WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 165: Spring

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Chapter Six: Once, We Were Enemies

Kingdom of Edelstein, Royal Army Headquarters in the capital, Sankt Waltrude.

The day after the enlistment ceremony for new officers and soldiers, the Ferdinand Regiment had gathered on the training ground.

The ones brought there and made to begin lining up were the newly assigned knights and soldiers who would become members of the regiment starting today.

"Hey, what is this sloppy formation! How long do you plan to act like trainees!"

The ones Knight Gunther was roaring at were several dozen new soldiers.

The knights had trained until their abilities were recognized and they received their appointments, so as expected they could at least form ranks quickly. The soldiers, however, had originally been ordinary commoners, and their movements could hardly be called sharp yet. Even once they had lined up, the rows were crooked, and they clearly needed correction.

"...So the Ferdinand Regiment is finally at full strength."

"It took long enough. It finally feels like the postwar period has begun."

The ones who spoke with deep feeling as they watched the recruits get shouted at by Gunther were Thomas, commander of the infantry battalion, and Romilda, commander of the archer battalion.

Even after peace was concluded with the Kingdom of Arelia, the Edelstein Royal Army had not immediately returned to a peacetime state. Every unit was far below its authorized strength, and in the confusion after the war, vacancies could not be filled quickly. The Ferdinand Regiment, too, had only about nine hundred men against its authorized strength of one thousand. The war had settled down for the moment, but the army still had much to do, and they had been forced to struggle through a shortage of manpower.

With the new knights and soldiers assigned today, at least in terms of numbers, the regiment had finally been filled.

While the two battalion commanders exchanged words, Oliver, commander of the cavalry battalion, watched Gunther line up the new recruits and spoke to Jaag, the veteran knight standing beside him.

"Gunther has become a thoroughly dependable officer. Compared to when he first enlisted, he is almost unrecognizable."

"Aye. To the recruits, he must be terrifying. Reminds me of Lord Stamitz when I was new."

Jaag turned his gaze toward Gunther and spoke as if amused.

Oliver had heard the stories too. The late former battalion commander, Baron Eugen Stamitz, had given a calm impression in his later years, but in the past he had apparently been as strict as a demon as a senior knight.

"Maybe Gunther will end up becoming a gentle commander someday too."

"Ha ha ha. I still can't imagine it now, but... people change."

Oliver let out a laugh at Jaag's murmur and thought back over the past few years.

Through an age of upheaval, everyone had changed. They had been forced to change. Gunther, who had once been nothing more than a violent brute proud of his strength, had become a reliable officer. Jaag, now one of the oldest veterans, had come to carry the sense of responsibility appropriate to his position.

Oliver himself had changed alongside the other battalion commanders. After losing his superior, Eugen, and becoming commander of the cavalry battalion himself, he could no longer remain the same young and promising officer people had seen him as before. He had witnessed many deaths, experienced farewells with comrades, and somewhere in his heart, he now carried a part of himself that had grown old.

And the commander of this Ferdinand Regiment had changed as well. The man who inherited the title of hero from his adoptive father had transformed from a clever and brave young officer into a true hero who protected the nation. No, he had evolved.

"...They have finally finished lining up."

Seeing that the new enlistees had finished forming their ranks, Oliver lined up with the other regiment leaders around the platform installed at the front center of the training ground.

"As expected, their training still looks lacking. The road to rebuilding the regiment will be long."

"Yes, but it cannot be helped. Every unit is short of people right now. We have no choice but to gather the numbers quickly and train them."

Rudiger, commander of the infantry battalion, spoke from beside him, and Oliver answered that way.

The Ferdinand Regiment had finally reached its authorized strength today, but a full thirty percent of it consisted of knights who had received appointments from last year to this year despite insufficient training in order to make up numbers, and inexperienced soldiers who had enlisted without receiving the full training that would have been possible in peacetime. Even from watching them form ranks, their lack of polish was obvious.

The training level of the Ferdinand Regiment that welcomed them was also far from its prime. Rebuilding and retraining the regiment from this state, then making it into an elite rapid response force once more, was the duty of Oliver and the other commanders.

"...We are going to have no end of trouble. I dread what lies ahead."

"Call it rewarding. It depends on how you look at it."

Oliver replied to Rudiger's lament with a wry smile.

