1

  The region where Yamato is located has a tropical climate. There is no such thing as winter, spring, summer, or autumn. There are only the rainy season and the dry season. The season where you get soaked and the season where you scramble to find something to soak in.

  But even though it should be the dry season by now, Haruki has no trouble finding something wet. Because he is drenched, not by rain but by salty water that doesn’t feel good on his skin.

  Well, it’s just his head though.

  "What the hell, Amelie!!!!"

  As soon as Haruki opens his eyes, he is greeted by the sight of Amelie’s smooth legs. Looking further up, he finds a bucket. Then, looking even higher, he sees Amelie’s face, plastered with anger.

  "I should be the one saying that!!! Why didn’t you come to the departure ceremony!?"

  After seeing Haruki lazily open his eyes, Amelie decides to squat down to get a clearer look at the young man’s face. This allows Haruki, who is still lying on his back in front of the girl, to see quite deeply into the skirt of his childhood friend.

  But instead of continuing to enjoy the view, Haruki decided to avert his gaze and quickly sat up. Of course, as a teenager, he wanted to look longer. But if he really did, something would rise-and it wouldn’t be the sun.

  Besides, because of his closeness to the little girl, that "gift from heaven" made him feel more guilty than happy.

  "Why are you asking such a stupid question? Of course, it’s because I didn’t want to! What kind of idiot would want to stand under the scorching sun for an hour and a half!?"

  "The idiot who’s forced to be classmates with someone like you!!"

  "Amelie... if you want to wake me up! Use a normal method, no need to drench me like that! What if my clothes got wet?"

  "Your clothes aren’t wet"

  If Haruki were wearing proper attire, Amelie wouldn’t have drenched him but instead would have hit him on the head. She did it because she had an additional goal besides waking him up. Her actions were also meant to cut off Haruki’s escape route and forced the boy to tidy up his appearance.

  "If I didn’t make you wet, you’d have plenty of excuses to skip the next activity too"

  Today is supposed to be an important day for Haruki and all his classmates. But for Haruki, every day is as important as any other day, which means today is just as unimportant as any other day. Today, he has no plans to do anything except laze around under the shade of the boxes around him.

  "After the ceremony, there will be a little party on the ship. This is your only chance to eat something delicious for free."

  Usually, Haruki would be interested in the word "free," but this time, it doesn’t make him feel any better. The first reason is that he’s currently on a rocking ship heading toward a place he dislikes. The second reason is that he doesn’t want to meet his classmates.

  For them, traveling to the main continent of Amteric for the field exam is a new experience. But for Haruki, it’s his third time, so he’s already bored with it.

  Taking the field exam there no longer feels challenging. He has memorized every detail of the place like the narrow backyard of his own house. Because every year, they are sent to the same place.

  Although it’s called a field exam, students from the academy aren’t actually sent to the battlefield. Most of their tasks are just assisting the real troops in the rear.

  However, the main reason for his bad mood is that he has failed to persuade Amelie not to take the exam.

  Even though they were in the rear, it didn’t mean they were 100% safe. Anything could happen to them, anything could happen to Amelie. If he were alone, he could skip most of the activities. But he couldn’t force Amelie to skip. On the contrary, she would end up forcing him to follow all their field exam agendas.

  And those agendas included the little party in the ship’s main hall that the girl had just mentioned.

  "Sigh..."

  Even before arriving, Haruki already knew what kind of reaction he would get when he showed up at the event.

  After receiving another unfriendly glare from Amelie, Haruki finally went to his own room, washed his face, changed clothes, and then headed to the main hall where many of his classmates were chatting or eating with their respective groups.

  Everyone except one person. A young girl who looks out of place and resembles a lost child separated from her parents. Just as Haruki is about to approach her, someone suddenly stops him.

  "You didn’t attend the ceremony, didn’t help with the preparations, and didn’t listen to the group leader, yet you show up at mealtime without a hint of guilt! You seriously have no shame!!"

  The one blocking his path is the leader of his group, Yuudai Yuu.

  The number of final-year students taking the field exam is almost equivalent to a battalion. Yes, the school is that big.

  Because of the large number, not all students can immediately participate in the exam. Therefore, the field exam is conducted in rotations after the students are divided into four companies.

  The four companies are further divided into 10 platoons, each consisting of around thirty to forty students. And one of the platoon leaders is Yuudai Yuu—a student who, if she diverted even a bit of her physical capabilities toward her brain, would immediately become the top-ranked student.

  "Oh... so a noble who’s supposed to be righteous and benevolent is just a stingy person"

  Yuudai glared at Haruki.

  "What do you mean!?"

  "You’re forbidding me to eat just because of personal issues. I think prioritizing personal matters in public isn’t a good thing"

  "I’m not stopping you out of personal vendetta! I’m punishing you for not following the rules"

  "Which rule?"

  What Yuudai meant by breaking the rules was Haruki’s refusal to participate in school activities. Not allowing Haruki to touch the food there is her way of punishing him.

  However, the food prepared on the ship was for students, ship staff, and teachers. In other words, everyone is allowed to come and enjoy it. So, if the condition for enjoying the meal is to follow the school’s agenda, then the person who can’t eat isn’t just him.

