Episode 75: Evil’s Military Rations

“Morning, huh…”

　The one who woke up to the light streaming through the gap in the tent was a man of average build with black hair.

　He had no particularly standout features, a figure who still retained some youth—formerly under Patrick’s command, and now a soldier under Siegfried von Kreving, Robert Moran.

　After quickly getting himself ready, he stepped out of the tent.

　What spread out before his eyes was a sea of countless tents, wooden stables, and several small forts.

　This was the encampment of the Eastern Front Army.

　Robert had been stationed here since yesterday as one of Siegfried von Kreving’s subordinates.

“Hey, you’re up.”

　The voice came from a man who appeared, standing a full head taller than Robert.

“Leon… good morning.”

　The man’s name was Leon. He was the infantry captain and one of Siegfried von Kreving’s close aides.

　Robert had heard the rumors about him being a key player in the dorm battle at the officers’ academy, where he and Siegfried von Kreving turned around a hopeless 3-versus-100 situation.

　Though the man himself claimed, “It was mostly that guy who did everything; I didn’t do much at all.”

“With all these tents lined up and so many soldiers around… it really makes me tense. It hits me that I’ve finally come to the front lines.”

　When Robert let that slip, Leon shrugged and replied.

“…Really? I felt kinda let down, myself.”

　Robert didn’t quite understand what he meant and hesitated on how to respond, but Leon continued.

“Oh, and… you don’t need to talk to me all formal like that. You’re about the same age as me, right?”

　With that, Leon flashed a friendly smile.

“And if you’ve got any problems, just tell me right away. Well, there’s only so much I can do, but… I can at least listen to your worries.”

　After saying that, Leon walked off somewhere. Probably had work to do as the infantry captain.

“Leon… he’s a good guy…”

　Back when he worked under Patrick, the infantry captain had been an intimidating figure, and even approaching him to talk was a hassle.

　Compared to someone like that, Leon was approachable and caring, a world of difference.

“And Siegfried von Kreving is amazing too, for promoting someone like Leon to an important position without getting hung up on status… Though he does always tease him by calling him ‘Princess’ or whatever.”

　As he muttered that to himself, he heard voices arguing from somewhere.

“…There’s no rations for us?”

　Robert could tell right away that the voice belonged to Infantry Vice-Captain Dominik.

　Curious, Robert headed toward the sound.

“That’s right.”

　Facing off against Dominik was a middle-aged man.

　He seemed to be a commander directly under the Eastern Front Army.

“There’s no rations allocated for the likes of you. This is by order of the commander himself.”

“No, saying there’s no rations at all… doesn’t that seem off to you?”

　Dominik’s protest was perfectly reasonable.

　Now that they were under the Eastern Front Army’s command, it only made sense that rations would be supplied from headquarters.

　Of course, headquarters’ stockpiles weren’t infinite.

　So in reality, commanders would often buy what was short from merchants or requisition it from villages and such to make up the difference.

“I get that headquarters’ stockpiles aren’t endless. I’m not asking for enough to stuff our bellies full. But zero? That just doesn’t sit right.”

“It sits just fine. The authority to manage and distribute rations lies with the commander. That’s even stated in kingdom law.”

　Bringing up kingdom law like that was probably a preemptive measure to keep Siegfried von Kreving from exploiting that point. It seemed he’d looked it up in advance.

“If you want rations, go requisition them—steal them from somewhere.”

　Right after the headquarters commander declared that, a low, sharp voice cut in.

“Oh… so stealing them is fine, huh.”

　The air turned ice-cold in an instant. Everyone there held their breath.

　The one who appeared was—Siegfried von Kreving.

“In that case, raiding the Eastern Front Army headquarters’ storehouse… that could be one option.”

“Wha…!”

　The headquarters commander’s face stiffened, and he choked on his words.

“R-raiding the headquarters’ storehouse for rations!? Th-that’s…!”

“—I’m joking.”

　Siegfried von Kreving smiled sarcastically.

