“What the heck is this?”
Illya, who returned to her room after eating, stared at the object in her hands suspiciously.
It was the chocolate he gave Kesha at the restaurant.
“I could only accept it for now...but this man would never give it out of kindness.”
If it had been about Axion he preferred, it would have been different, but Keisha would never do that to a marginal character like her.
“Wait, isn’t this poisoned?”
Illya narrowed her eyes.
In Sitalsa, Keisha would often deliberately feed unit members nerve-paralyzing poisons and subject them to intense, hellish training for days and nights.
The nerve paralysis is said to prevent the feeling of pain, enabling them to withstand training longer.
It was a crazy idea, but it was entirely possible for Keisha, who saw the unit as training machines rather than human beings.
This chocolate will also undoubtedly serve the purpose.
“Surely, this explanation is much more convincing than just being nice!”
Elia nodded confidently and moved the chocolate to the corner.
Anyway, for this to happen even before the enlistment ceremony, he's truly an amazing person.
It was clear before her eyes what it would be like when the actual training began after the enlistment ceremony.
“Well, that's something to worry about later.”
Now that her stomach was full, it was her turn to gain strength so that these men here couldn't ignore her.
But what power can she have when she has no military power, no family support, and no money?
So, as Illya was leaving the Baron's house and coming here, she fully engaged her mind and came up with an ingenious plan.
“First, this place is an army.”
An army that brings together the honorable princes of the empire from all over it, who have never experienced military life.
Now, before the enlistment ceremony, the situation is still comfortable, but after the military life and actual training begins, their world will be completely turned upside down.
“It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's a whole other world.”
Another world so cruel and unforgiving, it's like hell.
'I wish I could die!!!'
Except for a few individuals with particularly strong resolve, most will chant these words as a mantra daily.
In fact, it cannot be said that they find military life particularly difficult because they were raised in comfort.
The army soldiers I saw while working as an officer in my past life were like that, and she too, after graduating from the military academy and starting her actual life in the unit, found it so difficult that she wanted to commit suicide.
In reality or in novels, the army is itself hateful, and thus everyone completely loses the will to live.
“Moreover, here the coach is Keisha, that crazy person, which makes it even worse.”
So, whether they are ordinary soldiers or officers, the one thing they want most during their military career is one thing: vacation!
But granting leave here is within Keisha's prerogative.
“This is something I cannot interfere with, so I will pass it.”
The next thing soldiers want most is...
“Civilian goods, i.e. things used by civilians.”
Illya muttered with a smile.
In the army, ordinary soldiers were particularly obsessed with civilian goods.
Whether it's food or anything else.
When she was an officer in her past life, if she sometimes ordered them at gatherings for cheap neighborhood fried chicken, or pizza, or jjajangmyeon, they would shed tears of emotion, and there were countless young men who even abandoned their ancestral faith in order to receive the chocolate candy given out after religious occasions.
“If someone on vacation brought cigarettes, hair loss shampoo, or even magazines from abroad, they eagerly rushed toward them.”
The reason soldiers are obsessed with civilian goods is not just because they are tastier or of better quality than military supplies.
Rather, it is because at that moment when they use civilian goods, they can feel the air of the outside world that they so long for.
At that moment, at least, they could become civilians enjoying a happy life in the outside world, instead of being soldiers suffering in isolation!
This will apply to the princes of this place as well.
“Absolutely.
These young men will undoubtedly be worse off.”
Aren't they the ones who lived in abundance in the outside world without any disturbance?
Look at them now complaining about their clothes and meals.
After the recruitment ceremony, they would desperately crave the outside world, just like hungry, thirsty people.
“And I will be their savior.
Hohohoho!”
An ambitious laugh emanated from her mouth.
Illya intended to bring in some civilian goods that soldiers were particularly crazy about, and distribute them here.
If they can get those things, the place is full of young men who will go to great lengths to get them.
So, instead of treating her rudely, they will watch her carefully as she supplies them with those precious things.
Isn't this the best way to enjoy the life of a peaceful marginal person?!
