Revisiting Sevirpol

“On April 28th of Imperial Year 133, President Chang Kai of the Eastern National Government declared the Northern Expedition. The Xinyu, Chayun, Dongxi, Qinghui, and Uruchi warlords unanimously opposed the National Government’s unilateral breach of the peace agreement and formed an anti-Chang alliance…”

I took a sip of tea with a wafting grapefruit aroma and continued reading the newspaper.

“…They condemned Chang Kai’s dictatorship and pushed for the organization of a new national government. The National Government sent an ultimatum to each warlord yesterday, and as of today, has mobilized troops to advance into the Xinyu region.”

With this, the curtain on the Central Plains War has risen…

Thud─

I closed the newspaper, silently skipping the journalist’s one-line review at the end. Today’s media reports were full of news about the East.

Is this the first large-scale local war since the Great War?

Although it was a war between minor countries in a distant land, not in the Western main stage of great powers, war was war. Especially in the East, where the population was overflowing, the scale of the battlefield would be on par with that of great powers.

Not only Bern but also the Federation, the British Empire, the Gallic Republic, and the United States. The whole world would be watching the developments in the East.

Well, for Bern, it might just be something to chew on and savor.

I didn’t think other great powers would be any different.

President Chang Kai’s lust for conquest finally led to the breach of the peace treaty, declaring the Northern Expedition, that is, a war of extermination against all existing countries in the East. The goal was solely the unification of the Central Plains, the formation of a single government centered on the Kuomintang.

It was a very grand cause. Doesn’t it remind you of the Central Plains during the ancient era of warring states? It was truly the revival of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period.

However, if the participating countries were only small nations without proper military organizations, frankly speaking, inferior countries, it would be just gossip. The great powers said to be watching closely would treat it as just that.

Just as no country in modern times seriously looked at the endless conflicts repeating in Africa.

However, if there’s one thing that the Western world, which wouldn’t fear even if all the people of the East shouldered guns and swords, is uniquely concerned about…

Flutter!

Could it be the Yamato Empire?

I took out the newspaper I had neatly folded and put aside on the desk corner and stared at the map drawn on the front page. More precisely, I fixed my gaze on one country bordering the Eastern National Government.

The Yamato Empire, the only country in the East that successfully modernized and gained the status of a victorious nation in the Great War, even acquiring Bern’s colonies.

The elderly leaders of each country will surely be wary of them, like cunning foxes.

They had a record of subjugating one of the warlords by taking advantage of when the National Government waged a Central Plains War like now. I had no doubt that they were seriously considering intervention to keep the Yamato Empire in check if necessary.

“Unnecessary worry.”

However, I chuckled while emptying the contents of my cup. It was a smile filled with optimism that only one who knows the beginning and end of history could express.

The Yamato Empire does actually invade the East and war breaks out, but this was a future event that would unfold only after graduating from the military academy.

There might be some commotion due to the Central Plains War for a while, but it would be wrapped up soon, and then pass peacefully as if nothing had happened.

“Yena! I bought cake!”

“Oh, you’re back earlier than I expected?”

I just needed to focus on the three years of cadet life ahead.

“I guess there weren’t many people because it’s the weekend.”

“That’s good, is that why you bought so much?”

“Yes! They had a lot of stock left, hehe…”

Erika, who had left for the bakery with several banknotes, returned with various pastries including cheesecake.

“Is it that delicious?”

“Yes! Everything else is delicious too, but especially this cake is amazing? I couldn’t forget this sweetness for a while even after returning to school, phew…”

The cake she was praising with a smitten expression was a food sold in Sevirpol. When we briefly visited this area for joint training, she seemed to have been completely captivated after tasting it, judging by her unusual gaze.

It would have been a big problem if I hadn’t brought her.

“Oh, is Lina going to present too?”

“I’ll reveal it on the actual test day. Actually, I haven’t finished the details of the report yet, so I’ll just listen to your two presentations today.”

“I-I see… Then it’s Yena’s turn now, right?”

“No, I’m planning to present on the day too. I think it’ll be more dramatic that way.”

“Ugh, okay…”

On the day we gathered in the small conference room to rehearse the research project, she seemed quite upset that only she earnestly presented while the rest of us opted out.

