Return to the Military Academy

On the morning of the second day of treatment after being transferred to the infirmary, I stretched my arm, which felt more refreshed than yesterday, straight up into the sky.

“Yaaawn──.”

Perhaps because the best medical staff from both the military academy and the Federation were assigned to me, such light stretching was no longer a problem. Thanks to that, I was able to remove the bandages that had been compressing my entire body.

How long has it been since I’ve had such a refreshing morning?

As my condition improved, I no longer had to smell the disinfectant that had been emanating from various parts of my body. Maybe that’s why my mind felt lighter and my body felt nimble.

And above all, the best thing was,

Glug glug─

Being able to drink water on my own like this. I smiled faintly as I lifted the glass placed on the table.

I felt sorry for Erika.

Even for someone as emotionally dry as me, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy when I thought of her, who had stayed by my side and taken care of me constantly, except for bathroom breaks.

Wasn’t she wasting her own training time? She could have certainly gone to the training ground to practice, but she didn’t leave.

I hope she’s sleeping comfortably even now.

“Slurp.”

As I heated water on the stove in the middle of the room and drank coffee, I hoped that Erika, who must have fallen into deep sleep at this hour when the sun hadn’t fully risen yet, was resting peacefully.

Creak──

“Who is it?”

I turned my gaze from the window to the suddenly opening door.

“It’s me.”

“Rina?”

An unexpected figure was standing there.

“How did you find this place? I’m sure it was announced outside that I was transported to the hospital after getting injured during the individual duel.”

“Helena told me.”

“Helena?”

“…Everything about what you were doing when you got injured, and what happened to the person who fought with you, and where they are now.”

Rina spoke rapidly without sitting on the chair.

Unlike her usual confident self, her voice was slightly trembling, so it seemed she really had grasped the circumstances of the incident. Of course, she must know about Wolf’s miserable end too.

Could it be that Helena confessed everything that had happened with me?

If that were true, it would mean she broke her promise, but judging by Rina’s expression, that didn’t seem to be the case. If she had, Rina, who was suspicious of me, wouldn’t be keeping quiet like this.

I thought so. She would have pressed me, asking how I intimidated the head maid, why I had Wolf investigated, and so on.

So there must be a separate purpose for coming here.

I must be an uncomfortable and suspicious person to Rina, so I was curious about why she came to this infirmary without any preparation.

Well, I can guess roughly.

She didn’t bring anything and came here alone. There’s only one thing this means, right?

She wants to settle things roughly.

Wolf was somehow thrown into detention, but she doesn’t know anything, and while she has suspicions about me, there’s no direct evidence no matter how hard she looks, so she’s made this bold choice.

She wants to break through the current frustrating situation.

I welcomed it.

“Is there anything you’d like to drink? I hear rumors that the princess is extremely fond of black tea.”

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t come here to sit and chat leisurely.”

Screech, flop─

I dragged over the chair that Erika had been using every day to take care of me, and sat down facing the princess.

“So what do you want to know?”

With Wolf gone and no longer needing to be at odds with Rina, I stared at her intently, intending to settle the conflict between us with this opportunity.

It’s about time to unravel the tangle of misunderstandings, isn’t it? If Rina came out directly, I would respond with an equally straightforward tone.

“Wh-What did Wolf do to cause such a commotion? And Yena, who on earth are you? I really don’t understand what’s going on…”

Her complexion was dark.

“Haah, I’m not even sure anymore if my guesses are correct. This is a first for me.”

Squeak──

Her appearance as she slid down the wall to the floor was even pitiful. At least in this moment, Rina didn’t exude any of the princess’s lofty formality.

“That guy tried to kill me.”

“What?”

I revealed the details of the incident to Rina one by one.

Starting with how Wolf colluded with the equipment manager and plotted, how I almost lost my life due to equipment failure caused by them during the diving training, and finally the process of the incident during the individual duel.

“…For the petty reason of being a commoner, and under the trivial pretext of getting revenge for the humiliation in the duel, he committed such acts.”

I explained in detail so she could resolve her doubts.

Of course, omitting a few facts.

I completely cut out anything that could be misinterpreted, such as making a deal with Helena, or fighting Wolf by releasing my own suppression device just like him when he was using mana recklessly.

Isn’t it true that when you mix a little lie with actual events, it becomes the truth?

Rina couldn’t verify it anyway, and I wasn’t worried about being found out because I had appropriately combined things so that the context made sense.

