Chapter 53

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Most Precious Person
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#53

In truth, it wasn't Walter who had suggested the spar, but the soldiers.

"Grand General! If you have a moment, would you mind sparring with us?"

An officer, deep in hand-to-hand combat training with his unit, had spotted the Grand General passing by and made the request with a beaming face.

He had made two miscalculations. The first was that the busy Grand General would surely refuse. The second was that even if he accepted, he would go easy on the soldiers.

But Walter had shattered those expectations by accepting the offer. And he had approached the spar with the utmost seriousness.

The result was five injured men.

"Next. Anyone else?"

No one stepped forward at his low-voiced prompt.

Finally understanding the situation, Walter sighed and rose to his feet. He returned the wooden sword to the flinching officer and left the training grounds with an impassive gaze.

It was always like this. He welcomed their bold challenges, but they were always knocked aside without so much as a proper clash of swords.

He worried for the future of the Royal Army, wondering why they were all so weak.

"We'll need to intensify the field tactics training."

He had just entered the hallway, muttering words that would have made the soldiers lament.

"Grand General! Wait for me!"

Zen, who had been watching from a distance, came trotting over on all fours, his tail wagging.

When he felt he was close enough, he fluidly rose to walk on two feet. The pitter-patter of his four paws changed to the steady rhythm of two, and Walter, adjusting his rolled-up shirtsleeves, glanced behind him.

Unlike Walter's grim expression, Zen's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Grand General, has something been bothering you lately?"

"Bothering me?"

"Normally you would have gone easy on them, but you were incredibly fired up. I've never seen someone go flying like that from a wooden sword."

"Hmm."

He hadn't even been fighting seriously, but it seemed others had seen it that way.

Walter barely furrowed his brow and toyed with his lower lip. Zen walked beside him, studying his superior's expression.

"The coronation is just ten days away. Are you on edge because of that?"

"Royal events are a common occurrence. There's no reason to be on edge. And it seems you've been making some strange assumptions, but it's all in your head."

"In my head? Sir, you've been acting strange ever since you returned from the Twin Mountains."

At the mention of the Twin Mountains, Walter stopped in his tracks.

A memory he didn't want to recall, one he had purposely buried deep in the garden of his mind, began to creep out.

"I'm saying I won't send you anywhere there's even the slightest chance of losing you. Because you are the most precious person in my life right now."

He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Feeling a headache coming on, he massaged the spot and carefully regulated his breathing.

Despite his efforts, Lucy's last words echoed repeatedly in his mind.

"Because you are the most precious person in my life."

Lucy had always been direct.

She was the type to toss out embarrassing compliments without a second thought.

He had thought himself somewhat hardened to it because of that, but…

The word 'precious' had struck a particularly deep chord in his heart, making it impossible to brush aside. Walter bit his lip, forcing a nonchalant expression.

"Strange? That must be your imagination as well."

"Come to think of it, you were staying with Her Majesty here at Central Command, but the day you got back from the mountain, you kicked her out to the Hyverge family's private residence."

"Kicked her out? I simply moved her to a more comfortable place because she seemed ill at ease here..."

"You seemed to be avoiding her after that, too. Did you two have a fight?"

Zen twitched his nose, looking at Walter with a worried expression.

He'd expected them to return from their hike in high spirits, but Walter had immediately sent the queen away to the Hyverge residence on the outskirts of the capital.

The official reason was for her to rest, but seeing the two, who had seemed so close, suddenly living apart made it clear that something was wrong.

"I told you, that's not it. With the coronation approaching, it wouldn't look right for Her Majesty to continue staying at Central Command. That's all there is to it."

Walter cleared his throat, bringing the topic to a close, and quickly changed the subject.

"Besides, you don't have time to worry about such things. I haven't received a single one of the reports I told you to submit by the weekend."

His earlier hesitation gone, Walter rattled off a list of important issues—coronation preparations, security details, the number of soldiers to be deployed to the palace—leaving Zen stunned.

Zen completely forgot what he had just said, sweating as he tried to answer the Grand General's questions. They had just entered the command office in the midst of this back-and-forth.

"You've returned."

