Recruiting Party Members (2)
Sometimes I wish I could focus on just one thing with real dedication. How convenient it would be if the story progressed in neat stages, like a hero party slaying the Demon King—defeat Heavenly King A, then move on to Heavenly King B. Clear the occasional power-up event, tackle a side quest when some variety is needed. But the hidden forces in Planetarium aren't a single organization controlled by one boss. They're more like an online RPG that keeps spawning new bosses and factions just to generate endless content. These bosses have no sense of sportsmanship either. If the player doesn't show up for an event, they simply declare it a default win and push the scenario forward anyway.
And every scenario they advance is dangerous. Leave the Ivestan Empire to run wild and a massive war breaks out, with countless people dying or being enslaved. Let the fanatics do as they please and countless victims are offered up as sacrifices, often birthing monsters that are nearly impossible to deal with afterward. Allow Julius, the Third Prince, free rein and he'll purge every opposing faction in his single-minded pursuit of the throne, leaving the strongest nation on the continent crippled in an instant.
That's not even the worst of it. When the fanatics sow chaos, Julius seizes power from the turmoil. When Julius weakens the Empire, Ivestan invades. When Ivestan wages war, the fanatics find it easier to gather sacrifices. From a player's perspective, it doesn't matter if the world burns as long as the protagonist survives to see the ending—just kill every boss that appears. But I'm different. It's not some heroic desire to save everyone or the world. It's simply that the more the world falls apart, the harder my own life becomes. Who wants to spend the rest of their days in a ruined society full of bandits and plagues? If I'm going to live, I want to live in a civilized world, not scrape by in some post-apocalyptic survival scenario.
My goal is to either stop these hidden threats before they can act or, at the very least, minimize the damage when they do run rampant. Unfortunately, there's only one of me and far too many of them. I can't afford to focus on just one without the others causing chaos elsewhere. That's why the current situation—imperial officials dealing with the fanatics while Julius remains wary thanks to the Spider's reports—is the perfect opportunity to keep Ivestan in check.
"But Brother, don't you still have new classes to attend?"
"Chrome. When exactly are you planning to visit the territory?"
"Weren't you dead set on raiding that ruin this time?"
Damn it. I really need a cloning technique.
The new magical beasts in the Eastern Mountains continue to show unstable movements. If support from the Imperial Court mages is unavailable, we request that Academy students be dispatched in their stead.
— Eastern Army Commander, Dietrich von Draug —
The blunt request, stripped of any flowery language or formalities, sent the imperial court into an uproar. Normally, individual requests to the Academy wouldn't be scrutinized at the central level, but the requester was none other than the Eastern Army Commander, and the matter could easily escalate into an international incident. There was no way it could be quietly buried. Even if Dietrich had tried to handle it discreetly, the Academy would have demanded confirmation.
"This is absurd! Sending still-young students into such a dangerous region?"
"Military strategy is the central government's domain. No matter how high-ranking a commander he is, how dare he act so arrogantly without oversight!"
"It was only recently that terrorists breached key buildings in the capital. We should be reinforcing the center and tightening security, not diverting troops to the frontier! Absolutely unacceptable!"
"This is nothing but a veiled insult! Since his demands keep getting rejected, he's mocking us by suggesting we send students instead! He must be severely punished!"
The civil officials, who made up a large portion of the central nobility, voiced fierce opposition. They worried about sending students still in training into peril, resented Dietrich for ignoring their authority and acting independently, and preferred to deal with internal threats first. Given his notoriously unpolitical personality, many nobles already disliked Dietrich, and with a clear pretext, they seized the chance to denounce him harshly.
The military's reaction, however, was the complete opposite.
"Isn't it a bit late to start worrying about danger zones? The Academy has been running the Imperial Guerrilla Unit just fine before, and lately they've even been throwing students into Star Lands for live combat training."
"Those who only shuffle papers at their desks might not understand, but those who actually command troops in the field know what real danger feels like. When a regional commander keeps warning of threats and gets ignored, only to finally take action himself, this kind of overreaction is rather unseemly."
"Dealing with terrorists is important, of course, but our true enemy has always been Ivestan and the demons behind them. Treating that as secondary shows a severe lack of security awareness."
"Punishment? He didn't move troops on his own or disobey orders. He merely made a 'suggestion.' Punishing that? Are you in your right mind?"
Of course, their support wasn't born of genuine concern for Dietrich. The Eastern Army naturally backed their own commander, while the Southern Army, having received word through the princess, joined in. The Central Army's position was more complicated. Already diminished by budget cuts and further humiliated by the recent prison break, they wanted to resolve the matter themselves. Cooperation with the court mages could be dismissed as inter-agency collaboration, but if the entire military became involved as some civil officials suggested, any success would be credited to the "Imperial Army," not the "Central Army." They supported Dietrich in the hope that attention would shift elsewhere while they handled the incident.
The Northern Army, with little influence to begin with, agreed—larger threats meant more opportunities for them to shine. The Western Army looked displeased but stayed silent, knowing that standing apart while the other branches spoke with one voice would earn them accusations of being traitors in league with the civil officials.
What followed was the usual war of words between military and civil officials that had become an annual tradition.
"Have you lost your minds!? If you provoke Ivestan and war actually breaks out, how do you plan to handle the aftermath?"
"You're the ones being too timid! They are our sworn enemies! We'll have to fight them eventually. Starting a little earlier than planned is nothing we can't handle if we gather our strength!"
"Do you think advancing the schedule is that simple!? How many national industries would we have to shut down to wage war right now!?"
"So you'd rather wait until they're ready to strike us first!?"
"We don't even know if they're moving yet!"
"By the time we find out, it'll be too late!"
"You warmongers! You can swing your swords and fight, but we're the ones who have to clean up the mess! Do you think the money you eat and drink comes from digging in the ground!?"
"What—what did you say? Uneducated!? And you lot—whenever there's a budget issue you happily slash military spending, but the moment something happens you scream about incompetence and negligence! Try giving proper support first!"
"Silence! Everyone, be quiet!!"
Unable to reach a decision through debate, the officials turned to the Emperor. After enjoying horseback riding and an afternoon nap at his private villa, the Emperor received the report from the chancellor and simply passed the decision along: "Can't we just let the Academy handle it as they see fit?"
As for the Academy itself—
"Midas seems to be enjoying his role as the power behind the throne."
Clink.
"Even so, we should put a stop to him using us so freely, shouldn't we?"
White.
"Still, it is a good opportunity. We could let them experience future enemies in advance."
Red.
Normally the three worked in harmony despite their differences, but this time opinions clashed. Neville, the Blue Light professor, and Emilio, the White Light professor, were opposed, while Istal, the Red Light professor, was in favor.
"Real combat experience does produce dramatic growth, but the risk of dropouts during the process is far too high this time. It's inefficient."
"More importantly, it's only been half a year since the first-years enrolled. Even the second-years only began practical training after they'd been thoroughly worked over. This is too soon. And if we only send the second-years, the discontent we've barely managed to contain will explode again."
"There are things you can only obtain in extreme situations."
"Besides, we have other classes scheduled. We can't decide this among ourselves."
"Ah, that's true."
At Neville's point, Istal fell silent for a moment, hand covering his mouth in thought. Then he spoke.
"Then let's ask the person involved."
He addressed the words to a butterfly that had settled in the empty space with such natural ease that one might not have noticed it was there at all.
"—What do you think, Black?"