WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ How the Child of Prophecy Survives ◈
Chapter 18: A Fierce Squirrel Crouching in the Grass
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It was a rest period, but no one was foolish enough to do nothing but rest.
“Ernst’s presence alone is far too much of a threat.”
Wilfried spoke seriously to his platoon of aristocratic faction cadets and Ferdinand’s platoon of military faction cadets, whom he had gathered together.
The cadets of the two factions, who normally looked down on each other and kept their distance, were now joining forces in earnest to defeat the dangerous enemy named Ernst Krieger.
“I saw Ernst running through the forest like a squirrel, scouting. He knew exactly how you were moving. He was hiding and watching everything without you knowing.”
A chill ran through Ferdinand’s military faction cadets, who had just played the Imperial Army, at Wilfried’s words.
“Ernst could slip through along a route we can’t even imagine. Or he could take the lead, read our movements, spot our ambushes, and counterattack. The problem is that Ernst has too many options.”
Wilfried’s head was growing hot as he drew on everything he had ever seen, heard, felt, and learned to overcome this crisis.
“He could lure us into a trap instead, or lead a charge to break through at a single point. He could also find any number of paths we wouldn’t recognize even if we saw them, sneak in without a fight, and take the flag.”
Frankly, if Ernst was determined to sneak in, the cadets as they were now would not even be able to find him. That meant they had to station enough troops around the flag to protect it. They already felt short of troops, and this alone would tie up a huge number.
“Krieger’s the only one who could sneak up on the flag. Three guards should be enough.”
“No.”
Ferdinand offered Wilfried his advice in a careful voice. But the one who objected was not Wilfried. It was another aristocratic faction cadet. Pale-faced, he shook his head at those looking at him.
“Even when Krieger was in the Allied Forces, he nearly wiped us out alone. If it hadn’t been for Wilfried, Krieger would’ve killed more than ten Imperial Army soldiers all by himself.”
“Yes, Ernst is too dangerous. He charged in with nothing but a bayonet, knocked everyone down, killed them all...”
Wilfried agreed with the cadet, who sounded like a child terrified after seeing a ghost. Then he shuddered at the horror of it and fell silent.
“Of course, Ferdinand could stop Ernst alone. That is... as long as Ernst didn’t hide and circle around him while shooting, or snipe Ferdinand first.”
“...Calm down. Krieger can’t fight in this battle himself.”
As Wilfried and the other aristocratic faction cadets spoke at length about how dangerous Ernst was, Ferdinand calmly reminded them that Ernst could not fight in this battle.
Still, their frightened words were not meaningless. They were enough to make every cadet understand just how unusual and dangerous Ernst was.
“Damn it. Right. Sorry.”
Wilfried apologized, unknowingly letting out yet another curse of the sort he had used far too often because of Ernst. After a brief silence, he nodded and spoke.
“Then two people should be enough to guard the flag. Ferdinand, choose your two most reliable people. I’ll station them around the flag.”
“Understood.”
“Next... Good heavens. We’re far too short of people. We’ll need at least a hundred to defend the flag from an Imperial Army led by Ernst.”
Wilfried thought back to the way Ernst had positioned his troops in the last battle. As he considered it, despair overcame him.
“Wilfried, calm down. You’re the commander. You have to stay calm.”
Ferdinand offered him steady advice. But Ferdinand had no clever solution either.
Even as Wilfried sensed defeat and despaired, he tried to find some way out. Ferdinand quietly accepted the defeat before him and sought to achieve as much as he could within it. That was the small yet great difference between them.
“...Thank you. All right...”
Covering his nose and mouth with a fair, delicate hand, Wilfried struggled to find a way through. His lake-blue eyes flashed beneath his dazzling golden hair, making him look as beautiful as an angel. But the lips hidden behind his hand were twisted harshly.
“I’ll spread our troops evenly around the flag.”
After a long struggle, Wilfried made his decision.
“There’s no point concentrating our forces in one place. Ernst will find an opening and attack there. So we’ll keep our troops as close together around the flag as possible. When fighting breaks out, we’ll react as quickly as we can and concentrate our strength. And...”
Wilfried lightly bit his lip behind his hand, drawing out the last word before continuing.
