episode_0024

During World War I, the British Empire had a terrible custom called the White Feather.

When women found men who hadn’t gone to war and were staying in the rear, they would swarm them, stick white feathers on their clothes, and bully them.

‘Hey, you! Why haven’t you gone to the battlefield?’

‘I’m a medical officer working at the hospital over there–‘

‘Spare me the excuses! Aren’t you ashamed of running away by yourself? You coward!’

Naturally, the harm was immense.

Women who didn’t know anything couldn’t distinguish between deserters/draft dodgers and soldiers on leave/rear-echelon personnel.

They would just initiate a mass ostracization as soon as they saw a man.

(Murahachi refers to insidious social lynching. Truly scary!)

Thanks to that, people whose honor was insulted were angered and fights broke out, greatly contributing to the degradation of the social atmosphere.

And that spectacle was unfolding in real-time here in the Elaine Kingdom.

In a more barbaric and outdated way.

“Hold it right there! You look to be of conscription age, so why haven’t you volunteered for service?”

“I, I have a wife and children to feed at home–”

“You fool!!! Don’t you know that not enlisting despite having a body suitable for the military is tantamount to desertion?!”

In a way that somehow reminded me of the Marines (in fact, the society of this era was pretty much the same as Marine Corps culture), forced abduction was taking place.

If they saw a man of suitable age, they would grab him first, and if his identity was unclear, they would arrest him.

Meanwhile, next to them, there was unlimited praise for the king and the people of Elaine.

Well, well? What’s that? They’ve even set up a war donation box? They’ve already increased taxes a lot, and now they’re taking donations too?

‘What is this? Is this hell?’

The hell I saw in the game where I tore apart and killed demons had more order than this.

I knew it. Humans are worse than demons.

“You there! Why are you standing around doing nothing!”

Oops. I was staring, and now I’ve been caught.

“Present your legal identification. Judging by your appearance, you don’t seem to be from this country, so how did you get here?”

“For work. I work at the Academy.”

When I presented my Academy faculty ID, the grim-faced military police officers’ attitude became extremely polite.

The authority of belonging to an institution that teaches talented people from all over the continent seems to work well even in situations like this.

I was going to ask Calia to handle it if it didn’t work, but it’s a relief.

“I, I apologize for my rudeness. Please forgive my impoliteness.”

“It’s alright. More importantly, are there not enough soldiers? To the point where recruiting officers are wandering around the capital like this.”

In the future, say, from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, this is a question that would not be answered.

Because governments of each country began to realize the importance of maintaining secrecy and the need for information control.

But whether it was because his brain was innocent, or because he hadn’t received orders to be careful about what he said.

The military police officer readily revealed to me the information he knew.

“…..You can’t tell anyone else about this, okay?”

“Don’t worry. Even though I look like this, I’m very tight-lipped.”

The military police officer looked around once to the left and right, then came closer and lowered his voice.

“Honestly, the war situation isn’t very good. We’re trying to drive out the Krams’ army that has entered the country, but we keep failing.”

“It seems the enemies’ defenses are solid?”

“That too, and also because we lost several key locations at the beginning of the war. It’s not easy to counterattack after losing terrain advantageous for defense.”

Indeed. The Elaine Kingdom started the war after being thoroughly beaten from the start.

Even if they barely managed to recover the front lines and reorganize their forces, the fact that they suffered huge losses is an undeniable reality that cannot be reversed.

It will take a lot of effort to reverse the tide of the war.

“Because we’re attacking in an unfavorable situation, many soldiers are dying. No matter how many we recruit, it’s not enough.”

“That’s a shame. I hope the war ends soon.”

“You can say that again.”

It was a truly satisfying situation, but suddenly a question arose.

Since when has the Elaine Kingdom been operating a large-scale conscription system?

Wasn’t their military system centered around mercenary units and nobles’ private armies?

“This might sound a little out of the blue, but when did you start recruiting troops like this?”

“Ah, the order came down on the last week of last month. To receive volunteers from the people.”

Huh? Volunteers?

While forcing voluntary enlistment (into the Marines)?

“It seems the method is a bit coercive for that, though….”

“What can we do? There’s a quota for the number of people to recruit, and if I don’t meet it, I’ll be reprimanded.”

