episode_0017

That day, toward the end of the lecture, many words were exchanged.

It seemed Professor Montecuccoli, given the nature of the practical session, wanted someone who could at least mimic real-world scenarios.

Except for a few individuals, it appeared no one had caught this sharp-eyed professor’s favor.

And among them, the one treated as the biggest troublemaker—even summoned for a private meeting—was a certain man. Well, well, who could this be, daring to step into the professor’s office?

Who else but me?

Sitting in the private room’s chair, Professor Montecuccoli glared up at me with a look that could devour me whole. His furrowed face seemed to say:

You know your sins.

But he wasn’t the type to waste his temper on something as trivial as a staring contest. Soon after I took my seat and faced him, he fixed his gaze squarely on me and spoke.

“Baron Hebel, do you know why I called you here?”

Well, he didn’t hold back on names in class, but I guess his promise to show respect outside of it was genuine. His tone hadn’t changed, though.

“Well… I assume it’s about the mock battle? I can’t think of anything else.”

“Correct. I nearly clutched my head in frustration after seeing that. So let me ask you directly—what in the world was your reason for killing your own soldiers?”

Yeah, I figured it’d be about that. I answered plainly.

“Because no other method came to mind.”

“No other method?”

“I messed up the troop composition from the start, and once things went wrong, there was no way out. I had to force something out, and that was the only idea I had at the time.”

“Are you aware of how utterly absurd that action was?”

“If it were real, of course no one would’ve obeyed. In an actual situation, I’d probably be the one dead.”

Naturally, it was only possible because they were mindless game pieces. If they had free will, they would’ve turned their bows on me rather than follow such an insane order.

Even setting aside the fact that centaurs were a race notorious for chronic food shortages leading to frequent elder killings, anyone would’ve done the same.

You can’t stop a storm just because you’re ordered to, but you can shoot the idiot officer shouting at you to do so and then run away.

And needless to say, that idiot officer was me at the time.

Unsurprisingly, the professor’s face twisted in disbelief at my answer.

“So you did it knowing full well?”

“Because it wasn’t an internal taboo. At least not until then. Didn’t you say so yourself, Professor? That from now on, ‘military discipline’ would be added to the settings. Up until now, only minimal mechanics were implemented.”

According to the outline of this practical lecture, the initial sessions were deliberately simplified—omitting certain mechanics and adjustments—to focus solely on learning command basics.

A sort of barebones tutorial, so to speak.

As students adapted, more realistic settings would be gradually introduced, culminating in an experience equivalent to commanding in an actual campaign, with exams based on that.

In short, what regular students did and what we newcomers were doing now was truly at the level of a ‘game’ in terms of realism.

That’s why I could treat it like a game in the first place, and thus, it wasn’t an ‘impossible action.’

“In other words, up until that point, I considered it a viable method precisely because it wasn’t real.”

Of course, Professor Montecuccoli’s reaction was far from pleased. It was a shameless answer, after all.

“Not a taboo? Not prohibited by the rules… So if I went into the mock battle and beat you within an inch of your life, that’d be fine too, since it’s not forbidden?”

“Of course not.”

“What you did is no different. Isn’t that right? If you wanted to win, why not just pay attention from the start?”

“True. In the end, it happened because I made careless choices and resorted to a stopgap measure.”

I nodded.

Frankly, I think the root of all this was that I wasn’t taking it seriously.

I didn’t take it seriously, so I half-assed it. Half-assing led to a dead end, so I used a half-assed method to break through.

And in the end, I barely scraped a draw—even resorting to team-killing.

Put another way, I practically stole the victory.

Honestly, it was pathetic.

“I’ve learned my lesson, so I won’t mess up like this again.”

“Learned? What exactly?”

“Well, if I keep being this careless, it’d be disrespectful to my opponent and probably leave a bad impression. Plus, it led to this meeting with you, Professor.”

“Frankly, I’ve had enough of the nonsense you’ve brought in—it’s giving me a headache. But at least you’re not so stupid that you don’t even understand why you’re here.”

Seems the professor’s real issue lay elsewhere.

Of course, what professor would welcome a troublemaker disrupting a class of serious students?

‘Especially one who got in as a replacement…’

I could sympathize with the professor’s frustration. Scratching the back of my head awkwardly, I watched as the professor, who had briefly closed his eyes, turned his gaze away and spoke.

“Let’s be honest, Baron Hebel.”

“About what?”

“Given your academic history, I want to ask—do you actually intend to study properly in this department?”

“That’s…”

I hesitated slightly. That brief pause was, in a way, part of the answer itself.

But Professor Montecuccoli, who seemed ready to press for an immediate response, unexpectedly held back, watching me with a displeased expression.

Well then, I might as well be honest.

