Chapter 13 - The Fierce Squirrel Lying in the Grass
Until that morning, the first-year cadets weren't in such a bad mood. They had Military Science scheduled for the morning lecture, and although they worried about how Senior Instructor Captain Thomas Kohler would treat them, it was still within the realm of normal.
"Immediately finish arming yourselves and assemble in front of the school gate. Anyone late will be considered dead."
But the moment Thomas entered the lecture hall and said those words, the cadets instantly realized something was very wrong.
Dead? What did he mean by "considered dead"? Was there some other, unknown meaning behind that phrase?
There was no time to ponder it leisurely—the frightening image was Thomas's cold back as he abruptly turned and left right after speaking.
"Damn it!"
Those were the words of a usually refined Noble Faction cadet. The moment Thomas's words fell, several Military Faction cadets sprang to their feet and rushed toward the door, and the Noble cadet's outburst slipped out—whether in shock or sudden clarity, it was impossible to tell.
"You bastard!"
Robert called out pitifully toward Ernest's back as he ran away, but nothing would improve by Ernest waiting for Robert, so Ernest ignored him and dashed forward with determination.
In fact, it would have helped Robert if Ernest had run ahead and opened the door first, so Ernest's ignoring Robert was actually better for both of them. The reason Ernest hadn't grabbed Robert and pulled him up when they first started running was because of the harsh insults and criticisms exchanged between the two boys the previous night while affirming their friendship.
"Check that you haven't left anything behind!"
"Spread the word!"
"Make sure nothing is left behind!"
The first cadet to arrive at the dormitory was Ferdinand. While gearing up his military pack, he had enough composure to caution the other cadets.
Ferdinand was even the first to finish arming himself and preparing his pack, then came out into the hallway to gather the Military Faction cadets. Without missing a single person, they all matched their pace and ran toward the school gate together.
Therefore, the very first cadet to reach the school gate was Ernest, who had started running alongside Ferdinand but didn't wait for the others and immediately left the dormitory.
Ernest had completed his equipment flawlessly and was unloading his military pack in front of the Balt Automobile stationed at the gate. Captain Thomas Kohler and the senior instructor officers were sharply watching the cadets who were rushing toward them.
"Unload your packs!"
The instructor shouted fiercely, and the Military Faction cadets led by Ferdinand began unloading their packs with tense urgency.
The next cadet to arrive was Robert, who benefitted greatly from Ernest being the first to run ahead to the dormitory and then leaving first.
Ernest ran ahead to open the door, quickly gathered his gear, and meticulously informed Robert about the items he needed to prepare in his pack. He even explained how to wear the breastplate and helmet, something Robert had never worn before.
Robert was a bit miffed that Ernest had left him behind, but since it had helped him, he decided to forgive him generously.
Afterward, the Noble Faction cadets and minor noble cadets came rushing in a panic and began unloading their packs following orders.
"Instructor, time is up."
"Good. Drag out the latecomers."
"Understood."
One of the instructors glanced at the hourglass that had run out of sand and spoke, prompting Thomas to issue cold orders.
The four cadets who arrived later were grabbed by the senior instructor officers and dragged to a corner.
"You will be marked as deceased."
"Ma, ma, marked as deceased? What does that even mean..."
"It means since you fell behind, you'll be treated as dead and won't be allowed to participate in the training."
Hearing that, the cadets couldn't help but tense up sharply.
Before the real training even began, Thomas had already excluded four cadets. Judging by how things were unfolding, Thomas seemed to regard this first training as extremely important. Being excluded here was a bad omen for their future military science grades.
"Where's your water pouch?"
"Ah."
"You won't be receiving water during today's training."
Meanwhile, the training instructors were inspecting the first-year cadets' military packs, pointing out every little mistake.
Ernest rolled his eyes as he assessed the situation, soon realizing that Thomas didn't penalize those who were excluded for being late or for packing their gear incorrectly.
Similarly, Thomas didn't assign bonus points to Ernest, who finished packing perfectly, fully armed, and arrived first. The same applied to Ferdinand, who had successfully led every single Military Faction cadet without missing anyone.
After the pack inspection was over, the cadets repacked their gear and slung their packs onto their backs. Only then did Thomas explain the details of today's training:
"We will now proceed with the mock battle training."
The cadets were startled as they looked up at Thomas, but he ignored their reactions and continued speaking.
"The training will take place in the Forest Outside Grimman. You will be divided into three squads to compete against each other. The rest of the details will be explained once we get there."
"Get on the vehicle immediately."
