Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Under the Lion Banner

Capital of the Kingdom of Fizz, Letizia Castle

The birds that alighted on the balcony pecked beaks at each other as if to ensure each other's presence. In the bustling forest, squirrels hang with their tails as the cheeks contain fairy peach seeds.

It was midday, and the scent of soft leaves spread into the conference room with a gentle breeze.

Inside the room, the Generals leading the various troops sat around a long table in the middle of the room.

「Thank you everyone for taking the time to attend.」

With host Cornelius Wym Curling presiding over the meeting, gathered here is First Army Deputy Commander, General Lambert von Garcia, Second Army Commander, Lieutenant General Brad Enfield, Sixth Army Commander Lieutenant General Sara San Sivier, Seventh Army Commander General Paul von Balza, and Brigadier General Neinhart Blanche who will only listen, a total of six people.

After greeting and greeting, everyone sat down in their respective chairs.

Brad looked around the table and threw out the topic.

「Compared to the beginning of the war, this place is now not too crowded ..」

General Ladz Smythe of the Third Army.

General Linz Barth of the Fourth Army.

General Belmar Wim Heightnez of the Fifth Army.

The three generals present in this room before the war began had already fallen. From what Neinhart had heard, General Ladz and Linz had been old friends of Brad since the time of their Military Academy. Neinhart also lost his friend General Florentz during the battle of Arschmitz as well.

That's why Brad's tone of voice sounded heavy.

「It's true. Old people like me are still here, while young ones leave us first ... War is, the absurd. 」

Paul sighed deeply and the air in the room became heavy.

The one who broke the silence was Brad again.

「Lord Paul, you are young and don't look over 60.」

「Hah ... Your flattery has not improved at all since the days of the Military Academy.」

Paul looked at her coldly and Brad shriveled like a scolded child.

They might be Generals leading the troops now, but they were instructors and cadets during their time in the Academy. Many of their exploits were still passed down in school, and Neinhart heard about them when she became a cadet.

「Hahah! Even Lightning Brad could not raise his head before Paul. 」

Lambert laughed out loud, and Brad's embarrassment over the strange nickname made Lambert even happier.

「By the way, Mr Commander-in-Chief Cornelius, what is the agenda of today's meeting? You're not thinking of catching up while the war is still going on, are you? 」

Sara forcefully changed the topic, and Cornelius nodded with an awkward face.

「Let's start with the conclusion of this urgent call— I'm thinking of forming the Eighth Army, and just want to tell you guys.」

the new Eighth Army.

Not just Neinhart, everyone showed a troubled face. With the destruction of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Armies, the formation of new troops was about to take place. What they did not understand was the reason for gathering everyone during such difficult times.

Cornelius was the Supreme Commander in charge of the entire Royal Military, and Alphonse officially gave him full authority over military affairs. That meant Cornelius could mobilize the military at will. There was no need for him to tell the generals beforehand about his orders.

「Do you need approval from us from the beginning?」

Paul asked Cornelius on behalf of the group.

「You could say so. Especially you, Paul, this involves you directly. 」

Everyone's eyes are on Paul now. The Paul who was mentioned by name wavered slightly, then thought with his hands on his chin.

He thought of something and opened his eyes wide.

「Could it be, you want Major Olivia to lead the Eighth Army?!」

「Your observation is still sharp as usual.」

「Uhuk uhuk! - No, wait, you want Major Olivia to lead the Eighth Army? Isn't that inadequate? 」

Regardless of his uniform being stained by the tea, Lambert shouted with his eyes wide open. He was already loud when speaking, so it was natural that Sara beside him frowned when he shouted.

「What is not in accordance with Major Olivia leading the Eighth Army?」

Cornelius added a little sugar to his teacup and stirred it with a spoon. Movement and silence— Brad observed a clear contrast between the two with great interest.

「This is not a matter of conformity. I admit that he is very strong in the fight, but leading a small unit is different from leading an army, you understand right, Mr Commander-in-Chief? And he just ... teenager ...... 」

「Sixteen.」

Paul said without the slightest change in his voice.

「True, as Paul said, he is only sixteen years old. Throughout the history of the Kingdom, there had never been a sixteen year old army general. I strongly object. 」

With that, Lambert lowered his gaze. She finally realized her uniform was soaking wet, and began wiping herself with a handkerchief from her pocket.

「-Yes, I understand Lambert's opinion now, what about the rest? Don't hold back, tell me how you feel. 」

Cornelius looked around the table.

The first to speak was Sara.

「I agree with the proposal of Commander-in-Chief Cornelius. He may be only 16 years old, which may seem too young — but compared to an empty doll like me, I am sure he can make better use of his army. The best evidence was his incredible strategy to save the Sixth Army. 」

Ironically, he called himself just an empty doll, and everyone smiled awkwardly. Her abilities might not be comparable, but no one had any intention of criticizing the Fourth Princess who stood at the forefront as a representative of the Royal family.

On the other hand, Neinhart heard about the entire battle at Fort Peshita. Infiltrate the enemy headquarters alone and capture the enemy commander to lead him in— This is a tactic that only Olivia can do. The second half of Sara's words were not at all sarcastic, and she was serious about it.

「Yes, Lieutenant General Sara agrees ... What about you, Lieutenant General Brad?」

「I have the same thoughts as Princess. Her personal greatness was already confirmed, and as a strategist, that little girl— Major Olivia, was amazing. If it wasn't for his timely help, I wouldn't be sitting here today. 」

Brad smiled with self-deprecation.

「Oh, it is an honor for Lightning Brad to share the same opinion with me.」

「Yang noble..」.

Sara smiled at Brad who was scratching his head. Lambert watched them quietly and let out a long sigh.

「I understand that His Majesty was indebted to Major Olivia during the battle at Fort Peshita, but this is a different matter. The same goes for you, Brad. 」

「It's true I owe him a favor, but I'm talking about those two things separately. This is my assessment based on the extraordinary exploits so far. 」

「Maybe you are getting senile.」

Sara smiled at Brad again, who replied with an awkward face. After that Brad and Lambert kept arguing about 「Lack of experience」 「Experience could be added with talent」.

In the end, Brad concluded while scratching his head.

「I am still the commander of the Second Army. I only saw the action of the girl at the Central War Theater, but I could see she was able to take this post. We won a few battles recently, but we barely made it, we can't spare any effort to complain about age or priorities. That's my simple opinion. 」

「Ughh..」.

Lambert crossed his arms with a bitter expression.

(By the skin of our teeth ... As Lieutenant General Brad said. One wrong move and we'll sink under the ice with no chance of drifting.)

(Skin of my teeth (hebrew: ⁇ ‘o-wr sin-nay) is a phrase from the Bible. In Job 19:20, the King James Version states "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth." (in Indonesian: My bones clung to my skin and flesh, and I slipped off with my teeth). In the Geneva Bible, the phrase is translated as "I have escaped with the skinne of my tethe."

In modern times, "by the skin of my teeth" is used to refer to a situation of a person who decides to flee. Sc: wiki.)

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...To Be Continue's...