Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Gathering Dark Clouds
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"Richi. I've been seriously wrestling with something lately."
"What is it?"
"Whether to kill you or not."
With Officer Department assignments stacked on his right and Administrative Department ones on his left, Enter spun his pen around while staring daggers at me.
Scary. I wanted to crack a joke to lighten the mood, but it felt like I'd actually get hit if I tried.
"Just listening to lectures from two departments is killing me, and now double the assignments and double the exams? Haha. Seriously, every day I think about ripping every hair out of your head."
"That's why I'm helping you with them, right?"
"Don't talk nonsense. You're not helping—you're just doing them with me."
Hey! Isn't that helping?! Come on! We're doing them together, and if we don't know something, we ask each other!
"Your face. You're thinking something weird again."
"No, I'm not."
"Let me see. That look says, 'It is helping!' while grumbling."
"Absolutely not, Enter sir."
Come to think of it, this guy knows me way too well.
After being friends for so long, has he developed the ability to read my mind just from my eyes?
"Richi."
"Oh, Ar. Over here."
Another dual-department warrior had arrived. See that, Enter? Ar doesn't complain!
We're the elite, got it?! Can't you see Ar's doing Knight Department and Officer Department?
How obvious is that? And yet, with that unstoppable thirst for knowledge, she's powering through!
"…."
"What? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?"
"Nah, just... hope you go bald. You little punk."
Y-You demon! Curse me with something else! Baldness is a hard no!
I'm already going crazy worrying about Dad's thinning hair lately!
"Working on assignments? I came to do mine too."
Ar sat across from us and set down her stack of books.
Good lord. We're bad off, but Ar's thrashing around in her own hell too.
"Oh, right. Did you check the announcements? Midterms schedule's out."
"The season of exams is already upon us? This is insane. Time flies way too fast."
"Midterms done—finals! Finals done—break! Break done—back to school. It's all the same. Next thing you know, a year's gone."
Enter's soulless lines almost made me blurt out, This break's gonna be pretty long.
Prophet's not a good gig. Miss one prediction, and the backlash is brutal.
Besides, I don't know that much anyway—I'd rather not go down that route.
"That's what's worrying me. I can handle two departments, but exams might break me."
"I curse you. Richi, I curse you…."
This is bad. If midterms are doing this to him, finals might turn Enter into a vengeful spirit.
Don't die! You can't die, Enter! You've still got so much to do!
I patted his shoulder to cheer him up.
"Ahem. W-Well, I'll get going then."
What the hell? Enter, who had been deep in assignments, suddenly stood up.
I wasn't the only one shocked—Ar let out a little "Eung?" too.
"What? You haven't even finished your work."
"Even if you think for me... just shut up and stay quiet. I'm out."
"Wait, Enter! Hey! Hey!"
Enter grabbed his assignments and books in a rush and bolted out.
Has that idiot lost his mind all of a sudden? What's his deal?—
Wink!—
...That jerk just winked at me, right? Why so creepy?
Then his words from earlier echoed in my head.
Think for me? Think...? Ha, that bastard. Was all that grumbling because he's jealous?
Oh man, our Enter. Looks like big bro here's gotta set him up on a blind date later.
If it goes well, I might score a loyal slave to serve me forever.
"...Why's Enter acting like that? Did I do something wrong?"
"Wrong? No way. Unless you're a burden or something—which you're not. Nobody in Officer Department dislikes you, Ar. Ah, don't misunderstand. It's not because you're Lady Clozen."
Ar's just the type nobody could hate even if they tried.
Always bright, strong sense of self without draining others, and super helpful.
Her duke's daughter title helps, sure, but that's secondary.
That's why I always say she's perfect adjutant material.
"Then why?"
"I'll... explain later. Later."
"What? Now I'm more worried."
Ar grumbled a bit, but right now, we had assignments—the ultimate enemy.
No time for anything else. If we don't finish by this week, next week's selves might time-travel back to kill our current lazy ones.
"What're you doing for break? Decided?"
"Not yet."
Break. Rest time for some, self-improvement for others.
Choice is yours—relax, play, study, whatever.
Sadly, Officer Department's freedom got yanked away.
And ridiculously, it was all because of me.
Guess I stirred up the higher-ups during joint training.
"They need more real combat experience!"
"This training exposed weaknesses—we must address them!"
"Noble or not, if you've chosen this path, duty trumps privilege!"
So that's how those lines came about. Damn it all!
To give aspiring officers solid chances—they'd adapt faster and shine sooner, right?
Result: Before break starts, dispatch Officer Department students to arbitrary units.
Post-finals, head straight to assigned units, spend a month gaining field experience, then return for the remaining month off….
"Not bad. Best way to gain experience is diving in headfirst."
"I hate it. Feels like it's weird because of me."
"Psh. We'll all get field time eventually. Might as well do it sooner!"
Good thing. Good thing, huh? Yeah, maybe it even works out better.
Koenihesen's massive summer counteroffensive across the entire front.
At that time, many Officer Department students head to the frontlines due to junior officer shortages.
Seems similar at a glance, but there's a subtle difference.
Now, they're pre-deployed before the offensive hits.
Meaning, they get time to adjust and steel themselves.
Some will gain precious combat experience; others might lose their lives.
On that razor's edge between life and death, even tiny psychological factors can change outcomes.
I just hope the winds of change I brought blow positively for them.
"Everyone thinks you'll go to HQ... but nah, right?"
"Ridiculous. I don't want it, and it'd make them say we're sending other kids—precious sons and daughters—to hellholes while sparing ours."
Above all, Dad's not that soft. Even knowing I'm not into field command, he'd push me to at least frontline units to get the vibe.
"He's busy."
"Yeah, probably."
This was info I cautiously shared only with Ar—future knowledge.
Busy now? That's nothing. The summer offensive is almost here.
Worried. By now, has the War Ministry's intel or special ops caught on?
From what I recall, they barely notice at the last second and scramble defenses.
Even with Grandpa, Dad, and Bro, intel gaps are hard to fill.
If it were easy, we'd have shoved Koenihesen into the sea ages ago.
Moving blindly risks misunderstandings.
Koenihesen suddenly awakening for a massive counterattack? Doesn't make sense.
From Grandpa's debut, then Dad, and now Bro.
Koenihesen got smashed by our family-led Imperial forces.
Who'd imagine those gasping dogs launching a grand offensive?
Honestly, even I—who knows—sometimes thinks, Can they really pull that off?
But factor in the "protagonist boost" device, and their sudden push makes perfect sense.
Erwin's about to shine big in this offensive, after all.
"They're starting to gather."
"Huh? What're you on about?"
"Dark clouds are rolling in."
"Midterms? Or weather? Kinda gloomy today."
Ar's words had me glancing out the window.
Yeah, today's weather sucked. Rain could pour any second.
And midterms... right. No matter how I slice it, my dark clouds feel more like exams than Koenihesen.