The Conscript Wants to Be Discharged!

My world crumbled.
Due to the dark deed of the wicked and evil Franz Beringer, I ended up being commissioned as a non-commissioned officer, something I had never done even in South Korea.
“They say the soldier’s main enemy is the officer…”
No, now that I’m a mid-level officer myself, that phrase is inappropriate.
“Should I really stab him and run up north?”
Franz Beringer, he destroyed my world, so it’s the way of the world and the right thing to do for me to destroy his world too.
“Haah… I can’t do that.”
The whole family can’t become commies. I might be fine running away to the north, but what about my family plowing wheat fields in the royal territory?
“Me, me being an official soldier! Me being a non-commissioned officer!”
The frontal lobe of my cerebrum starts to hurt.

“Whee, whee-yoo! The rising star of Sordan Fortress!”
“The idol of conscripts!”
“Awesome, medium infantry! Amazing, regular army!”
“Urgh, as expected of the Hundred-man Captain, we can’t help but worship you!”
When I returned to the barracks listlessly from the headquarters, what greeted me was the nonsense of my subordinate Hundred-man Unit.
With the team leaders at the center, seniors and juniors, injured and uninjured alike, all of them were jumping around and making a commotion. Looking at that scene, I calmed my trembling fist and opened my mouth like a cultured person.
“What the hell is this? Can someone explain why you’re making such a fuss in the barracks?”
When I asked politely, a team leader with the corners of his mouth raised so high they almost reached his eyebrows approached me and opened his mouth.
“Ah~ Hundred-man Captain, I heard it all.”
“Heard what?”
“I was walking around the headquarters for a bit of business, and would you believe it, the knights and mages were talking about how Hundred-man Captain Yujin has been officially appointed to the royal army? So I rushed back like an arrow to prepare to congratulate you when you returned.”
-Congratulations! Hundred-man Captain!
-You’ll be getting retirement benefits now, right?
-How about becoming a career soldier while you’re at it?
-Hahahahahahaha!
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t congratulating, but their intentions to torment me like hungry ghosts rising from hell because they found something to tease about were plainly visible.
“Th…”
“Thank you, you say? Come on, there’s no need for thanks between us, it’s fine.”
“Thank you, my ass! You crazy bastards!!!”
My two fists, clenched with anger, spewed fire.
“Ugh!”
I twisted the jaw attached to the evil mouth of the team leader who was being cheeky right in front of me, and I flew towards the barracks.
“Whoa! The Hundred-man Captain’s lost it!”
“This guy’s foaming at the mouth now!”
“Kyaaaak! Help!!!”
“You bastards! You have nothing better to tease about! So you tease people! About military life!!”
I swung my fists with anger in every word, and that day, wails never ceased in the 1st Hundred-man Unit’s barracks.

The next day.
Even the clock in the military eventually turns, and a new morning arrives, so I lifted my heavy eyelids to the loud bell sound waking the fortress.
-Dong, dong, dong, dong.
“Urgh, a sound as unpleasant to hear as the reveille, really.”
“Are you awake, Hundred-man Captain?”
As I opened my eyes and got up at the loud bell sound, a subordinate with his right eye bruised blue greeted me good morning.
“Is the morning air you breathe in as a regular soldier of the royal army different?”
“Do you want to feel tomorrow morning’s air as a corpse?”
As I raised my fist to feed the fist of justice to the mouth spewing nonsense from the morning, the subordinate, seeing this, left a cheeky laugh and ran out of the barracks.
“Hehehe!”
“Tsk, the military really runs well, truly.”
With the subordinate’s bullshit chasing away my sleep, I arranged my bedding and went out of the barracks, gathered my subordinate Hundred-man Unit, and started the morning roll call.
“Now, number off from left to right.”
-One! Two! Three!… Numbering complete!
“Everyone’s here. Pay attention to personal hygiene, and don’t cause any trouble while I go to report the headcount, understood?”
“Yes!”
After they answered loudly, with the subordinates moving towards the fortress well behind me, I moved my steps towards the headquarters for today’s headcount report.
“Hey, Yujin!”
A voice calling me as I was walking diligently towards the headquarters, I turned my head to look at the person who called my name.
“Samuel, you’re back already?”
“What do you mean already back? I was suddenly dragged to the western outpost and rolled around until I nearly died.”
He is the Hundred-man Captain leading the 2nd Hundred-man Unit, like me, a person who was dragged out during rest due to a sudden mission while on combat rest like our Hundred-man Unit.
“But what happened yesterday? I heard wails that didn’t stop until nightfall.”
“That… you don’t need to know.”
“What do you mean I don’t need to know, I’ll find out eventually, just tell me now, man.”
Samuel, who was persistently sticking to me and being annoying, I briefly explained the situation because I found him bothersome.
“What? Hahaha! This is crazy!”
“Don’t laugh, or I might split your head open.”
“Oh my~ Alright, you’re someone of a different ‘class’ from me now, I should listen well, hahaha… ha ha, ha.”
The decibels of his cheerful laughter gradually lowered, and Samuel muttered in a choked voice.
“Don’t tell me… I’ll end up like you too?”
“Well… maybe?”
“Fuck, compensation that’s not discharge but forced commissioning as a regular soldier, it’s the end of the world, truly.”
With the mood turned slightly gloomy, we went to the Defense Captain’s office in the headquarters.
“Salute, 1st Hundred-man Unit Captain Yujin, here to report today’s headcount.”
“Salute, 2nd Hundred-man Unit Captain Samuel, here for the same reason.”
Samuel and I quickly finished reporting the headcount, and as we were about to leave after finishing, Defense Captain Franz Beringer stopped me.
“Yujin, you stay for a moment.”
“What?”
The Defense Captain, who stopped me from going out, brought a wooden box placed in a corner of the office.
“This is the armor and weapon I promised you yesterday. The weapon is a longsword, a bit longer than the sword you’ve been using, but I can guarantee its quality. And the armor is chain mail, which you can wear over the gambeson you usually wear. And this is something specially supplied to you as you’ve become a regular soldier.”
The Defense Captain took out a surcoat embroidered with the royal crest from the box and showed it to me.
“Come now, you can be proud, Yujin. Wearing this is proof that your loyalty to the royal family so far has been recognized.”
In the center of the white surcoat was the royal crest depicting a black lion wearing a crown and roaring while holding a sword.
‘Repaying loyalty by increasing military service, what kind of perverse mindset is this?’
I had many complaints, but since that would be disrespectful, I couldn’t express them outwardly. I carefully received the surcoat handed over by the Defense Captain with both hands, and Samuel, who watched this scene without going out, clapped his hands at a leisurely pace.
“Wow, I’m really jealous.”
Samuel, who was applauding with a voice that didn’t sound jealous at all, the Defense Captain nodded and looked at Samuel.
“Don’t worry, Samuel. I’ve also submitted a petition to the royal court to promote you to regular army, so you should get a reply soon.”
“What, eh?”
At the Defense Captain’s words that he might also become a slave to national defense, Samuel’s appearance, frozen in the middle of clapping, was the funniest sight I’d seen all day.

