Ch.25Indeed, Having at Least Two Days off From Classes per Week Is a Must

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

I remember.

My childhood, when I clutched the reins of my horse, suppressing rage and humiliation as I left my burning clan behind.

I remember.

My youth, when I planted our clan’s flag before the Barun River, filled with ambition to one day place the steppes beneath my feet.

Though twenty years have passed, these memories remain as vivid as if they happened yesterday.

It begins.

“Glory to Aishan-Gioro! The warriors are ready to march, Ser Khan.”

“Yes. So it appears to me as well.”

Standing atop the outer wall of Ordos, Orhan looked down at his warriors assembled below.

The army of 40,000 he had gathered over twenty years, ready to set the steppes ablaze.

Under four different colored banners, the endless forces were arranged in perfect order, filling the horizon as far as the eye could see.

Cavalry in leather armor waving blue and red banners held their spears high toward the sky.

Quivers full of arrows hung opposite the curved swords at their waists, and horsebows were attached to their saddles.

The Blue Banner Army and Red Banner Army. The core cavalry forces of the Aishan-Gioro legion.

The soldiers of the White Banner Army were not cavalry but infantry.

Armed with spears and shields, with short curved swords at their waists and bows on their backs, they looked up at the wall with anticipation.

The cavalry under the black banner wore heavy scale armor and gripped moon blades in perfect formation.

Their horses, unlike those of the other cavalry, were also covered in heavy armor made of linked steel scales.

This was the Black Banner Army, the elite heavy cavalry that Orhan had painstakingly trained.

Unlike the other somewhat noisy units, they waited silently and solemnly for Orhan’s orders.

At the front of each division.

The four Champions Orhan trusted most held their banners high, looking up at him with determined expressions full of fighting spirit.

Facing the army that gazed up at him, Orhan shouted loudly.

“Can you hear my voice, the voice of your Khan! Warriors of Aishan!”

Thousands of spears pierced the air as roars loud enough to shake the walls erupted.

Excited horses neighed and scraped the ground with their front hooves.

“We have waited for a very long time. The humiliation of ten years ago, eight years of stagnation! Our horses have grown fat, our blades have rusted, our bowstrings have slackened, and we have wasted eight years!”

Orhan cried out to the heavens, veins bulging on his neck.

“It has been a long, far too long time. Living like sheep instead of wolves, those humiliating days!”

His clenched fist trembled with barely contained passion.

“And finally! The opportunity we’ve been waiting for, grinding our teeth in hunger, has at last returned!”

The warriors’ shouts intertwined into thunderous roars that were now indistinguishable.

Orhan stretched out his arm pointing to the eastern steppes.

“Now the great plains will be our prey! Kill every enemy you see, take everything you encounter! Under the name of the Blue Wolf!”

Joyous cheers shook the earth.

Watching with satisfaction, Orhan turned his head to look west.

The west. The lands of the Empire.

He thought of the people who would be there.

His old nemesis who hated him, and the image of his young daughter spewing anger.

You must want to kill me, Ludwig.

Family vengeance.

Yes. The most common yet most intense form of grudge.

The source of vengeance, an emotion that fills people with madness.

He recalled his daughter’s face, with eyes burning blue, demanding answers about Imelia’s death.

Because I remember that moment. I allowed my daughter to leave for the Empire.

Despite not knowing whether she would betray her father or return to Aishan.

Do you want to avenge your mother, Haschal?

Orhan closed his eyes once, letting go of his daughter’s image before looking east again.

Toward the land where the sun dwells. Toward the vast plains that his ambition guided him to.

…For that, I must prepare many things.

It was time to march.

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

…Was that a dream?

I jerked my head up from where it had been buried in the bed.

Perhaps due to the mental shock of witnessing an alcoholic fairy, I must have fallen asleep face down on my dormitory bed without realizing it.

I seemed to have had a very serious dream, but I couldn’t remember any of it.

What was I dreaming about…?

“Are you awake, Lady Haschal? Perfect timing.”

Nigel turned his head toward me and smiled faintly.

He had changed into casual clothes at some point.

He had removed his usual armor-coat and was dressed lightly in a thin white shirt and black pants.

He seemed to have been checking some official documents, as papers were spread widely across the desk behind him.

The dim sunset streaming through the window bathed the documents in orange light as it settled into the room.

“…What time is it now?”

“Around 6 PM. You were sleeping soundly.”

Nigel was holding a bundle of papers in his hand.

His neat appearance and calm demeanor as he reviewed the documents gave him a refined intellectual air that was quite different from usual.

It was a rather unfamiliar feeling for me personally.

“I did sleep well. Though my dreams seemed unsettling. Anyway, what are you reading?”

“The academy’s lecture plan that was delivered around lunchtime. You should probably start reading it soon too, Lady Haschal.”

