"That is all for today’s lecture. Be sure to revise the material I handed out for you!"

The teacher announced the end of class as the bell rang.

"Uhhh… Is it finally over? I am mentally exhausted!"

"What are you talking about? You’ve slept half the lecture through, Jonath."

"…Yeah, but still, there were times I was paying attention."

Jonath and I just finished our last lecture for today. To be honest, I am tired as well.

The teachers definitely don’t hold back when it comes to learning material.

"Well, you guys are in luck then, because tomorrow is Sunday so we get to relax a bit."

We turned around and saw that it was Leyrid, who approached us from behind.

She was looking at us as if we were some little puppies she felt pity for.

"Oh, now that you are mentioning it, you’re right. I’ve almost forgotten about that."

I said, trying to hide the fact that I am actually very happy because of it.

“By the way, isn’t Rie with ya’ today?”

Jonath asked, after waiting for her to show up.

“No, I think today she was assigned to the same lecture room as Ralph.”

“…Ehh… is that so…”

Jonath was seemingly annoyed hearing that from Leyrid.

It is pretty amusing seeing his reaction. Sometimes you can read him like an open book.

Out of nowhere, the loudspeaker began to ring through the lecture rooms.

“This is a notification for all students of the academy! Please make sure to gather in exactly one hour from now in the Academy Announcement Hall! The attendance is mandatory!”

Having the speech finished, the female voice that rang through the speakers went silent again.

All students in the lecture room stared shortly at said loudspeaker, before returning to their conversations.

“An announcement? Could it be that the results of the exam are going to be presented?”

Leyrid then said, thoughtfully.

Jonath immediately had a stressed look on his face after hearing that.

“I-I hope they won’t…”

“You could at least try to be confident in your results.”

“That’s easy for ya’ to say, Adel, because you did not forget the last page!”

Jonath pointed with his finger accusingly at me.

It is your own fault…

“We do have some time until we have to attend the announcement.”

“You wanna’ spare a bit with me then, Leyrid?”

Jonath suggested excited. He really takes every opportunity he gets to fight.

“I was rather thinking about going through the materials, the teacher gave us. That way, we can enjoy our free time later on~”

What Leyrid said would be more convincing, if it wasn’t for the suggestive tone and pose she did while doing so.

Considering our first encounter, she can switch between a calm and calculative person and a teasing, charming girl in her free time.

Maybe it goes to show that she opened up to us in the last few weeks.

“Sure, let’s get over with it quickly.”

I then agreed to her proposal.

I am pretty tired after all these lectures so I want to be done with it and enjoy some time off.

“Ehhh?! Come on, don’t do this to me!”

“Sorry Jonath, seems like we outvoted you.”

Leyrid chuckled as she denied Jonaths attempt to ditch the work.

“Nrgh.. Fine, I’ll do it.”

We took a free bank with enough space for us all and started to work on the materials.

It was mostly revision about stuff, we had covered for the exam such as timed retreats, analyzing the situation and more.

“Didn’t we cover all of this stuff already?”

“Yes, it is just a revision, Jonath.”

“Then why are we doing this? The exam is already done.”

“Because it is important, that we don’t forget this information.”

I had to try hard to convince Jonath with my words, as I myself was not very motivated to go over this stuff.

The exam is only a few days in the past, making it pretty easy to remember the studies we did.

We continued to study for about another 15 minutes.

“…Okay, then this goes with that… and we are done!”

Leyrid said relieved. Even she had to push herself getting the work done.

“Really?! Thank god, I was about to quit!”

Jonath threw the pen out of his hand and exhaled.

“We should pack up, because we have to assemble in the Hall soon.”

I then suggested.

The lecture room was pretty empty by now, leaving only a couple of other students here besides us.

Leaving it finally behind us, after a long day, we were on way to hear the mysterious announcement.

---

Entering the Hall, many other students were already present, filling the enormous room with loud chatter.

I looked around, trying to find us three free seats.

“Hey, guys! Over here~”

I heard a female voice shouting at us from the right side and I moved my gaze in that direction, trying to find the person shouting.

“Ah, look over there!”

Leyrid pointed with her finger to a row of seats and it turns out that it was Rie, who was trying to get our attention.

