Mein Krieg (Youjo Senki/Tanya the Evil OC)

Trunko · Dec 12, 2018

Mein Krieg

What is a FAQ?

The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) is a list of the most frequent and common question regarding a certain topic or subject. In this case, the following FAQ are focused on my story, to help its readers and answer to many of their question. The list is continuously and constantly updated: if a question becomes quite frequent, it will be added along with its relevant answer.

What is this story about?

This story is a Self-Insert fanfiction set on the Youjo Senki/Tanya the Evil universe. The protagonist is a young western adult that, at the beginning of the story, works as an IT in the same company of the salaryman. He happens to be there when the salarymen is killed, and in a gesture of suicidal generosity, tries in vain to save him, remaining involved.

This story take inspiration from the manga, from the light novel or from the anime?

Mainly from the anime, although I do not rule out possibly canon foreigners from both the light novel and the manga.

How often do you post?

The first four chapters (prologue included) will be posted daily. After that, I will take three days off to analyse the feedback and determinate the course of the fic. Then, I will try and keep this story updated weekly.

Your Story will deviate from canon? And how?

I am actually trying to keep the story as true to the original. However, I will try to expand the existing universe either by importing characters or situation or by adding them of my own. Still, I will try to maintain a level of realism and consistency as high as possible.

Moreover, from a certain point the story will diverge from the canon path to take a new one. This means that, from that point on, the story will become completely AU.

So the Story will cover events happened after the ending of the anime?

Yeah. I already have plans for how to keep it running. This means that the story will be very, very long. Help me.

If I have ideas for your story, can I tell you?

Absolutely yes! I am always open to discussion and new ideas for the story.

What to do in the event of an error

I am not a natural-born English speaker or writer. I have learned most of it by reading fanfiction and the rest at school. Therefore, it can happen that I make mistakes. Feel free to inform me about any spelling, grammar or continuity errors you see, either by posting or through PM.

Important necessary disclaimer

The views expressed by a character or by characters in this story do not necessarily reflect those of the author. There are no author mouthpiece characters, only individuals with their own perspectives and opinions.

Chapter List

Season 1

Season 2

The Characters of Youjo Senki's World - External Viewpoints

Omakes

Prologue: The day I told God off

Tokyo, Japan
23 September 2013 AD

Everything had gone smoothly that day. I had got up early in the morning, strictly at 5:30 am, as my alarm clock had not been slow to remind me. I had opened the fridge, and had had an abundant breakfast, in order to give myself the energy necessary to manage the long day of work.

Then, when I had finished eating, I had headed for the wardrobe, and put my suit. I had dressed calmly, in front of the wardrobe mirror, and while I was fastening my cuffs, I was humming in my head the music that flowed from the radio into my apartment.

Once dressed, I sat on my bed (placed in front of the wardrobe of clothes) and put on my shoes. It may not seem like it, but I am very proud of my work shoes. They were one of the first purchases I had made when I arrived in Japan, I put them on the day I did my interview for my current job, and since then they have become a lucky charm for me.

Once I put my shoes on, I got up and walked quickly to the window, where my briefcase was placed. I opened it and mentally checked to have everything I needed for the day, after which I closed it and walked towards the door.

Before leaving, I looked warmly to the apartment where I lived. It was not very large, and frankly, I could have done without the huge neon sign placed right in front of the window, but it was still home. It was a place where I could truly be myself, free of the judgments and opinions of the outside world. A protected oasis, just for me.

"My beautiful house" I said gazing over it "Let nobody take you away from me…"

Then I closed the door, and the house stood empty.

It was three years now that I had been living in Japan. When I had arrived for the first time from Europe, I remember being very disoriented and confused before such a strange land. At that time, I would never have believed that I would have come to consider this place my homeland.

Yet, here I was, three years later, a young Westerner fully integrated in the Japanese business world, perfectly able to read the language, as well as to speak it, and not having to depend on western ethnic food to feed myself.

This does not mean that I had completely forgotten my roots: once a week I would go to the bank to make a transfer of money to my family, who had remained in Europe, for their needs and for my grandmother's nursing care. In addition, once a month I would travel by plane to visit my family, which they always welcomed with happiness and joy. Although my choice of moving to Japan had not gone down well, over time they had stopped begging me to go back to Europe and had accepted my decision.

The only thing they had not accepted yet was my life as a single. Every time we talked, somehow, the topic would come up, and they constantly asked me about my romantic and sentimental situation. Personally, I was not yet ready to look for a girlfriend: my plans for the future expected me to concentrate on my work, to cement my position in the company.

This choice was not only due to personal reasons: recently the company where I was working had started a very fierce policy of staff cuts, and the idea of being fired or reprimanded because I had not managed to achieve the goals set was not pleasant.

These were hard times, but also full of opportunities. If I could prove my qualities at the right time, I might be able to improve my job position relatively easily, without struggling for power.

The best way to do it.

In a big company like the one where I worked, it was very important to always do your best. For this reason, I had set my alarm clock in such a way as to be able to be in the workplace slightly earlier. An employee who arrives in advance by definition is never late, and an employee who is never late has less chance of being noticed by a HR manager.

Once I entered, I immediately started to work hard to start the day in the most productive way possible. A very important skill at work is to be organized, and that is why I always did things in exactly the same order every day. In this way, if I was not sure whether or not I had completed a particular operation, I could check it without having to interrupt the current task.

Another strategy that I used strongly was towards my work colleagues, to win them over and to minimize my opposition. To achieve this, I bought everyone a cup of coffee. It was amazing how a good morning coffee could change people. I made extensive use of it: I knew my colleagues' preferences by heart, as well as if they preferred their coffee with milk, sugar or cream.

I was just heading for the coffee machine when, without wanting it, I passed the office of the Human Resources Manager. I know I should not have heard what he was actually saying, but unfortunately, I had a bad habit of listening to anything that happens around me.

Inside the HR office, there was a fellow colleague of mine, Kuwahara Shoda, sitting on the chair right in front of the manager. I already knew why he was there: Shoda had already been called several times because he had been absent from work without permission, and he had ignored several company warnings to improve his work. And evidently, the manager had noticed it.

"What reason does the company have to continue employing you?" the manager asked to Shoda, his words cold as ice.

With those words, I realized that Shoda was condemned. There was nothing I could do for him, if I did not want to lose my job either.

"W-wait a second… Please!" Shoda said, still incredulous about what was happening.

The manager took out something from underneath and put it on the table, so that Shoda took it.

"Please leave."

It was then that I realized that if they had found out that I was spying on the conversation, I would have had the end of Shoda too. So I reached the machine as quietly as possible, and I stood with my back to the office, trying to appear ignorant of what was going on behind me.

It did not take long. Shoda came out of the office crying, his eyes wet with tears. In silence, he walked over to his old post, to take what was his before leaving for the last time.

Many people would have felt pity, even sympathy for Shoda. After all, he was a family man; he had a wife and a daughter, both of whom were dependent on him for their upkeep

Not me.

The working world was a ruthless place, similar to the ferocity of a tank full of piranhas. Eat or being eaten, this was the rule. It was natural that those who were not able to play their part were devoured. Worse, I did not think his family was an excuse to keep him: if he really knew how important his work was, why did he not tried to improve himself?

I shrugged, and devoted myself to the coffee making.

The clock ran slowly, but the end of the workday arrived and we were free to go home. Since I had not yet earned enough money for the purchase of a private vehicle, I headed for the station to catch the train. Usually, if the day had been good enough, I would stop at the station's bookstore to see if I could find any books that might arouse my interest. Today, however, I did not want new books.

I tapped my card on the scanner and rushed in, starting to wait for the train with extreme impatience. Personally, I hoped to be in a good position to allow myself to be among the first to enter the carriage, so that I could more easily find a free seat. However, evidently someone else had also made my own reasoning, because while I bending my head forward to see the approaching train, I felt someone touching my left shoulder.

I looked to the left, and I realized with my great surprise that it was the HR Manager that had fired Shoda. He was reading a book with yellow cover with the title "Freedom of Choice". He seemed not to have noticed me, at least for the moment.

Instinctively, I wondered if it would be advisable to call his attention. Greeting a superior out of office hours could earn me points for my charisma and my kindness. However, if I had done it the wrong way, I could have risked to make it clear that my kindness was not sincere. I had to find the right phrase to start the conversation.

Then it happened.

I did not know how, but Shoda was there. Perhaps he had found himself there by chance, or he had followed the manager secretly when he had left work. In any case, he was still dressed in his work clothes, a sign that he had not returned home as we had expected.

He waited for the train to be close enough, he put himself right behind the manager, and pushed him with both hands off the platform and onto the tracks, right into the path of the upcoming train, shocking everyone present of his blatant murder in full sight of dozens of people.

I did not remember what I thought in those brief moments, I just remembered that I reached out and grabbed the manager, trying desperately to save him. But it was impossible for me, a young adult who had never done gym, to stop an adult man from falling against all the forces of gravity.

Within seconds, the manager's weight had pulled me too, leading me straight into the train's trajectory. I saw the train driver's eyes open with surprise as he saw two men finishing in his path, too close for him to stop in time.

In those brief second before being hit by the train and dying, I wondered if my last, desperate act of goodwill would have earned me a place in Heaven.

Then, the time stopped.

I was still there. In the station. Stopped in midair, in the middle of the track. The manager under me. Shoda on the platform, behind us. The train, on our right, ready to crush us once time started moving again.

"What? What happened?" I heard from below me.

"Sir, are you ok?" I said back, making his eyes focus on me.

"I…know you?"

"Yes! We work in the same company!"

"You mean you are…"

"I'm getting tired of this" said a man suddenly behind Shoda, on the platform.

"Huh?" we both said as we focused on him.

"Humans these days have no sense of right and wrong," said a woman with a cellphone, looking in our direction

"They've strayed too far from the laws of the universe" this time a man with a strange beret and glasses spoke.

"What are they saying?" the manager told.

"What's happening?" I asked timorously.

"They have no ability to empathize with others," said a tall girl with red hairs.

It was evident that someone (or something) was speaking through their mouths. Probably, the same being who had stopped time a second before the train turned us both into hamburgers meat.

"And not a trace of faith in their Creator" this time was a pigeon to talk.

"The Creator?" the manager asked.

"Indeed" said the train driver.

"I see. So I am to understand that the being known as «God» has stopped time in the moments before mine and this young man's death, appearing as people around us?" the manager said.

I did not say anything. I was too afraid to say even one word.

"Indeed" said the pigeon back.

"Ok. Listen, I'm sorry to say this after you came all the way down here, but I reject God's existence, from both realistic and rational perspectives," the manager said

"What?"/"What?" I said, along with five other people.

"Thinking logically" the manager started back "only God and the Devil could exist beyond our knowledge of the world. But, hypothetically, if God were to exist, he would never let this absurdity happen. In other words, you must be…"

"The devil?" a cute high-school girl said.

"Or perhaps something similar, which we could call «Being X»"

The high schooler frowned. Whoever was controlling it at that moment, should not have liked such a reasoning.

"Apparently, you truly do lack faith" her mouth was moving again.

"It's senseless to start lecturing me on faith," the manager said, still motionless "If a thing like this is going to happen, you need to submit the details to me in advance and in writing"

I was stunned. I did not know if I should have been afraid for my manager (because he was clearly challenging something bigger than he was) or felt respect for him (because managed to get God in a circular argument).

"I am that which returns people to the wheel of reincarnation, initiating rebirth." said a young boy who was clapping his hand with a friend "But I shall make an exception for you"

"The wheel of reincarnation?" the manager asked, "You're saying that you cause people to be reborn?"

"That is no longer your concern," said another man.

"Are you unfamiliar with the concept of «duty of disclosure»?" the manager responded "And if you claim to be God, you should try to put more thoughts into your decisions"

"Administering seven billion people is already beyond my capacity" said a man looking at his watch.

"Reincarnating people without faith is a waste of my time" another man continued.

"Overwork is the sign of a failed business model," the manager responded, "You failed to sufficiently analyze consumer consciousness. In a world with advanced science, where one's need are met, there will be no faith."

I was stunned. I was amazed. This manager was openly criticizing God. And he was winning.

"And you, young man?" said the train driver looking at me.

"Me… what?" I asked.

"What's your opinion about this heathen's rambling?" the high schooler said.

"Well, I don't think I have the authority to judge anyone" I said, trying to calm the waters "Also, I do not think I can say to anyone he must convert to something he does not really believe in. There is freedom of worship! And even atheists have the full right to exist!"

The high schooler frowned again. That was when I realized my speech had backfired.

"Your faith and devotion in me is very weak. You are not a true believer" another woman said.

"Sorry, but where do you think you are? in the Middle Ages? At the time of the Inquisition?" now it was my turn to argue with the alleged divinity "Times have changed. Do not they teach it in catechism now that we must respect the beliefs of others?"

"As a human born and baptized in my name, you must have faith in you God and defend it" said the pigeon.

"As a human who had the privilege of studying, I surely will respect the freedom of choice that we, as humans, receive the day we are born. And if I can afford it, a god who is not able to defend himself even in words is pathetic!"

"Good point, young man" said the manager "You must realize it: only the weak, when they are in dire straits, cling to someone. Someone like me, or like this boy over here, would never do that."

"So, basically, your lack of faith is because," said a baby in a baby-carriage.

"you live in a world where needs are met, science is advanced" said a boy looking at his telephone.

"you have a strong social position" said a side of beef.

"and you are not in dire straits?" said a dog in a cage.

"Huh?" the manager said "W-wait a second! I think you may be jumping at the conclusions." It was the first time I saw him scared, and seeing his fear made me scared too.

"If I put you?" said the tall girl of before.

"into the «dire straits»" said the watch-watching man.

"you speak of" said the train driver.

"your faith" said the first man.

"will awaken?" said the pigeon.

"C-calm down!" the manager said, clearly scared "I don't intend to break any rules!"

"And you" said the baby.

"young man" said the dog.

"since you" said the high-schooler.

"defended him" said the man with glasses.

"maybe" said an old lady.

"you need" said the train driver.

"the same" said Shoda.

"as well?" said the pigeon.

"Hey! This is not fair! I was just trying to calm the situation!" I protested.

"TRY TO LIVE AS LONG AS YOU CAN. IF YOU WILL DIE AGAIN, THERE WILL BE NO SECOND REINCARNATION, FOR BOTH OF YOU." everybody said concurrently.

"W-wait…" the manager said

"This is not fair! This is not…" I said.

And then time started running again, and we both were hit by the train.

Trunko · Dec 13, 2018

Chapter 1: Life is (not) a miracle

The Empire
24 September, Unified Year 1913

The first thing I felt when I regained consciousness was a baby's cry. A newborn, judging by the sound of his voice.

Mentally, I wondered what had happened, where I was and when. Perhaps the time that had stopped and the dialogue with God had been all a hallucination. Perhaps I survived, and now I was in a hospital to treat my wounds. If so, I was hoping not to have lost something important (like a limb) in the act of being run over by the train.

I tried to remember with greater precision what had happened, but I could not do it. My mind felt confused, in such a way that I had never felt. I tried to open my eyes and move myself, but somehow all I could see were shades of color and my muscles did not respond to my commands.

Now I was scared.

Perhaps, in being run over by train, my body had been damaged beyond its ability to heal. Would I be condemned to live in a bed and feed myself intravenously for the rest of my life? I tried to scream, but my own tongue betrayed me, refusing to move as I wanted.

"Sh-sh-sh-sh, little Frederick. You do not want to start crying too?" said the voice of an old, kind woman which I did not recognized. Nor did I recognize the name she had said.

I tried once again to open my mouth, to cry for help. In vain. Somehow, I had forgotten how to speak.

"Sister, please take care of our little prince while I feed little Tanya" the woman of before said.

"Yes sister," said another female voice, apparently younger.

Trying to understand what was going on around me, I tried to move my head to the right. It was then that I saw the mirror. My vision had cleared, so I had no trouble recognizing the figures in the reflection.

A nun in a black and gray dress was holding a baby in her arms, and she looked at him with a protective look. The baby was dressed into a yellow baby dress, and he looked in the direction of the mirror with a curious expression. I took a closer look. The child had a very pale complexion, with green eyes and a tuft of black hair. And kept looking in the mirror.

