Academy Genius Commander

2 – to Rhineland wire(1)

The motto of the Reich Imperial Academy is ‘Accept competent people, regardless of commoners and nobles, and let them contribute to the Empire.’

Thanks to that, even though I, Peter, no, Peter Yeager, was an orphan, I was able to enter the academy and get the opportunity to become an officer.

If I hadn’t entered the academy, I would most likely have died of starvation or freezing to death on the street, and even if I had survived, I would have fallen to the bottom of society.

Opportunity to become an officer and change status, free dormitory for one person (since there is no roommate), three meals a day, up to 3 gold per month for upkeep.

Thanks to this, my life has become a simple structure that allows me to focus only on my studies without being bound by the problems of eating and living.

Unlike the lofty dream of the first emperor who established this academy to practice his ideals while giving so much support, the reality inside the school was a gutter.

What do you mean by that…

“Cadet Jaeger, Cadet Jaeger. There is something I want to ask you.”

When I turned around in the direction of the sound, I saw an aristocratic boy wearing epaulettes from the third grade, with a smile on his lips in contrast to the mocking look in his eyes.

At a normal university, you could laugh and playfully talk to seniors when you talk to them, but this is a place where discipline is so strict that it can’t even compare to Korean military academies.

To put it bluntly, in the novel, first-year students at the academy said that their bodies trembled and their eyes were frightened just by meeting the eyes of a fourth-year cadet.

In fact, on the first day of training after admission, an active first-year girl in my jockey pretended to know her cousin, a senior who was an assistant instructor.

It wasn’t right, but there were times when I was teased for more than an hour.

So, it is unimaginable for a junior who has no special friendship to approach a senior in such a friendly way.

“What do you want to ask?”

“The common people of the empire eat bread mixed with wheat, rye, and sawdust, but I wonder if that is true.”

Hearing that, I barely held back the lid trying to open.

He only pretended to be polite 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. He is throwing Ladis.

It’s really embarrassing to see a kid who flirts with me, a 4th grader, just because I’m an orphan with no back stomach.

It’s a pity that I can’t properly educate that bastard right now like the rest of my classmates.

Because if I use this to claim discipline for ignoring my senior, that son of a bitch will definitely use his family connections to hit me back.

“People who are called beggars or poor people sometimes eat such bread. But, if you’re going to eat that kind of food, you’ll 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 much as you do. I also came here well.”

Saying that, the goddamn pig turned around and smiled at the poor bastards he was hanging out with.

“Milton, give me three silvers since you lost the bet.”

“Ha, damn it. My father said that ordinary people really live on bread like that, so I thought we would win.”

“I got a good drink. If it’s unfair, I’ll win next time.”

However, since this was a normal occurrence, I quickly calmed down.

Then he repeated his name again.

Because after being commissioned, I will be promoted as soon as possible, and if I am assigned to the same unit, I will catch all the faults that I can catch and press down with rank.

In this world with a strong militaristic aspect, in the military, ranks take precedence over other people’s titles.

So, after that, you won’t be able to boast about your status in front of me.

Besides, today is the 15th of January in the year 220 of the Imperial calendar, and it is time for news of that to start circulating around the school.

After wandering around the school for about five minutes, two soldiers wearing helmets and breastplates approached the bulletin board with stern expressions on their faces.

After that, they put up a notice and walked away at an angle.

Even though I was usually at an age where I didn’t even look closely at notices, unless they were related to classes or lectures.

Since today was a special day, I ran ahead of the students walking towards the bulletin board and read the notice.

[Announcement. January 15th, 220 IC The entire Rhineland is in a stalemate and they try to send reinforcements, but there is a shortage of competent officers. Therefore, among the 3rd and 4th year students, we will select qualified students and give them a chance to serve the Empire, so please apply and seize the glory. -Reich Imperial General Staff-]

Underneath, details such as the qualifications of students, the selection method, and the benefits of being selected were recorded in detail.

First of all, the qualifications must be students in the 3rd or 4th grade or higher who have never failed in the academy while attending the academy.

Since the selection criterion is to see if they can fulfill the role of platoon commander on the frontline, it seems that they chose to train 30 new recruits and then conduct mock battles and check their capabilities.

What I learned all day at the academy was how to control and educate soldiers in platoon and company units, and it wasn’t that difficult for me, who always got perfect marks in military science subjects.

Besides, there are ways in my head to train soldiers that are centuries ahead of this, so you can stand out from here.

On the other hand, the students’ responses were divided into two main categories.

“I don’t know if it’s in the second year, but I’m graduating next year anyway, so do I really need to apply for the front line?”

