Part 2

JULY 2, UNIFIED YEAR 1926,

GENERAL STAFF OFFICE, SERVICE CORPS DEPUTY DIRECTOR'S OFFICE

-x-X-x-

Lieutenant General von Zettour was looking over the reports from the front lines while having a late meal in his office. Tense, hurried footsteps interrupted him in his duties.

When he looked up and saw his subordinate standing there, he was confused for a moment.

It was the promising talent Colonel von Lergen. The Service Corps and Operations in the General Staff had fought over him, and Zettour himself thought highly of the man.

When he flew furiously into his office, Zettour furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "What is it?"

"General von Zettour! Are you really putting Colonel von Degurechaff in charge of a Kampfgruppe?!"

The question was cleared up the moment Lergen opened his mouth. For better or worse, he was one of the army's sensible officers. To put it another way, he was someone who was apprehensive of Degurechaff's more over-the-top actions… During the inquiry, he had defended Degurechaff's conduct, but ultimately he thought she would inevitably ruin them; therefore, he didn't trust her.

And his fears were well-founded. As was known both in and outside the General Staff, even Zettour, who valued her so highly, originally had the same worries as Lergen.

But to him, such concerns were already meaningless. In order to win, he was prepared to swallow any pill, no matter how bitter.

This was war. They couldn't be picky about their methods. Zettour had decided that even if the side effects were agonizing, they could regret it as much as they wanted after winning the war.

"What I'd like to know," said Zettour, "is where you heard about this, Colonel von Lergen. How did you gain access to this info from Operations? It should be confidential even within the Service Corps."

"General, forgive me for saying so, but Colonel von Degurechaff has already gone too far. I've just received a report that she's co-opted a battalion from the Second Guard Division garrisoned in the capital with the excuse that it's necessary for her investigative research for the General Staff!" Spittle flew from his mouth, he was so furious.

Apparently, he had caught wind of the Kampfgruppe's formation via an incident that affected his own department.

Well, I guess he's as outstanding as always, thought Zettour with a sigh.

"But that must be Colonel von Degurechaff's way of 'appropriately' handling things." In the army, "appropriate" use essentially meant exploiting everything available.

Though he had said "a measure" of discretion, this did happen directly after he told her they would give it to her. He realized they were lucky she hadn't co-opted weapons.

It amounted to borderline interference in supreme command, but this was Degurechaff. Surely, she had some sort of justification prepared. In which case, there wasn't any problem. He didn't feel like complaining.

"Either way, the Second Guard Division is, along with the First, charged with defending the capital. Considering their connections with the court, they would never be deployed in combat, but they have high-quality equipment. Maybe we should be impressed with her taking advantage of what's on hand."

"…True, the Second Guard Division isn't doing much of anything at the moment, but she's clearly overstepping her authority."

"That's enough. You probably shouldn't say any more, Colonel."

He didn't feel like hearing anything else, and he made that loud and clear. "General?!"

"Colonel von Degurechaff is an expert field officer. The Guard Divisions soldiers are elite… unlike the key members connected to the court. Don't you think that's an optimal combination?"

"But—" Lergen tried to protest, but Zettour sighed at him. "We can't afford to let them twiddle their thumbs."

The requests from the front lines conveyed how grave the situation had gotten. Degurechaff had offered a plan to ameliorate it. And it was to flexibly employ a Kampfgruppe made up of multiple military branches in the Imperial Army's preferred efficient method.

That said, while Degurechaff's report was brilliant, it was undeniable that at this rate, it would remain armchair theory. How much doctrine can you really claim if it's untested?

"In order to actually verify its practicality in combat and mitigate the difficulties on the front lines, it's hard to avoid employing the unit in a test, and the only way to do it is to put the one who came up with the idea in charge."

You understand that, right? Zettour asked with his eyes, and Lergen was left speechless. It was true; it was common understanding that there were virtually no magic officers who were also such outstanding commanders.

