Maybe Quite a Good Child…

“In this individual duel we’re about to conduct, everyone plans to use the mana suppression protective gear you used yesterday. You can consider it as facing each other with individual physical abilities rather than magic.”

The bright sunlight shone down on the open space.

“This training aims to assess how calmly you can deal with new environments, and to what extent your pure skills and abilities are, rather than talent.”

However, Lustet continued his speech steadfastly. He didn’t mind even as hot sweat drops wet his mustache and cheeks.

Whoosh, whoosh─!

“Of course, we’ve selected a Federation ruins city as the training ground to see your adaptability. This might be bad news for children who have been accumulating points solely with high talent, hehe!”

Rather, he captured the students’ attention by continuing his oration with a sense of fighting spirit as hot as the sun.

Perhaps because of that, the open space was quiet.

No noise other than the principal’s speech could be heard at all.

The hundreds of cadets formed silence, captivated by Principal Lustet’s speech, with his eyes filled with firm conviction and dynamic gestures that could fully feel trustworthiness.

“As it’s the last schedule conducted in the Federation, keep in mind that it takes up the largest proportion in measuring the rankings of the joint training. The first place gets as much as 10,000 dena, so work hard!”

Only Lustet’s voice floated in the wide space.

It was a scene where all candidates could pay attention without any problem.

But the reality was not so.

There are always exceptions, even while numerous cadets focus on the platform, there are always those who are distracted.

And one of the children belonging to that category,

‘Now this is the last thing to do.’

Was none other than Rina.

‘Soon we’ll be returning to the military academy…’

Instead of focusing on Lustet’s words, she was lost in deep contemplation.

More precisely, she continued her thoughts while staring at the girl in front of her, Yena, with short hairs sticking out on her crown, dark hair and blue eyes.

She didn’t pay attention to anything else.

You’ve already heard from the principal how the individual duel will proceed, right? The story Lustet is telling now is just simple advice to inspire the cadets’ motivation?

It’s not like you haven’t already gotten all the information you wanted.

‘I don’t need to pay attention.’

Rina inwardly repeated such judgment and didn’t pay any particular attention to Lustet, who was still continuing his speech.

She just stared intently at the back of Yena’s head with tightly closed lips and coldly lowered eyes.

‘…What on earth is that child’s identity?’

Rina frowned while occasionally glancing at Yena, pretending to look at the platform like most of the cadets who fixed their gaze on the principal.

Jumping alone into giant monsters and winning, beyond that, facing an unknown building-sized monster, skillfully commanding team members including herself…

And finally, the appearance of having an unusual background.

It was a parade of incomprehensible events.

No matter how much intimacy they built up calling each other comrades during the joint training, the doubt clogging her mind didn’t disappear.

“Haah.”

Rather, it could be said to have gotten worse.

‘She doesn’t seem to be an undercover cadet…’

Rina formed even deeper wrinkles between her brows as she lowered her head and sighed.

Judging from Yena’s actions so far, she wasn’t an undercover cadet. If she had been educated by her father, she wouldn’t have shown her abilities so crudely.

Then what is it?

She’s too overwhelming to be a commoner, as Yena demonstrated overwhelming abilities in both the duel with Wolf and this joint training. She easily surpassed nobles who had grown up receiving professional education from birth.

In the end, she only reached the conclusion that made her head throb, that she was neither a commoner nor an undercover cadet who entered targeting herself.

‘…I really don’t know anything.’

Rina trembled her clenched fist. Falling into the abyss of anguish and not being able to uncover anything about Yena gave her a sense of helplessness greater than expected.

As she had never experienced this before, the frustration she felt was even greater.

In the past, when she reigned as an Imperial princess, if there was information she wanted, she could obtain it in less than a week.

Even if it was content about the huge noble families ruling the Empire, it was no exception.

Whatever the subject, as long as it wasn’t confidential information determining the nation’s fate, she could easily resolve her curiosity.

It was the same when she requested Helena to tail Yena. She asked with the mindset that it would take at most about a month.

Even though she didn’t receive help from her family,

The person in charge of the investigation was the head maid who could be called a veteran, and the target was someone who still looked very young, so she never imagined the work would fail.

‘But it failed… Miserably at that.’

She hadn’t made a single step forward in her goal of unveiling the veil surrounding Yena. She clearly formulated the first plan at the beginning of admission, but she couldn’t finish it until today, two months later.

