Chapter 69
On the first floor of the school building, there is a spacious room where instructors can wait.
Inside, there are simple desks and chairs for individual use, and at the back, there are two sofas and a basic cooking counter, making it something like a break room exclusively for instructors.
After classes, instructors return to the dormitory for staff located on the school grounds, but for those in charge of first-year students, since basic physical training remains in the evening, they often wait in this room until the time comes.
Therefore, the instructors, who may look rough in appearance and physique but are kind at heart, tell the students they can come by anytime if they have questions or concerns.
However, in reality, only one or two students per year visit the instructors' room, mostly those who do not use the support family system.
Such rare visits from one or two students a year.
"Even if you ask me about ranks..."
Facing the students who rushed into the instructors' room just six months after enrollment, Harrison stroked his stubbly beard.
The three from the special class—Celestia, Silvio, and Severi—are children who adapted to life at the military school astonishingly quickly without needing support families.
Troubles... What's that? It seemed like the trio who might scoff at the idea had come here for something related to Ivan Tseli's rank.
"Even if I explain it, do you intend to understand?"
The three nodded vigorously, clearly determined not to leave until they got an explanation.
Scratching his cheek, Harrison turned his face toward the direction of the fortress, grumbling internally about how, despite having drilled various things into his granddaughter beforehand, there were still gaps in her knowledge...! After venting silently to the Marshal he deeply respected, he let out a deep sigh.
"To put it simply, we can't give a military rank to the Former Knight Commander, who was the top of a knight order dominated by nobles."
"That's incredibly concise."
"It's easy to understand, isn't it?"
"What's the reason?"
"The reason, huh..."
Harrison straightened up from slouching lazily in his chair and directed a creepy smile at the three who were listening intently.
"Just because someone was a big shot doesn't mean they get a rank in the military if they have no achievements or merits here. How great are knights? I don't care. Over here, we crawl through the dirt on the battlefield, risking our lives every day. If you easily give a rank to someone who's been in the cushiest environment, far from the battlefield, wouldn't that be an insult to the dead, to those with missing limbs, and to comrades who retired with broken minds?"
If these three proceed down the path of becoming soldiers, they will surely rise quickly to a rank where they command on the battlefield.
Even though they attend military school, they are still just ordinary students no different from civilians, so precautions are taken to ensure there's no danger when they go outside the city for exercises or expeditions, making it relatively easygoing. But once they become soldiers, regardless of being rookies, they'll be thrust into fierce battlefields, witnessing friends they were joking with just hours before die, and they'll be tormented by helplessness while clutching dog tags.
The higher the rank, the more likely one is to suffer mentally... but Harrison kept quiet before saying anything unnecessary, figuring they'd receive various explanations and training on that once they become soldiers.
"Besides, even someone who was an executive class during their military days is just an instructor here."
"You're an instructor..."
"Most of the instructors in charge of classes are of higher ranks."
"Could it be that you, Instructor Harrison, were also an executive class?"
"The phrase 'could it be' stings a lot, but I can't answer that question. Not only during active duty but even after retirement, we're forbidden from speaking about internal matters or even personal details."
"Even about ranks?"
"You might think a rank is trivial, but that's the most problematic. The higher the rank, the more classified information is in their head, making them a target for enemies. It's easier to abduct a retired former soldier than to capture an active one, and it takes longer to notice. Even under torture, I'm confident I wouldn't spill information, but if they target family, lovers, or friends, that confidence wavers easily. So, for my own sake, it's better not to even mention that I was a soldier."
"Is it better not to talk about things at military school either?"
"Right now, since you're not doing anything special, such topics aren't discussed, but from the third year, when there are no class divisions, you might be made to sign a confidentiality agreement."
Unlike with soldiers, it's a much looser agreement with no real penalties.
"Let's get back to the topic. It was about the reason Ivan Tseli isn't given a rank, right?"
"You already told us earlier. It's an insult to soldiers, and at military school, everyone is just an instructor."
Harrison nodded twice to Celestia, who tilted her head, then leaned back in his chair again and casually said, "That's just speculation mixed with a lot of my personal feelings."
"...Huh?"
"Eh..."
"Personal feelings..."
"Hey, don't all three of you glare at me at once. I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"
These guys are so in sync... Harrison thought as he looked at the trio giving him suspicious glances, letting out a small "Hmmm" under his breath.
"To begin with, what rank would you even give to that famous Former Knight Commander?"
"Even if not a general, wouldn't it be an executive class?"
"Executive class, huh... If that's the case, then everyone who held a decent position in the knight order would come here and suddenly be executive class."
"That's..."
"He's a co-lord here and a friend of Marshal Fildé. So, some might accept that Ivan Tseli is treated specially, while others might use it to their advantage. Regardless of what anyone thinks, just the fact that a Former Knight Commander was given a rank, even if not executive class, could become an issue. If various speculations or ridiculous rumors about ranks being easily obtainable spread, cunning nobles will send their non-heir sons into the military seeking benefits and meddle from behind the scenes."
