“I like to maximize my advantages, even if it costs me dearly.”

- Excerpt from Lieutenant Hans Hoffman’s Journal Entries.

+++

+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Rousselot City

JUN 24, 1538 CE

Hans finally had a plan.

“How much would we need for a cannonade, sire?” Asked the quartermaster to Captain Strobel. Captain Strobel merely turned to Hans for a brief moment, before turning back to the quartermaster. “Enough for two hundred shots of our full sixteen light battery, according to this man.”

“Are you sure…?” The quartermaster asked, looking straight at Hans. “That would require me taking away stock from the city’s defenses. Bloody heavens, could you lot even manage to take that much rapidly when you spot the beast and intercept it? At most, we’d only be able to call to arms a hundred or so men in an emergency.”

“That’s why we’re not planning for an emergency, waiting for it to attack,” Hans said. “I have a plan. I’ll find it. I’ll bait it. On an exact date, on an exact time, on an exact field. It’ll be the only way that this city won’t fall. We’re fighting it on our terms.”

“...Ambitious,” Captain Strobel said. “But that requires you to come out of this city’s gates to find the creature, and plot its positioning within…what was your date of attack again?”

“Twenty-seventh of June, Captain,” Hans answered. “We need that cannonade to whittle its defenses down. You said it has these…flying sharp objects of sorts?”

Captain Strobel nodded. “That’s what the reports said. I’ll make a confession, neither I nor Father Strobel ever saw that creature. Those who saw it…are more than likely already shambling undead, or shot dead by our mounted cavalry. Quite frankly, there are only two people who have seen it under me up close. And they’re both retired as they’ve descended into lunacy. Look, we can’t have you two end up in the same situation.”

“Well, that’s that,” Hans said. “But my vehicle is fast. Capable. Mobile. With powerful tools to see from afar. Adelyn’s much the same, but, again, as you’ve said, we cannot risk everyone. That’s why my plan is simple. I’ll recce it well in preparation. I’ll do my best not to engage in it, but I'll get my report out. No matter what, I'll write it down as I go. Adelyn has the equipment to find where I am even if I fall in battle. Thus, if I don’t return, you would all just need to recover my corpse, and you’ll know where it is and how we would defeat it. But that’s the worst-case scenario.”

Captain Strobel looked intrigued. “Bold plan, my friend. Have you talked to Father Olbrich or Captain Wittenstein about this plan? This requires that you place yourself at great risk. I can do my part of mustering sixteen minions to the field and the entire regiment if need be, though, I might have to do some verbal spar with the Countess to get full permission. But you…this is a big job. A big risk. And both Father Olbrich and Captain Wittenstein have been very clear not to risk the two of you due to how valuable you two are in the plans.”

“No…” Hans said. “I have not. I have a feeling my superior will just stop me and ride with me. This has to be a plan between you and me only.”

“Is that so?” Captain Strobel leaned in. “You know how ladies go, Lieutenant. Your Captain would be greatly displeased by this.”

“Oh come on, she’ll manage,” Hans said. “Look, I’ve done my research for the last two days and I have a plan. We need to execute that plan as best as we can. This is the only way, I’m afraid. I’ve even checked the reports.”

“...When will you ride out?”

“Night of the twenty-sixth,” Hans answered. “I’ll come back by noon next day. If I’m alive, then great. If not, I’ll try to bait that creature as close to my planned engagement site. Captain Wittenstein already knows her role so all she would need to do is bait it fast to your positions once you deploy. But again, I’m not banking on that. If all things go well, I’ll return by morning and drag you all to the best route to the best fields and bait it with her.”

Captain Strobel reluctantly nodded. “Gods…you’re an insane man, Lieutenant Hoffman. Let’s see to it then.”

Hans nodded. Now that part of his plan was done.

+++

No…Hans didn’t plan to win in this loop. Quite frankly, he just needed to get them to let him do the recce himself. He’d die in this life. He knows that he’ll be revived on the night of the twenty-first anyway, but if he can extract everything that he can in this life without placing Adelyn and the 4th at any risk.

Then he would.

It was the only plan that Hans came up with for the last two days. Quite frankly, he could try hard to live on in this life, but Hans gave up on that. They screwed up badly last life due to a lack of intel and preparation. He needed to see everything first before he would ask Adelyn to even come to the fighting. In his next life, Hans expected to have everything for him to play with.

Intel.

Routes.

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Positioning.

Even the concentration of the undead so that he could guide the 4th into a route where they would not have to engage a single one of them.

With such a plan, Hans could ensure a one-sided, perfect, set-piece battle. The perfect takedown of a beast for the hunter. He would only have to bait the damned thing to them, and unlike the last time, he’ll ensure that he’ll be firing at it from three kilometers away to keep a massive distance, run at the main force, then have them engage it in the flat fields at a three kilometer distance at minimum. That way, Hans and Adelyn wouldn’t have to waste a single shot to remove its defenses. They would only engage at the opening to bait it, and at the last moment to put in the kill shots.

