BCTC (Bern Empire Scientific Training)

With the cadets gone, the Sevirpol training ground soon became quiet. Upon completing the joint training schedule, most officers could rest until returning to Astrakhan.

Although some personnel who had to manage the cadets were dispatched, the rest spent their time peacefully.

But there was one man who was intensely moving around Sevirpol,

Thud─! Thud─!

Gartel passed through various parts of the corridor with urgent steps.

It was completely different compared to the instructors drinking warm coffee and sleeping in their offices.

Although he too must have successfully completed his tasks, there was no trace of relaxation on Gartel’s face, rather he looked rushed.

As if being chased by something, he was the only one moving through the building with urgent gestures in Sevirpol.

Passing through long corridors, climbing stairs at the end of the building, and passing through corridors again…

Gartel, holding a pipe in one hand and unexplained documents in the other, breathed out white smoke from the pipe as if he were a steam locomotive,

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He stepped forward incessantly.

Where to?

To the principal’s office where Lustet would be.

“…I absolutely can’t miss this.”

Gartel expressed his anger, trembling the hand holding the documents.

He absolutely… absolutely couldn’t forgive the fact that a piece of trash not even worthy of being called an officer, who had squandered all his money on gambling, had touched a student he was educating.

He trembled even more at the fact that the target of that guy was none other than Yena.

She might become my successor in the future, and even if not, she’s a precious talent for the nation who will contribute to the Empire struggling in the swamp of defeat,

‘That bastard dares to try to kill her.’

For an officer of the Astrakhan Military Academy, who should treat cadets more preciously than anyone else, to do such a thing, it’s crossing a line that should not be crossed.

It was unforgivable.

He felt he wouldn’t be satisfied unless he sent the guy to a court-martial.

Knock, knock─

“Are you in?”

“Hm, isn’t it Administrator Gartel. Come in.”

“Then excuse me.”

That was the reason he sought out Principal Lustet.

“Your speech today was excellent.”

“Hoho, thank you.”

Gartel put out his pipe as he entered the principal’s office, and gave a light bow towards Lustet.

“Will you have some coffee?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Hm? You’re not drinking?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, I see. Take a seat.”

And he sat on the sofa following his gesture.

“So, what’s the reason for your visit? Looking at your expression… it doesn’t seem like you came just to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee.”

Only then did the real conversation begin.

“Your face looks like you have some worry.”

Lustet, with the experience gained from rolling around in the military for decades, penetrated Gartel’s inner thoughts at once and asked a question.

“I need your help, Principal.”

“Hm?”

And Gartel answered the question directly without beating around the bush.

‘Because you prefer this.’

It was all behavior presented in consideration of Lustet’s tendencies. Knowing well that continuing questions that go around the subject was what the principal disliked most, he immediately got to the point.

In the first place, he responded like this thinking what kind of talk would work in front of this snake-like old man.

Even though he had entered old age, his eyes were so intelligent, how could he sift through the principal? It’s best to just honestly reveal the inside story and not give any openings.

Isn’t that easier too? Thinking so, Gartel gently placed the document envelope he had been holding on the table.

“First, please take this.”

Then he pushed it forward in front of the principal.

This was the subject and core of this conversation,

[Arrest and Search Warrant for Manfredo von Eckart and 3 Others]

It was a consent form for arresting the maintenance officer.

“Hmm…?”

Lustet stared at Gartel with a bewildered gaze.

As it was a very sudden request, deep wrinkles formed on the principal’s forehead as well.

If he had given some hint it would be understandable, but it was too out of the blue a request. When Gartel first came, he thought he would make claims like “Let’s add some training programs!” at most,

But this was a demand that lightly shattered that prediction.

Moreover, the fact that the target for arrest was a high-ranking maintenance officer who had managed and supervised all equipment during this joint training period couldn’t be overlooked.

“If you carelessly use an arrest warrant, it could become very troublesome. You know that if you accidentally detain an innocent person, it could be seen as a kind of abuse of power, right?”

“Yes.”

“If it were someone else, I would have just kicked them out, but since you’re pleading, well, is there some untold story?”

So he asked back without delay.

Why make such a drastic request? You, who have never submitted an arrest warrant before, what resolution have you made to want to investigate the maintenance officer?

“Whew, we have plenty of time, so tell me calmly.”

Lustet leaned his upper body forward, resting his hands on the armrests, and carefully inquired.

“Yes, understood.”

He opened his ears wide to Gartel’s slowly opening lips.