“It is as Venter-senpai said. It’s just going to be painful to go now.”

“My father said that, even if I tried to be commissioned quickly after seeing a notice like that, he said that all I had to do was suffer and receive a level of ‘patriotism’ in my career.”

Even if the notice is attached, those who want to pass it on without thinking about it.

“With grades like this, I think I will go to the front line or a job in the rear after graduating anyway. Why don’t you just close your eyes and try?”

“Ha, I heard that if you establish your major over there, you can be commissioned a year earlier than others, and you’re promoted quickly because it’s written on your resume that you’re a distinguished officer.”

“Instead, when I go over there, it’s the front line, so the senior officers don’t take care of me, so most of them come out without being able to do their part.”

Because of poor grades, the guys whose hearts are moved when they see the story in that announcement.

But even in the middle of it, I could hear the muttering of a girl wearing an epaulette that symbolizes 4th grade.

“So far, if you listen to what professors, newspapers, and minstrels have to say about the entire Rhineland, I heard that we are winning. Why are you in such a hurry to take even the cadets of the academy? According to the records, it is usually when defeat is certain or when academy cadets are partially mobilized. What’s the matter?”

I couldn’t see it well because I was far away, but my long silver hair, short stature, body that was revealed even through the slightly baggy academy blazer, and cool voice.

It is an insight that stands out as much as its beautiful beauty.

Judging by her physical features and that insight, she must be Laura von Wenner, the heroine of the Imperial War.

She is the boss of the main character, who was commissioned a year later than me, and a woman who becomes the main character’s adjutant in the middle and latter half of the story.

Will I be able to attract this talented beauty as my subordinate?

**

Right after all the classes were over, I went to Professor Gupta’s lab, who is in charge of the project to apply to the entire Rhineland.

A library full of old books and papers, a black lacquered desk and comfortable-looking chair, and armor and uniforms worn as officers were neatly hung.

And when he finished his greetings, Professor Gupta waved his hand as if it were annoying.

“You mean you want to go all over the Rhineland? Okay, put the papers on the desk and wait a minute.”

After waiting for a while, the professor held up my report card and said in a puzzled voice.

“Tell me honestly. You’d be better off just graduating next year and being commissioned as a second lieutenant than being assigned to the front lines. Moreover, you can say that you are excellent at strategy and tactical command based on your grades, so if you serve for 15 years in the military, you will be promoted to captain.”

No matter how orphaned they are, the consumption rate of junior officers is high in war-torn empires, and their abilities are relatively reflected in promotions up to the level of rank, which is called the real vested interest in the military.

That’s why the professor must have said that if I got first or sometimes second place in Strategy and Tactics, I could be promoted to captain.

The problem is that when I, a commoner, went up to the rank of captain after 15 years of service, some of my aristocratic comrades had been promoted to lieutenant colonel.

It is said that even the aristocratic classmates without ability would have succeeded in the later years of life, unless they were completely dethroned.

Even among the lower nobles, those who did not go to the academy and came out of the imperial cadet academy could be pushed out of the promotion.

How can you put up with something like this?

“Is that so.”

“Being a commoner, it can feel unfair to be promoted late, and to be able to only rise to the rank of captain. However, even if you go down to the rank of captain, you should be able to become a guard captain in a small city in the empire or a low-level administrator in a province. Even if it’s that much, you can live without envying the nobility. However, if you apply to the front line and fail to establish a major.”

What the professor is trying to say is obvious.

If you apply for the Rhineland frontline, but fail the screening test or don’t make any achievements there, your career management will be a failure, and you will only be promoted to lieutenant.

Then even if you save your career as a student who graduated from the academy, you will be stigmatized as a ‘throwaway’ and you will have no choice but to get a job in a not very good place.

Although I felt goodwill toward the professor who warned me about such things for the first time in a while.

“As an officer of the Empire, I would like a chance to serve the Emperor. At the same time, there is a selection test to go to the entire Rhineland, but I am confident that I will pass it. So please let it go.”

Rather than living a life of 15 more years where I don’t get a chance to show off my abilities, and I’m squeezed into a corner and ignored, I need to make a big contribution here and gain a foothold to leap to a higher place.

Other professors and students were not mentioned, but even if you are a commoner, if you succeed in making great achievements, it is possible to go beyond lieutenant colonel and colonel and add stars.

Even among noble families with imperial titles, there are only a handful of people who were commoners but earned titles through achievements and received a star.

And among them I will enter.

The professor sighed and said, probably realizing that he couldn’t stop me anymore.

“Okay, then try it.”