“We should use scouts too. Not many. Three. Ferdinand.”
“Good. I’ll choose our three quickest people.”
Ferdinand followed Wilfried’s command without a single complaint. He was acting on his belief that a soldier had to obey orders.
Even if their opponent had not been Ernst, and their commander had not been Wilfried, Ferdinand would have faithfully followed his commander’s orders.
Meanwhile, the cadets of Ernst’s platoon were also talking.
“So, what should we do?”
“With Krieger here, getting through should be easy. Hmm... Honestly, I don’t feel like we could lose, whatever we do.”
“The Imperial Army has Rangers too, doesn’t it? Couldn’t Krieger become a Ranger?”
“And since he’ll be an officer, wouldn’t he join as a commander? Being a Ranger commander is a really big deal. My older brother told me that a single Ranger platoon commander’s judgment can decide how an entire battalion moves.”
“Wow, Rangers have that much influence?”
“They only select the very best. And they act as the unit’s eyes and ears, spotting dangers and finding routes. Of course they do.”
The cadets of Ernst’s platoon had forgotten their factions and were sitting together, chatting warmly. They shared the feeling of having been passed over and abandoned by Ferdinand and Wilfried. They had also grown close while working with Ernst and achieving more together than they had expected.
“So, Platoon Commander Ernst. What’s the plan?”
Robert casually asked Ernst. At his question, the other cadets also stared at Ernst.
“I’ll tell you the plan after the mock battle starts.”
Ernst spoke calmly, meeting everyone’s eyes.
“Can’t you tell us beforehand? It would make carrying it out easier.”
A military faction cadet asked him, looking puzzled. Ernst shook his head firmly.
“No. Hmm, not this time.”
After his firm refusal, Ernst added the last words quietly. The cadets assumed he had come up with some astonishing tactic and was worried their surprised reactions might give the enemy a clue. So they all accepted it and asked no more about his plan.
Instead, the cadets of Ernst’s platoon spent their rest period sitting together, chatting and reviewing the two mock battles they had fought so far.
“What are they saying?”
“They’re just chatting.”
“Ernst, did you even see this coming?”
Wilfried, who had secretly sent a scout to steal Ernst’s plan despite it being a rest period, felt frustrated once again. He had become capable of doing things his past self would have considered dishonorable.
“There’s nothing we can do. We’ll follow our plan.”
With that, Wilfried went over the plan with the cadets once more. But he would have to decide the exact troop positions after personally checking the terrain around the flag. For now, all he could do was explain the general outline.
“We’ll be terribly short on time.”
“I thought the rule was meant to keep Krieger in check, but it hasn’t done us any favors either.”
Through this process, the cadets realized that Thomas’s rule change was proving fairer than they had expected. Of course, Ernst would benefit most from having more time, but the other cadets were under time pressure too.
“Rest is over. Move in.”
They had been given enough time to rest, and when Thomas spoke, the cadets ran toward the training grounds with grim determination. With so little time, they had to run as fast as they could.
“They pulled themselves together quite quickly.”
Thomas nodded in satisfaction as he watched the first-year cadets. Appointing Ernst as a platoon commander had been worthwhile. Among the sheltered new cadets of the Imperial Military Academy, Ernst had clearly been trained in a very different way.
Thomas walked at an easy pace toward a spot with a good view of the training grounds. He was very much looking forward to seeing how the first-year cadets would perform in this battle.
* * *
The Allied Forces cadets under Wilfried hurried to take their positions. As planned, he stationed two directly in front of the flag and three scouts along the edge of the forest. He carefully placed the remaining thirty-three troops around the flag.
They were packed into far too small an area, but there was no better option. Above all, their mission was to protect the flag, not to stop the enemy from passing through the forest.
Baaang!
Having barely finished taking their positions in time, the Allied Forces cadets tensed at the gunshot announcing the start of the mock battle and watched their assigned areas. Surprisingly, not one of them was distracted or careless. They had all already experienced how frightening Ernst could be.
“...Why is it so quiet?”
But as the silence dragged on, the young boys quickly began to lose patience. It was not simply impatience, but also an expression of their anxiety about an unpredictable enemy.
