The Conscript Wants to Be Discharged!

A flock of crows darkens a corner of the sky. Having caught the nauseating smell of war from somewhere, they fly in groups, waiting for people to leave the battlefield.

Having survived yet another day, I moved with heavy steps, looking at the corpses of those who were once someone’s child or parent. I limped towards my subordinates from the Hundred-man Unit who were waiting for me.

“Why are you limping?”

“I’m tired. Fighting, getting beaten, fighting again… I’m exhausted now, just exhausted.”

To the concerned question from my subordinates who saw me walking with difficulty, I expressed my weariness, which was nothing to hide, as I approached them.

“Did you find everyone?”

“Yes, including Tommy, a total of eight.”

“…Shit.”

The bodies of subordinates, wounded all over, each missing a part somewhere.

It was a dangerous operation targeting the enemy’s rear, and in the fierce battle where we had to penetrate enemy lines and retreat, eight casualties might seem like a very small loss and an excellent result. But for us, who had faced these people, eaten dinner together, sometimes fought, sometimes laughed with them, looking at their cold bodies was neither a small loss nor an excellent result.

Looking at the subordinates lying side by side on the ground, their bodies cold, I made the sign of the cross.

Touching my forehead with my fingertips to the Heavenly Father who watches over everything, my left shoulder to the Angel of Death who will take my subordinates to the depths of death, my right shoulder to the Goddess of Life who will lead my subordinates from the dark underworld to the next life with a lamp, and bringing both hands together on my chest to the Mother Earth who will give birth to my subordinates again on this land.

I bowed my head in prayer to the four gods of this world whom I had sometimes thanked and sometimes resented for being born into this world again.

Watch over those who died today so they don’t wander the world unjustly, let them wash away their sins in the deep well of death, guide them with a bright light so they don’t lose their way in the dark underworld, and by your loving grace, let them be born again on this earth without knowing sorrow.

“We pray earnestly.”

After praying to the four gods we believed in for those who had departed, we collected the bodies of our fallen subordinates.

“What about Samuel’s group? Didn’t they say they found all of the 2nd Hundred-man Unit?”

As I watched the bodies of the departed subordinates being moved, I asked a nearby subordinate about the 2nd Hundred-man Unit that had fought alongside us.

“No, it seems more of them died than us, so it’s taking time to find them all.”

“I see… Let’s lay our guys in a good place and then go help them.”

“Yes, understood.”

Since they were people we had met and interacted with as much as our own subordinates, we once again moved with heavy steps to prevent their bodies from being pecked at by the black beaks of crows looking down on the post-battle corpse field from the sky above.

After helping Samuel collect the bodies of his comrades, we moved following the main forces of the fortress leaving the battlefield.

Having ended a difficult battle, we would have liked to return to the fortress, hold a small celebration for this battle’s victory, eat and drink to celebrate regardless of social status just for today, comfort those who had departed, enjoy the feast, then return to the barracks made of tents, lie down on beds made of several thick blankets piled on the dirt floor, rest our heads on pillows stuffed with straw and sheep’s wool, lay our tired bodies down and drift off to dreamland… how nice that would have been.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t return to the fortress immediately.

We sent our comrades back on carts brought by the reserve forces from the fortress, and using the tents that were originally loaded on the carts, we set them up on a flat area a little away from the battlefield and spent the night there.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

The sun that had been high in the sky hid behind a hill, and in its place, a silver quiet moon rose in the sky, revealing countless stars in the deep night. I, serving as both the duty officer supervising the night watch and writing a report to be submitted to Defense Captain Franz Beringer who had returned to the fortress, sat near a softly illuminating bonfire with a small wooden box placed nearby.

In this battle, a total of 8 members of the Hundred-man Unit died, their…

The reason we, who had fought a difficult battle, were camping near the battlefield instead of returning to the fortress to celebrate the victory, eat our fill, and sleep comfortably under warm blankets, was twofold: first, to prevent monsters like the Ghouls that had previously terrorized the village behind the fortress from coming to eat the corpses, and second, for us to be the first to clean up the enemy corpses left on the battlefield the next day.

