Chapter 43: Buying Loyalty the Wrong Way.

Rassett almost clicked his tongue at the childish tone, but that child’s stubborn words had immense power.

Although he couldn’t say anything to Spes Umbra, he could easily cut off a petty company-grade officer like Rassett himself or a chief medical officer who didn’t even hold an important position.

“Wha, what kind of…”

It was the moment Miles belatedly tried to protest.

“I said it’s an order, from the Commander-in-Chief.”

Rassett flinched and stiffened his body. Apart from the playful tone, it was the voice of someone accustomed to giving orders. It was enough to make him correct his unconsciously relaxed posture. Miles, who was a doctor but also a soldier, had no choice but to shut his mouth.

“Execute the order, Colonel Miles.”

The new Commander-in-Chief had no intention of hearing objections from the start. It was suspicious whether mentioning the Royal Society was intended to mock Miles.

Still, that couldn’t be it. Rassett soothed himself thinking he overestimated the King’s Brother too much. That he was just too surprised by the unexpected event.

However, Rassett didn’t know that the truly surprising events hadn’t even begun yet.

From that day, the supply offensive began. Unlike the custom of relying on war merchants even for gunpowder, the King’s Brother organized a fleet himself and brought supplies.

Because of that, the eyes and ears of the generals were focused on his fleet, but most of the goods unloaded from his ships were massive amounts of fabric and water purification items.

Since the quantity was enormous, the cost the King’s Brother spent must have been immense too, but they weren’t the items the generals expected.

Small but heavy items were what they expected, but the only gems the King’s Brother brought for combat were crystals, which were awkward to even call gems.

Although the quantity was also enormous, the generals welcomed the rubies brought by Spes Umbra more.

The only thing among what the King’s Brother brought that was welcomed was alcohol, but he called it medical supplies and managed the disbursement very strictly.

It was the cause of deepening resentment towards the King’s Brother.

From words heard here and there, Rassett knew that the cost invested in this war would eventually be converted into shares of the mines after the war.

The ones with the largest shares were the King and the Prime Minister. As for the King’s Brother, well, Rassett doubted if the capital he invested could be turned into shares.

Because it had nothing to do with direct combat. To Rassett’s eyes, no, to anyone’s eyes, the King’s Brother seemed to be spending money in vain to buy the favor of useless lowly things.

Of course, he couldn’t help but be surprised by his financial power.

****

“Put down what you hid in your bosom.”

Crazy.

Rassett barely stopped a curse from popping out seeing the King’s Brother catching a discharged mercenary.

The strangely swollen chest showed the mercenary was hiding fabric in his bosom. However, it was never something for the Commander-in-Chief to step forward and censure.

Actually, patrolling the field hospital frequently and monitoring whether medical officers were following his instructions wasn’t the Commander-in-Chief’s job either.

For Rassett, it was just a series of surprising events. To the extent that he didn’t realize the King’s Brother’s tone was quite noble-like.

No matter how rough a mercenary, perhaps he couldn’t dare to act stubbornly in front of the Commander-in-Chief; the mercenary with a fierce impression hesitated but obediently opened his chest and took out the fabric.

“Oh my…”

Rassett clicked his tongue without realizing it. It was something he absolutely shouldn’t do in front of the Commander-in-Chief, but he couldn’t help it.

The fabric stained with pus and blood was that terrible to look at.

“All items used by patients must be disinfected. There can be no exceptions.”

Unlike Rassett who frowned, the King’s Brother spoke with an indifferent face, but firmly.

The mercenary distorted his fierce face further. The clothes with worn-out sleeves and ankles and his bare feet told why he cherished and hid that filthy fabric in his bosom.

One might think it’s nothing, but socks were important supplies. Especially in this humid jungle of the New Continent.

That just a pair of socks affects marching speed, that living in the humid jungle wearing wet socks leads to the point of having to amputate feet, Rassett also didn’t know at all before coming to this battlefield.

Couldn’t he overlook that much? Rassett thought, barely smoothing his frowning face.

It wasn’t out of pity for the mercenary. Were they guys worthy of daring to receive pity? They were things sold for money and looked down on even military discipline.

So pity was out of the question. The reason that guy’s clothes were in that state was because he dared not to take proper care of the military uniform bestowed by His Majesty the King.

The fact that the mercenary standing in front belonged to the 1st Expeditionary Force like Rassett himself, fought dozens of battles over a year, and received only one uniform during that time was not a consideration for Rassett.

Rassett only thought of efficiency.

