WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ How the Child of Prophecy Survives ◈
Chapter 4: True Warrior
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After Ernst had adapted to the harsh training, a small routine developed in the Krieger household, which consisted of only two people.
“Can you see that man over there?”
“Which one?”
“The man in the black jacket.”
“There are more than ten men in black jackets.”
“Pick out the most unusual one.”
“Um…”
Ernst pressed himself against the window and studied the street.
“The person in the black hat?”
“There are three people wearing black jackets and black hats.”
“The one limping on his left leg.”
“Good. Tell me about him.”
“He’s tall.”
“Not something anyone can see.”
“I think he used to be a soldier.”
“Why do you think that?”
“…Just, somehow…”
“Ernst, there is no ‘just somehow.’”
Hires lowered himself beside his son at the window and spoke quietly about the man disappearing from sight.
“Judging by the way he walks, he injured his left knee. He isn’t using a crutch, so it must have healed, and judging by the changes in his posture and build, the injury must have happened quite some time ago. His right sleeve is more worn, and he keeps something in his left breast pocket, so he’s right-handed. His left hand barely moves around his waist, while his right hand moves widely. Gunpowder pistols have almost no practical use, and Valt pistols are for officers. Even then, they are usually worn where they can be drawn easily with the dominant hand. For a right-handed person, that would be the right hip or left breast. That man is probably very accustomed to carrying a sword on his left hip. Did you see him tuck in his chin and move his eyes beneath the brim of his hat? He was watching his surroundings with stubborn vigilance. Before Valt guns became widespread, he must have been someone who carried a sword across battlefields, or trained to do so. Not just anyone would have wielded a difficult weapon like a sword, so he may have been a knight. He probably saw actual war as well.”
Hires possessed frighteningly sharp powers of observation. In a very short time, he could grasp things Ernst had never even imagined. He gave advice to his young, inexperienced son.
“Your guess that he was a soldier was not wrong. But if it ends as a mere guess, it has no value. Find clues and reason from them. Intuition can sometimes be a great help, but relying on intuition without training is foolish.”
Hires spoke more forcefully than he did during any of Ernst’s other important training sessions. He gripped Ernst’s shoulder so tightly that the boy let out a small groan of pain.
“Never stop thinking. Constantly doubt, analyze, understand, and deduce. Answers are not given. They are reached.”
After saying that, Hires pointed out another passerby and had Ernst deduce things about them.
Ernst thought of it as a game. He greatly enjoyed standing beside his father at the window and chatting as they watched people pass.
Through this process, Ernst became able to take in vast amounts of information without realizing it. Hires steadily filled his son’s mind with knowledge about soldiers, fallen nobles, adulterous men and women, thieves, murderers, and more.
“How do you know so much, Father? And how can you figure it all out in such a short time?”
Ernst had asked in amazement at his father’s abilities. Hires had only replied in a low voice, as he had before, to his bright-eyed son.
“To survive.”
Young Ernst could not understand the pain contained in those words. He only thought they sounded somehow cool.
And to a young boy, anything cool was irresistible. Ernst studied all the harder, learning what his father taught him, the “ways to survive” Hires spoke of.
Ernst assumed that all cadets learned things like this at military academy. He thought cadets who went directly from the Youth Military Academy to the Imperial Military Academy had already learned it all, and that made him anxious. Perhaps Imperial Military Academy cadets were already learning things Ernst could not even dream of, and performing them perfectly.
Ernst simply did his best to learn whatever his respected father taught him. Without even knowing what he was learning, he welcomed the spring of his fourteenth year, when he was old enough to enter the Imperial Military Academy.
Hires left home for several days. He did not explain the circumstances in detail, so Ernst had no idea where Hires had gone or what he was doing. Still, fourteen-year-old Ernst was far too dependable a boy to tremble with anxiety just because his father was away. He quietly devoted himself to his studies.
