Twisted Fate

Is this what it feels like to have your foot chopped by an axe you don’t trust?

“Principal, do you have a grudge against me?”

“……”

I frowned at Rustet, who had granted me an audience, albeit reluctantly.

I always maintained a minimum level of courtesy towards superiors, but not today. A full day had passed since the commissioning ceremony, but my anger still hadn’t subsided.

A military advisory group, of all things.

It was a completely unexpected turn of events.

Of course, there were instances in the original history where some personnel from Astrakhan Military Academy were dispatched for the Eastern Civil War.

However, back then it was limited to 2nd and 3rd year students.

Logically, why would they include inexperienced cadets who have just taken their first steps as soldiers in an advisory group? They would only be a burden.

“Prepare in a week and go to the East? Isn’t it a battlefield where bullets are raining down? I’m still a first-year student. What could I possibly do?”

“I believe in your abilities, Yena. This decision was reached after discussions with the instructors. We can’t reverse the decision now.”

History has been overturned.

Rustet pushed through his opinion with firm resolve.

This is maddening.

If Rustet’s order had been limited to just ‘Eastern deployment’, I wouldn’t have been this angry.

It’s an excellent opportunity to earn achievements.

An ordinary first-year cadet might spend six months trembling in fear at the mere thought of setting foot on the battlefield, but I am a skilled soldier.

I could easily handle the Eastern warlords with their inferior weapon systems.

However, such achievements could be earned anytime later. Right now, I had a more urgent task of forming a stable faction within the military academy.

Thud!

“Here’s the dispatch list. Remember, as announced, you’re scheduled to depart on the 10th. It would be good for you to meet the cadets in advance or get familiar with their faces.”

If I had at least been able to determine the military advisory group dispatch list myself, I wouldn’t have confronted Rustet so directly.

[1st Year Eastern Military Advisory Group Dispatch List]

[Leader] Yena Freud

[Member] Kai Hartz

[Member] Hermann Heinrich Nit

[Member] Hans Stroheim

.

.

.

He’s completely made up his mind.

The list Rustet thrust at me didn’t include Erika or Lina.

They were all individuals I didn’t even know.

The number is small too.

What am I supposed to do with an advisory group of less than ten people?

Anyone could see the clear intention to isolate me in a foreign land.

It was evident that the purpose of keeping the Workers’ Party in check was reflected.

It was exactly like my previous life.

He was an old man who used to harp on about military academy discipline and whatnot, but why would this life be any different? I knew Rustet’s true intentions better than anyone.

“You’ve made up your mind, I see.”

“…I have nothing more to say to you. You may leave now.”

To wield power so recklessly out of fear of a single cadet. There couldn’t be a more ridiculous commander in the world.

It must have been humiliating to have to yield to the pressure of a mere prime minister.

Moreover, the fact that this prime minister was the ‘Corporal from Bohemia’, not a nobleman but a commoner, and a former soldier who was far below him in rank, not even an officer, must have contributed to his strong aversion.

“I’ll say one last thing before I withdraw.”

But that’s that, and this is this.

“Things won’t go as you wish, Principal.”

Regardless of the circumstances, if he puts all his effort into stripping away my power, I will gladly confront him and strive for victory.

“I too will use all my strength to carve out my own path. No matter how you act, Principal, I will find my own way.”

Rustet put down the cigar he was about to light and glared at me fiercely.

“We’ll see about that.”

But soon he sneered and put the cigarette in his mouth.

Does he still think of me as just a cadet?

If so, it’s a big misunderstanding.

It’s time to show how much power the connections carefully built over half a year by someone who knows the future can exert. With money and power, the discipline of the military academy can easily be thrown in the trash.

Creak!

I gripped the leather armchair handle in the principal’s office tightly as I stood up.

“Then I’ll be going.”

What a fleeting relationship it was.

It feels like just yesterday we were laughing and chatting together.

“Ha.”

No, it really was yesterday.

In just one day, we went from collaborators to mortal enemies.

It’s too late to turn back now.

“Take care.”