A little distance away from where the commanders were lined up, Gregor confirmed that the new enlistees and the regiment's officers and men had finished assembling, then turned around.

"My lord. Preparations are complete. If you would."

"Understood. Thank you."

Answering his adjutant, the commander of the Ferdinand Regiment climbed onto the platform, crimson hair swaying.

Friedrich Hosenfeld. The living hero of Edelstein.

"Attention! Words from the regimental commander!"

When Gregor raised his voice, the roughly one hundred new enlistees straightened their posture once more.

With the attention of one thousand officers and soldiers gathered upon him, Friedrich looked down over them with his red eyes and opened his mouth to address the new enlistees.

"Knights and soldiers newly assigned here. Welcome to the Ferdinand Regiment of the Edelstein Royal Army. I am your regimental commander, Count Friedrich Hosenfeld."

His voice and appearance both belonged unmistakably to a young general. Yet no one looked at him with scorn. Friedrich's heroic feats had spread throughout the country over the past year. Some of that had happened naturally, while some had been deliberately spread by the Edelstein royal family through bards and merchants.

"I am called the living hero of Edelstein. I inherited this title of hero from my father, Matthias Hosenfeld, together with the title of Count Hosenfeld and the position of commander of the Ferdinand Regiment. Her Majesty, the great Queen Claudia Edelstein, permitted me to inherit it, and the people of the Kingdom of Edelstein acknowledged it."

The newly enlisted youths looked at him with awe. Friedrich felt a certain nostalgia at the sight of them. Four years ago, he too had stood here as a new enlistee and listened to the admonition of his late father.

"Everyone shows reverence toward me now that I have become a hero. At times, they even show fear. But I would like all of you, who will fight alongside me from now on, to remember this. The title of hero merely represents the role I must fulfill. As a general, my role, granted to me by Her Majesty the Queen, is to devise plans that lead battles to victory. And just like me, all of you have roles as well. Your role is to carry out the plans I devise, seize victory in truth, and thereby protect this country. In this Ferdinand Regiment, and in the Edelstein Royal Army, we are comrades who fight together while each carrying our own role."

Friedrich spoke quietly, yet powerfully.

"All of you who have newly enlisted are just as important as I, who am called a hero, and as the soldiers who came before you. I believe that the resolve with which you volunteered for the Royal Army, the resolve to protect your homes, property, families, friends, the royal family, and the kingdom itself, is every bit as strong as our own... Justice is in our hands. God is with us. Glory to the Kingdom of Edelstein!"

"All hands, salute!"

As Friedrich concluded his address, Gregor immediately gave the order. In response, the new enlistees saluted with all the spirit they could muster, though they were a little flustered and the movement was somewhat uneven.

"Then, comrades. Let us welcome those who have newly become members of the regiment. Guide them so that their resolve may be matched by ability as soon as possible."

"""Yes, sir!"""

The officers and men of the regiment who had fought with him until now answered Friedrich's call with vigor.

"As soldiers, all of them are still no different from children. As good predecessors, make sure to dote on them thoroughly."

Imitating the words his adoptive father had spoken when he first enlisted, Friedrich said that jokingly. Laughter rose from among his comrades, and they began walking toward the new enlistees. The novice knights and soldiers would now be assigned to their respective platoons.

"Friedrich, good work."

After finishing his role here as regimental commander, Friedrich descended from the platform, and Yurika, who had been waiting beside it, welcomed him.

"Thank you... Did I speak well?"

"Mm, it was really good. As expected of my Friedrich."

Yurika answered with a broad grin spreading across her red lips. Then, perhaps without realizing it, she gently stroked her abdomen.

She was wearing the same Royal Army uniform as everyone else, but the fastenings of her jacket and sword belt were looser than usual, leaving room around her belly. A new life, her child with Friedrich, was dwelling there.

According to the doctor's estimate, she was around three months pregnant. Her belly was still barely showing, and the birth was more than half a year away, but for the safety of mother and child, she was refraining from military duties other than basic training.

"Then I am glad. I could not give a poor speech in front of our child."

As Friedrich said that with a smile, he thought to himself.

His late father was surely watching over this day from God's side as the Ferdinand Regiment reached a new milestone.

At that moment, a clear spring breeze blew across the training ground and brushed through his crimson hair.

Early March, Western Unified Calendar 1012.

Nearly one year had passed since the decisive battle against the Kingdom of Arelia.

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