It was then that I realized what had really happened. Now everything made sense: that child... it was me!

No, it could not be. I could not really be reincarnated in a child's body! I was an adult! I was a man on the road to earn his place in the company. They could not bring me back to life a few months old!

But the truth was before my eyes. I had returned to before my degree, before school, before I could read and write, and even before I was potty-trained. I would have to start my life back from scratch, and it was not a good thought. Worse, if ...

Before I could complete my reasoning, I felt something enter my mouth. Looking at the nun, I realized it was a spoon. She was feeding me like a baby! And I could not resist. The nun kept filling the spoon of food and feeding me, and I would be lying if I said that the experience was the most humiliating thing I had ever suffered.

"Sh, little Frederick, no need to cry right now" the younger nun said.

But I was not listening.

The Empire, Unified Year 1913-1918

The next five years were not hard. They were much more than hard.

Being an adult in the body of a newly born child was a disgusting and humiliating experience. And it was even more that I did not have full control over my own body and my mental abilities. For the next four years, the most appropriate definition to define my new life was "retro-infantilist nightmare"

Every day, the nuns made us get up at dawn. The first activity of the morning was a half an hour of prayer dedicated to God: some boys took turns reading pieces of sacred texts, others did the chorus and the rest remained listening in silence. Those who read the sacred texts were the most favored in terms of food and pampering, but this attitude of "collaborationism" invariably created feelings of envy and resentment in the other boys, who for this reason often did not want to have anything to do with the readers of sacred texts, who therefore formed a separate group.

Much better was to be part of the choir: they also received better bread, but in return they were much more accepted than the readers and could hope to play with other children. The problem was that the choir was a group of elite: only those who had the sweetest and most melodious voices could access it. An old nun in a black dress, Sister Liesel, was running the chorus, and no child could hope to be part of it without first letting her hear their own voice. Many were those who tried, and many of them were rejected. I did not even try: I knew when something was out of my reach.

After the morning prayers, we all had breakfast together. Each of us was given a piece of black bread, and to drink we had to share the little water available in the carafes. The nuns ate on a very long table, and the privileged children ate with them. Being able to have lunch with the nuns was not just a way to show one's degree of privilege. It also meant being able to have lunch in complete safety, away from the small thefts and quarrels that invariably took place at the other tables. I can assure you that it is not nice being distracted for a second and then discover that others have stolen your whole portion. I know it from personal experience.

After breakfast, the sisters began their daily activities of "Ora et Labora", while we children had lessons under the watchful guidance of Sister Nora, our teacher. The lessons were long and heavy, yet none of us was distracted or escaped from the lesson. The reason was to be found in the heavy wand with which Sister Nora was pleased to give us "incentives" to study through strikes on the arms or the bottom. As before, I know it from personal experience.

The lessons lasted on average throughout the morning, until lunchtime arrived. Naturally, before we could eat we had to intonate a deep prayer of thanks to God our Lord, as thanks for making sure we could eat. Personally, I did not see how it was possible to thank someone who made sure that we always had soup with sawdust flavoring, but I kept my mouth shut.

After lunch, the afternoon was dedicated to the leisure time: the children were left free to play in the halls of the orphanage, or outside, in the neighboring meadow. I never went out: apart from the fact that, as an adult in a child's body, the games of other children did not attract me, I knew all too well the main functions of a courtyard of a structure dedicated to welcoming young human beings.

It was there that gathered the strongest, most violent and overbearing individuals of the orphanage. Those who lived thanks to their ability to instill fear in others. Most of them were part of the older boys, those who had been repeatedly reprimanded (even physically) by the nuns for misbehavior. Not that this stopped them: as soon as the nuns turned their gaze away, the bullying began again.

Being a bully was not a bad position. It gave you extra food, and if you knew how to intimidate your victims in the right way, nobody would ever know about your bullying. However, I was out since the start: obviously the Being X had a distorted sense of humor, because the body in which he had reincarnated me was too sweet and cute to intimidate someone. It was impossible for me to be accepted by the other bullies as one of them: At best, they would have laughed at me, at worst ... best not think about it.

Finally, when the sun went down and the sky turned red, the nuns let us come back for dinner. Obviously, this was usually boiled vegetable soup. It was not a good thing to get in the front of the queue: you only had water. Near the end was sometimes better, because the solid things were at the bottom. However, it was also a risk, because often they ran out before everyone was served. Moreover, if you dropped your soup on the floor, or someone else spilled it, you would not be given any more portions. There were often fights for this exact reason.

After dinner, the nuns gave the order to go to bed. Impossible to disobey: only a ghost could have avoided the curfew patrols, as well as the bolt at the dormitory doors. Rather it was better to hope that someone, taking advantage of you sleeping, would not play a prank only to be discovered in the morning. A good strategy to avoid this was to fall asleep last, when you were sure that everyone had already fallen asleep, and wake up first when the rooster was singing at dawn.

But it was impossible to distinguish between those who really slept and those who only pretended.

There was only one hope for an orphaned boy to improve his social status: to be adopted.

Every so often at the orphanage came single adults, young couples without children or unable to have them naturally, all united by the desire to have one. For a child without parents, orphaned and without love, being adopted was like winning the lottery. Being adopted guaranteed you family, hot meals, a warm bed and lastly a general improving in our life condition.

On the other hand, the improvement of our social conditions was relative, because the new world in which I was reborn was not exactly an Eden.

Apparently, it was very similar to the geopolitical situation before the First World War of my previous world. The orphanage in which I lived was in the suburbs of the capital of the nation known as «the Empire». Its territories border contained the Germany, the Denmark, a piece of Sweden, the Netherlands (with Belgium and Luxemburg), and then a big piece where, in my world, existed the East Europe.

A real great central European power, recognized by many. And for this, with many enemies.

For this reason, and in line with the logic of the time, the Empire was a militant nation that invested considerable resources into its military even when not at war. Many were serving in the army, either as volunteers or as conscripts. Others worked in war factories, or in forges, or in coal and iron mines to support production. I had never seen a coalmine before, but I knew there were children working there too. It was logical if you thought about it: there were no conventions or laws in favor of minors, and for this reason, child labor was still a reality.

Many orphan children ended up working in the mines. The owners of these infernal places were among the most frequent visitors of the orphanage, looking for new workers. They were mostly looking for strong and robust children, who could withstand 14-hour shifts without dying from fatigue.

From this fate, until now my pretty face had protected me. The owners of mines and factories did not want their workers to be beautiful, and therefore, until I volunteered myself, I was sure on that front.

Moreover, I was facilitated from another.

A pretty face not only is a deterrent for men looking for little slaves to work as mules, but it has a marvelous effect on couples looking for children to adopt.

One day I discovered that a couple of young citizens who were not able to have children came to the orphanage in search of a child to be adopted. Of course, I did not know all this. I discovered it only when one of the nuns came to take me in the office of the mother superior.

When I entered the room, I found myself facing the following scene: The mother superior was seated in her place, and smiled. Sitting in front of her were a woman in a green dress and a man in a gray suit, who turned as soon as the door, creaking, betrayed my presence. The woman looked at me with eyes full of excitement, while the man looked at me with admiring glances. Never had they seen such a cute child.

"Oooh, but he's adorable!" said the woman touching my hairs "Hello little boy, what's your name?"

"F-Frederick. Frederick König" I said, trying to stay calm.

"A boy so beautiful is certainly a rarity," said the man, smiling.

That was enough. In less than half an hour, the two adults had filled in and signed the documents for my adoption. They could not take me away with them right away, but within a week, I would be theirs.

For a few days, I was happy. I thought I could finally leave the orphanage and start a new life somewhere, with parents who would love me and take care of me

Sadly, it was too good to be true.

It had been four days since the couple had come to visit the orphanage, that the nuns received an urgent message. Apparently, during the journey back to the capital, the car on which the couple traveled went off the road, crashing into a tree. Both had died in the accident and their family members did not want to adopt a twice-orphaned child.

Therefore, my hope of leaving was gone. I would hardly have found another couple willing to adopt me.

I was in the dorm when Sister Anna came to tell me the bad news. No matter how much he tried to soften the bad news, it was a conviction for me

Without meaning to, I turned my thoughts on «Being X» and its damn reincarnation. He promised to put me in dire straits, and until now, he seemed to have kept his promise. Being adopted and returning orphaned in less than a week was a real record. If I had been a common child, I probably would have had a nervous breakdown.

I was so busy in my thoughts that I did not notice the figure behind me.

"Eh-ehm!" someone cleared her throat.

I turned quickly. Behind me there was a girl about my age. She was very pretty, her vivid icy blue eyes were huge and her blond hair had a hint of gray in it. She looked almost like a princess in a fairy tale, not an abandoned orphan.

"Yes?" I said still thinking about my bad luck "What do you want?"

"Satisfy my curiosity: is there any chance that you are a young boy who has been reincarnated?"

I gulped, looking at her with an amazed look, before realizing who was in front of me.

"Sir?" I said chuckling innocently.

She nodded.

Apparently for a long time the manager (now Tanya Degurechaff, a little blond-haired orphan girl) had been watching me. I had also hypothesized that he could be in the orphanage, but I had not considered that «Being X» could have changed his gender as well. Therefore, I was not prepared for it.

We were alone, and we talked in a low voice about what had happened to us. And on what we would do.

"Our prospects for advancement if we remain here are poor," Tanya said, looking on the floor.

"I agree. The food is terrible, and the beds are uncomfortable. Moreover, I do not know how to bad-rate it" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

The next thing I knew, she punched me on my side "I am being serious! Maybe you did not realize it, but things are about to go worse than this!"

"Worse?" I asked incredulous "We have been reincarnated in the bodies of two orphans. We have no home, no family, no means to feed ourselves. We will probably be forced to live in horrible living conditions and our future, without the possibility to develop our education, is bleak. How could it be worse?"

"War" she said without batting an eye. Okay, that is worse.

"Have you realized or not that since some time, the nuns have been worried about bread prices?" she continued "And that they are preparing to host a larger number of children? In your opinion, why?"

It was then that I realized that Tanya was right. After all, we lived in the world where the great powers became increasingly hungry for resources, and where patriotism and nationalism were more common than colds.

"Damn" I said while the reality of the situation hit me as hard as the train that ended my previous life "What are we going to do? Defenseless orphans do not last long in war!"

"You realized it," said Tanya in a snarky tone "It is probable that we will only be able to rely on our strengths and our abilities"

"Wait" I said, still holding a little hope "Maybe we will find a couple of generous hosting parents, and they…"

"Will take us?" Tanya ended my sentence, "With a war on its way, it is improbable that someone decides to adopt other mouths to feed. On the contrary, it is likely that this place will get more crowded"

I groaned. It was the second time she was right. This meant that it was better for me to think what I was going to say more carefully.

"This is all Being X's fault!" said Tanya, suddenly furious "He was the one to put us in these bodies in this wrecked world! I'll prove it to him, I'll survive, and I'll…"

I put my hand over her shoulder, drawing her attention.

"How about focusing more on our immediate future?" I said, "If it's like you say, would not it be better to think about how to make a living than about how to take revenge? In addition, I do not think that challenging someone so powerful is a good idea, for now".

"Do not tell me you really believe that he is God," she said almost spitting the word «God».

"I believe in God, but Being X is not my God" I said, exhaling rage "The true God would never have been so arrogant and intransigent!"

And for the first time since I knew her, Tanya laughed.

Trunko · Dec 14, 2018

Chapter 2: The Capital

The Empire
5 June, Unified Year 1921

In many literary works in which someone is trapped in the past, or in another world more backward of his own, the protagonist always has some ability that allows him to make easy money. For example, in the manga Jin, by Motoka Murakami, the protagonist was a surgeon who, trapped in medieval Japan, found a way to use his exceptional skills to create the first national health system in history. Another example was the series of books 1632, who was talking about an entire American town that ended up right in the middle of the Hundred Years' War. There, the protagonists had all the qualities and useful knowledge that allowed them to transform their town into a great federation that was economically and militarily powerful.

Unfortunately, neither Tanya nor I had useful knowledge for the time and place where we were. Human Resources management was not a requested profession in this period, as neither was Informatics Support. In a world without computers and without the Internet, the knowledge of our previous lives was worth nothing, which meant we would have to learn new ones.

However, none of us knew the kind of works of this world. And without some minimum data, it was impossible to outline a strategy.

The opportunity came one day that the nuns of the orphanage had to go to the capital to buying provisions for some things. For the sisters it was only a small journey, but for Tanya and me it represented an incredible opportunity. If we were able to join them for the trip, we would have seen the capital (which we had heard about so far, but which we had never seen) and maybe we could get the information we needed first hand.

The biggest obstacle was to convincing the nuns to take us with them.

"Impossible" said Sister Greta as soon as we asked for permission to join them "You cannot bring children to the capital!"

"But, sister" said Sister Helene, the youngest nun of the orphanage "They just want to see the city. And I'm sure they will not try and run away!"

Sister Greta grunted, and then she turned towards us, looking at us with hard eyes "Tell me, children: why do you want to go to the city?"

Tanya and I had prepared for such an eventuality. And we had a secret weapon available.

"We just want to see the beautiful city," I said stiffening and turning my puppy-dog eyes on "We have always lived here; we would like to see other places."

Next to me, Tanya also had big puppy eyes and looked imploring Sister Greta "We want to see the big-big city. We will not make any trouble. We promise!"

It was a tactic that Tanya had been using successfully for a long time, and that she had taught me in the last days. Taking advantage of our cuteness to push others to do or not do certain things, simply by "acting" the age that people expected us to be. It was a bastard trick; it was heartless and even a bit humiliating (for us of course).

And it worked.

In less than a minute, Sister Greta turned to Sister Helene "Sister, please make some space for these little children. Inform the Mother Superior than we will take little Tanya and little Frederick with us. I would not want her to be scared, not seeing them."

"Yay!" both Tanya and I squeaked in our child voices.

"But let's get one thing straight," she said, coming back to us "I will not accept any form of unruly behavior: I do not want to see you running, jumping, screaming or grimacing. You will always remain in our field of vision, and we will hold hands. Moreover, if one of you commit some prank, you can forget about other tours in the city. Have I been clear?"

For a moment, I was tempted to laugh. Threatened with being put in detention: it was a long time since it happened to me. However, if the nun had realized this, our journey would have ended even before we started. Therefore, I kept all my satisfaction inside and tried to appear gloomy.

"Yes" "Yes" Tanya and I said almost at the same time.

And with these words, Sister Greta returned to taking care of the preparations for the trip.

Unseen by her, Tanya and I were smiling.

The journey to the capital was not long, in terms of distance. It was longer in terms of time taken to get there. This is because the vehicle we were traveling with was more like a cart pulled by oxen than a pickup truck. I quickly realized that it must have been a very old model, both because its paint was all peeling, and because the engine emitted choked sobs rather than a rumble.

In the driver's seat of the battered vehicle was Sister Greta, who was watching the road ahead of her carefully. Sister Helene occupied the seat of the front passenger. Behind, two other nuns (whose name now escape me) tried to speak above the noise of the engine. Tanya and I were in front, each of us sitting on one of Sister Helene's legs, and tried to distract ourselves by looking at the landscape around us.

The latter changed as we proceeded along the road: little by little, the forests and meadows were replaced by cultivated fields, farms, wind or water mills, stables with cattle and small villages. And in the same way, the fields and farms were increasingly replaced by houses and industrial buildings.

At one point, the vehicle stopped. Tanya and I looked up, and we saw that on the road in front of us was a sort of armored car, and some soldiers in dark green uniforms. One of the soldiers, a mustachioed man with grades on shoulder pads, asked Sister Greta for documents, while another blond-haired soldier passed on the right and peered into the vehicle. When his eyes rested on Tanya and me, his jaw contracted in a friendly smile. Did seeing some children make him think of his children? I would have never known.

After the checkpoint, we entered the city itself. Tanya and I marveled at the huge expanse of houses and buildings that made up the Imperial capital Berun.

For a few moments, I tried to make a comparison between Berun and the Berlin of my world. Berlin had also been a large city, but compared to Berun, it was like a boat next to a yacht. There were buildings I had never seen, not even in photography, and whose dimensions gave a total idea of power. With a fleeting thought, I wondered if even the Berlin of my world had had a similar appearance in the years before WW1.

