"Captain Sir, please don't make things difficult for me. This is the men's dormitory. You can't go in..."
At the entrance to the officers' dormitory, the administrator—a white-haired old man with only the rank of Sergeant—said to Berry with a bitter expression,
But Berry ignored him.
She raised her chin and snorted softly.
"I won't go in, then. Call Li Qi out for me."
"Warrant Officer Li Qi went out early this morning. I truly don't know where he went..."
"Then let me in! I'll wait for him inside!"
"Captain Sir, I told you... You can't go in here!"
The Sergeant in charge of the dormitory wore a deeply troubled expression.
They had already repeated this exchange back and forth many times.
Although there were not many female students at the Rolex Military Academy, the academy had still arranged separate dormitories for male and female students to avoid any trouble.
At the same time, it had established a rule: unless absolutely necessary, students or officers of the opposite sex were not allowed to enter either the men's or women's dormitories.
Berry might have been a captain.
But first, she was a woman. Second, she was not a teacher at the Military Academy. Third, she did not even have a pass permitting her to enter the dormitory. The administrator therefore didn't dare let her in.
Letting her in would be easy enough, but he would be the one punished in the end!
No, he had to think of a way... Hmm?
The administrator racked his brains for a long while. Just as he was about to find a solution, he suddenly caught sight of a figure sneaking toward the exit in the distance.
His eyes immediately lit up.
Wasn't that Warrant Officer Li Qi?
He was saved!!
Without hesitation, the administrator shouted in that direction,
"Hey! Warrant Officer Li Qi!"
He was just about to say that a captain had come looking for him, but before he could finish, Li Qi—whom he had called out to—changed from sneaking away to running for his life!
He ran so fast that he vanished from the administrator's sight in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, another person disappeared from in front of the administrator.
After hearing the administrator's shout, Berry also turned her head and spotted Li Qi. When she saw him running away, she immediately abandoned the administrator she had tormented half to death and chased after him at the same speed.
"Uh..."
Watching Berry and Li Qi fleeing and chasing one another, the elderly administrator scratched his grizzled crew cut.
Although he had no idea what was going on,
it seemed he had been saved?
The administrator had been saved, but Li Qi's disaster had only just begun.
Berry was a veteran Title Rank, and as a Medical Mage Master, her fine control over magic far exceeded that of ordinary people.
As for Li Qi, although he could match Berry's precision with magic thanks to the supernatural powers from his Past Life,
he didn't dare run through the Military Academy without regard for his image, much less use magic without restraint like Berry.
At the end of the day, he was only a Warrant Officer—and a student at that. Naturally, he had to consider the consequences of his actions at the academy.
So, unsurprisingly, Berry quickly caught Li Qi after he had barely gotten away.
"Li~ Qi~ little~ brother~~"
The detestable big-chested woman wrapped her arms around Li Qi and pressed her proud assets hard against his body. At the same time, she spoke in a voice so cloying it was unbearable.
The sound raised goose bumps all over Li Qi.
As she squeezed him tighter and tighter, Li Qi desperately pushed away the face she was trying to press against his cheek.
"Don't come any closer!! Damn it, why are you here?!"
In fact, Li Qi should have been able to guess why Berry was here.
There was no longer any war on the front line, and after serving as Minister of the Medical Department for nearly two years, Berry should indeed have returned to the rear to rest.
With her achievements and strength, she could actually be promoted even faster in the rear.
Wasn't she already a captain now?
But Li Qi never imagined that after settling in, this woman would come looking for him first thing.
That damned Shota Complex!! Are you committing a crime?!
The Children's Aid Society... I need help from the Children's Aid Society!!
Berry didn't care about the disgust Li Qi was openly displaying. She held him tightly and said with a beaming smile,
"Because I'm now the Deputy Minister of the Medical Department, of course I have permission to enter the school."
"That's not what I'm asking! Don't you have anything to do? Why are you coming to the school to find me in broad daylight?!"
"Nope."
Berry answered without hesitation and with complete justification, leaving Li Qi speechless.
Li Qi glared at Berry with an unfriendly look while considering whether unleashing his magic and beating her up would count as attacking an officer.
Perhaps sensing the danger emanating from Li Qi, Berry stopped fooling around.
She set Li Qi down, patted his head, and said,
"All right, I won't joke around anymore. I really came to see you about something important."
"..."
Li Qi looked at her suspiciously.
Berry said, "Little Brother Li Qi, that look in your eyes really hurts me..."
"Can you actually have anything important to discuss?"
Smack.
Hearing that, Berry unhappily flicked his forehead with a finger, then grabbed his hand.
"Of course I have something important! Anyway, let's find somewhere to catch up properly first. How about the infirmary?"
"I refuse!"
"Your refusal is invalid. That's an order from your superior!"
Berry overruled Li Qi's refusal and dragged him toward the infirmary.
Inside the infirmary, Berry used her authority to requisition a private room temporarily, then went in and sat down with Li Qi.
Li Qi sat a little farther away from Berry, mainly because he was afraid she would suddenly pounce on him and hug him again.
Only then did he ask why Berry had come to see him.
"You said you had something important to discuss. What is it?"
"Why don't you guess, Little Brother Li Qi~"
"... I'm leaving."
Li Qi made as if to leave, and Berry hurriedly grabbed him.
"Hey, hey, don't! I'll tell you."
After calming Li Qi down and getting him to sit back down, Berry coughed lightly and became serious.
"I want you to join the Medical Department."
"...?"
A question mark appeared above Li Qi's head.
Join the Medical Department?
Li Qi did know a little Healing Magic, but only a little. Not to mention that he couldn't compare with a Title Rank Mage Master like Berry—even some Tactical Rank Medical Mage Masters far surpassed him in their attainments in Healing Magic.
From that perspective, Li Qi was not a qualified medic.
Besides, he wasn't suited to being a medic.
Meeting Berry's brown eyes, Li Qi thought for a moment before suddenly asking,
"... Is this what you want, Big Sister Berry?"
"Mm, partly..." Berry hesitated. "Actually, the Deputy Minister sent me here. And I really don't want you to go to the front line anymore. At least the Medical Department is safer."
"Big Sister Berry, may I ask you something? Are you part of the Traditional Faction?"
Li Qi asked again.
Berry's smile stiffened. Under Li Qi's gaze, she let out a helpless sigh.
"Little Brother Li Qi, you know my name, right?"
"Berry Webber..."
"My father... is an earl. He's one of the most traditional nobles, so I think you already know the answer to that question."
Berry did not directly answer whether she was part of the Traditional Faction or the Reformist Faction.
But judging from Berry's background, she could only be a member of the Traditional Faction. Her family was an old aristocratic house, and her father and other relatives were all the most traditional of nobles.
They had been born standing opposed to the Reformist Faction.
Therefore, Berry had not come to see Li Qi today in her personal capacity to ask him to join the Medical Department. She had come as a member of the Traditional Faction to recruit Li Qi and draw him closer to their side.
Just as Bolent had tried to recruit Li Qi.
Before you continue