EP.2
The motto of the Reich Academy is ‘Accept capable people, regardless of whether they are commoners or nobles, and have them contribute to the empire.’
Thanks to that, I, Peter, or Peter Yeager, was able to get the opportunity to enter the academy and become an officer, even though I was an orphan.
If I had not entered the academy, there is a high possibility that I would have starved to death or frozen to death on the streets, and even if I had survived, I would have fallen to the bottom of society, so I am truly grateful to the first emperor of the Reich Empire and my interviewer, Major Hans Weber, who gave me this opportunity.
Opportunity to change status by becoming an officer Free dormitory in a single room (because there is no one to be a roommate) Three meals a day Maintenance fee Up to 3 gold per month.
Thanks to this, my life over the past three years has become a simple structure where I just have to focus on my studies without being tied down to making a living.
Unlike the lofty dreams of the first emperor who established this academy to put his ideals into practice while providing so much support, the reality inside the school was a gutter.
Still, there is less than a year left.
As soon as I graduate from the academy, I will be commissioned as an officer, so from then on, my status as an officer will represent me rather than being called a commoner or orphan.
In fact, the people in the academy who do not deal with me and avoid me because I am a commoner orphan are the ones I am thankful for.
In the past, now that I am in 4th grade, there are times when people I have never met before start talking to me out of the blue, and now is that time.
“Cadet Jaeger, Cadet Jaeger. “I want to ask you something.”
When I turned in the direction of the sound, I saw a noble master wearing third-year epaulets with a smile on his face, in contrast to his mocking eyes.
In a normal university, you could smile and joke around when talking to a senior, but this is a place where discipline is so strict that it can’t even be compared to a military academy in Korea.
In fact, in the novel, the first-year students at the academy expressed that their bodies trembled and there was fear in their eyes even when they made eye contact with the fourth-year cadets.
In fact, on the first day of training after entering school, an active first-year girl in my class approached her older cousin, who was an assistant instructor, as if she knew him.
Although it wasn’t right, there was a time when I received a reservation for more than an hour.
So, it is almost impossible to imagine a junior with whom there is no special relationship approaching a senior so warmly.
“What do you want to ask?”
“It is said that the common people of the empire eat bread mixed with wheat and rye sawdust. I wonder if that is true.”
After hearing that, I barely resisted opening the lid.
He only pretended to show the bare minimum of courtesy to me, a senior from an orphan, and said, ‘You’re an orphan who has to eat bread mixed with sawdust because you’re poor. Where are you? Are you a cadet cosplayer?’ They are attacking Radis.
I really feel like they’re being rude to me, a 4th grader, because I’m an orphan with no support.
It’s a shame that I can’t educate that son of a bitch properly now like the rest of my classmates.
Because if I file a claim for disciplinary action for disrespecting my senior, that son of a bitch will definitely use his family connections to attack me back.
“People called beggars or poor people sometimes eat such bread. But rather than eating food like that, I would rather eat light barley porridge.”
“Is that so. Thank you for letting me know. There is no one around me who knows the situation of the common people as well as you. “I came to the right place as expected.”
After saying that, that damned pig went back to the poor bastards that were hanging out with him and said with a smile.
“You lost the Milton bet, so give me 3 silver.”
“Ha damn. “I thought I would win because my father said that common people really live off bread like that.”
“I got paid well for the drinks. “If you feel unfair, you can win next time.”
However, since this was an everyday occurrence, I quickly calmed down my emotions.
Then I repeated his name again.
That’s because after being commissioned, I plan to get promoted as quickly as possible, and then once I’m assigned to the same unit, I’m going to find every fault I can with that bastard and press him down with his rank.
This is a world with a strong militaristic side, and within the military, rank is given more priority than the rank of the other party.
So then, you won’t be able to flaunt your status in front of me.
Moreover, today is January 15, 220 of the Imperial Calendar, and the news of this has started to circulate around the school.
After wandering around the school for about 5 minutes, two soldiers wearing helmets and breastplates approached the bulletin board with stern expressions on their faces.
Then he put up a notice and walked away at an angle.
Even though I was at an age where I normally didn’t pay attention to announcements unless they were related to classes or lectures.
Today was a special day, so I passed the students walking to the bulletin board and read the notice.
[Announcement. On January 15, 220 Imperial Calendar, the entire Rhineland is in a stalemate and reinforcements are being sent, but there are not enough skilled officers. Therefore, we will select qualified students from the 3rd and 4th grades and give them the opportunity to serve the empire. Please apply and seize the glory. -Reich Empire General Staff-]
Below, the students’ qualifications, selection method, and perks for being selected were recorded in detail.
First, the qualification requirement is that you must be a student in grade 34 or higher who has not received a failing grade even once while attending the academy.
Since the selection criteria is to check whether they can perform the role of a platoon leader on the front line, they seem to have chosen a method of training 30 new recruits and then holding a mock battle to check their capabilities.
