The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

As the slightest rustle of grass brushed against their bodies, Dian and Linus would stop crawling and carefully observe their surroundings.

Fortunately, it was early summer with a fair breeze, and the cicadas had resumed their noisy chorus after the bombardment, masking any sound they made.

They continued their silent crawl and managed to reach the second target point undetected.

Peering through the parted foliage, they spotted a solitary observation post protruding from the trench line.

This was the end of their infiltration route and the target post Dian had decided to take down.

An observation post is an advanced position extending from the main trench, designed to detect enemy movements and sound the alarm.

Two demon soldiers manned it in two-hour shifts, and the current guards had started their duty at dawn, with one hour left before their shift ended.

The two demon soldiers were slumped against the trench walls, heads drooping and mouths agape, fast asleep.

As expected. Over the past week, Dian had observed that all personnel invariably fell asleep at this hour.

The area’s terrain provided no cover, so attacks were primarily carried out at night, leading to vigilant nighttime watches but relaxed daytime attitudes.

They had likely dismissed the earlier magical bombardment as a routine threat and returned to sleep.

Dian glanced back at Linus, who tapped Dian’s combat boots, signaling readiness.

Silently, they crawled to the edge of the observation post, each drawing the dagger from their mouths.

The sharp daggers slipped into the open mouths of the sleeping demon guards.

The demons’ eyes flew open at the cold touch of metal.

Dian met the demon’s gaze and placed a finger to his lips.

Terrified, the demon slowly nodded.

Seeing no resistance, Dian motioned to Linus, who took hold of the daggers in both demons’ mouths.

While Linus held the daggers, Dian took a length of rope from his belt.

He carefully tied the demons’ wrists but left their ankles free; they would need to run again when retreating.

It would be too burdensome to carry these heavy demons while fleeing.

Suddenly, voices drifted from the communication trench leading to the observation post.

“Dian…! Someone’s coming…!”

Linus whispered urgently. Dian quickly glanced at the sun.

There was still an hour left before the shift change, and the patrol should take longer to return. What’s going on?

Catching the words “special” and “ration” in the demon language, Dian quickly understood the situation.

They must be distributing special rations from the rear. They need to hurry.

“Urgh! Urgrrgh!”

One of the demons, still with the dagger in his mouth, suddenly shouted.

“Hostis est!”

Hearing the alarm, demon soldiers began rushing through the communication trench.

“Damn it!”

As Linus panicked, Dian didn’t hesitate to thrust his dagger deeper into the shouting demon’s mouth.

“Krrrrrrrr….”

With blood pouring from its mouth, the demon died. Dian then swiftly pulled the dagger out and slashed at the other demon.

“Uraaaaaaaaagh!!”

The demon’s hands were severed, and Linus stared at Dian in shock.

“What are you doing, Dian!”

“We just need to keep them alive. It’ll be easier for you to carry them this way.”

“What do you mean, alone?!”

Dian tossed the remaining rope to Linus.

“Tie it tight to stop the bleeding and carry him. I’ll hold them off.”

“That’s insane! How will you manage alone? Let’s go together!”

“Can you dodge pursuit carrying a demon? Just go!”

Dian clutched a dagger in each hand and charged into the communication trench.

“Damn it…!”

Linus hurriedly tied off the demon’s severed limbs and hoisted it over his shoulder.

“Hostium incursio est!”

As Linus stood up with the demon, the demon soldiers burst in, shouting.

Dian crossed his daggers and slashed, decapitating one demon and severing another’s arm in a swift motion.

Blood sprayed like a fountain, causing the advancing demons to recoil in shock.

Seizing the moment, Dian relentlessly pushed forward, scattering the demons like sheep.

“That crazy….”

Linus was stunned as he watched Dian, who was driving back the larger demon soldiers with sheer force.

Whhhhoooosh-!!

Right then, as planned, a magical strike from their allies exploded behind the observation post.

Linus, with the demon on his back, shouted,

“Dian! It’s time to go! Hurry up!”

“Go first! I’ll follow!”

As a second magical strike landed closer, Linus gritted his teeth and bolted out of the observation post.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

Breathing heavily, Linus sprinted towards their trench.

The demon on his shoulder was incredibly heavy, but slowing down would mean getting caught in the bombardment.

“Over here, over here!”

Allied soldiers poked their heads out of the trench, waving and shouting.

As Linus slid into the trench with the demon, the soldiers caught and steadied them.

“What the hell?! Why are you alone?! Where’s the other guy?!”

“We encountered unexpected enemy forces…! I’ll go back and get him!”

“Are you crazy?! You can’t go back there now!”

