
“I was watching the soldiers and their families.”
“Ah.”
Chermia and Shane’s expressions became heavy.
To them, it must not be anyone else’s business.
“What don’t your parents say?”
Chermia and Shane looked at each other and shook their heads.
“We were persuaded a long time ago.”
“You said you should be proud of being a hero.”
“You said you would be safer than a normal soldier?”
“Well, that’s not wrong.”
When the war begins in earnest, all the people of the coalition centered on humanity will protect the warriors.
Even now, there were quite a few escorts secretly following us.
“What about Erif?”
“Armion? Of course there is nothing to say.”
In the beginning, I knew I was a humanoid spirit, so on the other hand, if I said I wasn’t going to war, I would be in trouble.
“As Chermia said, if this operation is for spies… ….”
“There will be only a short period of probation. The fear of losing a family will continue until the war is over.”
We looked down at the table without saying a word for a moment.
Can I stay here like this?
I’m in a position with a lot of responsibility.
“Well, if we really need it, we’ll call it.”
“That’s right. Until then, you should enjoy your little school life.”
Shane grinned and took out a student discount card distributed by the military academy.
I’ll have to use the point card soon too.
Because graduation is coming soon.
The dawn of that day.
Somehow I couldn’t sleep, so I was watching the moon outside the small window.
The pouring pale moonlight colored the simple dormitory with elegant colors.
“Huh?”
At that moment, I felt the elements of wind condensing above my head.
A hawk of a similar color sticks out its head from the transparent green cross section that has just emerged.
[[Erif! Were you awake?]]
“I just can’t sleep. Long time no see, Sila.”
Sila, who appeared in the material world by borrowing my strength, sat down on her shoulder familiarly.
After she had trimmed her feathers for a moment, she opened her beak wide as if she had suddenly remembered.
[[That’s right. I have to tell you this. ‘Hunters and warriors should join the Admiral. The time is as fast as possible, the location is the nearest water price.’]]
“Huh? Did you come to deliver that?”
[[That’s right. These are the words of God Himself.]]
I don’t know for sure, but it was highly likely that it was an operational order.
If it was an admiral, it would probably be Bartiers.
Even if it’s the closest to the water, I’ll have to go as far as the battleship can get to the vortex drive.
“I need to wake up Chermia and Shane too.”
[[I’ll wake Shane.]]
“Please.”
If you go to wake up Shane in the men’s dormitory at this time, the headmaster will scold you.
“Erif? What’s up?”
Her eyes sharpened as she spoke her words to Chermia, who came out of her hallway rubbing her sleepy eyes.
Chermia, who has already begun to take on the side of her hero, left her room with her prepackaged bag and a statement of reason for going out.
Unlike me, who only had a bag full of snacks, I was ready to leave anytime, anywhere.
“Please come back safely.”
When we went down to the first floor and submitted the reason for going out to the dormitory superintendent, she sent us off with a worried expression on her face.
“Yes. I will go.”
I will definitely come back.
This place is not family, but there are people who care.