Sylph Nova, a Captain in the Sabbath Federation Army.
Her name was widely known within the Sabbatian Army as a "symbol of miracles."
Her greatest achievement was proposing the multiple-point simultaneous breakthrough strategy on the Western Front.
Using this strategy, General Brustav inflicted severe damage on Austin.
As a result, Austin was forced to issue a statement of unconditional surrender. There is no doubt that Sylph was a figure who changed history.
…If the war had ended there, her fate would likely have been drastically different.
"Sylph is the wisest in the Sabbath. The future military will likely be structured based on Sylph."
Unfortunately, the war continued and Sylph was recruited into the military as a staff officer.
Her father, Brustav, had touted his daughter's excellence, so she was highly regarded even though she had only just graduated from the military academy.
She earned the trust of her father, who was the Commander-in-Chief, and participated in various operations as a staff officer, continuing to achieve excellent results.
Even during the battle near Noel where Lakya lost her life, her strategy was highly praised.
Sylph continued to prove her worth amidst the ongoing war.
However, from Burstav's point of view, his daughter Sylph had a major flaw.
Many of her proposed strategies were overly risky and speculative.
Brustav had this belief: "military operations should be based on careful calculations, and gambling with people's lives should be avoided."
There was something brilliant about the plans the young Sylph came up with, but at the same time, there was something risky about them.
Brustav often admonished her daughter about this and advised her to minimize uncertain elements.
"Ah, my father doesn't understand."
Sylph outwardly nodded to her father's words, but she harbored a complex emotion deep down.
She was well aware that her strategies were often risky gambles.
"Ideally, you wouldn't need to gamble, and the enemy will act exactly as you predicted. But that's just an ideal."
Her father, Brustav, was a highly accomplished commander.
He was skilled at implementing systematic strategies and was known for his stable command, which allowed him to safely choose the best course of action in any given situation.
Sylph respected her father for this, but…
"His principle limits the strategies he chooses. He may never lose to ordinary men, but surely he would be read by a genius."
Observing the enemy's movements in the Battle of the North, Sylph had a persistent bad feeling about her father's command.
Sylph proposed several strategies for the Battle of the North, but most were rejected by her father.
The only tactic employed was the unsuccessful double trench tactic.
Since Brustav had the advantage in terms of military strength and production capacity, he avoided aggressive operations and instead went on the defensive.
Out of Sylph's proposals, only plans with little risk were adopted.
Sylph had always had a bad feeling about this.
She sensed an impending disaster where they were playing into the enemies' hands and that something irreversible was about to happen.
Therefore, Sylph continued to propose various strategies that the Sabbath could employ.
"Those strategies don't balance risk and results."
However, Brustav rejected all of these plans.
Having experienced the advantages of defense, he focused his strategy on how to make the enemy attack.
Attacking on one's own was madness.
"Sylph is still too young. Perhaps she joined the actual combat too early."
Finding her daughter's proactive strategy proposals bothersome, Brustav directed her towards defending the northern bridge.
He believed that showing victory through his stable command would convince her and help her grow.
Thus, Brustav rejected his daughter's proposals and continued to command himself…
Only to suffer a devastating defeat at the hands of Bern, who had completely read his strategy.
After being defeated in the Battle of the North, Sylph wandered the Austin territory, and returned to the Sabbath feeling like she was going to die.
As a young woman, enduring a tens of kilometers retreat covered in sweat and mud was a very painful experience.
She vowed to go back and complain to her father, and finally made it back to the Sabbath territory.
"Commander Brustav met a brave end."
At the nearest base, she was informed of her father Brustav's death.
"Well, my father wouldn't be saved in that situation."
"Sylph-sama…"
Sylph muttered sadly as she held the medal that was left to her by her father in her hands.
Being a smart girl, she just didn't want to admit it… But she had somehow guessed what would happen to her father.
"Is the Sabbatian military headquarters nearby?"
"From here, Eastern Command is close."
"I see."
And from there, her hardships truly began.
Sylph returned to the Eastern Command Headquarters, located near the border with Austin.
As a staff officer, she had the duty to report the outcome of the current war to the General Staff.
After catching her breath at the Eastern Command Headquarters, she was immediately ordered to head to the capital.
"Ah, this is the worst homecoming ever…"
Her family lives in the capital, Josegrad, and she intended to visit them.
Sylph was a young girl, only 17 years old. She wanted to talk to her family about her father's death.
However, what she saw upon returning to the capital was…
"…"
The populace had erupted into riots, and her hometown had been taken over by a mysterious extremist organization.
The state of the capital was dire.
Collapsed buildings littered the area, bodies lay scattered in the streets, and a mysterious group loudly advocated for peace.
"The headquarters…"
And the General Staff Headquarters was destroyed by the hands of the people.
The workers' council led by Remi was burning down influential government figures.
The headquarters had been burned down in order to kill the prominent figures belonging to it.
"…"
But that's not all.
Sylph's father, Brustav, was not a high-ranking government official, but…
"My home…"
As a military figure known for his alignment with the government, his own family had also suffered.
There were also rumors circulating that Burstav had unilaterally decided to reject Austin's unconditional surrender. His mansion was burned down and his family missing.
The capital, Sylph's homeland, was now under the control of something else entirely.
"…"
Sylph returned to Eastern Command and reported what she had seen in the capital.
She learned that even the Eastern Command Headquarters had lost contact with the General Staff Headquarters a week ago and had apparently used Sylph as a pawn for reconnaissance.
Eastern Command began investigating the "Workers' Council" as an anti-government force, and Sylph became affiliated with Eastern Command.
