Chapter 27 - Despair Does Not Belong To Us
Splash!
The Imperial Army cadets, all focused on aiming their crossbows toward the front, had completely ignored the large puddle to the side—no one dared approach it. With the fierce rain and wind driven by the Balt Wind lashing against them, they couldn't even hear the sound of water nearby.
That was why Ernest, who had stripped off his raincoat and hidden himself quietly in the now swampy, deep puddle, waiting for the perfect moment, could finally seize his opportunity.
"Huh?"
A cadet on the Imperial Army's flank noticed something strange out of the corner of his eye just as he struggled to reload in the driving rain and dropped his wooden bolt, causing him to turn his head.
"..."
"..."
Ernest, shirtless and crawling low through the puddle, locked eyes with the cadet.
The next instant, Ernest sprang up, brandishing his bayonet as he charged forward.
"Aaah! It's Ernest!"
As Ernest lunged at him, the cadet who met his gaze screamed in terror like a child confronting a monster in the closet. His legs gave out and he collapsed, while Ernest vaulted over him and struck out with his bayonet.
Snap.
"Argh!"
The Imperial cadets, who had been relentlessly firing at the enemy thanks to the Balt Wind, were now in utter chaos—screaming and fleeing in panic as Ernest, half-naked and savage, burst into their formation slashing with his bayonet. It was the kind of sight that would haunt your nightmares.
But Ernest's real target wasn't them. No matter how skilled Ernest was, there was no way he could hold out any longer in this situation. Surrounded and isolated in the center of ten or more enemies, all he could do was take a beating.
So Ernest made a sudden dash toward the small Little God at the center of their formation.
"..."
"..."
Then, Ernest's body suddenly froze in place.
He saw a glimmer of blue light and realized it was Balt, unleashed by Marie.
Ernest found himself hovering slightly above the ground, caught in Marie's Balt Psychokinesis.
Truthfully, Ernest hadn't expected this reckless plan to succeed. Still, it was the best plan the Alliance Army could attempt, and since Marie was young, he'd hoped there might be a small opening. But even though Ernest had conservatively estimated Marie's abilities, she turned out to be far more skilled as a Baltracher than he had anticipated.
Marie had said this was her first-ever Mock Battle Training. Most people would be rattled by a situation like this, but she responded with astonishing quickness and composure.
Thud!
"Ah!"
A wooden bolt came flying and struck Ernest squarely in the back. Without his shirt, it really stung.
"...You really go to every extreme, don't you. Ernest."
Wilfried, who had coolly taken the shot at Ernest's back from within the formation, spoke with a decidedly pale and exasperated expression.
"Marie. He's done for. Toss him away."
"..."
Wilfried snapped with irritation as he gave Marie an order. But Marie just stared intently at Ernest, who was still floating awkwardly in the air, his eyes darting around.
"...Could you put me down?"
Ernest said a bit sheepishly, and Marie scowled before flicking him away.
However, despite appearances, she didn't throw him all that hard, and she made sure to toss him onto a relatively flat, dry spot. Ernest merely skidded a bit on the ground but landed safely.
"Ugh, it's freezing..."
It was still spring, but the rain was pouring down heavily. Ernest, who had taken off his raincoat, shivered from the cold as he calmly crossed the battlefield to retrieve the coat he'd tossed aside earlier.
"Damn! Did we fail?"
Ferdinand, who had ordered the charge when Balt Wind seemed to stop, saw the wind restart and noticed Ernest stumbling across the field in just his shirt. Realizing this meant the plan had failed, disappointment washed over him.
To make matters worse, the orders hadn't been relayed properly, so the Alliance Army missed their brief opportunity while Marie was busy restraining Ernest. Ferdinand had given the order to charge at the right moment, but only a handful of cadets near him actually heard and followed—and they just slipped and fell as they ran.
In the end, all the Alliance Army could do was charge wildly at the Imperial Army, which still had Marie's support. They fought bravely until the very end. It was truly a heroic last stand.
"Oh."
Meanwhile, Ernest found himself in serious trouble.