Suddenly, the vehicle stopped. Sister Greta stepped out of her driving position, and so, the other nuns.

"So, children" said Sister Helene "We have arrived. Please do not go away even for a few seconds".

We nodded, so Sister Helene took us off her legs and put us outside.

"Ok children" said Sister Greta as soon as we were ready "Try to always stay with us. We do not want you two to get into trouble!"

Our little group was proceeding along the sidewalk of one of the city's streets. At first it was Sister Greta, who walked with great pace, almost as if to do it faster. After she came Sister Helene, in whose hands we were attached, Tanya and I. I admit it, being held by the hand like a small child was still quite humiliating to me, but I had long become accustomed to the way others treated me because of my physical appearance. Finally, the last two sisters (Ah! Maria and Gertrude, that was it!) followed us a couple of feet away, rounding out the group.

We proceeded along the road, following Sister Greta (who apparently knew the city best) as she led us through the district. Tanya and I wanted to go a little slower so that we could see the places around us more clearly, but we had no choice about it. We could only take quick glances, trying not to miss a single detail

Suddenly, we passed a shop that showed a cut off pig's head as a sign. From the sign, but even more from the noise from the smell that came from inside it, I sensed that he must have been a butcher. Meat was an expensive product in any world. The few times it was offered to us at the orphanage, they used it more than anything else as a flavoring in the soup to exploit its aroma as much as possible.

The Sisters did not plan on buying meat, and neither Tanya nor I intended to throw ourselves into such a trade, so we did not give the shop more than a look.

After the butcher, we passed a clothes shop where a young clerk, whose age was close to twenty, was putting out a series of suits for men. They were all refined and expensive clothes, and it was evident that his clients were mainly wealthy men willing to pay a lot just to look elegant. I started to wonder how I could go about applying to work there as an apprentice.

... Better not. After all, I had never even learned how to sew.

Finally, we reached the greengrocer. Here, hundreds of vegetables of various shapes and colors were waiting only to be sold to men and women who would peel and cut them and turn them into food. Next to the counter, a plump man with a mustache looked at the road before him, waiting for it to bring him hungry customers.

"Mister Jahn" said Sister Greta calling to the man.

"Sister Greta!" said the man straightening himself and standing up "What a beautiful sight! Are you here to buy your supplies?"

"Yes" Sister Greta said in her firm tone

"And who are these young people?" said Mr. Jahn as he looked down to us.

"These are the little Tanya and Frederick. They are two children from the orphanage" Sister Helene said "Since they wanted to come and look at the city we've decided of take them with us."

Mister Jahn smiled, before patting myself and Tanya on the head with his dirt-covered hands. If I were still an adult, I would have shouted at him for doing something like that. However, now I was in the body of a child, and as a child I had to behave, if I did not want to get into trouble.

"Hello, Mister Jahn" I said chirping in my little voice "I'm pleased to meet you!"

"But they are lovely" said the greengrocer "I've never seen two such cute children. Where did you get them from?"

"We do not know. We found them abandoned at the door of our orphanage on a night five years ago. Probably, they were the children of someone who, not being able to take care of them personally left them in our hands and God's"

I tried to smile as much as possible while, inside me, an indescribable rage was looking for a way to let off steam. And apparently, Tanya was in the same situation. But getting angry would not have been in our interest, so we still tried to make the best of a bad moment

"So lucky" Mr. Jahn was now enjoying the view and touch of Tanya's blond and soft hairs "I must confess, if it were not that I already have three children at home, I would be tempted by the thought of adopting them myself!"

"Oh do not worry," said Sister Helen as she started to collect the vegetables to buy "I'm sure that…"

"Death to the enemies of our beloved motherland!" someone yelled along the road.

Instinctively, I turned to see what was happening, and with me Tanya, the nuns and Mr. Jahn

The road, which until a few minutes ago was so calm and empty, suddenly no longer was. A large procession of men dressed in civilian clothes and with large signs was making its way, screaming at the top of their lungs. It was impossible to determine from which way they had arrived: in all likelihood, he had entered one of the back roads while we were all too busy to notice it.

"What's happening?" said Sister Maria pointing to the crowd.

"I had completely forgotten about it," said Mr. Jahn "They are demonstrating in favor of the war" said Mr. Jahn with a grimace of disgust. It seemed clear that if he could, he would add his personal ideas on the idea of war, but he did not. He did not feel so confident to do so with so many enthusiasts a few meters from his shop

"Good Lord" said Sister Greta making the sign of the cross.

Tanya and I did not say anything. We were too busy watching the crowd. The men seemed anxious to throw themselves into battle to "take revenge on the enemies of the Fatherland". For this reason, most of the people present did not give them the chance to get involved in a fight.

However, every village had its idiot. And every great city, as it was logical, must have had more than one.

The parade was passing noisily but without too many incidents when, from a secondary alley, another group of demonstrators emerged. A much smaller and smaller group, which carried placards for peace.

It took three seconds for the members of the first procession to notice. Another five seconds to identify them as enemies. And less than ten seconds to spark violence.

I did not see who of the two groups threw the first stone. Perhaps they had been the pro-war, in response to the obvious provocation, or had been the pacifists, in a desperate attempt to defend themselves. In any case, the "battle" was too one-sided to avoid giving rise to an obvious result.

The "hawks" hit the "doves". They hit them hard. I remember seeing the small pacifist demonstration attack with stones and fists. I remember seeing people fall. I remember seeing the blood.

At one time, I thought I knew what violence was. I had played many video games in my previous life: Call of Duty, Battlefield, Far Cry, and I had seen a lot of virtual blood. I had come to believe that I was used to seeing a man fall to the ground spraying blood.

Now, I understood how ignorant I was. No video game had prepared me to see a man torn to pieces by the crowd, or to witness real lynching.

I was so stunned that I did not realize I was snatched up until I understood that the nuns had interrupted their shopping and had taken refuge in a small dark alley. From there, we hid from the murderous rage of the crowd.

I saw nothing more, as one of the nuns had covered my eyes with her fingers. But I heard. I heard the noise of the beating, kicking, of the bones breaking. I heard angry screams singing the words "traitor" and "defeatist". I heard shouts of victory. Then nothing more.

We did not go out immediately to see what had happened. We remained hidden, for another five minutes, waiting. We waited to make sure the massacre was over. Only when it was super-safe, we went out.

What a horror scene we saw before us! The road was full of papers and garbage, as if a hurricane had passed. The windows were closed, and in some cases, the glass had been broken. And where the pacifists had appeared, blood colored the road with red-brown stains.

However, this was not the most disturbing thing. A man had been hanged from one of the street lamps. His coat was torn in several places, and around his neck hung a sign with 'Traitor' written on it.

I looked at his face. He was not more than twenty years old. In all likelihood, he was a university student, who had been smart enough to realize the unproductiveness of war, but also stupid enough to expose himself in such a manner. If this had happened in my world, it would have won at least a Darwin Award. Here, his prize was a rope around his neck, and a pine coffin.

Tanya was by my side, and looked at the corpse with big eyes.

She stood still and staring at the body for several seconds, then did something that I (knowing who was actually in her body) I never expected to see.

She ran way, crying.

Now I was confused. Tanya was certainly not a fragile person: he was a HR manager in our old lives, and his (or her?) main job was to lay off employees regardless of their tragic excuses. And that job required a heart as hard as a rock and no empathy at all.

Being killed by a train, and born again as a poor orphan girl, was able to change him? I was more sensitive, yet my reincarnation had not moved me. On the contrary, probably now I saw everything in a more cynical way.

Determined to discover the significance of the situation, I ran with long strides behind her.

I found Tanya a little further along the road. She was hidden just behind a table in a cafe overlooking the street. The guests were nowhere to be seen. They had probably escaped as soon as the mob had appeared in sight. The cafe door was actually locked, to support my hypothesis.

"T-Tanya" I said looking at her with concern.

She didn't say anything. However, she looked at me, and that's when I saw that her eyes were full of tears.

"Tanya!" I exclaimed with shock "Are you OK?"

"No, I'm not Ok!" she practically screamed at me "Have you not realized what kind of world we are living in?"

"Well, yes!" I screamed back "We live in a world where war is a constant, we are two children, we are orphans, we are poor and without love! Maybe you forgot, but you're not the only one who has been reincarnated!"

She kept looking at me, so I sat down in front of her and tried to keep myself calm.

"Listen, I know the weight of the emotions you are carrying, but ..."

"No, you don't" she hissed.

I knew immediately that something was wrong. Something must have touched a sore spot. And it was necessary that I understood what.

"Please" I said, trying to get close "I understand that something must have made you uncomfortable, and I would like to help you. However, I can't read your mind, so I would like to know what happened. Explain it to me."

She looked at me, her moist eyes almost dried out.

"Listen" I said again "you know that nobody in this world will ever understand you as much as I do. So, if you need to vent yourself in some way, it's best if you do it with someone who can understand your situation."

She looked away, before saying:

"It was... it was that student. It was very similar to someone I knew..."

"Who?" I asked "Sir?"

"My little brother".

I looked at her amazed. In our previous lives, I never knew that he had a family, let alone someone close to him.

"Your… brother? I never knew you had a family..."

"Yes, because we managers are always greedy soulless monsters who enjoys to see low level employees suffer!" she almost screamed.

I was touched. For the first time in years, I had the impression to see someone else's soul.

"I know!" she continued "My job was to fire employees who did not reached the minimum job efficiency, but I did not do it out of pure cruelty. I did it because it was my job, the means by which I could earn enough to improve my well-being. Is it a crime to want the best for oneself?"

"Well, you were a little cold in doing that..."

She glared at me "Do you think I liked having to hear whining and apologizing every time one of those idiots lost their jobs because of their own mistakes? The company gave me orders and I followed them! I did them as efficiently as possible in order to distinguish myself and be promoted. I hoped that if I continued to do my job in the cleanest and most efficient way, I could help myself and, with me, my other relatives!"

It was then that I realized it: my manager was not a monster. He was just one doing another person's dirty work.

"I believed that, If I kept following the rules, I could have rode the rails right into the department chief's chair. And then… my life would have become nice and easy!"

I tried once again to get closer to her, but she realized it and moved her body. It was clear that she did not want any body contact with me.

"Tell me about your family. About your little brother. How was he?"

She sighed, "He always was a clumsy one. Never realized how the world worked. But I loved him. Since our parents divorced, we never had anyone to talk but each other. And when I assumed my position as HR manager, one of the first thing I did was to recommend him for a job in another company."

My brain immediately went to a thousand, trying to assimilate this information.

"I could not protect him as if we were children, but I always gave him hints and suggestion about how being the more efficient in his job. I tried to teach him how to be more aggressive. How to be a winner. But now..."

Tanya's little fist clenched.

"Now, because of a miserable employee who did not know how to do his job, and that damned, bigot Being X, I can't help him any more. Now I am here, in this world cursed by war, in the body of a child, without any means to go back and cursed to lose my soul should I die again. And I'll never be able to see my little brother again..." she said with a saddened tone.

She straightened herself up, clenching her fist to the sky.

"But I'll have my revenge, Being X. I will survive whatever you throw at me. And I'll..."

She stopped. Not because something else caught her attention. But more because I put my hand over her shoulder.

"Tanya, please stop. I know how great you rage is. I know it because I am that angry too. Being killed and resurrected in the body of a baby, in a world with no family, no wealth and no way to escape the incoming storm of the war was not exactly my kind of fantasy. However, now we are here. And we must survive!"

Tanya did not said anything, so I kept speaking.

"Cursing the sky and Being X will not help ourselves. There is only one way to do it: cooperate. If we want to survive the war and the curse that Being X put on us, we have to planning what to do next together. To avoid the chance of dying young, and maybe have a decent life. One where we do not have to eat Kommissbrot all the time, where we do not have to sleep under the bridges and where we can still have hope of improving our social position. I know it will be hard, given the situation we are actually in, but we have to do it."

I walked on her, took her little hand and held it.

"I agree with you about Being X: If you want to have revenge on him, I'll gladly give you all my support. However, for now our priority must be survive and find a way to get him. Then we will get him!"

Tanya looked at me. Right into my eyes. Boy, they were beautiful.

But we were not in love, and we were not in the mood for kisses.

"So" she asked, "What is your proposal?"

I thought about it "Well, I suggest going back to the orphanage and start defining our strategy for the future. Find the best way to get away with the coming war and our ... err, poverty. And of course, on the best way to take revenge on Being X"

"Can we skip to that part?"

"Yes, but first we have to go back to the nuns. They…"

"Frederick, Tanya! Where have you been?" said a loud voice which I recognized coming from Sister Greta.

We looked up. She was coming, along with Sister Helene and the other nuns. And she did not look happy.

"Do not worry, we were just…" I tried to say, but it was too late.

She slapped me. Hard, on my cheeks. Then Tanya too.

Sister Greta was very angry. Moreover, she did not wanted to listen to us. Apparently, "trying to comfort your traumatized friend" is the same as "running away without supervision"

Moral of the story? Once we got back to the orphanage, Tanya and I were informed that we would not be allowed to join another trip for at least three months, and to crown it all we were deprived of our dinner.

An empty stomach is terrible to bear. Especially if you add to it the humiliation caused by the slap and the punishment.

Another child in my place would have been angry, and not just a little bit.

Not me.

It was true: I had caught a slap, a punishment and I would not have any more chance of freedom for a long time.

But it was worth it.

Fortunately, the nuns' punishment did not include separating us, so Tanya and I had all night to talk, chat and discuss how to take revenge on the Being X.

I knew it was not the end of my suffering. I knew it was not even the beginning of the end.

But it was the end of the beginning.

Little explanatory note

Since I think that this piece is difficult to understand, I would like to illustrate it with a small note to explain what really happened.

Tanya is still the same as the canon, ruthlessly pragmatic and relentlessly driven. The outburst she had shown in this episode was an elaborate ruse to emotionally manipulate Frederick and turn him into his willing ally-minion. However, since the chapter is from Frederick POV, there were no way for me to show it. As a result, the chapter can easily be misinterpreted.

I apologize and I will try to improve myself.

Trunko · Dec 15, 2018

Chapter 3: Join the Army, She Said!

The Empire
8 June, Unified Year 1921

It was now three days after our little misadventure in Berun. It was a sunny and bright day, of the kind that makes people optimistic and light-hearted.

Still, we were not in the mood for being happy.

The memory of the punishment aside, Tanya and I were still concerned about our future in the orphanage. We still did not have a clear idea of which path to take and how we could take revenge on Being X.

However, this would change very soon.

The sun had just risen in the sky when a small convoy of military trucks entered the orphanage and parked in the courtyard. I know it because Tanya and I were there when the trucks arrived. We saw with our own eyes the vehicles stop, and armed men in uniforms descend from large lorries.

The first thought I had when I saw the soldiers was to wonder why they were there. It took Tanya to tell me why:

"They're probably looking for potential soldiers. After all, the orphans are young men and women without family and joining the army is a good way for them to gain board, lodging and some money to start a life" she said.

I nodded. Still, her words were full of fear. Their meaning was hidden, but evident: the war was getting closer. Fortunately, we were still young children. Unthinkable to give a child a rifle and send him to fight on the front line! Granted, child welfare services did not exist yet in this strange world, but sending children to war... would have been irresponsible. Right!

Right?

"Brr… it's cold," I said, rubbing my hands in a desperate attempt to produce heat.

Tanya and I were now in a row with all the others children of the orphanage. We were all in our undies, and for this reason, I was not the only one who was cold. Here and there along the line I was aware of other children who, like me, had chattering teeth and were trying to produce heat by means of rubbing themselves.

The reason for this was that, apparently, the military had the order to subject all children to the orphanage to the same medical checkup. At the end of the long line, each of us would be analyzed by a military doctor who, after having noted the data of each of us, would have sent the analyzed children away so they could clothe again.

"Frederick" said Tanya behind me "We are all in your condition. You are not the only one who is cold"

I nodded, before tilting my head to the side trying to see what was happening a few meters further. Apparently, another child had just finished his exam. Nothing strange to report. One more, and then my turn would come.

