Catch the Devil
The academy president, Celenas, sat behind her desk and stared at the papers spread out before her.
“Call in Instructor Rai.”
“Understood.”
The secretary nodded once, small and precise, then left the office. Celenas was about to sign the next document when the door burst open.
As soon as the secretary vanished, Rai stepped in. Celenas’s eyes widened in surprise, but he paid no attention. He scanned the entire room in one quick sweep, then bolted straight for the sofa, skidded to a stop, and marched straight up to her desk instead.
“I wasn’t here.”
He climbed right onto the surface of her desk. Celenas blinked, completely confused, when a knock sounded. The secretary poked her head in.
“Vice Principal Bright is here. Should I let him in?”
“…Yes… please.”
She had clearly seen Rai enter, yet she looked at the empty desk and hesitated for a second before simply opening the door.
“Good afternoon, President.”
Bright greeted her with perfect manners, but his eyes darted around the room like he was searching for something. Celenas caught the ragged breathing and understood the situation at once. She smiled softly.
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“Regarding the training this time… the students are quite dissatisfied.”
He spoke as if he had business, yet he kept walking around the room, eyes still searching. He talked about the practical exercises, the problems that kept coming up, but every word was just noise. His focus was somewhere else.
Celenas watched him prowl like a cat checking every shadow and couldn’t help the laugh she swallowed. *Who could have turned the dignified Bright into a child?* She remembered how much trouble Rai always caused when he was around and simply pretended she hadn’t noticed.
“I’ve been thinking about the issue too. Why don’t we sit down for a moment and discuss it?”
“No, no. It’s fine. President, you must be busy. I can’t keep you from your work.”
“I have a little time. This is a pressing matter.”
“That… oh, I almost forgot. I had a deadline today. Ages catch up with you. Heh heh, go ahead.”
Bright gave a big, easy laugh and turned to leave before she could say anything else. Celenas, unable to hold it in, let out a quiet chuckle and leaned back in her chair.
“Gone?”
From under the desk Rai asked.
Celenas nodded.
After a careful look outside, Rai crawled out.
“What did you do this time that made the vice principal this angry?”
“Just got too hot and made a little pool. He got mad.”
Celenas tilted her head. Even if Bright took etiquette seriously, he wouldn’t fly off the handle over something so minor.
The weather was hot. A small pool would have made the students happy and would have been a nice favor from someone who genuinely loved his students.
“That… I just got carried away… I made an artificial waterfall too…”
Since she clearly didn’t understand, Rai explained honestly and pointed behind her to the window.
Celenas turned. Outside stood a massive stone wall. The president’s office offered a beautiful view of the entire academy, yet right now it was completely blocked.
*When on earth did he build something like this?* Even while buried in work she hadn’t felt a thing.
“Aslan wanted to build a diving board, but if he hadn’t asked, this wall would never have gone up. Does the vice principal hate swimming that much?”
“…Yes… fix it exactly as it was today.”
“Yes, understood.”
Even if she let Rai do whatever he wanted, this was a line she wouldn’t cross.
After he answered, Rai started for the door. Celenas stopped him.
“Sit down.”
Rai jolted, then sat up straight like he’d never been in the room before. Celenas slid a document across the desk.
Rai thought it was another contract. He opened it, saw it was the training report, and glanced at her to make sure she was serious before he read.
It was the report on the recent Tactical Training.
Three to four thousand students were divided into smaller units and given real command responsibilities. Even though the academy could afford it, they couldn’t give every student a full battalion at once. They rotated them, ten or twenty at a time, so everyone got a turn.
The academy’s finances were enormous. Even the money they spent on feeding and housing the borrowed soldiers was staggering.
Rai read the numbers, then let out a low whistle. Even the fallen Keilen Kingdom, which had been half the size of the Empire, might have lasted ten more years if it had spent money like this.
The reports were brutally honest.
“Rai-kun, how was it when you first took command?”
“Me? It was worse than this. I left with a thousand and came back with only 127. Total wipeout.”
Rai answered with a smile.
He hadn’t been a tactics genius from the start either. Later they called him the Devil of All Nations, and the neighboring kingdoms trembled, but he had tasted defeat before. Most of his early losses had been ugly.
That was why the academy’s real-world training was so valuable. Reading books all day was useless if you couldn’t handle real soldiers who felt fear, anger, and pride.
They moved like chess pieces on a map, but the moment they faced actual troops they panicked or charged without thinking. Rai remembered those days and gave a bitter smile.
“Surprisingly. I thought you would have pulled off a brilliant victory from the beginning.”
“Instead I got the brilliant defeat. The price was someone else’s life.”
In the very first battle he had only managed to bring back one-tenth of his force.
He read the next report too.
