“…Are you not in pain? Even if you’ve had some rough treatment, using magic to its limits and taking an emergency mana recovery drug should leave your whole body aching to the point where it wouldn’t be unusual to be bedridden by now…”

“…I think I’m fine. Just some aches here and there… The results from the detailed checkup didn’t reveal any particular issues, so I don’t think I need to be hospitalized. Can I go?”

“The opinion of the person who treated you confirmed that, and I also believe it would be best to stay hospitalized for a few days to rest… However, I can’t force a patient who insists they are fine to stay. If you truly feel okay, you may leave, but please don’t overexert yourself for a while.”

“Understood. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Right after Scarlet Evande’s interrogation ended, Martina, who had been advised by the medical staff of the rescue squad to definitely get hospitalized, visited the hospital, received a thorough examination, and then left.

As she stepped out of the hospital, stretching her arms with a groan, she grimaced at the throbbing pain in her chest and muttered to herself.

“…Crap, I said I was fine, but man, it really hurts…”

Honestly, what she said to the doctor was a lie.

It wasn’t just a little ache; it was a significant amount of pain.

But she didn’t want to be hospitalized, so Martina clicked her tongue and thought.

Being hospitalized means being treated as a patient, regardless of circumstances.

And patients generally don’t reach out for help in emergencies.

She never wanted to experience again the realization that a comrade had suffered serious injuries and retired without her knowledge, causing her once cheerful subordinate to lose their smile.

“Given this, it’s not like I need to be hospitalized; I’ll recover soon on my own.”

Muttering to herself, Martina returned to the front lines where her unit was stationed.

The rest area, where the unit members should have been resting, was mostly empty save for a few members.

Due to the demonic beasts that had interrupted earlier, most of them had gone out to stand guard, dispatched to protect those who were repairing the barriers and cleaning up the scattered corpses of the beasts.

It seemed they would be busy for a while.

She had been informed that a major operation to install magic circles across the entire border area, which would prevent unauthorized teleportation, would soon commence to keep at bay witches who seemed to be able to teleport at will, just like today.

Muttering that there was no way she could afford to be hospitalized and not be present during such a busy time, Martina approached Kanna, the unit commander, who was busily giving orders to her teammates, and informed her of her return.

“Kanna, you’ve been working hard since earlier. Hand over the reins to me and take a short break. I’ll take over from here.”

“…Commander, you came back quickly? I thought the medical staff told you to be hospitalized?”

“Oh, well, after going to the hospital and getting checked, they said I didn’t actually need to be hospitalized. I think I’m fine, so I just came back. It wouldn’t do for me to not be here while you’re busy.”

“…Ah, I see. So you’re fine.”

At that moment, Kanna, who had been nodding while listening to Martina, suddenly struck out with her hand.

Martina felt her hand rush towards her chest at an alarming speed.

A speed that wouldn’t leave her unscathed if it hit directly.

Normally, she would have reacted without issue, but her body was not in its best condition at the moment.

So, she failed to avoid Kanna’s attack, which was more of a playful strike that slowed down just before impact.

And,

“-Huh?!!”

While trying to endure the already painful sensations, Martina couldn’t hold back and let out an embarrassing scream when Kanna’s hand touched her.

Holding her chest and shaking, Martina glanced up at Kanna with a sense of dread.

What she saw in Kanna’s eyes was a look of disapproval, one that plainly suggested she had expected this all along.

“…Did you really think I’d fall for such an obvious lie? Even if you received treatment, there’s no way you’d overexert yourself and not be in pain. Why are you crawling back in such a state instead of taking it easy in the hospital?”

“…Because I’m the commander.”

“…You didn’t even want to be commander originally. While it’s good to take on responsibility, don’t overburden yourself trying to handle everything alone.”

Upon hearing Kanna’s words, Martina looked at her for a moment before giving a wry smile and muttering.

“Kanna, you know me too well for no good reason.”

She was right.

To be honest, when she first entered Astrafe, she had no intention of becoming a commander.

She didn’t think she could.

The position of commander couldn’t just be acquired through strength.

She was strong, but she had no confidence in bearing the responsibilities that came with the title.

Honestly speaking, her style had always been to do as she liked.

Thus, the former commander intended to pass on the position to someone else—not her.

To Yoon Si-woo’s father, who had both a sense of duty and respect.