"I wonder what kind of exam we will have to face," I asked curious.

"Nothing strange, I believe" said Tanya in an unimpressed tone "At best? They will do a blood test ..."

"A blood test?" I panicked.

"Relax. You are an adult inside that. Do not tell me you're afraid of a little needle," she almost mocked.

"Well, now that you mention it … YES!" I said looking directly at her.

I know it may seem ridiculous, but I am belenophobic. I am afraid of any kind of puncture involving a needle inserted under my skin and in the vein, in order to take blood.

She looked amused "Really?"

"Yeah! Why did you tell me that..."

"Frederick König!" said a female voice I did not recognized.

I stopped paying attention to Tanya and looked again in front of me. In front of me was a brown-haired woman dressed in a nurse's gown.

"It's your turn," she said gravely.

I gulped, before following her to the point where the doctor would inspect me.

Luckily for me, the exam did not include a stinging needle anywhere. First, the doctor asked me my name and other small details. Then he began to check my physical attributes, like my weight, my height and my reflexes. Nothing for the moment seemed to indicate differences with our previous world

Then came what would determine my and Tanya's future.

The nurse picked up a strange metal helmet, connected it to a kind of portable scooter and told me to wear it. After that, she told me to focus on it.

At first, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the objects on the table in front of me began to move and float around me.

I was amazed. I was stunned. I was seeing objects flying around me, just as they were weightless. I looked forward: the doctor had stopped taking notes and was looking at me, eyes wide open.

"He…he has the magic aptitude" the nurse said, quite shocked.

Magic? That was magic? I thought, amazed.

I possessed magic. That was something I was new. Moreover, judging from the doctor's expression, it was not common or frequent.

With a smile, I lingered my mind in a thousand of pleasant eye-opened dreams. I had magic. I could anything I want. I would have been cool, I would have been rich, and I would have been famous. For a strange second, I wondered if there was some kind of Hogwarts in this universe. Maybe I could enroll there.

"That's not normal," said the doctor looking at my parameters "A kid so young should not have such a high attitude!"

This means I am special? I assumed with an internal smile.

"The data is accurate" the doctor spoke again in an elated tone, "It seems we have found an excellent mage for our Empire."

Already those words should have been an alarm bell for me, but I was too elated to care.

I had magic. I had real magic. I was special, above special, I was unique!

The doctor said something in the nurse's ear, who nodded firmly before leaving. She returned not even a minute later, accompanied by a man in an officer's uniform. The doctor showed the officer my data, and then the officer told me to take off the helmet and follow him.

The amazement was still strong; therefore, I did not questioned him. I was too busy dreaming about my magic and me.

The officer took me in a closed room, and told me to wait there. Then, he closed the door.

I should have been worried; instead, I was thrilled. In the great game of life, fate had just given me one great ace-in-a-hole.

Magic. I never understood how beautiful this word was until now.

I was still there shivering with joy when the door opened again and Tanya came in, accompanied by the first officer. The officer said to her the same thing he already said to me before leaving.

"Tanya? You…"

"Yes, me too!" she said with a grin.

"And…"

"Yes. Magic aptitude A, just like you."

My enthusiasm jumped to a thousand. I was so excited that I started doing a ballet, under the unimpressed gaze of Tanya.

"Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart
How the music can free her, whenever it…"

"Frederick, Stop that!"

I stopped and looked Tanya in a dismayed way.

"Why? We have magic, we are cool, we are going to make a mint!"

She looked at me with ice eyes "We also are going to be in serious trouble"

Before I could ask what she meant, the door opened again. I was expecting some other young recruit from the "Club of the Magicians", but instead it was a nun. A nun we both know very well.

"Oh, children" said Sister Greta warmly "I'm very sorry for what happened. If I had known..."

"But… we have magic" I said once again "That's a good thing, right?"

"Unfortunately, no" said Sister Greta in a very worried way.

She then started to explain to Tanya and me that the military were there not only to scout for potential recruits for the army, but for mages as well. Apparently, mages were so rare that made up not even one percent of the population. And all of them at a certain age were enrolled in the army to serve their country.

We had no choice. It could take months, or maybe years, but it would certainly come the day the army would return, and Tanya and I would be drafted. All because, apparently, a mage with an "A" magical aptitude is too precious to be left out, let alone two!

"It's Ok, children" said Sister Greta trying to warm up with her words "We'll try and talk to them. We will tell them that you are not good for the Army, and convince them to forget about you. You are good children, you do not deserve this!"

Then she walked out, leaving us once again alone.

I was no more in the mood to doing a ballet. I was not in the mood even to smile.

Our destiny was marked. Although they did not lack good will, it was impossible for the nuns to convince the soldiers, men who generally do not get bent out of shape by things like "family affections", to let go of two recruits. Especially if such recruits have magic and are very powerful.

Magic. I never understood how bad this word was until now.

What could we do? The only option that came to my mind was to run away at night, before the military came to pick us up, and flee to some nation where they live under a false name. All of this without ever using magic again, so as not to be traced. It would have been a life of fugitives, but it would have been a life. In short, what other option we had?

"Tanya, maybe we have to…"

"Indeed we have" she said grinning. I never saw her grinning like that. She did no more looked like a child, she looked more like a demon "We have to volunteer right now!"

What?

"What?"

I could not believe my ears.

"Hurry up!" she said walking in direction of the door "We have to catch up those officers before the nuns manages to drive them away!"

"Why?" I asked, horrified

"To tell them we want to volunteer. How much we want to serve the Empire and its Emperor, for the glory of…"

"No, no, no, no!" I said putting myself between her and the door "How can you say that you want to volunteer when a war is going to break out soon? Are you crazy?"

"Tell me Fredrick: do you prefer to stay here until you're forcibly drafted?"

I thought about it "No?"

"Or to try and escape like a coward and keep hiding for the rest of your life?"

"Well, actually…"

"Listen to me, you dumb idiot: what do you think happens to conscripts?"

I thought about it "Well, they are assumed to be cowards, and used as cannon fodder?"

"Exactly! The upper military chain of command is composed moreover by volunteer, by people who choose to be in the army. And they tend to favor people like them!"

I assimilated these information, starting to understand her mind.

"So, you want to volunteer for better treatment?"

"Yes. If we volunteer, we also have the chance to get officer training!"

Officer training?

"You mean like to start up as…"

"Yes, as officers, instead that as lowly soldiers. We would have better chances of being promoted, and this way we could find a safe place where to live an easy life!"

"Where? In the front line, as prisoners?"

"No, in the rear! If we manage to focus on getting a peaceful place in the rear of the front, we would be more likely to survive the war!"

I thought about it. Tanya's word were full of truth: if we could find a place to be safe from the battles, bombing and hunger, we could have reached the end of the war without too much trouble. Moreover, being an officer was certainly better than being an infantryman.

"OK then" I sighed "I'm with you."

"Great! But we need to move, right now" she said running on the corridor, looking for the officers.

I shrugged and followed her.

When we finally managed to find the offices, they were sitting at one of the tables in the refectory, with the Sister Helene and Sister Greta. Of the two groups, the nuns were the most vocals: their tone of voice was much higher, and they kept clapping their hands unconsciously on the table.

It reminded me of a scene I had seen happening often in my previous life: the last time it was when I had passed the complaints office. There I had witnessed the pitiful show composed of two elderly women, one of whom was devoid of any logic, willing to do anything to get a refund. They had tried to involve me too, so that in the end it took the security to get them to go away.

And now, I had to witness again to such a scene, which was invariably repeated when the hot emotions clashed with the cold of bureaucracy and laws. Only this time I could not turn away and leave, because I was directly involved: I was the object of contention.

"Listen, ma'am" the oldest officer, the only one with a mustache said "I realize about your situation, but we have our orders to follow. We cannot turn a blind eye on such a thing."

"But they're just children!" said Sister Greta joining hands almost as a sign of prayer "And the Empire can get hold of its own without..."

"Sorry?" said Tanya at my right.

Hearing her voice, both the officers turned their heads to look at us. My gaze met again with that of Sister Greta, who looked at my sadly. However, I did not returned her affection to me: my time here was over.

"Children, please go to play on the outside. Surely..."

"No" said Tanya again.

The monosyllabic pronounced by Tanya caused, for a few moments, a wave of confusion among those present. The two nuns widened their eyes and looked at us with stunned expressions on their faces, while the two officers simply raised theirs eyebrows.

"We won't go to play outside. In fact, we think that this isn't the right place for us anymore," said Tanya in an adult tone she never showed anyone "These men say that it's our duty to serve in the army, and we want to volunteer right now!"

As we should have foreseen, those words caused confusion in those present. The officers looked at us as we were crazy. And the nuns, they were horrified by our decision.

"Tanya, Frederick. How can you say this? Why do you want to join the army? You are very talented kids; your paths for the future are endless. Why sacrifice yourself like this?" said Sister Greta

"We...talked about it," I said, no longer disguising my adult tone with childish words and mannerisms "We have decided that, since the Empire needs us, we should start immediate service"

I walked to the officers and stood at attention "I want to volunteer to defend the Fatherland from all of its enemies, Sir!"

"Me too!" said Tanya right behind me "If the Empire want us, we are here!"

Everybody (except Tanya and me, of course) stood still, quite shocked from our behavior. Especially the nuns.

"But, children" said the youngest officer "While we agree that's your duty to defend the fatherland, you are very young..."

"You have doubts about me, sir?" I asked "About us?"

"No, absolutely not. However, we were expecting you would have waited a little more."

"Sir, the Fatherland is threatened. Its enemies are massing at the borders, and we should ignore the call of our duty just because of our age? I will repeat myself: I want to volunteer, right now!" I said, my eyes full with determination.

"I want to volunteer right now too, sir. When the country calls, age does not count" said Tanya "This is the only path we have... Our only choice!"

I looked around me, to see the effects that my words had caused: The officers kept looking at Tanya and me, and they exchanged opinions in a low voice. Sister Helene spoke with Sister Greta, who was slumped in her chair and looked sadly at the floor.

What did she think? Was she sad at the thought that we left the orphanage forever, or that we had decided to embark on a military career?

I did not know, and I did not care. I had spent too much time in those walls, and I remembered her slap too well to sympathize with her.

"We..." said the youngest officer "...we have to contact the commander and ask for his orders. Please, wait for us here."

Then they left, leaving us alone with the nuns. It was a moment of tension: it was evident that they would do everything possible to change our mind.

And predictably enough, they did it.

"Tanya, Frederick" said Sister Helene looking at us "How could you do this? The war is not a game!"

"We know, and this is why we want to join right now!" we said almost in unison.

Surprised by our prompt response, Sister Helene froze in surprise. I knew that if I continued, without waiting for new arguments to form in her mouth, I had a chance to «win» the argument.

"The Fatherland is asking for us to go and fight to defend it from its enemies! It's our duty as soldiers to answer to its call!" I kept up, my words filled with determination.

It was apparent that Sister's Greta resoluteness to keep us away from the military life was beginning to crumble. Besides, what is the point of «protect» someone if the one at issue did not wanted to be protected?

"But… you're too young" she kept saying like a broken record.

"So?" this time was Tanya's turn to speak "You want us to duck as cowards and wait for the war to arrive here? For Berun to burn? No, we want to do our duty right now!"

Sister Helene stopped talking and sat near Sister Greta, speechless. It was clear that she was in shock.

But not even her tears would have not made us desist.

It was then that the officers returned. As they were close enough, Tanya and I both saluted them in a very military way.

"At rest, youngsters" said the oldest officer with a smirk "Well, we have contacted our superior officer and asked his orders about the fact, and he said that it does not matter the size or the age, if wannabe-soldiers wants to volunteer himself for a one-way travel to Hell, then it's up to them. Therefore, your request of join the Army cannot be refused, for now at least"

Behind us, Sister Greta and Helene started crying softly. They were crying for us, for our choice and for what we would have to face.

But I could not care less.

Trunko · Dec 16, 2018

Chapter 4: In the Barracks

The Empire
8 June, Unified Year 1921

In all the movies and TV series of war I had seen in my previous life, the scene where the protagonist had to leave home and family to join the army was one of the most dramatic. They show the pain and suffering of his family that sees him leave, knowing that he will probably never come back. They show the sadness of his wife, often pregnant with their child, who know that her husband will not be there when she will give birth. All this to show the viewer how bad and unjust war is

Our departure from the orphanage was not like this. We had no family, no affections and no belonging to anchor us to that place. The nuns were sad for us, but frankly we did not give a damn about it. We had chosen to be soldiers of our free will, and they could do nothing to make us change our minds.

Therefore, when the military convoy started up their engines to return to their base, there was no love nor affection for the orphanage where we had lived since we were reborn. I admit it, maybe there was a bit of nostalgia, but it was not strong enough to make us stay.

When we passed the orphanage gate, I felt as if I had just turned a page of my life. Our lives as children was over. And now, our lives as soldiers began.

"You both have the aptitude to be mages" said the officer with the gray hairs looking at us "but why volunteer at your age?"

We were now in a room of the Academy for Officers of the Imperial Army. Once the military convoy returned to its base, we had been redirected to this place.

I do not deny that being accepted was difficult at first. The soldiers at the entrance could not believe their eyes when they saw two cute young children showing up to volunteer, and thought it was a prank. They kept laughing and trying to make us go away, and only when their superior officer appeared they started to take us seriously.

"We want to serve our glorious Fatherland, that's it!" I said, looking directly in his eyes.

This was a little trick in learned in my previous life: if you watch someone with determination in his/her eyes, you will manage to impress him. It was a very difficult trick, because, apparently, looking someone in the eyes is enough to make you start laugh, but I could not afford even a smile.

"Well" said the other officer, a brown-haired middle-age man "I must admit that your magic aptitude is very strong, but..."

"Are you doubting about us?" said Tanya "We are ready to take whatever we will have to face! This is our only choice!"

The two officers looked uncomfortably at each other. It was evident that they were not sure about what to do with us.

"Well" said the gray-haired man getting up of sudden "I think we have a little…problem here. Can you wait for a little while I go to get somebody to help us?"

We both nodded, so the officer took the chance and left us alone with his colleague.

Nothing happened for five whole minutes. Tanya and I continued to look at the remaining officer, while the latter kept checking the documents in front of him, perhaps looking for an excuse to be able to refuse us without breaking regulations. However, he found none.

Finally, the door opened again, and the gray-haired officer went back in the room.

But he was not alone.

Along with him was a tall, dark man with a prominent scar on his right cheek. His officer's hat and the grades on his shoulder pads indicated that he was a senior officer.

"There are the ones?" asked the man looking at us.

"Yes, Captain. They want to volunteer; however, they do not look old enough to join!"

The captain nodded, and then he went to our direction. He walked around us, analyzing us with his cold and penetrating gaze.

"So, you children think that the war is just a big game, huh? That war is fun, and glory, and more fun, eh?"

We remained silent. I did not know if I was allowed to answer, and even if I had, I would not have known what to say.

"You want to join for the glory? Well, let me break the news for you: War is not a game! It is sacrifice, pain, death, more pain, duty! I already said pain? Well, let's repeat it!"

The captain lowered himself, so that his face was right in front of us.

"So, tell me: why do you want to join?"

"B-because is our duty sir!" I said almost accidentally.

The Captain looked directly at me. He did not appeared angry. For the moment, at least.

"Did you said something, little boy?"

"Yes sir!" I said firmly "I said that is our duty to fight to defend the Fatherland. That's the reason for us to join!"

The officer kept looking at me for a few second, before switching to Tanya.

"And you, young lady? Are you here for that too?"

"Yes sir!" she said "Tanya Degurechaff, ready to start the training, right now sir!"

The Captain nodded. Then, he got up and turned to the brown-haired officer.

"Register these two and give them their uniform. I want them already accommodated!"

The officer saluted, before heading out followed by his gray-haired colleague.

"Okay children: you do not look old enough to take up a rifle, let alone fight in a war. However, since you are both so enthusiastic about volunteering and due to your exceptional magical aptitude, I will let you both join. This of course does not mean that you will receive a favorable treatment just because you are so young"

The captain lowered himself again, so I was able to see his face.