  "Stop beating around the bush!!! What are you trying to say?"

  Haruki smiles at Yuudai.

  "You have the right to punish me, but you don’t have the right to forbid me from eating!"

  Because the higher-ups decided that everyone can enjoy the provided meal. That means if Yuudai forbids Haruki from eating, he’s defying the orders of his superiors. In other words, to punish Haruki, Yuudai needs to break a rule.

  "A model student like you wouldn’t break the rules, right? Especially not for personal reasons."

  Yuudai won’t break the rules, but not because she’s a model student. It’s because of the name she carries. Her family is one of the great nobles of Yamato, so every move she makes is always under scrutiny. If she does something that could tarnish her reputation, criticism won’t just be directed at her but also at her family.

  Yuudai tightly clenched her fist, but still held herself back from punching Haruki in the face. Although her initial desire to punish Haruki was purely because the young man had broken the rules, now Yuudai genuinely wanted to punish him for personal reasons.

  "Stop bullying him!!!"

  "Ack.."

  Because they were too focused on each other, Yuudai and Haruki didn’t notice that Amelie had approached. The smaller girl approached Haruki and then elbowed his side quite hard.

  "Who’s bullying who Amelie? From any angle, Yuudai is the one bullying me!"

  "Sorry, but your excuse doesn’t work on me"

  Perhaps others see Yuudai as taking advantage of her authority to punish Haruki, and the young man is simply trying to defend himself to be allowed to eat there. But in reality, it’s Haruki who is toying with Yuudai. He knows the girl is weak when it comes to discussions about duty, rules, and responsibility.

  The one actually being cornered is Yuudai.

  Of course, Haruki’s arguments have many holes, but he successfully diverts the girl’s attention by provoking her to cover up those flaws.

  Everything is fine until a certain nosy girl comes.

  Amelie immediately confronts Yuudai and tells Haruki to apologize. Haruki resists and doesn’t want to do it, but in the end, he gives in and apologizes to Yuudai half-heartedly. Just like a child being scolded by their mother for being naughty to another child.

  This makes everyone wonder who is actually the older between the two.

  For those unfamiliar with them, the sight of a little girl scolding a much older boy is strange. But all of Haruki’s classmates are used to it, so when they see it, all they think is, "Haruki got scolded again," "Amelie is angry again," or "They’re at it again."

  "I don’t need his apology, and what he said is true, so I’ll punish him in another way."

  Haruki lifts his hand to his chest.

  "Ah... but when we all arrive, the platoon members will be reshuffled, and the lineup will be different from the one used for training at school, so just give up."

  There’s a chance Haruki will be moved to another platoon, and when that happens, his superior will also change. Thus, Yuudai could lose her right to punish Haruki.

  "Gnnnnnn.."

  Yuudai glares sharply at Haruki, but she doesn’t dare do anything because directly administering physical punishment would make her look barbaric. Then, just as she’s about to give up on punishing the boy, Amelie, who is standing between them, suddenly raises her right hand high to get the girl’s attention.

  "You can still punish him."

  Haruki, who has been calm until now, suddenly panics. He has been cornering Yuudai and avoiding punishment, but he can only do so because his opponent is somewhat lacking in logic.

  "Amelie!!! You... you’re not going to stab me in the back, are you?"

  But if it’s Amelie, things are different. The little girl can find the flaws in Haruki’s arguments with a single try.

  "Of course not"

  "Phew.."

  Haruki breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Even if you can’t stop him from eating, you can still punish Haruki!!"

  "Amelieee!!!!"

  Haruki’s shout didn’t faze Amelie. She didn’t want to stab him in the back, but she also wouldn’t stay silent because she also felt that Haruki needed to be punished. The stab he had carefully avoided came from the front instead.

  "You can limit what Haruki can eat. That way, you can punish him without breaking any orders"

  Before their platoon is reshuffled, Yuudai can punish Haruki right now.

  "Gah.."

  Haruki immediately kneels. Now Yuudai is the one smiling, but her smile isn’t bright at all. Instead, it’s dark and terrifying.

  "Haruki!!!! Until we reach the port, you’re free to eat anything as long as it’s just chili and water!!!!"

  That punishment is harsher than not being allowed to eat.

  "Then, enjoy your meal, Haruki!!"

  Yuudai patted Haruki’s shoulder and left the two. Without wasting any time, the girl immediately ordered everyone to watch Haruki to ensure the young man didn’t secretly eat anything else.

  Haruki wanted to protest Amelie, the one who had caused his miserable situation. But when he saw Amelie staring blankly at Yuudai, he decided to postpone his complaint and shift to a questioning.

  "Why did you...?"

  "Ugh... She didn’t pay attention to me"

  "Who, Yuudai?"

  Amelie nodded.

  Although Amelie actively made contact with Yuudai through conversation, eye contact, and even aggressive body language, the girl didn’t respond to Amelie and only paid attention to Haruki. Yuudai acted as if Amelie wasn’t standing in front of her and only spoke to the boy.

  "Don’t worry, she doesn’t hate you"

  "But she doesn’t like me either, right?"

  At the academy, many people hated her. But most of those who openly showed it were students outside her class. Many of her classmates preferred to act as if she didn’t exist and remained indifferent to her presence. Yuudai was one of them.