“At first, I really only planned to do the bare minimum. Because… I don’t particularly enjoy hands-on work. The reason I liked mock battles was simply because I could treat them like a game.”

“I figured as much.”

“So when everyone started recommending me and paying attention to me… I’ll admit, I approached it half-heartedly. My original reason for joining the academy was to study history, after all.”

“And your conclusion?”

I let out a small sigh. Then answered.

“I thought that way, but… I still hate losing.”

“So what, you wanted to lose before?”

“Not exactly. But… people started expecting things from me.”

I smiled bitterly. Those people were none other than my lifelong patron, a certain eccentric blonde girl I’d only met this year, and the professor who saw some potential in me.

Honestly, it was heavy.

This thing called responsibility.

Wasn’t the whole reason I chose to live a life groveling at the foot of the throne instead of sitting on it because I wanted to avoid this?

If there’s someone good enough to shoulder my responsibilities, shouldn’t I just live for their sake—?

Turns out, that wasn’t the case.

“More than anything, I felt something… a thrill, in that moment.”

“That ‘I don’t want to lose’ feeling, I assume.”

“Exactly.”

Silence followed. The professor seemed to be piecing together the meaning behind my words.

Soon, he spoke again.

“Well, people come here for all sorts of reasons. Not everyone starts with a grand purpose in life. …Fine, I’ll let it slide this time. But remember—I’ll be watching. If you gave that answer, then you’re here to hone your military talent, not to fool around. Don’t forget that. Understood?”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“And don’t delude yourself into thinking you’re getting special treatment. If your performance is a mess, I won’t hesitate to kick you out of the remaining lectures—same as anyone else.”

“I never expected special treatment to begin with.”

“…Hmph. You’ve got a silver tongue.”

“Better than sulking with my lips pouted after being scolded, no?”

The professor’s eyes seemed to say, ‘Look at this guy.’ Then, with a snort, he added:

“Well, I suppose you’re far better than the sniveling types who crumble at the slightest criticism.”

“I appreciate the praise.”

“Enough nonsense. If you understand, then focus on your studies. I’ll be watching—let me emphasize that again.”

With those words—enough to make any college student’s heart drop—Professor Montecuccoli absentmindedly waved his hand dismissively.

Seems I passed the test. With the reprimand over, I sighed in relief and bowed to the professor.

Just as I stood to leave—

“Ah, right. Take this.”

“What is it…?”

He tossed something at me, and an ominous premonition struck.

Sure enough, it was something every student dreads.

“Just because you’re a replacement doesn’t mean you can skip past the previous sessions. A supplementary assignment. Discuss it with your mock battle opponent and submit a thorough tactical analysis based on military science.”

“Yes… huh?”

An assignment—and one I had to discuss with the princess before writing?

‘I can’t even imagine what she’ll say…’

We were supposed to meet soon anyway, given the study group we’d formed, but… with my current guilt, I couldn’t help but make a troubled face.

But what could I do?

“I’ll submit the finest report you’ve ever seen!”

What else could a student say but bold declarations like this?

And so, the next day, after finishing my magic lecture, I met with the Frontier Count and the princess in the school’s assembly hall as promised.

Officially, it was under the guise of a study group.

My slight concern was the first-day atmosphere.

Given what happened the day before, I worried things might be awkward, but aside from some stiffness, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.

Of course, our dear Frontier Count, who wasn’t great with awkwardness, did look a bit uncomfortable.

But isn’t it the leader’s job to break the ice?

“So, what exactly are we doing here?”

The princess spoke up in a slightly bored tone—since we weren’t heading straight to the training grounds.

Who knew what words she was hiding behind that?

“For now, how about we read some books?”

Saying this, I piled up the books I’d brought from the library in front of the Frontier Count and the princess.

“These are…?”

“Borrowed from the library.”

“The rental fees must’ve been steep.”

“I’ve got enough pocket money for that. Now then…”

Looking at the two of them, I shrugged slightly.

“Your Highness, my lord—haven’t you both wondered how I could pull off things I’d never actually seen just by reading books? Right?”

Well, it was mostly thanks to my past-life game knowledge.

Surprisingly, that game had its own philosophy. Some things were possible because of it.

Even if it didn’t perfectly mirror real history, most strategies that worked in reality were effective in-game too.

That’s probably why, despite the genre, many players dove deep into history—and I was one of them.

And the game? It had even higher-quality material.

“Starting today, I’ll unravel that secret through these books.”

That was the gist of it.

In the end, studying comes first.

There’s no harm in knowing more.

And I had one more natural goal in mind.

“Since both of you have experience in actual battles, let’s use that as reference and discuss things today, shall we?”

This way, I could kill two birds with one stone—naturally completing the supplementary assignment the professor gave us.

I intended to make this study group rigorous, ensuring I’d do properly what I’d set out to do.