Now, instead of a truck, three sedans awaited them. Benjy found himself getting into the same car as the redhead who had been sitting next to him. They must be headed in a similar direction home. As he opened the car door, he heard someone shouting from a distance. Ignoring it, he was about to get in when the redhead grabbed his arm and said,
"Hey… I think someone's calling you?"
Squinting against the strong sunlight, Benjy turned around to see a group of about five or six people in the distance. Among them, waving and shouting something, was that 'crazy guy.'
'Holden….'
Holden was beaming and shouting at Benjy, oblivious to the people waiting around him.
"Benjy! I'll see you again!"
Even though it was such a common name, Benjy knew for sure that Holden was calling him and no one else. All eyes were now on him. Flustered, Benjy instinctively raised his hand and shouted back.
"Yes!"
The surrounding people looked at them even more strangely. But in such a pressing situation, there was no time to think deeply. Holden, having heard Benjy's reply, turned around and smiled again, raising his hand high. Benjy gasped and quickly got into the car.
'What's going on? What on earth is happening?'
Benjy leaned his throbbing head against the window, trying to process the day's events. Outside, buildings far more splendid and sturdy than those in District D3, clean roads, and beautiful street trees passed by.
Thinking about his mother, the events that would unfold, and what had just happened, he desperately wanted to sleep and sort it all out later. Just as he was about to drift off with his head resting, something like a rice ball tapped his shoulder.
"Ahem… Ahem! Uh…! Uh…! Are you asleep?"
Despite trying to ignore it, the person kept asking. It seemed like they were trying to wake him up deliberately.
"Uh…? Are you really asleep? Truly?"
Benjy reluctantly opened his eyes and looked in that direction.
'His face looks like a sturdy potato. His hands really do look like rice balls.'
"Uh, well… My, my name is Lowen! I'm from Distric C. I'm twenty years old. You seem about the same age as me…."
He seemed like a timid kid. His voice trembled badly, and his eyes darted around. Even the hand on Benjy's shoulder was shaking slightly.
Not wanting to leave a bad impression on someone he might be spending his military life with, Benjy responded as kindly as he could, despite not having had such conversations in a long time.
"Really? I'm Benjy, and I'm twenty-one. But feel free to speak informally."
Lowen appeared extremely touched by this simple response. Gaining confidence from Benjy's reaction, he began to chatter away. It was as if he had been inflating a speech bubble quietly since leaving the headquarters and now decided to burst it here.
"Oh, so you're older! How did you get here? At school, I always read books during class. What books, you ask… Oh! My interests lie in languages and symbols. Anyway, I think that caught the teacher's eye, hehe…. But being in the Imperial Army is so cool!"
Even without Benjy reacting, Lowen seemed to have a lot to say. So Benjy just listened.
"Actually, my… my brother is also in the Imperial Army! He says it's not an easy path, but thinking about protecting the great Selcan Empire and our family gives him strength every day! He's proud too! So I… though I hate being away from my family… *sniffle*…"
To Benjy's surprise, Lowen suddenly began to sniffle and wipe away tears. Conscious of the soldiers with guns sitting in the front seats, Benjy deliberately responded in a bright voice to divert Lowen's attention.
"Oh, really? Your brother's in the Imperial Army? That's amazing. I don't know anyone in the Imperial Army. By the way! Which unit is your brother in? Army? Navy? Or the Intelligence Department?"
Lowen immediately stopped crying and resumed smiling as he continued his story.
"Hehe. My brother is in the army. He's a non-commissioned officer in the 3rd Infantry Division! But, since you're my brother, I'm telling you this specially… my brother's unit is near the Capital Defense Force that the Colonel mentioned earlier. So my brother has told me stories about the Commander there."
Lowen seemed to be about to talk about Commander Holden. Suddenly wide awake, Benjy began to take an interest in Lowen's words.
"Really? What kind of person is the Commander? I mean, the rumors must be exaggerated, right? He didn't seem that bad... not to the extent of being called a lunatic."
Seeing Lowen's face darken, Benjy stopped talking. Lowen, aware of the soldiers ahead, gestured for Benjy to come closer and then lowered his voice.
