Chapter 1
There was a game called ‘Empire of Emperor.’
Literally translated, it meant ‘The Emperor’s Empire,’ and it was one of the fantasy war games set in the modern era.
The game's main objective was to stop the Empire, a militaristic nation seeking to unify the world through overwhelming national power.
It wasn't especially popular, but it was my favorite game because the NPCs had incredibly rich interactions.
For instance, even farmers had different values depending on their region and country.
Soldiers, too, did not move like machines; they had grievances of their own, and if headquarters failed to hear them out, desertions and mutinies would occur.
Moreover, NPCs who had been allies could become enemies depending on the player's actions, while NPCs who had been enemies could become allies because of those actions.
It was a truly god-tier game!
Since a new story began with the slightest variation in how I played, it was the best game in the world to me.
The one flaw was that no matter how I played, the Empire was destined for ruin.
From the outset, that was unavoidable, since the protagonist controlled by the player belonged to the Allied Nations, the Empire's enemy.
The problem was that this ‘unavoidable thing’ had happened to me.
“As you all know, the Allied Nations has formed an encirclement around the infantry division that advanced into enemy territory, three kilometers from the first defensive line and five kilometers from the second. You all understand that we cannot turn the tide of the war unless we break through it.”
I looked at the man speaking in a solemn voice.
The middle-aged man with a scarred, wrinkled face was someone I knew well.
【Commander of the 1st Magic-Armored Division Operations Command, Brigadier General Heinrich Schmidt】
He was a named NPC I was bound to encounter if I played the game.
‘That means…….’
It was proof that I was currently in the world of the game.
I wanted to deny it, but the operation map spread across the command table and the imposing eagle insignia unfurled behind Heinrich repeatedly told me this was a game world.
And as far as I knew, there was only one place that used an eagle-shaped insignia as its military symbol.
『The Holy Bavarian Empire』
Yes. I was at the heart of the Empire, whose defeat was certain in the game's ending.
What was I doing at the heart of that Empire? After racking my memory, I recalled my title.
【Aide to the Operations Planning Staff, Imperial General Staff Headquarters, Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner】
Ironically, I was the aide to the operations planning staff at Imperial Military Headquarters.
If I had recalled my title without knowing that the Empire was doomed to certain defeat, I would have popped open champagne at the thought that my elite career was guaranteed.
But knowing the Empire was certain to lose, the title was worth less than garbage.
‘At the ending, surely…….’
The leaders of the Empire, a war-criminal nation, would not escape the death penalty.
As long as I remained in its ranks, I too would end up executed.
That alone could not happen. I had not lived all this time just to die a dog's death.
I wanted nothing more than to apply for discharge, but officers in the Empire had a mandatory service term of eight years.
It wasn't a job I could quit simply because I wanted to.
Then how could I escape from this place?
As cold sweat broke out, a glimmer of insight made me clench my fist.
‘A dishonorable discharge……!’
If a court-martial found me unfit, I could receive a dishonorable discharge.
If that happened, I would no longer have to obey the military's orders.
I would become a free man and be able to leave the Empire─
“Second Lieutenant?”
My shoulders jerked at Heinrich's call.
When I raised my head, the military officers, Heinrich included, were staring intently at me.
“You seem to have been studying the operation map and pondering our army's situation for some time. Have you thought of a strategy?”
I had. The only way I could escape the Empire, that was.
Hesitating for a moment under the weight of the high-ranking officers' gazes, I cleared my throat.
As I did, I rapidly ran the numbers through my head.
‘……This might be my chance to get a dishonorable discharge.’
Why had Heinrich asked me for a strategy? Since I was the operations planner's aide, he must have thought I had learned something by watching over his shoulder, and so granted me a chance to speak.
He probably wanted to set aside the opinions of high-ranking officers whose minds had grown rigid and could no longer think flexibly, and hear from an enthusiastic young man instead.
He welcomed opinions regardless of rank or who offered them. Heinrich was that kind of man.
But I had not the slightest intention of living up to Heinrich's expectations.
I had absolutely no desire to remain a sailor on a sinking ship.
“Commander.”
So, to secure my dishonorable discharge, I decided to give the wrong answer instead of the right one.
“If I may be so bold, Commander, through what route do you intend to send reinforcements to rescue our forces isolated in enemy territory?”
“Hmm. Following the staff's recommendations, I intend to advance through the foothills of the Tebaita Mountains. According to Intelligence, that is where the enemy's defenses are weakest.”
“The Tebaita Mountains…….”
After pausing for a moment, I said,
“Then I implore you to reconsider your decision.”
