D-Day

A gentle breeze passed through the curtains of the window and brushed against my cheek. Before I knew it, the darkness covering the ground had lifted, and as the sun rose, warm sunlight enveloped my body.

“Let us always protect and defend the Empire with brotherly affection and as officers of the state, always guarding Bern who reigns over all things!”

At the same time, the Empire’s military song was broadcast, announcing that the morning of the individual duel day had finally dawned.

“Hmm…”

My eyes opened to the continuing song. As always, I got up from bed, tied my messy hair, and headed to the bathroom with my eyes closed, dragging my feet.

Shhh─!

And only after turning on the water and wetting my body did I come to my senses.

‘Mornings are always hard to get up.’

It’s tiring because they always wake me up when I want to sleep just a little more. Well, waking up consistently is a soldier’s duty, so there’s not much to say about it.

“Cadet Yena Freud? Your meal is here.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Enjoy your meal. As it’s the last meal you’ll eat at the training ground, the Federation side has prepared a delicious meal, hoho.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

I finished showering and dried my hair while putting on underwear and a shirt. And I received the breakfast that arrived just in time.

‘This isn’t bad at all.’

It was as the middle-aged elven woman who came to the dormitory every day to serve meals said.

Of course, the composition of the food wasn’t bad even before when thick soup and bread were provided, but it couldn’t compare to this menu with thickly grilled meat as its centerpiece.

Looks like they put in some effort since it’s the last day. It was unusual to serve such a feast from the first meal of the day.

“This is quite edible.”

Anyway, it was a situation where I just had to enjoy it, so I stopped thinking any further and picked up a fork and knife to enjoy the current dish.

‘Yesterday’s pineapple pizza was delicious too.’

Meanwhile, I recalled memories from the previous day.

Meeting Instructor Gartel when I just went to enjoy fighting monsters, the in-depth conversation I had with him, and finally the food that pleased my taste buds.

As I spent time taking a peaceful rest, the events of yesterday came to mind for no reason.

‘Did I leave it here?’

Accordingly, my gaze naturally turned to the storage cabinet next to the bed. More precisely, my eyes were drawn to a piece of paper located at the very top, right next to the lamp.

“He said to contact him when needed, didn’t he…”

“Ah, Yena. I have something to give you.”

“Is that so?”

“Although it’s only been a week of acquaintance, I’ve taken a liking to you. I’m reluctant to let you go after the joint training. So I prepared this in advance.”

“This is…”

“Feel free to use it. There’s no need to be formal, rather I’d prefer if you weren’t uncomfortable. I’d like you to see it as a gift from an instructor.”

I smiled slightly as I recollected the conversation from the day before, while looking at the item I had received during the pineapple pizza tasting.

It was about the size of a business card that I had encountered countless times in my past life. No, even in terms of content, it reminded me of a business card.

Why?

[If you ever need anything later, let me know. Don’t get hurt during training and grow diligently! / If you want to contact me, send a communication to this.]

Title and phone number.

Aren’t these two things briefly indicated just like that? If only the paper quality was a bit harder, not for notebooks, it would have been acceptable to consider it a business card.

‘I didn’t expect to receive even the director’s number.’

That’s why I was surprised.

I never imagined that Serti would share his personal contact information with a mere cadet like me. Even without Gartel, I now had a channel to communicate with the research director, right?

There was no need to persuade Gartel to exchange letters or such with Serti anymore, now I could just pick up the phone whenever I had time and tell the operator the number.

Even if I was in Astrakhan, dozens of kilometers away from here, I could communicate with Serti without any problems.

‘Have I gained another unexpected benefit?’

Isn’t it killing two birds with one stone since I received this item while enjoying the taste of pineapple pizza? Because of that, although I couldn’t do monster resistance training for long yesterday, I spent my time meaningfully and had no regrets.

Click─

Perhaps due to the not-so-boring thoughts, I quickly stacked the finished plates in the corner of the desk and headed to the wardrobe.

I put on the military academy uniform over a white shirt, changed from pajamas to a mini-skirt style bottom, and neatly tied my black hair into a ponytail.

Finally, I put on a well-folded cap at a right angle and smiled as I faced the mirror.

‘As expected, the Empire makes good clothes.’

The well-angled silhouette of the clothes, the color of the outfit creating a dark yet fierce atmosphere, the eagle that looked like it could flutter and fly away at any moment.

It boasted excellent appearance.

If I went out on the street dressed like this, instead of feeling embarrassed, it would rather subtly stimulate a sense of superiority and patriotism.

‘That’s why I can’t dislike the Empire.’

I liked the Empire because I could feel satisfaction from these trivial things. While I might hate the foolish leadership, I didn’t feel aversion to the motherland itself for this reason.

‘Isn’t that why I’m making efforts?’

To gradually build a foundation and create a foothold to cut out the rotting upper echelons. And isn’t that why I’m living diligently to fill those positions with capable and outstanding individuals?

Absolutely,

I couldn’t bear to see the Empire, which had now truly become ‘my country’ in the real sense, collapse. I had to change the predetermined ending.

‘Of course, I don’t want to die either.’

Otherwise, only a bleak end would await me.

“All cadets of Astrakhan Military Academy, please assemble at the square immediately. I repeat. As the individual duel is about to begin…”

Finally, a woman’s voice announced that the schedule was about to start. I immediately took my eyes off the mirror and moved to the door.