  "You know I’m trying to comfort you, right? So don’t read too much into my words. Besides, our situations aren’t that different"

  Yuudai doesn’t openly hate Amelie, but if asked how she feels about her presence, she would say she doesn’t like her. The only reason she can tolerate Amelie is because of her duty as the girl’s platoon leader. She can’t avoid her, as it’s her responsibility.

  Although she doesn’t say it openly, Yuudai is also one of the students who still harbors a strong dislike for Amelie. She knows Amelie has nothing to do with the deaths of her older brother and uncle in the war five years ago. But even so, she can’t stop disliking the little girl because she’s the daughter of the king of a country Yuudai deeply hates.

  "Don’t think too much about it. Not being liked by someone isn’t that bad."

  What’s bad is being hated by someone. If hate is active, then dislike is passive. In other words, it’s fine if you ignore it. Although both are unpleasant to experience.

  Haruki doesn’t want to continue the topic and forces a change of subject. And the topic he brings up is his current situation.

  "Instead of that!! I think there’s something more important to think about"

  Haruki bent down to match his height to Amelie.

  "What?"

  "Of course, my fate!!!"

  "Why should I think about something so useless!!!?"

  "Don’t treat my fate as if it’s unimportant!"

  "Huh? it’s actually unimportant right?"

  "Listen to me, Amelie. What you consider trash could be a treasure to someone else"

  "Listen to me too, Haruki. What you consider a treasure could just be trash to someone else"

  In the end, the two of them went back to what they usually did. Arguing about something useless, debating and throwing logic at each other about equally unimportant topics, then happily insulting each other.

  They look like they’re fighting, but their fight is on the same level as two little kittens scratching and biting each other. Their fight is just one way to show how close their relationship is.

  And because of the mood between them, it’s hard for anyone to join their conversation or even approach them. Turning the meal, which is meant to help students interact, into an event where everyone tries to avoid Haruki and Amelie.

  Without Amelie realizing it.

  After almost half an hour in the dining room, Amelie decides to leave and head to the left side deck of the ship, which is almost empty. Of course, she drags Haruki along with her.

  Although Amelie is the one who suggested Haruki’s punishment, she still feels a bit bad eating alone in front of someone who isn’t allowed to. So, she decides to stop eating and leave the room.

  Once they reached the ship’s deck, she took out a small bag of food. And when Haruki saw it, the young man immediately frowned, thinking Amelie just wanted to show off in front of him.

  But...

  "Don’t look at me like that! Ummm"

  Amelie held out a biscuit to Haruki’s mouth.

  "The setting is that Haruki is eating food that Amelie took without her knowing"

  "What kind of setting is that? Why am I a thief?"

  "Stop talking and just eat"

  Haruki is being punished and isn’t allowed to eat anything other than what’s specified. But that only applies to the food provided by the school on the ship. In other words, he can eat anything not provided by the school.

  "I didn’t know you were this sneaky."

  In the middle of the ocean, there are no food vendors, and even if there were, Haruki doesn’t have money to buy anything either. But in Amelie’s hand is food. Once she takes it from the table, the biscuit she brings is now hers. That means the food is her personal property and no longer the school’s responsibility.

  Whatever she wants to do with the food is her own business.

  "So, do you want it or not?"

  "Of course"

  "Aaaaa.."

  "What...?"

  "Aaa.."

  "What?"

  "Open your mouth"

  "No-no, I can eat by myself"

  "I already said the setting is that you’re taking the food I want to eat, right?"

  "So you were serious about that earlier?"

  "Of course"

  "At a time like this, you should say you’re joking"

  "But I’m serious! And don’t think too much because, besides me, I don’t think there’s anyone else on this ship who’s willing to feed you. What if I change my mind?"

  Aside from his former classmates, who had graduated a few years prior, Haruki no longer had anyone he could consider a close friend. At this point, only one person remained kind enough to offer him food.

  His childhood friend. Amelie.

  If Amelie doesn’t give him food, no one on the ship will. If it’s just about enduring hunger, Haruki can do it. He often goes without eating for one or two days. But the problem is that their schedule on the ship isn’t that relaxed, so he can’t just sleep in his room all day.

  If he were alone, Haruki could easily skip out. But now he has to stay with Amelie, and since the girl won’t agree to follow, he’s forced to follow the activities she participates in.

  And to do all those activities, he needs energy. Haruki won’t be able to do anything if he doesn’t eat first and save his energy.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Just like the saying, you can’t go to war on an empty stomach.

  "Aaaammm.."

  "Good boy.."

  Being treated like a child by a child isn’t a pleasant feeling, but Haruki has no choice but to accept it. Besides, every day he’s already treated like a child by Amelie.

  "Hehe.."

  Moreover, the bright smile he gets when he obeys her command is too precious to miss.

  Haruki started to worry that he might develop a strange fetish over time.

  2

  The graduation exam of Yamato’s military academy consisted of two types. The first was written, and the second was practical.

  The written exam had already been held two weeks ago, so aside from preparing their stamina by resting, there shouldn’t be anything else the students needed to do.

  The exception to that schedule was those who failed and had to take a remedial exam with different materials from the main exam. And someone who took extra classes even though they didn’t need to, like Amelie.