"By the time you will leave this academy, you two will no longer be children. You will be soldiers, forged and built to fight for the Empire! Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir!" we both saluted

And so, It began.

Tanya and I were now in our new uniforms.

The obvious problem with them was that, since most of the recruits tend to be young adult men, the quartermaster's office did not have clothes of our size.

Even now, I cannot stop thinking about the face that the corporal responsible for the assignment of the uniforms did when the captain took us to receive our new clothes. He looked at us with total incredulity, and only after the captain confirmed that we were exactly what he was seeing he straightened himself up.

After that, we finally received a couple of extra-small uniforms that, however, turned out to be too big still. Therefore, hard work with needle and thread was needed in order to restrict them to the right place.

In the end, however, we managed to dress ourselves just in time to follow the captain to our new quarters. To Tanya was assigned the quarter B-15, while I got the C-1. That would have meant that we would no longer be dorm mates.

While I was going to the quarter C-1, I could do not stop thinking about what Tanya convinced me to get into. We had just joined the military school for officers, and this meant that I would not get much chance to relax in the next couple of years. For the following months, life would be study, training, more study, discipline, all naturally with derivative obligations and tasks.

However, I was not regretting it.

Military life would be tough, but it was also the only real chance to earn myself a better future and a better life. And with the war approaching, I would need to work harder than the others to be sure of getting a place in the rear.

I wondered what my chance of surviving until the end of the war was. Having been a soldier opens many doors for careers that you would never get to see in other ways.

Ah-ah, I though as I finally managed to find my quarters.

The door was half-closed, therefore I had no problems in seeing that there was someone else inside.

I stopped for a few seconds, trying to think for the best way to introduce myself to my new comrades.

What attitude could guarantee me more sympathy points? Cheerful and jovial? Sweet and cute? Or maybe a mix of the two?

I leaned forward, and knocked on the door of the dormitory. The Moment of Truth.

"Who is it?" asked a male, grumpy voice form inside.

"Cadet Frederick König here to take his place!" I said, trying to appear as adult as possible with my voice.

"Well" now, a big arm was opening the door "come inside, new..."

Now a large, muscular man was standing right in front on me, looking down. At me.

"...comrade?" he said with an astonished tone.

"Hi!" I said doing the salute, "You must be..."

"Cadet Urs Rommel. And who are you, kid?"

"I've already told you! I'm Frederick König, cadet of this Officer Cadet School, just like you!"

"Urs, what's happening?" said another voice from inside the dormitory

"Heinz, you would not believe this!" said Urs looking back.

After the first, understandable moment of confusion by my comrades, I managed to explain to them about my young age, and that I was there because I volunteered there, just like them.

My fellow cadets were three adult men. In addition to Rommel, the other two were named Heinz Bukliger and Leonhard Nadelman. Heinz was a tall, skinny man with red hair and brown eyes, while Leonhard was an average-physical man with brown hair.

Both were pretty surprised by my bodily appearance and my tone of voice.

"So… you volunteered?" sked Leonhard, keeping his eyes fixed on my hair.

"Yes" I said, trying to look natural and relaxed "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, it's just that… hell; I have a little brother who is older than you."

"So?" I asked looking at him "My friend Tanya Degurechaff is here too. And she looks younger than me!"

"Wait" said Rommel still unbelieving it "Are you telling me… there is another child here as well?"

"If by child you mean someone which looks like my age, that's right. However, do not underestimate her. She's pretty tough!"

This affirmation caused more than a smile between my fellows. Apparently, they could not imagine someone as old as me who could keep up with them.

"You're so cute," said Heinz caressing my hairs.

This sentence made me angry. Not because of the act, but because I kept being reminded that my cuteness was still there. Once, I thought that cuteness would be a blessing; however, lately I had come to the realization that it was more like a curse. This because, due to it, nobody would ever take me seriously.

It was like being a baby seal: even being dressed in a military uniform was not enough.

However, swearing or getting angry would have blown all my chances to socialize with my fellow cadets, preventing me forming useful alliances with them. Therefore, I kept smiling and said.

"I'm happy to hear that!"

That was when the door of our quarters opened again, and a sergeant came inside. As soon as I realized it, I immediately got up and saluted, quickly followed by the others.

"Lesson starts in ten minutes." he said in his most serious tone "Finish stowing your belongings and get moving!"

"Yes sir" we all said.

Trunko · Dec 17, 2018

Chapter 5: Starting of a military life

When we finally managed to find the classroom, I realized with much dismay that we were the last ones.

The tables of the class were almost all already filled by other cadets of the Academy. A couple of them (the ones nearest to the door from where we had entered) gazed toward me with amazed look. However, there was no surprise on their faces, and looking at the class, I knew the reason why.

Tanya was already there. Sitting on one of the tables in the front row, she waited with ill-concealed impatience for the arrival of our instructor. We shared a knowing look.

My comrades started to sit in the remaining free positions; therefore, I looked for one myself.

I knew from personal experience at school that the position where you were sitting in a classroom was of fundamental importance for your purposes. My favorite position was among the first rows, to have a clear vision on the lesson and, at the same time, remain low to the professor's gaze. You will never believe it, but often those who run a class tend to question mainly those from the second row on, because they know that there, they will have more chances to "catch" someone who has not studied enough.

Suddenly, I realized the place to the right of Tanya's was still empty. In the front row and near to the only person that could understand me, I could not ask for something better. However, I realized that even Rommel was going to take that place, so I had to act quickly.

"Sorry" I said putting myself between Rommel and the place that we both wanted "But I think this place belongs to me"

Rommel backed quite stunned "Why are you…ooh…I understand" he said with a mischievous smirk.

Huh? I though, trying to understand what he understood.

I looked back, and that was when I realized that Tanya had looked up from her papers, and was now looking at me with a quite shocked expression.

Great, I though glancing back at Rommel, which was now sitting in a side second-row table, now as minimum he will think I have a crush on Tanya!

However, I did not have enough time to show him the truth or simply berate him. Therefore, sat in my hard-conquered position, trying not to look to the left.

"Frederick, you dumb idiot!" hissed a female voice I knew very well.

"Happy to be still with you, Tanya" I answered, careful to keep the tone of my voice down.

She did not reply, so we both waited in silence for the arrival of the instructor.

Our wait was not long. We heard the noise of heavy boots, and after a few seconds, a tall, heavy figure entered the classroom. He was not the captain from before. He was a dark-haired man, that by the insignia on his shoulder pads I understood to be some kind of major.

The major went to the table in front of us, opened his register and looked at it for a few second. Meanwhile, nobody in the class was making a noise.

Suddenly, the major straightened himself up and yelled

"OK maggots, listen to me. I am Major Vetter, your drill instructor. From this moment on, you will speak only when I will ask you to do speak, and the first and last word that will go out from your mouths will be "yes sir!" Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir!" the class erupted as a whole.

"What the hell! I cannot hear you!"

"YES SIR!" we screamed with all the breath we had in our bodies.

"It is my duty," continue the Major "to see to it that you become fit to lead the valiant soldiers of our glorious fatherland, and by God I shall do it!" he said looking at the class in search for someone to take.

I was watching silently as he kept talking to us about how his work was to turn us into something that could be worthy of the uniforms we were wearing. For some strange reason, I could not to think of the Sergeant Hartman of Full Metal Jacket, a movie I particularly liked in my old life.

Suddenly, I realized I was smiling. I fought with all my strength to repress the smile, hoping that the Major had not seen me.

"I see that you're all grown up men" the major said to the class "however, do not believe that..."

He stopped talking. Right in front of Tanya and me. I knew he had noticed us, because his eyes narrowed.

"You!" he said pointing to me "Who are you?"

"Cadet Frederick König, sir!" I said saluting him.

"Well, tell me, cadet: why are you here and not in the kindergarten?"

"To fight the enemies of our beloved Fatherland, sir!"

He kept looking at me for a few second, before switching his gaze to Tanya.

"And you little lady?"

"Cadet Tanya Degurechaff!" she said saluting as well "I'm here to serve too!"

The major kept looking at us for a few second. Then, he turned to the rest of the class.

"Well, looks like some of you are not even adult yet! Do not expect to me to act as your babysitter. Here you will not cry, you will not laugh. Here you will learn all of the basis of the war! Are you listening to me?"

"Yes sir!"

"Since apparently kids are now able to join," he said looking at us "I expect from both of you the same result as everyone else! I do not care about your young bodies, or if you are tired, or anything else! Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!"

The Major smirked. Then, he turned to the blackboard and started writing the first lesson of the day.

Three hours later, Tanya and I were in the cafeteria and we were talking about what we had learned so far. Each of us had a long pile of notes about the lessons that we were supposed to study and learn.

"I still do not understand you," I said looking in Tanya's direction "Why do we have to learn all these things?"

Tanya said nothing. She was too busy drinking her hot chocolate. I had a chocolate as well, but I was not enjoying it. Personally, I would have preferred any kind of beverage, but apparently, that was another disadvantage of our young bodies. The cafeteria staff practically laughed when I tried to ask for something different from chocolate, saying that I was 'too young' amongst other things. I wanted to protest, but Tanya's quick (and somehow inappropriate) intervention prompted me to accept the "advice" of others.

"Do you want to give a bad impression of yourself to the Major, Frederick?" Tanya said once she has finished her chocolate: Her smirk was fake and provocative, as if she was happy with that thought

"Well, no" I said, trying to explain myself "But I do not think we have to study so much either. I mean, who would study all these things by heart?"

She smirked. Again.

"Are you telling me you are giving up on my plan?" she said in an almost mocking tone, looking around to be sure nobody was listening to us "Because if that's the case, I will not say anything anymore"

I froze. She was not leaving me at my fate, right?

"What are you trying to say?" I asked in an alarmed tone.

"Think about it, you brainless doll: if the Major gave us things to study and learn, he will probably question us about them in the following day. Right?"

I thought about it. "Well, yes, just like in any other school or academy"

"And" she kept saying, "What do you think will happen to the ones that do not study?"

"They will be punished and give a bad impression to the Major."

I still could not understand. I certainly did not want to finish on the bad side of Major Vetter, but if I managed to study without straining myself, I still would have got scores good enough to not encourage him to notice me.

"OK. Conversely, what do you think will happen to the ones that will ones who stand out in lessons and exercises?""

I thought a little more.

"They will get on his good side and…"

I stopped, as I realized what she was saying.

"You realized it, you dumb idiot. If we focus our efforts on excelling in class and training, and we can give him constant proof of it, we could manage to impress him to the point of improve our chances of being promoted... Or better yet..."

"A decent drink at the cafeteria?" I joked

She hit me with her elbow "No, like a recommendation for a good place in the rear. We could be like training officers for recruits: we could spend the whole war without seeing the front. Without dying…"

I though at the idea. It certainly was not bad: we would have had hot meals, comforts and privileges much greater than the ones we could have found on the front. In addition, we would have get to play the "Sergeant Hartman" part for ourselves.

"I like your idea" I said looking at her.

"It's called signaling," she said with a smirk "It's an economic theory that I've learned in my previous life, to boost your chances of being noticed in a good way by your superiors and show your value as a resource. Its principle is very simple: you have to demonstrate your employer that you possess good qualities that for many others are difficult to obtain. If you manage to give the right impression…"

"…you can obtain a promotion in a much easier way" I concluded smiling "Very well!"

Tanya smiled in turn, before taking another sip of her chocolate.

I took a sip of mine too. I did not liked it, but it did not mattered more to me. I was too happy.

Later that day, Tanya and I were in the library of the Academy, both reading our notes with maximum concentration.

The library of the academy was a very beautiful place. Inside you could find thousands of volumes, all related to military history, strategies and the development of warfare over the centuries. Pages and pages of detailed studies in spasmodic research of new ways to fight and win wars.

To enter the library, no special permits were needed. However, it was forbidden to bring the books out of his rooms: they could be consulted only there. I remember a cadet who, not knowing this rule, had tried to take a very old and apparently precious book with him to his dormitory. The result? The volume had been destroyed, and the cadet in question had been heavily scolded and punished by his duty officer. To prevent such things from happening to us, both Tanya and I had written down all the rules of the Academy, and we often checked them out so that we know what we were allowed and what we were not allowed to do.

Once you entered the library, you would be faced with hundreds of shelves. All the shelves were on the right side, while on the left side (almost completely irradiated by the light of the windows) were large wooden writing desks on which the cadets could consult their books. Since both Tanya and I were both determined to study as efficiently and productively as possible, we had positioned ourselves at the desk in the middle, as far as possible from both the entrance and the spiral staircase to the upper floors of the library.

We thought that by doing so, we could work without risking of being interrupt. We were wrong. Very, very wrong.

I was just writing down some important things when I felt a pat on my shoulder.

"Yes?" I said looking up from my book "Who are y…"

My mind froze as I realized I was talking to a Major.

I immediately stopped talking and saluted. Tanya, which in turn had realized this, did the same.

"At rest, young soldiers" said the Major looking at us with a very gentle smile.

I looked at him carefully. The Major had black hair (a little lighter than mine) with a long strand of hair that set aside his face. He had a gentle, cool-headed looking face and wore bottom-rimmed eyeglasses. Seeing him reminded me of an old friend I had met before moving to Japan in my past life.

"You are… Cadet Tanya Degurechaff and Cadet Frederick König, right?" the major asked us.

"Yes sir!" we both exclaimed in unison.

The Major smiled at us again, "My name is Major Erich von Rerugen, and I'm Chief of Personnel Affairs here at the Academy. Since I have heard that two children have managed to volunteer despite their age, I wanted to verify their existence in person"

Mentally, I wondered what he wanted from us.

"What were you reading with so much interest?" Major von Rerugen asked us.

"We" I started to say unconsciously "We were studying the texts that Major Vetter ordered us to study!"

Major von Rerugen stepped forward and took a glance at the book I was reading before of his arrival.

"On War of Carl von Clausewitz?" he said taking the book in his hand and looking at it with evident attention, "Major Vetter is really a traditionalist!"

I did not say anything. A wrong comment, if it came to the right ears, could have made my life in the academy much more difficult.

"Tell me, Cadet Degurechaff: what's your opinion on Major Vetter?"

"I?" Tanya said "I… I think that the Major is an honest and responsible man, hard but with a heart of gold, sir. The workload he gives us is heavy, however, thanks to it, we will know how to survive on the battlefield!"

If I could, I would have given an amused look at Tanya. It was obvious, in my eyes, that she really did not think what she had said.

"And you, cadet König?" the Major turned his gaze on me, making me sweat cold "What do you think of the Academy?"

"I believe that the Academy is a perfect example of the perfection and efficiency of the Army, forge of new generations of officers destined to fight for the glory of the Fatherland, sir!

The Major looked at me. Had he not believed my words? If so, I could get in trouble.

"Your patriotic zeal is commendable. And, judging by your work" he said looking at our still-under process notes "your commitment to study is no less strong. I suppose they had good reasons to allow two children like you to enroll here, magical powers or not. Since you are new here, I will grant you the benefit of the doubt. I just hope you know what awaits you..."

And with these words, Major von Rerugen withdrew from our desk and walked away, followed by my gaze and Tanya's.

Only when he disappeared from sight I gave myself the luxury of a breath of relief.

I tried to concentrate on the study again, but before I could find the line where I had been interrupted, Tanya hissed:

"What do you think of him?"

I stopped, looking around us nervously. Tanya could have kept the tone of voice low, but the fear of being heard was high. Fortunately, none of the few other visitors of the library seemed to have noticed anything.

"W-what do you mean?" I replied, keeping my eyes on alert for possible listeners.

"I mean, what you think of Major von Rerugen?" she answered back.

"Well" I said, trying to make local mind on my first impressions of him "He seems a friendly officer to me, of the kind that is able to listen to the needs of his men. I could be wrong, however."

Tanya snorted, "Do not kid yourself"

"I won't" I replied as I focused again on my notes….

Important information note

Hello everybody.

It has been five days since I started publishing my fanfiction, and I never expected such a positive feedback. Therefore, I want to thank all of you who have read or are reading my story: reading your comments and knowing what you think of my story is the best way for me to start my day.

Unfortunately, I also have to report some bad news: because of my many commitments at the university, at home and with my other writings, (a publishing house showed interest in one of my books, wow!) I will have to slow down the pace of publication of the individual chapters. The publication of the chapters will start again in three days, Thursday 20 December 2018, and will be at a weekly rate.