“What on earth is happening up ahead?”
The cadets grew even tenser as they imagined what terrible, evil, and cruel thing that damned Krieger might be planning beyond the silent trees.
Rustle.
“...”
At the sound of leaves brushing together ahead, the cadets thought the moment had finally come. They tensed and aimed their crossbows.
“Wait, don’t shoot. It’s me.”
“...Whew!”
But the person approaching was not part of the merciless, cruel Imperial Army led by Ernst. It was a scout they had stationed near the entrance to the forest before the battle.
“Has the enemy started moving?”
Wilfried poked his head out from the bushes and asked urgently. The cadet serving as a scout could not answer easily. After hesitating for a long time, he slowly shook his head.
“Then what?”
Wilfried pressed him. Only then did the scout speak.
“They haven’t moved.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I mean they haven’t moved at all. They haven’t even taken the hill.”
“...Why?”
“I don’t know either...”
The scout trailed off uncertainly. An eerily heavy silence spread among the cadets.
Wilfried stared blankly into the distance, as though stunned. He looked beyond the forest, as if trying to see Ernst, who was there but hidden behind the trees.
His pale lips moved, then stopped. His delicate eyebrows twisted. Then heat rushed to his fair, smooth forehead, turning it red.
“...”
Wilfried stood as still as a beautiful stone statue, glaring fiercely at the unseen Ernst. The duke’s son showed such intense anger and burning suspicion that they overshadowed even his beautiful appearance and completely overwhelmed the other cadets.
After a long silence, despite that frightening passion, Wilfried gave his order in an extremely calm voice.
“We’re not changing the plan. Hold your positions.”
Then Wilfried lay down and hid among the bushes again, even though he had realized that Ernst would never enter the forest.
As Wilfried expected, Ernst never even approached the forest. All he did was station all eighteen cadets, including himself, near the flag and have them watch the area.
“...Time’s up. Head back.”
In the end, not a single shot was fired before a training assistant stepped in to announce the end of the mock battle.
“Let’s go back.”
Wilfried spoke to the cadets following him in a calm voice, so calm and frozen that it was frightening. Then he strode ahead and left the forest.
None of them could understand the situation. What had happened? Why had Ernst not attacked? They could not make sense of any of it.
“...I see.”
But one person, no, two people understood the situation correctly. Wilfried and Ferdinand.
Ferdinand stood still with a stiff expression, glaring fiercely into the unseen distance as though he could see Ernst there. Then he gave a heavy nod.
After that, Ferdinand also strode after Wilfried to leave the forest.
Since they had not fought, the cadets had all been able to recover their strength while waiting. There had been no deaths either, so everyone left the training grounds at almost the same time and gathered before Thomas.
Wilfried spotted Ernst, who had arrived first, and started toward him with a cold expression. But he felt Thomas’s heavy gaze and stopped abruptly. Clenching his fists tightly, he walked silently to his place.
Once all the cadets had gathered, quiet murmurs began to spread like ripples. Most of the cadets were confused, and those who had served under Ernst were no exception. They also failed to understand why Ernst had not ordered an attack.
That mood continued as the training assistants collected the crossbows, bayonets, and wooden rounds issued to the cadets.
“Attention.”
Thomas silenced the noise with a single word. Standing before the cadets with his hands behind his back, he quietly looked down at them all with rocklike, dark brown eyes.
“The progress you showed during your first mock battle training was remarkable. Excellent work.”
Thomas’s face was expressionless, but clear satisfaction filled his voice. In fact, he was extremely pleased with the situation.
“Congratulations. You were the best first-year cadets I have ever taught, and that will be properly reflected in your grades. But do not forget that the ground you covered today was only the starting point. The road ahead is longer than you can currently imagine.”
Thomas offered the first-year novices the highest praise. In all his years as an instructor, he had never seen cadets grow this much during their first mock battle training.
And everyone knew it was thanks to the unusual cadet named Ernst.
That was why none of them could understand why Ernst had done nothing but wait during the final mock battle.
“And I will award two merit points to the cadet who performed best among the platoon commanders.”
Thomas did not stop at praise. He even announced an award of two whole merit points. At those words, everyone glanced at Ernst.