When Hires returned, he personally placed Ernst’s admission letter to the Imperial Military Academy in his son’s hands.
At last, Ernst would enter the Imperial Military Academy, just as he had hoped.
* * *
Ernst stood before the front door and looked back at the house. The sight of the darkened interior felt unfamiliar, likely because Ernst had always stubbornly kept every candle and lamp in the house lit.
Buying candles and oil had never been much of a problem. Ernst had once calculated how much wealth Hires, or rather the Krieger family, possessed. Retiring as a colonel alone meant Hires could live without worrying about money for the rest of his life. On top of that, he had received seven medals.
The Krieger family probably possessed far more wealth than Ernst imagined.
Hires had stubbornly tried to preserve the old house exactly as it had been. As far as Ernst knew, the only thing in this scene that had changed was himself. In other words, apart from Ernst growing up, only the little chair he had sat in when he was learning to walk had changed.
Now fourteen, Ernst was growing rapidly. His head already reached the shoulder of Hires, who was tall himself.
Once Ernst had grown, Hires threw away all the child-sized chairs and tableware. He bought adult furniture for Ernst instead, and only the finest pieces. There was probably no furniture in this old house more expensive than Ernst’s bed.
Yet Hires’s most cherished possession was an old chair he had not used even once in the past fourteen years. Still, it was always spotless and carefully maintained, without a speck of dust.
Just as his father had done, Ernst had always carefully looked after the chair of his mother, Mia Krieger, whose face he had never seen.
“Um…”
Ernst stared at the small living room beyond the short corridor, at the dining table in its center and the family’s chairs. After hesitating for a moment, he began untying and removing the boots he complained about wearing because the many eyelets made them troublesome to put on and take off.
Wearing slippers, Ernst strode into the room. He moved his father’s and mother’s chairs closer together, then carefully placed his own chair opposite the center of theirs.
He unfolded the letter on the table and read it again, then frowned, feeling a little embarrassed.
Ernst neatly laid the letter between his parents’ chairs. As though being chased, he hurriedly put his boots back on and picked up the bag he had packed rather lightly for someone leaving home for four years.
Standing before the door, Ernst turned his head again to look at the dark, empty house.
Hires had left home again a few days ago. Ernst did not know where or why, but Hires would not attend Ernst’s entrance ceremony.
“…I’m off.”
Ernst whispered a farewell no one could hear and stepped outside.
Click.
After the door closed, the empty house did not answer the greeting of the boy it had sheltered and raised. It only sank silently into darkness and waited for its lights to be lit again.
* * *
Grimman, the imperial capital, was in an uproar as people from across the country gathered to enter the Imperial Military Academy.
Simply entering the Empire’s finest military academy was an honor for one’s family. If a cadet graduated safely, they would immediately receive a commission as a second lieutenant. Unless they made a particularly serious mistake, they could follow the elite path and become a major without much difficulty.
Once one became a major, the road ahead could be called smooth. By becoming a staff officer and choosing the right patron, one could build ties with generals and easily meet high-ranking nobles. It was enough not merely to advance oneself, but to raise an entire family.
“Could you go a little faster?”
Lost in thought as he watched those heading to the Imperial Military Academy, Ernst asked the driver in a calm voice.
“It would be difficult to go any faster. As you can see, the streets are a mess.”
The driver glanced back at Ernst and replied curtly, though not too rudely.
The boy had hailed a carriage on the street, so he probably was not from a wealthy family. Still, there was only one reason a boy of this age would be heading to the Imperial Military Academy right now. He must be enrolling.
Which meant he was either a noble or had a family member who was at least a field-grade officer. There was no benefit in acting arrogant for no reason.
“Do you think I can make it on time?”
Ernst asked. He habitually tried to brush back his slightly curly black hair, then remembered that he had cut it short for admission to the academy and lowered his hand awkwardly.
“Well, it might be close.”