"No. The rumors are actually sugar-coated. He's way crazier in reality."
Feeling his face harden to match Lowen's, Benjy gathered his courage to ask again.
"Why... what do you mean?"
"They say he'll do anything as long as it amuses him. He roams around every day with a bored-to-death expression, his eyes constantly searching for something entertaining. I know a story that's considered legendary in the unit from two years ago. Want to hear it?"
A tense Benjy swallowed hard.
"Uh..."
"Two years ago, there was a big conflict between the army units stationed in the capital and the capital defense forces. The reason was probably that Commander Diaz and the Daisy Brigade were receiving various privileges from the top. They got autonomous training and a lot of budget allocation. One day, during a meeting of high-ranking officers, it was decided to give the command of the three supercarrier aircraft carriers in the army entirely to the capital defense forces. This enraged the Chief of Staff of the capital army, and he targeted Commander Diaz."
"What... targeted? How?"
"They called the unit a useless bunch of money-wasting trash. They ridiculed the commander as an inexperienced brat tarnishing the name of the Imperial Army, while everyone just kept giving them resources, causing the country to fall apart. If it had stopped there, it might have been fine, but fearing future consequences, the Chief of Staff poisoned the whiskey that Diaz liked and sent it to his room that night."
"And then... what happened?"
He almost died...?
With his mouth dry, Benjy saw Lowen shaking his head before taking a deep breath and continuing the story.
"That night was quiet. But three days later, on the morning of the founding anniversary, the Chief of Staff went missing. He didn't show up for work or training. Naturally, the entire Imperial Army was in chaos. A few hours later, they found his body..."
"His... body?"
"Yeah. In the garbage dump at headquarters, buried under a pile of stinking trash. Near the vent. His head was completely smashed, blood everywhere, and the body was so mangled it was almost unrecognizable. But the blood had dried on the floor due to the ventilation."
Imagining the scene, Benjy felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
"Who did it...?"
"Of course, it was that Commander!"
No way, it couldn't be. How could such beautiful hands commit such a horrific act? He seemed like someone who would cry if a leaf fell.
"So, did they arrest him?"
"No. Everyone knew he did it, but there was no direct evidence. But that day, my brother overheard him saying, with a joyful laugh, 'It seems the real wet-behind-the-ears person is Chief Gary.'"
Benjy found the story too surreal. Lowen, sensing there was more, continued.
"It took a while to gather the bodies of the Chief of Staff's closest aides, but the cause and the bodies weren't publicly disclosed to prevent demoralizing the soldiers. The capital defense forces, already not on good terms with the capital army, were provoked by this incident and raided the army quarters one night. Since they couldn't kill fellow soldiers, they played a prank..."
Benjy momentarily forgot that not only Commander Holden but also the entire unit was full of lunatics.
"What... prank?"
"The army quarters have white outer walls. They wrote in big red letters, 'The unit for those who couldn't get into Daisy ― even the commander is a loser.' They tried hard to erase it, but the red marks are still faintly visible. Whenever the Daisy Brigade members pass by and meet the army soldiers, they openly mock them as 'wet-behind-the-ears.' Since then, everyone has treated the capital defense forces like invisible men."
Lowen made a strange face several times, as if he couldn't believe his own words. Benjy felt the same disbelief. How could such a beautiful person do such a... thing? Why would he be the commander of such a place?
Was it possible he had mistaken someone else, someone with the same name? But the ominous feeling in his heart seemed to already know the answer.
Lowen suddenly asked, seemingly worried.
"Hey, earlier, the person who called you... wasn't that Commander Diaz? How does he know you? What happened?"
So it was him. Benjy couldn't bring himself to confess the shocking story.
"Oh, that... he must have been mistaken. My name is common."
Lowen easily dropped his suspicion and said,
"Hmm, really? That's a relief. Anyway, my brother said never to catch his eye. If he picks you as an amusing toy, he'll play with you until you're broken. There have been more than a few who were broken and discarded that way."
Benjy couldn't bring himself to reply. He leaned his head against the window and tried to sleep again, this time much more desperately.