However, I would very much like to continue hearing your opinions and your ideas.

Therefore, if you have ideas about the story and want to communicate them, you are welcome to do so.

What do I mean?

I mean, that, in case you have:

Ideas for possible plots or subplots
Ideas for new characters
Ideas for possible episodes
Questions about the fiction or the canon story
Request about what you would like to see in my story and what you think I should focus

You are more than welcome to submit them to me. I always welcome with joy possible ideas or suggestions for my story, as well as criticism (as long it is constructive) or simple questions. Write to me in private message or reply to this.

Your best ideas could become part of the story.

Trunko · Dec 20, 2018

Chapter 6: Lessons of strategy

The following morning, the wakeup was not very pleasant.

I remember it very well because, unlike my still-sleeping comrades (particularly Rommel, who was snoring loudly and annoyingly), I was already awake. My sleep was so light that I always woke up before everyone else. Call it a habit from my time at the orphanage. I doubted cadets would behave like the pranksters typical of my childhood, but early morning alertness was a habit so deeply rooted in me that I could not disobey it.

I was looking enviously at my comrades when suddenly a terrible thought occurred to me. We were in a military academy. And in military academies, just like in normal barracks, it was likely that the wakeup would be performed by loudspeakers and screaming sergeants who would come to wake us in a "violent" way.

And then, another though: I was already awake. If I could get ready and dressed in my uniform before the Major arrived, I would gain more points in his eyes.

For a few seconds, I wondered if it was a good thing to wake up my comrades and persuade them to do like me. However, in the end I decided not to do it. Apart from the fact that I would have wasted time explaining my idea to them, I would have risked getting some insult or worse. We were not friendly enough for me to want to risk it.

Then I got out of my cot, being careful not to produce any noise that could wake them up. I put my bare feet on the floor of the dormitory and moved, guided by the little light that illuminated the room, towards my uniform.

I do not deny that it was difficult to dress in silence and with very little light, moreover with the fear of producing a noise that would alarm my dormant comrades, but in the end, I succeeded in my intent. I would have liked to have a mirror with which to check if the uniform was crumpled and was instead in good order, but the only mirror that we had available was located in the public bathroom, and to reach it I would have to go through the whole dormitory.

Fortunately, I still had two hands and a sense of touch, so I checked the uniform carefully, hoping that if there was something wrong, I could notice it before the Major.

I was just finishing up checking myself when I heard a noise coming from outside. I croaked my ears, trying to figure out what it could be. Then I understood:

It was a military trumpet, the alarm clock for the academy cadets.

Nothing happened for several minutes. Then, suddenly, I heard footsteps coming from outside and several lights in the entrance hall to our dormitory came on.

I knew what was going to happen. Immediately, I stood in a position near the edge of my bed, beating my boots against each other. I know I made noise because I heard Rommel stop snoring. Nevertheless, it was too late.

Three seconds, and then the door of our chamber opened, filling the room with light and making my companions moan in protest. I looked at the door. There was a sergeant, accompanied by two men of the military police. He did not seem too happy.

I was hidden from his sight by a bed, so he could not see that I was already awake and in uniform. For the moment, at least.

"Get up! Get up!" thundered the sergeant with full lungs, clapping hands to produce noise "Rise and shine, sweethearts! Stop sleeping and put on your uniforms!"

Hearing the noise, and seeing the sergeant, my comrades understood the situation and suddenly lost any trace of drowsiness. In a few moments, they went out of their beds (except Rommel, who fell out of it) and started desperately trying to dress in their uniforms back.

The sergeant took a few steps forward, continuing to bombard us with words.

"Move move move, maggots! You have an entire day in front of you: you better get dress before…"

Suddenly, he stopped. The sergeant was now looking at me, motionless.

"Cadet Frederick König, are you dressed already?" The sergeant shouted at me

"Yes, sergeant!" I said and saluted.

The sergeant kept looking at me for a few seconds. For an instant, I worried if I did something wrong: maybe it was against the regulation to dress up before the Reveille?

He grunted, but he did not say anything. Apparently, dressing yourself before being ordered to do so was not against the regulation.

"Very well" he finally said, nodding to me "I like to see a soldier eager like you!"

Then he proceeded with his inspection, leaving myself grinning internally, and my comrades to look at me with envy…

After using the first hour to cleaning, grooming and dressing ourselves, we had basic drill and physical exercises. The exercises were hard, and their heaviness was exacerbated by the weariness we almost all had.

However in the end, after five hours of suffering, we went to the cafeteria to enjoy a quick breakfast. When we arrived, we noticed with pleasure that some tables were still half-empty, a sign that there were still some cadets who were being scolded by their respective sergeants.

First, I went to take my morning ration of calories. I took a tray and lined up with other cadets waiting for my turn to arrive. Meanwhile I looked around, trying to spot Tanya.

Looking carefully at the hall, I saw that she was already seated at one of the tables furthest from where I was. She was drinking a cup of something which I assumed was hot chocolate, and she was reading a small booklet. I do not know why, but I could not help thinking about that day when we met at the station, the day our old life ended.

Fortunately, it was not too long before my turn came. Quickly, I passed in front of the employees of the cafeteria, which provided to supply me with a sufficient quantity of calories to survive the entire morning. The only drawback? The inevitable hot chocolate, a thin substitute for a coffee.

Once I took my food, I went as fast as possible to the table where, until then, Tanya was alone.

"Can I afford to keep you company, princess?" I said looking at her.

Tanya did not raised her eyes to look at me, and neither did she turned her head. She just stopped drinking her chocolate and nodded in silence.

"So," I said sitting right in front of her "What's the plan?"

"Do you remember what we studied yesterday?" she asked to me in a neutral tone

"And how!" I answered doing a little check-up at the same time "If I want to, ask me anything about On War of von Clausewitz!"

She smirked "Well. In the first lesson of the morning, they will probably interrogate us about what we have learned yesterday. We absolutely must impress the Major so I hope for your sake that you remember everything!"

I nodded "Ok, received! By the way, do you happen to know what the schedule for the day is?"

She took another sip of her chocolate "If I heard correctly, after lessons we have an hour of physical exercise. I shouldn't have to point out how even in this it is of vital importance that we do our best. Then, after lunch, we have more lessons and physical exercise…"

I groaned, preparing myself to return to my cot dead for the fatigue.

"Look" she said suddenly, looking at me "I know this task is daunting, but we must not give up! If we let our guard down and send the wrong message to the Major, our careers are already over. And so our chances of finding a place in the rear!"

"I know…" I said, trying to keep up my confidence.

Trying not to think about these things, I turned to my breakfast, trying to swallow as much as possible.

The food was not bad. Indeed, after so many years spent on bread and soup, go back to eating something solid (and similar to my native food) was something beautiful. In a few minutes, I had devoured my entire portion, leaving the bowl before me empty.

Looking up, I noticed that Tanya was not proceeding with the same appetite.

"You're not hungry?" I asked her.

"Not much" she said without looking up from her little book.

"Can I?" I asked hopeful.

"Go ahead…"

I was about to accept Tanya's invitation and proceed to eat as much as she had left her breakfast, when we suddenly heard a very loud whistle come from the entrance of the cafeteria

It was a sign that breakfast was over, and we had to reach the class.

In a few minutes, we got up and headed towards the class, leaving behind us all the leftovers…

"In the following situation, what is the best combat strategy?" Major Vetter asked to the class.

Tanya and I remained silent, concentrating on the drawings on the blackboard before us. The Major had just exposed us to a situation in which one of our army was forced to face an enemy army superior in number, and he wanted to know if, in our opinion, there were ways to defeat the enemy army.

I looked back without turning. It was evident that many of my classmates had not studied enough to be able to hypothesize a satisfactory answer, and so nobody dared to speak.

I smirked. This would have been even easier than expected.

I raised my hand.

"Yes, cadet König?" the Major focused on me.

"Sir" I said standing up "In the following situation, the victory is hard, but not impossible. And it can be achieved through three easy steps."

The Major walked to me. It was apparent that my answer had lit his curiosity.

"And tell me: what are these steps?"

"First, I would force the enemy to divide his forces into smaller groups. Then, I would create a superior force of attack to the individual corps of the Enemy's Army. And finally, I would try to destroy the individual enemy corps individually, exploiting a superior ability to move through the battlefield"

The Major continued to look at me for a few seconds, before turning back to the map drawn by him.

"What do you think of the plan proposed by your comrade?" The Major asked to the class "Do you think he's right?"

Nobody in the class answered. It was clear that they were all too afraid to say their opinions.

"Well, no one?" the Major said, looking at the cadets "Well, it looks like we will have to do it the old way. You!" he suddenly said, pointing to a random cadet

The cadet, taken by surprise, seemed to shrink a few millimeters "Yes sir?"

"What do you think of the reasoning of Cadet König?"

"Well, sir" he said prevaricating a little "I believe… I believe he is right!"

"Oh, he is right? Would you care to tell me why?"

"B-because… because this way it's possible to destroy the enemy force little by little, thus enabling our forces to gain the upper hand, sir!"

The Major moved towards him, a menacing glare on his face.

"So, you are saying that you support his idea? Too bad…."

I saw the cadet shiver. And I with him.

"…because it's right. And if you knew that, you should have been the first to answer!" said the Major.

The cadet and I looked each other, sharing a complicit smile.

"Let's change battlefield" the Major said erasing the blackboard and starting to draw a new strategic map "Let's suppose the following situation: you are in charge of a garrison along the border. You receive information of an imminent attack from the enemy, with which you are still technically at peace. You also know that the best defense strategy you have is to carry out a pre-emptive attack aimed at destroying as many of the enemy's units as possible. What would you do?"

The Major turned to the class. Many of the other students they were studying the map carefully, trying to find an answer to the difficult question. Personally, I was also analyzing the difficult question, trying to find a presentable solution.

However, I did not see any of them.

Attacking was the best option, but attacking without proof an enemy who whom you were still technically in peace would have been a real diplomatic disaster, and safe way for a demotion or the firing squad.

I was so busy thinking of a possible solution that I almost did not notice Tanya getting up next to me.

"Cadet Degurechaff!" the Major shouted, making me and the other cadets in the class look at her "Do you think you can answer my question?"

"Yes sir! However, to get a complete picture of the situation, I need to ask: are high ranking officers present in our side?"

The Major thought for a moment "No. Let's suppose there are not."

"In this case, sir, obviously attacking the enemy without a state of war subsisting between the two sides would be seen as a serious violation of international law and would lead to a diplomatic fallout and public relations. However, knowing the intentions of the enemy, one could without any difficulty prepare the troops to implement a mobile defense, which may initially contain the impetus of the enemy attack and then allow a counterattack aimed at destroying the way of retreat of the enemy. In this way, once you have forced the enemy to open fire first, you can proceed to its elimination without any problems."

The Major looked at Tanya for another instant "Very well" he said grinning at us "That's an idea. I was hoping for something more brilliant, but at least you think! You others" he said looking angrily at the class "try to bang your heads on the books until you learn!"

The looks we received were numerous, and of all shapes. Many, including those of Rommel and my other comrades, were impressed and excited, a sign that we were able to surprise them in the right way. An excellent prerequisite for starting up future high-potential relations of friendship.

Other, were not so friendly.

Apparently, the idea that an eight-year-old boy could know better the military doctrine had made more than one cadet angry. I still remember the weird glares they gave to us. Many were of pure envy, and would have been without consequences, but others?

It was then that the class bell rang.

"Very well!" the Major said "Since apparently you are still far from planning a strategy, in the afternoon I will ask you about the strategies of von Clausewitz and the guidelines to follow in battle. Try to learn them well, because this time I will choose who must answer the question!"

Trunko · Dec 27, 2018

Chapter 7: First flight

Academy for Officers of the Imperial Army, The Empire
17 June, Unified Year 1921

It had been about a week since we entered the Academy, and both Tanya and I were perfectly integrated into the difficult rhythms of military life.

As far as I could tell, military life was not too different from any other style of life. You just had to remember some important rules: make your bed every morning, stand up straight and when an officer speaks to you, finish the sentence with "Yes sir".

The environment where I felt most comfortable was the library. Here I could find numerous sources on the most famous battles, war tactics and strategies, from Hannibal to Napoleon, from Julius Caesar to Frederick Redbeard. Learning the strategies and the tricks of these great leaders, I learned how to lead an army, win a battle and especially how to respond to the questions of the Major. Getting good grades was rewarding, but getting good grades while other people barely managed to get by was something that could put you in a good mood even if you had corvee work to do.

However, do not think that being the first in the class is all good and beneficial: to get those good grades I had to work hard, both in terms of time and in terms of concentration. In addition, my good marks on the theory of war were mixed with my "unpromising" physical and motor skills.

Here is something that neither Tanya nor I had thought about when we volunteered: the physical lessons of the Academy were not tailored for eight-year-old children. To survive such exercises, we could rely only on our determination, or to be precise, on that of Tanya, because if it had been for me, I do not know if we would have made it.

Fortunately, apparently wizards already enjoyed a certain privileged position within the academy, so things changed after a few weeks. What we would do from now on would be less traditional physical exercises (although we still did a lot) and more exercises designed for wizards, where our magical ability and not the physical one would make the difference.

Tanya and I were just intent on listening to the words of our magical instructor, a blond man who answered the name of Ludwig. The lesson we were facing today, the first of the "magic" course, was the basic lesson: how to fly. Apparently, learning to fly was the most basic thing a magician could do.

For this, Tanya and I were already equipped for the big test.

Each of us wore the following equipment: over the uniform, we wore a heavy jacket, similar to that of pilots, that in the intentions it would have to protect us from the cold of high altitude. In front of us, at the height of the pelvic region, we wore a large container, used as a storage of magical energy. The container looked more like a military armored backpack: It was all in gray-green color (the only decoration was the imperial cross in white color on the top pocket) and it was made in steel and a fabric similar to Kevlar. The container was connected by a kind of pipe, to a special over-boot we had to wear on the right foot, and that would have allowed us to fly.

Finally, at the height of the neck, attached with a pendant, we had the Operations Orb.

The Orbs were some kind of steampunk tool that we, as mages, should have used for interfere with reality through magic according to our will. From what little I had managed to make me tell about the Orbs, they were some kind of high-performance calculator that allowed us to process the world data and convert mana for the use of the wizard owners.

Furthermore, they were intended to serve as an emergency device: if a wizard found himself overloaded with magical energy, the Orb would allow him to discharge the excess of energy in an easy and safe way. Finally, they would protect us from possible magical influences or corruptions on our mind.

We had been wearing the Orb for a few days already and frankly, it was hard for me not to stop thinking about them occasionally. They were something incredible and fantastic at the same time: technology designed to allow greater control over magic, something that science itself (at least, in my old life) refused to believe in.

It was something that should not have existed, but that I had before my eyes (or rather, around my neck) at the same time.

Tanya nudged me on the side, distracting me from my thoughts. It was then that I realized that Ludwig had stopped giving his speech and was now watching as the first cadets in line started to make their first flight attempts.

"Try to listen to the important instructions, you brainless doll" Tanya hissed in my ear.

"I was listening, miss nuisance!" I replied to her, keeping my eyes focused on the other cadets.

Flying is something that, according to many high intellectuals and scholars of the medieval/renaissance age, the man is not allowed to do (at least, not by himself), and, at least at the beginning, the other cadets seemed to confirm this. Of the first trees, two could not even get up off the ground, while the third, which at first seemed to be on the verge of rising, he ended up turning upside down and bumping into the cadet behind him.

Only on the fourth, the impossible happened.

The man was called Otto Nottebohm, and he was a wizard from Imperial Ostland, a region of the Empire bordering and disputed with the Federation, the local equivalent of the USSR. At first, I thought that he too would have failed, but I had been watching him for just a few seconds before I saw him come off the ground, and then he rose up into the sky to a height of at least ten meters.

I looked at him breathlessly, unable even to think. I was seeing a man who could fly without any mechanical support, supported only by magic. If someone had told me that I would see something like this in my past life, I would never have believed it.

The row proceeded. Other cadets tried to fly, with different success. Little by little, the time when Tanya and I would have to fly approached.