The driver knew how crowded the streets became at this time of year. They had dealt with it for years, so they knew Ernst’s timing was extremely tight. Yet they remained perfectly at ease. It was none of their concern whether Ernst was late and had his admission canceled.
“You’d get there faster on horseback. Or you could run.”
“I couldn’t borrow a horse, could I?”
“Even if you say that…”
The driver could not hide their discomfort at Ernst’s question. In truth, they could rent him a horse if Ernst paid enough. But that would leave the carriage stranded in the middle of the street. And after Ernst went to the Imperial Military Academy alone, how would he return the horse to the driver? In this chaos, it would be a problem if the horse ran away or was stolen.
For the same reason, Ernst had not ridden Dreck, the horse he usually rode. If he had come with Hires, he could have left Dreck with him before entering.
“Can’t be helped.”
Ernst sighed softly, took money from his bag, and handed it to the driver. It was less than the amount they had originally agreed upon, and the driver was about to give him a piece of his mind. But Ernst had already leapt from the carriage and was running off. Since the carriage was practically crawling through the congested street, the price Ernst had paid was entirely fair.
“Damn. The brat’s clever.”
The driver grumbled as they put the money into a pouch inside their clothes. They had assumed Ernst was some country noble because he was entering the academy without even one family member or servant. But the boy thought quickly and acted quickly.
Now they would have to find some other fool to make up today’s earnings.
Ernst ran through streets crowded with carriages, horses, and people. He ran calmly, neither too fast nor too slow. If he sped up because he was in a hurry, he would quickly tire himself out.
More importantly, once his pulse quickened, a headache began to form. He did not want to attend the Imperial Military Academy entrance ceremony exhausted and suffering from a headache.
“Excuse me.”
“Hey! What the?”
“Coming through.”
Ernst skillfully slipped between people as he ran. It was not particularly difficult, since people saw him running and moved aside on their own. They assumed he was a pickpocket and gave him space. A real pickpocket would have quietly approached and robbed them without a sound, of course.
Ernst had been running well, but as his breathing grew rough and his pulse quickened, he grimaced and began pressing at his head. His headache had finally started.
Honestly, he could endure a headache and keep running. He was used to it. But becoming accustomed to pain did not make it enjoyable, and Ernst realized he was in quite a difficult situation.
Ernst considered where things had gone wrong. Then he remembered untying and tying those damned bootlaces just before he had left home. He vowed never to wear boots again unless he was in a cadet uniform or military uniform.
As he neared the Imperial Military Academy, he began seeing other boys running like him. They all ran wildly with pale faces. Despite his headache, Ernst calmly estimated the time and decided he would not be late after all.
Neigh!
“Ah! Please, just stay still!”
The crowd that had been slowly moving forward came to a stop at the sudden commotion. A horse was rearing and thrashing about in the middle of the street. A boy stood nearby, not knowing what to do.
Ernst immediately understood the situation. The boy who seemed responsible for the mess looked to be about the same age. He had probably panicked over the time and tried to ride at full speed to the academy. Judging by the horse’s behavior and the boy’s inept response, it did not appear to be a horse he had raised himself. He must have bought or borrowed it in a hurry. Since he was well dressed, perhaps he had simply bought one outright.
People cursed as they squeezed past, keeping as far away from the frantic horse as they could. But the already agitated animal seemed threatened by the people all around it and moved violently. There was no sign that the situation would improve.
“Please don’t do this to me! My father will kill me if I’m late!”
The boy who appeared to own the horse did not even know how to calm it. He could only plead with it. He would be better off running at this point.
As everyone passed him while cursing, someone approached.
“Hey.”
Ernst grabbed the flustered boy by the shoulder and pulled him back, stopping him from getting too close behind the horse. One wrong move and he could have been seriously injured by its hind legs. With bad luck, he might even have died.
Ernst found it frightening that a boy who had clearly never ridden a horse in his life had somehow found the courage to ride one through such a crowded street.
