Episode 127: Soldiers’ Murmurs

　A few days after the execution spectacle of those who violated military regulations had ended—.

　About twenty soldiers from the Eastern Front Army were lined up and marching through the outskirts of Dagrom Fortress City.

　Their destination was one of the villages scattered near the fortress city.

　Due to the long-term stationing of the Eastern Front Army and the impact of requisitions by some units, these villages had reached the peak of exhaustion.

　The residents were barely managing to get by with food, and collapsed houses and bridges were left abandoned without repair.

　They were on their way, having received orders from Siegfried to rebuild such villages.

“…What do you think about this whole thing?”

　A young soldier called out to the figure walking ahead.

“What do you mean, this whole thing?”

　The one who replied was the squad leader at the head of the column. He was a non-commissioned officer in charge of the twenty soldiers.

“You know, the talk about Commander Siegfried killing the previous commander, His Excellency Bertram.”

“Ah, those words the executed soldier muttered at the end.”

“I think it might just be a made-up story…”

“Of course, that’s highly possible. But—if those words were true, a lot of things would start to add up, you know.”

　Bertram was said to have been killed by a Serodonian soldier named Suneiras.

　At first, that theory had plenty of credibility. After all, Suneiras’s body was left at the scene.

　However, once Bertram’s collusion with the Serodonia Kingdom came to light, doubts began to arise about his death.

　Because if they were in cahoots, there’d be no reason for Suneiras to kill Bertram.

“They say Commander Bertram and Prince Volfirio had a falling out, and Suneiras was sent in—but actually, maybe Commander Siegfried pulled the strings behind it all?”

“In other words, just like the executed soldier said, Commander Siegfried took it upon himself to dispose of one of the Five Great Nobles… Is that really something to condemn so harshly?”

　The Five Great Nobles are symbols of the Kirchhen Kingdom’s authority. Only the king is supposed to have the right to judge them.

　That said, it’s an undeniable fact that Bertram committed the grave crime of colluding with an enemy nation.

　For Siegfried, who struck him down, to be criticized for ‘defiling His Majesty the King’s prestige’ or whatever—it just doesn’t sit right logically.

“…Don’t ask me something like that; I wouldn’t know.”

　The squad leader shrugged and gave a wry smile.

“But in the end, stuff like this comes down to how the higher-ups decide. Basically, if His Majesty King Luverios sees no issue, that’s the end of it. But if he deems it a problem… things could get messy.”

“I see… So, if this story reaches His Majesty the King’s ears, what do you think would actually happen?”

“Who knows? Guys like us at the bottom wouldn’t have a clue.”

　The squad leader tossed out the words dismissively, then lowered his tone a bit and continued.

“But… what I’m concerned about with this incident isn’t that part.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The execution itself. Whether that judgment was really the right one.”

“Um… The ones who were executed got caught in Commander Siegfried’s decoy investigation, right? Attacking civilians is a clear violation of military orders, and Commander Siegfried had already issued a directive to strictly adhere to regulations. I think the execution was a fair decision…”

“Well, yeah, that’s true. But… it’s not like I can’t understand the feelings of the executed guys at all.”

“Huh!? Don’t tell me you feel the same way—?”

“Don’t be stupid; I wouldn’t assault women! But… there are guys everywhere who can’t keep their eyes off them. And it’s not guaranteed those types won’t do the same thing again—that’s what I’m saying.”

“Isn’t that exactly why Commander Siegfried carried out the execution right in front of us? To make sure no one causes problems again.”

“Yeah… But will everyone really obey because of that? Think back to when His Excellency Bertram was commander. Units doing requisitions were overlooked, right? Wasn’t that basically because cracking down on all of it would make the army unable to function?”

　Bertram himself hadn’t ordered the requisitions.

　With ample funds from his smuggling operations, he had no need to stoop to such petty profiteering.

　But he also didn’t stop his subordinate units from repeatedly engaging in requisitioning, which was essentially plundering the villages.

　He turned a blind eye to keep dissatisfaction from building up.

“Commander Siegfried seems set on a policy of zero tolerance for any military regulation violations… But I wonder if he can really hold the army together with ideals like that alone.”