April 444 of the Monarchy calendar.

A month has passed since the Royal Capital of the Monarchy of Diete was officially transferred to the continent of Cynthus.

The continent of Cynthus was originally developed due to its good location on the opposite bank across the Mediterranean Sea from the continent of Ortegia, where the royal capital was located, and the damage there was relatively minimal. Thus, some of the government’s functions had already been transferred, but the Queen declared that she would build a palace on the Continent of Cynthus, and it took form in name and reality.

“The Royal Capital is not the city where the central government is located, but the city where the Sovereign resides. Therefore, the city where the Sovereign lives is called the royal capital, even if it is in the remote countryside of a remote planet.”

Under such logic, Queen Yuna moved her residence to the residence of her fiancé, Marquis Amakawa, on the continent of Cynthus, hence the territory of the Marquis of Amakawa became the Royal Capital as well.

The Royal Capital was destroyed by the enemy, and a Marquis territory being rented is… unheard of, and could spark very unsavory rumors. However, when people hear that “an engaged woman has started living at her partner’s home”, most people suddenly feel ridiculous and say, “Kindly let them do as they please”.

Those who wanted to speak about the danger of war spoke of the former, and those who did not want to feel serious spoke of the latter, but the ratio between the two was overwhelmingly inclined to the latter.

If the parties deliberately created such a situation to dispel the feeling of war, it was not so, and truthfully Hart was concerned about the psychological impact of Yuna living alone in the Royal Palace, where her family had been killed.

The brand new Marquis Residence was highly functional and there was no practical inconvenience in using it as a Royal Palace. There is also the fact that various government agencies from the former royal capital were relocated to the royal territory adjacent to the Marquis territory.

The fact the Marquis territory doubles as the Royal Capital is probably a temporary measure. After Yuna abdicates, it is highly likely to be relocated to the neighboring royal territory and then the continent of Ortegia, which is undergoing reconstruction. Neither prince wishes to stay at their sister and brother-in-law’s residence after they become Sovereign.

But at the moment, the Royal Capital of the Monarchy of Diete was undoubtedly the Marquis of Amakawa.

The Military Academy was also relocated to the Royal territory, directly adjacent to the Marquis territory where the new Royal capital was located.

The academy, which was destroyed in the Second Diete Star System Battle in October and began restoration in November, was completely rebuilt and reopened by the time Hart and the others returned home.

The Royal Army has a group of urban building facilities for the construction of military facilities, including various building models and artificial intelligence with excellent design capabilities. They can be automated, and if land is requisitioned for the war effort and the conditions are indicated, a splendid building will be completed regardless of whether the person in charge is a rookie.

For more than 400 years, the Monarchy has been amassing resources and budgets in preparation for war against the former Coalition. The Military Academy’s building is necessary for the war against Tenka and there is no reason to spare resources and budget.

But when Claudia saw for the first time in a year and a half that the academy had been reborn as a modern metropolitan area with all the budget and resources invested, she tilted her head at the use of the funds.

She was summoned to the principal’s wing, which was a luxurious, dignified and dedicated building, and received the same orders Hart and the others had received three and a half years ago from the principal, who was apparently in good spirits.

“Cadet Claudia Coesfeld. As part of your General officer education, you will also undergo a one-year Command Staff course. Commander -in-Chief Amakawa and Her Majesty the Queen also took this course while they were at the Academy.”

“I am honored to be of service.”

The fact that the principal’s wing is so lavishly constructed and has many special androids in it may be to inspire the cadets by showing them, “if you become a General, you will receive this sort of treatment”.

With this favorable interpretation, Claudia put her doubts to rest and complied with the principal’s order with a friendly smile on her face.

In the Command Staff course, a Lieutenant Colonel or higher who was recommended by their immediate superiors or other Generals who are qualified to recommend them, is accepted. And the nominator for Claudia is Colonel General and Commander-in-Chief Hart.