Moreover, the things she intended to bring in were not particularly dangerous, so there was no chance of her being subjected to punishment.
But the problem was that things had to be brought from outside.
It is not possible to leave before the first vacation.
Even if she went out on vacation, some things were very difficult, even for the eminent nobles of the empire.
Thus, it was impossible for a girl from an extremely poor baronial family who did not have a penny to obtain it.
“Of course, this is impossible for me, but here there is only one person who can do it.”
That "boy" from the original novel, he could bring anything from the empire even while he was detained here.
Even things that the Emperor, and even Grand Duke Vonberg, could not obtain.
So, she should befriend him first.
Specifically before the recruitment ceremony.
“Because later, even if she wanted to be friends with him, she wouldn’t be able to.”
Surely he had arrived here by now.
So, should I go and meet him now?
Elia quietly left the room.
•
Illya arrived at the basement of the palace annex.
The place was completely dark, without even a single candlestick on the walls, making it an ideal location for suspicious acts to be committed.
'There are already some young men doing this.'
I moved carefully towards the door of the storeroom downstairs.
After a while, the warehouse door appeared, and a sarcastic voice was heard from behind the door.
“Young man!
Do you dare to come here to fight against the demons with us, we from the duke families, while you are just a lowly from a family with no origins?”
“It is fitting for you to serve us.
Bwahahaha!”
The sound of laughter was familiar.
‘These are the young men who complained about the food in the restaurant.’
I looked at her waist.
It was good that she had brought Erhan's sword just in case.
Soon successive blows were heard, followed by a desperate sound mixed with groans.
“Please stop...I will do anything...”
Elia listened intently at the door.
A beautiful voice, thin and weak like a girl's voice, just as the original novel described it.
'It's him.'
The moment she was sure, an annoying voice was heard from behind the door.
"Really?
You'll do anything?
Hehehe!"
After a malicious laugh, followed by a cunning voice:
“Hey, you know this place is an army, and there are no women, right?
So, entertain us instead!
Bwahahaha!”
The sound of tearing fabric was heard from behind the door, and Elijah's face froze.
'Wow, I knew they were evil, but these guys are completely over the top!'
She grabbed the sword hilt at her waist and kicked the warehouse door with all her might to open it, screaming:
“You crazy people, stop!”
There, three large boys in silk underwear were surrounding one boy whose clothes were partially torn.
The boy who seemed to be the leader of the three boys strode closer to Elijah.
He was a full head taller than Elijah, and as massive as a mountain.
"What?
You're the redhead??"
But she was not terrified, but stared at him with contempt.
Her eyes narrowed.
His face was familiar.
'In the restaurant, he was so far away that I was hesitant, but he really is this fucker.'
Really, there aren't many people who push the boundaries like this right from the start.
'Was his name Terrence?'
He was the person who exploits his family's influence to play the role of a thug at the beginning of the original novel.
Terrence shouted threateningly to Elijah.
"Hey redhead!
Do you know who I am?
And do you know which family my family is, eh?"
I know very well.
The Richie family, that boy's family, is a ducal family that owns a fiefdom in the provinces.
Compared to the powerful nobles in the capital or the major families in the major cities, their influence was much weaker, but they had a fair amount of power in the regions outside the capital.
'However, it is a ducal family after all.'
This motherfucker was Terence, the typical type of contemptible bully who preys on the weak and flatters the strong.
In the original novel, he severely tortured those from families inferior to his own here.
On the contrary, he could not utter a single word in front of members of families who were superior to him.
Rather, he flattered them until his tongue almost wore out.
As it was said: “Birds of a feather flock together,” so was the case with the other two boys in that gang, whom Terence used as his pawns.
But in the original novel, this boy was eventually defeated by the male hero, Axion, and was eliminated from the scene.
Elia looked at the boy lying in the corner, almost naked.
It was clear that he was the boy she was looking for.
'To save this boy, I have to deal with this bastard first.'
Elijah stared directly at Terrence, and smiled.
After reading the novel “Sitalsa,” she of course knew the effective way to eliminate this boy.
So, it wouldn't be a problem to get rid of some dirt early, right?