Chapter 5

Leaning against the wall in secret with a sigh, I straightened my posture after checking my surroundings.

I don’t really know how things ended up like this, but one thing’s for sure—I’m currently the “promising star” of the Operations Staff Office, so it’d be troublesome to raise any suspicions by acting weird.

There’s nothing else to do but calmly carry out my duties and plan for the future.

First things first…

I need to process the documents assigned to me.

After exhaling softly, I picked up the documents placed next to the telephone and began reviewing them.

Rustle—

The contents were fairly routine stuff.

Mostly requests for operational approval or construction permits for military buildings—standard fare.

My job was to review them initially, then if there were no logical issues, forward them upwards for final approval following the chain:

[Operations Staff → Head of Operations Staff → Deputy of Operations Staff → Chief of Staff]

Basically, that’s how the approval flow works.

Since most of the documents didn’t require much resource reallocation, I quickly went through the approvals.

But when I opened the last document, I froze in confusion.

───────────

《Logistics Department Construction Approval Request》

Recipient: Head of Operations Staff (Colonel Ernst Bark)

Sender: Logistics Staff Officer (Captain Arnop Haubut)

Date: March 16, 1944

Subject: Eastern Front Logistics Department Construction Approval and Site Selection

In Charge: Operations Staff (Lieutenant Daniel Steiner)

───────────

It was a pretty normal-looking request for logistics department construction approval.

Except… it clearly stated *me* as the person in charge.

“Huh?”

This part didn’t make sense to me.

A logistics department is a small-scale supply hub that ensures smooth transit of supplies from rear logistics bases to the front lines, preventing material waste.

They’re called “the mother of war” for a reason—they’re super important. And now they’re assigning this crucial task to an operations staff officer?

Even worse, they’re giving it to a newly promoted lieutenant who barely knows what he’s doing!

“Seems like there was some mix-up in the report…”

But something told me this needed to go straight to the head of staff.

With that thought, I gathered the documents and headed into the head of staff’s office inside the Operations Staff headquarters.

The head of staff looked up from piles of reports and papers upon hearing my footsteps.

“Oh? Ah! Isn’t that our hero, Daniel!”

Colonel Ernst Bark leaned back with a hearty laugh, exuding an air of a friendly neighbor uncle.

Don’t judge a book by its cover though. If someone has reached colonel rank in the Empire, you can bet they’ve been through thick and thin.

“I just did my duty; calling me a hero feels a bit heavy.”

Humility is always appreciated. Apparently pleased with my modesty, Ernst smiled warmly before speaking.

“So, Lieutenant. What brings you here?”

“I’ve completed the initial review of the documents received at the office and have come to report.”

“Ah. Already? You work fast. Impressive. Hand them over.”

With a nod, I placed the documents on Colonel Ernst’s desk.

However, I held back one file—the one listing me as responsible for the logistics department proposal. Ernst noticed and tilted his head curiously.

“What about this one?”

“It was listed under my responsibility, but strangely, the superior’s approval section was left blank. It seems the logistics staff officer made a mistake.”

Ernst blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. Why is he laughing?

“Aha. That’s not a mistake.”

“If it’s not a mistake, then what is it?”

“That’s actually a deliberate assignment from higher-ups. Partly because I’ve been swamped lately and wanted to delegate some tasks, but also… well, you probably get the other reason, right?”

My eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

So, they’re testing me.

Essentially, they want me to prove that catching spies and spotting hidden enemies wasn’t just beginner’s luck.

Building a logistics department requires careful consideration—it must be safe from enemy attacks, accessible, and capable of storing large amounts of supplies.

Clearly, they think this task will measure whether I’m truly cut out for the role of operations staff.

“Who could it be? Is the Chief of Staff trying to test me…?”

Regardless, this was an opportunity.

An absolutely golden chance to either shine brilliantly—or mess up gloriously.

If I build the logistics department in a terrible location, my performance review will plummet, and I might even be able to retire gracefully.

Feeling excited at the prospect of leaving the army, I saluted Colonel Ernst formally.

“Thank you for trusting me! I’ll do my best to construct the logistics department!”

Apparently pleased with my response, Ernst nodded approvingly.

“Good. We’ll provide ample budget, so focus on getting the job done.”

“Yes sir!”

While responding enthusiastically, I couldn’t help but smirk internally.

“Sorry, but you’ll regret this soon enough.”

Because I’m going to choose the theoretically worst possible site for the logistics department.

*

Two weeks later, eastern front rear line.

Bardenplatz Plain.

Woooom—

The sound of heavy machinery moving construction materials across the plain shook the ground like thunder.

Watching from afar, Captain Arnop Haubut, the logistics staff officer, frowned deeply.

“What are the higher-ups thinking? Entrusting such a critical task to a greenhorn lieutenant?”

Thanks to this idiotic order, resources and manpower were being wasted building the logistics department on the Bardenplatz Plain.

“Why here of all places?”

The Bardenplatz Plain is wide-open terrain—extremely vulnerable to enemy artillery fire.

To mitigate this, additional defensive walls would need to be constructed, leading to massive material wastage.

And that’s not all. The plain isn’t near any existing roads, meaning new ones would have to be built—doubling the budget.

It was pure fiscal insanity.

“Daniel Steiner, was it? That damn kid…”

Due to the incompetence of this rookie officer, the Empire’s tax dollars were literally going up in smoke.

Though Arnop didn’t usually consider himself overly patriotic, watching taxpayer money being squandered stirred unexpected nationalistic feelings within him.

Still, as just a logistics staff officer, what could a mere captain do against orders from headquarters?

Despite his rank being lower than Daniel’s, the authority given to Daniel was immense.

Arnop had felt powerless to object even during Daniel’s recent inspection visit, where he simply ordered the construction to proceed without hesitation.

As much as Arnop disliked it, he too was bound by the bureaucratic rules of the Empire.

“If HQ says dig, we dig. What can you do…”

Frustrated, Arnop pulled out a cigarette pack from his coat pocket and lit one.

Just as he took a drag, his radio crackled to life.

— Logistics officer! Can you hear me?!

This guy always contacts me when I’m smoking. Sighing, Arnop pressed the transmit button.

“Stop forgetting your rank and name. How am I supposed to know who you are otherwise?”

— Ah! You’re so strict. This is Sergeant Winter Enfeldt. Happy now?

“Fine. What’s the matter?”

— Well, remember how we conducted soil surveys? With experts involved?

Arnop nodded.

Of course, conducting soil surveys before construction is standard procedure, especially since previous incidents of collapsing foundations led to casualties.

— The expert results came in today, and wow… I gotta say, HQ wasn’t wrong to assign Lieutenant Steiner this task.

Wait, what? Just yesterday, this same sergeant was complaining about Daniel.

“Cut to the chase. What were the results?”

— Haha! Let me tell you… Oil! We found oil beneath the surface! Enough to be worth extracting!

Arnop dropped his cigarette in shock.

“What?”

Oil? The Bardenplatz Plain is an oil field?

If that’s true, then maybe the one who doesn’t understand logistics isn’t Daniel—it’s me.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Arnop rubbed his face.

“Could it be that Lieutenant Steiner…”

Knew everything from the start? Thinking back, Daniel’s seemingly arrogant attitude starts to make sense.

Chuckling bitterly, Arnop crossed his arms.

“Looks like…”

HQ has gained quite the talented recruit.

*

Meanwhile, upon hearing that the Bardenplatz Plain was an oil field, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was…

“Whaaat?”

Completely baffled in real-time.