  After accompanying Amelie to her extra classes, Haruki immediately went to his room to rest and conserve energy. Considering his food rations had been cut.

  "If I knew it would be like this, I should’ve brought my fishing rod"

  At least Haruki would have something else to do to entertain himself while also looking for additional food sources.

  Just as Haruki is about to go to sleep, someone knocks on his door and says...

  "I’m coming.."

  Before Haruki could answer, Amelie had already entered, sat down, and treated the room as if it were her own. Just like she usually did at Haruki’s house.

  "Why are you here?.."

  Groaning, Haruki got up from his bed and approached Amelie. Trying to intimidate the girl. And of course, it didn’t work at all.

  Amelie slapped Haruki’s hand, which he used to point at her face.

  "I’m bored in my room, so I came here to play chess with you"

  The ship they were on was a cargo ship that had been slightly modified to accommodate more people. And of course, on a ship like this, space is premium. There were no entertainment facilities crammed inside.

  Unlike Haruki, Amelie was someone who couldn’t stay still. She got bored as soon as she had nothing to do, and she couldn’t lie in her bed unless she was really sleepy or tired. She tried reading, but after the written exam and her extra classes, her desire to read just vanished.

  That’s why she took a small chessboard and brought it to Haruki’s room.

  There were many people on the ship she could’ve chosen to play with, but Amelie couldn’t imagine anyone else accepting her invitation besides Haruki. So, without hesitation, she dashed over to Haruki’s room—which, not coincidentally, is right next to hers.

  "I understand why you want to play chess with me, but I hope you don’t just barge into my room! If you call me, I’ll come out to play outside"

  "If I wanted to play outside, I wouldn’t have come in! It’s very cold outside, and I don’t want to get cold! Besides, you wouldn’t agree to come to my room too, so I had to compromise"

  The weather outside isn’t great. Although the students’ rooms are protected from the rain, the corridors connect directly to the outside, so the cold wind can easily enter, making the place feel like a wind tunnel.

  "Besides, isn’t this normal? Now set up your pieces."

  “Sigh.”

  Haruki moves his small table and places it between the chair Amelie is sitting on and his bed. After that, the two arrange their chess pieces, and the game begins with Amelie moving the pawn in front of her queen.

  "Please remember your position, Amelie. You still remember that you’re an important person, right? Be more careful when acting in front of others"

  "Only our classmates are here. I don’t think anyone doesn’t know that I have the duty to take care of you"

  "You mean educate me, right?"

  "It’s the same"

  "It’s different, very different! Especially the connotation"

  Amelie put her palm on her cheek and, with a deadpan face, said…

  "What connotation? I don’t understand. I’m just a child."

  "It’s really nice being you isn’t. You can flip-flop between ‘I’m an adult’ or “I’m still a child” depends on the situation"

  "I understand what you’re worried about, but you don’t need to worry. Also stop make me sounds like sly child "

  Amelie is part of a royal family, so getting involved in a scandal is a problem.

  But Amelie herself is a royal in name only. She has no power, authority, or abundant wealth. Besides, her position as the child of a commoner means she has no chance of competing for the throne.

  So even if she got into trouble, received bad evaluations from people, or was gossiped about, it wouldn’t affect her siblings or her father much, whom she now only considered a distant relative.

  Moreover, the people around them were already aware of the special relationship between Amelie and Haruki. The teacher-student relationship, the servant-master relationship, the child-adult relationship, the relationship between two students who had no friends, and the relationship between two people with unpredictable thoughts.

  A relationship that... was hard to define.

  "Basically, the people there even consider me at the same level as a pebble on the road. I exist, but I’m not worth paying attention to."

  Amelie isn’t complaining. She’s just stating a fact. She even says it as casually as breathing, while continuing to play.

  "Besides, I’m not interested in things like power struggles! All I want to do is make my mother happy and live peacefully until I die of old age! As long as I’m not married off to some perverted old man just to get his wealth, I won’t complain much."

  What she wants is for her and her mother’s life to be secure. If her father can provide both, she’ll follow his orders without much fuss.

  "....."

  Haruki glances at Amelie, who is still deeply focused on her next move, and gently pokes the small girl’s cheek. The soft, bouncy texture of her young skin makes him want to squeeze it, but he holds back and finally speaks.

  "Marriage? A child like you shouldn’t be talking about such topics! Besides, who would want to marry a girl whose body is flat from top to bottom?"

  "Hehe... you’re right."

  Amelie laughs and smiles, but her smile this time isn’t bright.

  Although only in name, Amelie is still a member of the royal family, and as someone of the upper class, she has minimum obligations she must fulfill. And for a girl like her, the most common role to take is as a political tool.

  The royal family had little freedom to decide what they wanted to do. Besides, if Amelie were to be used as a political tool, the time for her to be free could be said to be not long anymore.

  In this era, it was common for girls to marry at around fifteen to seventeen. That meant, with optimistic calculations, Amelie only had about five years left of freedom.

  "....."

  Haruki clenched his fist under the table.

  Amelie had a lot of potential, and she could do much more than just be a decoration to be looked at and displayed. Her abilities would be wasted by people who knew nothing about her.