Even when she requested materials from Helena, she only received Yena’s simple personal information, and when she asked about the progress of the inquiry, the head maid just kept silent.

Who could understand Rina’s miserable feelings?

Crunch─!

She dropped her arms powerlessly and grabbed the hem of her shirt.

The feeling that enveloped her whole body was like when she lost the Great War and in an instant, her status changed from Emperor to daughter of the Empire’s traitor.

‘I should have acted more perfectly, I was too stupid.’

Perhaps because of that, Rina blamed herself.

“I’ll say it again, but in this training, we’ll use simulated bullets exclusively for awakened ones. Whether you’re strong or not, if this bullet hits a vital point, you’re immediately eliminated, understood?”

“Yes!”

“I hope you won’t think of this as just training. The moment you enter the ruins! You are the Empire’s last remaining soldier! Keep in mind that everything else is all Allied forces!”

In the hot square where a thousand cadets chanted under one principal, she alone pressed her lips tightly and trembled her eyelids.

Some might argue why despair over something like this, but Rina was originally a noble who pursued loftiness, so her pride would be high, and isn’t this a case of that pride being broken?

It couldn’t help but be quite a big shock.

But that was all,

Rina didn’t despair more than that. Rather, she pulled herself together in less than a few seconds.

Gone was her gloomy expression, and suddenly with golden eyes shining, she straightened her back with a calm and composed face.

‘…Nothing changes by being pessimistic.’

It was an action due to the lesson learned when she was left alone, afraid of the people’s resentment after the Empire signed a peace treaty due to defeat in the Great War, and her entire family, including her father the Emperor, went into exile.

She couldn’t leave the Empire because she had to become a mage officer. For several years before her father regained a stable life and Helena the head maid came, she had to live alone.

And what was formed to overcome that period,

Was the value of not being frustrated by difficulties but overcoming them. This vow of a single sentence, which might seem cliché in some ways, continues to this day and ignites her motivation.

‘Anyway, I’ll be able to know once the training schedule is over, right? Don’t think too complicatedly, for now just spend time peacefully.’

Rina turned her gaze away from Yena with a much more comfortable mind.

Didn’t Yena promise to answer questions honestly? I can use that opportunity to relieve the stuffiness inside.

Rina repeated such thoughts inwardly and calmed her emotions.

Although it’s questionable whether Yena will speak properly, isn’t that an issue that can be thought about after hearing her answer? She didn’t raise suspicions by unnecessarily making a fuss.

‘…I’m also the one who called her a comrade.’

Aren’t comrades supposed to trust each other? Rina was a person who believed in keeping her words, so she decided to trust Yena at least until the training ended.

Even though the speculation that Yena was not an undercover cadet and had no connection to a family was becoming more certain, not asking her family to investigate together was also part of the above oath.

There’s no one who would investigate a comrade behind their back, right?

Moreover, there’s still a possibility for Yena herself to reveal her secrets.

Now that she’s not even sure if Yena truly harbors ill will towards her, she didn’t move recklessly like before.

‘Rather, it seems like I might have treated Yena carelessly…’

Rina looked back on her past when she only harbored ill will towards Yena with possibly wrong convictions. She felt pathetic about herself at the beginning of admission when she claimed things like undercover cadet with just suspicions.

However, her opinion that Yena was not an ordinary person remained unchanged.

It meant that the past days of having distorted perceptions with colored glasses without clear evidence were insufficient, but the view that Yena was still hiding special inner thoughts hadn’t changed.

‘But if there’s a change, it’s that Yena looks a bit better now.’

Since coming to the Sevirpol training ground, we haven’t had any particular conflicts, and even in survival training, she cooperatively caught monsters, right? She even… made delicious lunch boxes.

‘She might not be a bad child at all.’

Rina murmured while looking into space with eyes that had become gentle.

She treats that child Erika very well and cooperated well with me too.

If there’s one thing that’s concerning, it’s the characteristic that her relationship with Wolf is bad, but considering the behavior of the two so far, it seems the responsibility lies more with Wolf than Yena.

It’s not that Yena is kind, but she didn’t seem like a vicious cadet harboring malice and plotting conspiracies.

That’s why she was curious.

How could a girl with nothing particularly noticeable on the outside be so strong?

Whether it’s really power gained from being taught by her father who is a mage officer, or if there’s something unknown, an uncontrollable curiosity burst forth.

‘I should face her once after all.’

Rina declared for that reason.