No, you could say they simply didn't exist.

And Degurechaff was essentially the only one who could use the General Staff's firefighting team, the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion, to its full potential. If the battalion built up by that great commander was going to be the core of the new Kampfgruppe, then ultimately, its commander would have to be Degurechaff.

"Since that's the case, I've decided that now is the time to deploy it on the front lines. Colonel von Lergen, I don't think a staff officer of your caliber would require any more explanation than that, but what do you say?"

"I humbly thank you for your kindness and the quite undeserved praise. But if that's how you feel, then please forgive me for offering you my opinion: You should at least station Colonel von Degurechaff and her Kampfgruppe on the southern continent!"

"We can't hold out down there anymore. General von Romel has been fighting for almost a year, but we can't get dragged into a mate´riel war."

The Southern Continent Expeditionary Army Corps had been dispatched as a way to

gently shake up the status quo of the fight.

Zettour made the choice to send them unwillingly; it was for political purposes. They were managing to achieve continual tactical victories… but as expected, the reports that came in said they were struggling against the enemy's mate´riel strength.

The Commonwealth was propping up the Republicans substantially, and the insincere neutral stance of the Empire's dear ally, the Kingdom of Ildoa, was incredibly fishy.

And on top of that, due to the frequent raids on the transport fleet by the Commonwealth Navy and marine mages, the supply situation of the thinly spread expeditionary forces had gone from beyond pitiable to nearly disastrous.

General von Romel was an expert in maneuver warfare, but with a fundamental force imbalance, there was little hope that he would be able to counteract strategic inferiority with tactical victories.

As they had already achieved their initial objective of creating a distraction, the idea of committing more troops at this point could be met only with confusion.

"But we can shore up the mate´riel disparity. Wouldn't that be the place for Degurechaff to shine, as you believe she will? Couldn't she take on the Commonwealth marine mages?"

"For a time, I'm sure she could, but it would only be a drop in the bucket."

The fundamental quantities of mate´riel being committed were too different. All Zettour could do was make a face like he'd been sucking lemons and lament the shamefulness of the Imperial Army.

"Multiple reports are saying that mate´riel is being supplied directly to the Commonwealth Army and the remnants of the Republican Army—er, the Free Republic, was it?—from an unconfirmed source."

It was exactly as they had feared.

He wanted to cry, Is Degurechaff a devil?! Just as her report had predicted, massive amounts of Unified States–made military goods were flowing into the southern continent via the Commonwealth as camouflage.

And apparently, they were coming from the Unified States directly.

What's worse, they were purposely doing the deals with private enterprises and transporting things on ships of neutral nationality. Even if the Empire wanted to sink them, the ships were from a third country. Or that one.

Sinking or inspection could invite the Unified States into the war. At least, that's what Degurechaff's paper from so long ago claimed.

Her assertion that the executives of the Unified States were hoping the Imperial Army would do just that actually had a high probability of being true.

"…Colonel von Lergen. We know due to a curious leak that a certain country is sending mate´riel directly to the southern continent."

"Huh?"

"The leak was made on purpose."

Basically, someone from either the Commonwealth or the Unified States with a perverted interest in provoking an imperial attack on Unified States ships was kind enough to tip them off.

The only way to avoid a conflict would be to bomb the port of discharge.

But on the southern continent, even that would be difficult. It would have to be a raid from high altitude. Given the slim chances of hitting their target, the only way to do it would be to carpet-bomb the area.

The imperial air fleet was already fully engaged on the western and eastern fronts.

Under the circumstances, concentrating the necessary amount of bombers on the southern continent was impossible.

And they were likewise strapped for mages. It would be too hard to pull a whole unit off the main lines.

Thus, currently, they had no move to make.

"There's a leak regarding that country's assistance. Apparently, the amount of supplies

flowing in is undeniably huge. Vexingly, we have no way to stop it."