It might seem unfair that we, who had infiltrated enemy lines as a scout unit and fought a fierce battle taking the enemy by surprise, were tasked with cleaning up the corpses, but this was a small reward in Defense Captain Franz Beringer’s own way.

You might think, ‘Spending the night near corpses is a reward? Are these guys crazy?!’ But it’s not that the thinking of people living in this medieval fantasy world is strange. Rather, it’s allowing us, who had worked hard, to have the first chance the next day to loot – or to put it more gently, collect – spoils from the enemy corpses.

Cleaning up the bodies of those who died on the battlefield takes more time and manpower than one might think. Pickaxes and shovels to dig holes to bury the bodies, several carts to move those bodies, and the manpower to perform all these tasks are abundant, but humans are not machines that move just by adding fuel. They are living beings that need to take proper rest and recover their strength to move.

So Franz Beringer, before preparing all of that and coming back here, guaranteed time for us to collect items of some value from the enemy corpses, giving those who had worked the hardest a chance to fill their pockets a bit – in other words, an opportunity to get a bonus.

Thud, thud, thud… Plop.

The soft bonfire light tinged a corner of my vision with a reddish hue, and as I was writing the report in that light, Samuel walked over and sat down nearby.

“Thanks, Yujin.”

“For what?”

At Samuel’s words of gratitude, I pretended not to know and focused on writing the report, moving my hand.

“For helping find our guys, thanks.”

“…It’s nothing. I may not be as close as you, but I’ve seen their faces coming and going too, so of course I’d help.”

“Heh, yeah, whether they’re your guys or ours, we’ve all lived facing each other coming and going, and yet….”

To Samuel’s slightly tearful lament, I didn’t hastily offer comfort. We had already lost many comrades and sent off many subordinates. Having witnessed how people break when the dam holding back the whirlpool of pain and sorrow accumulated layer by layer over years spent on the battlefield suddenly collapses, even a small comfort was sometimes scary and difficult to offer carelessly.

“Just go get some sleep. Tomorrow you need to gather plenty of money to send to the families of your subordinates. Don’t lose out on valuable items to me because you didn’t sleep.”

I just created a reason to live for tomorrow, to make him get up once more.

“Yeah, I should do that… Sleep well, Yujin. I’m really grateful for today.”

“Yeah, go lie down and sleep quickly.”

The warm reddish light of the bonfire shone on Samuel’s face as he stood up, but in his gloomy eyes, I could see a deep darkness swirling that even the bonfire’s light couldn’t illuminate.

“Hang in there, Samuel, just like you’ve done until now.”

My comrade will eventually overcome this. At least, I believe in him. Until now, as we’ve swept through battlefields together, Samuel too has found ways not to break down.

“Ugh, why does my leg hurt so much?”

Massaging my aching leg, I shook off the unpleasant thoughts and started writing the report again.

“Alright! Let’s gather everything quickly before people from the fortress arrive!”

“Yes!!”

“From weapons to armor, collect everything usable! If you can’t hold small accessories in your hands, stuff them in your underwear, got it?”

“Understood!”

“We need to make condolence money to send to our comrades’ families. If you understand, run, you bastards!!”

Pitter-patter!

The next day, as soon as it dawned, we quickly packed up the tents and returned to the battlefield to start collecting spoils.

“Get out of here! You crow bastards!”

“Shoo! Shoo!”

The subordinates chased away the crows pecking at the corpses by waving their weapons, then started quickly picking up usable items while searching the bodies scattered on the ground. Watching this, I too moved to collect spoils.

“Ouch!”

My right leg, which had been aching strangely since last night, made me stop for a moment and frown. Samuel, who was passing by, approached.

“Hey Yujin, are you alright?”

Samuel’s eyes seemed to have regained their light, as if he had somewhat shaken off his sadness from last night.