"Tanya?" I said, trying to keep the tone of my voice low.

"What happened?" she said without even looking at me "Are you too afraid to try?"

"Not at all. Rather, I want to ask you something…"

After another ten minutes, Tanya's turn finally came. I watched with excitement as I saw her little body rise above the ground and rise higher and higher in the sky. Mentally, I counted how many meters Tanya rose from the ground: one meter, two, five, and ten!

At ten meters off the ground, I saw that Tanya had stopped and looked down at where we were gathered. I was tempted to ask her how the view was from up there, but then I realized that it was useless: as soon as she would come down, it would be my turn and I could see with my own eyes the spectacle that now stood before her eyes.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Tanya began to descend. Little by little, like a leaf carried by the wind, her altitude diminished until she landed, regaining contact with the ground.

"It's up to you now doll-face," she said passing next to me.

"I'm born ready, princess," I answered her while walking to the launch point.

As soon as I was in position, I started to focus and concentrate myself on the duty, following the directions of Ludwig. As I concentrated, I felt the Orb around my neck lightening up as the magic of my body flowed into it. And then, I felt my body begin to rise and rise in altitude, like a balloon.

The first thought that came to my mind as I pulled away from the ground was a complete wonder: I was flying. I was really flying. There was no way to describe how cool this was. It was like being in a child's dream, so beautiful that you would never want to wake up again.

But immediately I chased away those thoughts. This was not the time to get stupid child fantasies: I was a cadet of the Academy, a soldier, and I had an objective to reach.

"Higher, higher" I said to myself looking up at the infinite celestial sky. Mentally, I wondered how high I could get up. Certainly, an imperial wizard had to be able to operate at a height sufficient to be practically safe from most of the enemy's land-based weapons, and at the same time sufficiently low that he could hit the enemy with his own weapons. And that meant ... how much? Twenty meters of altitude? Thirty?

At that precise moment, a bird flew by me. I followed him with my eyes, bringing me to realize something that until then, immersed in my thoughts, I had not noticed.

The sun was setting, right in front of us. Its golden rays, albeit in a waning phase, still illuminated the Academy and the whole valley in front of it, up to the mountains in the background, and made the vision look like a romanticist painting to me. Now I knew how the wanderer felt in the famous painting "Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer" by Caspar David Friedrich.

It was a magnificent sight, of the kind that makes the man feel small in front of Mother Nature.

Someone else in my place would have felt entranced, and would have wondered if such a spectacle was proof of the existence of a superior being. I was just annoyed. I did not need to ask myself philosophical questions; I already knew from direct experience of the existence of something that had the arrogance of calling itself "God". And I knew that he was also a cold-blood bastard with delusions of grandeur. The fact that I had irritated him could also be discussed, but being reincarnated as a small orphan of a nameless orphanage in the middle of a war meant being cruel to the core.

"…König, do you hear me?" a voice rose from my wireless communications speakers.

I stopped reasoning about Being X and answered "Cadet Frederick König speaking"

"You'd better stop rising and begin the descent before I accuse you of attempted desertion" answered Ludwig with an authoritative voice.

It was then that I realized that I had risen too much. Definitely too much.

I stopped focusing my energy on the rising and in a few minutes, I started to go down again. Gradually I saw the world below me expanding gradually, until I re-entered the same place from which I had risen.

"Well" said Ludwig looking at me with a grim look "It seems that the idea of a firing squad is still enough to keep you in line…"

I stood still, at attention, motionless as a statue. What punishment would I have received for this? The penalty for those who deserted was death by firing squad. And though I was just distracted, I doubted that a military officer could have distinguished the difference.

"Sorry for what happened, sir" I said "but I wanted to test at most my limits"

"Oh yeah?" said Ludwig looking right into my eyes "Well, I can assume you're telling the truth, that you're just distracted. This time, I will let it go, but try to be more careful. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir!" I said, relieved that I had been pardoned "By the way, sir, can I ask you how much high I was?"

"Why do you want to know it?" Ludwig said.

"Just curiosity, sir"

Ludwig nodded "You've managed to reach a height of eighteen meters, cadet!"

"Thank you sir!" I said, trying to get on the back of the line as fast as I could.

"Good work into almost getting a punishment, you dumb head," Tanya said as soon as we were together again.

"Sh-sh-sh, little princess" I said, pretending to listen to something she could not hear by herself "Do not you hear it? Apparently, I have risen to a height much higher than you have. This makes me the official winner of our small competition"

She looked at me with a disinterested look "So? We did not make a bet or something"

"It still proved I fly better than you!"

"In your dreams!"

Trunko · Jan 3, 2019

Chapter 8: Playing the Hartman

Academy for Officers of the Imperial Army, The Empire
5 March, Unified Year 1922

More time passed. Tanya and I were now among the top students of the academy. Our grades were very good, and we had good relationship with some officers in key position to help us make military life and training more bearable.

The training lessons ... I believe I will never forget them. Move at night, in the dark, between the mud and the dirt, always alert in fear of betraying ourselves with noise. The "enemy" in these maneuvers were trained soldiers, armed with dogs and mana detectors, and the goal was to try to escape from right under their noses.

It had been a difficult trial, tough and full of unpleasant surprises, but it was worth it, for what followed. Apparently, the major had been so surprised by the fact that we were able to complete all the objectives, he had decided to mention us in his end-of-course report for his superiors.

The Imperial Army is a meritocracy, designed to promote the best elements within it. Therefore, because of both our high grades and Tanya's "signaling" theory, she and I were chosen for a quick graduation. Evidently, the international situation was growing more and more fraught, since the imperial military command had established to fast track the top students of the various academies to get more soldiers out in the field.

Tanya was in first place in the ranking, while I was a little lower, in third place. Therefore, both she and I were "selected" for the special accelerated course.

Tanya was not particularly disturbed by the amount of work that awaited us. She thought about everything with a free market logic: everything was legal, there were no rules. In fact, even for his decision, we decided to stamp our theses "plagiarizing" some great military leaders of our old life: Oda Nobunaga her and Erwin Rommel me.

In particular, my thesis focused on the tactics Rommel used several times in his North-African campaign, first against the British first and then Americans: attract the enemy to an area previously designed to act as a trap, and then destroy it.

"How's the work going?" I asked to Tanya through the wall of books, research notes and paper that were our sources.

"Very well" she said in a tone of voice which indicated she was concentrating hard "However, I suggest that you stop asking unproductive questions and focus on completing your work before the time is up".

"Ok, I understand" I said, focusing my gaze once again on my still half-written thesis "By the way, would you like for us to check each other's theses before delivering them?"

"I do not believe it's a good idea," she said, without looking up from her work "Everyone's work is personal. And I do not think I have enough time to correct all your mistakes"

I groaned, before focusing on my work again.

During our last few days of cadet life at the Academy, both Tanya and I worked hard in order to give the best impression of us to our superior officers. However, fate (or someone we knew) had a surprise for us…

"You want us to become instructors, sir?" Tanya said at my right.

We were now in a large office, lavishly decorated and tastefully furnished. In particular, we were in front of a precious wood desk and set before a painting depicting a late eighteenth-century war scene. We were standing in front of the desk, side by side, and we carefully watched the man we had before of us.

Brigadier General Christof Weitz was not a particularly handsome man. His forehead, wide and spacious, had long since begun to lose hair, leaving a sad desert in its place. Moreover, his morbidly obese physical constitution betrayed an unhealthy love for alcohol and good food, which made him in my personal opinion the ideal candidate for a heart attack. However, he was the commander-in-chief of the Academy, a powerful and respected man and above all, an officer with a rank higher than mine.

His word was Law, and as such, it had to be obeyed.

"Yes" he said drinking a glass of golden beer "Apparently, you two are the first-class students with the highest grades, and have demonstrated that you possess all the qualities and skills necessary to carry out this difficult task"

I stood completely still, trying to analyze with a clear mind what he had just told us. From what I had understood, this was a proposal that was made only to cadets with the highest potential, and in case of refusal it would not be renewed. Moreover, I did not know if it was possible for me to refuse this offer, especially coming from the chief of the Academy.

I mentally analyzed the proposal made to us. Was it a good idea to accept?

"Your proposal flatters and honors us, General" Tanya said, "We welcome the opportunity to serve in the development of new recruits!"

Once again, Tanya had caught me off guard, answering in my name before I could even think of an acceptable answer.

"Very well!" said General Weitz looking at us "Go to the staff office and report there. I expect you both to start service by tomorrow morning!"

"Thank you sir" Tanya saluted. I saluted too; still speechless she had managed to entangle me in such a way.

Later, once we were outside the General's office I took Tanya aside and asked her the question I was waiting to ask her.

"Just one word: why?" I asked to her once I was sure no one could hear us "Why did you accept the General's offer in my name too?"

Tanya smiled. It was a different smile than I usually saw it: it was colder ... and wicked.

"You know" she said in an almost mocking tone "I think that's why in our previous life you were a simple employee and I was a manager: you lack the initiative to seize the opportunities before you."

I was amazed (and even a little offended) by those words: I always considered myself as a person who knew how to seize opportunities. Hell, it had been precisely in an attempt to seize an opportunity that I had ended up here in this shota body, in this world and in this age because of an entity with great powers and a greater bad temper!

"What do you mean?" I asked her, my eyes full of anger.

"I mean," she said keeping smiling "what was the aim of my plan?"

"To" I said after checking that really nobody was listening to us "to work up our way in the military hierarchy before the war breaks out, so that we can get a safe place in the rear."

"And tell me: how we could climb the hierarchy if you're afraid of taking on the smallest role of responsibility?"

"B-but I thought we could focus on our career once we had done graduation" I responded to her "Now it's too early. We are already overworked and if we also take responsibility for training the younger cadets ..."

"That's the point," she said looking at me firmly "If we can manage this task too, we have good chances to impress our superiors ... in the right way"

Anxiously, I thought about it, trying to come up with a good counterargument. Seriously, between studies and exercises our existing commitments already leave us with little spare time. And being an instructor is certainly not something that can be done in the spare time.

Yet, Tanya was right.

At that moment, it was of the utmost importance that we demonstrate our skills and abilities, and any occasion to make a good impression was welcome.

Furthermore, Tanya had already accepted in my name. If I had said something when she had spoken, maybe I could have got away with it, but now... if I had refused a proposal after having openly accepted it, I would have done considerable damage to my career. And my career was the only thing that could save me from the front lines once the war started.

"But…why did you accept the offer even on my behalf?" I asked, no longer angry but just curious.

"If I had left it to you, you would have compromised everything we have done before. I saw your look: you were about to refuse. However, if you had done it, the general would have been angry with us, and our careers would have ended. So, putting things in perspective ... I just saved you and your career."

"But…why?"

"Why?" she repeated with nonchalance "Because I need you, idiot! Maybe you have not noticed, but you are the only person here except me who comes from another universe. You are the only one who can fully understand me, and this makes you the perfect ally for my strategy!"

"Strategy?" I asked, insecure about what she meant.

"Yeah" she said moving closer to me, so that my ear was a few millimeters from her mouth "My plan for getting a peaceful place in the rear and, at the same time, revenge on that damned Being X"

"And you believe that ..." I started to say, before I noticed something.

Or better, someone.

Until then I had not noticed him, but Rommel was there, with a stack of documents in his hands and his gaze focused on us.

"Ahem, Tanya?" I said, pointing to Rommel with my eyes.

She turned around, just in time to see Rommel grin at us.

"You!" she said moving away from me and striding toward my roommate "What are you doing here?"

"Well" Rommel said, trying to justify himself "I was bringing these documents to the General, and since you were right outside the door, I thought not to disturb. By the way, what were you doing together?"

Tanya began to open her mouth, but before she could formulate a single word, I beat her on time.

"We were discussing what the General has just told us. Apparently, our grades are good enough to give us the chance to educate some new novice cadets as trainers" I said, earning the wonder of Rommel and Tanya's disapproval.

"Wow" Rommel said incredulous "Does this mean that from today you will be my superiors?"

"Not exactly" I said to reassure him "We will simply have the authority to educate and discipline new cadets in shape. However, it is not exactly like a promotion. Consider it more an extra job that the princess and I will have to work on."

"I understand," said Rommel "Do you know what? I still cannot believe a child beat me in courtship. But you're really cute together!"

I looked at him smiling until he disappeared behind the same door from which Tanya and I had left a few seconds.

We were alone again.

"What a fool, do not you think? He's very physically gifted, but I bet he does not even know how much..."

I stopped as soon as I realized that Tanya was looking at me. With the mother of all the death glares.

"What's up? I asked her grinning nervously. Angry Tanya was certainly not something I wanted to see.

"Satisfy my curiosity" she said with a dark look "By chance, have not you told yet to Rommel and your other roommates that we're not a couple?"

"Well, I tried."

Apparently, a rite of passage that all the cadets undergo on their first day at the Academy is being bombarded with insults and provocations by a sergeant or an older cadet. A kind of initiation, which serves to immediately make the enthusiastic and optimistic cadet understand what military life is really like.

And now, I was in front of the same scene that I had lived a year before. However, this time the instructor was I.

I already knew what the most obvious problems would be: most of the cadets were young adults or men, who would hardly accept the leadership of a child.

My physical appearance did not help me much: who would ever take an eight-to-nine-year-old boy seriously? Moreover, with a pretty and tender face like mine?

Precisely for this reason, they probably gave us this job. At the Academy, we studied to become officers, but no officer can be such if he cannot impose himself and being obeyed by his soldiers. Therefore, we had to earn the respect and esteem of our subordinates ... in the hardest way.

I took a deep breath and looked at the cadets before me. They were all men of probable age between eighteen and twenty-five. Everyone was dressed in their new uniforms and looked at me with bewilderment

I did not need super-hearing or telepathy to know what they were thinking: you could read it in their face. In all likelihood, they wondered where their instructor was, and what a child was doing there.

Only when I opened their mouth did they understand.

"Cadets!" I shouted as far as my vocal cords could allow me "Welcome to Hell!"

I took a break to see the effect my words had had. The perplexity of the cadets had turned into pure confusion. Some moved their eyes nervously, in disbelief at the scene in front of them: a cute-faced child who suddenly starts yelling like a sergeant.

"I am Frederick König, cadet of the last year of the Academy and your instructor. I was given the order to verify if there are true men among you who are able to survive the course of the Academy. And to be honest, I do not think so!"

One of the cadets in the second row grimaced. It was clear that he did not take my speech seriously, so I decided to overplay my hand.

"Do not think that since I look like an angel, the wings are about to come out! I will be ruthless, inflexible and cruel with you! I will slaughter you with gymnastics, with the discipline, with the rules and if you do not know how to hold, you will have only one option!"

"The baby is crying, maybe he wants milk!" a voice I did not recognize echoed from the last rows.

"Who said that?" I yelled, genuinely angry "Who the hell said that? Who is the filthy, cheap-looking comedian who wants to clean the bathrooms so badly?"

Nobody spoke. I got off the small podium from which I was talking until a few moments before, and I went quickly to the last rows. If there was one thing that made me angry was if someone teased me, especially if the joke referred to my "juvenile" physical appearance.

"So? Nobody said that?" I said, trying to find the culprit with the aid of sight alone "If the culprit does not report publicly within three seconds, I will have you all clean the toilets until the end of the course!"

The soldiers remained silent.

"One!" I screamed as loud as I could "Two!"

"Sir, I said it, sir!" suddenly said a cadet to my left.

I looked at him carefully. He was a boy of about twenty, with blond hair and blue eyes. Probably, he could not hold back his own humor.

And now…he would learn.

"Well, damn!" I said, trying to look as calm and cute as possible "You are honest. I admire honesty. Hell, I like you. Would you like to come with me to the cafeteria and have a nice ice cream?"

Without waiting for his answer, I gave him a very strong kick right in the middle of his legs. I know I hurt him because his expression contorted in pain and he almost fell to the ground.

"You jackass!" I said going back to my drill sergeant façade "It's better for you to keep your mouth shut, because if you open the dustbin you have under your nose again, I'll put my gun inside and pull the trigger!"

I looked up to see if this action had had any effect on the others. Apparently yes, because I saw some (the closest ones) quiver of nervousness.