"The Unified States is sending supplies to the southern continent directly? We know they have troops working with the Commonwealth forces, but… direct support to a combat zone is… Wasn't Congress's policy to be a neutral third party?"

"The president seems to have taken a different stance."

Apparently, the good ladies and gentlemen of the Unified States considered their country to be neutral. And it was an utter pain in the ass, but they even wanted to continue normal trade relations with the Empire.

If that was all… Zettour winced.

If that was all, they would surely be desirable trading partners. But the president of the Unified States seemed to be of a different mind than the voters.

"…What will you do?"

"Our Empire may be great, but we have our hands full with the Federation and the Commonwealth. I want to avoid starting anything else."

Ultimately, if they had no way to mitigate harm, getting involved would be too costly. He could only think that the Unified States' pro-war faction was openly provoking them. There was no need for the Empire to go biting that poisonous apple of their own accord.

"Of course, it's aggravating to helplessly watch our enemy enjoying those benefits."

Which was why they had to win in the east. If that could be achieved, nothing was off- limits. All that mattered was whether it would benefit the Empire or not. Everything had to be considered accordingly.

"That's how it is, Colonel. To win, we need to get results in the east. So I'm going to have Degurechaff wreak havoc on the eastern lines."

"…Yes, sir."

Midway through the Great War, a serious conflict arose within the Imperial Army General Staff regarding overall war policy. General von Zettour, who had led their

efforts on the Rhine front overall, and his followers made up the western faction. They advocated a bloodletting strategy, draining the enemy over time until it died.

On the other hand, the eastern faction, made up primarily of people involved in the eastern army, prioritized the eastern front. They advocated a decisive strategy to end the war quickly with encirclement and annihilation.

The western faction strongly condemned the idea of a decisive battle as too risky. Zettour, especially, who was an adherent of Attritional Containment Doctrine, wanted to avoid large-scale offensives. Trench warfare had taught them the merit of decentralized advances and encirclement tactics, but he was extremely skeptical of going on an offensive while their enemy held the advantage.

Meanwhile, the eastern faction proposed their strategy on the premise that the Federation would have numerical superiority. Under that assumption, the western faction's proposed plan had to be deemed unrealistic.

What they set their sights on next was an attract and annihilate strategy employing their mobility along interior lines.

It was an application of a method proposed by Zettour, who had encircled and annihilated the bloodied and weakened Republican Army at the end of the first battle on the Rhine. The eastern faction focused on the mobile aspects and saw the tantalizing prospect of an encirclement.

While the Attritional Containment Doctrine endlessly piled up corpses, the Decisive Battle Doctrine would limit losses by ending everything in one victory. The eastern faction used that logic to rebel against the passivity of the mainstream General Staff faction. It ended up that they would test their theory in an operation on the eastern front against the Federation Army that had broken through imperial lines after the initial sneak attack.

They succeeded in surrounding an invading force of 400,000 Federation soldiers with a mere 150,000 in Trouncenberg. Compared to the imperial losses of 10,500, the Federation lost 150,000 (90,000 of which were taken prisoner).

Though tables hadn't completely overturned their numerical inferiority, and they let some remnants of their enemy escape, the battle was considered solid precedent for the eastern faction's theory.

On the heels of that success, the eastern faction began planning how to increase their gains and bring the war to an early close. At that time, a movement that supported any prospect of an early end to the war appeared in opposition to the cabinet and the imperial family's fears of heavy casualties.

As the mainstream group in the General Staff, the western faction tried to argue against them, but the eastern faction stressed their success in the Battle of Trouncenberg.

More than anything, the eastern faction's achievements were so much more persuasive than the western faction's victory on the Rhine front, which had come at the cost of a mountain of imperial corpses.

Thus, the General Staff proposed and carried out a single plan. It was called "Operation Lakeside." The idea was to push up the front lines via a major offensive. It was emphatically criticized from several quarters for being high-risk, high-return, but in the end, they bulldozed the opposition and pushed it through.

