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Episode 40: The Result of the Mission
For some reason, the operation to retake the border town that was supposed to have been completed by us Iron Knights was supposed to have been retaken by the Beast King mercenaries…….
“What do you mean? We’re the ones killing most of the enemies! Just check the battle recorder and you’ll see!”
Jean’s angry protest was directed at the commander of the Kirks’ army.
“Huh…….You guys seem to have the technology to tamper with the battle recorder’s numbers, so I wouldn’t trust you with that.”
“How can you tamper with a battle recorder, I’ve never even heard of such a thing!”
“We’re not interested in such methods either, but the number of planes destroyed this time was 221, which is an unrealistic number, and it’s inconsistent with the fact that the NCOs in the field told us that the total number of enemies was about 100! If you were going to falsify the data, you should have used more realistic numbers.”
“Why did the Beast King mercenaries come to reinforce me when I was on a solo mission in the first place? Isn’t that strange!”
“That’s because the junior officers in the field thought it would be too pitiful for you guys to do it alone.”
“Who told you to do all that extra work?………..What about the reward?”
“I’ll hold off on saying that the Beast King mercenaries did a good job this time, you can prove it in the next mission.”
“What the hell is that? I can’t accept that! Yuta, you should say something too!”
“……Jean……there’s nothing you can say, let’s just back off here.”
“But, man! We’re not getting paid!”
“It’s all right, we’ll prove it next time, but Commander, if we prove our strength in the next mission, you’ll pay us for all the magicrafts we’ve destroyed.”
“Hmm, of course I will pay you if I can prove it, good luck with that.”
Quite frustrated, we returned to our ride carrier.
“Yuta! You’re being a little too good-natured!”
Jean’s anger still didn’t seem to subside.
“There’s a saying in my country……Even a Buddha’s face is good three times.”
If the result is the same next time, we’ll give up on Kirks and move on.
“That’s an interesting term……it means there won’t be a fourth time, well there better be, there’s a bit of something going on behind the scenes between the Beast King mercenaries and the Kirks army, the timing of the reinforcements in the border town is too strange.”
As Alana said, it seems as if there was some force at work to undermine us. In fact, we could have given up on them this time, but we decided to follow the old Japanese saying and give them one last chance.
That day, we celebrated our victory……because we were sure we had won and we knew it ourselves, even if no one else recognized it.
We had a toast, but Nanami and Farma were children, so we toasted with fruit juice, and I was given a light drink. It seems that in this world, 16 is the age of adulthood, so I’m just barely old enough to drink.
“Come on! What’s with the Beast King Mercenaries? We’re a hundred times stronger than them!”
“What the hell, Jean, you’re the angriest one of all.”
“Of course I am! I hate working for free the most!”
In response to Jean’s anger, Alana has a calm expression on her face and drinks in a mature way.
“You’re right, we don’t have any income, but we do have something much more useful than that.”
“What, more important than money?”
“Well, in a way.”
“So what is it?”
“Battle experience…….Two major battles have greatly improved our skills…….I’m sure that will be an asset for a mercenary group.”
“That’s true, but I also want money.”
“Well, if Kirks doesn’t work out, we can always make money in the next one, there are plenty of countries.”
“Yuta……you’re such a positivist.”
“I’ve heard that a lot.”
“That’s the man I fell in love with.”
“No, you make me sound like a petty little man.”
“I’m glad you’re here, because I’d be broke without you, too.”
“Hmmm, well, that’s all right, but did anyone eat the meat I cooked?”
“Jean said, looking at the grill where the meat was cooking.”
“I didn’t eat your meat.”
“Hoho……I like my meat well cooked, so I guess Nanami ate the meat I carefully nurtured and cooked on the edge…….”
“I told you I didn’t eat it!”
“Don’t lie to me, you greedy bastard!”
Ignoring Nanami and Jean’s meat fight……anyway, this may be the last time we’ll be in Kirks…….With the way that commander is acting, I’d say that’s a good possibility…….Well, even if that happens, it’s a good thing, because as Alana said, we’re getting experience, which is more important than money…….