“Th-That’s impossible.”

As expected, Rina seemed to trust it to some extent.

“Haah…”

Probably Helena only gave her a rough outline, so at least for the parts Rina heard, I told the truth, making her believe even if she didn’t want to.

“Th-Then was it you hiding your strength? Despite being 7th grade, how did you pass the crystal ball test first, and what were those abilities you showed when fighting the monster?”

“The result of my parents’ dedication. You should know that my parents were magic officers who made great achievements in the Great War.”

“B-But that’s…!”

Clank──

I stood up before Rina could finish her argument.

“Do you want to say it’s fabricated? Do you think the military academy wouldn’t be able to figure out who my parents were?”

“…”

“Don’t be so sure that only nobles received education from childhood. My father, who was an officer, knew about my low mana from when I was young, and strived to hone my skills.”

And grabbing the collar of the cadet coat she was wearing, I opened my lips as if whispering near her ear.

“Rina, you have a prejudice that commoners don’t have the environment to make efforts. You still have the distorted view gained from living confined in the imperial family.”

Thud!

“Now that Wolf, who has been tormenting you all this time, is gone, I only hope that from now on you’ll break free from the shackles of your status as a princess and live freely pursuing your own will.”

“…”

“I hope you’ll think carefully about whether you’ve been stubbornly insisting on absurd speculations due to your obsession with perfection, and whether you’ve had the ridiculous delusion that I’m an undercover cadet.”

After releasing Rina’s collar, who was silent with her eyes cast down diagonally, and briefly stopping beside her,

Thud─! Thud─!

I left Rina in the infirmary and slipped out into the corridor.

---

“Are you alright! No injuries?”

On the day of finally returning to Astrakhan Military Academy from Sevirpol,

“I’ve recovered. My broken arm has healed well too. Thanks to the director taking good care of me, I was able to return quickly.”

“Hahaha, it’s nothing. Compared to the research results gained from your process of fighting the monster, it’s just a speck, a speck!”

I had the exceptional opportunity among cadets to have a private meeting with Director Serti.

It seems Instructor Gartel’s words were true.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“I’m just grateful for the treatment you’ve provided.”

“Hehe, you’re good at saying the right things, aren’t you?”

As if proving that the research director indeed had a special affection for me, Serti led the conversation with a liveliness that didn’t match the atmosphere of his mustache.

“Ah, and don’t worry about the punishment of that Imperial officer. He tried to kill you, so he must pay the price dearly.”

“…Thank you.”

“I’ll show him pain worse than death. I’ll impose a severe punishment so he lives as a labor component in the Gulag for life, I hope this helps ease your troubled mind.”

Serti looked at a document titled [Manfred von Eckart Trial Confirmation] scattered on one side of the desk with a frown,

Bang─!

Stamped it hard with an official seal and then put it away out of sight.

“Anyway, contact me anytime if you need anything. I’ve told your class officer, so you just need to send a telegram.”

“I understand.”

“I’ll provide full support as far as my hand can reach. Of course, you’ll have to pay a corresponding price.”

And not long after he finished stamping, the long conversation came to an end.

“You may go now. Principal Lustet will be waiting.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Wave wave─!

The moment I saw Serti’s hand gesture, I put on the dress cap I had left on the left side of the desk and left the office with a salute.

“Whew…”

Soon after, I pressed my brow at his voice that still seemed to buzz in my ears.

This is the first time I’ve received such a welcome. Even when I repeated the story several times in the past, I’ve never seen this level of friendliness. It must mean I’ve greatly caught his eye this time.

He mentioned research data and such, so I must have unintentionally helped a lot by crushing many monsters and cadets during the training.

I should be happy about this, right?

Although it was uncomfortable to have been of any help to the Federation, which would become an enemy country in the future, I had no regrets considering the many benefits I had gained today.

I gained a strong backing in the research director, succeeded in receiving the ‘attention of the military academy’ that I had aimed for through the series of incidents related to Wolf, and even got an unexpected…

Promise of a ‘third favor’ through the deal with Helena, so it was truly a fruitful expedition training.

“Heh.”

There will be quite a lot to do when I return to school.

“Yena, are you ready?”

“Yes, Principal.”

“Then let’s go.”

While trying to calm my twitching lips that were grinning, I left the research institute guided by Lustet.

Thud, thud─!

And I stepped forward.

“Good work, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Thank you.”

Towards the exit of the Sevirpol training ground.