-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: That Person Is Trustworthy
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After Daniel joined forces with Princess Selvia, the tide of the battle dramatically turned.
This was thanks to Daniel's orders: his platoon members disembarked, spread out, and linked up with reinforcements sent by the outpost's Special Operations Unit, then literally swept away the Prince's army, who had been disguised as soldiers of the Allied Nations.
Moreover, Captain Heinz had requested additional support, leading to reconnaissance helicopters and fighter jets from a nearby air squadron joining the fray, leaving the Prince's army with no chance of victory.
From the outset, they were a small unit deployed with the goal of a quick victory.
Even with just the Special Operations Unit's reinforcements, they would have struggled to hold out; with the air squadron joining, their defeat was all but guaranteed.
Cornered, the Prince's soldiers chose to take their own lives as if by prior agreement, bringing the situation to a close.
And now.
Daniel and his platoon were lined up in a forest clearing, standing at ease.
In front of the transport helicopter that had landed in the center of the clearing, Selvia blinked her blue eyes as she looked at them.
'Indeed. They say excellent soldiers follow an excellent commander...'
Daniel and his platoon members were all covered in blood.
That meant they hadn't hesitated to fight the Prince's soldiers.
Of course, among them, aside from Daniel, no one knew that the opponents they had fought were the Prince's soldiers.
"Lieutenant Daniel."
Selvia, who had been surveying the platoon members, met Daniel's gaze.
When she gestured for him to come closer, Daniel strode forward.
"Did you call for me?"
Selvia nodded, then rose on her tiptoes and whispered into Daniel's ear.
"Keep everything you saw and heard today confidential. Others must not find out that my brother is involved in this."
"...I understand. Without proof, rashly declaring it the Prince's doing could backfire."
"Just as I thought. It's good that we understand each other so well."
The voice, heard directly in his ear, was sweet.
Selvia, having spoken softly, took a step back.
"Then I'll return to the capital. As much as I'd like to travel to the General Staff Headquarters and exchange more words with you... the situation has grown larger than expected, so I should probably hasten my return."
The situation had indeed escalated. By now, news of the Princess being attacked would be spreading like wildfire among the military high command in the capital.
This was thanks to Captain Heinz, who, deeming the situation dangerous, had requested support from the air squadron.
In any case, if she didn't hasten her return, she would incur the displeasure not only of the current Emperor but also of the vassal nobles, leaving Selvia with no other choice.
Daniel, fully understanding Selvia's position, bowed his head.
"It was an honor to meet you. I look forward to the day I can serve you again."
At Daniel's courteous words, Selvia offered a faint smile.
"We'll meet again soon."
Her words were significant.
Before Daniel could react, Selvia turned and boarded the transport helicopter.
After confirming Selvia had boarded, her Imperial Guards climbed in with discipline and closed the door.
When one of the Imperial Guards announced that everyone was on board, the pilot prepared for takeoff.
The helicopter's propellers began to spin rapidly, then soon pushed the air with a roar.
No, it would be more intuitive to say they pushed the ground.
Scattering the accumulated snow in the clearing in all directions, the helicopter lifted off and flew directly towards the capital.
"..."
Inside the helicopter, Selvia sat in her seat and looked down at the ground through the window.
Below, Daniel and his platoon members could be seen saluting the helicopter.
Selvia, who had been quietly looking down at them, turned her head to look at an Imperial Guard who was inspecting his weapon.
On the shoulder of the Imperial Guard, whom Selvia was looking at, was emblazoned the Golden Wing emblem, symbolizing the Chief of the Imperial Guard.
Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann Edelstein.
He was a field officer widely known as the one in charge of the Imperial Guard's operations and as a killing machine.
His extraordinary feat of slaughtering enemies with a single sword on a battlefield where bullets rained down was always one of the anecdotes recounted when describing Hartmann.
If there was one being that such a killing machine truly feared, it was Selvia von Amberg, who was currently looking at him with an emotionless expression.
Normally, Selvia, who was young enough to be his granddaughter, was simply cute and pretty, but when she stared at him so intently, wanting something, he would get a chill down his spine, unsure of her intentions.
He couldn't keep ignoring her, so Hartmann put down the rifle he was cleaning and took off his gas mask.