As they entered the command office, Whees greeted the Grand General warmly. His gaze toward Zen, however, was as cold as if he were looking at a bug on the roadside.

Zen, in turn, bristled his tail in a familiar gesture and let out a low, annoyed growl.

"You furball… What about your guard duty? Did you come here to slack off?"

"Do you think I'm the only guard? I left Napari in charge. And what have you been eating to get so fat?"

Wondering what he meant, Zen looked down at his own body, saw his fluffy winter coat sticking out, and retorted with an incredulous look.

"Does this look like fat to you? I'm shedding my winter coat!"

"Shedding... like an animal. Well, you're as barbaric as ever."

"You've got to be kidding me... Says the guy who sheds chicken feathers everywhere he goes."

"To call these elegant white plumes chicken feathers! You've probably never even plucked a real chicken!"

"Hah, of course I have! I've even caught one myself and eaten it raw!"

"...Good heavens. Eating meat is dreadful enough, but to eat it raw? What kind of vulgar behavior is that?"

To a Raphi, who were primarily herbivores, it was a truly horrifying thought. As Whees stared at him as if he were some savage, Zen provoked him again.

Without a word, both men clenched their fists, hissing as they fell silent.

"Enough."

As the tension mounted, Walter stepped between them, his voice low.

Whenever they met, they were at each other's throats, and he always had to mediate. Walter separated the two men, who were glaring daggers at each other, and addressed Whees.

"What brings you here?"

"Here are the palace troop deployment plans and the coronation attendance list. We've significantly increased the number of soldiers for the week of the coronation, given the number of distinguished guests."

Whees respectfully handed over the file he had been carrying under his arm. Walter tossed his jacket onto the sofa and began to leaf through the documents with a serious expression.

It was almost March.

The coronation was scheduled for the week after the first sowing in the first week of March. After the coronation and the conferment of titles, there would be a banquet to welcome the honored guests.

The ceremony itself would last three days, but the subsequent meetings with ambassadors from various nations would take about ten days to half a month.

With so many dignitaries and the palace being open, security had to be paramount. Any incident would be Central Command's responsibility, so Walter, as its head, had to be on high alert.

*Flip.* With the sound of a page turning, Walter's eyes moved back to the top line of the document.

A faint whisper, barely audible, slipped through his focused consciousness.

"...So one of the men is making a fuss about returning to the north, and it's a hassle because we can't really stop him."

"Can't be helped. You can't hold on to a guy who's quitting to get married. In our unit, just the other day..."

Unlike the Grand General, who was seriously poring over the documents, Whees and Zen, their earlier bickering forgotten, were chatting quietly about trivial matters.

It seemed a member of their unit had submitted his resignation to get married. While scanning the documents, Walter unconsciously focused his hearing.

"All things considered, it's a good thing. Quitting the army is a bit much, but I'm envious that he's getting married. I need to find a partner soon, too."

"Hmph. So you do think about mating, despite everything?"

"Of course! I know all about you furballs doing your weird courtship dances at dawn every year."

Whees touched his beak, looking flustered. Zen flashed his canines with a smug, "I-told-you-so" expression.

"People are born to love. Being a soldier, having a mission, that's all well and good, but I think the greatest happiness is building a family with someone you love."

"That's uncharacteristically romantic coming from you. Not that you're wrong."

"Heh heh. Speaking of romantic, I just remembered. The guy who's resigning—I think the woman proposed first. The letter was something else."

"What did it say?"

Zen clasped his hands together and put on a feminine voice.

"Work may be the most precious thing to you, but you are the most precious person in my life! Let's get married!"

Whees twisted his beak, looking at Zen as if he were about to be sick.

"...Hah. Unbelievable..."

"Sickeningly sweet, isn't it? I doubt anyone could refuse a proposal like that, but I..."

*Clatter.* Zen snapped his mouth shut, startled by the sound of a chair hitting the desk. Whees also turned toward the Grand General, his eyes wide.

Walter, having shot up from his seat, was glaring at the desk with wide, startled eyes.

Just as they were about to approach, wondering what had suddenly come over him, Walter slowly lifted his head and looked at them.