"I—I left it right here…"
He kept turning around in circles, trying to find his raincoat. But no matter how many times he spun, the raincoat that had been washed away by the downpour wasn't magically going to travel back upstream and return itself to him.
"The battle's over! Everybody, back to the transport truck!"
And just like that, the battle ended. Ernest had left his cadet uniform near the Alliance Army flag.
"..."
Shivering from the cold, Ernest hugged his nearly bare body and anxiously looked around. But no matter how desperately he searched, the cadet uniform Robert had so carefully hidden under the flag wasn't going to come running back to its owner either.
"Why the hell is this pervert standing here stark naked?!"
It was only natural that Thomas was the first to point out the naked pervert among the cadets who had gathered again in front of the transport truck. After all, every single cadet—including the Training Instructor—was whispering while staring at him.
"..."
The naked pervert couldn't even defend himself.
"That lunatic just came charging out of the swamp!"
"He didn't look like a person—more like some kind of monster!"
The Imperial Army cadets—more specifically, the Noble Faction cadets—launched into passionate descriptions of how terrifying Ernest was. In the first mock battle as well, it was the Noble Faction cadets who had directly fought Ernest. Somehow, they kept finding themselves on the losing end against him.
"Somebody give that pervert an extra raincoat!"
Thanks to Thomas's mercy, Ernest was finally able to throw a new raincoat over his nearly bare body. But despite what he said, Thomas actually seemed to be enjoying the moment. You could tell by the way he snickered unpleasantly after hearing the Training Instructors talk about Ernest's wild antics.
"I'd like to get back to the Military Academy before lunchtime if possible! None of you want a drawn-out schedule either! We're moving straight to the next mock battle! And Krieger!"
"Yes!"
"That's the last raincoat we've got! If you lose it again, you can say goodbye to your pants too, so take better care of it!"
"Yes! Understood!"
With a voice full of desperation, Ernest fastened the raincoat tightly.
Thomas handed Marie a new Balt Battery. While Marie swapped the Balt Battery from the belt on her chest, the cadets were given a brief break.
"What about my clothes!"
"Don't worry! I buried them nicely under the flag!"
"Hey! You should've brought them back!"
"How was I supposed to do that in the middle of training? I could barely take care of myself!"
Unable to contain his frustration while bickering with Robert, Ernest stuck out his leg and tripped Robert. Robert tumbled in the mud, and though he tried to lunge at Ernest, he ended up giving up—he could barely stay standing on his own legs, like a newborn fawn.
"Sitting down is a lifesaver! Want to sit too?"
Ernest ignored Robert, who spoke so nonchalantly. Yeah, this guy is definitely the worst.
"..."
"Marie Fiders!"
"Ah, yes!"
Marie, who had been glaring at Ernest while swapping the Balt Battery, snapped back to her senses at Thomas's sharp voice and hurried to finish changing the battery.
There was still some Balt left in the Balt Battery Marie had been using. Balt Batteries made for Baltrachers use were of high quality, with an exceptionally large storage capacity.
However, Wilfried had pushed Marie to use an unreasonable amount of power, and it wasn't possible to wage another mock battle with the remaining energy in that battery.
Even amid the chaos, Ferdinand kept a close eye on it all. Before long, he turned his head to look at Wilfried.
"..."
"..."
Wilfried gave an unreadable smile and nodded slightly. Ferdinand caught that and gave a small nod in return.
"Move out!"
The cadets began to mobilize for the next mock battle. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Ferdinand walked straight toward the Imperial Army flag, shielding himself from the rain and wind with the barrier Marie had created.
"We'll fight using the same tactics as Wilfried. However, we'll pay even closer attention to any assassination attempts on the Baltracher."
Ferdinand issued the order in a hoarse voice, a lingering effect from the last mock battle.
"Will you be able to use enough Balt like in the previous battle?"
"As much as needed."
"Good. Stand by."
"..."
After asking Marie that single question, Ferdinand didn't so much as glance her way again. Even though he knew her name, he referred to her only as 'the Baltracher' instead.
Marie glared at Ferdinand with an even sharper look than she had given Wilfried. She looked like she could kill someone with her glare alone. But Ferdinand didn't even so much as bat an eye at it.
