episode_0025

=======[Orhan]=======

I remember.

My childhood, when I left behind a burning tribe and held on to the reins, enduring anger and humiliation.

I remember.

When I was young, I raised the tribal flag in front of the Barun River and was full of ambition to one day have the grassland under my feet.

Even though twenty years have passed since then, the memories are still as vivid as if it were yesterday.

This is the beginning.

“Glory to Aishangior! The warriors are ready to go. Ser Khan.”

“Yes. It looks like that to me too.”

Standing on top of the outer wall of Ordos, Orhan looked down at his warriors lined up below the wall.

The 40,000-strong army that he had gathered over twenty years to burn the grasslands.

Beneath the four colored flags, an endless army was positioned in an orderly manner, as if filling the horizon.

Cavalrymen wearing leather armor waving blue and red flags were raising their spears in their right hands toward the sky.

A quiver full of arrows was swinging across Changokdo from his waist, and a cavalry bow was hanging from his horse saddle.

Blue flag army and red flag army. These were the main cavalry that formed the core of the Aishangior Legion.

The soldiers of the White Flag Army carrying the white flag were infantry, not cavalry.

Armed with a spear and a shield, with a short curved sword tied to his waist and a bow hanging from his back, he was looking up at the castle wall with eyes filled with anticipation.

The cavalrymen of the Black Banner were lined up in an orderly manner, wearing heavy scale armor and holding swords.

Their horses, unlike other cavalrymen, were also wearing heavy barding with steel barbs attached.

It was the Black Flag Army, the most elite heavy cavalry unit that Orhan had trained with great care.

Unlike other units that were a bit noisy, they remained solemnly silent without saying a word, silently waiting for Orhan’s orders.

The leader of each corps.

The four great warriors whom Orhan trusted most held their flags high and looked up at him with trustworthy expressions filled with fighting spirit.

Orhan shouted loudly as he faced the army looking at him.

“Can you hear my voice, your khan’s voice? Warriors of Aishan!”

Tens of thousands of spears pierced the air, and a roar that seemed to shake the castle walls rang out.

The excited horses toured and scratched the ground with their front feet.

“I’ve waited a really long time. The shame of 10 years ago, stagnation for 8 years! The horses are fat, the spear knives are rusty, the bowstring is sagging, and we wasted eight years!”

Orhan raised his blood and cried out to the sky.

“It was a long, very long time. Those humiliating times when I lived like a sheep, not a wolf!”

Unable to hold back his passion, his clenched fists were shaking.

“And finally! The opportunity I’ve been waiting for with hunger and gritting my teeth has finally come back!”

The warriors’ shouts became intertwined, emitting thunder that was now unintelligible.

Orhan stretched out his arm and pointed to the eastern meadows.

“Now the Great Plains will become our prey! Kill all enemies you see and take everything you come across! Under the name of the Blue Wolf!”

Joyful cheers shook the earth.

Orhan, who was looking down with satisfaction, turned his head and looked towards the west.

West. land of empire.

I thought about the people who would be there.

An old enemy who hated him, and a young daughter who was spewing out anger.

You probably want to kill me. Ludwig.

You are the enemy of your family.

okay. It is the most common and most intense resentment of all.

The emotion that drives people crazy, the source of revenge.

With eyes burning bright blue, I remembered the image of my daughter who had questioned Aimella about her death.

Because I remember those times. He gave permission for his daughter to leave for the empire.

Even though I didn’t know whether to betray my father or return to Aishan.

Do you want to avenge your mother, Hashal?

Orhan closed his eyes once, let go of his daughter’s image, and looked east again.

The land where the sun stays. Toward the vast plains guided by his ambition.

…For that, you’ll have to prepare a lot.

It was time to go to war.

====================

…Was it a dream?

I lifted my head from the bed.

Perhaps it was because of the mental shock of witnessing the alcoholic fairy, but I fell asleep on the bed in the dormitory without realizing it.

I think I had a very serious dream, but I couldn’t remember anything about it.

What was the dream…?

“Are you awake, Hashal? It worked out just fine.”

Nigel turned his head towards me and smiled slightly.

Have you changed into civilian clothes before you know it?

He had taken off the armor and coat he usually wore and was dressed lightly, wearing only a thin white shirt and black pants.

There were documents spread out on the desk behind Nigel, as if he was checking an official document or something.

The dusky evening glow from beyond the window fell into the room, staining the documents orange.

“…What time is it?”

“It’s around 6 PM. He slept soundly.”

In Nigel’s hand was a bundle of paper.

The sight of him calmly reviewing documents in neat attire had a sophisticated intelligence that was different from usual.

Personally, it felt quite unfamiliar.

“I slept well. It seems like my dream was a bit chaotic. By the way, what are you reading?”

“This is the academy’s syllabus delivered around lunch. Hashal, it would be a good idea for you to read this as well.”

Nigel handed me a bundle of documents he was holding.

