I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander

After spending half a day playing energetically with the children, Daniel decided to leave the monastery in the evening.

Despite Headmaster Hierony and the children urging him to stay overnight, Daniel adamantly refused.

Not only had he secured separate accommodations, but he also had a place to visit that day.

Having a general idea of where Daniel intended to go, Hierony did not attempt to stop him further.

After departing from the monastery, the destination Daniel arrived at was ‘Jack’s Restaurant’.

Located in the heart of the town, Jack’s Restaurant had an unpretentious exterior, but inside, it was a bustling establishment teeming with customers, evidently a thriving business.

‘A place of memories. It truly feels like I’ve returned to my hometown.’

In his childhood, Daniel had relied on Jack’s Restaurant on several occasions.

During his tumultuous adolescence, whenever he grew weary of the monastery’s confining life and ran away, Jack, the restaurant owner, would always welcome him with a warm smile.

Lost in nostalgia, Daniel gazed at the worn-out, almost shabby wooden signboard for a while before entering.

Upon opening the restaurant door, he saw the bustling staff serving customers.

“Yes, coming right up!”
“Sausages and pretzels, got it! Just a moment, please!”
“Here’s your fried potatoes and a mug of beer!”

Despite his long absence, the place still radiated a lively energy.

To avoid disrupting the staff, Daniel quietly made his way to an empty table and took a seat.

Removing his uniform cap and placing it on the table, one of the waitresses approached with an order pad in hand.

“Welcome to Jack’s Restaurant! It’s been quite a while since an officer has visited our humble establishment…”

As the waitress began her customary greeting, she trailed off, gaping at Daniel in disbelief.

Blinking repeatedly as if unable to trust her eyes, she suddenly raised her voice.

“Big Brother! Is that you, Big Brother? Oh my goodness! I must be dreaming!”

This freckle-faced waitress was Nemerim, who had spent a considerable time as Daniel’s companion at the monastery.

Responding to Nemerim’s excitement, Daniel smiled and spoke.

“It has been a long time. Since you’ve struck out on your own from the monastery, I decided to pay you a visit. But it seems my concerns were unfounded – you’ve matured remarkably in these two years.”

Overjoyed, Nemerim burst into a hearty laugh.

“You’re one to talk. Your features have become sharper, more… refined, shall we say? Ah! But I mean that in a good way! Anyway, it’s so great to see you again. It’s a pity Old Jack isn’t here.”
“He’s not around at the moment?”
“Nope. He’s already clocked out. Seems his luck has turned lately, so he’s been leaving early. Maybe he’s expecting a fourth child or something.”
“A fourth? At his age?”

Bewildered, Daniel’s rhetorical question prompted Nemerim to giggle behind her hand.

“Love knows no age, doesn’t it? To me, it’s a little romantic, isn’t it?”
“Well, I can’t really argue against that, but…”
“Anyway, enough about that… Oh, what am I saying? I need to take your order first, don’t I? No, wait, let me guess!”

Stroking her chin in contemplation, Nemerim snapped her fingers.

“Sausages and beer! Am I right? You used to sneak sausages from Old Jack and get caught. And you were curious about beer after seeing the adults drink it, so you asked for a sip once, didn’t you?”
“That was ages ago, yet you still bring it up.”
“Ahaha! The fact that you’re embarrassed proves you’re the same old Big Brother. So, should I bring you sausages and beer?”

As Daniel nodded, Nemerim instructed him to wait a moment before heading to the kitchen.

Regarding the ever-energetic girl, Daniel let out a silent chuckle.

‘…Hm?’

A middle-aged man in a brown coat was approaching.

At first, Daniel assumed he was seeking an empty table, but that was not the case.

The man fixed his gaze on Daniel and continued walking towards him.

Eventually, the man took a seat directly across from Daniel.

Consequently, Daniel could only feel perplexed.

‘What’s going on?’

His bewilderment grew as the man had seated himself without any intention of joining him.

Just as Daniel wondered about the man’s motives, he furtively glanced around before speaking.

“Major Daniel Steiner. Since this setting is inconvenient, allow me to be direct. What was your intent behind those words you conveyed to us at the monastery today?”

The man’s identity was Morten Blackmore, the leader of the Crown Prince’s secret organization, ‘Dawn’s Radiance’.

Of course, Daniel was unaware of this.

‘Today at the monastery? If he’s referring to someone I conversed with there…’

Excluding Headmaster Hierony and the children, the only other person had been a councilor from the town council.

‘A councilor? Was he offended by my request to support the monastery?’

Recalling Hierony’s flustered reaction, they had undoubtedly discussed matters related to donations.

‘It seems he interpreted it as me pressuring the council.’

Finding the misunderstanding preposterous, Daniel let out a soft chuckle.

“It appears there was a communication issue. I merely hoped for cooperation, without any ulterior motives.”

At the mention of ‘cooperation,’ Morten’s brow twitched.

To him, Daniel was essentially saying, ‘Betray the Crown Prince and join my side’ – an unacceptable proposition.

“You expect me to believe that now. Do you think such a thing is even feasible?”
“My, you’re overreacting. It’s not an impossible feat.”