“It seems like there’s some incompetent fool out there who can’t even provide his subordinates with a proper meal—but that’s not me. So no need to raid anything.”

　An incompetent who can’t even give his subordinates decent rations—that was clearly a jab at the commander, Bertram.

“C-Count Kreving! Am I to take that as criticism of the commander!?”

　The commander raised his voice. But Siegfried von Kreving responded with a pleasant smile.

“I was just speaking in general terms. Any commander who can’t provide rations to his troops is a failure, right? That’s something anyone would understand.”

“Guh…!”

　Unable to retort, the commander stood there with his eyebrows twitching.

　Then, overwhelmed by the pressure Siegfried von Kreving was exuding, he turned his back as if to flee.

“W-well… I’ve delivered the message from headquarters!”

　And with that, he hurried away like he was escaping.

“…Was that okay?”

　As he watched the commander’s retreating back, Dominik quietly asked Siegfried von Kreving.

“Yeah. Beating that guy down and then raiding the headquarters’ storehouse wouldn’t be bad… but that wouldn’t make their villainy shine. Right now, it’s the setup phase.”

　Siegfried von Kreving spoke in a cheerful tone, like he was about to start cooking something.

“That said, I don’t plan to waste too much time on this level of evil. After one or two more moves… I’ll have them crawling on the ground. Look forward to the moment when the villains shine.”

“No, what I’m worried about isn’t the villains or whatever—it’s the rations. The supplies we bought on the way won’t arrive for at least another day, right?”

“No problem.”

 

◇

 

　—20 minutes later.

　In a corner of the Siegfried von Kreving army’s encampment, the soldiers were sitting wherever they liked, having breakfast.

　In their hands were wooden bowls. Inside them—slightly curly, thin, long noodles.

“This… first time eating it, but it’s good…!”

“It’s got this addictive flavor, kinda…”

　The soldiers shared their thoughts as they used forks to bring the noodles to their mouths.

“Uh, what was it called again…”

　These noodles were something the Siegfried von Kreving army had brought along during their march. Dried preserved food, lightweight and easy to prepare.

　Just draw water from the river, boil it, and toss in the dried noodles to finish. In other words—.

“Oh, right, I think it was called instant ramen…”

　One of the soldiers… Robert, repeated the term he’d been taught by Siegfried von Kreving.

“Huh… instant ramen, eh… Never heard that before.”

　This world did have noodles made from wheat.

　It wasn’t technically impossible to make preserved food like instant noodles by frying them in oil or drying them with hot air—Siegfried von Kreving had thought so for a while.

　And in modern times, such preserved noodles were even used by things like the Self-Defense Forces. He knew that once completed, they could function perfectly as military rations in this world.

　But the issue was the taste.

　There were limits to the spices and seasonings he could use, and satisfying the soldiers’ palates within those constraints required ingenuity.

　The one who solved that challenge was the Kreving family’s maid—Fine.

　On Siegfried von Kreving’s orders, she had brilliantly completed it during the time her master was attending the officers’ academy.

“Man, this is seriously tasty…!”

“I heard Fine came up with it. For us soldiers.”

“Wait, that Fine… for us…!”

　Siegfried von Kreving hadn’t revealed that he was the original idea behind it.

　He made it seem like it was all Fine’s invention—because that was more convenient.

　Siegfried von Kreving knew.

　For a product, what mattered wasn’t just the ‘contents,’ but the ‘presentation’—the packaging.

　In his previous life, there were countless products whose sales skyrocketed just by putting a cute character on the package.

　All the more so if it came with the backstory of ‘a delicate woman who put her heart into creating it for the soldiers’—that impression alone could easily sway people’s hearts.

　The story boosted the soldiers’ morale—he was using that deliberately and calculatedly.

“Heh… Go ahead, indulge yourselves. In the junky flavor—and in the ‘story’ that Fine created it.”

　Muttering that, Siegfried von Kreving also quietly brought the noodles to his mouth.