It was ordered as Order No. 41. Thus, the Imperial Army's great offensive in the east became known as Operation No. 41, or colloquially as Operation Lakeside.

The Imperial Army General Staff's Order No. 41 was top secret; it was delivered by officers themselves.

Defensive combat in the Federation was nearing its end. We had already destroyed the Federation's reserves at Trouncenberg. The situation was fluid, but the Federation's surplus forces were drying up, and it had practically lost the advantage it had seized in the initial sneak attack.

Amid these circumstances, the Imperial Army was tasked with seizing the initiative as soon as weather and ground conditions improved. The objective was to thoroughly annihilate the remaining forces the Federation Army had been holding on to and, to the extent possible, incapacitate their critical field army.

In order to accomplish that, it first sent its main forces into the main operation in the east. Then, in order to defend their expanded lines, a mobile corps was formed. The general plan was to mop up the enemies on the front and take the road and supply base along the former forward-most line.

The top priority, however, was to take out the remaining enemy forces.

And at the very bottom, there was a comment that said:

"Troops, our counterattack is soon at hand."

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JULY 8, UNIFIED YEAR 1926,

FEDERATION CAPITAL MOSKVA, LARGE SUBTERRANEAN MEETING ROOM

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Everyone present was clearly depressed.

All they needed to do was propose a single constructive idea, but they were useless failures worried only about what Comrade General Secretary Josef thought.

How utterly pathetic, lamented Mr. Loria, who was working diligently for the people, the nation, and the party on that day as well.

He had a dream. He would spare no effort in making it come true. His efforts were so great, he could boast that he was the hardest-working technocrat in all the Federation.

And it was because of that ambition that he felt young. Or rather, it was precisely because he had a dream that life was worth living. What's the difference between a lazy oaf who doesn't know what they desire and someone in the lageri?18

With that on his mind, Loria got down to work for the time being.

"To sum up the report, Comrade General Secretary, the Imperial Army is concentrating a large force in the region of the eastern border. It seems that, as you thought, they will launch a counteroffensive soon."

The report was so long it wasn't worth listening to. In the Commissariat for Internal Affairs, if a field report wasn't kept to three lines, he would send the author to the lageri for the crime of inefficiency.

Come to think of it, the Federation was too inefficient. Bureaucracy was already spreading, and regrettably, not a single system functioned in a simple way. He could understand very well why Comrade General Secretary was irritated.

"Thanks. Now then, comrades, that's our situation. What do you think?"

The question implicitly requested a plan for a solution.

Really, it was dangerous to answer Comrade General Secretary Josef's questions. If you gave an opinion and it went well, you could be given credit and authority. But if you were too successful, you could be purged as someone threatening his position. Even if that didn't happen, there was still the danger of getting involved in and then ruined by internal party struggles.

If you failed, on the other hand, you'd be forced to suffer the consequences right then and there. With that in mind, it was obvious why everyone stared at Comrade General Secretary Josef with earnest resolve, yet no one opened their mouths.

That said…

Like this, the inepts might as well have had their necks on the chopping block.

He furiously clenched his pen and was seized by the urge to stab it right through the document. This was pointless. There was no time to lose, and things were far from ideal. Eventually I'll send you all to the lageri, he decided. But first, he made up his mind about what to do.

"Comrade General Secretary, we have succeeded in drawing the enemy in. Now I think we should make it so they can't pull out."

"And you would do that how?"

"Let's bait a hook and have them bite it. What if we ceded the region near the border?"

The Federation's territory was vast. But the development of its infrastructure was conveniently lagging behind. For the country, it was a problem, but by the same token, it also created poor conditions for an advancing army.

If the Federation could draw the Empire into an attritional battle, the advantage would be theirs. It was simple; even a child could understand by looking at the map. The Federation's vast territory, with which it could defend in depth, was a good ally.

Imagine ten people so strong it would take ten to beat each one. If those ten people could take on a hundred, it might be hard to beat them even with only a hundred people. But with a hundred against one, they could surely win.

