Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Being Mistaken for a Genius Strategist
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The trigger for recalling my past life was a bit special. I was lying down reading a book when I bumped my forehead.
"Ouch!" Rubbing the spot where I'd collided, I thought to myself, If I end up with a lightning-shaped scar on my forehead like that one guy, does that mean I can talk to snakes too?
Then it hit me—what the hell was I even thinking? A lightning-shaped scar? Talking to snakes?
A flood of information poured into my head, stuff I'd never known before.
At first, I thought I'd lost my mind.
But as all those memories grew clearer and sharper, blending seamlessly with my existing ones, I finally accepted the truth: I'd lived in the modern world before being reborn into this other one.
"This must be life on easy mode."
Right now, I was the scion of one of the empire's most prestigious noble houses.
Having lived a decent life in my previous one without doing anything bad, it felt like this was my reward.
Of course, I had some worries too.
Like maybe our family was tangled up in something shady, or plotting some weird scheme.
But nothing like that was true. Seeing our family still thriving as ever, I took a deep breath.
Mmm. That's the smell of honey. Sweet as honey! Time to kick off my happy isekai life!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Fuck."
Eating a mouthful of sand from the training grounds, I cursed my past self.
Happy isekai life? Screw that. It was all this damn mouth of mine.
"You should join the army now too, shouldn't you? It's what anyone from the Clauvitz family ought to do."
On the day I came of age, my father visited and said exactly that.
I figured he was just suggesting it—something like, Why don't you think it over?
But the very next day, I was dragged to the training camp and put through hell with no mercy.
'That wasn't a suggestion, it was a notice? Dad!'
I was pissed. Fucking furious. Training camp twice? Military service twice?
If soldiering had been twice too, I'd have been fiddling with the keys to my next life.
"We'll end basic military training here. Thank you for keeping up!"
When the instructor who'd hounded me like a rat for a whole month said that, I let my guard down for a split second.
Is it finally over? Time to head home?—Like hell!
"I've arranged a posting for you. With the friction against the Demon Alliance's Norobogord forces, the Imperial Army is mobilizing. You'll be joining their command staff. It's a lowly position, but it's valuable field experience, so give it your all."
Dad. Dad. DAD...! Stay! Stop! Don't you even care what I think?!
I held out a sliver of hope that maybe Mother would intervene.
But she just said, "Take care of yourself," and saw me off.
"I hate you, Daddy! Why are you bullying big brother? Don't go, brother! I'll punish Daddy for you!"
My only comfort was my little sister Kaya, who'd adored me since she was tiny despite our big age gap.
"I'll be off then. Father, Mother. And Kaya? Be good and listen to your parents."
"Learn a lot out there."
"Stay safe."
"Waaah... I'm sorry, brother. I'm so sorry...!"
After saying goodbye to my family, I boarded the carriage. Battlefield, huh. My heart pounded like mad.
That's when my life started veering into something seriously weird.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Last night, a meteor fell. The soldiers' morale is poor.] The records clerk had tried to keep it that brief, but the situation was far from simple.
In peacetime, maybe. But this was wartime—right on the front lines, where battle could erupt any moment.
A meteor massive enough to see with the naked eye had come crashing down on our camp, complete with an eerie shriek.
It was the epitome of ill omen.
Officers and soldiers alike buzzed about it being a divine prophecy of crushing defeat.
With the whole army starting to waver, all the command staff were finally summoned.
"The current situation is..."
"Not good. Morale's in the toilet after just one night."
"The demons are the polar opposite. Scouts say their momentum is sky-high, like they're ready to charge right now."
Of all times, this had to happen while facing demons. What the hell?
I cursed the gods. The heavens were so damn indifferent. All because of one stupid meteor?
"Goddamn it."
I muttered a curse without thinking, and the Legion Commander cleared his throat pointedly, glancing my way.
"..."
2nd Princess Isabel, participating in this campaign as the Legion Commander's advisor.
She was just here to gain experience—no direct involvement in frontline command.
Not representing the Imperial Family either. Purely personal capacity, so no need to watch my words around her.
No one but you, Legion Commander, knows her true identity. So don't worry about the princess—focus on your duties.
...Even with that assurance, she was still direct Imperial blood. How could I not mind my manners?
Spouting vulgarity in front of the empire's noblest figure gnawed at me.
