The Training Retreat Draws Near
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and before we knew it, full autumn had arrived—with midterms now just around the corner. My exceptional mind, as Ruwina, absorbed knowledge like a sponge. Lately I had been able to gather information that was being treated as rather important from a variety of angles. The sort of behind-the-scenes lore you might find in an animation, one could say.
“It’s already dawn.”
Neria had long since fallen asleep. To avoid disturbing my precious roommate’s rest, I had been studying at a desk I’d temporarily set up in the dressing room. I stretched, thinking it might be nice to get some fresh air.
Stepping out onto the terrace, I looked down at the academy grounds where even the streetlights were few and far between. After drinking in the sight of the gradually swelling chorus of insects, I lifted my head toward the sky.
Being an island quite far from the mainland, the air should have been crisp, yet hundreds of Aindiums had been training until late evening, kicking up clouds of dust. As a result, the air over Alov Island during the day was far from clean. But in the deep hours of night, when sea breezes swept the dust away, the stars finally reclaimed their rightful sky.
The curfew had passed long ago. In the late dawn, only the guard posts and streetlights remained lit. I gazed at the blue full moon floating overhead.
The moon, which I had heard was once pristine, was now covered with humanity’s footprints. Hemispherical domes the size of a decent nation, space launch pads that were miniature versions of orbital elevators, and the floating stations visible if you looked closely around the lunar vicinity. Realizing that people lived their daily lives in that distant place just as I did struck me once again, powerfully, that this was not Earth but Galaxia.
The moon, huh. At this point I felt the need to organize the space setting of the Aindium series for a moment.
The Earth of the series was the planet I currently stood upon—Galaxia. Centered on the Empire, humanity had advanced into space roughly one hundred eighty years ago. They had established several colonies, including Galaxia’s moon and enormous space stations. A few pioneer fleets had set out for even deeper space, but according to the animation setting book—and what I had learned after arriving here—they had produced no notable results. It seemed the production team had never intended to expand the scale that far.
During the last sports festival, I had seen a bulletin post claiming it was difficult to identify the enemy pilot’s affiliation within Galaxia. From the handful of uncensored posts, I had gathered no small amount of information. In the end, it meant our enemy lay in space.
Half of the Aindium series released so far consisted of battles between the Empire and the Republic; the rest depicted events in space. After the first work, Aindium, became a hit, Northern Light followed two years later. Then came the immortal masterpiece Return to Galaxia, and the series’ sixth entry, Newel Requiem. Space held considerable weight within the Aindium franchise.
Out of eight works, three focused on space, but many excluded Meister’s Spring—which chronicled Dr. Carol’s life story. In practice it was nearly half the series. The Galaxia sequels, aside from the first and the currently airing one, had received poor reviews, so some fans only counted the space entries as true Aindium works. That was why this installment, Wing of Union, was expected to revive the Galaxia side of the franchise.
The bulletin boards had been full of praise even before I arrived here, and their enthusiasm remained strong. The only real complaint seemed to be that Luna’s screen time had grown far too large. It was burdensome, and since I had to carry myself with proper decorum at all times, the old me would never have endured it. Fortunately, Ruwina’s memories and the ingrained habits of her body lent me a natural royal grace, so no one could find fault with my everyday bearing. If anything, my sudden outbursts heated up the forums more often than not.
In any case, events in space were quite important to the Aindium series. And the religious emblem that clearly symbolized the enemy—putting those two pieces together, uncovering the enemy’s true identity would only be a matter of time.
“That will be difficult.”
“Pardon? Why is that?”
The headmaster shook his head at my request. I had only asked for the latest intelligence on the Space Union and the religion currently expanding its influence.
“Information from the space sector is hard to obtain at my level.”
“I thought that since you are an important figure in Alitus, you would be able to cooperate closely with the intelligence bureau.”
“I am pleased by the princess’s high regard, but if the matter has little connection to international affairs within Aindium or Galaxia, it is difficult for me to intervene.”
“I see.”
Actively stepping into diplomacy with neighboring countries was clearly beyond the authority of a mere military academy headmaster, yet it was still disappointing.