If the enemy spread out, they could win with numbers. It was only a matter of course. There is no enemy who can't be crushed and killed with numbers, no matter how strong they are.

All they needed to do was draw in the thinned-out enemy forces and batter them. Or perhaps create a place where they could lure them into a futile attrition battle. For example, a city whose capture would have significant political effects, a place they wouldn't be able to give up once they took it.

A city, in addition to having no resources, would be effective for drawing them into an urban battle of attrition. The most apt place near the front lines was Josefgrad. It would be typical for them to order the Federation Army to guard that city with their lives.

And if the Imperial Army captured the city, they would probably never let it go.

Especially if our propaganda kept saying that we would take it back.

And regardless of what would happen if the Federation challenged the Empire's mobile army to a field battle, in a battle of attrition, the Federation's numerical advantage would take effect.

In other words, dropping back, for the Federation Army, would mean securing strategic depth.

The Imperial Army might get space, but the Federation Army would get time to reorganize.

"Comrade Loria! Say what you will, but that puts the Federation's honor at stake!"

"Are you seriously saying we should give land to the Empire under the direction of our great commander, Comrade General Secretary?!"

But the responses came from idiots who made his head hurt. If you looked, you could see how they flaunted their allegiance. It disgusted him to be contested by those imbeciles who were capable only of blind following.

"Shut up. Comrade General Secretary, may I please continue?" I'll put those guys first on the list of people to send to the lageri, he thought as he addressed the formal leader of the proceedings. At least Comrade Josef trusted him.

Even if he said something that displeased him, it was out of loyalty. "…Go ahead, Loria."

And dictators tend to be sensitive to those sorts of things. Of course, Loria knew that only from experience, but still.

Anyhow, the highest authority figure present waved a hand to have the protestors settle down and allowed Loria to continue.

"Thank you." Loria understood. He gave an exaggerated expression of gratitude, stood, and walked over to the map on the wall.

It was a map describing their situation. What pained him was the crushing blow the Federation forces had suffered in Trouncenberg due to the major offensive those morons had insisted on.

But apparently, the Imperial Army was also full of numbskulls.

The desire to attack on impulse is a defect of soldiers in general. Loria chuckled to himself in his head.

They didn't understand the nature of invading enemy territory.

"Cutting to the chase, if we retreat, we can force the Imperial Army into a battle of attrition. Furthermore, only by retreating can we force them into urban combat in a number of strategically important points."

There were some factories and the transportation network in the region to consider, but the chaos of an urban battle was optimal for the Federation right now.

Combat in cities would take place on a fairly large scale.

For the Federation Army, which was qualitatively inferior to the Imperial Army, that held a rather important meaning.

"This is my personal opinion, but I don't see any reason we should have to fight in the ring our opponents feel at home in. We want the opposite. It's in the tight quarters of urban combat that we can use the advantage of our numbers."

Loria would guarantee that an urban battle was the optimal place if you wanted freshly conscripted troops to fight halfway decently. Or rather, it could be said that he had no other ideas how to wage an actual war with the Empire.

He had some of his political officers on the front lines reporting both imperial and Federation losses.

The ratios were never better than one to five.

But the scale of the Federation Army was overwhelming. When it came to slugging it out in a city, organized combat and mobile battles—all those disciplined actions the Imperial Army specialized in—would be of only limited use.

With the pure gaze of a mathematician, Loria calculated for their victory.

"If we can get our attrition ratios even slightly more equal, the Empire will be the ones who surrender."

If they could lower their losses even slightly, hard math would give the Federation an overwhelming advantage. They could also increase their opponents' losses a little bit.

Loria sneered at that point.

Ah, soldiers are such obnoxious creatures. They obsess over honor and appearance, plus pride—it's too much.

"But as long as they keep winning, the importance of the land will grow on its own."