What was even more surprising is the fact, that next to her was Ralph as well, crossing his arms while glaring at us.

“Seems like you were faster than us here. Thanks for reserving us some seats.”

I thanked Rie, as us three went over to her and Ralph.

“We are already here since the end of the last lecture. Why the hell were you punks so late?!”

“Leyrid wanted to go over the materials from the lecture, don’t blame me.”

Before Ralph got a chance to respond, the lights went out except for the ones on the stage.

There he is, the man in charge of this place here.

As the chatter vanished and it got quiet, the principal entered the Hall and took the spotlight.

“-Ahem! Stand up!”

The strict voice of the principal rang through the hall and every single student immediately followed the order.

“Salute!”

With the next command, all of us made the proper posture and greeted the principal by saluting to him.

Without making too much noise and waste any time, all of us sat down again for him to continue.

“Good. I want to thank you all for assembling here after your rough day. However, this is an announcement of utmost importance!”

He is building up the tension here, ensuring that he has the full attention of everyone present.

“Many of you know already about this, but the time is nigh for your very first combat experience! As participating at least ones in the fights on the front-lines is an essential part of your training, it is obligatory to do so! The Military Council and the Emperor of the Great Empire himself have decided that you will deploy on the eastern front to prove your worth as an Elite Soldier! To be precise, it is in the province known as [Kargtal]!”

I twitched at hearing the name of the province.

What were the odds that one of the places that caught my interest in that book is the same area we are having our first combat experience.

“…Kargtal? Wasn’t that the place ya’ mentioned a few days ago, Adel?”

“Yeah, it was that one.”

“Huh? Did you know that we would be fighting there?”

It was Leyrid who asked me this time.

“No, I didn’t. I am surprised as well.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter! We are about to finally have some awesome fights coming up!”

Jonath was in high spirits. He struck his fist to the front making a pose.

“I bet you will be the first one to die out there, ‘pal.”

“No way in hell, Ralph! If anything, watch out that your ego won’t drag you down!”

“What was that?!”

Jonath and Ralph pressed their foreheads annoyed against each other, trying to overpower their opponent.

“Would you two please not make a scene here?”

Rie got mad and glared at both of them.

The two boys in question immediately stopped.

Even Ralph seems to respect Rie.

“Hrm! I would appreciate it, if all of you could quiet down and listen to what I have to say!”

As the room got slowly filled with rather quiet chatter, the principal demanded full attention again.

“I take that many of you noticed over the last week, we had a special guest here at NEAS. It is none other than the Leader of the 20th Stormtrooper Force, Vinelda Augustalis, herself! She is also the one, who wanted to hold this meeting!”

As the principal announced her name, Vinelda entered the hall and went to the stage. The students in the hall began to applaud to her sudden appearance.

The spotlight was now entirely hers, together with the admiration of everyone present here.

“Thank you, principal. I am sure everyone of you by now is excited, hearing of your upcoming first battle! However, this time, the timing of it could not have been worse.”

Her confident voice rang through the hall.

Huh? How come it is a bad timing?

“Before my Unit and me got our short break, we fought on the eastern front. This was due to an unusual growth in number of enemy soldiers. We predicted that they would want to try anything in their might to break our lines and make an advance out of a desperate attempt. As expected, the battle was very fierce and we lost many men. At the end of our mission, we managed to balance the numbers out again and we had a success, defending ourselves against the onslaught.”

Hearing the words of Vinelda, the students got loud again, cheering because of her successful mission and another small victory for our country.

She has not finished yet, however, as she signaled for everyone to keep listening.

“If the story would end here, then there would be no bad timing in your first field practice. Recently, I got word from one of my Unit members, that the situation seems to have gotten worse again on the eastern front. To be precise, even worse than before. Predictions say that the enemy has at least double the amount of our soldiers in that area.”

Double the amount?! Then they got at least a million of them on their side!

Why do they want to break our eastern front that desperately?

“Of course, we were always faced with being outnumbered and it was never a real problem, as our soldiers are stronger than the enemy ones. It is clear for everyone in the world that the Great Empire has the strongest soldiers and that they can take on multiple opponents. However, if they have that much more foes in a short brink of time, even our men will falter. It is also not easy to send units from other front-lines as reinforcements to them currently, which does not leave many options in terms of time we have.”