That in this individual duel, which could be called an individual match rather than team training, she would somehow meet Yena and fight together.

Moreover, this time they’re restricting heteromorphic powers with mana suppression devices, right? That means they’ll compete using only strength and skill, so she’ll be able to grasp Yena’s abilities much better.

Desperately survive and finally meet Yena, she whispered like that,

“You will become Imperial soldiers dropped in the middle of enemy territory the moment you enter the training ground! Remember that all humans you see! Are Allied forces trampling on the nation’s territory, understood?”

“…Yes.”

She answered with a small voice but fierce eyes to the principal’s question that finally put a period to his speech.

“Then I wish you good luck, for the Empire.”

“For the Empire!”

She spread her hand wide and touched the end of her eyebrow.

“For the Empire.”

Shouting the slogan together with the cadets

---

Lustet’s speech was over.

The boring time of introducing the process of individual duels and informing about precautions during education had long passed, now only the start of training remained.

And finally,

They were moving by truck to fire the starting signal for that schedule. To the Federation’s ruined city right next to Sevirpol, which would become the battlefield for this training.

Clang, rattle─!

“It’s expected to take about thirty minutes. Everyone please put on your equipment as soon as you arrive in the city.”

“Yes, understood!”

“As you all know, we plan to conduct training for about 3 days this time. That much fatigue will be consumed, so I recommend sleeping in advance. Your body won’t be able to endure it.”

The driver’s voice rang out sporadically in the shaking vehicle body.

Judging by his tone and pitch, it seemed he was trying to lighten the stiff atmosphere, but unfortunately, there was no sign of the cadets’ expressions relaxing.

-We-We’re arriving now.

-Yeah…

-Will it hurt if we get shot?

-They say we won’t die but we’ll get bruises.

-Ugh.

Rather, the students’ faces darkened even more at the driver’s words that arrival was imminent.

Unlike usual, not a single word of chatter was heard.

Only the sound of the ceiling tarp fluttering as it shook and the noise from the engine operation, those two monotonous sound effects alone pierced the ears.

‘It’s understandable.’

I fully understood their reactions. This training isn’t just a passing class, but a kind of midterm evaluation, right?

They even said it would have a considerable impact on the qualification screening? It could be seen that if you stupidly rank in the lower tier, the risk of failing the subsequent qualification screening increases.

‘After dreaming of becoming an officer, you end up becoming an adjutant.’

There was no more terrible future for the cadets here. The status difference between officers and adjutants is too clear.

Unless a war breaks out and you kill hundreds of enemies or achieve great tasks like stealing confidential information, there is an absolute limit to the ranks an adjutant can rise to.

What does that mean─ It meant that if you slip up here, your future life could become extremely arduous.

If someone who was your friend later returns as your superior and you soon have to show infinite loyalty to them, it would be like having your pride not just bent but trampled.

Of course, the cadets were well aware of this fact, so they remained silent. More precisely, they were putting all their efforts into calming their pounding hearts inside, so they had no room to open their mouths.

Perhaps because of that.

As the surrounding air became more and more depressed, I couldn’t help but smile, covering my mouth with my hand at Erika’s face that kept coming to mind.

I realized how much more positive energy she had compared to others.

Usually, I didn’t notice because we just stuck together, but now that we were separated by randomly selecting cadets and loading them onto trucks, I could feel it strongly with my whole body.

‘She’s always bright.’

No matter the situation, Erika always showed a bright smile when I approached.

Look at this morning.

Despite the individual duel approaching right up to her neck, she didn’t lose her usual cheerful voice. No, rather, didn’t she make her eyes sparkle brightly saying she would rank in the upper tier?

I admired her.

On the other hand, a smile came out due to fondness.

‘It means my eye for people wasn’t bad, right?’

Her skills aren’t bad, her growth rate is faster compared to other cadets, and she doesn’t fear even when crisis strikes.

She was a cadet with satisfactory aspects, except for the almost only flaw that she becomes a bit weak when I’m not by her side.

So I was looking forward to it.

I watched with interest to see if she could become a useful child who endures and endures until she faces me in this individual duel, not just being an ordinary cadet who gets eliminated early,

“Everyone get off!”

“Ye-Yes!”

I got off the truck along with the bewildered cadets.

“Are you Yena Freud?”

“Yes.”

“Here are the things you’ll use.”

And,

[Yena Freud / Protective gear for individual duel]

I received a bag with the above name tag from the driver.