  Haruki shook his head to dispel the unpleasant thoughts in his mind. After that, he turned back to Amelie and tried to refresh the atmosphere, which had become quite heavy.

  "Are you ready to give up, Amelie?"

  "Huh? Give up? As long as the king isn’t dead, I’m not defeated yet! And stop talking to me in such a smug tone!!!!"

  Amelie was a smart student. In academics, she even surpassed some of the records Haruki had set when he was still a “good student”. But for some reason, her intelligence was never enough to defeat Haruki in chess.

  "Do you need help? If you do, just say so! I’ll give you a hint"

  "I already told you not to talk so smugly!!!!"

  Now Amelie is in a tight spot. Half of her pawns are gone, and one of the knights she relies on as the center of her attack formation is under threat.

  Haruki uses his bishop to attack Amelie’s knight, which is positioned diagonally in line with the girl’s king.

  Amelie couldn’t move her knight because her king would be in check if the knight moved. But if she moved her king, the knight would be taken for free. Moreover, she couldn’t place any piece that could be used for a counterattack.

  "Damn it"

  Amelie had no choice but to sacrifice her knight by moving her king out of the bishop’s attack range.

  "Do you know why you always lose even though you’re smarter than me, well in academics?"

  "....."

  Haruki moved his queen near one of Amelie’s remaining knights. Right into the attack range of Amelie’s knight. But...

  "Eeeek.."

  Far behind, there is a rook ready to move toward the king, which can’t move forward or backward because it’s surrounded by its own pieces and can only move horizontally.

  So even if Amelie takes Haruki’s queen, she will still lose.

  The appropriate saying to describe Amelie’s situation is... she loses the battle but also the war. Wait. Probably, the more appropriate proverb for her is “when it rains, it pours.”

  "Your mistake is thinking that chess is a game of logic"

  "But chess is a game of logic!!"

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Wrong, wrong, wrong"

  "Chess is a game of strategy"

  If chess were purely a game of logic, it wouldn’t be compared to a war simulation.

  "Your biggest mistake when playing against me is that you always make the best move"

  If two players both make the best moves, the chances of the first player winning are very high. If someone always uses the best move, they can pressure the opponent with minimal strength. But if someone always uses the best move, the opponent can easily predict what they’ll do. And if you can guess what the opponent will do, you can prepare.

  "Ugh... I don’t want to admit it, but that’s true"

  Chess is a game of strategy. Just like war. And in war, what determines victory or defeat isn’t just logic, but also the ability to read the opponent’s moves, deceive the opponent, and also luck and coincidence.

  The basis of all war is deception.

  If you’re strong, you should appear weak. If you’re close, you should appear far away. If you know, you should appear clueless. And vice versa. Then...

  "Not all great generals rely on logic"

  They have instincts that don’t follow logic, honed on the battlefield. And sometimes, that’s enough to turn the tide.

  "And don’t forget that there are many stupid generals who don’t even understand the situation and give stupid orders"

  The most feared troops are those who are almost dead because they’re not afraid to die. And the hardest troops to face are those who move without logic. No matter how hard you think, you can’t read the mind of someone who isn’t even thinking.

  Then...

  "No matter how good a plan is, it can fall apart when faced with an unexpected situation"

  In his games, Haruki would sometimes use useless moves to disrupt Amelie’s flow. Besides, he often intentionally made bad moves to lure Amelie out of her initial plan, causing some pieces to become isolated and easily taken.

  And of course, while playing, Haruki also continuously launched psychological attacks to make Amelie lose concentration and make mistakes on her own. Or sometimes make her hesitate and make the wrong decision.

  Their chess matches weren’t official, so off-board moves were fair game for Haruki.

  "This is how you play a game of strategy"

  Strategy isn’t just used to formulate an unstoppable attack, set up an impenetrable defense, or ensure the troops can react appropriately to what the enemy does.

  The most important part of strategy is making the opponent do what you wanted.

  "Checkmate"

  Amelie successfully saved her king from the last attack by sacrificing several vital pieces, but even so, all she could do was delay her defeat.

  "... I lost"

  With this, Amelie’s win record remained at zero.

  "Okay, the game’s over. Go back to your room and sleep"

  "Let’s play again"

  "No.."

  The girl really doesn’t like losing. Unfortunately, Haruki isn’t the type to do something he considers unimportant. And of course, satisfying Amelie’s competitive spirit isn’t important to him at all.

  Not that it stopped Amelie from nagging him to keep playing though.

  "Ah... if it’s like this, it’ll never end. How about we make a bet, Amelie!"

  "What bet?"

  "How about the winner gets to order the loser to do anything?"

  "Okay, I agree!"

  "Amelie, at a time like this, you should be a little hesitant! you might be asked to do something you don’t want to do"

  They could ask the girl for money, make her do something stupid, turn her into their lackey, or... since she is a beautiful girl, make her do something indecent.

  "....."

  Amelie’s eyes widened as the meaning behind Haruki’s words sank in. She pushed her seat back and put her guards up.

  "What do you want? Depending on your answer, I might back out of this bet"

  "Your reaction is slow, and yes, yes, yes... let me remind you again, Amelie, you’re not my type"

  Haruki looks back at Amelie. The girl is a bit small for her age, but she isn’t thin. Her proportions, size, and soft appearance make her perfect for hugging.