“Wilfried Rabid.”
“...Sir?”
“Two merit points. Everyone, applaud.”
“...”
Clap, clap, clap.
The person Thomas awarded merit points to was neither Ferdinand, who had devised efficient tactics and calmly carried out his plans, nor Ernst, who had completely dominated the mock battles. It was none other than Wilfried.
The cadets applauded. They were a little puzzled that Ernst had not received the points, but they also recognized Wilfried’s ability, so they applauded without question.
“Instructor, I don’t understand why I’ve received merit points.”
But Wilfried could not accept what everyone else accepted.
Like the father he hated so much, Wilfried lifted his chin proudly, as though proving his great bloodline, and addressed Captain Thomas Koller.
“If any of us should receive them, it must be Ernst Krieger.”
Wilfried was so bold that he looked ready to go beyond disobeying an order and openly challenge his superior.
“Rabid. Your honor is none of my concern. I gave them to you. Shut your mouth and accept them quietly.”
But before Thomas, young Wilfried was nothing more than an immature novice. Having crushed Wilfried’s objection with his calm words, Thomas stared coldly into his blue eyes.
“After you become an officer, will you still talk about honor and refuse what you’re given when your subordinates’ lives are at stake?”
“...”
Wilfried could not argue with that. But the emotions burning inside the noble boy remained.
As a duke’s son, he had once desperately wanted favors he could never obtain. Yet after entering the military academy, he had received countless favors he did not want, until he had come to despise them.
“Hartmann, explain why Rabid received the merit points.”
Thomas watched Wilfried as he gave Ferdinand the order, moving only his lips.
“Yes, Instructor. In the first mock battle, when none of us properly understood the situation, Rabid personally carried the flag to a new position, turned the situation to his advantage, raised morale, and won through excellent command. In the second mock battle, he faithfully carried out his assigned mission under Krieger’s command. Although he lost, he achieved some results with a small force. In the final battle, he tried to protect the flag using tactics that, while not the best possible, were the best he could manage. He also used scouts to understand the situation. Even in the unusual situation where the enemy did not attack, he did not get worked up and make a mistake, but calmly carried out his assigned mission. Rabid faithfully performed the Imperial Army’s mission when fighting as the Imperial Army, and the Allied Forces’ mission when fighting as the Allied Forces. He is the cadet who grew the most through these mock battles. Therefore, if only one person is to receive merit points, it should be Rabid.”
At Thomas’s order, Ferdinand explained without hesitation why Wilfried deserved the points.
Wilfried watched Ferdinand with burning eyes. He knew his own shortcomings, and he knew Ferdinand was better than him. If they had fought mock battles on equal terms, Wilfried would not have won even once.
“Good. Well explained.”
Thomas nodded at Ferdinand’s explanation.
“The most important thing is that he did not confuse the ultimate purpose of the battle.”
Thomas spoke calmly to Wilfried, who still looked full of dissatisfaction.
“Rabid, when you were in the Imperial Army, you attacked into the forest. When you were in the Allied Forces, you stayed within the forest and focused on defense. That means you understood why you were fighting.”
Thomas nodded in satisfaction.
“Hartmann attacked out of the forest in the first battle. Taking the high ground to gain an advantage is good. But that is not the Allied Forces’ way. He was so focused on victory that he became too aggressive.”
Only then did Wilfried understand why he had received the merit points.
“Finally, Krieger.”
Thomas shifted his gaze and glared at Ernst. Ernst had no complaints about the situation. In fact, he had sincerely applauded Wilfried with a perfectly innocent expression.
“As a member of the Imperial Army, you were supposed to attack the forest occupied by the Allied Forces. Instead, you refused your orders and did not attack. That is clear insubordination. Insubordination in the face of an enemy you must fight can earn you a death sentence at trial. Yet you dared to disobey despite knowing that. Am I correct?”
“Yes, Instructor.”
Ernst answered Thomas’s sharp question calmly. He truly knew that it was insubordination and that he would be sentenced to death at trial.
Insubordination during peacetime or wartime would lead to a trial, but not a death sentence. Insubordination during combat with the enemy, however, could even lead to immediate execution without a trial.
“Why did you do it?”