I was walking down the corridor with Samuel, who still hadn’t recovered from the shock, after leaving the Defense Captain’s office.
“No way, it can’t be, no way, it can’t be, no way, it can’t be, no way, it can’t be.”
“That’s why you should’ve watched your mouth, you always say one word too many.”
As I was walking down the corridor side by side with Samuel, who was denying reality like a high school girl whose parents had submitted an idol application without her knowledge, someone called my name.
“Hundred-man Captain Yujin.”
“?”
Who has such a beautiful voice that sounds like jade beads rolling in Sordan Fortress, full of sweaty men? As I was having such a strange thought, I slowly turned around.
Red hair and red eyes, tightly closed lips with distinct features and a high nose, slightly sharp eyes but attractively curved with a subtle smile making them a bit softer – it was a charming woman.
“Lady Roterschuden, good morning. Did you have a good dream last night?”
“Good morning, Yujin. I don’t remember the dream I had last night, but I’m in a good mood now.”
With a height of about 160, her red hair swaying down to her modest chest, she walked over with precise steps and stopped at an appropriate distance, pressing down her large, floppy beret with her hand.
Eliza Roterschuden, the youngest of the Roterschuden family, one of the noble families of the east, and an unfortunate woman dragged to the battlefield at a younger age than me.
Two years ago, when some eastern nobles turned to the rebel Baudouin’s forces, all nobles in the prince’s sphere of influence were marked as potential traitors. To prove their loyalty, the eastern nobles tried to demonstrate their devotion by investing heavily in the war with various human resources and capital, including money hidden in their underwear, soldiers, weapons, and food. Eliza before me was also deployed to the battlefield at the age of 16, just after becoming an adult, as a mage from the Roterschuden family, known for magic, for the sake of her family.
“I heard the news, that you’ve been officially incorporated into the regular army of the royal forces.”
“Ah, yes, somehow it turned out that way. The noble people of the royal family have bestowed upon me a grace far too generous, so generous that I wish they would take it back.”
“There is always a proper reason for the royal family’s actions. The military achievements Yujin has made for the royal family and His Majesty so far are recognized by all, knights and mages alike in Sordan Fortress, so there’s no need to lower yourself.”
Saying so and smiling prettily, Eliza suddenly stared at my face and took out a handkerchief from her bosom.
“Yujin, there’s a wound under your chin.”
I flinched and stepped back as Eliza’s hand brought the handkerchief to my face, but she paid no heed and wiped my chin with the handkerchief.
“Fortunately, the bleeding seems to have stopped.”
Thankfully, no blood stained her luxurious handkerchief. Since I didn’t particularly get injured in the duel with Boris, it must be a wound from dealing with the ghouls.
“Lady Roterschuden, how could you use such a precious handkerchief on someone as lowly as me… If you give it to me, I’ll wash it clean and bring it back to you.”
“No, more importantly, the luggage you’re carrying looks heavy, so put it down in your barracks and come see me.”
“Pardon?”
“Since you’ve been incorporated into the regular army by the grace of the royal family, this is certainly something to celebrate. I’ll give you a small gift, so come to my office.”
With those final words, Eliza neatly folded the handkerchief, put it in her bosom, and left. I turned to Samuel with a dazed feeling to say let’s go…
“What? Where did this guy go?”
I thought it was strange that he didn’t greet Eliza, but he had abandoned me and already left the headquarters.
“Heartless bastard.”
Leaving me behind is one thing, but I don’t know how he plans to handle not even greeting a noble lady when she approached, but it’s not my business if he suffers for it.
I hurried my steps to put down my luggage in the barracks before visiting Eliza’s office.