I Became the Academy’s War Hero-Chapter 25 : Loving My Comrade, Loving My Country (4)

Chapter 25: Loving My Comrade, Loving My Country (4)
Since we’d already persuaded even the Special Task Force Commander, there was nothing left to hold us back.
Thus, as soon as we returned to the Special Task Force unit, we threw ourselves into selecting a suitable training site.
By combining my memories as a veteran player and those as a war hero, I shortlisted about three locations, then gathered Belfor’s input as well.
And the final result was this:
“Then, it’s decided. We’ll go here.”
“Mm.”
Operation Zone C—3013.
It was a section of forest within the “Benamaur” defensive line on the outskirts of the capital. Due to population concentration in the capital, the nearby villages had long since dropped to a double-digit population.
If Karbenna could temporarily accommodate the few remaining residents during the training period, we could completely eliminate the risk of civilian casualties.
‘The village buildings will take some damage, but…’
The place had already suffered plenty from the beasts, so a bit more destruction wouldn’t make much difference.
The residents had long left, knowing that much.
Up until two years ago—when the northern beasts were at the height of their rampage—Benamaur had been the Empire’s fiercest battlefield.
Eugene Carter wouldn’t remember a thing from that time; he’d been in the depths of his shut-in days back then.
But for me, a tenth-year veteran of MAGA, it was basic knowledge.
‘The more isolated a village is, the higher the chance that abandoned artifacts remain.’
Among those, the artifact I was aiming for was a weapon.
And if I could happen to find one suitable for Francia as well, that’d be even better.
While Belfor organized the Special Task Force personnel, I took a quick look over my status window.
There was one newly updated entry.
[Irregular Schedule Status: Orientation (2/2), C—3013 Advance Team (0/1), Imperial-hosted Conference (0/1)]
‘Advance team, huh… I get what that means.’
I had to go there at least once before the actual training anyway.
There’d definitely be differences between what I remembered and the real terrain.
It’d be a problem if I stumbled around during the real thing, so I needed to scout it in advance.
But as I stared at the status window, a few questions began to form.
Like most training simulation games, in MAGA the “schedule” was something you had to complete.
Whether you were studying, training, or resting, you had to fill all the slots before the next process advanced.
But here, it didn’t seem to matter at all.
‘Even the categorization is too simple.’
In this case, completing the schedule diligently might give some kind of reward—
Maybe a new ability, or a stat boost.
‘It’d be amazing if it could lift the incurable curse.’
Well, that was wishful thinking. The schedule wasn’t that demanding anyway.
While I stayed silent, Belfor finished organizing the team composition.
“Alright, here’s the plan.”
Amid his scribbled notes, several figures stood out.
Walter’s eyes widened as he looked over the document with us.
“What the—cadets are being assigned to guard duty too? You sure that’s okay?”
“The goal’s to make it as realistic as possible.”
Belfor’s gaze turned toward me as he said that.
I rubbed my chin for a moment, then nodded.
“Of course we should. But let’s tweak the formation a bit.”
“How?”
I increased the number of members in each of the six front-line squads by one.
“Let’s make those four-man teams instead of three.”
“You want to add one more per team?”
“Yeah.”
Belfor twirled his pen as he rechecked the total headcount.
“…Forty-seven Special Task Force members, two days and nights of continuous duty.”
There might be some pushback about that.
“How many practical sessions are we planning?”
“Three.”
Just traveling from Karbenna to there took over three hours. We needed to make the most of each session.
Each session would last 20 hours—60 hours in total.
To avoid interfering with other class schedules, all sessions would take place from Friday night onward.
“…That’s the plan for now, though it’s not confirmed yet.”
“Not confirmed? Then what—”
As I maintained a calm expression, Belfor rubbed his forehead, exasperated.
“What, you haven’t even discussed it internally yet?”
I nodded coolly.
“Well, the Chairwoman gave the go-ahead, so I’ll just push forward as I please.”
“Unbelievable… you’re insane. I swear, no professor in Karbenna’s history has ever been this reckless.”
Despite his words, Belfor’s expression held a faint trace of satisfaction.
He started checking the calendar next.
“Next week’s the first practical, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then the 2nd, 7th, and 12th weeks will be the following sessions.”
After noting down the dates, Belfor finally rose from his seat.
Looking down at the two of us, he said with a hint of warning,
“Make sure you’re ready, Carter. Don’t try to weasel out later.”
“Of course.”
“Okay then. See you next week.”
Just as he turned to leave the room, I suddenly grabbed his left arm.
“Mm?”
“Next week? What are you talking about—start packing. We’ll arrange the carriage.”
“…What are you saying all of a sudden?”
“Wait, no way—”
Belfor frowned, while Walter’s face stiffened as if struck by a bad premonition.
I looked between the two of them and grinned wickedly.
“The real training’s next week. You’re not planning to skip the field check, are you?”
Prrrk, prr-rrrk.
The sound of the horses snorting echoed through the carriage.