Nigel handed me the bundle of documents he was holding.

Yawning, I sat on the bed and skimmed through the papers I received.

—-

Remnant Academy’s curriculum is structured in completely different ways depending on the department and year of study.

For first-year students, standard education is provided through basic theory, combat techniques, practice duels, and field training to discipline the still inexperienced freshmen.

While the Mage Department offers specialized elective courses based on aptitude and schools of magic, all students in the Knight Department must uniformly take the courses listed in the lecture plan.

Of course, special admission students were exceptions.

The lecture plan itself was the same, but whether they participated or not was up to them.

If regular students refused to follow the lecture plan, they could simply be expelled, but there was no expulsion system for special admission students.

I didn’t plan to attend all the lectures either.

Courses like horsemanship or basic physical training would just be a waste of time for me.

After completing one year and becoming a second-year student, the education method changes dramatically.

The original purpose of establishing Remnant Academy was twofold:

To discover talented raw gems and polish them into Master-level experts, and to train immediate combat forces to fill the gaps among regular knights.

Therefore, from the second year at the academy, students are considered not just trainees but combat-ready forces that can be deployed immediately.

In reality, by the time they reach their second year, most academy students have skills comparable to knights.

The academy changes their educational environment to be more autonomous by adopting a kind of credit system.

From the second year, students are allowed to freely choose and take advanced courses they want.

However, to advance to the third year, they need to earn a certain number of credits, and if they fail to meet the requirement, they are mercilessly demoted to the first-year curriculum.

For those who prefer practical experience over lectures, they can earn credits by completing and reporting on dispatch missions arranged by the academy, with credits awarded based on results.

Therefore, students typically take only a few specialized courses while gaining experience and recognition through dispatch missions.

In a way, it’s not much different from being an upper institution of the Adventurer Guild.

Third-year students were already proven combat forces.

They have usually already been decided to join specific organizations such as the Imperial Knights, and are treated as reserve personnel for those organizations.

As such, they mostly live and eat with those organizations rather than at the academy, assisting with their duties.

—-

I turned the page to read the course content for first-year Knight Department students.

The first year of the Knight Department consisted of four department courses and three common courses.

Weapon Utilization and Martial Arts Integration.

Understanding the Role of Frontline.

Large-scale Cavalry Combat Training.

Intensive Physical Training.

Analysis and Study of Various Person-to-Person Combat.

Introduction to Hostile Entity Research.

Understanding of Faith.

The curriculum focused entirely on practical knowledge, making the theology course stand out as particularly incongruous.

Even subjects like “History of the Empire” that would normally be taught at an academy were excluded for lack of practicality.

Is theology an exception?

Despite the Church of Eleven Gods having separated and become an independent holy state, the influence of the church still seems to run deep within the Empire.

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

Unlike other special admission students, I wouldn’t receive living expenses from my home country or a margrave, so I needed to free up time to earn some money.

This would leave Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday open.

For the time being, I could take on requests that could be completed within two days.

From what I remember, there were still about three months before the first incident at the academy.

I should prepare in advance just in case.

Although it wasn’t directly related to Ka’har, I couldn’t know what variables might have been created by my enrollment.

“Hmm…so the entrance ceremony is tomorrow? What should I prepare?”

I put down the papers and asked Nigel.

The entrance ceremony, where I’ll once again face those gazes.

Those strong emotions mixed with rejection, as if trying to push me away.

Still, I should go and make a final check of the incoming students, so I’ll have to steel myself.

I’m curious whether all the freshman characters I remember have enrolled.

“No. Special admission students do not attend the entrance ceremony. They say it’s because our free dress code would disrupt the uniformity of the event.”

They make that much of a distinction?

It was a bit surprising, but I understood.

Well, for such events, unlike regular classes, they would care a lot about uniformity.

If I went wearing these clothes among uniformed students, I would draw attention.

In my original world too, important events often regulated attire to create a sense of unity and discipline.

“Really? Then I guess proper academy life starts the day after tomorrow. Let’s go get dinner then.”

“Yes, I’ll guide you, Lady Haschal. I heard tonight’s dinner is roast duck with aromatic herbs. I’m quite looking forward to it.”

“Sounds good… By the way, what do they eat in the general hall? First-years haven’t moved in yet, but second-years should be there, right?”

“Rye bread and fried boneless fish, I heard.”

…Isn’t that an enormous difference?

There must be noble children among the regular students too, yet they eat such things.

“Don’t you think it’s a miracle that the general hall students don’t storm the special hall with knives between their teeth?”

“Perhaps that’s why they allow bodyguards for special admission students.”

Nigel and I laughed together as we headed to the first floor.

At least, I was inwardly relieved that I could live comfortably here.