“Gentlemen, do you know what the most glorious battlefield among all battlefields is?”
True to her character, Jennifer took all the students outside again, just like on the first day of class.
It seemed like ‘curriculum’ didn’t exist in this person’s mind.
We definitely received textbooks upon entering school, but we hadn’t even opened them. Seriously, if we didn’t need them, why give them to us? My bag gets heavier every morning.
However, I already knew what kind of person Jennifer was, so I wasn’t too surprised.
Jennifer was a character designed to turn ‘class time’ into ‘gameplay’.
The purpose of a student is, of course, to study. But if students only study in a game, it makes the game incredibly boring. It’s not like we’re playing a dating sim or a setting games quiz.
Thus, this game significantly reduced the studying part and created ‘combat time’ during class.
And in that process, the conflict between characters was highlighted, and the one who effectively utilized that conflict was none other than Jennifer Winterfield.
Of course, if Jennifer kept gathering students for duels every class, the story wouldn’t progress, so she grouped them in the early part for character introductions, while the latter part would be filled with incidents happening left and right.
“Hmm.”
No student raised their hand.
And I knew exactly who Jennifer would pick.
The one she pointed to was—
“Leo Grace!”
That’s right. It was Leo Grace.
He was the protagonist, and in the settings, Baron Grace was also Jennifer’s childhood role model. Although she didn’t openly show favoritism, there were often descriptions suggesting a closeness between them.
Of course, Leo Grace was unaware of such background settings and thought it was just a random choice by the teacher.
Ah, speaking of which, in the original work, depending on choices, Leo could end up dueling against Jennifer. So, maybe this wasn’t too far-fetched. Given that Jennifer and Leo had fought a few days earlier, it didn’t seem too much of a coincidence either.
It wasn’t a coincidence in reality, either.
“Ah, yes.”
Leo got up, looking like he regretted being chosen, but Jennifer didn’t seem to care much.
“Where do you think the most glorious battlefield is?”
“Ah…”
At this point, a choice appeared.
However, it didn’t matter which one he picked. All three choices had their own reasons and were equally valid, so they didn’t fit the intent behind Jennifer’s question.
“Is it the battlefield in the North?”
True to his diligent nature, Leo thought long and hard before giving that answer.
Indeed, that was the first choice.
The others were the South and the West, respectively. The South was still underdeveloped, with ongoing minor conflicts with local tribes, while the West was coastal. While the coast was safe, once you ventured inland, pirate ships were swarming, targeting trade ships heading to the new continent.
All three choices cited maintaining order in the Empire as the reason, but the Southern battlefield, with its particularly imperialistic undertones due to conflicts with ‘natives’, made players in the minor gallery joke about the ‘Imperialism Route’. Though it wouldn’t change the endings or progress, they still found it amusing.
For the record, there are some sequels focusing on the conflicts in the southern Empire, but there, Leo seems to genuinely help the natives.
“Hoho.”
Jennifer, who had served in the North, looked intrigued by Leo’s answer.
“In that case, may I ask why?”
“Yes. The North borders the Riclant Autonomous State. However, the Autonomous State’s security is extremely unstable, leaving them incapable of properly managing their borders close to the Empire, hence their warlords often invade the Empire’s borders. Therefore, I believe the most glorious battlefield is where soldiers are always vigilant to protect the Empire’s citizens from danger.”
“Is that so?”
Jennifer nodded, looking satisfied.
“Indeed. Although they’re called warlords, they are similar to mercenaries without employers. They’ll do anything for money. They won’t care one bit if what they do is dirty. Battling against such people can definitely be called a glorious task. However…”
Jennifer looked straight at Leo as she spoke.
“That glory can only be enjoyed after surviving or by returning as a corpse. The glory of the ‘battlefield’ itself is not the same. But it was a good answer. Sit down.”
Leo sat down again, noticeably relieved.
“The battlefield is—ah, that’s right.”
Cutting her explanation short, Jennifer paused.
Hmm.
This was supposed to be where she explained her theory, but it felt like she had never done this before.
Jennifer’s gaze turned toward me after pausing.
“Sylvia Fanggriffon. Stand up.”
“…….”
Um, why?
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud. It’s not abnormal for a teacher to call on a student. At least it’s far more reasonable than an emperor sending a fourteen-year-old girl as their proxy to international negotiations.
As I stood up without saying anything, Jennifer quietly regarded me before asking,
“What do you think? Where do you believe the most glorious battlefield is?”
“…….”
I absolutely hate presentations.
