GMWB 54

“Wait, hold on…!”

The sergeant tried to step back hurriedly, but Noah’s hand was faster.

He rolled up the sleeve, revealing a well-toned, sun-darkened brown forearm.

At a glance he looked like a soldier who trained diligently.

But when Noah and Celine saw the sergeant’s skin their faces twisted with concern.

“…You!”

As Celine barked, the sergeant wrenched his arm free from Noah’s grip and bolted away in a panic.

“……”

“……”

Noah and Celine watched him go until he disappeared.

“You memorized his name, Lieutenant Bor?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll do the filming alone. You go to the General immediately and report the situation. Then ask Lieutenant Chitia to investigate.”
“Yes, Captain.”

Celine hurried toward the command office.

Left alone, Noah let his eyes follow the direction the sergeant had fled for a moment, then turned away.

‘This is driving me insane.’

There were reddish-purple bruises along the burly arm.

‘…and the colors were all different.’

Noah forced down the rising heat of anger and headed toward his original destination.

Still, he couldn’t hide the way his fists trembled with fury.

In the end, that day’s filming was done with Noah wearing gloves to hide the scratch marks on his palm.

“Hah, hah…”

After running for a long while, Corporal Alak Tropia finally stopped and tried to catch his breath.

“……”

Only then did the young corporal notice that his forearm sleeve had been pushed up.

Seeing his own forearm, he frowned.

Exposed to the air were bruises of different sizes and shades scattered across his arm. Each one from a different day.

That was why, even in this heat, he’d kept his sleeves long and refused to roll them up.

“…They saw it, right?”

His face hardened as he rolled his sleeve back down.

News had spread fast that Captain Velo had confronted that man and publicly humiliated him.

Because the corporal had been on edge all day yesterday, the man had picked on him even more relentlessly.

To be honest, the corporal felt a bit vindicated.

Still — he had hoped the man wouldn’t be provoked.

‘But maybe…’

Just as a vain hope began to flicker, a ruthless voice drew near like a barbarian trampling a flower.

“Hey.”

“…Captain Eperena.”

Corporal Tropia turned his head as if nothing had happened.

“You’re getting soft, aren’t you? Making a mess of things?”
“……”
“How dare you look me in the eye like that? Damn it, do you think I’m easy prey?”
“No, sir. I’m sorry.”

Instantly deflated, his voice offered only submissive replies.

A large cloud passing overhead cast a shadow across his head at that moment.

Captain Eperena watched the corporal and, seeming pleased, smiled as if entertained.

“Come here.”

That afternoon, Admiral Okeanus temporarily exercised the Chief of Staff’s authority and convened an emergency meeting.

The military officials who hurried into the conference room looked unusually grim.

The navy’s young second-in-command was notorious for his twisted temper, but he didn’t usually flaunt authority like this.

Even while Admiral Adbelo was away, he tended to leave most things to be handled autonomously unless they were truly serious.

Some said he was better than Adbelo in that respect.

But now that man was venting rage with his whole body.

“……”

“……”

The senior officers who had entered confidently to defend the pride of the young sergeant were cowed by Leto’s ferocious presence; they couldn’t even lift their heads.

“Riken Eperena.”

Leto pronounced the name of today’s subject as if tearing the meeting topic to pieces.

“Do you know why I called this name?”

Officers who did not know whose name it was looked puzzled.

“……”

Those who did know the name shut their eyes tightly or bowed their heads further to avoid Leto’s gaze.

“I can put up with a lot,” Leto said, trying to restrain himself; his voice rumbled low like a warning from a beast.

“Someone who’s bad at their job? People can’t be perfect at everything. If they lack skill, we teach them.”

Chief of Military Chaplains Benedict nodded.

“What about someone who doesn’t understand orders?”

Leto could tolerate that too.

If they didn’t understand, you explain again carefully. If still not, explain once more. If after repeated explanations they still couldn’t do it, it could be a mismatch of aptitude, and you reassign them to a place where their abilities can grow and be used.

“Mistakes are okay. Being slow is okay. Being dull is okay.”

Those are not crimes.

“If the military life isn’t for them, encourage them toward other jobs.”