I sat down on the bed, yawning, and looked through the documents handed to me.

—-

Remnant Academy’s curriculum is structured in completely different ways depending on the department you apply to and the grade you are enrolled in.

For first-year students, standard education such as basic theory and combat skills education, practice sparring, and practical training is provided to train inexperienced freshmen.

The Department of Magic provides specialized elective education based on qualifications or school, but in the Department of Knights, all undergraduate students were required to take the lectures listed in the syllabus.

Of course, special admission students were an exception.

The lecture plan itself was the same, but it was up to them to participate or not.

If general admission students refused the syllabus, they could be expelled, but there was no expulsion system for special admission students.

I also had no intention of attending all the lectures.

Listening to lectures like horseback riding or basic physical training was almost like a waste of time.

After one year of attending school and entering the second year, the teaching method changes drastically.

The original purpose of establishing Remnant Academy was twofold.

Discovering talented gems and processing them into master-level skills, and immediately cultivating troops to fill the gaps of ordinary knights.

Therefore, from the second year of the academy onwards, they are considered not just trainees, but semi-combatants who can be immediately put into practice.

In reality, a second-year academy graduate would have the same skills as a knight.

The academy changed their educational environment to be more autonomous and introduced a type of credit system.

Starting in the second year, students are allowed to freely select and take advanced courses of their choice.

Instead, in order for them to be promoted to the 3rd year, they were required to have a certain number of credits or more, and if they did not meet them, they were mercilessly demoted to the 1st year course.

If you want more practical experience than lectures, you can carry out a dispatched mission arranged by the Academy and then report back, and credits will be awarded based on the results.

Therefore, students usually took only a few specialized lectures and gained experience and recognition through dispatched missions.

In a way, it can be said to be a higher-level organization of the adventurer’s guild.

In the case of third-year students, once their skills were already guaranteed, they were at full strength.

They have usually already decided to join a specific organization, such as the Imperial Knights, and are treated as reserve personnel for that organization.

Therefore, in most cases, they stayed with the organization, not the academy, and assisted with their work.

—-

I turned the page and read the lecture contents of the first year of the Department of Engineering.

In the case of the first year of engineering, it consisted of 4 undergraduate courses and 3 common courses.

The use of weapons and the connection between martial arts.

Understand the role of linemen.

Large-scale mounted combat training.

Intensive physical training.

Analysis and learning of various interpersonal combat.

Introduction to aptitude body research.

understanding of faith.

Since it was a plan to teach only practical knowledge, only the theology subject was particularly heterogeneous.

Even subjects that would have been taught at an academy, such as ‘history of the empire’, were excluded on the grounds that they were not practical.

Does that mean theology is an exception?

This probably means that even though the 11 Lords Church was separated into a holy nation and became independent, its influence still seeps deep into the empire.

For now, I decided to ignore horseback combat, intensive physical training, and theology since they seemed unnecessary.

Unlike other specially admitted students, there was no way to receive support for living expenses from the home country or the Margrave, so I had to save some money in my free time.

If this happens, will Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday become empty?

For the time being, you can just accept requests that can be completed within two days.

As I recall, there are still three months left until the first accident occurs at the Academy.

Just in case, you should prepare in advance.

It was an incident that had nothing to do with Ka`har, but I still don’t know what variables my admission may have created.

“Hmm… So, the entrance ceremony was tomorrow, right? What should I prepare?”

I put down the documents and asked Nigel a question.

Since it’s the entrance ceremony, I’m sure I’ll be faced with those stares again.

Strong feelings mixed with rejection, as if they were trying to push me away.

Still, I need to check the status of the incoming students one last time, so I have to make up my mind to go.

I’m curious if all the freshman characters I remember have entered school.

“No. Special admission students do not attend the entrance ceremony. They said that the reason was that the uniformity of the event was undermined by the free dress code.”

Are you saying there is that much of a distinction?

I was a little embarrassed, but I understood.

If it were a regular class, they would probably pay a lot of attention to uniformity in such events.

If you wear clothes like this among students in uniform, you will attract attention.

Originally, when holding an important event in the world, uniform attire was prescribed to provide a sense of unity and discipline.

“Really? Well then, proper academy life will start the day after tomorrow. Then let’s go have dinner.”

“Yes, I will guide you. Hashalr. I heard that tonight’s dinner will be roast duck with scented candles. I have high expectations.”

“Really? That’ll be fine… Now that I think about it, what do regulars want to eat? Freshmen may not have moved in yet, but there will be at least two sophomores.”

“I heard it was rye bread and fried boneless fish.”

…Isn’t the gap huge?

Among the general admission students, there are probably descendants of the empire’s nobles, and they make a good living.

“Don’t you think it’s truly a miracle that students from the general building don’t come into the special building with swords in their mouths?”

“Isn’t that why guards were allowed for specially admitted students?”

I smiled and headed to the first floor alongside Nigel.

At least, I feel glad that I can now live comfortably.