“It’s nothing else but as I was personally investigating the diving equipment malfunction incident I reported before, this result…”

“Just in case, I looked into the movement records at the time by selecting suspects. That’s when Manfred’s name first popped up…”

“Through this search, I want to carry out evidence collection activities like securing materials, and to punish Manfred, so like this…”

He listened intently to every word flowing from his throat.

As mentioned earlier, if he were an ordinary officer, he wouldn’t have listened to such an explanation and would have rather applied the crime of impiety for violating the military academy rules and conducting a personal investigation,

But the other party was Administrator Gartel, who had been assisting him at the military academy for the past few years. Judging by the aspects he had shown so far, he was certain that this was not a story brought up without basis.

So he listened to his explanation to the end.

“That’s all.”

And Lustet did not regret that decision.

“Huh…”

Rather, he sighed in relief, stroking his chest at the fact that he might have passed by without knowing.

He judged it was a good choice.

Even he himself thought it was really strange.

The more he listened to Gartel’s claims, the more his doubts grew about the qualifications of the maintenance officer named Manfred von Eckart.

“You say he targeted Yena?”

“Yes.”

“And he’s the one who broke the diving equipment?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hehe, he’s not some Allied spy or anything…”

Now he understood why he was asked to sign the arrest warrant.

If he had been digesting these facts alone, the stress must have been no joke, so it was understandable and even relatable that he thrust out this document without considering the consequences.

“But you only have circumstantial evidence, don’t you? There’s an abundance of unsavory circumstances, but you still don’t have any physical evidence?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“And yet you, Administrator, are asking me to approve this?”

“…”

But signing this document here was a separate issue.

“To protect a cadet, hehe.”

Lustet leaned back against the backrest and tapped the table with his finger. Then he glared at Gartel with cold eyes like those of a fierce beast.

Soon after, he shifted his gaze to the documents on the desk with an expression full of anguish about how to conclude this incident.

For him, showing support for Gartel’s subjectivity was quite an adventurous decision.

No matter how suspicious this Manfred guy is, isn’t there a possibility he’s not guilty, there was plenty of room for Gartel to have defined the incident biasedly.

If the administrator had only presented arguments favorable to himself, and he fell for that trap?

It would be a huge disgrace both as a principal and as an Imperial officer.

So to prevent such problems in advance, it was an implicit custom to listen to explanations from all parties involved, check testimonies from people around to see if anyone was lying, and then make a judgment.

“Can you be confident your speculation is correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then go ahead.”

“…Pardon?”

But Lustet nodded.

“Normally I would have conducted an investigation through official procedures, but there’s not much training time left, right? You said Manfred needs to be detained before the officer destroys evidence?”

“Th-That’s right.”

“I’ll give you the knife handle once, so swing it. Considering the trust so far, I’ll believe in you once.”

Although it could become a big burden to return in the future, he elegantly scrawled his name on the document Gartel brought without any particular reluctance,

Scribble, scribble─!

“I will repay your trust.”

Gartel bowed deeply to express his gratitude for the principal’s action.

‘I didn’t think he’d approve right away.’

He smiled at the corners of his mouth while bending his waist at a right angle.

As it was such an important topic, he expected a long war of words. Since he came so suddenly, he didn’t think Lustet would gladly accept this consent form.

But look at this situation now.

Isn’t reality flowing in the exact opposite of the negative outlook he had? From Gartel’s perspective, it was an unexpected gain, so his face couldn’t help but brighten.

“However, if your words turn out to be wrong, you’ll have to bear the responsibility for it. And I hope you keep in mind that it could threaten your position, Gartel.”

Even though Lustet’s warnings were heard sporadically, the smile on his face showed no signs of fading.

How could he be afraid when he had already firmly made up his mind to receive proper treatment for failure?

‘There’s absolutely no way that will happen, Principal.’

Rather, Lustet’s advice ignited Gartel’s will.

He vowed to perfectly end the case so that his position would never be threatened. To take measures so that Yena wouldn’t be harmed, and to welcome a peaceful daily life again.

He swore inwardly several times,

“Then I’ll be going.”

He got up from the sofa.

“I hope we can meet with smiles next time.”

“You don’t need to worry.”

“Hehe, alright. I hope my worry just remains a passing concern too. I don’t want to meet you in a courtroom.”

After exchanging final pleasantries with Lustet,

Squeak, click─!

He left the principal’s office.

---

It had been two hours since leaving the Sevirpol training ground, and several dozens of minutes since arriving at the Federation’s ruined city and getting off the truck.