  Sleeping while hugging her would surely feel nice and warm.

  "Then, what do you want?"

  Wait!!

  "What I want is the right to refuse your orders."

  It’s true that Amelie is very cute, but her cuteness isn’t enough to arouse Haruki.

  No, no, it’s exactly because the girl is too cute that Haruki can’t put up dirty or indecent thoughts about her. And it isn’t just because of ethics, like the age difference, but also because the girl’s innocent aura makes him feel that soiling her beauty is a very, very big sin.

  "Huh... but don’t you always refuse what I tell you to do?"

  "Yeah, at least verbally, but in the end, I always end up doing what you want because you don’t stop bothering me"

  "......Alright, one time! I’ll stop nagging at your command....."

  "Just once?"

  "As the challenged party, I have the right to set the betting rules. Now! be prepared!"

  "Prepared for what? You’re just going to lose again"

  "Overconfidence breeds carelessness."

  "Thanks for the advice"

  "Ugh... my loudmouth"

  The second round began.

  3

  "So, after graduating, what’s your plan, Haruki?"

  "You’re so sure I’ll graduate"

  "If you don’t graduate after I’ve tutored you so hard, you’ll make things difficult for me, so graduate!"

  She doesn’t want to be stuck at school for years. Not to mention, she wanted to experience life outside school with him. She wanted to enjoy her remaining freedom with the him.

  "What a selfish reason, but I guess it’s about time I graduate.I’m already bored at this school too"

  "You should’ve been bored a long time ago! So what’s your plan?"

  "Ah... maybe I’ll apply to the national library"

  "Huh... I didn’t know you were a bookworm"

  "Of course not! But compared to a military career, I prefer a job where I can laze around all day without being scolded by anyone"

  "A very Haruki-like reason"

  The national library was the target of noble children whose military careers had ended. That place was literally the only place where someone could do nothing and still get paid.

  Its vast collection, large complex, and low visitors due to the complicated process of obtaining permission to enter made it suitable for people who didn’t want to work but still wanted a job.

  "Even if I’m not accepted as a librarian, I wouldn’t mind being a janitor or a gardener taking care of the flowers. The most important thing is that I can stay away from the battlefield and live peacefully"

  People working at the national library could basically keep relaxing, at least until the country is truly about to collapse or a major conflict occurs.

  "Haruki.."

  Just like Haruki acknowledged Amelie’s potential, the young girl also acknowledged Haruki’s abilities.

  In terms of strategy, the young man was unmatched, and if he wanted to, he could definitely overcome his academic problems. But he chose not to use his talents and stopped trying.

  His decision truly would waste his gifts.

  But Amelie couldn’t protest because she was doing the same thing.

  The game continued. Amelie, who had learned from her mistakes, stopped directly attacking the weaknesses Haruki intentionally created. But Haruki’s dominance on the chessboard remained unshaken.

  Haruki always managed to avoid decisive attacks, making the game drag on. Feeling that the situation would only get worse if she didn’t change the flow of the match, Amelie decided to directly attack the center of the chessboard.

  She tried to challenge Haruki to a battle of courage.

  Usually, Amelie would avoid such bold moves, but today she would try to keep advancing and take out as many pieces as possible before the young man could take out hers. She changed her job title from cautious hero to reckless hero.

  And the result.

  After half an hour, the only piece Amelie has left is a knight blocking the attack path of Haruki’s queen. Meanwhile, Haruki has managed to trap Amelie’s king in the middle of a group of pawns that limit its escape routes.

  All Haruki needs is one more move to end Amelie’s resistance, but at the end of the game...

  "Ah.."

  Haruki made a wrong move and failed to kill Amelie’s king. It was truly a simple mistake, he just placed his piece on the wrong spot.

  "Stalemate... I didn’t expect you to make such a basic mistake"

  "Looks like you got lucky"

  In war, there’s something called luck, but in chess, there’s no such thing as coincidence. Both of them had lost concentration because they were thinking about other things midmatch.

  "So, Haruki? Do we both win? or do we both lose?"

  Amelie put a wide smile.

  "It’s a draw, so no one is winning or losing"

  "What about the bet?"

  "Null"

  "Eh... "

  "Don't eeeh me!... Now get out of my room and go to sleep. You have to wake up early tomorrow right?"

  "Not just me! But you too! You also have to wake up early!"

  "Don't worry! If you can find me tomorrow, I'll wake up early"

  "What do you mean by that!!!!? If that's the case, I'll sleep here!"

  "Shh-shh-shh! Stop saying such easily misunderstood things! I'll wake up early tomorrow, so get out of here already!!!"

  Haruki stands up and pushes her body toward the door.

  "Don't overreact like that!"

  "I’m not, now go!"

  Amelie tried to resist and throw more questions, but Haruki, who had run out of patience, placed both hands under Amelie's armpits, lifted the small girl, and placed her outside before closing his room door.

  This time, both of them finally decided to sleep, hoping that the rain and wind would stop by morning.

  A few days later, morning comes. Both the rain and the strong winds have indeed stopped. The ship they’re on no longer rocks violently like it did in the previous days. However, another storm is brewing, ready to greet everyone on board.

