Chapter Twenty-Two: Farewell, Steve

Early the next morning.

After having breakfast early at the hospital, Kyle changed into a brand-new officer’s uniform sent by Joseph, complete with a gleaming second lieutenant’s insignia pinned to his chest.

Lucy was more invested in Kyle’s appearance than he was himself, fussing over the collar and sleeves, carefully smoothing out every crease in the fabric with her hands.

“I’m not attending some high-society banquet, you know. No need to look so gentlemanly,” Kyle joked, but Lucy seemed distracted, her mind elsewhere, and didn’t respond.

“What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?” Kyle pressed gently.

Lucy seemed to summon her courage, nervously asking, “Kyle… are you going back to the front lines with that bearded officer?”

“The battlefield won’t come so soon. Orders haven’t arrived yet. I’m just returning to the training base for new recruits,” Kyle replied with a smile, meeting her gaze. “Even as an officer, it’s only natural to go to the front eventually.”

“Can I go with you?” Lucy lowered her head, her small hands twisting together anxiously.

Kyle’s expression turned stern. “Lucy. Do you think the battlefield is some place for amusement? Have you forgotten how you escaped?”

“But… my family died there. I have no home left. If you leave too, then I’ll…” Lucy’s beautiful eyes brimmed with tears.

“That’s a real problem,” Kyle murmured, stroking his chin in thought. Then he said, “I’ve got it. My family home is here in New York. My parents died in the last war, so the house is empty now. If you don’t mind, you can live there for the time being.”

He’d read his own file back at the training base, and knew his pre-enlistment identity: an orphan, living in a vintage mansion left by his deceased parents.

The house keys were kept at a storage office in New York, retrievable with his identification.

“Living at your place?” Lucy’s eyes widened, her fair cheeks tinged pink. To her, Kyle’s words carried another meaning.

It was, in a sense, moving in together ahead of time—even if he wouldn’t be home often.

“You can stay as long as you like,” Kyle said with a warm smile, affectionately tousling Lucy’s golden hair.

For now, Kyle saw Lucy only as a little sister, nothing more.

“Kyle, you’re so good to me.” Lucy’s eyes danced with joy. She quickly rose on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, then fled the room, her face burning red like a startled rabbit.

“Well… that’s…” Kyle touched his cheek where she’d kissed him, feeling a subtle emotion rise within him, but quickly pushed it away.

Now was not the time for leisurely romance.

He had to keep growing stronger—strong enough to face whatever unforeseen dangers this world might bring.

Earning military merit and promotions, gaining reputation, authority, even wealth—so many things awaited Kyle’s effort and ambition.

Having been reborn in Marvel, he couldn’t simply live as an ordinary man; that would be a waste of the card-drawing power fate had bestowed upon him.

Kyle had a blueprint for his life, waiting to be colored in stroke by stroke.

Around eight o’clock in the morning.

Joseph himself drove a jeep to pick up Kyle and take him to the military airfield.

Kyle bid farewell to Lucy in New York, then boarded the helicopter with Joseph, returning to the original training base.

Meanwhile, at the training base—

The military had erected a stage in the open square for a speech. Steve, as Captain America, was to deliver it—a presence charged with political significance.

The base commander issued orders early, mandating every trainee at the camp to attend the speech on the square. Anyone who failed to show would be discharged. Intriguingly, no officers attended; only soldiers.

Because not only the soldiers, but all the officers, scoffed at Steve, who claimed to be Captain America without ever having been to the battlefield.

It was clear that Steve, dressed in the American flag’s tight uniform, was destined to face fierce resistance from the soldiers.

And indeed, that was the case.

“Are you all ready to join me in fixing Hitler?” Steve stood on stage, facing the silence below, trying to warm the atmosphere as he addressed hundreds of soldiers: “Alright, any volunteers?”

“What are you talking about? If we weren’t volunteers, what are we doing here?” a soldier shouted impatiently, and the entire square erupted in laughter.

“We want to see the girls dance!”

Steve, confronted by their rowdy jeers, replied awkwardly, “I think they’ll just sing one song later, so I guess I’ll have to figure out what to do with the extra time.”

“Get lost!”

“Hey, fairy, you should be dancing in boots!”

The soldiers showed him no respect, their jeers growing louder. Some began hurling fruits and water bottles onto the stage.

Behind the stage, Carter clenched her fists, wanting to help Steve, but powerless.

“Please, don’t do this. I was once a trainee here too,” Steve pleaded helplessly, using a prop shield to fend off the flying debris.

“What are you doing?”

A cold, commanding voice suddenly sounded from the rear of the square. Instantly, all the soldiers turned to look behind them.

A young man in an officer’s uniform stood among them, unnoticed until now. He radiated a subtle authority, his gaze sharp and cool as he met the soldiers’ eyes.

“He’s a second lieutenant—an officer!” The soldier who had wanted to retort noticed the insignia on the young man’s chest and swallowed his words in disbelief.

“So young? I’ve never heard of him.”

“He’s not older than us, is he?”

Amid nervous whispers, some soldiers seemed to recognize the officer’s identity, their expressions complex as they called out loudly, “It’s Kyle! Second Lieutenant Kyle!”

Second Lieutenant Kyle?

The recruits paused, then their eyes lit up with fervor as they looked at the young officer.

“Hey, is it really him?!”

“Of course! Who else could it be?”

“Oh my god! The American hero—he’s my idol.”

“Mine too! I enlisted because of his deeds!”

The soldiers were so excited they could barely speak. Someone took the lead, shouting, “Stand and salute!” Instantly, hundreds of soldiers rose, turned, and saluted the young officer: “Good morning, sir!”

“Thank you for your hard work, sir!”

Facing their adulation, Kyle responded coolly, “No need for salutes. Just two weeks ago, I was one of you. But is this how you treat my brother? Is this the standard of a soldier?”

The soldiers looked at one another, then gritted their teeth, swiftly turning back to the stage and bowing to Steve in apology: “We’re sorry!”

Steve said nothing, gazing at the cold young officer standing behind the soldiers, his heart surging with both excitement and shame.

Suddenly, he recalled that sunset scene at the training base when Kyle had won the marksmanship contest.

Then, Kyle had told him, “Steve, from now on, no one will dare look down on us.”