“Yeah, my leg just aches a bit. After all we went through yesterday, it’d be strange if nothing hurt.”

“…That’s true. Yesterday, when you suddenly had a fit in the forest, I thought you were going to die right there. What was that about?”

To Samuel’s question about seeing me writhe in pain as my body recovered along with internal injuries after drinking the potion Eliza had given me, I made up an excuse.

“I drank a potion I bought from a military merchant, and the recovery process was so painful I thought I was going to die from shock.”

“Shock?”

“Impact. I mean I almost died from the pain.”

I deliberately didn’t mention that Eliza had given me the potion. I was worried that carelessly running my mouth might lead to unfavorable rumors about her, a noble lady from a count’s family, showing favoritism to a commoner man, so I intentionally avoided saying anything that might cause misunderstanding.

After hearing my explanation, Samuel left, saying “Tell me if it’s too hard,” and went to take care of his subordinates. I too started collecting usable weapons and armor from the enemy corpses scattered around and stuffing small accessories into my clothes. After a while, the reserve forces from Sordan Fortress arrived with carts from far away, and we left the rest of the cleanup to them and returned to the fortress.

“Ah, it’s tough, so tough.”

“You said it. I nearly broke my back on the way here from carrying so much stuff.”

“You’re just so greedy. Think you’ll go to heaven like that?”

“Leave me alone, you bastard. We’re both already done for.”

As we returned to Sordan Fortress and unpacked in the barracks, the subordinates chatted about various things. Watching them try to move past their sorrow as calmly as possible, pretending to be okay, I too unpacked my belongings.

“Huff, huff, phew….”

Slowly placing my constantly aching right leg on the ground, I breathed heavily and unfastened the armor I was wearing. Seeing this, one of my subordinates approached and spoke to me.

“Hundred-man Captain, are you alright? You seemed to be in pain the entire way back to the fortress.”

“Huh? No, I’m, I’m fi-…”

Thud!

Just as I was about to tell my subordinate I was fine, lifting my head, everything started spinning dizzily and my body wouldn’t listen to me.

Hu-Hundred-man Captain?!

What the hell? What’s wrong with him?!

Hey, quick, pick him up! We’re going to the temple before the Hundred-man Captain dies!

With the voices of my subordinates fading in my ears, I lost consciousness.

“Ugh, urgh, where… is this?”

“This is the affiliated infirmary of the temple inside Sordan Fortress.”

The one who answered my muttering as I finally regained consciousness was an elderly priest with a serene smile, wearing a robe with a white background, a black belt around his waist, and a short black cape on his shoulders.

“Priest Roberg, why am I here?”

“Hundred-man Captain Yujin suddenly collapsed in the barracks, and your subordinates who saw this carried you here on their backs.”

“Ah… I’ve caused unnecessary trouble for those guys and you, Priest Roberg.”

“Not at all, Hundred-man Captain.”

My subordinates must have been very surprised by my sudden collapse. Just as I was about to exert force to get up and leave the infirmary bed, I was surprised, or rather, it would be more accurate to say I was shocked.

“Huh? Pr-Priest Roberg, wh-why are my legs like this? I can’t feel them?”

When I tried to move my legs to get down from the bed after raising my upper body, I couldn’t feel any sensation in my lower body.

“…Hundred-man Captain Yujin, please don’t be alarmed and listen to what I have to say. There is currently a problem with your lower body.”

“A-a problem?”

Roberg closed his eyes, made the sign of the cross, and slowly opened his mouth.

“There is a problem with your lower body, and as of now, you cannot move it.”

“Wh-what do you mean?!”

“To put it differently, it cannot perform its functions.”

‘Can’t perform its functions?’

My mind went blank, and I couldn’t properly hear Roberg’s following words.

‘Does this mean I’m disabled? Does this mean I’ve become paralyzed?’

At the priest’s words that I had lost function before I had even properly used it, I ended up fainting again.