There was nothing more to say.

Click, click!

I looked down at Rustet with cold eyes and moved out of the principal’s office with the dispatch list he had thrown at me.

Crunch! Clank!

Once out in the corridor, I crumpled up the paper with the members’ names and threw it out the window.

“How dare he.”

Even if he was the Commander-in-Chief of Eastern Bern, he would be nothing but a lowly old man if he fell out of favor with the Workers’ Party. I intended to remind him of that fact.

Crisis is opportunity.

If he tries to drown me using the ploy of the Eastern Civil War, I will gladly respond to that scheme and create a new stepping stone for growth for all to see.

“It should be here…”

I reached into the pocket on my chest covered with flowing straight hair.

The most useful man among the connections I’ve gathered so far.

[Ernst von Stresemann]

I set off with the note containing his phone number.

“Y-You’re Yena Freud, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Are you really going to the East, I mean, to the battlefield?”

“Probably?”

“I see… Alright. Fighting! I’ll cheer for you!”

After negotiating with the principal and leaving the building, I had to endure the gazes of numerous cadets in the square.

“It’s Yena Freud…”

“She looks even smaller up close.”

“So she’s going to the battlefield? Amazing…”

Such reactions were somewhat expected, given that the leader appointment was conducted in front of all the students.

In reality, Rustet’s purpose was to dump me in the distant continent of the East, but for the innocent cadets who knew nothing, it was a situation they could only look up to, regardless of the circumstances.

She’s the commander of the first ever first-year military advisory group, after all.

Above all, it was bound to attract attention as it was the first ‘war’ to occur in world history since the Great War, and it was a group created for the purpose of intervening in it.

“Ugh… Yena, are you really leaving?”

“Are you going?”

My friends were no different.

“I want to go with Yena! But the list is already decided… Does this mean we’ll be separated for 6 months? I don’t like that, ugh!”

Erika and Lina seemed to be quite shocked by the news of the military advisory group dispatch.

“No, I’m currently negotiating the list again with the principal.”

“Really?”

“Is that true?”

I need to take these two with me by any means necessary.

“Yes. So I’m asking, if you have the chance to join the advisory group as members, would you? It’s a deployment to a battlefield, so it’ll be dangerous…”

“That doesn’t matter! I’ll just follow Yena.”

“And you, Lina?”

“I’ll go too. School doesn’t seem like it would be much fun without you.”

I alternately looked at their resolute expressions as they answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Is comradeship more important than one’s own life?

Despite the burdensome proposal, they willingly nodded.

This is why, if I had to go to the East, I had to take them with me even if it meant confronting Rustet. There was no one else who gave me this much trust.

It’s a good mindset.

I hoped these two wouldn’t lose their current resolve. That way, I could continue to trust and rely on them. Life without comrades is very tough.

“But is it possible? The list has already been decided…”

Erika couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked. Lina seemed to share the same opinion, nodding her head and shifting her gaze towards me.

It was a reasonable question to be skeptical about.

Rustet usually didn’t reverse his orders once given.

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

Honestly, I didn’t know either.

How could I?

We were just in a battle of wills until moments ago.

The only option was to trust Ernst.

“…that’s the situation. Can you help? I only have a week left as I’m being deployed on the 10th, so it’s quite urgent.”

“Hang up for now. Let me look into it.”

Before coming out to the square, I called him using Gartel’s office.

I hadn’t received a definite answer yet. If it were a request without burden, it might be different, but since it was a demand that would put him at odds with the commander overseeing the entire East, there was a possibility he might refuse.

If I had spent the semester productively and secured his trust sufficiently, a good outcome would await, and if not, I’d just have to bow my head to the principal.

The die has been cast.

Either the Eastern dispatch would be completely nullified, or the member list would be changed according to my preferences.

I didn’t consider any other options besides these two.

I only looked forward and moved ahead.

In any case.

I hope a positive future awaits.

“Let’s go eat lunch.”

The matter was now out of my hands.

I patted my growling stomach and moved towards the cafeteria.