Tsukasa Kohinata

“Ando reporting for duty, General Kohinata!”

One night had passed at our campsite.

The troops had set up camp with their own units and were resting within walled-off enclosures that Sergeant Makabe had built.

Corporal Ando had just returned from his rounds to report his findings.

“I’ve confirmed the following three to be missing: Corporal Itusko Usa, Sergeant Shoko Sasaki, and Corporal Mirai Tokito.”

The three miscreants had deserted their posts according to plan.

In fact, I’d purposely assigned them to the same unit to nudge them in that direction.

Abandoning too many people from the start would have likely caused a mutiny, so I was thankful that they’d chosen to leave of their own accord.

“Reassign the remaining two members, SSG Yayoi Akatsuki to Section One and Sergeant Fumika Noda to Section Two.”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

I knew there was no way we would all make it out of this in one piece.

Retaking the castle while being attacked by mythical creatures such as dragons and goblins wasn’t something we could accomplish with zero casualties.

When I acquired the General skill, I decided to divide my classmates into two camps: those that deserved to be saved and those who didn’t.

“One more thing, General Kohinata. The commanding officer of Section Four, SSG Tsuyoshi Wanibuchi, would like to see you.”

“I’ll allow it. Let him through.”

I motioned with my hand. I had a hunch he would show up soon.

“Section Four.

Commanding officer: SSG Tsuyoshi Wanibuchi.

Second-in-command: Sergeant Kyoya Suzuki.

Troops: Sergeant Kotaro Kato, Sergeant Jiro Sato, and Corporal Hironobu Kume.”

I had my reasons for grouping those five together.

The teenage gangsters of the class were the other nuisance variable.

They needed to be eliminated as well.

“Yo, Tsukasa. Must be nice to be you, eh?”

“Address me as General while we’re here, SSG Wanibuchi.”

“My bad, I can’t hear you very well. Could ya speak up, shortstache?”

He must have plugged his ears.

Tsuyoshi had already figured out the General skill’s weakness.

What a menace. I knew he was too dangerous to have around.

Although Sergeant Yazawa was said to be the leader of the teenage gang, in reality, SSG Wanibuchi possessed the best hand-to-hand combat skills.

He also had a powerful physique, second only to SSG Oyama. Add his cruel personality and sharp, predatory instincts to the mix, and he was practically impossible to reign in.

“We have a simple request. Give us a woman. Those three that were in Section Seven left, right? I don’t care if it’s Fumika or Yayoi. I’m sick of being surrounded by dudes.”

Where on earth he obtained that information from, I had no idea.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen if I handed over a woman to SSG Wanibuchi’s unit, though.

“Very well. However, there are conditions.”

Since he couldn’t hear me, I scribbled the following on a piece of paper and gave it to him.

“Eliminate the monsters that are lying in wait for us, unassisted.”

Tsuyoshi hooted upon reading my note.

“Challenge accepted. Man, I’m getting amped up!”

This way, I could get rid of both monsters and Section Four.

If it meant keeping more of us alive, I was more than happy to sell my soul to the devil.

“I wish you luck, SSG Wanibuchi.”

I saluted Tsuyoshi as he departed.

“See you in hell. I’ll catch you later.”

Unable to hear my parting remark due to his earplugs, SSG Wanibuchi ignored me and headed out to the battlefield without looking back.