Pyrrhus was great because he realized his victory was going to be Pyrrhic and had managed to retreat. Most generals would have been blinded by their success and expanded the lines in pursuit of further results.

Naturally, the Imperial Army would invade Federation territory to increase their gains. But to do that, it would be forced to engage in battles over cities.

"Once that happens, they won't be able to retreat even if they want to."

Then they would need to reinforce their units to tighten their defenses. Yes, they would be paralyzed. The mobile ones who were so skilled at encirclement tactics would be stuck allotting more and more manpower to defend a fixed position.

"Then all that's left for us is to swoop in and retake our lost territory."

The Federation Army would simply employ their numbers to encircle them.

And maybe it would be good to send in some spies via a third country to agitate public opinion in the Empire.

Then they really wouldn't be able to pull out.

"Of course, so that we can resist to the last, Internal Affairs plans to dispatch blocking units behind various units fighting in the city."

They also required some live bait to lure them in. He would take anyone who had made anti-Federation remarks, as well as ethnic nationalists and reactionaries, then grind them down to nothing against the Imperial Army. Loria spoke matter-of-factly, but internally he felt like bemoaning the silent, trembling party executives and their stupidity.

When he looked around, he saw a few horror-stricken faces among them.

You people with your fake morals only pretend to be virtuous. There couldn't possibly be a good person here, he wanted to jeer.

"I'm confident that we'll then be able to crush the imperials using a wall of civilians we'll force to volunteer for the army and the riffraff from the concentration camps."

They would preserve the soldiers who were loyal to the establishment while disposing of potentially dangerous elements at the same time.

"No, if we put it another way, all the Federation's people will heroically resist the invaders."

And it wouldn't be through a purge but sacrifice for the fatherland. It wasn't someone from the establishment who would perform the purges but the Imperial Army. There was no need for the party to get its hands dirty.

Loria was surprised by his own acumen.

When their hopes and dreams are the motivator, people exhibit unbelievable strength and abundant creativity.

"Under the leadership of Comrade General Secretary, all the Federation's civilians will rise up as partisans. Don't you think that would be wonderful?"

"…I see. That could be an effective proposal, yes."

At least everyone could understand that much. No one questioned the ethical values, whether he was right or wrong.

So the idea was accepted very easily. "Thank you."

"All right, I'll put you in charge of that, Comrade Loria. But you know failure is unacceptable, don't you?"

"Of course. Please leave everything to me."

Failure is unacceptable—the warning was accompanied by a harsh gaze. A chill went up Loria's spine, but he didn't avert his eyes. He continued looking back, determined.

For him, this was part of fulfilling his dream.

"…Comrade General Secretary, I hate to ask for this in return, but there is one thing." "If there are supplies you need, I'll approve them. What is it?"

"It's about the criminal who bombed Moskva. I'd like to personally be the one to judge her."

That… that fairy. I want her.

No matter what it takes—I'll do anything. I've got to have her for myself.

"We must proceed very carefully—yes, very carefully with that matter. I can't promise you, Comrade Loria."

Loria had brought up that detestable situation in front of the general secretary, of all people. That alone was stepping on the tiger's tail. In fact, the hand holding his pen

was visibly shaking from rage and humiliation.

"Comrade General Secretary. Then I'd at least like to have the little girl." He knew it was reckless.

But even so. There were times a man just had to act. "…Comrade Loria, is she your type?"

"Of course! Er… that's not exactly the right way to express it, but…"

There were things he had to do, even if it meant sacrificing everything. There are times in life that you just have to speak up.

"What?"

"She's what you could call my ideal. I would so much—so very much—like to make her gasp beneath me."

Pure determination. Loria could only plead.

Was hoping all he could do? No, he acted. Would his hopes be allowed? That was something only God knew.

But Loria had made up his mind. He had already decided. If they wanted to laugh at him as a fool, he would let them.

"…Fine. If it will dispel your anxiety, then I'll allow it."