“The Alitus Intelligence Bureau likely possesses little information concerning the Space Union either. They are already overwhelmed by relations with neighboring kingdoms, the Republic, and the Empire.”
I quietly nodded in agreement with the headmaster’s words. Exchange with space was conducted almost exclusively through the orbital elevator, and that location had been a battlefield for the past fifty years. The former space colonists had made tremendous sacrifices to protect their bridgehead with Galaxia. Most protagonists of the Aindium space series had lived through that very ordeal.
The Empire had no reason to leak information about colonies that had gained—or were about to gain—independence. The Republic likewise had no incentive to reveal its secret pacts with the space nations. Naturally, other countries found it nearly impossible to obtain even basic intelligence, let alone conduct exchanges. It was a blind spot I had never considered while watching the animation. Since the Empire, Republic, or space nations had usually served as the protagonists’ stage, the story itself had essentially been about those powers.
In that case, the knowledge I possessed from the previous series might actually prove useful. When I had the time, I should look up the older entries. There might be hints hidden there.
Finding materials from the previous series was not difficult. Using the search function and typing “Return” or “Newel” brought up nearly every space-related story. Northern Light was set more than forty years in the past and came from the early days of the space arc, so its lore had not been properly established. The information it provided was therefore a little lacking—though it was still entertaining.
After binge-watching the series for the first time in a while, I ended up staying awake all night. As expected, trying to marathon anime while maintaining a normal daily life was a terrible idea. I concealed the heavy dark circles under my eyes with slightly thicker makeup, half-dozed through classes, and then headed for the clubroom.
“Hello. Yaaawn.”
“Hello, Luna. You must have been studying late again.”
Senior Rane’s worried tone left me momentarily speechless. I quickly offered a natural excuse.
“Yes. My theoretical knowledge is still a little weak.”
“Even so, don’t push yourself too hard. I like seeing you full of energy, Luna.”
“Ahaha. I’ll be careful.”
The warm encouragement left me slightly bashful, so I scratched the back of my head. Senior Rane’s eyes curved upward in amusement.
“Oh my. Spending so much time with Rendel has made you pick up his habits.”
“Ah. I didn’t realize…”
I hurriedly lowered my hand and sat on the sofa.
Today was the day we would decide the club’s official stance for the upcoming training retreat.
The training retreat. According to the seniors, it was the last major event held right before midterms. Because the animation began after Rendel’s second-semester midterms, this—along with the sports festival—was an event I was encountering for the first time. Whether because it was a military academy or because it served as the story’s main stage, there really were a lot of these large-scale events.
“All right. Today I’ll explain the details of next week’s training retreat and share our CT Club’s planned course of action.”
At Senior Rane’s words, the first-years straightened up, pulled out notebooks, and began scribbling down every sentence.
“The training retreat is conducted on the mainland and can be divided into three main categories: standard training, regional defense, and monster subjugation. Last year it was purely training, but this year there are rumors that monster subjugation and regional defense will occur simultaneously.”
“I understand training and monster subjugation, but isn’t regional defense handled by a dedicated defense force?”
“It is, but abnormal hostile elements appear from time to time. Aindium-riding bandits, deserters, that sort of thing.”
Surprisingly, even bandits in this world piloted Aindiums. The group that had attacked me shortly after I first arrived had been similar. However, the bandits near Karmanu had been completely wiped out by an enraged Line, so the region we were visiting this time was likely somewhere else.
“The Empire and Republic have been fighting less lately, but the situation in Karmanu and elsewhere is not good. Our Alitus possesses ample troops and Aindiums, yet our territory is overwhelmingly vast. That is why the academy cadets are expected to cover the gap.”
Come to think of it, it was similar to when we had supported the city of Demius near Karmanu last summer. The only difference was that this time there was no guarantee enemy forces were involved. It would be difficult for the enemies from space to exert influence over mere bandits or deserters.
“But we’re also doing monster subjugation at the same time?”
“The likelihood is high. That’s why the schedule is quite long this year. They’re taking the entire week before exams.”