“W-What is it?”
“You’re going to the academy, right?”
Ernst pulled the boy away to stop him from making a noisy nuisance of himself near the horse’s rear and committing involuntary suicide. He spoke calmly, but he was frowning from his headache, so the boy, suddenly grabbed, was startled.
“What? You looking for a fight?”
“I’ll calm the horse down. Then I’ll ride it for you, since you obviously know absolutely nothing about riding.”
Ernst spoke in a calm voice to the boy, who was so flustered that he was picking a fight.
“I’ll ride, and you sit behind me. Sound fair?”
The boy stared blankly at Ernst with wide brown eyes.
“Fine. That sounds like a fair deal. Then hurry up and do something about this crazy horse.”
As if he had not been panicking and stamping his feet just moments before, the boy smiled with complete ease.
Ernst decided the boy was probably not a noble. And certainly not from a military family. He must have come from a wealthy commoner household, bought a noble title with money, and bought admission qualifications with money as well.
Ernst quietly watched the horse as it circled in place. When it turned toward him, he began slowly approaching. The excited horse stamped its hooves harshly in warning. It must have wanted to flee in terror, but the crowd was too dense for it to escape.
Ernst only looked into the horse’s eyes and approached slowly. The horse was so agitated that onlookers thought this young boy was being reckless and would pay dearly for it. But no one stopped Ernst. They were all too busy going their own way.
“…”
Ernst looked into the horse’s black eyes and drew closer. The frantic horse fixed its gaze on him. Soon, as Ernst did, it began quietly staring back into his eyes.
Snort… Snort…
Then the horse stopped, breathing harshly. Perhaps its agitation had not entirely faded, and it still shifted its legs in place, but that was all. As if worn out from thrashing around, the horse lowered its head and allowed Ernst to gently stroke it.
The now-calm horse stood quietly as Ernst stepped into the stirrup and swung himself into the saddle.
“Get on.”
Holding the reins, Ernst guided the horse over to the boy, its original owner, who was looking up at him.
“Wow. How did you do that?”
“Couldn’t we talk about that later?”
“That’s true.”
The boy tried to climb onto the horse’s rump, but unfortunately, Ernst occupied both the stirrup and saddle. Since the boy’s legs were not particularly long, he could only struggle helplessly without managing to get up.
“Take my hand.”
“Ah, this is embarrassing.”
Ernst held out his hand. The boy took it while grumbling. Ernst pulled him up in one motion and seated him on the horse’s rump.
“Hold on tight. You might fall.”
“Damn it. This is completely wrong. A pretty girl should be behind me, holding my waist tight while I ride.”
“How about learning to ride first before thinking about that?”
The boy grumbled, but wrapped his arms around Ernst’s waist. Ernst skillfully urged the horse into a run.
“Ahhh! This is so fast!”
“No, it isn’t.”
“It is! We’re going to crash!”
“We won’t.”
Ernst wove between carriages and people. The boy clinging to his back was rather noisy, but that did not matter much. The horse was running perfectly well on its own.
“Hey! Give me a ride too!”
Other boys in the same situation waved and shouted at Ernst. Ernst politely inclined his head and answered.
“Sorry, the horse isn’t mine. And three people would be too many.”
Then he sped past them. Someone seemed to swear, but Ernst did not care.
“Wow! Riding a horse is pretty fun. Should I ask my father to buy me one?”
The boy clinging to Ernst’s back had relaxed enough to look around as he spoke. The horse he was currently riding belonged to him anyway. Yet he casually planned to ask his father for another one, so he must have grown up in a very wealthy family.
“You’ll be riding whether you want to or not.”
“What? Why?”
Ernst kindly explained.
“Riding is a required skill. Don’t think you’ll always be able to travel by automobile. When you’re in a hurry, you ride a horse. When you’re in even more of a hurry, you run on your own legs. And among nobles, riding is also part of social life.”