Meanwhile, the Alliance Army cadets found themselves in a difficult situation.
"My clothes…!"
It didn't matter in the slightest that Ernest's cadet uniform—which Robert had buried in the ground—was now caked in mud.
"So, what do we do now?"
The real problem was that they had no effective way to fight against Ferdinand's Imperial Army.
As long as Marie was with them, the Imperial Army was practically unbeatable. Thanks to the wildcard that was Ernest, they had managed to seize an opportunity in the last mock battle, and Ernest had even taken down two people—but this time, that wasn't likely to happen.
Ferdinand had already seen what Ernest was capable of. He was sure to keep a close watch on him this time. Even Ernest wouldn't be able to pull off anything significant in this situation.
"I messed up!"
Ernest admitted his mistake.
"You're just realizing that now!"
For some reason, Robert cheered, sounding delighted. It probably wasn't just because Ernest had just tripped him a moment ago. Probably.
"If I'd just followed orders in the last mock battle, we wouldn't even have to fight this one!"
"······."
When Ernest spoke so seriously, everyone was at a loss for words.
Back in the last round of mock battle training, Ernest had avoided fighting when he was on the Imperial Army side at the end. As a result, Thomas had warned him not to dodge combat again, and now he couldn't get away with it anymore.
Calling that a mistake—he truly saw even avoiding battle as an opportunity or a resource. He was incredibly consistent.
"Don't you have any good plans?"
Wilfried had gone through enough unpleasant experiences because of Ernest that he didn't want to talk to him. Still, refusing to say anything now would have just been childish. When Wilfried asked, Ernest didn't really have any special advice to offer.
"We'll split up our forces and go for an encirclement attack!"
In the end, Ernest chose to reuse the tactic Ferdinand had employed in the previous mock battle.
Naturally, an assassination attempt by Ernest wasn't even considered. It would have been pointless.
Ernest divided the troops into three groups. Just like before, he put Wilfried in charge of one, and Robert in charge of another.
"Robert, you'll attack from the front and draw their attention!"
"I'm taking the front?"
"Then do you want to slog through the wind and rain and circle around to the flank?"
"Frontline's exactly where I belong!"
"Wilfried! Swing wide to the right and form an encirclement! If you can, push deep into their rear!"
"Got it!"
"I'll swing around to the left and complete the circle!"
In any case, they'd set their plan, split up their roles, and they were ready to go.
"This feels awful..."
Ernest glared out at the rain-soaked field, feeling unpleasant in his cadet uniform, which was now caked in mud.
'...Did I mess something up again this time?'
He thought back to Marie's cloudy blue eyes glaring fiercely at him and wondered. He honestly had no idea what he might have done wrong. All he had done to Marie was hide in a swamp clad in little more than his bare skin and crawl out to try to assassinate her...
"...Ah."
Lost in thought about Marie, Ernest suddenly recalled Founding Declaration Day. Up until now, he had thought of people he didn't care about not as individuals but as mere bundles of information, so he was only now realizing that the small, young girl he had silently encouraged with his lips that day was actually Marie.
If not for Robert's advice, he probably never would have figured it out. More likely, he wouldn't have even bothered to silently encourage Marie in the first place. He would have passed her by, thinking of her as nothing more than an insignificant sapling.
"Teacher Robert!"
"Did you upset someone again, Ernest!"
Whenever this sort of thing happened, Ernest always turned to Teacher Robert, and, as usual, Teacher Robert instantly realized that Ernest was having trouble with his relationships.
"It seems like Marie Fiders hates me, but I don't know why!"
"If I were her, I'd probably hate you too!"
"Why?!"
"Some lunatic came charging at her half-naked—how could she not hate you!"
"Before that!"
"What did you do this time!"
Robert tried to get the full story, assuming from the start that Ernest was at fault. In his experience, whenever something like this happened, Ernest was always the one to blame.
Paang...
"It's started!"
But with the mock battle beginning, they couldn't talk any further. Ernest, under Robert's interrogating gaze, shouted,
"Move according to the plan!"