  As soon as Amelie wakes up, she is greeted not by the sound of seagulls flying outside but by a loud explosion and a violent shockwave that hits the ship.

  "If this is a welcome surprise, I really want to punch the face of whoever planned it"

  "If you still have time to make crazy comments like that, it means you're fine!"

  From the other side, Haruki hears Amelie’s retort. The wall separating their rooms is just a thin wooden partition, so if anyone speaks even slightly loudly, their neighbor can easily hear them.

  "Sitrep, Haruki."

  "Don’t ask someone who just woke up and hasn’t even put on pants yet."

  "I don’t need a report like that!!!"

  "I don’t know what’s happening, but you don’t need to ask to know that the situation looks bad, right?"

  The only reason they can chat so clearly is that the upper part of the wooden wall separating them has a large hole. In Haruki’s room, there’s a black sphere still emitting smoke.

  "Are you ready, Amelie? I’m coming in, whether you’re ready or not, okay!!"

  "Wait, wait! I’m still... not.."

  Amelie is the type of person who prepares her belongings first and her appearance later. So, her appearance is still quite messy.

  "Ugh..."

  Her belt is tightly fastened, her military boots are on but not yet tied, and her military uniform is still partially unbuttoned. However, there’s no need to worry since her chest is pretty modest, so nothing would be visible anyway.

  But

  "Let's worry about your bair later”

  Haruki quickly approached Amelie and pulled the girl out of her room.

  "At least let me comb my hair first"

  Without listening to her, Haruki dragged the girl out. As soon as they were outside, they were greeted by the sight of a falling mast right in front of them.

  "You two! Get on the lifeboat now!"

  Haruki pushed Amelie in the direction indicated by the crew and urged her to move quickly. Meanwhile he stayed to get more information.

  "What's the situation?"

  "It's unclear! It seems the port has been taken over by rebels!"

  In the previous war, Amteric had absorbed surrounding countries and expanded its territory. However, since the war ended shortly after those countries fell, many people were still unwilling to accept the new government and wanted to reclaim their nations.

  These groups of people who wanted to take back their countries were called rebels. After Amteric surrendered and declared its defeat, such groups became more numerous and larger—large enough to cripple Amteric's unstable peace.

  "Where should we go?"

  "Eighty kilometers north, there's another defensive fortress. It has a large garrison, so the enemy shouldn't be able to take it easily"

  "Eighty kilometers?"

  "I know what you're thinking, but we have no choice!"

  Traveling eighty kilometers by boat would be extremely difficult. No one would have the strength to row that far in rough seas. If a storm hit, the difficulty would increase significantly, making the chances of survival very slim.

  The crew member ran off to evacuate other students, accompanied by the sound of loud explosions, indicating that Haruki and everyone else on the ship didn't have much time.

  Haruki quickly moves to find the lifeboat Amelie is in. However, as he tries to board, someone stops him.

  "Haruki, find another lifeboat! This one is full! I don't want it to sink."

  The one blocking him is Yuudai.

  "Come on... Do you still hold a grudge against me?"

  "That's not the issue!!"

  Yuudai responds seriously. The lifeboat she is on is already full; there’s no more space available. The lifeboat’s capacity is fifteen people, and there are already fifteen on board. If more passengers are forced on, the small lifeboat could sink, endangering everyone.

  "No way!"

  Perhaps if he looks for another lifeboat, he might still find a spot. But he needs to board this one because Amelie is there. Taking Amelie to find another lifeboat is out of the question; wasting time in this situation would be foolish.

  "But there’s no more space."

  "If you’re worried about this thing sinking, don’t be! The capacity limit isn’t just about the number of people but also the weight."

  The limit was calculated based on the average weight of adults. And when Haruki looked around, he noticed several people who were below average even for teenager.

  "There's more than enough leeway"

  The space may be tight, but the boat still can took in more people.

  "I'm not giving up my seat!"

  "Not a problem! Stand up, Amelie!"

  Although she doesn’t know why, Amelie obeys and stands up from her seat. Haruki then climbs aboard, pulls Amelie, and sits in her place. Amelie wants to protest, but her body is pulled again, and now the girl is snugly sitting on Haruki’s lap.

  "Problem solved, right?"

  "If this weren't an emergency, I would've punched your face by now"

  Amelie clenched her fist tightly, but Haruki immediately grabbed her hand and crossed her arms in front of her. Putting her in his hug.

  "Unfortunately, this is an emergency, so save your energy for rowing!"

  Amelie looks at the other lifeboats, which are equally full. As Haruki says, now isn’t the time to fuss over small things.

  "Yuudai, cut the rope to the main ship! We need to get away from here now"

  "....."

  Yuudai hesitated. If Haruki could force his way in, maybe other people still can join in too?

  "If you don't want to sink with the ship, just do as I say!"

  The enemy had deliberately not attacked the ship immediately, allowing it to get closer before targeting its sails, rendering the ship immobile. With its large size and inability to move, it seemed only a matter of time before the ship would sink.

  And if they didn't move away by then, they would sink with it.

  Yuudai cut the rope connecting the lifeboat to the main vessel, and they began moving away from the shore while keeping their position aligned with the big ship to avoid direct cannon fire from the land.

  Haruki watched as other lifeboats did the same.