A drop of cold sweat beaded on the wrinkled face of the old veteran.
"Your Imperial Highness. Is there something you wish to say to me?"
"There is. Why didn't you rescue Lieutenant Daniel immediately?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Hartmann, do you take me for a fool? You must have arrived before Lieutenant Daniel even engaged the enemy, so why did you just stand by and watch instead of helping him immediately? Answer me."
Just as he suspected.
Hartmann, wondering how to explain this, looked around.
He was subtly sending an SOS signal, but the Imperial Guards were all desperately bowing their heads, cleaning their weapons.
They were pretending not to know anything, hoping to avoid any fallout.
'Damn them all...'
Hartmann glared at his subordinates once, then turned back to Selvia, forcing the most amiable smile he could.
"As far as I know, Your Highness's order at the time was 'to rescue Lieutenant Daniel without injury.' Lieutenant Daniel was indeed unharmed, so we can say that we faithfully carried out the order."
"Are you calling that an excuse?"
"Your Highness. I understand your displeasure, but we needed time to ascertain what kind of person the individual Your Highness intends to favor is. That is also our duty."
It wasn't that they doubted Selvia's judgment, but as the Imperial Guard, it was crucial to ascertain what abilities and ideologies any individual approaching the Princess possessed.
"To add a little more to my defense, there were positive outcomes related to this."
Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was a rare individual who knew how to use neural acceleration abilities.
It was said that in the past, this ability was not highly regarded because the time one could accelerate their nerves was significantly short compared to the extreme mana consumption.
For just a few seconds, it couldn't penetrate a knight's armor or break a mage's barrier.
However, with technological advancement and the advent of firearms, the time it takes for a person to kill another has been reduced to seconds.
In a modern battlefield, even the lowliest person can kill someone of the noblest birth if they can aim straight.
In such a battlefield, gaining even a few seconds of one's own time would provide an immense advantage.
In that regard, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was an exceptionally desirable talent.
So much so that if he weren't already part of the General Staff Headquarters, they would have immediately offered him a transfer to the Imperial Guard.
"Lieutenant Daniel Steiner's combat abilities are excellent, you see. With just a bit more luck, he could have taken out all six soldiers by himself."
"..."
Selvia half-opened her eyes, her expression sullen.
Hartmann, who had served the Princess for a long time, knew.
That Selvia was currently exerting silent pressure, as if saying, 'That's not what I'm asking, is it?'
A wrong answer here could earn him her displeasure.
Earning Selvia's displeasure was quite a painful matter for Hartmann.
Although the difference in their statuses was stark, Hartmann genuinely regarded Selvia with special affection, like a granddaughter.
Therefore, he had to reveal one more piece of information he had discovered, no matter what.
Hartmann cleared his throat once and spoke in a rather serious tone.
"Your Highness, if you truly intend to recruit Lieutenant Daniel Steiner into our ranks, it seems there will be no need to test his loyalty."
What was that all of a sudden? Selvia blinked her eyes in confusion, and Hartmann continued.
"Lieutenant Daniel Steiner said in front of the Prince's soldiers, 'That incompetent Prince can never become Emperor.' He added, 'It is the Princess who will become Emperor,' he asserted."
Selvia's eyes widened.
As Selvia had arrived late to the scene, this was the first time she was hearing that Daniel had said such a thing.
"...Is that true? That Lieutenant Daniel said that?"
"Yes. Everyone here heard it."
The Imperial Guards who were cleaning their weapons each nodded their heads.
Seeing that, a faint smile played on Selvia's lips.
"I see. Lieutenant Daniel said that..."
Selvia trailed off, then turned her gaze out the window and looked down at the ground.
The distance from the clearing was now quite far, so he shouldn't have been visible, yet Selvia's gaze unconsciously sought out Daniel.
"Hmm. So he said that..."
He didn't know for sure, but Daniel's remark seemed to have pleased her considerably.
'Is she in a good mood because she can recruit new talent?'
For that, she seemed more flushed than usual.
'Surely she doesn't see Lieutenant Daniel as a potential romantic interest...'
No. That couldn't be. Selvia was the type to regard men as if they were stones, having been tormented so much by her own brother.
Whatever the reason, Selvia wearing an expression befitting her age was truly a pleasant sight for Hartmann.