Creak─!

And right away I pulled the handle to come out, and moved along the straight corridor to the dormitory’s main entrance.

“Yena, good morning!”

“Erika, fighting for today too.”

“Yes!”

When I suddenly encountered Erika greeting me cheerfully, I led her along and moved forward together.

An old man with a splendid beard,

─Has everyone gathered?

Towards Principal Lustet preparing for his speech.

“Come this way.”

“Got it!”

Signs indicating classes were planted here and there. I moved my feet following those signs, taking Erika with me.

-Is today the last day?

-Seems like it.

-Didn’t they say they’d give money to the best student? If I get that, I could use the canteen without limit at least.

With each step I took, the bustling crowd came into view. As many people filled the open space simultaneously like during the entrance ceremony and survival training, a chaotic scene unfolded.

“Ugh, there are too many kids.”

“I know.”

“I can’t see in front…”

Moreover, since both Erika and I are not very tall, we had to experience greater discomfort than other cadets.

Still, the children here shouldn’t worry about where to go, right? Each of them has their own destination and is busy moving their feet?

‘Is this the right way?’

However, since I couldn’t see properly in front, I had to rely only on my sense of direction. Of course, it was the same for Erika, so we held hands tightly and walked together.

Only then,

“We’ve arrived.”

“That was really tough…”

We finally reached our intended destination.

“Erika, I think it would be better for you to stand over there.”

“Okay! See you in a bit, Yena!”

“Sure.”

I immediately sent Erika off and stood in line.

Thud, thud!

Then, with perfect timing, the sound of the microphone rang out through the loudspeaker. The chatter that had been rampant in the open space immediately ceased at that single sound effect.

Because everyone knew.

That the sound of tapping that microphone was none other than the principal of the military academy and the commander managing the eastern part of the Empire,

─It’s been a while, cadets.

Principal Lustet.

---

“How is it going?”

“It seems to have started.”

While there are people giving speeches under the scorching sun, there are also those spending a day no different from usual in their office,

“Then let’s start preparing.”

“Yes!”

“You lead the team members and move.”

“Understood!”

Gartel, who belonged to that category, immediately stopped his work and got up as soon as he heard the news that Principal Lustet had finally opened his mouth.

Clang─!

Then he grabbed his coat.

‘I need to prepare before the principal arrives.’

To arrive at his office before Lustet came, to properly handle the plan he was about to proceed with, he absolutely needed to get his permission.

That’s the only way to catch him without violating regulations, isn’t it?

Manfred, that bastard.

The plan mentioned earlier was all related to that guy. To be more specific, it corresponded to the operations he had been telling his direct subordinates about for a long time.

‘It’s already started.’

Under the pretext of a simple witness investigation, calling out Manfred and a few maintenance officers, then leaving only Manfred behind, searching his office while conducting a pressuring investigation…

To carry out this series of processes, Gartel’s subordinates, including the secretary, had already been moving for a long time.

‘Now there’s nothing more to wait for.’

The training preparations would have been finished early this morning, from this time on there was no problem at all in detaining Manfred for a long time.

It meant he could finally release the anger he had been suppressing.

He didn’t want to forgive the guy who tried to kill Yena, but he had to just watch, right? And now the opportunity has come. In any case, he shouldn’t think of letting it pass peacefully.

“Hehehe…”

Gartel clenched his fist with a smile full of killing intent.

By now, the people under his command would have surely arrived. Some would be searching Manfred’s room, and others would be bringing in all the people related to him.

It was a systematic movement indeed.

It proved how much Gartel had been grinding his teeth.

It also showed how much he cherished and valued Yena. If he had no interest in her at all, he wouldn’t have bothered to form an investigation team.

He would have just dismissed it as a happening and ignored it.

But Yena was not such a worthless being, she was more precious than anything else and a child with greater inherent importance than any other cadet. That’s why he was more attached to her.

“…I must protect her no matter what.”

For the sake of that small and petite girl, he would move boldly anytime. Gartel made up his mind like this as he put his coat over his shoulders.

Thud─! Thud─!

Then he left his office and headed towards the principal’s room, which would still be empty.

He moved without hesitation as there was no turning back now.

It could be called taking action first and reporting later, as he was already conducting a witness investigation that should have been done after getting permission, so he had to get the principal’s approval somehow.

‘Only then can it be considered a legal action.’

If Principal Lustet didn’t allow the current actions, it would be clear that he had acted in complete violation of the military academy’s regulations, which would be very troublesome.

At this time when few people knew about the confidential investigation, he needed to quickly get permission to give legitimacy to his actions.

For Yena’s sake, and even if not for that, to eliminate potential danger factors that might still remain.

‘I need to extract a confession as soon as possible since we don’t know what he might have done to the training equipment for the individual duel…’

A situation full of suspicion but lacking physical evidence.

If he could get official search consent from the principal quickly and mobilize professional personnel and many people, there was a possibility of obtaining evidence that could turn suspicion into certainty.

Whether going around or straight, meeting the principal was the top priority now.

“Well, it looks like it’s going to be a long day.”

Anxiety about what to do if the operation fails, a bit of frustration about what if Manfred wasn’t actually the culprit he thought he was, and so on,

Hiss, flare─!

Gartel lit his pipe to calm his inner mind where various emotions were crossing, and stepped towards the principal’s office.