Morten gritted his teeth.

‘Insolent bastard. He’s mocking us.’

While anticipating some level of dialogue, Daniel proved to be an even more arrogant and obstinate individual than expected.

Realizing Daniel’s true nature, Morten abruptly stood from his seat.

“This was a waste of time. Prepare for war. No matter who you are, we will not back down.”

Witnessing Morten’s growling tone, Daniel inadvertently curved the corners of his mouth upwards.

From Daniel’s perspective, Morten’s words were an excessive overreaction.

“War, you say? Can this truly be called a war?”

Politicians did have a habit of exaggerating even the most mundane matters.

To refer to a mere budget issue as ‘war’ was simply preposterous.

Waving his hand dismissively with a soft chuckle, Daniel leaned back in his chair.

“If you consider it a poor joke, then I can understand, but…”

Consequently, Morten could only break out in a cold sweat.

He could not comprehend Daniel treating his declaration of willingness to engage in open conflict as a mere jest.

After a brief lull in his laughter, Daniel slowly lifted his head.

“My apologies, but this is no war.”

Looking up at Morten, Daniel spoke in a hushed tone.

“It’s merely a simple… difference of opinion.”

Involuntarily, Morten drew a sharp breath.

Those serpentine words seemed to strike his mind as an implicit threat.

Those pitch-black eyes, which appeared to see through everything, resembled unfathomable depths.

A sense of dread emerged, as if lingering here any longer might lead to his own demise.

After steadying his breathing, Morten forced himself to walk past Daniel.

“I cannot fathom your reasoning for such insolence towards me.”

From behind, Daniel’s voice carried a chilling undertone.

“But I hope you make the right choice.”

Morten lacked the courage to turn back.

Struggling to suppress his inexplicable unease, he gritted his teeth and trudged towards the exit.

At the same time, in the underground Dawn’s Radiance Headquarters beneath the shopkeepers’ district.

Suspicious individuals are approaching en masse! Damn it! What the hell are those bastards up to!?

At the voice blaring from the tuned radio, the intelligence operatives manning the telexes froze.

They’re concealing their faces, making identification difficult. Wait a sec… Shit! They’re armed! These fuckers are armed combatants! Didn’t I tell you not to let your guard down!

Amid the frantic radio chatter, the operatives exchanged bewildered looks, unsure of the situation. However, Mavel, the one disguised as a patron to monitor Daniel yesterday, clasped her head in her hands.

“Daniel Steiner…! Those must be his men, here to annihilate us!”

Despite Mavel’s outcry, the other operatives remained oblivious, merely glancing at one another.

Then, it happened.

Bang—

As gunfire echoed from above ground, the operatives drew their pistols and began burning documents.

“Damn it! We’ve been compromised! Burn all the documents!”
“Grab the guns! We need to defend the entrance!”

Responding swiftly as trained, Mavel, however, crawled under a desk, shaking her head.

“You fools are mistaken…”

If those were indeed Daniel Steiner’s armed forces, resisting through conventional means would be futile.

As Mavel trembled, more gunshots rang out from above.

Then, the iron door leading down exploded open with a resounding bang!

In the aftermath of the thunderous blast, everyone fell silent, staring fixatedly at the entrance.

A tense, heavy atmosphere descended.

“When is the Chief of Staff returning?”
“We need someone to give orders…”

As the operatives exchanged apprehensive glances, Mavel squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.

“You imbeciles! Don’t you understand yet? Daniel Steiner planned this from the very beginning! He lured the Chief of Staff away to disrupt our chain of command, and now he intends to wipe us out in one fell swoop!”

Unaware of this, Morten had walked straight into the jaws of the crocodile by agreeing to meet with Daniel.

As the situation became clear to Mavel, she let out a quiet sob.

At that moment, three smoke grenades were hurled into the underground chamber in rapid succession.

The startled operatives took cover behind desks, but the grenades did not detonate.

Fwish—

Only the hissing of smoke could be heard.

However, no smoke seemed to be spreading.

As the operatives watched in bewilderment, one of them began coughing before collapsing to the floor.

Mavel muttered under her breath.

“Colorless, with an almond scent… Shit! It’s a sleep-paralysis gas! Don’t brea… Ack!”

Dropping to the floor, Mavel used one hand to cover her nose and mouth while crawling towards what she hoped was an emergency exit.

She had to escape somehow.

But in the next moment.

Thud thud thud thud thud—

The sound of heavy boots echoed as armed combatants rushed in through the entrance.

Donning gas masks, they swiftly secured the area before rendering the remaining conscious operatives unconscious with strikes from their rifle butts.

The black man leading them calmly issued orders.

“Subdue and restrain them all. Anyone who resists can be eliminated.”

Her vision gradually blurred.

Coughing and drooling, Mavel soon collapsed to the floor.

“All of this is…”

The voice from within the gas mask grew deeper.

Through her fading consciousness, Mavel saw the black man approaching.

He raised the butt of his rifle towards her.

“…For Daniel Steiner.”

In the next instant, a dull thud resonated as Mavel’s world faded to black.