Chapter 29 – Pure White

===================

Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

‘…Not yet.’

Plato was waiting for Heydam to appear, hiding his body in the terrain and obstacles near the flag as planned.

Judging by the loud noise heard from afar, it seemed the teammates were doing well, so Heydam would also appear soon.

‘Just as Father said, Heydam-nim was no ordinary child.’

Anton, Plato’s father and the leader of the pro-Daphne faction.

Had warned Plato prior to today’s training simulation.

A warning that he must never look down on Heydam as a child.

That if he let his guard down even a little, he would suffer the embarrassment of losing to a kid.

Actually, at first, Plato also fell for Heydam’s provocation like the other cadets and had nothing but the thought of beating up even a ten-year-old child.

However, after hearing Anton’s warning, he was able to think calmly, and as a result of carefully observing Heydam whom he faced at the training ground afterward.

He was able to notice that Heydam was also observing the cadets’ reactions.

The moment he realized that fact, a chill ran down Plato’s spine without him knowing.

‘He was definitely… enjoying our reactions.’

The other cadets seemed to have thought that gaze was simply one of looking down on them, but.

What Plato felt was that it was by no means a gaze looking at a fellow human.

‘A gaze like looking at one’s prey.’

That too, not the gaze of a beast right before hunting.

It was the gaze of a predator looking down at a dining table that had already been fully prepared.

‘Although I heard Heydam-nim has not been back long after wandering in the slums for His Excellency to have educated him as a successor… does it mean that even if a tiger’s cub is a cub, it is still a tiger?’

Even while swept up in such thoughts, Plato, who did not neglect listening to the surrounding signs, suddenly thought.

‘It has become quiet…’

After thinking so reflexively, Plato raised his head abruptly and looked toward Heydam’s camp.

‘What is it? Why has it become quiet?’

Were they tired of making a racket?

To say that, the silence was growing long.

‘Or could it be that these guys encountered Heydam on the way and met their end?’

Various thoughts flew into Plato’s head amidst the ominous silence.

Although chatting the entire time while moving would be a difficult thing, is there a reason for the silence to be this long?

Did Heydam get caught by the teammates while moving carelessly, perhaps?

However, if Heydam had received a death judgment, the buzzer announcing the end of training should have rung…

At that moment, Plato felt an unknown chill and rolled his body to the side without realizing it.

Thud, thud!

As soon as he rolled his body to the side, two paint bullets flew in succession into the spot where Plato had been waiting.

“Too bad.”

The youthful voice murmuring like that no longer sounded like a child’s voice to Plato.

Heydam Goodman, who was wearing a military uniform as pure white as snow to avoid being noticed in the snowfield, did not have a single paint mark grazed on him.

Although his expression was invisible because he wore goggles to protect his eyes and a mask to prevent his breath from leaking out, Plato got the feeling that the black eyes inside the goggles were smiling.

‘How did he accurately grasp the place I was hiding and approach from behind?!’

He didn’t even notice the presence until Heydam entered within firing range.

Even though Plato had rolled like a dog in this training ground for the past six years.

‘I have to move.’

Having rolled to the side in fluster without realizing it, he was staring up at Heydam blankly.

What was even more shameful was that Heydam was also just looking down at him.

He seemed confident that he could shoot and hit him at any time.

Indeed, Heydam’s muzzle was still pointed at him, and although there was quite a distance, Plato felt that the bullet wouldn’t miss.

Having rolled his brain for a very brief moment, Plato laid down the gun he was holding and slowly raised both hands above his head.

‘He probably would have shot the moment I raised the gun.’

Thinking that he would definitely be hit at this distance and in this situation, Plato made up his mind to push the situation toward close combat instead of a gunfight.

Because although it might be a bit cheap against a kid who barely reached slightly above his waist, Plato had resolved to win by any means necessary.

“…How did you know? That I was lying in ambush here.”

“Because among the people who came to my camp, Plato was the only one missing. Since Plato is a cadet specialized in long-range sniping, I thought you would be hiding behind the cover furthest from the flag.”

“……”

Plato was lost for words for a moment and then asked back.

It wouldn’t have been difficult to find out that his specialty was long-range sniping.

Since anyone he caught and asked right now would have told him.

But.

“How did you know that I wasn’t in the assault team? Weren’t they all wearing goggles and masks?”

“You cannot change your build or gait, can you?”

“No…”

It was nonsense.

It wasn’t that there was absolutely no build difference among the cadets, but it wasn’t that large either.

A cadet with the exact same height as Plato was also among them.

And what, gait?

The opportunity Heydam had to observe his gait would be no more than a few seconds.

Yet Heydam was actually saying that he distinguished Plato’s absence among them with the naked eye.

“Ah, but physically seeing you, it was a bit confusing, so I checked by taking off the masks one by one.”

“Pardon?”

“That is why it took some time to come.”

“What does that…”

It sounded as if… he had processed all of Plato’s teammates as dead on his way.

Heydam shook his head as if he had no mind to explain further and continued.

“Anyway. Since I am also targeting the shortest clear time, I cannot keep dealing with you. Well, should I deal with you in close combat?”

“…What?”

“Seeing you drag time when we could just end it cleanly with one paint shot, I felt like you wouldn’t accept the result even if you lost like this.”

“……”

‘I must not flare up.’

According to what Plato grasped in a short time, the hunting style of the monster named Heydam was a typical feline predator type that liked to play with its prey.

He was sure Heydam would have shot the moment he flared up.

Because that would be the way that inflicted the most disgrace on the opponent.

‘Anyway. Since he offered to settle it with close combat first if he wasn’t playing with me, there is no reason for me to refuse.’

Plato was a soldier, not a swordsman or a martial artist.