The nominees are deliberated by the relevant department of the Staff Office, but Chief of Staff General Reinelt issued an official notice to the office, stating, “fully support Commander-in-Chief Amakawa’s nomination”.

The Military Academy is also under the Instructional Bureau of the Staff Office, and it was a definite matter for the Royal Army that Claudia would take the Command Staff course.

And even if Hart doesn’t order it, the basic idea of the Royal Army since before the war has been to have at least one Royal-grade magic power holder who graduates from the Military Academy as a Commander of a Mobile Fortress.

The 27-kilometre-long Mobile Fortress is huge from the human body, but insignificant in terms of the amount of minerals that exist in the star system. Building 100 or 200 Mobile Fortresses would not be much of a burden for the Monarchy.

The reason for not building Mobile Fortresses to scatter the enemy fleet is that there is no magic power holder who can operate them even if they are made, so they will only be ornaments.

If there are magic power holders who can move it, and they graduate from Military Academy and complete the Command Staff course, you can increase the number of Major Generals to be Fortress Commanders by 100 or 200. In fact, the Royal Army’s thinking is that they will give out as many rank insignia as they want, so as many people as they want can come.

“Your completion of the Command Staff course will serve the national interests of the Monarchy.”

“If I can protect as many Royal citizens as possible, I’ll be happy to accept your orders.”

Claudia knew the reason why the principal spoke solemnly. Still, Claudia responded with a genuine look of joy at the principal.

When the principal saw the situation, he nodded twice and cast an eye on the vice-principal who was present.

“I look forward to your continued success. That’s all from me. I wonder if there is anything from the vice-principal.”

“Yes. First of all, as your instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Coesfeld, I am proud of you for your remarkable military achievements while still a cadet at the Military Academy. Thank you for your service.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The vice-principal, with a thin, stern face, praised her politely without looking nervous. In response, Claudia also thanked him in a polite tone.

“As one of your instructors, what I would like is for you to have the experience to handle your subordinates in a manner appropriate to your rank. Your attendance is less than that of Commander Amakawa. If possible, as a senior cadet, I would like you to gain experience in mentoring juniors, but will you be able to attend the academy in the future?”

“The military duties of Fortress Kerviel are a top priority, ordered by His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, who oversees the entire army, with the approval of Her Majesty and the other Chiefs. However, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the duties of the fortress, I will try to attend to it as much as possible.”

In response to the vice-principal’s perfectly legitimate argument, Claudia promised to make every effort but keep her priorities clear.

“Very well. Actually, there are two new cadets who other seniors seem to have difficulty mentoring. The runner-up cadet, Second Prince Josslan Strani Asteria, who is in line as the next Sovereign, and 1st place cadet, Lysine Takrham, Young Lady of a Duke Household. If you can mentor these two, I’m confident that you can treat anyone else as a subordinate no matter who they are. You will graduate at the top of your class.”

One of the only two candidates for the next Sovereign and his fiancée. The mental stress that comes with mentoring these two is unlikely to be mediocre.

It would be fine for an instructor with a clear role, but it would be too much for a cadet who was merely a senior student to handle.

Claudia understood what the vice principal had said about how difficult it would be for ordinary people to handle the two.

“The guidance of junior students is the role of a senior, so of course I accept. I think it would be more feasible if I were in charge of them.”

“I see. I’m sorry, but please. As long as you’re doing things that other cadets can’t, your grades will be higher than other cadets.”

“If I may humbly give a suggestion, I heard that His Majesty the former Sovereign and Her Majesty also followed the Military Academy’s educational policy, such as serving as waiters at the dining hall when they were in the Academy. Since they themselves wish to attend the Military Academy, I think that excessive preferential treatment will not be to their benefit, even if it’s the bare minimum.”

In the cafeteria of the Military Academy, as part of the education to experience various superior and subordinate relations, the 1st year cadets serve as waiters, the 2nd year cadets as instructors, the 3rd year cadets scold any mistakes, and the 4th year cadets supervise the 3rd year cadets on their attention.