"We can't contact either Western or Southern Command. The communication bases have been destroyed."
"The Northern Command Headquarters is overwhelmed dealing with large-scale riots in the vicinity and is unable to move."
Communication hubs had been destroyed all over the country making communication between Headquarters almost impossible.
Military supplies were stored in these communication hubs, attracting looters seeking weapons.
While they wanted to coordinate with all command headquarters to suppress the riots, it proved impossible.
Furthermore, during this time…
"There are a large number of bandits emerging in this area too. Several groups have declared that they support the Workers' Council, and they're committing robbery all over the place."
"What a mess."
The Eastern Command Headquarters began receiving numerous requests for assistance from villages near their location, keeping them occupied with response efforts.
"Captain Sylph, I have reservations about leaving this task to a young lady like yourself."
"I don't mind. The Commander must also be short-staffed, so I'll take charge."
Eastern Command housed reserve forces for the Battle of the North, so there were a fair number of troops.
However, the veteran soldiers had been mobilized to fight in that battle, and the only commanding officers remaining were inexperienced officers who had graduated from military academies.
There was no room for Sylph, who had actual combat experience and was said to be the wisest in the Sabbath, to just sit around idle.
Returning from the front lines, Sylph took on the role of commander, racing across various regions to suppress bandits.
***
"What were you doing here?"
For this reason, Sylph was running around almost every day to hunt down bandits.
On this day too, she had received information about a group resembling bandits sighted near Othello, and she had come to investigate.
"The equipment you're currently holding appears to be standard Sabbatian military gear. Where did you acquire it?"
"…This was taken from bandits."
They received a report that a group of four, armed with Sabbatian rifles, was approaching. Sylph Nova mistook us for bandit scouts.
So they shot Irigol, surrounded us, and began questioning us.
"Listen. Othello Village is under attack by bandits."
"And are you not these bandits?"
"If you have any doubts, you can detain us. If you ask the villagers in that village, they can prove that we are residents."
Sylph was skeptical. She made a complicated expression as she looked at our group of people.
Many bandits disguised themselves as villagers, making it difficult to distinguish civilians from criminals.
Even if they were accompanied by children and the elderly like us, there was still a good chance they were bandits.
"So please, Irigol over there… Can you please let him receive medical treatment?"
"…"
"I was an apprentice healer in that village. Please allow me to use healing magic."
Irigol, who had just been shot, could only glare at the young girl in military uniform with a demonic expression.
The old woman clung to him, emitting voiceless wails.
Irigol no longer had the strength to even speak.
"There's no need for that. Hmph, I've instructed to avoid vital points from the start."
"Please… Let him be treated."
"Do you think I'll allow you to use magic in this situation? …Elijah, provide first aid."
Sylph Nova gave orders to a female soldier who appeared to be older than her.
It looks like the medics over there will be able to treat him.
"Well, fine, we'll keep you all in custody. If what you said is true, that you're villagers, you should feel relieved. I'm going to go and check out this Othello Village now."
"Thank you. From what I can tell, there are several dozen bandits, some of whom are ex-military personnel."
"I see. Thank you for the information."
The medic on the other side maintained a stern attitude as she began to treat Irigol's abdomen.
She seems like a fairly experienced medic. I think I can trust her with his medical treatment.
Now that the military has arrived, I can relax and leave the rest to them.
Just as I was thinking that…
"More importantly… Hey, you there, woman."
"Me?"
"Yes."
Sylph suddenly walked up to me, who was holding Sedol in my arms.
"What's with your Sabbatian accent?"
And Sylph Nova, hatred still burning in her eyes…
"Are you really a Sabbatian?"
Pointed her gun at my forehead.
***
"Right now, there are three things I hate. The first is the shabby paprika in the rations. That's not something people should eat."
Her tone was light, as if she was telling a joke to a friend.
However, the glint in her gaze was as cold as an arctic snowfield.
"The second is disobedient subordinates. I've never had any good subordinates until now, and they've ruined my plans so many times. I've even made up my mind that I'll shoot them if they make another mistake."
Her words sent a chill through her subordinates.
Contrary to her appearance, Sylph seemed to be an extremely ruthless soldier.
"The third is… the Aust people. Despite raising a white flag once, they continued to resist and ultimately killed my father."
Sylph's fingers tightened on the trigger.
Facing the gun pointed at me, all I could do was close my eyes and hold Sedol.
"Now, answer me. Where are you from? Why is your Sabbatian accent so pronounced?"
…I understood it intuitively.
The moment I mention I'm from Austin, she will pull the trigger.
"I'm sorry, Sedol. Please close your eyes for a bit again."
"Tou-chan?"
How should I answer? Anyway, if they ask around the village, they'll find out I'm from Austin.
But if I honestly say I'm from Austin here, I'll be shot on the spot.
Worse, Sedol may also be mistaken for an Austinite.
"…This boy's name is Sedol. He is a proper Sabbatian child."
"I didn't ask about that. I'm asking where you're from."
"He's Sabbatian. That's not a lie, you can go around and ask the villagers."
"Didn't you hear what I said?"
This is the only way I can think of to protect Sedol.
I will not lie. I will tell the truth and ensure Sedol's safety.
"I'm from Austin."
"Haha… Hahaha!"
With that, I was honest and didn't lie about my nationality.
If I were to lie here, Sedol's nationality might be called into question.
"I hate the Aust. Even breathing the same air with you is disgusting. If only you guys didn't exist…"
Muttering something under her breath, Sylph's eyes lit up with murderous intent.
Then, she showed a smile that was like a mixture of crying and laughter.
"I'll avenge my father."
Slowly, she put strength into the finger pulling the trigger.