Soldiers pulled Linus back into the trench as he tried to climb out.

“If you go out there, you’ll die!”

The magical bombardment was steadily creeping closer to their trench, in reverse of the direction Dian and Linus had come from.

Additionally, the demon army had begun retaliating, making it almost certain death to venture out now.

“Dian! Damn it…!”

Linus punched the trench wall in frustration. He couldn’t believe he might lose a comrade after just one week.

“Dian was a fine soldier.”

The battalion commander, who had been on-site, placed a hand on Linus’s shoulder and spoke in a grave voice.

“He achieved a great feat by sacrificing himself.”

“Dian… I wasn’t supposed to come back alone….”

Linus muttered in deep frustration, and the other soldiers looked equally somber.

“But we can’t wallow in sorrow here.”

Seeing the soldiers’ faces, the battalion commander raised his voice.

“We must push forward, using Dian’s noble sacrifice as our stepping ston—”

“Uwaaah!”

At that moment, amidst the ongoing magical bombardment, something flew into the trench with a scream.

“Move out of the way… ugh!”

The commander, in the middle of his speech, tangled with the object and tumbled awkwardly to the ground.

“My goodness! I nearly died! Wait, Commander? Sorry about that, haha.”

Covered in blood and with his hair slightly singed, Dian laughed as he helped the fallen commander to his feet.

Linus, staring in disbelief, stammered,

“Dian…? How did you make it back alive…?”

“I didn’t die, so I came back alive. This thing was heavy as hell.”

With that, Dian threw what he was carrying onto the ground.

It was the severed heads of six demons, strung together by their horns.

He even brought back the enemy’s heads…?

“Commander, doesn’t this warrant a promotion?”

Dian’s cheeky question made the commander nod slowly, still in shock.

Linus thought then, This guy is crazy.

A recruit who hadn’t even been in the army for a month had boldly claimed to the commander that he would capture prisoners.

His insane plan was to charge in sync with their bombardment.

When the plan went awry, he stood his ground alone with just two daggers, taking on six demons to ensure their escape route.

Then he crossed the no-man’s-land under bombardment and brought back the heads of the demons he had killed.

This guy is nuts….

# # # # #

At the corps headquarters, the captured prisoners were interrogated, revealing the identity of the enemy force they were up against.

It turned out to be a corps that had suffered heavy losses on another front and had been reassigned to the relatively weak Kingdom of Avoca, focusing all their troops on defending the Camel Ridge, leaving their rear exposed.

The Imperial 8th Corps launched an all-out offensive, eventually reclaiming the Kingdom of Avoca.

Dian and Linus, who had significantly contributed to the corps’ strategic decisions, were awarded medals and promoted at the Avoca Royal Castle.

Third Class Meritorious Service Medal: Contributed to the tactical assessment of the Camel Ridge Defense Battle by acquiring enemy combatants and prisoners of war.

“Hey, Linus.”

Dian spoke up in the carriage as they returned to their unit.

“See, I told you it’d be good if you stuck with me.”

“You were right.”

“So let’s keep working together.”

Linus remained silent, lost in thought.

Fleeing his estate to join the Imperial Army, he couldn’t stand by as the continent fell into chaos due to the demonic forces.

Rather than serving under an incompetent lord, he had wanted to join the 3rd Corps under the Second Princess’s command.

But due to his lowly origins, he was placed in the most underfunded 8th Corps and sent across the sea to the Kingdom of Avoca.

Endless trench warfare, meaningless night raids, and soldiers dying without ever swinging their swords.

Just as he was questioning his choices, he met Dian, and they miraculously captured prisoners in what everyone thought was an impossible task.

They reclaimed the Kingdom of Avoca and received medals and promotions.

Throughout their advance from Camel Ridge to the Avoca Royal Castle, Dian had saved his life multiple times.

Dian seemed to act like he had ten lives to spare, as if he could see the future.

Otherwise, how could he always be so composed on the battlefield? And his knowledge of the Demon King’s Castle…

“Maybe if we stick together, we can even reach the Demon King’s Castle.”

“The Demon King’s Castle….”

When Dian mentioned the Demon King’s Castle, his eyes were filled with such certainty that even the usually cautious Linus couldn’t help but entertain the seemingly far-fetched idea.

“But… why me? There are better soldiers than me.”

“Oh, about that.”

Dian laughed at Linus’s question.

“Because you’re the protagonist of this world.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained. So, will you do it or not? Together, we can achieve anything. Let’s slice that Demon King bastard in half and end this war.”

Seeing the determination in Dian’s eyes, Linus eventually smiled faintly and nodded.

“Alright. Let’s do it, Dian.”