The same mistakes every new commander made. Self-blame, anger, resentment. Now the students laughed at the reports, but at the time they were all furious at their own units.
“What do you think of the report?”
“It’s only natural. New commanders. Kids who used to move pieces on a board don’t suddenly become masters of tactics.”
When Rai defended the students, Celenas nodded and took a sip of her tea.
“But there are plenty who don’t understand. Some lords say they won’t lend soldiers anymore because the training is too expensive.”
“Hmm. This training is amazing. Without it, hundreds of thousands would die when real war comes. And if a theory-only expert commander shows up, the officers will cheer when he leaves them to die.”
“Really?”
Celenas, an academic herself, was genuinely interested.
“Yes. Even if the commander is a genius, soldiers are different. If you fight like chess pieces you will lose. Emotions don’t follow rules. Especially when it’s a strategy battle—tactics get finer, more delicate—but when you attack the soldiers themselves, the commander can do nothing.”
Rai explained how to manipulate troops. There were hundreds of ways to make them excited or terrified. He told her that every front had to have experienced officers paired with new commanders, but sometimes the manpower ran out and they had to improvise.
Celenas listened to the end, nodded, and slid over a new document.
“What is this?”
“We’re inviting the lords who lend us soldiers. If we give them an excellent show, maybe they’ll loosen up a little.”
“No. Why is my name on the training list?”
Rai pointed at his own name on the upcoming schedule.
Celenas smiled gently.
“A show, you say?”
“Yes. Everyone loves watching you. If they see how wonderfully you fight, they’ll go home satisfied.”
Rai stayed silent. Celenas brightened.
“Everyone’s going to see Instructor Rai’s perfect tactics. The invited guests, the other students, everything broadcast live. We’ll turn it into the academy’s biggest festival. The reputation of tactical training will rise, and we can even make it bigger next time.”
“…Is it okay to make it public?”
“Why not? What’s wrong with Instructor Rai? He’s the academy’s finest teacher.”
She said it like it was just a joke.
Rai said nothing.
* * *
“So I have to pick an assistant.”
The Class B students stared blankly.
“No one spoke. Cesset raised her hand.
“What do I get if I become assistant?”
“Well… the students who become assistant get an 80 in the training. If you don’t like it, you can join later.”
Eighty out of a hundred. An average score, but the students knew it was hard to score high in real command. A few of them were tempted.
Still, they all wanted to run a battalion themselves. The idea of commanding felt romantic.
Cesset, whose turn it was this time, had to decide whether to take assistant or run her own team. The opponent was the ruthless Raikkang. No one knew his full history, but everyone knew he had monstrous skill and experience.
She was an inexperienced commander. The score didn’t matter. If he humiliated her with his ridiculous tactics, she would be furious. She might enjoy teasing others, but she didn’t want to be on the receiving end. Victory was sweet, after all.
Just as she was about to raise her hand, the door opened and she turned.
Vice Principal Bright stood there, smiling.
“Hohohoh. Talking about tactical training? Instructor Rai?”
“Yes…”
Rai gave an awkward smile. He had escaped the vice principal once, but he hadn’t expected him to chase him all the way here. The atmosphere was far too calm for someone who was supposed to be angry.
Bright nodded and walked over, patting Rai’s shoulder like an old friend.
“You students must learn a lot from your instructors. You understand, right? Instructors have accumulated so much experience and possess extraordinary ability. In this tactical training, Instructor Rai will definitely show you something wonderful.”
Rai glanced at him. The hand patting his shoulder suddenly tightened.
“Any student who captures Instructor Rai’s battalion will receive a perfect 100.”
“I’ll try my best!”
Cesset jumped up, full of energy. The other students looked eager too.
“But we can’t let everyone fight only for Instructor Rai, can we?”
Bright looked worried and swept his gaze over the class.
“So if we form an alliance, every allied student will receive 100 points. That way there won’t be any fighting, right?”
“…?”
Rai stared, speechless.
Cesset’s eyes sparkled with joy. She grabbed the arm of a classmate and cheered loudly.
“I already told the other class. Let’s form an alliance!”
“Uh, Vice Principal?”
“Ah, how reassuring Instructor Rai is! If the students work together, they won’t lose to him. I believe in his ability!”
Minimum ten-to-one odds. Not just personal strength—winning with ten times more soldiers through tactics.
And it was an offensive battle, not a defensive one. He would be dropped into the battlefield with no warning and would have to face everyone at once. Any normal commander would run away.
“Everyone is looking forward to seeing Instructor Rai. The students, the citizens of Legandia, and the guests from the surrounding domains. Students, please work hard. I believe you will put on a wonderful show for everyone watching.”
Bright left the classroom.
“Who are you picking as assistant?”
Rai asked the students. Every head turned toward him.
They were all staring. He didn’t want to be publicly executed.