"Benefits...?"
"Budgets, embezzlement of weapons, collusion in organizations or factions different from the knight order... the list goes on."
"If that's the case, hasn't there been such interference before now?"
"Look, calling the military a lawless zone might sound harsh, but it's an institution mostly made up of commoners and a small number of lower nobles. Most nobles look down on soldiers and tend to avoid getting involved. That's why there's been no noble interference until now... Well, the biggest reason is that Fildé Rotish sat at the top of the military."
"So, is the military worried that nobles might use Lord Tseli as a foothold to infiltrate?"
"Who knows? I'm just an instructor; I have no idea what the higher-ups are thinking. That's why I said it at the start. The concise statement I made is the result of considering everything."
"So, in the end, we don't know the reason."
"If you want to know, become a soldier and rise to executive class. Then, come tell me."
"But isn't that forbidden to speak about?"
As Silvio looked disappointed, Harrison advised him to join the military, only to be immediately pointed out by Severi. Laughing at what a good duo they were, Harrison slowly shifted his gaze to Celestia, who had suddenly gone quiet.
"Hey, stop being silent; it's creepy."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said... So?"
He urged her to say what she was thinking.
"No, I was just thinking a little about the reason Lord Tseli was hired..."
Harrison dug at his ear with a finger before asking, "What did you say?"
How deep are these kids planning to dig?
"...Wait, now it's about that?"
"I won't ask 'why' or 'how' like a child, as I did earlier. I just thought there must be a reason why someone like Grandfather chose this place to retire."
"Ah..."
"During last month's lecture, you mentioned that the number of soldiers is decreasing every year, right? Grandfather also once said that there aren't enough people."
"Yeah, not many want to take up the harsh and unrewarding job of a soldier. Still, a certain number join each year for the sake of livelihood. The problem is that the number leaving exceeds those joining. Due to injuries or mental illness, many have to retire young, and since we can't constantly replenish personnel, the burden on each individual increases, worsening the situation."
The executive class was supposed to undergo a generational change all at once, but that hasn't happened, and the old-timers are still holding on as active duty.
"If that's the case, isn't it possible that Lord Tseli was brought in as a figurehead for the military?"
"I can never predict what's going to come out of your mouth."
What is this girl saying...? Harrison thought as he looked at Celestia in disbelief, while she nodded seriously to herself.
"A figurehead, as in that kind of figurehead?"
"A figurehead is a figurehead. The kind used in business to attract people."
"Treating someone you admire as a figurehead...?"
"Regardless of noble or commoner, many admire that person, so I thought they might be using Lord Tseli to increase the number of students at the military school. Since many second or third sons of nobles become knights, some might choose the military school over academies in the Royal Capital for connections or recommendations from Lord Tseli. There are even a couple here who were lured in."
"Lured in, huh."
"We were lured."
Silvio and Severi nodded in agreement, saying, "A figurehead."
There must be better ways to phrase it, like the face of the military school or a banner...
"This year, the number of nobles who enrolled was double the usual... It'll probably increase even more in the coming years, so that idea might not be entirely wrong."
"But since the Tseli family is also a co-lord here, maybe there's no ulterior motive, and he's just contributing to the territory after retirement?"
What's with this idealized image of a person? Even if such a person existed, I wouldn't acknowledge them.
After shaking his head at Silvio to indicate that wasn't the case, Harrison suddenly recalled words a colleague had mentioned.
"Someone said he was hired because his swordsmanship isn't the pretty kind typical of knights..."
"But it was a beautiful swordsmanship, like a dance, wasn't it?"
Seeing Celestia let out a small sigh of admiration, Harrison doubted his own ears, wondering if he'd misheard, and widened his eyes.
"No... Huh? A beautiful dance? What I heard was that it's quite brutal, something that makes you think he has a really nasty personality..."
"Aren't you confusing him with someone else? Like Colonel Nick, for example."
Since she brought up Nick's name, from Celestia's perspective, that guy must seem pretty brutal. Don't worry, you're not wrong.
"No, no, I can't agree with that. Even Marshal Fildé said his nature was bad."
"Grandfather doesn't praise Lord Tseli much."
"That's true, but someone who can serve as Knight Commander for so long?"
"I hear all knights have kind natures, right?"
"No way! Whenever we meet in the Royal Capital, it always turns into a brawl!"
"Who wins?"
"Severi, is that important right now...?"
The three, tilting their heads with curious expressions, probably hold the image of knights as noble beings since they're nobles themselves. But soldiers and knights are the same inside; the only difference is whether they curse directly or indirectly, and after that, it's a fistfight.
Knowing they wouldn't believe him even if he explained, Harrison decided to change the topic.
"I've answered your questions, so now it's your turn to listen to my request."
"That's out of context."
When he clasped his hands together and made a cute request, Severi cut him off sharply.
However, he's not the kind of man to be discouraged by something like this.
"Isn't it about time you paid attention to someone other than Billy and the others?"
As he continued speaking, the three of them let out a collective sigh.