Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Why Are There So Many People Looking for Me?
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"…So, Will didn’t properly tell you about it, right?"
"Yes. He only mentioned an old friend. I never dreamed it would be Your Excellency the Victory Duke…."
"Hahaha. I know he’s a busy man, but he really should have explained it properly."
No, Father. Father! Didn’t you tell Mother about this?!
You went ahead and arranged the marriage talks without me knowing, and now you’re saying it like this to Mother!
Is this really the true face of the Imperial Army Marshal that Koenihesen fears so much?!
Look, look over there! Mother’s face is stiffening up in real time! No, you’re known in the military as a man with no flaws anywhere, so why do you turn into a total airhead in moments like this?
This is why she nags you every time! Are you secretly aiming for that gap moe charm or something!?
"Then let me explain it again right here. Richi Reinhardt and Ariete Clozen—I want to bring these two together. What do you think, Marchioness?"
"I…."
Mother was about to reflexively answer the Victory Duke’s question. But she paused for a moment, then looked back and forth between me and Ar.
Hmm, I can roughly guess what she’s going to say.
"Your Excellency the Victory Duke. Marriage is an important matter. Of course, the parents’ opinions matter, but…."
"What you’re saying is that the children’s opinions are the most important, right?"
"Thank you for understanding."
"As for the answer to that… it seems Ariete thinks positively about it."
I reflexively turned my head toward Ar at the Victory Duke’s words.
Her flushed face caught my eye first. Then, as our gazes met, she whipped her head away. They say if you don’t make eye contact, it’s not like that… and it doesn’t seem wrong.
Truth be told, the moment our eyes met, I felt a bit embarrassed too.
"That’s why I came here in such a hurry. What father wouldn’t want to make it happen when his daughter says she likes him? Her marriageable age has come just right, and I’ve found an excellent son-in-law candidate. We should proceed quickly before some other guy swoops in. Wouldn’t that be a huge regret?"
Whoa! Our Victory Duke. You’re really charging straight ahead. It’s a bit overwhelming!
I stealthily checked Mother’s expression. It was a little ambiguous. Does she dislike Ar? Or is she just surprised by the sudden marriage talk for her son?
"My eldest doesn’t have any marriage prospects at all, let alone a woman in sight…."
Ah, right. My brother. There’s my brother, who’s over thirty and has zero thoughts about marriage!
I still remember how Mother would thump her chest in frustration every time she thought about him.
She’d nag him relentlessly about whether he planned to show her a daughter-in-law or even grandchildren, and watching it made me feel suffocated, so what more can I say.
And now, in the midst of that, I’m the one getting married first. A girl I like has come along.
On top of that, she’s from the Victory Duke’s family of all places, so there’s no opposition whatsoever.
From Mother’s perspective, she’d be happy thinking of me, but frustrated thinking of my brother, and even if she grumbled about what that guy is doing, it’d be blameless.
"Ah, of course, I’m not trying to settle it right here and now. I just want the Marchioness to know about it. People’s hearts can change, so I’m a little worried, but…."
The Victory Duke glanced at me and Ar, then smiled at Mother.
Muttering something like, Though I doubt that’ll happen, as a bonus.
"Let’s leave the marriage talk here for now. What’s important right now is that Richi saved Clozen’s precious daughter. I will definitely repay this favor. Clozen wishes for this relationship to endure eternally as a steadfast ally of Reinhardt."
"Your words alone are enough thanks, Your Excellency the Victory Duke. It’s more than sufficient that you came all this way to express your gratitude. And…."
Mother glanced at Ar, a smile curving her lips.
"You have such a beautiful daughter. I only have sons, no daughter of my own."
"Then treating her as a daughter-in-law and daughter alike wouldn’t be bad at all. Hahaha!"
Hey, don’t exchange those blessings with the actual marriage prospects right in front of you. It’s super awkward.
Seeming to think the same as me, Ar wore a sullen expression as she looked at the Victory Duke.
Ah, of course, neither I nor Ar said we hated marriage.
We’d already realized it. That we have feelings for each other. We might not know about marriage yet, but at least we wanted to be lovers—this mutual affection.
The first semester flew by like whoosh! And vacation passed even faster than that.
It was only natural. I’d spent that time gritting my teeth and rolling around on the battlefield.