At Thomas’s demand, Ernst shifted his shining black eyes slightly, then looked at Thomas and spoke.
“The enemy was already in position in the forest, and they knew we would attack. No matter how great our advantage was, attacking in that situation wasn’t the right decision.”
“...”
An odd silence followed Ernst’s answer. Thomas watched him with his lips pressed tightly together. Then, very slowly and very slightly, he nodded.
“Yes. That judgment was correct.”
Thomas agreed with Ernst’s answer in a very quiet voice. Even the three cadets standing at the front as platoon commanders could barely hear him.
Ernst could certainly have won. In fact, they probably could have won simply by charging in together without any special direction. Yet Ernst had not attacked. He had turned down a battle he was certain to win.
To Ernst, who knew how unpredictable and dangerous a forest could be, attacking would have been incredibly foolish.
It also would have gone against the “way to survive” he had learned from his respected father, Hires Krieger.
“However, a soldier must follow orders and complete the assigned mission. Krieger, I will not give you demerit points. But there will be no next time. From now on, follow your orders.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
Ernst answered Thomas’s stern words calmly.
Thomas looked at Wilfried again. Now even Wilfried could no longer object to the merit points he had received. They had not been given to him because he was a duke’s son. He had received them because he had genuinely done well.
For the first time, Wilfried felt that he had accomplished something on his own. An unfamiliar emotion filled him.
“That concludes today’s training. Well done. Board the transport vehicles. We’re returning.”
“Yes, sir!”
The cadets answered loudly and dragged their tired bodies onto the vehicles.
Ernst boarded with the others. But although he had seemed accepted by the other cadets and part of the group only moments before, he now seemed like an outsider again.
“Ernst.”
Wilfried, sitting across from him, called his name amid the shaking of the transport vehicle as it slowly started moving and the low, heavy noise of its Valt engine.
When Ernst raised his head to look at him, Wilfried’s bright blue eyes shone. He whispered in a low, gentle voice, but with heat behind it.
“Were you looking down on me? Saying I wasn’t even worth fighting?”
“What? No.”
Flustered by Wilfried’s question, Ernst shook his head in denial. Watching that reaction, Wilfried pressed his lips together and nodded.
When Wilfried first realized Ernst had decided not to attack, he really had thought that. But he had soon understood that was not the case. So this was just a small act of spite.
“...I learned a lot from you today.”
Wilfried spoke quietly.
“But I think I still can’t help disliking you.”
“...Why?”
“Why don’t you think about it yourself?”
“What on earth did I do wrong?”
“...”
Wilfried ignored the increasingly anxious Ernst. He knew he was being spiteful, but he could not help it.
However mature he appeared, Wilfried was only a fourteen-year-old boy. There was still a childish side to him. He could not shake off the crushing sense of defeat Ernst had given him and reach out a friendly hand.
When Wilfried realized why Ernst had not attacked, what he felt was more than simple anger. He felt his own shortcomings, his own weakness, and his own cowardice. Once again, Ernst had made the young boy feel ashamed.
Thomas was right. Ernst’s decision not to attack had truly been the correct one.
If they did not fight, no one would get hurt.
Wilfried had overlooked that obvious fact. He had said that duties came before rights, yet he had taken it for granted that they would put duty aside and fight a meaningless battle for someone else’s rights. If this had been real combat, many people would have died in a reckless battle. They might even have been wiped out without winning. In fact, that was why the Mihanil Empire’s War of Conquest had come to a halt.
Even if Ernst’s actions were based on nothing more than “surviving,” and even though Wilfried had a vague sense of that, he still thought Ernst’s decision not to fight had been very brave.
Who could turn down certain victory, accept the criticism of everyone around them, and refuse to fight? And all because of a few minor losses!
A commander must never forget that those minor losses were not simply numbers, but the lives of living people. Yet commanders always seemed to forget. Wilfried was no different.
‘A hypocrite who only knows how to say pretty words.’
Wilfried realized he was no different from his loathsome father, His Grace the great Duke of Rabid. It was a tremendous shock to the fourteen-year-old boy.
Wilfried closed his eyes, only half listening as the flustered Ernst continued rambling. He was too exhausted now to speak with Ernst, who kept touching the parts of himself he was ashamed of.
