Group Announcement for First Years

What a charming man.

I was tempted. Not in a strange way, but as a soldier, as an officer, I wanted to draw him to my side.

Although his dismissive attitude was evident when we first met and I hadn’t revealed my identity, I didn’t mind at all. Rather, I liked that cold aspect of Derian.

It means he judges only based on ability, right?

He was cold at first because he had no interest in a candidate who hadn’t proven anything yet, but when he learned I was a cadet praised by Gartel, he treated me warmly, didn’t he?

In the end, whether commoner or noble, if one’s skills were good, he would give appropriate treatment accordingly, so I was satisfied.

“Still, you shouldn’t expect to be favored just because you received a recommendation letter. I haven’t seen your abilities with my own eyes yet.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You can go now. Ah, of course, you don’t need to take the entrance examination. Don’t worry about failing either. Just come to the induction ceremony on the scheduled date.”

Click─!

As soon as he finished speaking, I aligned my legs, making a sound with my boots. Then I took the imperial salute posture.

“Then I’ll be going. For the Empire.”

“Right, good work.”

I was about to leave the office after confirming that Derian had turned his gaze back to the folded newspaper, but…

“Ah.”

Suddenly struck by a question in my mind, I asked one last thing.

“I’d like to greet Officer Lutz as well, could you tell me where he is? I know he’s in charge of the Planning Department, but he doesn’t seem to be here.”

It seems he does work here.

I was certain after seeing another empty work desk beside Derian. Moreover, on it was a document titled “Basic Strategy for Armored Operations” authored by Oswald Lutz.

“Hmm, unfortunately, he won’t be here for another month. He’s been temporarily dispatched to the capital as an instructor.”

“I see……”

The answer that burst from his lips was unexpected.

He left for field training.

Oswald Lutz was the very person who would establish the Empire’s armored operation tactics in the future, I wanted to have close conversations with him and engage in military discussions, so it was very disappointing.

But if he went for field training, wouldn’t an instructor come from the capital to this Astrakhan Military Academy as well?

I wonder who it could be.

“Is it possible to know who’s coming?”

It was an opportunity to make a new connection, and if it was a promising instructor, it would be good to build a close relationship for the future, I looked down at Derian with an excited heart.

“I don’t know that either yet. I was just told they’d arrive in about a week.”

But this too was unknown.

Tsk, how disappointing.

“I understand, then thank you for your time.”

After briefly glancing at the empty chair where Lutz would have been, I bowed to Derian. Returning to the door I had come through,

Creak!

I left the department room, looking forward to the day of the induction ceremony.

Click.

---

In the training ground full of rocky soil,

I moved freely across the hard ground.

Whoosh!

My sleeves and loosened hair fluttered this way and that according to the direction I was moving.

“Hup─!”

In less than an instant, when I reached right in front of the target, as always, I drew out blue mana and firmly armed my arm with freezing magic.

Crash─!

Then grabbing the frozen part with my other arm, I swung with all my might.

Though it wasn’t completely crushed, the target suffered considerable damage, enough to roll on the ground. But not satisfied, I immediately closed the distance and launched follow-up strikes.

Thud, thud!

Only after damaging it to a level that couldn’t be sold as scrap metal did I burst out the breath I had been holding and stretch.

“Hah─!”

Training is always refreshing indeed.

Already three days since department applications began, I looked around at my steadily developing body with a light heart.

Though only a few days had passed, the changes were remarkable.

I had already adapted to my smaller body, so attacks became more streamlined, and by practicing by firing mana recklessly, I gained a more substantial mana capacity than when I first enrolled.

Even my utilization ability had become more advanced.

Whether it was reality or virtual, in ‘Academy 1945’ where I had handled magic thousands of times, reality was reality, and I felt awkward every time I used mana.

I might have been better than the cadets, but relatively speaking, I was clumsy compared to the past.

But the problem was solved by continuously handling mana. Even if I go all out like this, half of my mana remains, right?

Not only did I just get stronger, but I also overcame technical immaturity.

“Phew.”

Whoosh─!

I wiped away the sweat flowing from my nape to my chest and brushed off the sand grains stuck to my cheeks. Then I tidied my long hair with a hair tie I hadn’t had before.

“She said she gave it to me because it looked uncomfortable……”

It was a gift from Erika.

To her eyes as a woman by birth, it must have looked cumbersome to tie my hair with something picked up from a temporary lodging, so she personally bought a hair tie and tied it for me.

Thanks to that, my hair no longer tangled in the tie. It was much more comfortable as it didn’t tickle my nape anymore.