Thomas strode purposefully to the car and climbed in, and the first-year cadets followed the training instructor's lead onto a large transport truck.
"This isn't like we're livestock or something..."
Some cadets grumbled about having to ride in the back of the transport truck. It felt like being loaded onto a cart like pigs or chickens. They were going to become officers, after all, and naturally expected to sit in the plush seats of a luxurious Balt Automobile. Riding in the back of a transport truck was something they'd never even imagined.
But what they hadn't even imagined was about to get worse. After the transport truck stopped in a field outside Grimman, they heard the training instructor's command:
"From now on, you'll run to keep up."
"Pardon?"
"Did you just speak back to me?"
"Ah, no, sir!"
"Anyone who falls behind will be marked as deceased."
Once again, the first to start running were the Military Faction cadets led by Ernest and Ferdinand.
Thankfully this time, Robert quickly followed Ernest, jumped off the truck, and ran alongside him.
"This is ridiculous! Having to run like commoners!"
Several cadets from the high nobles protested sharply at this treatment.
However, Wilfried, the fourth son of Duke Ravid—who was the most noble among the first-year cadets—immediately jumped off the transport truck and followed closely behind Ernest and Ferdinand. He understood his position well and knew that complaining wouldn't improve the situation, so he focused on adapting to it.
Wilfried was running too, so what excuse did the others have to hold back? In the end, everyone gritted their teeth and started running.
"Hey, hey. Aren't we going to be late if we keep this up? We'd better run faster."
Robert was running beside Ernest, unsure whether to ignore Ernest as he began to fall behind or to keep pace with him. The Military Faction cadets had already passed Ernest and were well ahead, followed by the minor noble cadets, and even some Noble Faction cadets had overtaken him.
Ernest remained completely unfazed.
"It's quite a ways from here to the forest. And from what I can tell, Instructor Kohler seems like someone who makes reasonable decisions despite how he looks. There was plenty of time when we assembled at the school gate."
"You really think we won't be late if we run this easy? Are you sure?"
"Probably."
"Damn. Yeah, probably."
After hesitating, Robert decided to match his pace with Ernest's and ran alongside him. He worried they might be too slow and end up late, since the forest was just up ahead, but in a situation like this, it was better to trust Ernest's judgment.
And in the end, Robert's choice saved him. Ernest had already visited countless mountains and forests near Grimman with his father. His judgment was accurate.
"Huff! Huff...!"
No matter how much they ran, the forest that had seemed close didn't get any nearer. The green spring fields and the forest beyond them had completely messed with the inexperienced cadets' sense of distance. The forest was much farther than it appeared, and though the fields looked flat at first glance, they were constantly rolling with gentle slopes going up and down.
The Noble Faction cadets gradually fell behind and eventually slipped behind Ernest and Robert, and the same happened to the minor noble cadets. Even some of the Military Faction cadets lagged behind.
Ferdinand still had plenty of energy left, but when the Military Faction cadets couldn't keep up, he slowed his pace. He glanced back and, thanks to his height, spotted Ernest and Robert running closely behind the Military Faction cadets—and, surprisingly, Wilfried too.
"Hey, Wilfried."
"Huff, huff..."
"Listen, about yesterday... I wanted to apologize."
"Huff, haa..."
"I didn't mean it on purpose..."
"Shh, Ernest, shut up."
Ernest ran alongside Wilfried, trying to apologize, but to Robert—and really anyone watching—that wasn't a very good move at all. Wilfried, struggling with all his might not to fall behind, had no time to respond to Ernest, who kept trying to talk to him from the side. Above all, he just didn't want to exchange words with Ernest.
Ernest fell silent at Robert's panting and, even after that, kept glancing at Wilfried as if wanting to say something.
"Um, it's okay to slow down a bit. The pace we're running at now is pretty fast."
"Ernest, please, shut up and just keep running."
Robert, struggling, sharply told Ernest to stop stirring Wilfried's nerves and raising the tension. Ernest's words were especially humiliating to Wilfried Ravid, a fourteen-year-old boy who, despite reaching his physical limit, was holding on stubbornly to avoid falling behind—so once again, Robert was right.
Ernest muttered something quietly, then finally zipped his mouth and started running silently.
'Why is this guy so calm?'
Wilfried felt as if his insides were boiling from Ernest's peaceful demeanor. Even after running a considerable distance for a long time, Ernest's breathing remained steady.
Ernest had his first training at the age of ten under Haires, which was running. After that, he had gone through all sorts of training, constantly pushing the limits of his physical strength.
"Hmm..."