Even when working on group projects in college, I would take all the slides, but I would always make someone else present. Even when it was advantageous to get the highest score from the presentation, I loathed it immensely.
After all, if you say something wrong, it’s embarrassing.
Naturally, I knew the answer Jennifer wanted. I might have skipped every event after the third or fourth go, but at least until the second go, I replayed the story and watched it again to properly translate each line.
Especially, I remember replaying that scene several times to know which answer was correct among the three choices.
“……There is no glorious battlefield.”
Yes, this was the answer Jennifer wanted. If Headmaster Abraham Winterfield were here, he would have probably blown a gasket.
“Hoho.”
A smile crept onto Jennifer’s face.
As she gazed at me, her lips curled into a grin. Did she like my answer?
Choosing to align with an answer that could be seen as correct rather than something embarrassing was my thought process behind the response.
In fact, I was also a bit curious to see Jennifer’s reaction if I had given a fourth answer.
“Why do you think so?”
Jennifer repeated her question.
“Because the battlefield is hell. There is no glorious place in hell. Although surviving there may be glorious.”
The time was still close to an interwar period.
It was a transitional time from the age of pre-modern linear infantry tactics to modern warfare that maintained cover and shot from afar.
While modern-looking tanks and airplanes began to appear, there were no smart, precise advanced weapons that could accurately strike what was necessary.
Barbed wire was laid down, trenches were dug, and bunkers were made. Thousands of soldiers rushed into the enemy trenches to be chunked up into pieces by machine guns. Shells and mortars rained down intermittently above, and a single direct hit could leave you unidentifiable as a corpse.
In the no-man’s land between trenches, corpses lay strewn about haphazardly.
Flamethrowers, poison gas, land mines, machine guns… weapons so shocking they were impossible to face with just a human body poured over, yet the means to accurately strike those weapons were extremely limited.
The modern wars of the Earth I lived on were hell too, but in terms of a full-scale war, the battlefield in this world was another form of hell.
“…….”
A hint of expression faded from Jennifer’s face.
She took a few steps closer and stared into my eyes.
“……I see.”
And after some private understanding, she nodded.
“Yes, indeed. The battlefield is hell. The tales of knights clashing swords in battle are merely stories of yesteryear.”
And the war where swords clashed was hell in another sense too.
“Sit down.”
At Jennifer’s words, I sat back down. I could feel the gazes piercing me from around, but I tried to ignore it.
“I cannot predict how any of you will survive in battle. Honestly, such things cannot be learned. No matter how much I teach my know-how, it’s impossible for anyone to completely master it. Actions in the field will inevitably evolve to fit each individual’s comfort.”
Jennifer spoke with a serious expression.
“Some of you might even become soldiers. But at least, the subject I’m in charge of is about raising soldiers. And the most essential thing for a soldier is the ability to survive any unpredictable ordeal.”
This was why Jennifer had called us for duels since the first day. She always spoke earnestly.
As someone who had experienced the battlefield firsthand.
“So today, you will learn how to confront unpredictable trials.”
A smile returned to Jennifer’s face.
With a beaming grin, Jennifer gestured like a theater director introducing actors on stage.
“Today, your opponents in the duel will be the commoner class over there.”
At that moment, the commoner class, Class C, was just exiting the building.
The reason they came out later was that Jennifer had suddenly changed the class schedule. It would be more accurate to say that she coordinated with another teacher to overlap the schedules of Classes A and C rather than stealing their class time.
“……Instructor?”
“What is it?”
One of the students cautiously raised their hand to call Jennifer, who turned her head towards them and asked.
“Aren’t the kids from that class commoners?”
“Yes. They are commoners. Is there a problem?”
Uncertain about the unfolding situation, the C-class students looked at us with anxious expressions, and the same student asked again.
“Commoners… haven’t they undergone proper training in any martial arts? Can the way commoners fight really be a ‘trial’ for us?”
Several students chuckled softly at this remark.
“Hoho.”
Jennifer replied, seemingly finding it amusing.
“Is that so? Even the weapons used by Her Royal Highness Sylvia Fanggriffon cannot exactly be labeled as ‘martial arts.’”
“…….”
With her biting sarcasm, the students fell silent instantly.
Indeed.
Among the commoners, very few belonged to a proper martial arts school to train in swords, spears, or magic.
In other words, it meant that they often used ‘weapons that could be easily wielded without training.’
The approaching commoner students were unmistakably visible.
Most of them had rifles or hunting shotguns slung across their backs. Though more civil than military, there were still quite a number—
“…….”
That alone was enough to silence the noble students.
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