But such a perfectly planned battle required…unrealistic planning. All of the pieces must be perfectly placed at the right time and at the right place for all of them to come together. That required ridiculous foresight of the future.

Hans…had that.

He laughed at himself last night when he realized that. He literally had the key to that now. It didn’t matter if he didn’t know the enemy, he would always know them at the successful loops to win. He would know them inside out. He would know the best ways to kill them. He would know perfection with the truth.

The only payment would be his deaths in the loops where he didn’t have enough information for him to leverage.

The last thing he wanted was another path where he would watch Adelyn die. Or Alizée. Or anybody for that matter. He wanted the perfect path for them. Thus…he realized that to do that…all he needed to do was walk in the brutal paths himself alone, so he could guide them away from it.

“Damn it…” he chuckled a bit. He was standing alone in the barracks courtyard of the garrison’s and the 4th’s headquarters. Where these men trained and trained each day just to fight that thing. Quite frankly, he was never really one who drank liquor, but he had one just for today. He stared at the moon.

…Could he really accept this fate?

He asked himself that again and again. While he tried his best to react much to what happened, watching Adelyn bite him angrily had been…something that ate at him subtly. It wasn’t some detached failure. No…she was right in front of him. And she almost seemed to be chastising him for failing her so hard. To Hans…what if that timeline was true?

What if…in another story, that Adelyn who died was true?

Just because he was back in time, back in this moment where Adelyn spoke and acted and lived normally didn’t mean he could ignore the fact that he failed there and she died. Or what about all those men who died during their blunders? What about them? He drank another shot from the liquor he bought.

Damn, it sucked. Too hot, and he certainly wasn’t even used to it. Again, he never really drank, so this was damned shite. In fact, he almost wanted to vomit it out. He even asked himself why the hell did people even drink this crap when it tasted like this. Or why he even chose to drink it himself.

But he took it all in again, this time, draining the entire water jug where he placed the thing he bought. Damn it…too hot, he certainly shouldn’t buy this crap again.

“Lieutenant,” a soft voice suddenly distracted him from behind. Of course…it was her again. He didn’t turn around to face her.

“What is it Captain?”

“I’ve been asking around to find you. You just…you disappeared earlier without a trace. It’s almost dinnertime in church, and Alizée’s searching for you.”

Hans breathed in. “Apologies. Had to run around to check everything. Appraise the quality of the troops around here and all. Also inspected the artillery pieces with Captain Strobel.”

“Hmm…I see.”

“I’ll be going soon,” Hans said. “Go. I’m fine.”

“You’re drinking.”

“Soldiers do it all the time.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve known since I entered E Company is that you’re one of the odd ones who can’t handle alcohol.”

“I just tried their thing here,” Hans looked back. “Just tried it out. I couldn't exactly waste it when I realized it was shite. So I just force-drank it.”

She didn’t seem impressed. “You’re turning more pitiful by the day, Lieutenant.”

“...Are you doubting the agreement we made that day? Of saving this world together?”

She sighed. “I said a lot of things that day. But if…if you think it’ll be a detriment to your own—”

Hans immediately cut her off. While she didn’t know yet that she was the Angel of Justice, Hans already knew that. It was why he agreed to her deal even when he knew the risk involved for him. He knew her role moving forward. Either she’d kill these things, or she’d be killed.

“No,” Hans shook his head. “No. We’ll do what must be done, regardless. We talked about it already. It’s the only way out of this. I’m just trying to figure things out.”

“...I just don’t want to be pushing you to a place you wouldn’t want to be.”

“Look, I just drank, okay, no big deal,” Hans took a deep breath. “Okay, look, I’ll fix myself up. Just, I’m being weird for a while because this is all weird. Nothing more. Maybe I’m just adjusting, I mean for hell, we’re suddenly in a fairytale world. That’s crazy. So, I’m being…well…me right now. Look, I’m a soldier, Captain. I’ve seen worse. This is all nothing.”

She sighed. “Alright.”

“Thanks…I’ll be coming later. I’ll just go check in on Captain Strobel. Give me thirty minutes.”

She nodded. “I’m still talking to the Countess. So if you’re searching for me, just wait at the Church.”

“Talking to the Countess?”

“Mhm…I wanted to get a better deal for us. Looking at how much you’re preparing for it, it seems obvious that this is a bigger threat than I first thought. If we’re risking our necks big time, then we should get better rewards and ensure that they’d be allies.”

“...Is she receiving you well?”

She smiled. “I’m a noble too, did you forget? Did you really think I can’t soothe big egos to placate them in my way? In fact, I even have a good bargaining chip as a Virtus myself. She’s gonna bend.”

“...Well, that’s good. You deal with the strategic stuff, I’ll deal with the tactical. The usual. Just good teamwork.”

She nodded. “Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Yeah, I get you.”

“Good.”

Finally, she turned around and left.

Don’t care. I’ll push myself as hard as I can to maximize everything. Goddess willing, that thing will be dead in the most calculated manner next life.