Ernest led his group of cadets, making a wide sweep to the left as they began their assault. Wilfried also started moving to swing around the right.
"Haa!"
Robert let out a heavy sigh as the rain pounded down on him
"Let's go too! But take it slow so you don't slip!"
"Let's move."
The moment the battle began, Ferdinand surged forward without hesitation. He moved so swiftly that Marie, who was much shorter, simply couldn't keep up.
"Huff! Huff! Gasp!"
Marie had to all but run to stay with Ferdinand and the cadets from the Military Faction, all of whom had sturdy builds. It was already difficult just to walk slowly across this terrain, but having to move that fast meant Marie kept stumbling and falling into the mud.
Even so, she gritted her teeth, picked herself up, and started running again—only to slip and fall, then get up and run again.
"Maybe we should slow down for Fiders..."
The other cadets were so concerned that they cautiously suggested this to Ferdinand.
"The baltracher is a soldier," Ferdinand replied, his voice stern even though he was breathing hard from exertion.
"Are we supposed to slow down the whole advance just for one Baltracher?"
"Well, no, but..."
After silencing the others, Ferdinand looked down at Marie, who was completely exhausted and struggling to catch her breath, and said with a touch of indifference,
"So, do you need my help, Baltracher."
"Ptooey."
Marie only spat out the dirt that had gotten in her mouth while rolling on the ground; she didn't say a word. With lips blue from the cold and exhaustion, she just glared at Ferdinand as if she might kill him right then and there.
Ferdinand nodded and started moving forward again. Gasping for breath, Marie started running once more, slipping and getting up, over and over.
If she used the Power of Baltracher, Marie wouldn't even need to walk. But right now, Marie was using a barrier to shield herself from the driving rain and wind. She wasn't yet skilled enough as a Baltracher to use the barrier and lift her own body at the same time.
"Enemy ahead. Baltracher."
Because Ferdinand was moving so quickly, he could see what lay ahead sooner. He glanced back at Marie and said,
"Use Balt Wind."
"..."
Gritting her teeth, Marie did as Ferdinand ordered and summoned the Balt Wind.
"Oh no! Already?"
"Fire!"
Moving forward with difficulty, Robert was completely caught off guard by the Balt Wind blowing straight at him. And before they could do anything to respond, the Imperial cadets unleashed a volley of fire.
Since Robert's Alliance cadets had assumed the enemy was still far away, they had bunched together without caution while advancing, and they were wiped out in an instant.
"Damn it! What the hell is this!"
The Alliance center was annihilated before they could even react. Even Robert could tell that things had gone completely wrong. After wiping out Robert's forces, Ferdinand pushed straight through. Having now secured the rear of Ernest and Wilfried's positions, Ferdinand swung around to the right and began moving rapidly again.
The center of the Alliance Army had been wiped out and completely overrun. Now, the Imperial Army was attacking from the rear. Having witnessed the Balt Wind in action, both Ernest and Wilfried realized what was happening. However, in these chaotic conditions, with neither knowing where the other was, there was no way to relay new tactics or coordinate their movements.
In the end, Ernest's unit was the first to be caught and wiped out by Ferdinand's rapidly advancing Imperial Army, followed soon after by Wilfried's unit. The battle was utterly one-sided. Not a single casualty occurred among the Imperial cadets.
"Hah! Hah! Hhh..."
But Marie was simply too small and frail to keep up with this merciless advance. After the second mock battle ended, she couldn't even walk on her own. As she used telekinesis to lift herself toward the transport vehicle, Marie gasped in agony the entire way; not only her raincoat, but even her little feet were dragging across the ground.
Thud.
In the end, Marie collapsed to the ground as soon as she reached the transport vehicle. None of the Imperial Army cadets who returned with Marie offered her any help.
"Marie Fiders!"
Thomas grabbed Marie, who was sprawled face down on the ground, and laid her flat on her back. If he left her like this and she lost consciousness, it wasn't a joke—she could actually drown in the running rainwater. Watching Marie's unfocused eyes flutter closed as she hovered on the verge of passing out, Thomas shouted,
"If you want to give up, then say you want to give up!"