But Isabel didn't seem fazed by the Legion Commander's words.
If anything, she was frowning, deep in thought about the crisis.
"Legion Commander, perhaps we should pull back the lines for now."
"Listen here—does it make sense to retreat the army over one measly meteor?"
Voices in the command tent rose higher and higher.
"It's not 'measly' if it's tanking morale! And the enemy our men have to face? Demons! Even in the best conditions, we'd take heavy casualties. Fighting with low morale is suicide!"
"Aren't you ashamed of the glorious Imperial Army's name?!"
"If enduring a bit of shame averts defeat and saves lives, then yes!"
Arguments flew back and forth—between commanders, among staff. Opinions clashed fiercely.
The Legion Commander could've shut it down in his authority, but he couldn't bring himself to right now.
He was just as stumped on handling this absurd mess.
Retreat, and we'd cede the advantageous high ground we'd seized.
Stay put, and the troops' anxiety would overwhelm them.
Watching silently, the Legion Commander's eyes met Princess Isabel's.
Time to step in and stop this, right? The unspoken question hung in the air.
The Legion Commander rapped the strategy table, calling an end to the chaos.
The tent plunged into silence in an instant.
"...Is a meteor falling really that big a deal?"
Someone's parting mutter cut through huge—perfectly timed.
Probably just thinking out loud amid the noise.
Wrong place, wrong time. And with the princess right there, no less.
Who the hell would blunder like that? The Legion Commander grumbled in feigned anger.
"Who was that? Spouting such recklessness in a critical meeting?"
"..."
Naturally, no one owned up at first.
As the Legion Commander scowled, someone timidly raised a hand—the mutterer.
"You. Name."
"...Kael, eldest son of the Bertier Imperial County's lord."
"Bertier Imperial County... So, of the Clauvitz family."
The Clauvitz family—a pillar of the military through the empire's long history, producers of countless fine commanders.
Probably why they'd sent the eldest son for experience. What a blunder, though.
"Hoo. You're young, lad. Clearly still green on the battlefield's peculiarities. I'll offer some old man's advice in lieu of reprimand."
The Legion Commander continued in a gentle, soothing tone, like coaxing a child.
"In normal times, it's just a random meteor. But on the front lines? Context changes everything. When it drops right on our camp like this, it becomes a harbinger of doom."
Coincidence or divine portent—doesn't matter. What matters is people believing it.
A brief headwind, a momentary squall, even a fleeting fog can turn deadly in war's shifting tides.
Especially if it snaps a man's spirit before the fight even starts. The ripple effects would be massive.
As the Legion Commander explained, the young man who'd introduced himself as Kael scratched his cheek.
"I'm truly sorry, Legion Commander. I have no excuse for my mistake, even ten mouths wouldn't help."
"That's the right attitude. Just be more careful next time. Obviously, there won't be..."
"But honestly... I question pulling back the entire army over one fallen meteor."
Every soul in the tent stared at Kael in utter disbelief.
The Legion Commander had explained so patiently, and he was still saying this?
If he were from some nobody house, someone would've chewed him out by now.
"What are you even saying, lad?"
"If the meteor's the problem... couldn't we turn it around?"
Absurd. What was this kid—practically a boy—babbling about?
Pampered rotten in some great house, clueless about the real world?
Someone was about to roar at him to shut it when...
"Do we perhaps... have any flaming arrows?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That night, the Imperial Army cheered as a new meteor streaked across the blood-red sky.
They hailed it as the gods retracting their omen and choosing victory for them.
The opposing demons, meanwhile, fell into chaos. "What nonsense is this?!"
Even as their commanders urged calm, insisting it was some trick, no one bought it.
The battlefield sways wildly on the smallest things.
The Imperial Army's Legion Commander grinned, thinking, True, even a tiger sires no dogs.
He vowed to tell the Clauvitz family head this tale upon return.
And...
"..."
2nd Princess Isabel began eyeing that noble youth, Kael, with a strange gaze.
What an intriguing man. Around my age. First campaign, and he pulls out a brilliant strat like that on the spot? How?
Curiosity burned in her—she couldn't ignore it. She summoned her guard and issued orders.
At the same time, Kael was bowing deeply to someone.
Thank you. Thank you! General Yushin Kim!