However, the side effects Ernest developed from taking the tonic began to trouble him before his physical limits did. When Ernest let out a small groan from a headache and furrowed his brow, a small moment of calm came to Wilfried's furious heart.
'Why am I happy to see someone else struggling like this...?'
A slight feeling of self-loathing came as an unnecessary bonus, but anyway.
In the end, Ferdinand led the Military Faction cadets to join Thomas and the training instructors waiting at the forest entrance first.
"Take out the water bags."
The training instructors distributed water, loaded onto the transport vehicle, to the cadets. Those without water bags couldn't receive water supplies.
"That's all the water you'll be given during today's training. Use it sparingly."
"Yes, sir."
The cadets who had already gulped down their water fell into despair at the training instructor's words. Regardless, Ferdinand responded in a calm voice. He only took a single sip of water, just enough to moisten his slightly dry mouth. From the beginning, he hadn't been tired at all.
"Take this time to rest."
The training instructors gave the cadets who had arrived first a break. But the cadets just hesitated, since there were no chairs to sit on nearby.
"Phew."
The first person to collapse onto the grass was Ernest. He sat down casually, pressing his butt against the ground and leaned his military pack against the earth to relieve the weight on his shoulders. Then, he slightly took off his helmet, wiped the sweat inside, and put the helmet back on. Even then, he kept his rifle resting on his knees so it wouldn't touch the ground.
"Hey, is that okay?"
"Do you want to go looking for chairs in the middle of a battlefield where bullets are flying around?"
"Ah, um. That's a fair point."
"Teacher Ernest."
Robert nodded in agreement with Ernest's sensible words and plopped down beside him.
"Let's sit down and rest, too."
Seeing that, Ferdinand took the lead and sat on the ground, and the cadets from the Military Faction also followed suit and sat down.
"······"
Wilfried, thoroughly exhausted, kept hesitating, repeatedly lowering his posture a little and then stopping, until finally he cautiously sat down on the ground. Wilfried was truly embarrassed and felt ashamed in this situation. He had never once in his life sat on the ground before.
"Put your military pack on the ground to distribute the weight."
"······Alright."
Wilfried hesitated at Ernest's advice but answered softly and did as told. Once the weight pressing down on his shoulders lessened, he felt much more comfortable. Though his pride was bruised and he was irritated, Wilfried could only admit there was a lot to learn from Ernest. Just following closely by his side would be a big help.
Look at Robert, who benefited the most.
If Robert just followed Ernest's instructions, he'd be able to graduate safely from the Military Academy.
Not only that, he'd probably graduate with decent grades.
One by one, the other cadets joined late. Seeing the cadets sitting on the ground—especially Wilfried—they didn't hesitate to collapse onto the ground themselves, and some even lay flat on the ground. A few cadets even vomited.
Anyway, this time, surprisingly, not a single cadet was declared "dead." Even though some cadets arrived late, no one gave up because everyone managed to show up during the generous rest period given to the cadets.
Even in this situation, there were still some first-year cadets who seemed fine—not because they had excellent stamina like Ferdinand or Ernest. The cadets who had been declared dead at the school gate had comfortably taken transport vehicles to the forest, where they just sat around doing nothing.
But their minds were not at ease. They felt pathetic and useless, alienated from their struggling comrades. They also felt fear at losing the chance to gain this valuable experience.
After sufficient rest, Thomas stepped forward again before the cadets.
"Sit down and listen."
"Yes, sir."
When Ferdinand suddenly stood up, Thomas quietly raised his hand in a calming gesture and said this to him. Ferdinand sat back down in his place. Thomas nodded slightly as he watched the Military Faction cadets rest in formation under Ferdinand's command.
"The training will be conducted in three squads. Usually, they would be divided into groups of twenty, but since four cadets have already been declared dead, two squads will have nineteen members each, and one squad will have eighteen."
The faces of those 'declared dead' went pale.
"The mock battle will have two squads team up, and the remaining squad will fight against them. Victory will be achieved by either annihilating the opposing side or capturing their flag. If no decisive result comes by the end of the allotted time, the match will end in a draw."
A look of confusion appeared on the cadets' faces at Thomas's words. Two squads teaming up to fight against one squad? Would such a battle even work?
"This mock battle is designed to show you—who are as empty-headed as they come—how actual combat between the Empire and the Alliance proceeds."
Thomas kindly explained the background to the cadets. When he extended his hand, the training instructor quickly handed him a wooden crossbow.
"The Imperial Army will load their crossbows by pulling back the string themselves."