For an instant, silence swept through the conference room.
It was only natural that they were surprised: a mere second lieutenant who had only recently been commissioned was asking them to reconsider a decision made after taking into account both the staff's opinions and Intelligence reports.
The high-ranking officers' glares, fixed on me through the unpleasant silence, were frightening, but I continued speaking calmly.
“Commander. Doesn't it strike you as strange? Why are the defenses around the foothills of the Tebaita Mountains the only ones that are lax while enemy patrols are so vigilant?”
“It seems suspicious to you?”
“Yes. It almost seems as though the enemy is luring us in. As if they're goading us to advance through the foothills of the Tebaita Mountains.”
It was a load of bullshit that merely sounded plausible.
From the outset, the Central Intelligence Bureau's report was obviously more accurate than my delusions.
Even so, I pressed on. My goal had been a dishonorable discharge from the beginning.
So it was important to make it clear, with absurd sophistry, that I was a thoroughly incompetent officer.
“The enemy must have set a trap and be waiting near the foothills of the Tebaita Mountains.”
“On what grounds?”
“My intuition tells me so.”
When I answered firmly, one of Heinrich's eyebrows twitched.
Heinrich gave a hollow laugh and tapped the command table.
“State your rank and name.”
“Aide to the Operations Staff, Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.”
“Good. Daniel Steiner. What you just said is a direct rejection of the staff's opinion. You understand that, don't you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“If we heed your words, we will have to conduct reconnaissance in every direction, and our advance will be delayed by that much. Can you take responsibility for the consequences?”
He was saying that I should prepare for punishment if they accepted my opinion and it turned out to be nothing more than needless worry.
It was exactly the outcome I wanted.
“If my prediction is wrong, I will willingly resign my commission and leave the army.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than the conference hall erupted in commotion.
Murmurs of disapproval and the clicking of tongues rose from all around the room.
Among them, my superior, the operations staff officer, furrowed their brow and began to speak.
“Second Lieutenant Daniel! Your insolence has gone too far! Do you even know where you are……!”
The operations staff officer, who had been about to bellow at me, stopped speaking and closed their mouth.
Heinrich had raised a hand to stop them.
“Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner. There is no harm in being cautious, so I will trust you this once.”
He smiled as he continued.
“But remember this. Once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back. If your words cause the Empire any loss, I will convene a court-martial without hesitation.”
For an instant, Heinrich's ink-dark eyes narrowed to slits.
“Do you understand?”
The tremendous pressure made my entire body shudder.
So this was the man who had risen to the rank of general after weathering countless battles and hardships.
He was the kind of man who knew how to give weight to a single word.
At any other time, I would have been crushed by the atmosphere and lowered my head or averted my eyes, but since I was aiming for a dishonorable discharge, I had no reason to avoid the commander's gaze.
Without breaking eye contact with Heinrich, I gave him a thin smile.
“Just what I was hoping for, Commander.”
*
The following morning.
Officers' Dormitory, Imperial General Staff Headquarters.
Knock knock─
My eyes slowly opened at the sound of the knock.
I turned to look at the alarm clock and saw that it was not yet time to get up.
Who could be knocking this early in the morning?
As I blinked, still half-asleep, the knock came again.
“Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner! The commander has summoned you! Get up!”
At the word “commander,” my eyes flew open.
“Ah, understood!”
I answered hurriedly, got out of bed, quickly changed, and opened the door.
An officer wearing the Empire's military uniform, like mine, stood beyond it.
Three diamond insignia on his shoulder straps identified him as a captain. He was my superior.
“……Are you Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner?”
“Yes, sir. But why has the commander summoned me?”
In truth, it was easy enough to guess. After hearing my opinion, he must have sent a large reconnaissance force to the foothills and come up empty-handed.
In wartime, wasting manpower was tantamount to a crime, so the commander must have summoned me to berate me for my incompetence.
Having branded me little better than human garbage, Heinrich would soon convene a court-martial.
Once that happened, all I had to do was admit my guilt and resign. It was a free pass to a dishonorable discharge.
Depending on the circumstances, I might even be sentenced to prison, but I could endure a few years behind bars; that was still better than having my head chopped off as one of the leaders of a war-criminal nation.
Just as I was inwardly relieved that everything was going according to plan, a smile spread across the captain's lips.
Was he mocking me? No, wait. Something felt strange.
“You may rejoice, Second Lieutenant. Thanks to your intuition proving exactly right, our army was able to prevent losses in advance. The commander summoned you to discuss a reward for that.”
……What?