Chapter 402: Morale improvement (1)

"I think they're feeling better than we thought."

"But the fatigue that built up in their body will be inevitable. It's not the worst, but it doesn't seem very optimistic. I'd like for them to relax a little bit… but we're not in a situation where we can."

"You're right."

I saw Kim Hyunsung nodding. Even though Lee Jihye said she would care as much as she could, he seemed nervous.

I once again worried that he would complain about his tingling back, but fortunately, he didn't raise it up.

If it were a place where there were only two of us, it would seem that he would speak his mind immediately, but now that we were moving together among the troops, he couldn't do something like that. She wasn't dissing Kim Hyunsung, but I could certainly understand his thoughts.

'Yes, that's right, Hyunsung.'

"We will probably get there in a few hours. And they know we're heading there right now."

"Perhaps…"

"No. Of course, there is no guarantee that the same battle from before will occur again, but the terrain from here to our destination isn't suitable for ambushes. The enemy troops we've just faced were just surplus troops picked up from each front. Their only goal was to buy some time. Additionally, sending other troops to us separately would be a difficult decision for the Republic. They've got everything they want from the battle we just had."

"For example, what?"

"You can think of it as information, time, and physical condition."

"Ah…"

"Of course, the burden on our side has piled up, but they also can't relax. The Republic is probably feeling a lot of pressure mentally. Even if they're pushing the western and northern fronts, they'll want to recover a lot of their investment in the Castle Rock side. If we're lucky…"

"This could be the last battle."

"Yes. Even if the war continues, it won't go the way it is now."

'He is meticulous, though.'

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we were not the only ones who were betting on the next battle.

Sending surplus troops to this side could mean that they would try to hold us back, but it was also to grasp our exact power. It's safe to think that it was deployed simply to check what cards we had.

It meant that our side was already rushing with all the cards that could be used. Tactic Kim Hyunsung was the most prominent example.

I wanted to hide it, but…

'It's not something that I can just hide easily.'

If Kim Hyunsung had not been put in, there was a high possibility that we would still be fighting there. It was evident that he knew we were getting nervous. I knew that the demon summoner was trying to get information from our side by putting Castle Rock as bait, but I had no choice but to reveal some of our cards.

Hiding his cards as much as possible and checking our cards. The way he got under someone's skin, controlling the details, in a way, felt like he's a perv.

Of course, this worked just as well. The fact that we didn't have a good grasp of Castle Rock's forces was also an extension of that. If I self-evaluated the overall situation, the one who was buying time was the Republic; hence we're the one who's pressuring them.

"Ah."

"Are you okay?"

"Ah… yes."

'Fuck…this is embarrassing.'

I almost fell forward while complex thoughts. I didn't because Kim Hyunsung caught me. If I had rolled on the ground, I would be humiliated in front of the troops.

"Right, you said you overdid it. Perhaps…"

"No. It's not that. I simply fell…"

"You may have accumulated fatigue without your knowledge. It's good to work hard, but above all else, you have to take care of your body. There's a possibility that the influence of the Twisted Pond still remains."

"Yes. I will keep that in mind."

"You're not alone. It's okay to take care of yourself a little more."

Naturally, I realized that he wasn't just saying those words. He looked sincerely worried. The atmosphere got warm.

Patting my back after he raised my body was like the main character of a romance comic. The same was true of the immediate laughing and talking.

I felt like I could see why Kim Hyunsung's harem was so crazy about him.

It was just then that I felt some stinging gaze behind my back. There was even an unidentified exclamation.

As I looked back, I could see the troops staring at Kim Hyunsung and me. Most of them were made up of female soldiers. Some elves were even mixed in with them. Their reaction was strangely fascinating, with their ears moving.

'It's like Elena…'

In fact, it was hard to say that the soldiers were in good condition. The battle had just ended, but they already had to go straight to marching without proper rearrangement. But seeing their twinkling eyes, it seemed that they understood how important the war was.

'That's why the justification is important. Yes, absolutely. It was a good thing to have educated them.'

When I first joined the march, the situation was actually worse than it was then. Lee Jihye's prediction that Kim Hyunsung and my troop patrol would be effective was right.

The response was better than I thought, so I even felt puzzled. All we did was distribute the fatigue recovery potion and held small talks, but not only the surroundings but also the relatively distant units were well affected.

Of course, it wasn't that the reaction didn't make sense. It would be embarrassing for me to say it, but officially I was a messenger of the gods chosen by the Goddess Benignore and Elune. Of course, it had a good influence on the State's soldiers, and it was even more in the case of elves with excellent faith.

What about Kim Hyunsung?

Although he was a little less than that of a man named Lee Kiyoung, he deserved respect. What Kim Hyunsung showed in the previous battle made a strong impression on humans and the other races. Although their viewpoints were slightly different, humans were not the only ones who were in awe of powerful beings. It was the same for the elves, including the Elune Knight and the Dwarves.

