Drought

"Cover Story Serial: Three Brothers, Part 1: 'First Day of Quitting Smoking'"

"Got scolded by her again. At the G-6 Branch in late spring, cherry blossoms fluttered through the air in breathtaking beauty. Shiryu returned to his room in frustration, dug out the gum he had bought yesterday, chewed it hard, opened his diary, and firmly wrote five words on the first line."

Colonel Bako's death caused no stir whatsoever within the Navy.

"This man fell into treachery and was arrested for interrogation. He attempted to escape and resisted, so he was shot dead on the spot."

That was roughly how Noah described the incident in the report he submitted to Marine Headquarters.

The wording was simple, with only a few brief details.

But that was already enough. Marine Headquarters' trust in him had long since reached its peak; there was no possibility of suspicion.

As for the Navy soldiers of the 329th Branch—

When they first heard that their respected Colonel Bako had actually died at the West Blue First Branch, they were naturally outraged, all wondering whether there was some sort of conspiracy behind it.

But when they immediately learned that the person who had arrested Bako and the one who had killed him were both Rear Admiral Noah...

All doubts instantly vanished into thin air.

After all.

Who would distrust a hero who had descended from the heavens and saved their entire base?

Especially when that hero was an unparalleled handsome man with a Charm stat as high as 17?

Once more insider information came to light, the soldiers who had been deceived for over half a year finally saw Bako's true face clearly. They began cursing that traitor who had played both sides and fooled them for so long.

Meanwhile, their gratitude and admiration