Wondering if keeping the mercenary’s feet intact with that dirty fabric wouldn’t be a decent exchange ratio.

But the King’s Brother strictly retrieved the fabric. Indeed, he was a gentleman who didn’t know how to spend money properly.

Like this, wouldn’t he lose even the support of mercenaries he barely gained? He was just worried about his future of having to assist a Commander-in-Chief shunned by both officers and mercenaries.

“Go to the barracks in front of the hospital main gate, they will give you new clothes, take them.”

The eyes of the mercenary, who had a fierce impression, widened. Rassett also had the same expression.

“Did you build a warehouse barracks?”

Even though he was his adjutant, it was the first time he heard about it. The question leaked out in his surprise, and Rassett belatedly realized his mistake.

He saw the mercenary, who had opened his eyes wide unsuitably, snickering. Letting even that damn guy notice he wasn’t trusted by his superior was a clear blunder.

Instead of answering Rassett’s clumsy question, the King’s Brother gestured to the mercenary. Meaning return to the unit now.

“Loyalty!”

The mercenary, who had acted so insolently that military discipline couldn’t be found anywhere, showed the most soldier-like courtesy towards the Commander-in-Chief.

Rassett felt a surge of anger again. Aside from the fact that he had never received such a salute from a mercenary, it was because the mercenary dared to sneer when passing in front of him.

The sight of him playing innocent as if he never did such a thing in front of the Commander-in-Chief was even more detestable.

****

The change was instantaneous. Rassett had to suppress the urge to rub his eyes several times.

Camouflage pattern. Camouflage pattern here, camouflage pattern there. It was all camouflage patterns. That is, the mercenaries’ uniforms.

Henia’s military uniforms were traditionally red.

Since mercenaries and officers couldn’t wear the same color, they marked the status difference by wearing hats or attaching insignias, but anyway, wearing a red coat was the duty of Henian soldiers regardless of rank.

Although it was because red dye was the cheapest, the origin wasn’t important. The fact that the red coat was the proud history of Henian soldiers was important.

But that deep history was damaged in the New Continent.

Camouflage patterned clothes mixed dizzyingly with light brown and green patterns had become the mercenaries’ uniforms before anyone knew.

It was exactly the clothes the Commander-in-Chief distributed to those discharged from the field hospital.

Those who lost limbs retired as they could no longer perform military duties, but those who luckily survived with limbs intact even after being shot and those hospitalized due to endemic diseases were discharged and returned to their units.

Along with those camouflage patterned clothes the Commander-in-Chief distributed generously.

Mercenaries must have wondered what this was about. Those with not even an ounce of pride as Henian soldiers immediately wore those hideous camouflage clothes as if they were uniforms and walked around.

The news that the Commander-in-Chief was giving out new clothes for free spread like wind, and shameless mercenaries visited the barracks in front of the field hospital faster than the wind.

Like that, the camouflage pattern swept through the camp. Along with the preposterous news that the Commander-in-Chief treated endemic diseases with water mixed with salt and sugar.

It was true that the Commander-in-Chief ordered those with endemic diseases to drink water filtered through layers of charcoal, sand, and gravel, boiled and cooled, then mixed with a certain ratio of salt and sugar.

“Are you telling us to make patients with endemic diseases suffering from diarrhea and vomiting drink salt-sugar water as medicine?”

Colonel Miles, the chief medical officer, asked back with a red face just like when he heard the order to wash hands. It meant protest.

“It’s an order.”

And his protest was cut down in a single stroke again. In a tone quite displeasing even to Rassett’s ears.

By then, Rassett could also tell that the King’s Brother used various tones. He could command in a very aristocratic tone.

Rassett remembered it and practiced secretly. It was culture that would be quite helpful for his future.

Conversely, the King’s Brother also knew how to speak in a detestable tone that makes listeners angry like an arrogant young master.

The problem was that the target of the former was mercenaries and the target of the latter was officers. Including Rassett himself.

Naturally, the King’s Brother’s reputation among officers plummeted terribly. The higher-ups disapproved of him from the start, but company-grade officers were different.

Although no one truly regarded the King’s Brother as Commander-in-Chief and was loyal, there were many who gauged his value. No, it could be said almost all of them.

Young company-grade officers who came all the way to the New Continent battlefield were either ambitious or had a bleak future.

Rassett corresponded to both, so he couldn’t help but be interested in the King’s Brother’s personal capability.

However, the King’s Brother plunged his own reputation to the ground by discriminating between them and mercenaries.