If I had known this, I should have bought one earlier.

Click, rustle─!

Anyway, since training was over, I put on the coat I had neatly folded in a corner of the open space and prepared to head to the dormitory.

Then returning to the entrance of the training ground, I set foot again on the path I had come.

Thud, thud.

Not wanting to show anyone my training, I had come to a deserted training ground on purpose, so I didn’t encounter anyone on the way back. Only the sound of my footsteps could be heard.

Of course, it was normal not to meet any cadets or instructors as the sun was setting and curfew time was approaching.

But what is this sense of discomfort?

“……”

Clicking my tongue briefly, I scanned the trees swaying in the wind.

Rustle─!

If it was an illusion the day before yesterday, suspicion yesterday, today it was certainty. For several days, a presence that made me nervous had been lingering around. It was more than a little uncomfortable.

It keeps making me train passively.

As much as I’d like to catch them immediately and confirm their identity…

I must endure.

I maintained my pace, deliberately ignoring the gaze fixed on the back of my head.

If someone is really watching me from somewhere, and that unnamed person is tailing me with some intention, shouldn’t I catch them somehow?

That’s why I didn’t react. There was no need to make them realize their tailing had been noticed and run away.

Like driving a beast into a snare, I need to thoroughly plan and capture them.

I was satisfied at least with noticing that someone was following. It was thanks to my mana sensitivity that was on a different level from others. Other cadets would never have known.

Crackle, crackle!

“Hm?”

When I had reached about halfway to the dormitory, suddenly static burst from a speaker installed by the roadside.

“Ah, ahem──, announcing to the first-year cadets of Astrakhan Military Academy”

Soon after, a deep voice filled the entire military academy.

“Regarding the training schedule, a major notice has been posted in the plaza, so everyone please check it. I repeat. A major notice has been posted in the plaza, so everyone please check……”

“Rustet?”

The owner of the voice was none other than the Chief Commander of the military academy.

What schedule is he announcing?

It was quite an unusual broadcast. Normally, they would gather cadets in the plaza when roll call time begins.

“……I guess I should go check it out.”

I turned on my heel, recalling each word he had said.

---

Early evening as the sun was setting.

“This can’t be……”

Helena bit her lip while tucking her short hair behind her ear.

‘What is she hiding?’

She had vowed to uncover all of Yena Freud’s secrets. But in stark contrast to that determination, she couldn’t confirm any ‘reportable’ characteristics from her.

‘Could it be……’

Was her tailing discovered? It might be a coincidence once, but as this situation repeated, anxiety crept in.

“No, that’s impossible.”

Helena shook her head vigorously, trying to erase the uneasy feeling.

No matter how highly she rated Yena’s abilities, she herself was a head maid professionally trained by the imperial family, and a former soldier who had even served as a magic officer.

It doesn’t make sense.

Moreover, isn’t Yena Freud’s mana grade 7?

She possessed overall abilities exceeding grade 3. At this level, even cadets about to graduate would struggle to detect her presence, so the possibility of being discovered was virtually non-existent.

Rustle─!

Helena stopped following Yena and came out of the bushes, entering the alley of a nearby deserted building.

“Haah……”

And looking up at the sky dyed bright red by the sunset,

Thud─

She hit her head against the concrete outer wall.

‘I didn’t try hard enough.’

Helena berated herself, feeling the pain in her forehead.

She must have messed up the job due to insufficient devotion towards Rina, the princess.

She bit her lips, then clenched her jaw until her teeth met. A sense of crisis gripped her entire body.

‘To be tied up by a little brat who doesn’t even seem to have finished growing.’

She had to overcome this situation somehow. Even if the princess had become cold-hearted after being abandoned once, she couldn’t make her feel doubtful again.

That is repentance and apology.

“……I have no choice but to use more force.”

She firmly resolved with calm eyes filled with unwavering conviction.

If there are no results even with this, she decided to try all possible methods, from visiting the dormitory where Yena is staying to even ransacking the house where she stayed before coming to the military academy.

She would just check for any helpful information secretly and leave. She was confident she could do it without causing harm to the princess.

‘It’s the first operation I’m carrying out since coming to the military academy…… I must execute it perfectly.’

Thud, thud.

Helena emerged from the dark alley. The early evening sunset, tinged with red and scarlet, illuminated her face.

“Announcing to the first-year cadets……”

She flew to the rooftop of a building, keeping pace with the broadcast that happened to be heard. Then she headed towards the dormitory, leaping from building to building.

Whoosh, whoosh─!

To clean the room before the princess, who had stepped out briefly, returned, and to prepare dinner for her.