The 1st years will understand the psychology of soldiers and noncommissioned officers who move under orders, the 2nd years will understand the psychology of the officers in charge of the field, the 3rd years will understand the psychology of a commander, and the 4th year will understand the psychology of the General who is the leader.

In the military, where the orders of superiors are absolute and organized, there is no room for disobedience just because you don’t get along with your superiors.

In the course of education, the role of a superior is to be assigned not only to the role of a recognizable superior, but also to the role of a superior who gives unreasonable orders, with the intention of learning what kind of orders would lead to rebellious behavior, how to manage dissatisfied subordinates and superiors, how to supervise subordinates, and what kind of organizational management would be desirable.

Hierarchical education is reflected not only in cafeterias and places of living, but also in joint exercises, etc. Such a variety of education is necessary, and if the other party is a prince who may become the Sovereign who controls the entire army, Claudia thinks that he should be given the proper experience even more.

“That’s why we’ve placed you in the mentor role to provide the proper education.”

“I’m quite convinced. Then, as a senior, I’ll get muddied for the sake of my juniors.”

Thus, Claudia took on the mentorship of Josslan and Lysine.

The recruitment capacity of the Military Academy was 40,000 for the first grade in the year 438 of the Monarchy calendar when Hart and others enrolled, but in 440 of the Monarchy calendar, the number of recruitment was tripled to 120,000 due to the resumption of the war with the Coalition. This year, 444 of the Monarchy calendar, the number of recruitment has increased by 12 times to 480,000 due to the war with Tenka, which has since intensified.

Among such 480,000 people, Josslan and Lysine have achieved a high level of magic, taking the second and first places.

However, since “an excellent soldier is one who can kill a lot of enemies and protect a lot of people”, there is no issue with the top two positions being people who have Royal grade magic power that can operate a Mobile Fortress.

In order to secure a wide range of cadets from the provinces, each department except the Commandant Department has a branch school in the other 5 star systems, and the number of cadets in a single star system, plus the increase/decrease in the Commandant Department, is 80,000.

Although the number of cadets has increased dramatically, in the Monarchy of Diete, where a total of 4.8 billion people have been killed in two Capital planet defense battles, they do not think that 480,000 people is too large to have carrying military weapons each year. As a result of considering various problems such as the number of teachers and training destinations, the compromise was only 480,000.

In addition, the Commandant Department is kept at 5% of the total by providing C-class crystals to extremely talented students.

The Heavy Battleship Department has 1800 cadets, the Carrier Craft Department 1800 cadets, the Battleship Department 14,400 cadets, and the auxiliary ship Department 6,000 cadets. Each school year, the captains capable of running the 24,000 ships of the Royal Army’s 12 fleets, started to increase from 24,000.

This year’s program is characterized by recruitment that prioritized winning at the moment without any consideration for the postwar period.

The entrance ceremony, which attracted 24,000 cadets from the Commandant Department and 80,000 from other departments, was held in an online virtual space.

Because of the online nature of the ceremony, the guests of honor were lavish, and therefore only three of the guests, the Queen, the Chief of Military Affairs and the Chief of Staff, were allotted time to address the new cadets.

The entrance ceremony ended with the top 4th year representing the current cadets giving words of welcome, and Josslan Strani Asteria, the Second Prince, who was placed 2nd according to magic power value, gave a return speech on behalf of Lysine Takrham, the 1st place who declined giving a speech.

In contrast to the 1st year cadets of the Heavy Battleship Department, which has 1,800 members, 90% of the 2nd year cadets and higher were killed in the Second Diete Star System Battle, decreasing them to about 45 enrolled people for the capacity of 450 people in each grade.

The ratio was 40:1 and the frequency of receiving guidance from senior cadets was low in the first grade, but Josslan and Lysine had the opportunity to receive guidance from the top cadets of the academy, including Claudia, in about two weeks.