But due to what happened fifteen years ago, the former commander and that man both passed away, leaving the position vacant.

The fourth squad, having lost its focal point, needed a new commander.

Thus, she had to take up the commander’s position reluctantly.

And the responsibility of leading others turned out to be heavier than she expected.

Even if she tried to act indifferent, there were times she felt overwhelmed. It seemed Kanna had picked up on it, given how long they had worked together.

At that moment, Kanna sighed and pulled something from her pocket.

“Here, take this. I figured you’d do something like this, so I prepared it in advance.”

“What’s this… A leave order? Why on earth…?”

“You hate hospitals, right? If I tell you to get hospitalized, you won’t listen no matter what, so I’ll just give you a leave until you recover. You can’t show your face at the unit for at least a week. It’s an order, so if you don’t comply, it’s insubordination.”

Martina looked at Kanna in disbelief.

“No, I’m the commander; I can’t be ordered around…”

“If the commander isn’t here, then the acting commander is responsible. If you disobey, I, as the acting commander, won’t let you go easy, so go rest now.”

“…What will you do if I don’t follow?”

“I’ll cry like a baby. If you don’t want to see that, then you should obey the order.”

With an arms-crossed, smug expression glaring at her, Martina let out a chuckle and accepted the leave order, sliding it into her pocket.

She didn’t want to see Kanna cry, so maybe she had no choice.

She might as well take this opportunity to rest, and as Martina turned around, she heard Kanna’s voice.

“Oh, by the way, please bring that rookie who’s crouching over there with you. I sent them on leave for at least three days too. They shouldn’t be feeling fine after spitting up that much blood. A commander and a subordinate are the same in that regard.”

As she looked around at those words, she spotted Yoon Si-woo, who was staring blankly at the unit members working despondently in the corner of the barrier.

So, she was on leave together with Yoon Si-woo.

Not long ago, she might have found it exciting, but…

Martina sighed as she approached Yoon Si-woo.

“You got kicked out on leave as well, huh?”

“…Commander.”

“You look like you have a lot on your mind. Conveniently, I know just the place to help with that. How about we go for a drink?”

*
Martina took Yoon Si-woo to a bar nestled in a narrow alley.

The inside of the bar had dim lighting and not a single person inside, creating a strange atmosphere.

Yoon Si-woo looked at his superior, who brought him to such a place, with a frown.

“…Um, Commander. I’m still a minor, so I shouldn’t be drinking…”

“Don’t worry, do you think I’d be crazy enough to make you drink? They have excellent fresh fruit juices here. My recommendation is the orange juice; wanna go with that?”

“…Then I’ll take that.”

“Got it. Hey, sir, can we get one martini and one orange juice here?”

Before long, a gruff-looking middle-aged man emerged and set two glasses in front of the two before disappearing again.

One martini garnished with an olive and an appropriately sized cup of orange juice.

Yoon Si-woo took the straw inserted into the orange juice and sipped. After a moment, he opened his eyes a little wider and murmured.

“…This is really delicious. It’s just orange juice, but…”

“Right? I don’t know what magic they use on their fruits, but you can’t find a place that makes it like here. Well, I doubt anyone comes to a bar just to drink juice, so without someone to tell you, this is a high-end tip. I’m telling you this specially because it’s you. I learned it after being dragged here myself.”

Staring at Yoon Si-woo, who was drinking his orange juice with a nostalgia-filled expression, Martina took a small sip of her martini and continued.

“…About your parents.”

Yoon Si-woo paused and slowly turned his head to look at Martina.

Seeing the indescribable expression on his face, she spoke to herself as if recalling a memory.

“…When I first joined the fourth squad, my personality was quite rough. I hated losing to anyone to an extreme degree. Well, I still hate losing, but it was especially severe back then.”

“…”

“I grew up without my parents. Just like you. So I tried hard to be ahead of others, hoping no one would casually say anything to me about it. No matter how brilliant a person is, it’s near impossible to achieve that. Because of that, I often had conflicts with the team members over trivial matters. One day, the members placed a bet on how much we could drink, and I ended up in last place. I could never drink at all, and it infuriated me. I felt like it was because my parents never taught me about drinking.”

