episode_0037

“Soldiers, do you know which battlefield is the most glorious of all battlefields?”

True to her nature of taking all the students to the field from the first day of class, Jennifer, as if it were only natural, led us back outside when it was time for her class.

It seemed that the concept of a “curriculum” was not present in her mind.

Although we had received textbooks when we entered school, we hadn’t even opened them. Well, we were told not to bring them if we didn’t need them. They just made our bags heavier every morning.

However, I wasn’t particularly surprised, as I already knew what kind of person Jennifer was.

Jennifer was a character who served as a device to allow “gameplay” during “class time,” making it possible for students to engage in battles.

The duty of a student is, of course, to study. But if students only studied in the game, it would become incredibly boring. It’s not like they were reciting poetry or playing quiz games for fun.

Therefore, this game significantly reduced the studying part and inserted “fighting time” during class hours.

In the process, the conflicts between characters were highlighted, and the character who effectively utilized these conflicts was none other than Jennifer Winterfield.

Of course, if we just gathered students to compete like this every class, the story wouldn’t progress smoothly. So, we only gathered them for the character introduction part in the beginning, and then let the incidents unfold later on.

“Hmm.”

None of the students raised their hands.

And I knew well whom Jennifer would point out.

The one Jennifer pointed out was—

“Leo Gray!”

That’s right. It was Leo Gray.

He was the protagonist, and in the setting, the Gray Marquis was Jennifer’s role model from her childhood. Even though the blatant favoritism didn’t show, there were occasional descriptions that hinted at Jennifer feeling some familiarity.

Of course, Leo Gray didn’t know about such background details, so he just thought he was randomly selected by the teacher.

Oh, come to think of it, in the original work, depending on the choices, Leo also ended up competing with Jennifer. Maybe it’s natural. Thinking back to a few days ago when Jennifer and Leo dueled, Leo being chosen randomly doesn’t seem entirely coincidental.

It wasn’t actually a coincidence.

“Oh, yes.”

Leo got up from his seat with a look of being mistakenly chosen, but Jennifer didn’t seem to mind.

“Where do you think the most glorious battlefield is?”

“Um…”

Here, the choices appeared.

However, it didn’t matter which one he chose. Each of the three choices had its reasons and were all incorrect choices. They were choices that didn’t align with the intention of Jennifer’s question.

“Isn’t it the battlefield in the north?”

Still, in his diligent nature, Leo carefully thought and gave his answer.

Indeed, the first choice.

The other two were the south and the west. The south was still underdeveloped, with ongoing conflicts between the local tribes, and the west was the coast. While the coast was safe, there were pirate ships lurking for trade routes heading towards the new continent.

All three choices were based on the empire’s maintenance of public order, but the choice of the southern battlefield, which caused friction with the “natives,” emitted a certain imperialistic vibe, leading to jokes about the “imperial route” in the minor galleries where players gathered. In the end, this didn’t change the ending or the development, but it was there.

“Hmm.”

Jennifer, who had served in the military in the Baroque region, found Leo’s response intriguing.

“If that’s the case, may I ask for the reason?” she inquired.

“Yes. The Baroque region borders the autonomous state of Riklant. However, the autonomous state is extremely unstable, unable to properly manage the imperial border near it. As a result, the warlords in that area often encroach upon the imperial border. Therefore, I believe that the soldiers who always keep watch and protect the border with a keen eye to eliminate the danger to imperial citizens are truly the most honorable warriors.”

“Is that so?”

Jennifer nodded in satisfaction.

“Indeed. They may be warlords, but in reality, they are nothing more than mercenaries without employers. They will do anything for money. They don’t care about how dirty the job may be. Dealing with such individuals can certainly be considered an honorable task. However…”

Jennifer looked straight at Leo as she spoke.

“That honor is only enjoyed after returning alive, or even in death when one’s body is brought back. The ‘battlefield’ itself is not honorable. But it was a good answer. Sit down.”

Leo, with a noticeably calm expression, sat back down.

“The battlefield—oh, right.”

Instead of continuing the explanation, Jennifer interrupted herself.

Hmm.

Normally, this is the part where she explains her own thoughts. She had never interrupted herself like this before.

Her eyes turned to me.

“Sylvia Pankriffon. Stand up.”

“….”

Why, though?

Of course, I didn’t say that out loud. It’s not that strange for a teacher to call on a student. At least, it’s more common sense than appointing a girl who is only sixteen as a representative to attend intergovernmental talks.

As I stood up without saying anything, Jennifer looked at me quietly and asked, “What do you think? Where do you think the most honorable battlefield is?”

