Chapter 87

After that, despite some arguments and disputes, Shoko, who understood that she wouldn't die as long as Keita supported her, successfully defeated the fourth Griffin. Seeing Shoko's performance, Shizuka and Nana, who gained confidence, also joined the Griffin sniping operation, proving that even mass-produced firepower could bring down a Griffin. Meanwhile, Natsuki and Mari, equipped with the new exoskeletons, spent several days racking up scores by defeating small and medium-sized monsters in the forest.

Specifically, it was the fifth day since Shoko and the others entered Vietnam, around the time Shoko defeated her fourth Griffin.

At the expeditionary force base constructed near Sapa, in the barracks built for the training battalion, Shizuka was staring at a map with a troubled expression, and Shoko, seeing her, was certain that some kind of trouble had arisen.

"Lieutenant Colonel, is there a problem?"

Shizuka, who usually maintained a firm attitude in front of her subordinates, was looking troubled. It was impossible for there to be no problem.

"Second Lieutenant, yes, there is."

When Shoko asked with certainty, Shizuka, seemingly realizing the futility of hiding it, nodded and continued.

"I think they're about to arrive."

"…What do you mean?"

Shoko, after saying it, thought (Oh no, this is bad!).

"Well, if you're aware, that's fine."

"Yes, yes!"

Normally, an ambiguous attitude towards a superior would result in a reprimand. However, after spending several days on the same battlefield, the distance between the members of the training battalion had subtly narrowed, so Shizuka wouldn't reprimand her for this.

It was judged that tolerating minor attitudes on the battlefield would be better for morale than reprimanding them, which would lower it.

Of course, there were limits to what could be tolerated, but this time it was deemed safe.

There was something more important now.

"Currently, we are successfully reducing the enemy's air and ground forces along with the Fourth Division."

"Yes, that's true."

The enemy's air force, the Griffins, have been taken down by Keita (3), Shoko (4), Shizuka and Nana (2 each), totaling about 11. They have also taken down a considerable number of medium and small monsters other than Griffins.

In fact, the number of monsters they have taken down in the past few days is the highest among the battalions participating in the expeditionary force.

(Of course, except for Keita, Shoko, Shizuka, and Nana have received some support from Keita, so their individual scores are not counted as personal achievements but as battalion achievements, so they won't be individually commended.)

I'll explain the details of their achievements later.

"Our achievements are significant, and everyone recognizes that. However, the fact that we are using new or experimental equipment and, more importantly, that we are 'guests' is a problem."

"Ah..."

From Shoko's perspective, it's tempting to say, "Then you show me how to use this weird thing!" but no matter how many scores they accumulate, there will always be voices saying, "It's just the performance of the equipment," "It's just luck," or "I could do that too."

Such people often have a strong sense of self and tend to hold positions that match their self-perception. (They become more arrogant because they are in high positions, but of course, they lack the ability.)

If they are part of the same national defense force, it's still manageable.

They can communicate and resolve issues even if they are in different divisions.

The problem arises when they belong to a different organization.

"The people who treat us as 'guests.' In other words, the local soldiers, right?"

"Yes."

Of course, the Empire of Vietnam has its own military.

As the name suggests, Vietnam is an imperial state.

Imperial states often have a noble class.

However, in this era, nobles are not just rulers.

They are the ones who lead the fight against monsters and demons.

That is why the state and the people recognize the nobles' governance of towns and villages.

Currently, many of the officers in the Vietnamese military consider themselves nobles.

How do these local nobles view the current situation?

"Most of the fighting is done by us. Of course, this is part of our support for Vietnam. By fighting, we allow them to conserve their strength. By fighting, we make them hesitate to engage with the Chinese Federation or the demons. And by fighting, we can collect materials from medium and small monsters that we can't get in our home country."

The last point, the collection of materials, is the biggest reason Japan has dispatched an expeditionary force to the continent.

However, regardless of the ulterior motives, the existence of the expeditionary force is not bad for the Empire of Vietnam.

From the empire's perspective, at least.

"From the perspective of the local nobles, they probably feel that all the opportunities to earn military glory are being taken away."

"Yes. And they are afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Afraid of being criticized, specifically for being 'unnecessary nobles who don't fight.'"

"I see."

It's not impossible or paranoid to think that way.

When Keita was fighting alone, what did she think?

When she heard people in the command center say, "Maybe we just need him," what did she think?

If the people said, "Maybe we don't need the samurai anymore," what would she think?

Considering these, she can understand and empathize with Shizuka's concerns. It's possible.

However, no matter how exceptional Keita is, he is still just one person.

What one person can do is limited. That's why we need the military as an organization.

If these facts are widely known, the samurai families that produce many military personnel won't be criticized as unnecessary in Japan.

(Well, if they become complacent and forget to work hard, that's a different story, but for now, it's fine.)

For Japan, that's fine. But what about the Vietnamese military, which is dealing with the threat of monsters with over 10,000 expeditionary forces?

If the Japanese military is here, do we need the Vietnamese military?

How many people can refute that?

But if they can't refute it, the result will be a reduction in scale.

After all, the military is a money-eater.

If a military that doesn't achieve anything is given a budget, it would be more cost-effective to reduce the budget and use the savings to pay Japan as a commission.

And if the military is reduced, the number of nobles will also decrease.

Of course, a noble who doesn't fight is not a noble.

In such a situation, can the Vietnamese nobles endure it?

(I don't think so.)

If they lost a battle, they might accept it. But to be disappointed and lose their status as nobles without even fighting would be unbearable. They are not human if they can endure that.

Of course, they are aware that their position is precarious.

But they didn't act until now.

Why? Because the enemy, even the expeditionary force, was struggling.

If the expeditionary force couldn't win, they probably thought they couldn't either.

Maybe they thought the expeditionary force might ask for help.

In any case, they had the justification of "conserving strength," so they weren't criticized for not acting on their own.

But that changed with the appearance of the training battalion.

The method to eliminate the monsters, which were a threat even to the expeditionary force, was established.

"If we don't act now, we have no reason to exist."

Anyone with a bit of sense would think that.

If they don't, they lack the sense of a noble and will be either disinherited or disbanded.

However, even if they have the sense of a noble, does that mean they have military capability? That's a different matter.

"Since ancient times, it has been said that the most troublesome are not excellent enemies but incompetent allies."

"…That's true."

There might be individuals with outstanding abilities.

But without the right equipment, they are useless in the military.

In other words, the reinforcements that will come are a group with outdated equipment, even by the standards of the expeditionary force, and their leaders, who are nobles, may not follow orders easily due to their status.

(This is the worst-case scenario.)

Shoko doesn't want to think that they are to blame for working too hard.

However, the fact that their hard work has created a situation where these people must come is undeniable.

"We can't just go back, can we?"

"No, we can't."

The Fourth Division won't allow the return of the key to the Griffin problem and the cause of this situation until a certain result is achieved.

Naturally, the originally planned expedition schedule will be extended.

Shoko, who inadvertently voiced her wish, and Shizuka, who couldn't scold her, simply affirmed it with a single word.

Facing the promised trouble, their expressions were dark and gloomy.

In a similar vein,

1. Those who are excellent and motivated.

2. Those who are excellent but unmotivated.

3. Those who are not capable but motivated.

4. Those who are neither capable nor motivated.

Among these, who causes the most damage to the organization? There's a saying about that.

Being normal is fine, just normal.

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Thank you for reading.

I hope you enjoy the new work.