“Professor Ernst. Seeing this, I finally understand what you said today. It seems you need to develop something called social skills, and I believe I’m just the person to teach you. Now, student Ernst. Repeat after me. I’m a stupid, unsociable fool who needs Professor Robert’s guidance.”
“...You can manage on your own from now on, Zimmermann.”
“...Hey, sorry. Wait. You don’t mean that, right? Don’t abandon me. Hey! Ernst! Hey!”
Ernst was already upset enough over Wilfried. When Robert got on his nerves too, he finally sulked and announced that he was abandoning Robert. But even after they returned to the military academy, Robert kept wailing like a child who had lost his mother. In the end, Ernst had no choice but to take back his decision to abandon him.
“Oh, Professor Ernst, please come in. Yes, yes.”
“...”
Ernst kept glaring at Robert as he walked through the door Robert had opened for him. But he could not stay angry for long at the shamelessly friendly Robert. By the next morning, they were treating each other as usual again.
“...Aren’t you the worst of all?”
As Ernst began his morning as usual, he reached that realization and spoke. Robert said and did all sorts of mischievous things without being hated. Even if someone did hate him, he was forgiven in an instant.
This fellow was the worst of all. There was no doubt about it.
“Oh dear, what a terrible thing to say. With our dear Professor Ernst here, how could I dare dream of taking that position? Indeed.”
“...”
“Ah! I’m hungry! Let’s hurry up and get breakfast!”
As Robert grabbed him and dragged him along, Ernst decided that Robert really was the worst of all. In the end, he could not hate Robert either.
And when they assembled for breakfast, Ernst and the other first-year cadets realized that a very important event was fast approaching.
“Founding Proclamation Day is almost here.”
The disciplinary officer addressed the assembled first-year cadets with a serious expression.
“This will be your first official public appearance as cadets of the Imperial Military Academy. Not even the smallest flaw will be tolerated.”
Founding Proclamation Day was just around the corner. It commemorated the historic moment when Walter Ulrich Mihanil, once merely the heir to a small barony, declared themselves emperor. It was the most important anniversary in the Mihanil Empire. The Imperial Military Academy, where the sons of all kinds of powerful families gathered, could not miss such an important occasion.
“Starting today, you will undergo drill training for the military parade. Prepare yourselves.”
“Yes, sir!”
The cadets answered energetically. But they could already imagine how dreadful drill training for the parade would be. The pressure was enormous too, leaving all their faces pale.
“You may also invite your families to the party held at the academy after the parade, so send your letters in advance.”
The disciplinary officer’s voice softened a little. Founding Proclamation Day was an important day when the first-year cadets could see their families for the first time since entering the academy.
At those words, Ernst’s eyes sparkled. Until then, he had been in a sour mood because of that worst of villains, Robert Zimmermann.
Although Ernst had caused a major incident, he and Robert were currently the only first-year cadets to have received as many as three merit points. It would be no exaggeration to say they were in the lead.
Ernst wanted to invite his respected father, Hires, to the Founding Proclamation Day party and show him that his son was doing well and would not bring shame to his honor.
Ernst wished Founding Proclamation Day would come soon. If Hires praised his son at the party and proudly introduced him to everyone, Ernst would be so happy he could jump for joy.
“Of course, only certain people may be invited into the Imperial Military Academy. I trust you understand what that means.”
“Of course you’d say that.”
“What was that?”
“Yes, sir! We understand perfectly!”
Robert had muttered a small complaint at being told he could not invite his nonhereditary noble family. Under the disciplinary officer’s sharp gaze, he answered loudly.
The disciplinary officer frowned, then let out a small sigh and sent the cadets to the dining hall.
“Isn’t that really too much?”
“You’re the one who’s too much.”
“Are you sulking?”
“What? You don’t need my help?”
“Professor Ernst, I have always respected and followed you from the bottom of my heart.”
“Of course you have.”
Ernst and Robert walked side by side, whispering.
Ernst was terribly excited at the thought of inviting Hires to the party. He would write and send a letter today. House Krieger’s modest home was here in Grimman, so with luck, he could receive a reply within two days.
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