He did not care about things like honor when utilizing the opportunity given to him.

“Can we… decide the match with close combat?”

“Of course, there is one condition.”

“I thought so. Speak up.”

Plato naturally thought that if it was a condition to be set by Heydam, who was physically disadvantaged, it would be a condition like Plato must use only one hand.

However, what came out of Heydam’s mouth was unexpected.

“Promise to become my adjutant once you graduate.”

“…Pardon?”

“Actually, I was a bit disappointed by this operation… but seeing you avoid the bullets earlier changed my mind. There is no way I made a sound, so you just avoided it instinctively, right?”

“Th… That was indeed the case, but.”

Plato stared at Heydam with shaking eyes.

“Isn’t that a condition so good for me that it would be strange to refuse? Becoming Heydam-nim’s adjutant means soon…”

Becoming the adjutant of the next commander.

In other words, rising to the same position as the current Major General Meursault Pendleton.

“Are you aware that my father is General Anton?”

“Didn’t you hear from your father? That I know all of the executives’ next-door neighbors, let alone the name of the yard dog next door.”

‘That wasn’t just a bluff?’

Plato was silent for a moment and then asked cautiously, braving the embarrassment.

“…Then could you tell me what the name of the yard dog next door to us is?”

“Puhaha!”

Because Heydam laughed for a long time, Plato flushed red in misery.

“Sorry. Because you are the first person to actually ask that.”

“Indeed, that was just a figurative…”

“Winter. Probably named so because it was born in winter.”

“……”

‘Actually, I don’t even know the name of the yard dog next door…’

The fact that Heydam actually knew the name of the yard dog next door which he didn’t even know himself was scary.

But the truly terrifying point was that even while laughing and chatting like that from a while ago, there wasn’t even a slight tremor in the muzzle pointed at him.

Even an experienced cadet wouldn’t be able to do that.

‘I’d rather believe he is a biological weapon created by the military.’

“Anyway. Decide quickly. There are only a few minutes left until the shortest clear time record.”

Plato felt uneasy at the sight of him being confident that he could beat him within a few minutes.

But since it was obvious paint bullets would fly if he didn’t accept the close combat, he had no choice but to respond.

Clearly, Plato was the one who tried to propose close combat first, but somehow the situation became reversed.

“I agree to end it with close combat.”

“Good. Then stand up slowly. Kick the gun laid down in front of you and send it over there.”

Thorough as well.

Standing up from his spot, Plato kicked the gun with all his might to send it far away, and then looked at Heydam.

Once the gun disappeared from view, Heydam was also seen throwing away the gun he was holding.

‘To think he really threw away the gun.’

He thought Heydam would keep it to shoot him in an emergency.

Unless Heydam was truly a biological weapon created by the military, winning against him was close to impossible.

‘Could it be that victory in this training is not the objective?’

When his thoughts reached the point that it might have been done to scout him as an adjutant, Plato nodded like someone who had obtained a great realization.

‘If he shows this level of ability, I too can serve Heydam-nim without any prejudice… Indeed, just as Father said, he is no ordinary person.’

“…Stop thinking useless thoughts and come at me.”

Even Heydam’s lukewarm words sounded to Plato as if he was being shy.

“Then, here I come.”

Plato took out the training dagger from his waist and rushed toward Heydam.

The training dagger was designed so that the rubber blade would retract inside the handle the moment it touched skin, leaving a paint mark.

Since he had no intention of troubling a child by leaving paint marks in multiple places, he intended to stab the neck in one blow.

However, a moment later.

“It’s a single pattern.”

Beep—

A fatal wound judgment beep rang out in Plato’s ears.

Heydam had lightly avoided it as if he anticipated where he would stab, and plunged the dagger into Plato’s abdomen.

Looking down at his abdomen reflexively, a paint mark was clearly left behind.

He must have stabbed multiple times in a short instant, as the marks were not just one but multiple overlapping ones.

At that moment, a small but firm hand grabbed Plato’s wrist holding the dagger.

“Uh?”

Feeling his balance tilt, Plato was thrown onto the ground soon after.

Heydam had thrown him onto the ground using Plato’s own weight.

Fortunately, he didn’t lose his dagger, but he felt Heydam pinning down Plato’s right wrist, adding all his weight with a knee.

‘Heavy…?!’

The weight felt on his wrist was by no means a child’s weight, as if Heydam was wearing sandbags.

‘Is that why he induced me to attack first?’

Having no time to continue his thoughts, he grabbed and twisted Heydam’s wrist with his left hand against the dagger flying straight in, but he saw the dagger in Heydam’s right hand fly through the air and land in Heydam’s left hand.

“What…!”

Stab, stab, stab!

He felt the sensation of the dagger repeatedly plunging into vital points.

Since the fatal wound beep ringing in his ears was enough to cause tinnitus, Plato judged that further resistance was meaningless.

‘I lost…’

At that moment, Heydam’s eyes stabbing the dagger into him were clearly visible beyond the goggles.

A chillingly emotionless gaze.

Should he think of it as a relief that Heydam was not enjoying this situation, at least?

Or should he think that a human shouldn’t wear such eyes while stabbing a human?

Although it was a very short time, mechanical movements continued until the death judgment was handed down.

Soon, not long after the beep announcing death rang, the buzzer ending training rang inside the training ground.

And an announcement that made Plato doubt his ears flowed out.

[All of Team A deceased. Team B victory.]

‘Did he really come after killing everyone…?’

Through Plato’s field of vision as he sat helplessly, his entire body covered in paint marks.

The back of Heydam walking clomp-clomp to the place where their camp’s flag was and replacing it with his own flag from his chest was visible.

Still clean, without a single grazed paint mark.

It was a pure white military uniform.