Chapter 125: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 125
"...Aren't you in pain? Even if you received some treatment, you've pushed your magical power to its limit and taken emergency recovery medication, so your whole body should be in agony right now..."
"...I feel alright. It just aches a bit here and there... The detailed examination showed no particular issues, and it doesn't seem like I need to be hospitalized. Can I leave?"
"The doctor who treated you thinks you should stay and rest for a few days, but I can't force a patient to be hospitalized if they say they're fine. If you feel alright, you can go. But please, avoid strenuous activities for a while."
"Understood. Then I'll be on my way."
Right after Scarlet Evande’s interrogation ended, Martina, who had been told by the rescue team's medical staff to definitely get hospitalized, went to the hospital only for a detailed checkup and then left.
As she left the hospital, stretching and grimacing from the pain in her chest, Martina muttered.
"...Damn, I lied about being okay. It hurts like hell..."
To be honest, she had lied to the doctor. It wasn't just a bit of aching here and there, it was quite severe.
But she refused to be hospitalized. Martina thought, being hospitalized means being treated like a patient.
And when you're a patient, no one contacts you for help in emergencies.
She didn’t want to experience again the pain of realizing too late that a comrade had been severely injured and retired, and a subordinate who used to always smile had stopped smiling.
"This much will heal soon enough without staying in the hospital."
Muttering to herself, Martina returned to the frontline where her unit was stationed.
The rest area where the troops should have been resting was mostly empty, with only a few soldiers around.
They had gone out to guard the workers repairing the barricades damaged by the recent monster attack and handling the monster corpses scattered everywhere.
They would probably remain busy for a while.
The Central Committee had informed them that soon a major project would begin to install a magic circle around the entire perimeter to block unauthorized spatial movements, to prevent another surprise attack like today.
Martina muttered to herself that as the captain, she couldn’t afford to be hospitalized during such a busy time, and went to find her deputy, Kanna, who was busily giving orders to the soldiers.
"Kanna, you've been busy working non-stop. Hand things over to me and take a break. I'll take over from here."
"...Captain, you're back already? I thought the medical staff said you needed to be hospitalized?"
"Oh, they said after the checkup that hospitalization wasn't necessary. I feel fine, so I came back. I can’t leave the unit without a captain when we’re this busy."
"...I see. You're feeling fine."
At that moment, Kanna, who had been nodding while listening to Martina, suddenly thrust her hand out.
Martina felt Kanna’s hand flying towards her chest with alarming speed.
A speed that would leave her in serious trouble if she took the hit directly.
Normally, she would have been able to dodge it, but her current physical condition was terrible.
Thus, she couldn’t evade Kanna’s attack, and the playful but slowed-down blow landed on her chest.
And,
"-Heuk?!!"
Already in pain and trying to endure it, Martina let out an embarrassing scream as the intense pain from Kanna’s touch overwhelmed her.
Clutching her chest and trembling, Martina looked up at Kanna, who wore an expression of knowing exactly what had happened, with a scornful look.
"...Did you think I’d fall for such an obvious lie? Even if you received treatment, there's no way you wouldn’t be in pain after pushing yourself like that. You should’ve stayed hospitalized instead of coming here in such a state."
"...Because I'm the captain."
"...You never wanted to be the captain in the first place. It's good to have a sense of responsibility, but don’t overdo it and try to shoulder everything."
Hearing Kanna’s words, Martina looked at her for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh and muttered.
"Kanna, you know me too well for your own good."
She was right.
To be honest, when Martina first joined Astrape, she had no intention of becoming the captain.
She didn’t even think it was possible.
The position of captain couldn’t be obtained just by being strong.
She was strong, but she didn’t believe she could handle the responsibility that came with being a captain.
Her style was to do as she pleased, after all.
So the former captain had planned to pass the position to someone else, not to her.
To Yoon Si-woo's father, who had both the responsibility and the popularity needed.