“…You’re a noble?”
“I am. Though I’ve never attended a social gathering.”
“Oh, I thought you were one of those noble young masters who lives by putting on airs. Don’t confuse people like that.”
The boy spoke sharply, then giggled. He must have thought Ernst was some country noble who had come up to the capital. Although the boy was being rather rude, Ernst did not feel too offended. He was simply so bright and unguarded.
“I’m Robert. Robert Zimmermann.”
“You’re a noble too.”
“Recently. My father bought a noble title with money. It isn’t hereditary, so he had to buy titles for every member of the family one by one.”
Ernst realized that the Zimmermann family was much wealthier than he had expected. Buying a hereditary noble title was not something money alone could accomplish, but buying noble titles for every member of the family required an unimaginable amount of money.
Noble society scorned and disparaged such nonhereditary nobles, but in certain political debates and financial matters, they wielded more power than one might expect.
“Now it’s your turn to introduce yourself. You’re a noble young master, so you know that much, right?”
Robert asked with a teasing smile. Ernst looked toward the approaching Imperial Military Academy and answered calmly, but with pride.
“Ernst Krieger.”
Few people knew the Krieger name, but Ernst had always lived with pride in it.
Just as he took pride in his stern and blunt, but respected father, Hires Krieger.
“Good, Ernst. I think we can become very good friends. No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we already are good friends.”
Robert behaved excessively warmly toward Ernst. They had just met, yet Robert already called him by name as though they were friends. He might not have been accustomed to noble etiquette, but he likely possessed natural sociability as well.
“Don’t we know too little about each other to be good friends?”
“Oh, no. No, we don’t. Think about it.”
Robert giggled in response to Ernst’s question.
“If we want to survive among arrogant noble young masters and boring military-family young masters, we need to stick together. You know what I mean, right?”
“Um…”
Ernst wondered how he should answer Robert.
As a hereditary noble with a father who had retired as a colonel, Ernst had never once considered such issues.
“Wouldn’t it be more practical to prove your abilities and befriend cadets from military families?”
“I think so too. But I don’t think I’ll be able to prove my abilities.”
“I see.”
“More importantly, those guys are probably all close with each other already. They’ve been together for years, ever since the Youth Military Academy.”
Robert grumbled.
Most of the cadets entering the Imperial Military Academy were graduates of the Youth Military Academy next door. They had enrolled at ten years old and followed the finest elite course. Their factions had already formed.
“So you were going to gather commoners, nonhereditary nobles, and country nobles, then try to do something?”
“Oh, that’s an interesting proposal. But my goal is to graduate quietly without standing out, get my second lieutenant’s insignia, and retire at the right time. I have no intention of doing anything so unwise.”
“Isn’t it a waste to stop at second lieutenant?”
“With an Imperial Military Academy diploma and a second lieutenant’s rank, I should be able to do most things. Buy a hereditary noble title, for instance…”
Ernst noticed that Robert was more intelligent and realistic than he had expected.
“Is your father a merchant?”
“Of course. Where else would he get the money to buy noble titles?”
“He could be a wealthy landowner.”
“That’s true too.”
As they talked about such nonsense, Ernst lightly jumped down from the horse first. Robert saw the soldiers standing guard before the Imperial Military Academy and stiffened as he dismounted, nearly falling.
If Robert had been a little less nervous, he might have noticed that they all had fair faces that had not fully lost their boyishness. They were all Imperial Military Academy cadets who would become Ernst and Robert’s seniors.
“What are you going to do with the horse?”
Ernst stroked the horse’s neck and asked Robert.
“Ah, um. I hadn’t thought of that. Want it?”
Robert seemed wealthy enough, and generous enough, to casually offer a horse to a country noble boy.
“No, I don’t need it.”
Ernst refused firmly. There would surely come a day when he needed a horse at the academy. But Ernst had his old friend Dreck, who was much better than this old horse that had pulled a carriage.