Thomas lightly pulled the crossbow string with his hand, drawing it taut and locking it into place. The tension in the string was only at a toy level since it was for training, but the effective range wouldn't be too short.
"The Alliance Army will load theirs by winding this pulley."
Then Thomas released the string he had pulled and began winding the pulley on the side of the crossbow.
Rrrrrrrr...
Thomas wound the pulley for quite some time. Long enough for every cadet to be completely stunned and fully grasp the situation.
It took Thomas about 20 seconds to load the crossbow using the pulley—roughly the time a skilled soldier would take to load a powder gun. Yet, the string wasn't pulled back all the way, and naturally the force on the string was pitifully weak.
In other words, Thomas had devised this mock battle so that the cadets could directly experience combat between the Empire, armed with Balt guns, and the Alliance, armed with powder guns. He even factored in the Alliance having twice the number of troops as the Empire and that the fight would take place in a forest.
"I will now announce the squad leaders who will be in charge of each squad."
After Thomas handed the crossbow back to the training instructor, he calmly said,
"Ferdinand Hartmann. Step forward."
"Yes, Instructor."
At Thomas's call, Ferdinand jumped up and responded firmly.
No one had any objections to Ferdinand taking the squad leader position. It was only natural.
However, a slight tension ran through the cadets of the Military Faction, since their numbers easily exceeded twenty. Some of them would have to belong to other squads.
"Next, Wilfried Ravid."
"Yes, Instructor."
Thomas announced the next squad leader, and Wilfried stood up abruptly from the unfamiliar floor, responding before stepping forward.
Again, everyone nodded in approval because Wilfried was the Duke's son and a leading figure among the first-year Nobles.
But when Thomas announced the next name, most of the cadets couldn't believe their ears.
"Ernest Krieger."
"…Yes, Instructor."
Ernest himself was no different. He answered a beat later than the other two cadets and then rose.
There were a few cadets who didn't fall into that "most" category—namely, the other two squad leaders, Ferdinand Hartmann and Wilfried Ravid. They knew at least something about Ernest, and instead of dissatisfaction, a sharp tension rose up to their very chins.
We have to hold a mock battle in the forest with the guy who made a senior cadet an invalid by setting traps made only of branches and vines in the dormitory just because his room was a bit messy. Any cadet who doesn't realize the danger of that isn't fit to be a squad leader.
In other words, Captain Thomas Kohler, the senior instructor, appointed Ferdinand and Wilfried as squad leaders not simply because they were the core of their factions, but because he saw that they possessed sufficient insight.
"Come on. Get out here quickly."
"Yes."
Thomas frowned slightly at Ernest, who wasn't jumping out quickly, and Ernest responded robustly before running out.
"······."
Ernest felt uncomfortable being the focus of all the distrust and envy from the other cadets.
Compared to Ferdinand, the eldest grandson of Brigadier General Hartmann, and Wilfried, the Duke's fourth son, Ernest definitely seemed lacking.
Naturally, there was some dissatisfaction about having to follow orders from someone like Ernest.
"The squad leaders should form their squads themselves."
After saying that, Thomas stepped back.
He left the task of organizing the squads entirely to the squad leader cadets, and as expected, the results were predictably dismal.
The Military Faction swarmed to Ferdinand, while the Noble Faction crowded around Wilfried.
The minor noble cadets also scattered depending on which faction they clung to.
Ferdinand picked his squad members purely based on ability, while Wilfried selected his considering various complicated political factors.
"Ernest, this time I can say with confidence that the person you need is right here."
"······."
"That's what I mean."
"Yes, who else besides Robert Jimman would choose this difficult path to be of help to you, Teacher?"
"Then go join another squad. If you can get in."
"Oh my, you seem quite upset, Teacher Ernest. But don't worry too much. Robert Jimman here is not the kind of man who would abandon a friend for his own gain."
The only person who approached Ernest with a sly grin, teasing him like that, was Robert.
As Ernest listened to Robert's taunts, he paused to devise a tactic. To be honest, Ferdinand would be extremely tricky to deal with, even if Wilfried was less so. Unless—maybe Wilfried had some tactical insight as well.
But at least in this first mock battle, Ernest would have the upper hand.
During training with Haires, Ernest had thought that the cadets entering the Imperial Military Academy would have learned far more than he had. Yet, once he enrolled, there were hardly any new cadets who stood out.
Would they even be able to find their way correctly without getting lost in that dense forest?
Of course, Ernest had never commanded troops in battle.
In that sense, his mercenary skills weren't really worth evaluating.
But at least, Ernest would not lose his way in the forest.