"And this applies to all of you! You are not here to discuss or to think, you are here to obey! To serve our glorious Fatherland! From now on, you are allowed to speak only when you are questioned in person. Moreover, every time you talk you will start and finish the sentence with sir! You understand me?"

"Sir, we understand, sir!" the cadets shouted around me.

"Good!" I said before focusing again on the cadet I have just kicked in the groin "As for you, Mr. I-do-not-know-when-to-keep-my-mouth-shut, you are assigned to cleaning the latrines for the next three weeks! You understand me?"

The cadet said something I did not understand, so I slapped him on the right cheek.

"What the hell. Try to speak clear!"

"Yes-yes sir…" he finally managed to say, still holding his groin (or what was left of it)

"Very well" I said extending my hand to help him pull himself up "Come on, get back on your feet!

He started to hold on to my hand, but before he could catch me, I kicked him again. In the same point as before

"Lesson number one, mister: your enemy will not fight fair. Remember it!"

The cadet looked at me with a look of pure hate, but this time he kept his mouth shut, perhaps because he understood what would happen if he did.

"Did you really kick him in the balls?" Tanya asked me in an almost surprised tone.

"Yes" I replied to her "I know I should not have done it, but that cadet had provoked me, and I ..."

Tanya put her hand on mine. I looked at her, waiting for a look of anger or criticism, but instead she was watching me smiling.

"Do not worry. Our new role as instructors includes this too. You have not done badly, in fact, I think you did very well!"

"Well? I literally kicked a man under my command! In the groin!"

"So?" she asked in an almost rhetorical tone, "Keeping unruly recruits in line is the duty of an officer…"

"But not like that!" I said, shocked by her indifference "Here we are talking about human beings, like us. I agree with you on the discipline, but we cannot exaggerate!"

Tanya's smile cooled, becoming progressively less human and more demonic.

"Frederick, seriously? Do not tell me that you feel pity for them? They chose to enter here in the Academy of their own free will! They have not been forced! Now they have to pay the price of their choice!"

I took a deep breath. What Tanya had said should not have surprised me so much. I had learned at my expense, through our long and troubled "friendship", that she had a domineering personality with a serious superiority complex. She saw people around her as rivals or as resources, not as human beings, and treated them as such.

Yet, I could not help being undermined by such a lack of ethics.

One thing, in particular, scared me: what would have happened if, by acting the bad officer, I would have become it for real? What if I could not take the facade off? And if little by little, this personality had the upper hand?

In my previous life, I admit, I had never been a sweet and kind person, but everybody has standards. And being cruel without reason, just because you had the chance to be it, it was very far from my standards!

This was insane, this was sick, this was…psychopathic!

"..rick? Frederick, are you listening to me?" Tanya's voice brought me back to reality.

"Huh?" I answered, desperately trying to remember what I had not heard

Tanya sighed, "I was telling you that tomorrow we have a joint exercise with our units. Therefore, it is better for you to put your cadets under pressure, so mine will not win too easily!"

I smiled. Tanya's jib was enough to drive from my mind all the concerns that had afflicted me up to a second before.

"Do not hope too much about your victory!" I said, restraining myself from making a mouthful of it "My cadets are in great shape and cannot wait for a challenge."

"But mine would rather die than disappoint me" Tanya said with a mischievous smirk.

"If so, why not make a little competition?" I said, excited by her provocation

"What kind of competition?" she asked to me.

"A very simple one. Tomorrow, let us see our two units in action, and the victory will go to the commander whose units manages to get the best score!"

Tanya smiled again, before extending her hand and shacked it with mine.

"See you tomorrow, artichoke!"

"Prepare to lose, princess!"

Trunko · Jan 10, 2019

Chapter 9: Going psycho

The next day, I was very determined not to lose the competition. For this reason, I had decided to subject the recruits to training slightly heavier than usual

Now, don't think too harshly of me. I intended to do only what I needed to in order to win the competition, not start issuing beatings for every infraction. And I was only going that far because I knew that Tanya would not spare her subordinates.
I had had the opportunity to discover, thanks to some "informants", the way in which Tanya treated the cadets under her command. Apparently, Tanya had become a real sergeant from Hell: the cadets under his supervision were forced to take longer shifts for heavier exercises, with fewer opportunities to rest. A heavy and draconian training, which however would not fail to give results against my cadets. I knew that, unless a miracle happened, I had little chances to win our little competition.

To remedy this, however, I could try to regain points by timing. If, for example, I had been able to prepare and deploy cadets under my command before Tanya did the same, I would have been able to put myself in a good light and consequently gain a sufficient advantage to be able to give myself a chance.

For this reason, I decided to wake up my cadets personally.

When the Academy reveille sounded, I was already inside the dormitory.

To be honest, I had been there for several minutes, and I had looked at the men under my command with an omnipresent question in mind: could they help me to win this challenge?

I looked at them again. They looked more like a team of sloths than a group of army cadets. To carry out this transformation, I would have to put a lot of effort into it.

Therefore, I took a trash bin and beat it with all the strength I had. The noise that I produced in this way was very loud and annoying.

"Wake up! Wake up!" I shouted as loud as I could "Put your pants on and slip into your uniforms! Today we have a great joint exercise, and we are the star attractions!"

The men, albeit with a few mumbles, got out of their beds and began to get ready.

Slowly. Too slowly.

I hit the trash bin again with force, producing more noise. Some of the cadets covered their ears with their hands, trying to protect themselves from the sound.

"Faster, faster!" I screamed. That was not the time to be kind.

For all the time necessary for the cadets under my command to prepare for training, I was there, encouraging them to be as fast as possible. It was a race against time: even one second could make the difference.

In the end, however, all the men were ready, in shiny uniform, at attention from the inner courtyard of the academy. To make it sweeter, only a part of Tanya's soldiers were present as well. Questioning one of Tanya's subordinates, I had known that there had been a "little problem" and that Tanya had to come back to deal with it. In my mind, this meant that Tanya would have arrived "slightly" later.

While the soldiers waited at attention, I was constantly looking at the time on the Academy clock, which was placed just above the main entrance to the courtyard. Externally, I tried to give an image of myself worried and impatient, but deep inside was an explosion of joy. Every second that Tanya accumulated of delay was a point that was added to my personal score for our little challenge.

I rechecked the clock. There were five minutes to go and Tanya had not yet appeared. I know I should have worried, and yet the thought that something bad might have happened did not touch my mind.

I still remember seeing Major Von Rerugen at one of the side entrances to the courtyard. He was conversing with another officer (I do not know about what: it was too far away) but for a moment, just for a moment, he moved his head and our eyes met. He smiled for a second, before resuming his conversation.

And then… it happened.

I was looking at my cadets when I heard the explosion. My first thought was that we were under attack. Whose? I did not know it, but I was afraid I would understand it soon. Perhaps some Empire power enemy had decided to hit the Academy with a betrayal attack, Pearl Harbor style? But then, why hit the Academy? It did not have such a high strategic value.

At least, not in itself.

I looked up. An Academy window had disappeared. In its place, there was now a steaming gash, from which came a smoke so thick that you could not see beyond.

"What's' going on?" yelled someone I did not recognize.

Surely not an enemy attack, I thought silently. But then what had happened? An accident? Alternatively, a fool who had stuffed himself with explosives without thinking about it?

A scary thought crossed my mind: had it been a kamikaze attacker? So far, nothing had suggested that they could exist, but only because I did not believe they were there did not mean that they could not really exist.

On the courtyard floor, a few meters from the exploded window, were lying some cadets, apparently intact but badly battered from the explosion. Quickly, I ran to the nearest. I toppled him to his back, and put my fingers on his wrist to check his pulse.

"Cadet, are you OK?" I said without hiding my fear "What happened?"

In response, he raised his arm and pointed to the gash. It was then that I realized that something, or rather someone, was emerging from the smoke of the explosion.

Someone I knew very well.

"What's wrong?" said Tanya in a very intimidating tone, made even more frightening by the fact that he was holding a rifle "You're twitching like a shrimp."

"Tanya, what the hell?" I said, realizing what just happened "You just used a bombardment spell inside the Academy?"

She ignored me, preferring to concentrate on the cadets on the ground a few feet away from me.

"Want me to feed you to the pigs, you maggots?" she said almost with a snarl.

I was shocked. I never saw her so much angry. Moreover, seeing her in this mood made me shiver on my back.

"Wh-why is this happening?" another cadet with dirty blond hair said. It was evident that he, like me, could not believe what had just happened.

Tanya flew down from the gash, landing a few inches from the cadet. I had a bad feeling about it.

"Why?" she said looking at the cadet "You can't be ready five minutes before is time to go, and you don't know why the Fatherland is better off without you?"

"Y-you little brat…" the cadet said, trying to get up. But as soon as he noticed it, Tanya hit him with the butt of her rifle, making it to fall to the ground again. The cadet hit the floor with his head, and this must have hurt, because I saw him shelter his skull with his arms.

"You're free to hold whatever opinion of me you like, but resisting a superior officer should be harshly punished."

"Tanya, stop. That's enough!" I shouted to her, trying to draw her attention. However, I got nothing.

Tanya aimed the rifle barrel toward the cadet's head. What if she decided to stick him with that?

"Tanya, you're going to far!" I shouted again, with no avail.

"I'll open that brainless skull of yours and carve the damn rules inside!" she shouted, looking at the cadet with a very determinate face.

I was afraid. Was he really doing it? Was she going to kill that cadet for real?

I saw the Tanya rifle trembling. One, maybe two seconds, and she would do what she had just said she would do.

I do not know what I thought at the time. Maybe it was fear, or anger, I do not know exactly.

But I know what I did. Without thinking twice, I magically thrown myself toward her, my hands pointing to her rifle to deflect it and save that cadet. It was an impulsive move, dictated by emotions and made without any weighting on the consequences.

My hands grabbed the rifle just as Tanya was about to push him forward, applying new inertial energy that led the bayonet to stick into the ground, a few millimeters from the cadet's face.

"Tanya, what the hell are you trying to do? Kill him?" I hissed in a disconcerted tone.

"Frederick" she hissed looking at me with a terrible gaze "Get out of the way. I have to discipline a disobedient recruit."

However, I did not move.

"Are you damn insane?" I hissed back, trying to apply sufficient force to the rifle to push it away from the cadet "We cannot kill our subordinates!"

Technically, I was wrong on this point: insubordination was a crime that was punished with the death penalty in the army, usually applied by firing squad. You always had to obey your superiors, in any condition and situation, even if your superior had less years than you did.

Of course, however, there was a certain line between what the rules said it was allowed to do and what a man was willing to do. No officer, no matter how hard and loyal to the rules, would have executed or tortured his own subordinate in cold blood.

This was something that I called Humanity.

"Cadets Degurechaff and König" said an approaching voice "What happened?"

Taking care not to divert too much attention from Tanya (in case she tried again to kill the cadet below us) I looked in the direction of the voice.

It was the Major von Rerugen. And he didn't look very happy.

"Sir, we…" I tried to say as I saluted

"Sir, Cadet Frederick König is interfering in my duties as a senior officer by preventing me from punishing an unruly cadet" Tanya beat me on time.

"Really? It seemed to me that he was trying to stop you from executing him on the spot!" von Rerugen practically yelled.

"Sir, the cadet Simon ignored my order to prepare twice, and resisted my authority. According to the military code, I am authorized to punish him as I think best"

In the meantime, I realized that Tanya's "outburst" had attracted many people around us. Most were cadets, but there were also many officers. Some, who were not present in the courtyard when the event had occurred, desperately tried to acquire information by asking them in a whisper to the presumed "witnesses".

In a second, I realized that the moment was terrible and delicate: it was necessary to immediately give the right impression, before men could get their own ideas wrong.

What could I do? I certainly could not deny what had just happened, moreover in front of a senior officer.

Suddenly I had an idea.

"Sir" I said trying to gain the attention of Von Rerugen "Please do not blame Tanya. The fault of what happened is mine!"

Silence. Tanya and von Rerugen had stopped arguing, and they looked at me now with an uncertain look.

"Yours?" asked von Rerugen gazing over me "Why do you say this?"

"Sir, because it's true!" I said standing in attention, "Tanya and I had made a bet the other day, on who would have achieved the best result today, and I think this has stressed her. I think it could be a symptom of a nervous breakdown, and with your permission, I ask permission to conduct Degurechaff in the sick bay!"

It was a very risky move, but sharing the responsibility for what had happened between Tanya and me, maybe she could get a lesser penalty. At the same time, removing Tanya from von Rerugen with the excuse of bringing her to the infirmary, I could prevent the situation from escalating further.

The greatest risk was that Tanya was thrown out from the Academy, and I with her, since I had said that part of the responsibility for what happened was mine. If this had happened, our chances of finding a safe place in the rear would have ended.

But before von Rerugen could speak, a voice of greater weight was heard.

"Konig! Degurechaff!" Brigadier General Christof Weitz shouted immediately saluted from everybody "Would you please tell me what the hell is happening here?"

"How much did the general give you?" Tanya asked looking at me.

"A formal rebuke and one week of service" I answered her without looking up from my chocolate.

Tanya sighed, making the chocolate in the cup tremble.

"Yourself?" I asked with a bitter tone.

"Same" she responded to me in annoyed tone.

I grunted, trying to drown my anger in chocolate.

"Frederick?" said Tanya looking at me "Are you ok?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Tanya, no need to worry about me" I said lying.

"Frederick" Tanya said with her face full of determination "Do not try to lie to me. You are clearly angry. It's true?"

I reflected for a few seconds, looking for an answer that could satisfy Tanya, but there was too much anger in me not to tell her the brutal honesty.

"Yes, I'm angry, and I'm angry with you" I said, looking directly into her eyes "They could expel us from the Academy for what you did!"

"Hey, it did not concern you. You could stay out of it for me." She replied as if to defend her conduct.

"Maybe I should have. At least now I would not be here thinking about the shifts in the kitchen that I have to do!"

I tried to look the other way, trying to suppress my anger, but Tanya suddenly grabbed my hand, making me turn around again

"Listen to me, doll-face: I know you're probably scared, but..."

"Scared!" I said glaring at her "Of course I'm scared. With this little action of yours you may have compromised everything we have built up to now. And if Von Rerugen would send a report demanding an investigation into the matter?"

"He won't" she said, taking me by surprise.

"What?"

She smiled again, making me shiver into my chair

"Believe me, I know how HR works. And I know that we are too precious and irreplaceable to be severely punished. As long as we keep bringing good results, they will close an eye on matters such as this".

I stopped talking, to focus my mind on what she has just said.

Tanya's words were not too far from the truth. In almost any type of organization, individual results tended to be placed before personality defects. The big guys in charge did not really care who you were as long as you did your job well and did not disobey them.

In fact, I remembered more than one occasion in my previous life when I had seen this happen.

"So, do you think they'll let the whole thing go smooth?" I asked

"Yes, absolutely. I think they will value two first-of-the-class wizards above one lowly regular human cadet," she said giggling.

"Ok then" I replied "But let me tell you one thing: next time something happens like that, I will not help you!"

"Never expected it".

Dear friends and fellow members of Sufficient Velocity,

It is me once again, Trunko. I am sorry to disturb you the reading of the story with this message of mine, but I have a very important news I have to share with you.

I need a new beta for my story.

Until now, I have worked with a very experienced member of the site, who helped me very much with the grammar and logical problems of my writings. Thanks to him, the quality of my current text is much improved compared to the original, and I will never be able to thank him enough.

However, since a few days, this close friend of mine suggested me about finding someone else to be the beta for my story. Therefore, I want to take advantage of this space to ask anyone if he/she could be interested in becoming my new beta.

The right beta, in my opinion, should preferably possess the following qualities:

He/she has enough free time to be able to correct a chapter in less than a week.
He/she has a good knowledge of English/American grammar
He/she is a very experienced fan of Youjo Senki/Tanya the Evil (enough to catch possible errors of continuity of mine in the story)

If interested, please contact me through a private message.

I thank you in advance and embrace you wholeheartedly. Thank you for your steady support, which gives me the strength and the will to keep working on my fic.

Trunko.

Mein Krieg (Youjo Senki/Tanya the Evil OC)

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