And like me, almost all the Officer Department students had experienced the war directly or indirectly.
Even as the new semester started and we returned to the academy, the tension hadn’t faded easily.
"Ugh…."
"The battles with those guys… they were way different from what we imagined."
"Damn Koenihesen bastards… devilish scum…."
On the first day of the second semester, many Officer Department students were muttering like that.
The shock must have been huge. Koenihesen, whom they’d seen as weaklings until now, had literally battered the Imperial Army, broken through the front lines, and come sweeping down like a juggernaut. Even I was surprised by their level.
Controlling down to small units like a grinder, smashing the Imperial Army in an instant.
And this was their ‘weakened’ state? What kind of fights had Grandfather fought back then?
Given the situation, it was natural that the students who’d witnessed it firsthand were deeply shocked.
Everything they’d heard and read so far was that the Imperial Army had blocked Koenihesen’s offensive, gradually grown stronger, and now held the advantage. That it was manageable now.
‘Manageable my ass. Koenihesen are still the mad bastards the alliance has to grit its teeth against.’
One fortunate thing amid all this was that no one from the Officer Department had died.
I’d worried that empty seats might appear, or that funeral flowers might be placed there.
There were some unavoidable injuries, but no classmates or seniors felled by Koenihesen blades.
"Thanks, Richi."
But these guys, right after vacation ended, suddenly came asking for handshakes.
What’s with the suddenness? Is it that heroic resistance thing again? But that was officially credited to Erwin. I just fought moderately alongside.
"It’s thanks to you."
"Thanks for what. Can’t you just use proper subjects in your sentences for once?"
"That alliance training. The essence of war you showed us on that little hill."
The essence on the hill… Ah. Oh. You mean when I starved you guys.
"Fighting this time, I paid a lot more attention to supplies without realizing it."
"Me too. Starving for three straight days without even water—that shock stuck with me."
"Thanks to that, I could take care of my platoon at least."
"I managed up to company HQ. Everyone thought it was amazing how we gritted our teeth to secure supplies amid the chaos."
I didn’t expect it to snowball like this? I just roughly toughened up the chicks, but it seems they took away what they needed from it.
As a result, even in the chaos of the grand offensive, they focused on supplies as much as possible.
"…I never imagined starving you a bit would have such a positive ripple effect."
"Of course it’s positive. Hey, honestly, who among us grew up hungry? Not just one meal, or one day, but a full three days. Without even a sip of water!"
Lester, his arm bandaged, thumped my back—whack whack! Ow, that hurts. Jeez, hit lighter. If you can’t control your strength, I might just thump your arm the same way.
"Lester’s right. If you hadn’t shown me, I wouldn’t have thought ‘Water is an absolute must.’ Thanks to that, we didn’t suffer from water shortages."
Michel, with bandages lightly on his face, sat beside me with a grin.
"You two haven’t gotten treatment? What’s the point of saving healing magic?"
"You know why. All the healing mages are at the front. You think we’d get a good reaction begging ‘Heal me!’ for a cracked arm and a grazed face?"
"Exactly. We’ll just blast healing magic later if scars look like they’ll stick."
Lester chuckled, saying these were honorable wounds… Man, is his mentality just that strong? Or does he just not think too deeply?
Either way, it’s not bad. What I felt on the battlefield this time is that guys like Lester are needed in that hell. If I specialize in rear support, Lester’s perfect for frontline combat.
"More importantly, Richi. What happens now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Koenihesen… those filthy bastards were disgustingly strong. Not the toothless beast from the books and stories. They still had sharp teeth and claws."
So, my friends are saying Koenihesen was way stronger than expected—what do I think will happen with the war? Since I’m Reinhardt’s second son, they figure I have insider info.
From their expressions, they think it’ll drag on. Having seen how damn tough the enemy is, it makes sense.
But, guys? I actually think the opposite.
"I figured ten years, but it’ll be shorter."
"Shorter? How? Against guys that strong?"
Basic logic. If you guard and hold, even the attacker gets tired and needs a breather.
They’re already exhausted but gritted their teeth for that punch—they’ll be gasping even harder.
Then what’s left? Pummel them back without giving time to recover.
About seven years? They’ll drop on their own after that much beating, right?