“Should I bring study materials?”
“You still haven’t finished the exam scope?”
“None of your business. Want to bet on the midterms?”
“You’re on.”
As usual, we ignored Rendel and Carson’s banter and continued discussing the training retreat.
“Monsters and bandits… Which region do you think it will be?”
“Ah, that. I gathered the information ahead of time.”
“As expected of Senior Rane.”
Receiving admiring looks from her fellow operator juniors Christine and Jena, Senior Rane opened her notebook.
“The location for this training retreat is the Palomain region.”
“Palomain?”
Mikhail—who rarely spoke up—reacted aloud. While I carefully reviewed the Alitus geography I had memorized, I quickly understood why.
“The Loxide Border County?”
Mikhail flinched the moment his family’s domain was mentioned. Rane shook her head with a smile.
“It belongs to the same province, but it’s not that side. A little farther east.”
“East would be Lans City, then.”
“Correct. And Lans is…”
“The proud territory of the Layrans Count family!”
At that exact moment the clubroom door burst open and Yvette-senpai strode in. Everyone was used to her dramatic entrances by now; only Yui looked startled.
“Appearing the moment I hear the word ‘Lans’! As the eldest daughter of the Layrans Count family that governs Lans City, I shall answer any question you have. Now, what would you like to know?”
It was rather amusing how the first-years were overwhelmed by Yvette-senpai’s energy while the second-years remained utterly indifferent, but ignoring a senior would have been rude. Between the Confucian spirit inside me, the kindness ingrained in Ruwina’s body, and the debt I owed her, I decided to step forward and respond appropriately.
“We were just told that next week’s training retreat will be held in Lans City. That’s how the topic came up.”
“Ah! That’s right. That’s exactly why I came.”
Yvette-senpai clapped once, then looked directly at me.
“Miss Luna. Could we speak privately for a moment later?”
“Pardon? Yes, of course.”
“Excellent. We’ll talk briefly after club activities end. Now, shall I explain about Lans City and the training retreat?”
I was surprised by the sudden one-on-one meeting, but as I focused on Yvette-senpai’s explanation, the full picture gradually became clear.
Lans City was a major port metropolis with thriving commerce and fisheries. Located where the Mazurk Kingdom—Alitus’s ally—bordered the Republic, it also conducted considerable overland trade. Recently, however, friction between Mazurk and the Republic had grown frequent. Mercenaries were flooding into Lans City, the most prosperous settlement near the battlefield. The trouble they caused was immeasurable; the city guard alone could not cope. The lord of the territory, Count Layrans, had therefore requested assistance from nearby military forces.
“But they don’t have personnel to spare either. On top of that, monsters have begun appearing in droves, so everyone is frantic.”
Yvette-senpai wore a bitter smile I had never seen before.
“Still, thanks to the training retreat we should be able to breathe a little easier. I’m looking forward to next week.”
A training retreat in which hundreds of Aindiums moved at once served as a powerful demonstration of Alitus’s military capability. The prideful mercenaries would likely remain quiet for a while. And while they were at it, the monsters could be exterminated as well.
“We will focus primarily on monster subjugation. The chance of real combat against human opponents is close to zero.”
“A wise decision. I will be watching with great interest.”
Leaving numerical security matters to the other cadets while we handled real combat was the most textbook choice. No one objected.
Senior Rane compiled our opinions and decided to forward the club’s activity policy to the student council.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Good work, everyone! Now then, shall we go, Miss Luna?”
As soon as club activities ended, Yvette-senpai took my arm and led me toward the clubroom’s break area. I shot a look at Rendel, who seemed ready to follow, signaling with my eyes that he should stay behind.
After closing the break-room door, Yvette-senpai studied me for a moment, then spoke carefully.
“Miss Luna Adelt?”
“Y-yes!”
Hearing my answer, Yvette-senpai smiled brightly.
“Princess Ruwina Edelstia?”
“Yes. Eh?”
Yvette-senpai’s smile deepened. It was the smile of a cat that had just discovered the most delightful toy.