Combat, and Joy

“I’ll beat all those first-years…”

A male student’s voice filled with enthusiasm rang out.

Right after the individual duel started, most cadets were overwhelmed by the grand atmosphere of the training ground.

Perhaps because it was their first time encountering a ruined city, the majority of children trembled and showed fear, shrinking their bodies in fear of not knowing when they might be eliminated.

But there are always exceptions, aren’t there?

About two hours after the training began, a small number of bold students appeared who overcame their fear and instead resolved to gain points by taking out many cadets.

Thud─ Thud─

The brown-haired male who was now affirming his ambition in a small voice with the rifle stock on his shoulder, Ert, was one of those brave ones.

‘I must get into the rankings.’

He gripped the rifle stock tightly while walking on the dirt ground.

For him, the situation of being ranked outside the top tier was absolutely unacceptable.

If he recorded a low rank that didn’t even receive additional points, he wouldn’t catch the instructors’ eyes, and therefore it was clear he would face difficulties in the qualification exam, which could be called the most important test in his life.

For Ert, who aspired to be the Commander-in-Chief, the highest position that could be dreamed of as a mage officer, this was a future that absolutely must not happen.

That was also the reason he came to his senses unusually faster than other cadets.

‘I’ll use this moment when other guys are just standing still.’

And he would proudly seize the lead in this dusty ruins, and firmly leave an impression on numerous commanders including Gartel and Lustet.

Ert slowly moved his steps into the city center, drawing a bright future ahead with a smile.

And then,

“Bang─!”

Not much time had passed when a sharp gunshot pierced his eardrums,

“Huh?”

Ert tilted his head and looked at the empty air.

“Urk!”

Soon after, with the intense pain felt on his forehead, his vision went dark.

‘What is this…’

As if not understanding his own situation, he muttered helplessly to himself.

---

“Nice shot.”

It was perfect timing.

It was an extremely satisfying shot.

‘So this adds 1 point.’

I blew away the smoke lingering at the muzzle while focusing on the guy positioned in the center of my sight.

It was truly a pathetic sight.

After being hit in the forehead by a simulation bullet, he collapsed limply and lay on the ground without showing any subsequent reaction, seeming to have lost consciousness immediately upon being hit.

His appearance looked so pitiful that even I, who don’t have much emotion, felt sympathy.

‘He’s returning without enjoying this training…’

The battle between cadets, which could be called the flower of individual duels, is about to begin in earnest, and it’s training conducted in a place that could be called the environment most similar to actual combat, but he can’t do anything?

“How pitiful.”

He was so pitiable that an exclamation of regret came out.

Not being able to gain additional points and thus facing a difficult qualification screening in the future was one thing, but what was most pitiful was that he wouldn’t be able to experience the exciting and heart-pounding combat.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I felt compassion.

‘It’s a fate befitting his skills.’

No matter how much he crouches down, what’s the use of walking around an open field with everything exposed? It’s an elimination met by not being careful, so in a way, it could be said to be an end befitting him.

‘If that guy had been at least at the level of Erika, no, Wolf, he wouldn’t have exposed his body so stupidly…’

I clicked my tongue while resting my cheek on one hand, feeling some inexplicable regret.

It wasn’t that I truly wanted to see those children, but I did miss the skills they possessed.

If that nameless male had possessed better skills, wouldn’t we have fought a more pleasant battle, wouldn’t there have been a bit more taste in hunting!

“Tsk.”

While feeling disappointed at the emptiness felt in one corner of my heart,

Click─!

I finished reloading by pulling the bolt-action handle.

‘Whether I like it or not, accumulating points is the top priority for now.’

I wasn’t an idiot who acted differently depending on my mood. Moving thoroughly according to the plan I had established was my motto and value.

“Whew…”

Now it was time to take out additional cadets, so I stopped any further lamentations and brought my eye close to the sight.

After taking the perfect posture I could, such as pressing my lower abdomen flat against the floor and tidying my long straight hair to the side,

‘Where could they be?’

I licked my lips while looking down at the view below the building.

‘Prey worth hunting.’

---

It’s scary but exciting.

Fear arises but at the same time my heart pounds.

“Hah, hah!”

Erika’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the high-rise abandoned building.

‘Th-The duel is starting!’

She exhaled heavily with her heart about to burst.

She was overwhelmed by the city’s scenery.

That’s not to say she was enveloped in fear, but literally, in the grand and majestic atmosphere, at the future where she didn’t know what various events she might experience,

‘Now we’re really shooting guns..!’

She was swelling with anticipation.

Erika’s reaction like this could be said to be especially unusual among the cadets.

While most cadets are tense when entering this area that gives off a strong ghost town feeling, she showed a differentiated behavior compared to other cadets despite it being right after the training started.

‘Yena will do well too, so I can’t be eliminated first!’

It was all behavior stemming from her one and only friend, Yena Freud.

Isn’t Erika someone who observed and learned Yena’s unique coolness, her ability to calmly judge situations, right by her side?

The teachings she gained while sharing joys and sorrows with Yena,

‘Of course, I have to cheer up!’

Were exerting great synergy by harmonizing with her uniquely enthusiastic personality that always encouraged herself and maintained a high-spirited attitude, like at this moment.

