You've Been Admitted to the Army Senior Officer School by Special Exception!

The next day.

Nijia, Republic of Burkina.

Aksang Brigade headquarters.

Crackle, pop-

Beneath a large camouflage military tent, several whole, unsplit logs had simply been tossed into a black oil drum. Red flames burned them with a constant crackling, like a string of firecrackers being set off.

"What do you say, Alexander?"

Claude leaned back in his chair, holding a steaming cup of green tea. He looked at Bal and the other two as he asked.

"What do I say? Heh..."

Alexander, commander of the Drago Brigade, gave a helpless chuckle and answered dejectedly:

"What else can we say now? The Ministry of National Defense is plainly trying to weaken us, but can we refuse? Or rather, do you three dare refuse? I certainly don't!

"So we'd better obey the Ministry of National Defense's orders and prepare to attack the National Liberation Alliance's territory."

Alexander had barely finished speaking.

"Sigh..."

The commander of the Ailidun Brigade, sitting beside him, sighed as well:

"Another billion! Not only did they pay us that extra billion in bonuses, they've promised another billion to each of our brigades!

"As soon as we recapture the territory controlled by the National Liberation Alliance, that billion will immediately hit our Swiss accounts. Since when did the government have so much money?"

The Ailidun Brigade commander even wondered whether something was wrong with his memory.

Because he clearly remembered the government's poverty being so epic it could stir the soul. How come, as soon as Sankara took office, it was as though North African francs weren't worth anything?

Could the Bank of France and North Africa have secretly started printing extra money at some point!?

Had they printed North African francs into Zimbabwean dollars???

"I think..."

Bal had just begun to speak.

But Claude interrupted him.

"That's not what I'm asking!"

Claude shook his head. He had never considered refusing the Ministry of National Defense's order to attack the National Liberation Alliance. He continued:

"What I want to ask is, the Ministry of National Defense wants to transfer away the backbone of our forces with a single transfer order. What do you think about that?"

"What do I think? I think with my brain, of course! Absolutely not..."

Bal hurried to speak.

But he was only halfway through when the Ailidun Brigade commander interrupted him again:

"Brain? You haven't got a damn brain!

"The Army Senior Officer School. Just listen to the name and you know what it's for. Cutting off someone's future is like murdering their parents. If you dare say no today, do you believe someone might shoot you in the back tomorrow?"

"Uh..."

Bal was immediately at a loss for words. He really hadn't considered that angle.

He had only thought that once these men were transferred away, the troops under his command would become less capable of fighting tough battles.

"What's there to think about? We've already gotten on our knees and agreed to attack the National Liberation Alliance. Are we really going to get tough over something this minor? Don't make me laugh!"

Alexander, for his part, was ready to lie flat and let it rot.

"Sigh..."

Hearing the three men's answers-uh... two men's answers, rather-Claude also gave a deeply helpless sigh and remarked:

"From the looks of things, that brat Sankara might just become the first man in our Republic of Burkina to secure his seat as president!

"Damn it, being better than me is one thing, but he's younger than me too! Being younger than me is one thing, but he's fucking better-looking than me as well? Shit!"

"What? The Army Senior Officer School!??"

An astonished cry came from the trench.

"Caw! Caw! Caw-"

Several crows searching the ground for carrion were so startled that they hurriedly took flight.

After discovering who the culprit was, they flew above his head and kept cawing. From the looks of it, they were probably cursing him quite viciously.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo... go play somewhere else!"

The "culprit" waved his hands to drive away the crows overhead, then looked incredulously at a soldier beside him and asked again for confirmation:

"Platoon leader, you really got admitted to the Army Senior Officer School by special exception for fighting bravely!?"

"Yes!"

The platoon leader nodded and answered:

"That's what the transfer order from the Ministry of National Defense says, anyway!"

Hearing their platoon leader's answer.

The other soldiers around him spoke up one after another:

"Platoon leader, aren't you amazing? Even the Ministry of National Defense sent a transfer order asking for you!"

"The Army Senior Officer School? What's it for?"

"Are you stupid? You can tell from the name that it trains senior officers!"

"Huh? So once our platoon leader comes out of that school, he'll be a senior officer like our battalion commander?"

"Our battalion commander isn't a damn senior officer. You'd have to be at least a regimental commander!"

"Wow-"

When they heard that their platoon leader could become a regimental commander just by graduating from this "Army Senior Officer School," the surrounding soldiers erupted into an uproar.

Just then.

A middle-aged man in an officer's uniform walked up to the soldiers.

"Black Dog, you little punk, talking shit about me here? What do you mean, our battalion commander isn't a damn high-ranking official? Believe me, I'll send you to the suicide squad tomorrow!"

The officer spoke with both hands behind his back.

"Ah!? No, Battalion Commander, what brings you here! I... no... who was talking shit about the battalion commander just now! Get the hell out here! I'll smash your head in!"

The soldier named Black Dog jumped in fright and stammered for a long while. Then inspiration struck, and he began pointing at the others around him and putting on a show of berating them.

"Heh..."

The battalion commander sneered and paid him no further attention, instead turning his gaze toward the platoon leader surrounded by the others.

Then a fawning smile immediately appeared on his face. He deliberately placed himself in a lower position and spoke in the tone of a subordinate addressing his superior:

"Orore, I heard you've been admitted to the Army Senior Officer School by special exception by the Ministry of National Defense?"

"Greetings, Battalion Commander!"

Orore hurriedly gave a military salute, then answered respectfully:

"That's what the transfer order from the Ministry of National Defense says, but I still don't know whether the brigade commander will agree, so..."

At that point, Orore stopped speaking.

At the same time, his spirits sank somewhat.

Because, as he saw it, the brigade commander, who treated the troops as his own private army, certainly wouldn't let him leave.

So... going to the Army Senior Officer School and becoming a senior officer after graduation might only be a fantasy that would shatter upon waking from the dream!

Hearing Orore say this, the fawning smile on the battalion commander's face not only remained, but grew even broader.

He took a sheet of paper from inside his uniform and handed it to Orore, speaking as though presenting a treasure:

"Our brigade commander is still a very good man. Look, what's this? The brigade commander has already signed your transfer order and agreed to let you attend the Army Senior Officer School.

"The next time we meet, I'm afraid I'll have to salute you first! Orore, I've always treated you pretty well. When you make it big, don't you forget me!"

"The brigade commander agreed!?"

Orore hurriedly took the transfer order from the battalion commander's hand.

Then, at the bottom of the transfer order, he saw the brigade commander's signature indicating his approval-

I approve this officer's transfer. Joseph Claude

"Wow... congratulations, Platoon Leader!"

"Even the battalion commander will have to salute you now!"

"Platoon Leader, don't forget us when you make it big!"

Everyone around him was congratulating Orore.

"..."

Yet Orore himself couldn't hear a sound. His brain had blocked out everyone's voices, as though the entire world had fallen silent.

At that moment.

There was only one thought in his mind-

I'm going to be a senior officer too!?