Whether he felt guilty inside himself, the military police officer shrugged and handed me a promotional flyer for distribution with a sigh.

“But it’s a little better because of this. There are quite a few guys who read it and, filled with vigor, enlist.”

Hmm, what does it say?

Out of curiosity, I lightly skimmed through the text.

[To the esteemed citizens of Elaine. You are a superior people. A nation more proud and outstanding than anyone else in the world. A nation that has overcome countless adversities and hardships to build a great civilization!!

But! Now the safety of that nation is in imminent danger. The treacherous Navrs and Krams are trampling on our precious land and threatening our right to survival.

Four cities have already fallen, and countless villages have been occupied. At least hundreds of thousands of our compatriots are groaning under the oppression of foreign powers.

Great sons of Elaine! Should we surrender here? Should we turn a blind eye to the fearful cries of our oppressed compatriots and pursue only immediate comfort and peace?

No! We cannot give up even one thing. We must reclaim all our compatriots and territories!!

So join us! Join the great holy war to protect the nation!! Become a member of the army that defends His Majesty the King and the fatherland and go to the glorious battlefield–]

As I read to the last word, an exclamation involuntarily popped out.

‘Not bad.’

It’s a clumsy piece of writing.

It tries to catch two rabbits at once, nationalism and encouraging participation in the war, but it fails to catch even one properly.

The sentences are redundant, unnecessarily long, and have a lot of repetition of expressions, so the impact is reduced.

What kind of expository writing style did they use in a text that should make an impression with short and powerful phrases?

If I had written it, the result would have been a hundred times better.

But at the same time, it was an amazing development.

The fact that these guys, who only knew the people as beings to be exploited, are trying mass manipulation, even if clumsily.

Did they see the case of Helvetia and feel the need for imitation?

“I’ll get back to my job now. I’m starting to feel self-conscious about continuing to chat like this.”

“Take care. Be careful.”

“Yes! Ah, and sir. You should be careful when going out in the future. Crimes targeting foreigners have been increasing sharply these days…..”

The crime rate has soared recently, not immediately after the outbreak of the war. And targeting a specific group?

Is this also an influence of nationalism?

I said I understood for now and waved my hand.

* * * * *

On the way back to the Academy.

Calia spoke quietly.

“The war will become increasingly intense. To the point where everyone is accepting conscription from *The Prince*.”

“You can say that again.”

Conscription is, in essence, a system for total war.

It means that a large number of people, not a specialized warrior class or professional soldiers, are invested into the military as human resources.

To put it another way, it means winning the war by betting the foundation of the national economy and industry as collateral.

A radical strategy to get everything by betting everything.

It’s a method that only suits when you can only predict victory by pouring all the nation’s efforts.

But Elaine, which doesn’t even border Helvetia, has accepted this? What does this mean?

‘It means that other countries have already introduced it or are preparing to use it.’

Everyone is changing.

For a type of war that consumes the nation’s capabilities on a larger and more massive scale.

They’re running like crazy towards a conclusion where the defeated country will be completely destroyed, no matter who wins.

Following exactly the direction I wanted and guided.

“Lae, no, Mr. Ismael. Are you satisfied with this outcome?”

To her question, which seemed somewhat weary.

I resolutely shook my head.

“Of course not. It’s still a long way off.”

But it’s not enough yet.

I’m a hungry person.

Do you think I’d be satisfied with just this much?

Pyrrhic War?

That’s not nearly enough.

What I want is Ragnarok.

If a war breaks out, both the winner and the loser should be impoverished together.

The loser collapses as it is, and the winner also collapses because it can’t withstand the damage.

I can never accept a scenario like that.

“By the way, Helvetia is going to have a hard time with this…..”

It’s a country that’s overcoming the disadvantage of its size with the excellence of its doctrine and strategy.

Recently, it completely swallowed the Papal States and seems to be receiving aid from the Highcal Kingdom, so the gap has narrowed.

Nevertheless, it’s still at a huge disadvantage.

Should I prepare some new gifts for them?

* * * * *

–I was worried for a moment.

Before long, after receiving a report sent from the organization, I had no choice but to revise my plans.

“Ugh, you crazy bastards.”

I can’t believe they’re creating a People’s Assault Squad.

Was it actually the Führer instead of Duce?