“Um… There’s still time, right?”
“Not much.”
“Good. Help me for a moment.”
Robert spoke as though Ernst would naturally help him, then strode off. Ernst had benefited from Robert as well, so he took the reins and followed.
“So, Ernst. Since you can ride, you can assess a horse’s condition too, right?”
“That’s a somewhat different field, but I can assess it.”
“Then find us a poor driver who looks like he needs this fine horse that saved us.”
Ernst raised an eyebrow and looked around. A huge number of people had gathered for the Imperial Military Academy entrance ceremony. Quite a few carriages were trapped in the crowded street, unable to leave.
Among the many carriages and horses, Ernst quickly spotted a horse that was small, old, and looked weak, and pointed it out to Robert.
“Sir! You there, with the fine hat!”
Robert immediately approached a driver and spoke with a smile.
“From what I can see, your friend there seems to have a very minor problem. We may not be able to solve it for you, but I believe we can offer you a new alternative.”
“What are you talking about?”
The driver blinked at Robert’s sudden words.
“You must know about your friend’s problem, right?”
Robert turned to Ernst as he said this. Finding Robert’s actions rather entertaining, Ernst shrugged once and decided to help.
“That horse is very old. Its eyesight seems poor, it is small, and it tires quickly. It must be having a hard time pulling a carriage.”
“Yes, yes. That’s what I was going to say. Think about it. This fellow works hard pulling your carriage now, but what if one day it suddenly collapses while carrying a passenger? What if that passenger is a noble?”
Robert licked his lips once and continued smoothly.
“You know it too, don’t you? Yes, what you need is a healthy, strong, young horse!”
“It doesn’t need to be young. It only needs to be healthy and strong right now, doesn’t it? A horse that is young too would be rather expensive.”
Ernst casually interjected after estimating the age of the horse they had ridden. Robert immediately picked up the point and changed his words.
“Oh, right. You’re correct. Yes, price is also a very important issue. What you need is a healthy, strong horse that, for certain reasons, is currently being sold at a reasonable price!”
“And quite remarkably, we just happen to have precisely the horse you need.”
Clap!
Robert smiled brightly as he spoke, then clapped his hands briskly.
“How much can you pay?”
In the end, Robert sold the horse that had saved them but had now become nothing more than a nuisance. He did it in an instant, and for a suitable price despite being pressed for time.
“Wow! That worked out perfectly. I bought it for a little extra, then sold it for a fair price. The loss wasn’t much different from the carriage fare.”
Robert giggled, clearly pleased. Then he picked out three banknotes from the money he had earned from selling the horse and held them out to Ernst.
“Here. Thirty dek.”
Ernst did not take them, merely raising an eyebrow.
“It’s payment for the work your eyes and mouth did. Thanks to you, I got a fair price and sold it quickly.”
Robert seemed to think Ernst was a boy from a small noble family in the countryside, so he was likely trying to build a connection by using this as an excuse to give him money.
“In that case.”
Ernst shrugged and accepted the money Robert offered. He had never lacked money, but it was payment for work. There was no reason not to take it.
Thus, Ernst and Robert walked side by side toward the main gate of the Imperial Military Academy. Their seniors, wearing enlisted ranks, and upperclassmen wearing noncommissioned officer ranks watched these freshmen who had arrived on horseback and swiftly sold their horse with strange expressions.
“State your names.”
An upperclassman wearing a sergeant’s insignia spoke with slight displeasure in his voice. As Robert had said, unless one came from a high noble family or military family, one would have to endure such contempt until graduation, and even after it.
“…Robert Zimmermann.”
Robert answered in a slightly tense voice. At that, a cadet wearing an enlisted rank rapidly flipped through the documents, found Robert’s name, and pulled a plain rank insignia from a box at his side before tossing it to him. Robert had anticipated this situation, so he struggled by himself to pin it to his shoulder.
“Ernst Krieger.”