What I learned all day at the academy was how to control and educate soldiers at the platoon and company level, and it was not that difficult for me, who had always received perfect scores in military science-related subjects.
Plus, in my head, there are military training methods that are centuries ahead of this, so I think I can start to stand out here.
On the other hand, the students’ reactions were largely divided into two categories.
“I don’t know if it’s my second year, but I’m graduating next year anyway, so is there any need to apply and go to the front line?”
“It is just as Senior Venter said. “If you go now, you will only suffer.”
“My father said that if you try to get a commission quickly after seeing a notice like that, you will only end up going through a lot of trouble and receiving nothing more than ‘having a sense of patriotism’ in your career.”
Even though there is a notice posted, there are those who just ignore it without thinking about it.
“If my grades are anything to go by, I think I’ll probably go to a position on the front lines or in the back after I graduate anyway. “Why don’t you just close your eyes and give it a try?”
“Well, I heard that if you specialize a little, you can be commissioned a year earlier than others, and your resume says you are an officer who stands out, so you can get promoted quickly.”
“Instead, if you go over there, it’s the front line, so the senior officers don’t take care of it, so most people end up not being able to do their job.”
These are people whose grades were poor and whose hearts were moved by the story in that notice.
However, even within that, a girl wearing an epaulette symbolizing fourth grade could be heard muttering.
“If you listen to professors and newspaper bards talking about the Rhineland campaign, you’ve heard that we are winning. Why are they in such a hurry to bring in the academy’s cadets? Records show that academy cadets are usually partially mobilized only when defeat is certain. “Is there something going on?”
It was hard to see because he was far away, but he had long silver hair, was short, had a body that was visible even through the slightly baggy academy blazer, and had a cool voice.
It is an insight that stands out as much as its beauty.
Judging by her physical features and that insight, she must be Laura von Venner, the heroine of the Empire’s biography. She is the
protagonist’s superior, who was commissioned a year later than me, and becomes the protagonist’s lieutenant in the middle and latter half of the story.
Will I be able to attract this talented beauty as my subordinate?
**
Immediately after all classes were over, I went to the laboratory of Professor Gupta, who was in charge of the project, to apply for the entire Rhineland region.
A study room filled with old books and papers, a black lacquered desk and comfortable-looking chairs, and the armor and uniforms he wore when he was an officer were neatly hung.
And when he finished saying hello, Professor Gupta waved his hand as if he was annoyed and said.
“You want to go all over the Rhineland? “Okay, put the documents on the desk and wait a moment.”
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After waiting for a while, the professor held up my report card and spoke in an awkward voice.
“I’ll be honest. It would be better for you to just graduate next year and be commissioned as a second lieutenant than to be sent to the front lines. Moreover, based on his grades, he can be said to be excellent at strategic and tactical command, so he could easily be promoted to captain after serving in the military for just 15 years.”
Even if you are an orphan, in an empire where wars are frequent, the attrition rate of entry-level officers is high, and ability is relatively reflected in promotions below the rank of warrant officer, which is considered a real vested position in the military.
So, the professor probably said that if you are a top or occasionally second rank in strategy and tactics, you can be promoted to captain.
The problem is that by the time I, a commoner, was promoted to captain after 15 years of service, some of my noble colleagues had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
It is said that even incompetent aristocratic contemporaries would have risen to the rank of major in their later years, unless they were completely retired.
Even lower-ranking nobles who did not attend the academy but went to the Imperial Officers’ Academy may be pushed out of promotions.
How can you tolerate something like this?
“Is that so.”
“It may feel unfair that I was promoted late and was only able to reach the rank of captain because I came from a commoner background. However, even if you only reach the rank of captain, you will be able to become a guard captain in a small city in the empire or a low-level administrator in a local area. Even at that level, you can live a life worthy of nobles. However, if you apply to the front line and fail to establish a major.”
What the professor wants to say is obvious.
If you apply to the Rhineland Front and fail the selection test or do not make any achievements there, you will have failed in career management and can only be promoted to lieutenant.
Then, even if you make use of your career as a student who graduated from the academy, you will be stigmatized as a ‘low-paying student’ and will have no choice but to get a job at a not-so-good place.
For the first time in a while, I felt goodwill toward a professor who warned me about such things.
“I would like to have the opportunity to serve His Majesty the Emperor as an officer of the Empire. At the same time, there is a selection test to go to the Rhineland region, but I am confident that I will pass it. So please send it.”
If I’m going to live another 15 years of life being ignored and cornered without a chance to show off my abilities, I need to make a big contribution here and gain a foothold to leap to a higher place.
Although other professors and students did not mention it, even if you are a commoner, if you often succeed in making great achievements, it is possible to earn a star beyond the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Among the noble families with imperial titles, there are a small number of people who were commoners but earned titles and stars for their achievements.
And I will be among them.
The professor seemed to realize that he could no longer stop me, and he sighed and said.
“Good, then try your best.”
See next episode