If I were in the position of learning swordsmanship, I would have looked at Kim Hyunsung with envy. No one would be upset by the fact that the objects of respect were marching and walking together. If a division commander suddenly visited the unit, they usually would be nervous, but the case was different from that case.

The important thing was that just watching Kim Hyunsung and I had a good effect on the unit. That's why we continued to march and spent time with the troops. Looking at the female elves reacting to each of Kim Hyunsung's actions, it seemed that one of the reasons was that he was handsome.

Every time he took action, I heard small quips, so I felt bitter about the fact that looksists were prevalent in the continent. Even now. He simply laughed, but there was another exclamation that made the surrounding troops agitated.

"Stop, you bastard. No, why is her nose bleeding?"

Some were even looking at me, covering their nose. It wouldn't be too much for me to be embarrassed.

Whether he knew about it or not, he was busy telling accumulated stories. Unlike his first nervousness, his constant conversation seemed to have eased him up to some extent. It looked like Kim Hyunsung missed that kind of conversation, seeing him talking about things that had nothing to do with the war. The subject was also quite diverse.

"Do you have any intention of learning swordsmanship?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Because you seem to have better eyes than I think. If you can see the attack, we can react too."

"No… I am not very talented physically…"

That kind of conversation.

"I want to return to the guild house quickly."

"Yes."

"I wish I had a good night's sleep for about three days."

"Doing nothing else?"

"Yes. I just want to sleep."

"It will increase the amount of work you have to deal with."

"Ah…"

"It's a joke. Manager Kim Miyoung is doing a good job, so you will probably be able to enjoy enough break time soon."

That kind of useless talk. However, all conversations had something in common: assumptions about what they'd do after the war was over. No one would argue if anyone said that was the most enjoyable conversation that could be held in the current situation.

'This bastard is also human.'

He must have had thought that he just wanted to take a moment to relax rather than to erase the anxiety about even minor events. It was undoubtedly a little fun and interesting. There were parts in my head that did not match the image of Kim Hyunsung. Talking with excitement for a long time, he once again spoke to me.

"Oh. Come to think of it, Kiyoung-ssi."

"Yes."

"Have you talked to Deokgu?"

"Ah. No. In fact, right after we left Eberia, I was so busy and had no time to care for people properly. Is there any problem?"

"It's not really a problem, but… Still, it would be better to go to him. He seems to be having a hard time in many ways."

'Well…'

"He doesn't seem to be able to accept war itself well. It's the first time he had hit humans with a sword… He's too soft-hearted."

'His softness is becoming a problem.'

I didn't think it would happen if he wasn't strong. Instead of fearing that he might die, he was caught up in fear that he might kill. Since he was someone who couldn't get hurt with a sword or arrow, he must have had time to think of useless thoughts on the battlefield.

Of course, it should be the most significant reason he was naturally gentle, but if it were the Park Deokgu before receiving the buff, he would have swung his sword to survive.

'The next battle will be the same…'

Until now, Lee Jihye and I had been taking minimal care, but I couldn't guarantee that I would be able to afford to do that in the last battle. I felt that it might be more helpful if he didn't participate.

Rather.

'Shall I take him out of the formation?'

I thought it would be easy to do it if the mission was to shut down the rear command and control room. I hadn't thought about it too deeply, but there was room for other guild members to pay more attention to.

"How is the guild's condition?"

"It's not bad overall. Everyone is adapting better than I thought… even…"

"Ah… Yes."

"Yeah. In Hyejin's case, she has become really famous. It seems that the elves are very impressed by the way she stirs the battlefield on an extremely rare unicorn. Pure Spear. No matter how I think, it seems to be a suitable nickname for Hyejin."

"Yes… Yes."

'Maybe she would hate it, but…'

The expression of simply hating was insufficient.

"What do you think, Kiyoung? Should we go where the guild members are…"

"Yes. I think it would be nice to do that. I think I have to talk to Deokgu."

"It will probably be of great help. Oh! And."

"Yes."

"I know you haven't taken the fatigue recovery potion yet. It would be better to have a bottle."

'I appreciate the thought. Bastard. "

"It's okay…"

I already secretly emptied two bottles. If I took any more, I felt like I'd be full. The moment I was about to reject the potion, I saw the galleries looking at the situation.

'What…'

It felt like the whole unit was walking with Kim Hyunsung, and they were telling me to take the potion. I wasn't mistaken. I began to feel that the unit's morale would be significantly reduced if I didn't receive the potion there. When I slightly removed my hand, I heard the expression of great disappointment and an unknown sigh.

'What is this. Fuck…'

There was no choice. Eventually, when I reached out and accepted the potion, small cheering sounds came out accompanied by claps.

'What is this…'

My steps toward Park Deokgu began to feel heavier for some reason.