Anyone could see that Marie was in no condition to go on. In fact, she might not even be able to speak. She was only thirteen years old this year, still a young girl; she was also a late bloomer and much smaller and frailer than her peers. Even Ferdinand, the physically strongest of the first-year cadets, was left gasping for breath—there was no way Marie could endure this.
Marie could only blink slowly and move her lips soundlessly, unable to say a word. She didn't even seem to fully comprehend what Thomas was saying.
"Marie Fiders!"
Thomas knelt down on one knee, brought his face close to hers, and barked sharply.
"Are you going to give up?"
Logically, this was no time to be asking about giving up or any such nonsense, yet Thomas pressed her once again. Marie stared blankly at his severe face looming above her.
"I'll ask you again! Are you really going to give up like this, Marie Fiders? If so, today's training ends right here! You can go back to the Military Academy!"
Thomas repeatedly asked Marie if she was going to give up. Now, all the cadets watching seemed to understand why Thomas was being so persistent.
They didn't know the precise reason, but it appeared that Thomas wanted Marie to keep going, to push through with the training. And it probably wasn't for the sake of the first-year cadets' education.
"······."
After hearing Thomas's question over and over again, Marie struggled to lift her hand, waving it weakly. Her small head drooped, and her clouded eyes searched the faces of the cadets quietly watching her.
Marie desperately wanted to give up. But at the same time, she didn't want to. She felt that if she ever actually said the words "I give up," something deep inside her would break.
No matter how strong your will is, the body has its limits. Marie was at the point where she couldn't move anymore.
So she needed that one thing more than anything. The thing that had always managed to get her moving again, even when she had reached her physical limits and had no choice but to give up.
Through the pounding rain and wind, Marie's hazy eyes fell upon one of the cadets standing quietly in the storm. They all looked similar in their raincoats, but with his above-average height for a first-year and curly black hair, Marie could recognize that boy without a doubt That was probably because Marie had been searching for him with her eyes ever since that day.
"Hang in there."
And just like that day, today as well, Ernest offered Marie—collapsed and exhausted—a small, silent encouragement.
There was no special reason. He did it simply because it looked like that was what Marie needed.
"······."
But for Marie, that was enough.
With this tiny encouragement—only the second she'd ever received since entering the Military Academy, which she'd never even wanted to attend—Marie found the strength to lift her body again, even when she was at her limit.
Marie, who had been completely out of it, scrunched up her face fiercely, pressed her trembling hand against the ground, lay flat for a moment, and with all her might, pushed herself up onto her feet.
Thud.
As she was about to collapse again, Thomas's large hand firmly caught Marie's shoulder.
"Well done, Marie Fiders."
Thomas whispered in a low voice just for Marie to hear. He knew exactly what would happen if Marie gave up here. And he also knew that Marie had already pushed herself harder than anyone should be allowed.
That was why Thomas wanted to prevent a scenario where, because of Wilfried and Ferdinand's silent alliance and scheming, Marie would be unable to participate in the next mock battle—the one where Ernest would be fighting for the Imperial Army.
Wilfried had made Marie use her power more than necessary. And Ferdinand had taxed Marie's stamina beyond reason.
Marie was at her limit, and if she gave up here, Ernest—as a member of the Imperial Army—would have no chance at victory. Even if Marie did participate in the training, she wouldn't be able to perform as brilliantly as she had in the previous two mock battles.
Thomas had not the slightest intention of blaming Wilfried or Ferdinand. In fact, he genuinely wanted to applaud them. He knew all too well just how difficult it was for these young noblemen to resort to dishonorable schemes, using any means necessary for victory.
However, what Thomas didn't want was for Marie to become collateral damage here—caught up in their plans and forced to give up, regardless of her own will.
"It's the Balt Battery. Go ahead and switch it out."
Holding Marie firmly so she wouldn't collapse, Thomas handed her the Balt Battery. Though Marie was swaying unsteadily, she managed to take it and switched it out herself. The process took an agonizingly long time, but no one complained.
They all realized she was moving forward not by virtue of her power as a Baltracher, but purely through her own human will.
'I really did something terrible.'
