The Worst Reunion
This kind of meeting is the worst!
Honestly, this place is uncomfortable. It’s making me want to die.
Facing the embarrassing remnants of the past was never a pleasant thing.
But standing here in front of her, saying something like “Ah, we shouldn’t be seeing each other like this. Let’s part ways.” feels awkward too.
Think about it. Who confessed? Me. And who was confessed to? Selena sitting right in front of me.
If I say it first, then “You confessed to me, and I rejected you, so I’m hurt!” That would be me confessing.
I don’t want to become some guy who’s easily shaken by something I didn’t even do.
...No, wait. Is what I did the right thing? Thinking about my past life makes it all a bit confusing.
But at least my consciousness is more aligned with the present than the past, which is fortunate.
“Did you greet the other classmates?”
“Only Etbin. I haven’t met the others.”
“Everyone must be busy. Since they’re seniors, the ones who haven’t filled their credits are all swamped.”
Hey kids! The professors told us to stack up credits in advance and enjoy ourselves.
Well, humans are humans after all. We only get things done when the deadline approaches.
Assignments, exams, and credits. In the end, cramming is the best way, right?
“But, Karl, you said you enlisted, right?”
“Huh? Yeah, that’s right.”
“Did you participate in the war with the Luzens?”
“Don’t even joke. I spent almost three years there. I lived through almost the entire military life.”
That’s weird. Women usually get sick of hearing about the military, don’t they?
But if Selena is the one who brought up the military topic first, I should be grateful.
Since Selena had given permission, I gave her a somewhat appropriate military story.
I avoided too deep topics and stuck to fun stories.
Fortunately, the reaction wasn’t bad. Look, she’s not forcing a laugh.
“...Karl.”
Suddenly, Selena, who had been listening with great interest, called my name.
“After coming back from the military, have you changed?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. What should I say? You seem to have gained a lot more freedom than before, and also...”
If I hadn’t known about my past life, I might have thought “Oh! Good news?!” here.
But as someone who has experienced the army like a dog, this is just a standard line.
It’s the kind of thing you hear when someone says they’ve been to the military. Not when they just got out.
“You seem to have changed. You seem to have become more of a person. Damn, you were just a slave, right?”
“Ah, right. Then, Karl. Have you ever met our oppa?”
“Oppa? Where in which unit did your oppa work?”
“A squad leader in the 7th Regiment of the Imperial Army.”
“...There are too many squad leaders there, so I can’t be sure... Well, I don’t think I’ve met him.”
“Really? That’s strange. You said you’ve met most officers.”
“I’m not an officer. I was a soldier.”
Upon hearing my answer, Selena nodded reflexively with “Ah, I see.”
But then she was greatly surprised, “Wait... What did you just say?”
I wonder how many times I’ve seen that reaction today.
If I had known, I would have enlisted as an officer.
“Karl, you enlisted as a soldier?”
“Yeah.”
“Not as an officer? Why? Why exactly?”
Exactly. Why did I enlist as a soldier? I’m curious too.
Let me recall my feelings at the time. Here, let me see. Who was I back then. Why did I do that.
Ah, yeah. To forget the pain. Ah, I see! This crazy bastard.
Even so, how could a noble’s son join the army and sit around?
And on top of that, war broke out at the worst time, and I couldn’t even receive my family’s last rites.
While all the Empire’s soldiers fought hard, who secretly retreated to the back?
The moment that becomes known, the perpetrator starts it, and all related parties are done for.
“Then, Karl. You went to the battlefield as a soldier, not an officer?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my god...”
Selena, covering her mouth with her hand and repeating “Oh my god” in shock.
Then, suddenly, she got a big realization and stood up from her seat.
“Wait. No way...”
“What?”
“You enlisted as a soldier. Is it, is it because of me?!”
“Eh?”
“Because of me?! I, I rejected your confession. So you got hurt!”
“Eh? Eh... No, not really. Wait. That’s not it. It’s not like that!”
It was just that I was a bit immature back then. At best, I was an idiot.
I was a fool who thought that when the body is in pain, the pain in the heart is relieved.
But Selena didn’t give me a chance to say that.
“I, I didn’t know that... and we’ve been talking as if nothing happened... Somehow, it was strange that a noble like you would enlist as a soldier...! Karl. I’m really, really sorry...”
Hey, Selena. Listen to me! I said it!
The reason is because of you, but I don’t need to apologize, right?
The one who should apologize is the foolish me who made that decision in the past!