“…”

“So I went to a corner, crying alone, and your father and mother came to comfort me, saying that it was no big deal. At first, I thought they were mocking me. After all, who brings someone sobbing over not being able to drink to a bar? But as they ordered three orange juices, they said that honestly, they thought it was better than alcohol. They told me not to worry about such a foolish game of how much we could drink.”

Martina cleared her throat a few times, feeling her voice choke.

“…It might seem minor, but their words meant the world to me back then. From that moment on, we became close and went to drink here often. They taught me how to drink. The age difference wasn’t significant, but they were, to me… like parents. I just wanted to share that with you.”

“…They sound like wonderful people.”

“…They truly were good people.”

Martina replied softly and took a few sips from her drink.

Yoon Si-woo hesitated, lowering his head before speaking up.

“…Um, thank you for today. For helping me with my request.”

“…Yeah, about that? To be honest, I thought a lot about it, but it felt wrong not to help you since you were so earnest about it. More than anything, that girl didn’t seem bad.”

Martina smiled wryly at his words.

Before returning to the border region after rescuing Scarlet, Yoon Si-woo had kneeled down, earnestly requesting her not to tell others about what he saw today.

That’s why she had really thought hard when she was questioned during the interrogation earlier.

If she considered the danger that might come in the future, then it would be right to testify about what she had seen today.

However, if she spoke the truth, then the girl named Scarlet wouldn’t have gotten away unscathed today.

But Martina decided not to reveal what she saw today.

Because she wanted to believe.

Not in the girl, but in the resolve that the girl had shown while practicing alongside her.

In the willingness she had to sacrifice herself to save the students and others.

Martina wanted to believe in that heroic spirit.

However, she still had something weighing on her mind, so she opened her mouth.

“…But can I ask you a few questions in return for fulfilling your request?”

“…Yes, go ahead.”

“…During today’s interrogation, was there ever a time you lied?”

“…No, I didn’t lie. I hate lies.”

Martina swallowed hard, then asked Yoon Si-woo.

“If you didn’t lie, then were you speaking from your heart when you said that?”

Without needing to explain what she meant, Yoon Si-woo slowly nodded and answered.

“…Yes, it was sincere.”

“…Did you perhaps know everything from before?”

“…I had a rough idea, yes.”

“…I see. Yoon Si-woo, can I ask you one more thing…”

Martina recalled what she had seen earlier and opened her mouth.

The girl who remained unfazed despite layers of mana surrounding her, attempting to break in.

The girl who stood firm even against the overwhelming blaze of flames that could melt the ground spewed by the demonic beasts.

“…Who on earth is she?”

And Yoon Si-woo answered that question without hesitation.

“Scarlet is just my precious friend.”

Martina slowly nodded at his answer.

That response was enough for her.

She hoped that the day would never come when this child would have to put into action what she had said.

As she thought that while sipping her drink, Yoon Si-woo glanced at her and asked.

“…Commander, you said you couldn’t drink before; are you okay now?”

“…Yeah, after drinking for a while, you naturally get used to it.”

“Is it really delicious enough that you would force yourself to drink? I’ve never had alcohol before…”

As Yoon Si-woo’s question caught her off guard, Martina looked quizzically at the martini she was holding, then chuckled softly and offered him her glass.

“…If you’re curious, want to give it a try?”

“…Is that okay?”

“It’s fine; just a sip.”

“Then, I won’t refuse…”

Taking the glass from Martina, Yoon Si-woo took a sip of the martini, and after making a slight grimace, he handed the glass back to her.

“…It’s bitter. I really don’t understand what adults drink this stuff for.”

“Yeah, it’s just bitter. Honestly, I still don’t know why I drink it.”

“…Then why do you?”

“…Well, if I had to find a reason…”

Martina looked at the martini glass, recalling her first experience with this drink.

“Do you want to recommend me a drink? How about this? Martini, nicknamed the king of cocktails. Martina, just one letter off from your name. One day, you too will become a hero people look up to like royalty.”

“Ooh, I quite like the name…! Then here… Ugh, what is this! It’s so bitter! This is totally not as good as juice, a hundred times worse!”

“Ahaha, honestly, I think the same. You and I have pretty childish tastes.”

“Then why are we drinking this?!”

“Hmm, well, if I had to think of a reason…”

“-Perhaps it’s for memories.”

Martina said that, tilting her martini glass.