But after what happened 15 years ago, both the former captain and that man died in the line of duty, leaving the captain position vacant.
The 4th division, having lost its leader, needed a new captain.
Thus, Martina had no choice but to take on the role.
Leading people was a much heavier burden than she had anticipated.
Even if she pretended otherwise, there were times when she felt overwhelmed, and it seemed that Kanna, who had been with her for a long time, had noticed.
At that moment, Kanna sighed and pulled something out from her bosom, handing it to Martina.
"Here, take this. I figured you’d do something like this, so I prepared it in advance."
"What is this... A leave order? Why would you..."
"You hate hospitals, right? I knew you wouldn’t stay even if they told you to, so I’m giving you leave to rest until you’re fully recovered. For at least a week, do not show your face at the unit. This is an order, and disobeying it is insubordination."
Martina looked at Kanna with an exasperated expression and said,
"I’m the captain, so what order..."
"When the captain is absent, the deputy acts as captain. If you disobey, I won’t let it slide. So go rest."
"...What if I disobey?"
"I'll cry. Like a little kid. If you don’t want to see that, follow the order."
Seeing Kanna cross her arms and glare at her as if asking if she could handle it, Martina let out a hollow laugh and put the leave order in her pocket.
She didn’t want to see Kanna cry, so she had no choice.
Thinking that she might as well take this opportunity to rest, Martina turned to leave when she heard Kanna’s voice.
"Oh, and take the rookie over there squatting in the corner with you. He’s on leave for at least three days. After coughing up that much blood, there's no way he’s okay. Both the captain and the rookie are just the same."
Turning around, Martina saw Yoon Si-woo sitting in the corner, looking troubled and staring blankly at the working soldiers.
So, it was a vacation with Yoon Si-woo.
A while ago, she might have been excited about it...
Martina sighed and approached Yoon Si-woo.
"You've been kicked out on leave too, huh."
"...Captain."
"You look like you have a lot on your mind. I know a good place for times like this. How about joining me for a drink?"
*
Martina took Yoon Si-woo to a bar hidden in a back alley.
The inside of the bar had dim lighting and a mysterious atmosphere, with no people around.
Yoon Si-woo looked at his superior, who had brought him to such a place, with a displeased expression and said,
"...Captain, I’m still underage, so alcohol is a bit..."
"Don’t worry, I’m not crazy enough to give you alcohol. The fresh fruit juice here is good. My recommendation is orange juice. Want that?"
"...Alright, I’ll have that."
"Got it. Sir, a martini and an orange juice, please!"
Not long after Martina called out, a middle-aged man with a stern demeanor appeared, set two glasses down in front of them, and disappeared again.
One was a martini garnished with an olive, the other a moderately sized cup filled with orange juice.
After taking a sip of the orange juice through the straw, Yoon Si-woo's eyes widened slightly, and he muttered.
"...This is really good. Just orange juice."
"Right? They must use really good fruit because I’ve never found a place that makes it better. It's a high-end secret not many know about since most people who come to bars don't drink juice. I'm telling you because it's you. I only found out after getting dragged here myself."
Martina, looking at Yoon Si-woo with a wistful expression, took a small sip of her martini and muttered.
"...About your parents."
At her words, Yoon Si-woo paused, slowly turning to look at Martina.
Seeing the complex emotions on his face, Martina continued, as if talking to herself.
"...When I first joined the 4th Division, I had a pretty rough personality. I hated losing to anyone. I still hate losing, but back then, it was pretty extreme."
"......"
"I grew up without parents, too. So I worked hard to stay ahead of everyone, so no one could look down on me for it. But no matter how capable a person is, that's not easy. I often clashed with my comrades over trivial things. One day, they were having a drinking contest, and I came in last. I couldn’t drink alcohol at all. It made me so angry. I felt like not being able to drink was because my parents never taught me."
"......"