Somehow, Walter Clark had ended up serving as coachman, and he barely managed to swallow down the curses bubbling up to his throat.
Inside the carriage, Eric Belfor and Eugene Carter sat in silence for a while—though it didn’t last long.
“Hey, Carter.”
“Yeah?”
“Do we really need to personally check every little thing at our rank?”
At Belfor’s grumbling, Eugene replied firmly.
“The cadets need their weekends off.”
“And we don’t?”
“They already work hard enough during the week.”
“Since when did you start caring about that?”
“Shouldn’t I start being a little more mindful of how I act now?”
“Oh, sure. Says the guy who brought up this reckless plan? The Special Task Force members are already on edge these days.”
“That’s that, and this is this. What needs to be done still needs to be done.”
“…….”
“If it’s something someone has to do anyway, wouldn’t it make sense for us to be the first? It’ll look better on our evaluations too.”
“…You really never lose, not even once.”
By this point, Belfor had practically resigned himself to his fate.
He scratched his head as he briefly recalled what had happened half an hour ago.
Eugene had dragged him out of the Special Task Force unit, saying that since it was a collaboration between Karbenna and the Special Task Force, conducting an on-site inspection was only natural.
Since everything had already been arranged in advance, a carriage loaded with military supplies was waiting for them outside.
And surrounding it were over twenty soldiers.
‘How the hell was I supposed to back out in that situation…’
In the end, he had no choice but to climb aboard, effectively resigning himself to a weekend of extra duty.
Belfor slowly shook his head with his eyes closed.
“Seriously, no one’s ever had a better partner than you, Carter.”
“I think so too.”
At Eugene’s soulless response, Belfor let out another deep sigh.
After a long, weary breath, silence once again filled the carriage.
Watching the dusk slowly settle outside, Belfor asked casually,
“So, how’d you pull it off?”
“What?”
“How’d you convince the Chairwoman?”
“I didn’t really do anything. We just happened to run into each other, and she suddenly said she fully supported the idea and told me to do my best. Then she just disappeared.”
“…That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
Eugene wasn’t lying, but his answer did little to satisfy Belfor.
“I can’t figure out her stance. Wasn’t the Chairwoman anti-Imperial?”
“Why, because she’s a Bernhardt?”
“Well, that’s part of it, but mainly because her relationship with the Princess is terrible. I just don’t get why she’d support something that benefits her.”
“She only has a bad relationship with the Third Princess, so it’s not really right to call her anti-Imperial.”
“Hm…”
Eugene let out a faint laugh and shook his head.
“Even so, this is actually a good opportunity for her.”
“An opportunity?”
“Everything has two sides.”
The leadership and initiative to push through a collaboration even with the rival Special Task Force, combined with a curriculum tailored to training talents specialized in subjugating beasts—
“If she can prove herself through results, she can greatly strengthen her position within her family.”
“…Well, that’s possible.”
“But that kind of decision could only happen if she trusted me completely.”
After listening, Belfor nodded, then suddenly turned his head toward Eugene.
“But doesn’t that just mean you’re getting the short end of the stick? What do you even gain by doing something that only benefits the Chairwoman?”
“Even if I don’t gain anything, the Empire does. That’s enough.”
“…….”
Belfor’s expression stiffened, clearly not expecting that answer.
“Judging by that face, you’re actually serious… Did you hit your head hard back then or something?”
“Other than the incurable curse and the withdrawal symptoms, I’m fine.”
Belfor scratched his forehead with an exasperated sigh.
“You should go see a doctor sometime.”
“A doctor?”
“They say when a man suddenly changes, he’s not long for this world.”
At that, both of them burst into brief laughter.
Their laughter echoed inside the carriage for a while before fading into silence.
Eugene turned fully toward Belfor, his face now calm and cold.
“To gain one more achievement, to polish my reputation a little brighter… I drove thousands of soldiers straight into death.”
“…….”
“Becoming one of them made me realize how irresponsible and vile that was.”
“…So you’re trying to fix the system itself?”
“I just don’t want there to be another Eugene Carter.”
Eugene’s gaze slowly drifted upward toward the darkening sky.
“If we can establish a solid, stable system that can tear apart beasts without relying on heroes, then there’ll be no place left for someone like me. That’s the world I want to see.”
“Reforming the entire system, huh… I don’t think that’s something a single person can pull off.”
“Still, it’s better than not trying at all.”
That was the only way I could atone—for the comrades I’d already sent ahead.
“…….”
Eugene, speaking calmly yet firmly, kept his eyes on the sunset spreading beyond the window.
“…Honestly, if it were anyone else, I wouldn’t expect much. But you—I might.”
Turning his head the other way, Belfor continued,
“Go on, then. Take it all the way, you reform-obsessed lunatic.”
He shot Eugene a sidelong smirk and added dryly,
“Well, it’s not like you’ve got anything left to lose, right?”
Eugene gave a faint, amused smile.
Belfor chuckled too and then quietly closed his mouth.
Inside the carriage, silence fell once more—only the steady clatter of the wheels filled their ears.