Wilfried, who had orchestrated things to turn out this way from the start, lowered his head in bitter guilt.
But Wilfried was truly desperate. He needed the best possible results, now more than ever. It had always been that way, but ever since he ran into his eldest brother Adalbert at the Founding Declaration Day party, Wilfried had felt a restlessness he could hardly bear.
That was why Wilfried had no choice but to target Ernest, who had already established an unrivaled domain as a first-year. And Ferdinand was no different.
'You could call it a half success, or a half failure.'
Still, there was a difference between Ferdinand and Wilfried: while Wilfried was plagued by guilt, Ferdinand simply and coolly evaluated the outcome.
Wilfried limited himself to only draining Marie's mental strength as she operated the Balt; he simply couldn't bring himself to push that tiny girl any harsher. In contrast, Ferdinand relentlessly drove Marie to the brink of collapse for the sake of his objective, and he felt not the slightest trace of guilt about it.
He had decided it was necessary. If need be, Ferdinand Hartmann could push even himself far harder than Marie.
"Ernest Krieger!"
"Yes!"
As soon as Marie finally managed to swap out the Balt Battery, Thomas called out to Ernest. Ernest quickly ran up in front of Thomas, and stood before Marie.
"Take Marie Fiders with you!"
"Yes!"
In an unusual move, Thomas left a Baltracher Cadet in the care of a general cadet. Ernest, without any complaint, helped support Marie.
"Do you think this is unfair?"
Thomas posed the question to Ernest, who was now helping Marie. In the two previous mock battles when Ernest fought with the Alliance Army, Marie had displayed immense power, yet now she couldn't even stand on her own. Clearly, this was an unfair situation.
"No, sir!"
But Ernest replied that he did not think so. Even if he said it because he had no other choice, once he spoke the words, he knew he'd have to stand by them.
"Good! We're moving on to the final mock battle! Get moving!"
The moment Thomas gave the command, the cadets sprang into action. Ernest tried to help Marie walk, but all she could do was drag her feet.
"Here we go."
Ernest easily lifted the much lighter Marie onto his back. Carefully, he adjusted his grip and hooked her legs securely as he carried her.
To be honest, Ernest himself was thoroughly exhausted from today's mock battle training. But no one else could carry Marie. The other cadets were even more worn out than Ernest.
Well, technically, four people could each take one of Marie's limbs and haul her that way... but that just didn't seem right, did it?
"..."
Marie, slumped on Ernest's back, buried her face into his shoulder. Marie's arms hung limp, swaying weakly over his shoulders.
"Hang in there."
Ernest spoke quietly, but loud enough for Marie to hear. At his words, Marie's body gave a small shiver.
She never imagined she would ever hear someone say that to her. Not just in the past three years—honestly, even before she entered the Military Academy, Marie had never heard such words before. Before it was discovered that Marie was a second-class Baltracher, she had been nothing but a worthless burden in her impoverished family, to the point where she was almost sold into slavery just to have one less mouth to feed.
Marie's parents, afraid she might be identified as a Balt in the aptitude test when she turned ten, hadn't sold her but instead neglected her—giving her just enough food so she wouldn't die.
Because of this, Marie hadn't grown properly during childhood, and that's why she was still so small and frail.
So, Ernest's quiet "Hang in there" on Founding Declaration Day—a small word of encouragement spoken without fanfare—was the first warmth Marie had ever truly felt from another person. It wasn't the warmth of skin, but the warmth of the heart.
Of course, Ernest knew nothing of Marie's circumstances, nor did he care. He had no idea how much strength that seemingly indifferent encouragement had given Marie. But still, even in his indifference, Ernest's words carried a hint of sympathy for her.
Slowly, Marie moved her limp hands. Because her raincoat had ridden up as Ernest carried her, her small hands were now exposed outside the coat. Carefully, she grabbed Ernest's clothing and clung to him, holding on tightly. Once she was properly holding on, Ernest found it a bit easier to carry her.
"...Yeah... I'll hang in there..."
Marie answered, but Ernest couldn't hear it. Her voice was far too soft to be heard in this downpour, and it was so soaked with rain that it seemed to melt and scatter away.