“If I show a good appearance, Yena might pay attention to me too.”

Erika muttered while gripping the strap of the rifle slung over her shoulder.

How had Yena’s interest in her been lately?

‘It’s decreased.’

She felt it had significantly decreased compared to the beginning of the semester. It was no longer like before when we were each other’s only friends.

Could it be because of the various achievements Yena has shown so far? The space beside her that had been only empty was gradually filled with the attention and gazes of cadets and instructors.

In the past, I was the only friend who spoke to Yena, but now I occasionally witnessed scenes where some cadets approached her first when leaving the dining hall.

So how great must Erika’s sense of loss be?

‘If I stay still, I might not even have a place to stand beside her later…’

Imagining an unfortunate future where, as time passes like this, her relationship with Yena would grow distant, and eventually she would remain just an ordinary friend rather than the close friend she is now,

Crunch─!

She chewed her lower lip.

Imagining Yena giving her a look of indifference,

“Ugh, uuu.”

How could she bear it when her body trembles like this?

“…No.”

Her heart ached as she imagined a future of sitting alone pathetically in the dining hall, stuffing pork into her mouth, and walking lonely on streets where desolate winds blow without any friends.

No matter how strong I become and pass the officer exam, I didn’t want to face a future without Yena even if I died.

That was also the reason she steeled her resolve for this individual duel.

‘If I show results of being stronger than anyone else, Yena will pay attention to me…’

Then I’ll be able to monopolize, no, live happily with Yena, who is kind and considerate, among teammates like Rina and Wolf without any awkwardness.

Imagine it.

What a flowery future it is!

Erika wiggled her fingers while making indescribably audacious imaginations, and smiled brightly at the same time.

“Oh, oh oh. It’s a person!”

Soon after, encountering a candidate who appeared at some point,

“What class are you? Nice to meet you!”

“…”

“Hey, let’s cooperate instead of fighting! There’s no problem if we help each other, wa-wait, there’s no need to point the gun…”

She aimed silently,

“Bang─!”

And pulled the trigger.

“Gu-guuurgh!”

And looking at the figure of the cadet flowing down like shedding skin,

“1 point added, hehe…”

She gently smiled with her eyes while caressing the finger that pulled the trigger.

Erika didn’t even hear the guy’s voice. No, even if she had heard it, she wouldn’t have stopped pulling the trigger.

‘The only person I want to be with is Yena.’

Already in Erika’s brain,

“If it’s not Yena, I’ll just take them out, since that’s the purpose of the training the instructors wanted anyway. I wonder if Yena will praise me again if I accumulate points in advance?”

Such thoughts were filled.

Therefore, Erika moved on silently.

“I have to protect Yena…”

Muttering incomprehensible words, whether due to her personality or her expression of friendship towards her friend going down an inappropriate path.

---

“Let’s say it one more time”

“Ugh, uuu. First, could I please have some water…”

“Ah, is it because of the blood stuck in your throat? I was careless not to consider that. I’m sorry, wait a moment.”

Gartel stroked his beard wet with red liquid while,

Click─

He held out a ceramic cup filled with water in front of Eckart, who seemed to have lost all his strength as a result of the endless interrogation.

“Is that enough?”

“Ye-Yes! Thank you!”

“Setting that aside, what did you say earlier?”

Then he asked a question to the man in front of him with a benevolent smile.

“Th-That…”

“If you really don’t want to answer, you don’t have to. That’s your legitimate exercise of the right to remain silent, and it means you’ll accept the fate that has come.”

“How could that be! I just stumbled over my words because my head was dizzy for a moment, haha, hahaha!”

The man who received Gartel’s words repeatedly bowed his waist with a miserable appearance soaked in blood, as if it was preposterous.

“Ha.”

The more he did so, the deeper the curve of Gartel’s lips became.

It was an extremely unpleasant past, but it’s a very satisfying present.

How could laughter not burst out in this situation?

He recalled when Manfred von Eckart, this equipment manager, first visited this closed room, whether he had lost his fear or looked down on the Imperial military system.

Then as that image overlapped with the current image of him frantically drinking water after spilling out all confessions, even if he tried to hold it back, laughter forcibly pushed through his lips.

‘Fortunately, my judgment wasn’t wrong.’

Gartel closed his eyes while savoring the small catharsis blooming in his heart.

He bet his life.

He bet his position.

He bet his future.

If Manfred had truly been an innocent man, he would have become a vicious criminal who forcibly carried out an interrogation.

It’s like he made the biggest gamble of his life.

It was a bet made with decades of honed intuition and soldier’s unique insight as collateral. He experienced psychological pressure of a lifetime that he hadn’t experienced even during the Great War.

So the joy he gained was also doubly great.

An emotional stimulation occurred to the point where his fingertips tingled.

‘Why?’

Because after hours of interrogation, Manfred admitted his crime. He must have been very tired, as he testified in detail to a level that couldn’t be seen as a false confession!

And in the process,

“It-It’s Wolf von Stremann.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

The true culprit of this incident,

“The one who instigated you to damage Yena’s equipment and committed the charge of solicitation of murder is Wolf, that first-year student?”

“…Yes.”

Because he found out the name.