And finally, now that I had finished putting on all the equipment,

“It fits perfectly.”

I muttered alone while standing on the yellow soil.

The fit of the protective gear custom-made for each cadet’s body by the military academy gave considerable satisfaction.

‘It’s even better than during the Secret House training.’

It wasn’t particularly heavy, rather it was more comfortable than any equipment I had used so far. Yesterday, the part touching my skin was a bit uncomfortable, but now there’s nothing that bothers me at all?

At this rate, it wouldn’t hinder movement at all.

There wasn’t much to wear in the first place.

I had thought that since the upcoming individual duel was said to use all the latest technology existing in the current era, we would have to carry heavy things on our bodies,

But the composition of the equipment was quite simple.

Gloves with built-in mana suppression devices and protective gear, guns made for dueling and spare bullets, small devices attached to the inner upper and lower garments that seemed to transmit information about the cadets, etc.

There weren’t many particularly heavy items. If I had to pick something that had weight,

“I believe everyone has gathered all their equipment, so I’ll start handing out guns now!”

“Yes, understood!”

“Take good care of them. The day you lose this gun, you’ll be disqualified immediately no matter how many people you’ve taken out.”

“Ye-Yes sir!”

The bolt-action rifle that was being distributed just then was all. Thanks to that, I could maintain my body very stably.

But that was all.

‘Something feels off.’

Was the intensity of mana suppression usually this strong? In all the training so far, there had never been a time when the pressure weighing down on my body was this severe?

I frowned at the sense of discomfort that just wouldn’t go away.

I could clearly feel that the sensation of wearing the gear had definitely improved, but strangely, the discomfort weighing down on my body had become even worse than before.

For some reason, it was hard to breathe and my muscles couldn’t exert their full strength, my arms and legs felt weak.

Even with slight body movements, my breathing became rapid, and with each step I took, a sense of pressure I had never felt in my life enveloped my lower body.

It felt as if I had suddenly become a weak person who didn’t even reach the level of an ordinary person. It felt suspicious for it to be just for preventing accidents caused by magic.

“…”

So I twitched the corners of my mouth.

‘The reason is too obvious, isn’t it?’

There was no need to think long about it. Unless you had a stupid goldfish-like brain, you couldn’t help but notice.

That this was the product of Wolf that I had been waiting for all this time.

How long have I been a mage officer to not know this one thing, I let out a hollow laugh while looking around at the equipment enveloping various parts of my body.

No matter how much it’s for safety, isn’t this excessive?

Even in my past life where I played games for thousands of hours, roamed countless battlefields and received various training, and even today when I received education with a new body,

Even if it’s part of a class, I’ve never heard of suppressing mana abilities this severely.

Doesn’t this mean that someone arbitrarily manipulated my equipment?

‘That would be Wolf, or rather Manfred von Eckart.’

Everything fit together perfectly, so there was nothing more to add.

If I were just an ordinary cadet, I wouldn’t have noticed this difference at all, but I was an unusual student who had used weapons that would only be developed years from now.

So I realized it as soon as I put on the clothes that looked like body armor.

After setting up a sufficiently plausible hypothesis and clearly grasping the context, I could have taken measures such as raising an objection to the instructor right away, but,

‘I’ll leave it alone for now.’

I decided not to touch it for now.

It’s not like my plan is just to safely finish the individual duel and get the prize money by ranking first, is it?

Tie Manfred and Wolf together nicely, and make them pay the price with perfect revenge!

This was the goal I had been determined to achieve for more than two days. As I had promised to definitely realize it with my inner self, I didn’t do the boring act of running to the instructor to report it.

“It’s about time to board the vehicles again!”

“Wh-Where are we going?”

“I think you all know that better. You’ve finished adapting to the training equipment, and the rest time is over. Shouldn’t we start the individual duel now? Hurry up and get on.”

Without any special action, quietly, with a comfortable face like a cadet without any problems, I boarded the truck, and,

-So, so it’s starting now…

-I won’t be eliminated right away, right? I won’t die from getting shot, right?

-My friend said you get dark bruises on your skin. Even if they’re simulated bullets, they’re still processed mana stones.

-Eek, eek!

With the children’s voices in the background,

I prayed that heart-pounding events would unfold, that the cadets would endure against me even a little to give me joy and pleasure, that the training ground would fulfill my expectations.

“Hmm…”

And I closed my eyes while supporting my soft hair with an arm pillow.

It seems better to relieve fatigue even a little.