I really hate presentations.

Even during university group projects, even if I ended up doing all the slides by myself, I always made someone else do the presentation. Presentations were the worst.

Because, if you mess up, it’s embarrassing.

Of course, I knew what answer Jennifer wanted. I skipped all the events after the third or fourth playthrough, but I still replayed the game up to the second playthrough to recap the story and translate the dialogues one by one.

I had watched this scene multiple times to figure out what the correct answer was among the three choices.

“There is no honorable battlefield.”

Yes, this was the answer Jennifer wanted. If Principal Abraham Winterfield had been there, he would have immediately praised this response.

“Hmm.”

Jennifer’s eyes narrowed.

A smile tugged at the corner of Jennifer’s mouth as she looked at me. Did she like my answer?

If there was a choice that was wrong and a choice that matched the wrong answer, I would rather choose the one that matched the wrong answer to avoid being wrong.

In fact, I also wanted to see Jennifer’s reaction if I had chosen the fourth answer here.

“Why do you think that way?” Jennifer asked again.

“The battlefield is hell. There can be no place of honor in hell. While it may be considered honorable to have survived there, there is no glory in such a place.”

It was still the early stages of the mid-game.

And it was a transitional period from the final tactics of maintaining a defensive position as a front-line infantry to the modern warfare of sniping from a distance while in cover.

Modern tanks and fighter jets began to appear, but in this world, there are no smart advanced weapons that only hit the necessary targets accurately.

Barbed wire, trenches, bunkers. Thousands of soldiers rush forward only to be mowed down by machine guns. Artillery shells and mortar rounds rain down from above, making it impossible to even find the bodies of those hit.

Bodies are scattered haphazardly between the enemy lines.

Flamethrowers, poison gas, mines, machine guns… The weapons unleashed are too shocking to face with just the human body, but the means to accurately hit and destroy those weapons were severely limited.

The modern battlefield I lived in was no different from hell, but in a way, the battlefield in this world was a different form of hell.

“….”

Jennifer’s expression slightly faded.

Jennifer took a few steps towards me and stared into my eyes.

“….I see.”

And then she seemed to come to a realization on her own and nodded her head.

“Yes, that’s right. The battlefield is hell. It’s like something out of an old tale of knights clashing swords.”

And in a way, the war where swords clashed was indeed a form of hell.

“Sit down.”

At Jennifer’s words, I sat back down. I could feel the gazes of those around me, but I tried to ignore them.

“We can’t know how you will survive on the battlefield. Honestly, that’s not something you can learn. Even if I teach you all my know-how, it’s impossible to completely master it. Actions on the battlefield tend to change towards what each individual is comfortable with.”

Jennifer said this with a serious expression.

“You may not know how many of you will become soldiers. But at least my subject is to train soldiers. And what soldiers need most is the ability to survive in unpredictable trials.”

The reason Jennifer called us from the first day and trained us was also there. Jennifer always spoke those words sincerely.

As someone who had experienced the battlefield firsthand.

“So today, you will learn how to face unpredictable trials.”

A smile returned to Jennifer’s face.

With a bright smile, Jennifer raised her hand as if she were introducing actors on a stage.

“Today, your sparring partner will be the civilians over there.”

Just then, the civilians of Class C were coming out of the building.

They were late compared to us because Jennifer suddenly changed the schedule. It would be more accurate to say that she had agreed with another teacher to overlap the schedules of Class A and Class C.

“….Instructor?”

“What’s the matter?”

One student raised his hand cautiously and called out to Jennifer, who turned her head towards the student.

“Aren’t the kids in that class civilians?”

“Yes. They are civilians. Is there a problem?”

Not fully grasping the situation, the student looked anxiously at the students from Class C who were coming towards us and asked again.

“Aren’t civilians… not trained properly in a military academy? Could the way civilians fight be a ‘trial’ for us?”

Some students chuckled softly at his words.

“Oh.”

Jennifer said with amusement.

“Is that so? Even the weapons used by Her Highness Sylvia Hwang can hardly be called ‘military equipment.’”

“….”

At Jennifer’s sarcastic remark, the students fell silent in an instant.

That’s right.

Among the commoners, only a tiny fraction belonged to a proper military faction and learned how to wield swords, spears, or magic.

In other words, it means that there are many cases where “weapons that can be easily used without much training” are used.

The approaching students’ figures were clearly visible.

Most of the students had rifles or hunting shotguns strapped to their backs. Although they were more commonly used for civilian purposes rather than in the military—

“…….”

Just that alone was enough to make the noble students bite their tongues.