When the upperclassman’s eyes turned toward him, Ernst introduced himself in a calm voice. The cadet similarly flipped through the papers and found Ernst’s name. His eyes widened slightly as he looked at Ernst. Unlike when he had carelessly pulled Robert’s insignia from the box and thrown it, the cadet took out an elegant wooden case and handed it to the upperclassman.
“Hmm…”
The upperclassman looked Ernst up and down, then handed him the wooden case. Ernst received it with both hands. The upperclassman opened the case himself, took out the insignia, and pinned it to Ernst’s left shoulder with precise movements.
Ernst’s insignia was blank like Robert’s, but unlike Robert’s, its edges were decorated with gold thread, and its pin was made of silver rather than iron.
The gold thread showed that he was a hereditary noble. The silver pin meant that one of his direct family members was a field-grade officer or higher. After graduation, when they were commissioned as officers, everyone would wear the same insignia. But within the Imperial Military Academy, the difference between these insignia was absolute.
Robert silently opened his mouth wide and turned to Ernst.
“Ernst Krieger. Congratulations on your admission to the Imperial Military Academy.”
The upperclassman held out his hand to Ernst.
“Thank you.”
Ernst shook his hand and replied in a calm voice. The upperclassman watched Ernst for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“I will give you one piece of advice.”
The upperclassman was staring not at the gold thread on Ernst’s insignia, but at its silver pin.
“You should choose your friends carefully.”
“Thank you for the advice. I will remember it.”
At the upperclassman’s remark, made while glancing at Robert, Ernst replied politely without objection. The upperclassman appeared satisfied. He released Ernst’s hand and even patted his shoulder once.
Holding the wooden case that had contained his insignia in his left hand, Ernst calmly strode through the main gate.
“…You stuck-up, vile, traitorous noble brat…”
“You made assumptions, got your hopes up, felt betrayed and disappointed, then said whatever you wanted.”
“Give me back my thirty dek!”
“That was fair payment for work.”
“Damn it! It was!”
Robert grumbled as he walked beside Ernst.
“Weren’t we supposed to stick together with our own kind?”
Ernst asked him. Robert’s lips had been protruding in a pout, but he instantly changed his expression and wrapped an arm around Ernst’s shoulders with excessive friendliness.
“Hey, what are you talking about? We’re beyond worrying about things like that. We’re friends who overcame a difficult crisis together, right?”
“You really are shameless.”
“How else is a poor commoner supposed to make a living?”
“You’re neither poor nor a commoner.”
“Shut up! I’m a poor commoner, so I need protection to survive on this battlefield! I’m delicate! As a noble and a soldier, you should protect a helpless civilian!”
He was so brazen that it became funny instead. Ernst snorted and nodded.
“I’m not in a position to protect anyone. But I think I can be your friend.”
“Yes, friend. Let’s help each other and persevere until we graduate! I think I can offer you a small bit of help for the sake of our friendship. What do you think?”
“I’m not short on money either.”
“No! You must be! How much? How much will it take to buy your protection?”
“We’ll be late. Hurry up.”
“This is unfair! You’re a hereditary noble, from a military family, and you have money too!”
“I’m not from the Youth Military Academy.”
“Right. That’s true, isn’t it? Then we have something in common, that neither of us came from the Youth Military Academy. Let’s join forces and overcome this situation.”
“Yes, yes. We’ll be late.”
Chatting nonsense together, Ernst and Robert headed for the auditorium just before the entrance ceremony began.
Being late to the entrance ceremony meant immediate cancellation of admission. After all, Their Majesty, the great Emperor of the Mihanil Empire, would personally attend the ceremony. They could not possibly overlook a fool who dared to arrive late.
Of course, Ernst was not especially pleased at the thought of seeing Their Majesty the Emperor. The person he wanted to see was not the Emperor, but his father, proudly watching him at the Imperial Military Academy entrance ceremony.
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