The navy actively assists discharged personnel with reemployment.

“Is this a wartime situation now?” Leto asked.
“No.” the officers answered in unison.

“But,” Benedict said quietly, “the empire we defeated is across the sea. It wouldn’t be surprising if they tried to start another war at any time.”

“Therefore it’s our duty to coax our slower comrades and help them grow.”

Another officer, Medical Director Retea Kir, continued.

“That’s exactly it.”

Leto nodded slowly.

“It’s our duty to train and guide people so they behave like proper soldiers.”

What Leto said was not complicated — just the basic duty of anyone responsible for others.

He paused for a moment, calmer now.

“However…”

His anger flared again almost immediately.

“To bully our own comrades?”

Bang!

He slammed his fist down on the corner of the conference table, cracking the thick wood.

As soon as he pulled his fist back, splinters fell to the floor along the fracture line.

“To turn on comrades who stand here with us to protect the nation?”

Especially if the victim is a subordinate officer?

“If this were wartime…” Leto continued through gritted teeth, eyes fixed on the broken table.

“You’d have to kill that bastard before the enemy.”

The corrosive stillness of his wrath tightened the breath of everyone in the room.

It wasn’t the slow or clumsy soldier who ruined military discipline; it was those who assaulted the humanity of their comrades — parasites that must be eradicated.

“Complaints about Captain Riken Eperena have been coming in consistently, and today….”

The words were hard to get out. Leto exhaled sharply and forced himself to continue.

“I even received a report alleging he assaulted my aide.”

His anger filled the conference hall. The quiet, flesh-cutting fury squeezed at the officers’ lungs.

Only Chief Chaplain Benedict made the sign of the cross in a rare display of composure, praying silently that peace might come to Admiral Okeanus’ heart — and that Captain Eperena might receive divine punishment.

“Who the hell pulled this bastard to headquarters?” Personnel Chief Major General Komen went pale.

“I won’t kill him, so start with an explanation,” Leto said.

“……”
“If I said it myself, the atmosphere would get worse.”

He told them to keep their mouths shut unless they wanted to witness him become the executioner. Only then did Major General Komen, fumbling, offer a partial explanation.

“…Captain Eperena was assigned to the Public Relations and Moral Affairs Office at headquarters three months ago.”
“And before that?”
“He served in the Seventh Fleet Command.”

Leto was dumbfounded.

The Seventh Fleet was one of the operational forces under his command.

This place, slightly west of Okeanus territory, was under an admiral who held no particular favor for Leto.

‘Of all people, that admiral had that kind of person under him…’

Recalling the admiral assigned to the Seventh Fleet, Leto was not surprised in an ordinary way.

“There were recommendations and his records weren’t bad. His conduct rating was outstanding compared to other soldiers….”

“That doesn’t match what I know.”

Leto cut him off with a dry smile; he didn’t want to hear more.

He recounted reports that Army Intelligence had brought to him.

“In his previous unit there were also many recent issues raised. But somehow, at the end, the investigations fizzled out.”

Still, no official record of those incidents remained.

Victims of the harassment were transferred away as if escaping, and some of the perpetrators were driven into dishonorable discharge instead.

“Am I the only one who finds this absurd?”

Leto asked the officers around the table.

“Not only was the case concealed, it was twisted?”

The military had been kept in the dark. But Army Intelligence had discovered the truth in less than an hour.

“Isn’t it impressive that I haven’t torn that bastard apart already?”

“……”
“……”

No one answered. The room remained heavy with a terrible silence.

Silence was the only correct response now.

If anyone spoke, the visibly enraged Leto would likely shred them like the table.

Even the usually unflappable Chief Chaplain Benedict did not make the sign of the cross or mutter a prayer; such rituals were pointless at this moment.

“Komen, Chief of Personnel.”

“Yes, Lieutenant General.”

Komen’s voice was somber, but it carried a deep anger toward the cause of all this trouble, Captain Eperena.

“Bring me all the records you received. Every last one.”
“Yes.”

“And Director of Inspections, Erwasho.”
“Yes, Lieutenant General.”

The man with the sleek mustache nodded.

“Contact the military police right now and form an investigative team.”

Leto ordered an immediate seizure and search.