"You can count on me. I'll eradicate every obstruction and enemy to make this operation a success. Guaranteed."

And so Loria had acquired the wings he needed to make his dream come true. As soon as the meeting ended, he jumped into his car and sped back to headquarters, which was being rebuilt, to get back to work.

"The general secretary gave me permission. Now—now I just have to catch her."

The situation was steadily evolving to make his dream a real possibility. That sense of fulfillment made him forget his age. He felt giddy.

He was convinced he had lost the purehearted anticipation of a child long ago, so he was genuinely surprised.

"The Imperial Army is walking right into my trap. If this goes well, I'm sure I'll be able to lure that Salamander Kampfgruppe or whatever they call themselves deep into our territory."

But at the same time, he had the caution of a mature adult. He had his unadulterated feelings, but he had also learned patience—which is not to say that he wasn't looking forward to the fun at the end…

"I guess it's one more reason to put up the best fight we can. I wonder how the army's morale is…"

Loria wasn't about to spare any effort, so he called up the officers in charge to ask. To him, people could do only so much before the only thing left was waiting for fate. So he would do everything he possibly could in order to avoid regrets.

"Probably not very high. We have reports that desertions are on the rise."

"Hmm, I guess we should send more blocking units than originally planned. Choose the members from within Internal Affairs. Send them as soon as possible."

Naturally, he would make every move possible.

As a person chasing his dream, he would sacrifice everything he had for his ideal. His devotion was great enough that he was prepared to make an enemy of the entire world if necessary.

"Understood."

"And improve conditions in the concentration camps." But he also understood.

He knew the importance of hopes and dreams. Without them, people couldn't live as humans.

"But that's…"

"Instead of throwing them in there for ten years, we should treat them well for a month and then pit them against the Imperial Army. Our national resources should be used in a meaningful way."

You don't understand even that much? Still, Loria was tolerant of even his fretting subordinate.

He was a missionary preaching hopes and dreams. People needed happiness. Which meant that people, including himself, needed to be happy.

"In other words, even prisoners should be used efficiently. If you understand, then get it done."

"D-do excuse me. I'll get on that right away."

"If necessary, punish some camp guards… If progress comes too slowly, you'll be dealt with as well."

Everyone needed to work hard. He knew that people valued the chance to pursue their dreams. If their dream was staying alive, they would work for it.

"Yes, sir."

"Look, all you need to do is what needs to be done. Remember that."

So, troops. Please hurry up and show me you can do this, he wished, just barely suppressing his inner conflict.

"All right. Get going."

Hurry up and bring that fairy to me.

-x-X-x-

JULY 18, UNIFIED YEAR 1926, THE EASTERN LINES

-x-X-x-

Good day, everyone.

Do you like clean air and a beautiful night sky? Wouldn't you like to lie down on the earth amid a soft, gentle breeze and watch clouds drifting off into forever?

The city is overly mechanized and rigid in its standardization—it has no personality. Let's take a step into the outside world. I'm sure we'll find an abundance of the nature we're meant to return to.

Our addiction to machines and overreliance on cars might make you think walking on the earth is a little crazy.

But please remember: Our ancestors walked. And so do we. So why not learn from our forebears and take a stroll outside?

Ah, I apologize. My introductory remarks have gone on for too long. How embarrassing.

I am the officer in command of the General Staff's Salamander Kampfgruppe, Lieutenant Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff.

My current job is armed hiking.

All I have to do is go on and on, by motorcycle or armored vehicle, across the muddy earth.

Our actual mission is to support the flank of the Imperial Eastern Army Group's Northern Cluster. You could say it's the newly formed Salamander Kampfgruppe's flank patrol mission.

Well, I heard our friends in the east beat the invading enemy's reserves in Trouncenberg. The General Staff doesn't imagine they'll show up again now, so let's relax and take it easy.

Yep, relax. I don't want to get too involved. To be specific, this should be like a game of Ding-Dong Ditch… so we can always just run away.

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