"So, I went off and cried in a corner. That’s when your parents found me and brought me here to cheer me up. At first, I thought they were mocking me, bringing someone crying about not being able to drink to a bar. But they ordered three glasses of orange juice and told me honestly that they thought it tasted better than alcohol. They told me not to worry about dumb things like how much unpleasant stuff I could drink."
Martina cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice steady, then continued.
"...It wasn’t much, but it meant a lot to me then. After that, I became close with them and often came here to drink. They taught me to drink, even though we weren’t much older than each other, they felt like parents to me. I just wanted you to know that."
"...They were good people."
"...They really were."
Martina answered in a small voice, taking a few sips of her drink.
Seeing her like that, Yoon Si-woo hesitated for a moment before lowering his head and speaking.
"...Thank you for today. For granting my request."
"...Yeah, that. I did think about it a lot. But you begged so earnestly, I couldn’t refuse. Besides, she didn’t seem like a bad kid."
Martina replied with a wry smile.
Before returning to the perimeter after rescuing Scarlet, Yoon Si-woo had knelt before her, pleading not to tell anyone what she saw today.
That’s why Martina hesitated when she was questioned during the interrogation earlier.
If she thought about the potential future danger, she should’ve testified truthfully about what she saw today.
But if she had spoken the truth, Scarlet likely wouldn’t have survived.
Yet, Martina chose not to disclose what she witnessed today.
Because she wanted to believe.
Not in the girl herself, but in the resolve she showed during their training together.
The resolve to sacrifice herself to save students and people.
She wanted to believe in those heroic qualities.
But still, there was something that nagged at her, so Martina spoke up.
"...However, can I ask you a few things in return for granting your request?"
"...Yes, go ahead."
"...During the interrogation today, did you lie at any point?"
"...No, I didn’t lie. I hate lying."
Martina swallowed and asked Yoon Si-woo.
"If you didn’t lie, then... Did you mean what you said?"
Since he knew exactly what she was referring to, Yoon Si-woo slowly nodded and answered.
"...Yes, I meant it."
"...Did you know everything beforehand?"
"...I had a rough idea."
"...I see. Yoon Si-woo, one more thing..."
Martina recalled what she had witnessed today.
A girl who remained unaffected by the pervasive dark energy even as it seeped through multiple layers of her magic.
A girl who was unscathed even after being hit directly by flames powerful enough to melt the ground.
"...Who exactly is she?"
And without a moment's hesitation, Yoon Si-woo answered.
"Scarlet is just a dear friend of mine."
Martina nodded slowly at that response.
That answer was enough.
She hoped that he would never have to fulfill what he had spoken of.
As she sipped her drink, lost in thought, Yoon Si-woo looked at her and asked,
"...Captain, you said you couldn’t drink, but are you okay now?"
"...Yeah, after drinking for a while, I naturally got better."
"Is it really that good that you forced yourself to build up your tolerance? I've never had alcohol before..."
After a moment of staring at her martini, Martina smiled slightly and handed the glass to him.
"...Want to try it if you're curious?"
"...Can I?"
"Sure, just a sip."
"Then, I won't hold back..."
Taking the martini from her, Yoon Si-woo took a sip and immediately scrunched up his face, handing the glass back to her.
"...It’s bitter. I don’t understand why adults drink this."
"Yeah, it's just bitter. Honestly, I still don’t know why we drink it."
"...Then why do you drink it?"
"...Well, if I had to find a reason-"
Martina looked at the martini glass, remembering the day she first drank it.
‘Recommend a drink? How about this one? Martini, the king of cocktails. It's only one letter off from your name, Martina. It means you can be a hero admired by everyone someday.’
‘Ooh, I like the name... Wait, what is this? It's so bitter! Why do people drink this? Juice is a hundred times better.’
‘Ahaha, I think so too. We both have pretty childish tastes.’
‘Then why do you drink it?!’
‘Hmm, if I had to find a reason-’
"-It's for the memories, I guess."
Martina said, tilting her martini glass.
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ReplyDeleteKanna and Martina's angle is too cute
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