As for the waiters, the 2nd year instructors explained the purpose of their education in detail before the 1st years began serving, so they did not encounter any problems. Lysine and others who understood things found serving rather enjoyable.

As a result, Claudia, the reprimanding officer, had to scold the 2nd year students.

“Admittedly, they are careful to avoid accidents, but showing model answers before the exam will reduce their experience. In the future, the 1st years will have subordinates as commanders and make use of their experience from the Military Academy. You have to give guidance. Try not to deprive them of experience opportunities as much as possible.”

“Ha, I’m sorry.”

The 4th year cadet, who saw the reprimand, announced the start of the meal.

“The ship is moving within the enemy’s territory and is on Type III alert. Each of you must eat during the allotted break time. All hands, you may have your meals.”

It was also possible to postpone the 1st year cadets under the pretext of the work system, but the 4th year cadets were allowed to eat all at once.

Claudia, who realized that both the 2nd and 4th year cadets only played the role of a superior to those who understood the matter, had no choice but to play a scolding role.

“As a senior, I’ll be instructing them from a different direction, since they’ve already figured out the purpose of their education. 1st year Cadet Takrham, you are 1st place among the recruits, but you handed over the responsibility of addressing the incoming students to 1st year Cadet Asteria, who was placed 2nd. What was your intention?”

In her gentle voice, she had the power to impart a quality without being obtrusive.

Lysine, who was wary of the word “guidance”, responded, thinking for a moment whether it was necessary to speak, but she thought that it was basic to answer when asked by a superior in the military.

“It is Diete’s basic idea that the Asteria Royal Family should lead the way.”

Claudia nodded with a smile at Lysine’s answer and said, “that will not do”.

“Commander-in-Chief Amakawa was a Major General while in the Academy, and he was asked by the principal how he viewed the results of the subsequent positions. Here he made a recommendation in the order of ability. The order was Lieutenant General Listner, a Viscount Lady, Lieutenant General Carneus, a Lady of a Marquis Household, and finally Her Majesty the current Queen, who was also the grandchild of the 10th Sovereign and the daughter of a Duke. 1st year Cadet Takrham, can you understand His Excellency the Commander’s intentions in the recommendation?”

Hart, the current Commander-in-Chief and the Queen’s fiancé, had not propped up Yuna, the Sovereign’s granddaughter, in the order of the academy performance.

Lysine, who was pointed out how with the situation between the current Commander-in-Chief and the Queen, that the exact opposite was taking place with Lysine and Josslan, and Josslan, who was listening next to her, weren’t able to dismiss it as a trivial matter done by someone else.

Yuna will ultimately decide whether Josslan will be the next Sovereign or a Duke. And by all accounts, the person who influences Yuna’s judgment the most is Hart.

“………… No, I don’t know.”

Lysine, who could not carelessly deny their actions, took a passive measure.

Claudia, who restricted Lysine’s behavior, then pointed out the error in Lysine’s thinking.

“The answer is that in the military, if the attitude is not to evaluate abilities and results rather than status, the abilities of those with lower status and position will turn rotten, and the Royal Army will suffer for it. As a fact, the Commander-in-Chief makes the most of the abilities of Lieutenant Generals, Listner and Carneus, making Fortress Kerviel active and able to cite the current achievements of the war. It is not idealism, the Royal Army chooses the most practical advantage in how to protect the Monarchy and its people. 1st year Cadet Takram’s actions are somewhat out of line with that of the Commander-in-Chief and are not in the best interest of protecting the Royal citizens. As a military officer, be careful from now on.”

“…… I understand.”

For a moment, Lysine was stuck for a response, but mended her ways and answered.

Claudia looked on with satisfaction, adding guidance.

“I also sympathize with the idea that the Royal family should stand before the people and support them. As such I expect 1st year Cadet Asteria to play as much an active role as 1st year Cadet Takrham. I am also a 2 year senior to both of you at Fortress Kerviel and also your superior. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Though I know little of the affairs of the Military Academy.”

Claudia, who had taken on the role of mentor, smiled.