I let out a sigh internally and eventually decided to bring it up.
There was propaganda that was being thrown around happily in the War Studies department.
First, to be sincere, let me sit up straight and lower my voice a bit. Here we go.
“It’s not like that, Selena.”
The start wasn’t bad. Because I lowered my voice unusually, Selena was startled.
The seniors said your voice is too high and weird, and they advised me to lower it on purpose.
Turns out they were right.
“I just wanted to fulfill my duties as a noble to the Empire. And since I’m doing it as a soldier, not an officer, I just wanted to look around below more.”
“Really?”
“Really. There’s no way a crazy guy who enlisted as a soldier because he was rejected would exist.”
Here he is! The crazy guy! Right here!
“Then, really... that’s good... Really, is that it? Really, that’s the reason?”
“I said it’s really the case. It’s not your fault at all, so don’t apologize. If you keep doing that, it makes it seem like my few years of sacrifice for the Empire were because of some weird reason.”
Please. Please don’t see me as a fool who enlisted as a soldier because I was rejected.
Those with sympathetic eyes are enough with just me. Please. Please!!
After my tearful persuasion, Selena seemed to calm down a bit.
She heard that the guy she rejected got hurt and did a crazy thing like enlisting as a soldier.
If she heard that and thought “Ah, I see. Idiot.” then what kind of heroine would that be?
Isn’t that the kind of behavior you’d expect from a villainess or a tyrant queen?
*
The reunion with her was the worst... There was no such thing.
Thank goodness. The moment I saw her, if Selena said “Sorry. My heart still doesn’t have a place for you.”
She probably couldn’t overcome the horrific actions I committed in the past and took a break.
“Anyway, welcome back, Karl. Ah, now you’re a junior?”
“Of course, of course. First-year chick here. Senior Selena. Work hard on your graduation.”
“...It seems like it’s become a lot different from back then.”
“It would have. I deeply reflected on what life is after the military.”
Then Selena burst into laughter with “Ah!”
It seemed like my answer struck her heartstrings.
Actually, I understand. Even I think it’s ridiculous.
If I went to the military and reflected on life, then that guy had it easy.
Where’s the time to reflect on life in the military, damn it. I have to roll around like crazy.
Usually, I wander around doing work. When training, I get screwed.
Then when war comes, I beg to live while saying I want to die.
Then, life reflection is nonsense, and the days just pass.
“S-sorry. I said something similar to our oppa.”
“Your oppa seemed to have had a very difficult experience too.”
“That’s what he said. Ah, my lecture time is now. See you later.”
Why is it “see you later.” Shouldn’t we stop meeting now?
I’m too uncomfortable. Exactly, it’s making me want to die thinking about the past...!
“Still, what... The guy from the past wasn’t weird-eyed or anything, so that’s fortunate.”
After facing her directly like this, Selena was definitely Selena.
She wasn’t just a female lead. She wasn’t just one of the ten or more women who confessed to me.
She really is pretty. If it was someone who didn’t know her, they might have blushed and ended it.
Of course, to me now, there’s some kind of discomfort, more or less.
Hoo-rook―
After emptying the remaining coffee cup, I was about to leave the cafe slowly.
Since I hadn’t returned to school for long, I didn’t know what was what yet.
I had to walk around to get used to it so I wouldn’t become a lost child at the academy later―
“Ugh.”
Suddenly, my body was thrown back, and before I could check, I was dragged away.
What? What? Is it kidnapping? Not somewhere else, but right in the middle of the academy?!
Is it a spy asking to reveal imperial military secrets? Please save me! I’ll tell everything!
“I brought you.”
“You were talking to Selena a moment ago?”
“That’s right. I saw it myself.”
“...This guy was the first one. Oh my god.”
Voices came from east, west, south, and north.
One thing that annoys me is that they’re all male.
A short while later, I moved my freed body and looked around.
“...Tsk.”
Just like that, I figured out who brought me here.
Starting from the right: Schlippen, Wilhelm, Alexander, and Joachim.
The glorious male lead four idiots. And all of them were the Four Heavenly Kings who had been rejected by Selena.
Ah, right. How do these guys know the names and faces of my classmates?
There is a way. These guys are annoyingly handsome to look at as men too.
How can four of them come running like this?
Then, it’s almost 100% the male lead four.
“What are you guys.”
But no matter how much the male lead four, the first one to be rejected was me.
Your Four Heavenly Kings are still too early to break my record... No, damn it.