  "From here on out, it's a gamble"

  No, in fact, everything had been a gamble from the start. As the other lifeboats separated from the big ship, some were hit and sank. The unlucky groups couldn't escape, and the luckier ones had no choice but to keep going.

  Distance, situation, and fear made it so that no one dared to return and rescue others. Once they were out of attack range they simply looked the other way. Yuudai too, didn't dare give command to save his friends, even though she desperately wanted to help her other comrades.

  She couldn't sacrifice those who were already safe for the sake of an uncertain outcome.

  "Ah... It finally happened. This is why I didn't want to come!"

  The stagnation was finally broken. Exactly at the moment when he needed it the most.

  "Hey, you.."

  Although Haruki isn’t speaking to anyone in particular and is just complaining to himself, someone feels offended by his words. This is understandable, given the situation.

  "Can't you be more sympathetic?"

  Haruki looked in the direction of the voice. There, he saw a young man angrily staring at him.

  "Sigh.."

  Haruki sighed, he understood the young man's perspective. He must have looked really insensitive right now. But…

  "Do you know why, for the past three years, the exams have always been held here?"

  The answer is that the area is still unstable.

  "What do you mean?"

  This time, it was Amelie, sitting on Haruki's lap, who asked.

  "What I mean is that the exam is just a cover to send military school students as reinforcements to guard this area"

  The written exam had clear standards that anyone could understand. However, in the field exam, the criteria were based on one's ability to adapt to war situations and how useful they were to the overall force.

  An ambiguous standard that was difficult to analyze.

  "We are indeed taking an exam, but the exam itself isn't the priority"

  After the war ended. Amteric, signed a nonaggression treaty with the coalition army. In that treaty, there was an agreement to maintain collective security, requiring even countries with no shared borders with it to send troops to the conflict zones if problems arose.

  Amteric used this treaty to force others to intervene whether they liked it or not. After the war, most of Amteric's troops withdrew to their original territory to handle domestic matters, leaving the occupied areas unstable.

  The problem would be solved if those territories were returned to their previous governments, but Amteric refused to relinquish control, leading to rebellions.

  "Ah... but even though I call them rebels, they're just people trying to reclaim their country"

  Without the non-aggression treaty, many countries might have taken advantage of Amteric's weakened military to launch counterattacks. But because of the treaty, coalition members couldn't declare war on Amteric.

  Any group, individual, or country that declared war on Amteric would be seen as a common enemy, even if their actions were merely reclaiming what was theirs.

  In other words, those who should have been victims were now labeled as criminals.

  Because in war, there must be a right side and a wrong side. These people were branded as rebels and cast them as villains.

  "So, how does this relate to our current situation, Haruki?"

  Yamato, which no longer had business on Amteric's mainland, couldn't simply withdraw. It was, after all, one of the pillars of the coalition army. But they also didn't want to waste their troops for a needless conflict.

  That's why they exploited a loophole that allowed them to send academy students and treat them as regular troops for the coalition forces.

  Yamato might have tried to place them in safe positions. But once again, a safe location in a conflict zone is relative.

  "With teacher, instructor, and even our learning place gone, we are no longer student doing field exam, but regular troops from Yamato"

  Both their allies and enemy would treat them as such.

  Yamato itself wasn't a large country, and its active military reserves weren't as extensive as its other allies. Therefore, the presence of their main military forces were crucial. In such an unstable era, another country might decide to abandon logic and try to disrupt the status quo by attacking Yamato.

  That's why Yamato couldn't casually send its already limited troops abroad. Instead, they were tasked with guarding their own territory, and in exchange. Military school students, who were plentiful, were sent as reinforcements under the guise of a field exam.

  "If the students manage to return, they will get proper soldiers forged on the real battlefield. If we fall, there are still plenty of new students to replace us anyway."

  It was cruel, but for the country. It was a win-win. To lead a country, you need to be able to make cruel decisions like that.

  "No way"

  Everyone could hardly believe it, but that was the reality they had to face. It’s neither conspiracy nor just empty theory.

  “Stop spreading baseless slander”

  Yuudai snapped.

  “Yuudai, you know well I’m not pulling those out of the ether, right”

  Just like him, her family had deep ties to the military. Even if no one ever discussed internal military affairs with her. Once in a while, she must have caught a glimpse of how Yamato operated.

  “You might want to shut up”

  Haruki raised his hands and sighed.

  "Amelie! compass!"

  "Why me? Wait. . .what about yours?"

  "Mine’s broken"

  It was destroyed in the attack. Right now it is probably already sunk to the depth of the ocean.

  "...Where are we going? Straight to the fortress in the north?"

  Amelie handed the compass from her bag to Haruki.

  "No"

  Eighty kilometers is far, even with the help of an emergency sail. The optimistic estimate is that they will only arrive after everyone is deadly exhausted. But everyone knows that stars don’t align that easily.

  "We'll find a safe place to land, then walk to the fort"

  Using the lifeboat means they don’t have to walk, but controlling a small lifeboat in the open sea is difficult. Additionally, critical issues like finding food and securing shelter can’t be ignored. If they want to survive longer, traveling by land would be the safer option, as it offers better access to more resources.

  "What an unpleasant surprise"