Before coming to Sevirpol, no, even after arriving until we visited the bakery, there was a gloom in her expression. Given her generally emotional nature, she seemed to have taken this small incident as being left out by friends.

“Mmm, this is the taste!”

It was fortunate that Erika’s mood improved when her cheeks were stuffed full of cake. Otherwise, Erika’s gloomy days might have continued.

We should do mana training according to her condition.

We visited Sevirpol to assist Director Serty’s monster research. According to the military academy’s administrative procedures, for a cadet to visit a research institute owned by the Federation, it was impossible without an educational purpose.

Fundamentally, magic officer candidates were beings that should never be revealed to the outside, so they couldn’t go out for personal appointments.

This showed that the act of preparing the ‘Sevirpol Expedition Education Program’ through Instructor Gartel until now wasn’t a mere waste of time.

Over a long period of two weeks, we finally received permission to visit the Sevirpol Research Institute under the special purpose of education.

It would be a shame to go alone.

“Eat slowly, I’ll order coffee for you too.”

“Oh, thank you!”

Although the Astrakhan Military Academy is excellent, the Sevirpol Research Institute was far superior in terms of facilities built to enhance mana training and magical proficiency, to the point where comparison would be unfair. In vulgar terms, there was a need to make the most of it.

Who knows when we’ll be able to use the Sevirpol Research Institute again? In the current situation where I was praying for Erika’s additional awakening, we had to make the most of it.

Click, click!

“You’re not late?”

“C-Could it be that the three participants were like this?”

To the extent that some might consider it preferential treatment.

While Erika was enjoying a refreshing lunch, a girl with a familiar silhouette, Lina, found her way to the café without getting lost. She looked alternately at Erika and me, unable to close her mouth.

The maximum number of participants in Gartel’s planned education program was three. The members were filled with somehow familiar cadets.

In an education program that was supposed to be drawn by lottery for all candidates, coincidentally an entire group from his class was selected. No normal person would cry foul upon witnessing this scene.

It was a selection clearly intervened by someone’s will.

“Yes, it seems so.”

But who would dare to oppose the decision of the second most influential figure in the Astrakhan Military Academy after Rustet? Unless one committed a serious violation of military law like embezzlement, this level was lightly tolerated under the beautiful term of ‘love for disciples’.

The only man who could put a brake on this would be the principal, but the one I knew was an old man who would turn a blind eye to private matters if it could promote the growth of cadets.

“Really… should this be considered amazing…”

Lina closed her eyes that had been wide open and let out a big sigh, then took a seat opposite Erika.

“Nom, so what’s the plan? It’s not just a day… we have to digest a schedule of up to eight times, once a week until the aptitude test.”

She then asked while eating a piece of cheesecake with a spoon.

If it had been a proper program, Lina wouldn’t have asked like this. But the education we participated in was just a hastily arranged matter for visiting Sevirpol, with no particular curriculum prepared.

However, if you don’t have teeth, you chew with your gums.

I had everything figured out.

“You’ll be sparring with Erika.”

“What?”

Lina’s purpose for being called corresponded to Erika’s growth.

“Gulp─! M-Me with Lina?”

There was only a week left until the research project, and at most two months until the aptitude test began. To succeed in additional awakening within the time limit, a stimulus to awaken Erika’s competitive spirit was required.

There was no one more suitable for that than Lina.

She was the only one in the class who was Erika’s match.

Erika’s technical aspects had been highly advanced at an incredible speed due to special training. In boxing sparring, the outcome couldn’t be guaranteed due to physical differences between men and women, but the ability I wanted to see wasn’t of that kind.

In a brawl using mana that transcends human categories, no one but Lina, who had both overwhelming talent and effort, could stand against her.

If it were the beginning of the semester, there would have been that guy Wolf, but he had disappeared somewhere far away…

“Erika.”

Moreover, I preferred to be an observer rather than a participant in the sparring, meticulously analyzing movements and pointing out areas for improvement, so now I wanted to evaluate this child from afar.

“Erika.”

“B-But Lina is incredibly strong…”

I handed a handkerchief to Erika, who had cake crumbs all over her mouth. At the same time, I raised the corners of my mouth while meeting her deer-like, bright eyes.

“If you win, I’ll let you.”

“Touch my cheeks again.”