The faces of the students got worried expressions on them now.

It is true. No matter how much better our soldiers are, there is a limit to how much opponents they can take on.

I remember our first encounter. She said that she let her Unit fight without her for a short time. Seems like that was really risky after all.

“The Military Council has made their decision and there will be no delay for your first combat on the front-lines. In order to make up the time needed for the reinforcements, you will have to prove yourselves on the battlefield, as we need your help in this difficult situation. However, you will be accordingly rewarded for doing so. For example, you won’t have to worry about dropping out of the Academy even if you fail your next exam. This means, by accepting this mission and proving your worth on the battlefield, you are being guaranteed to become an Elite Soldier.”

I see. Not a bad reward, considering everyone of us want to graduate and manage to become an official Elite Soldier. But this also has a great risk, as it is a dangerous mission…

I looked at my friends and they seemed to be as worried as I am. Even the usually calm Leyrid turns out to be affected by it.

“I am not going to sweet talk this mission. It is dangerous and will be bloody. Even more so, because all of you are still students at NEAS. It will be your very first combat experience and for some of you, it will also be the last one. Out there, on the battlefield, there won’t be teachers nearby that are going to protect you. If you mess up, you will die. Should you be afraid of it, now is your last chance to drop out of NEAS and save yourselves. I won’t look down on anyone who decides to do so.”

Instead of chatter, all of us simply looked at each other, filled with worries. No one dared to say anything.

We won’t get anywhere like this. The people here don’t want to make the first move.

Guess I have to do it.

Without giving it much thought, I stood up.

The students around us turned their heads towards me as I did and waited for something to happen.

Good, seems like I have the attention I wanted.

Jonath and the others were wondering as well what I was doing.

Even Vinelda was watching my actions.

I didn’t say anything. Words were not important right now.

As everyone was looking at me, I followed up by moving my right hand to my chest and my left behind my back, making a pose.

“-Ah! That is where you are going with it, haha!”

Jonath understood my intention and also stood up.

Like a domino effect, Rie, Ralph and Leyrid followed the lead. More and more students stood up as well.

I could even see Roland and his Squad doing so, while giving me a cheerful smile.

At this point, about every single student in the whole hall was standing and making the salute pose as me.

“For the Great Empire!”

All of us said in unison, directed at the surprised Vinelda on the stage.

“Well, would you look at that! Aren’t we lucky to be blessed with such a brave new generation?”

The principal walked up from the side to Vinelda. His voice sounded pleased instead of strict.

She took a short moment, moving her gaze from one side of the hall to the other.

“Hm~ Yes, we truly are. I did not expect this kind of reaction.”

Vinelda seemed to be quite happy with the outcome.

“Well then, it is decided! Don’t go cry on me later on that you are scared! There is no turning back now!”

“YES MA’AM!”

Again, all the students shouted in unison.

Seems like my plan has worked out quite well. The doubts are cleared now.

“Good. The Stormtrooper Force will be going ahead already, meaning I am going to leave the academy after this! You have a week of preparations to make! Don’t slack off on your training, it could be your last one! Further details will be disclosed in the following days! That is all, you are dismissed!”

Those were her last words, thus ending the announcement and leaving the hall together with the principal.

---

After we left the Academy Announcement Hall, the five of us waited at the Entrance Gate of NEAS for her to come.

As about half an hour passed, she finally appeared, carrying her luggage.

I remember, how I had to carry it to her room, when she arrived.

“Vinelda, are you really going to leave already?”

Rie asked her with a sad tone.

“Yes, I am. I need to meet my fellow comrades of the Stormtrooper Force as soon as possible. We still need to discuss our strategy and receive our orders.”

“I see… it can’t be helped then…”

Vinelda gave her a warm smile to cheer her up and a pat on the head.

“Oh, by the way! That was a really brave plan of you back there, Adel~”

“Plan? I had no plan, I just merely stretched a bit…”

Vinelda smirked a little watching me.

It was as if she was seeing an other person, while watching me.

“...You really do resemble him.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, forget it.”

She shrugged my reaction playfully off.

“I may have said it before, but I want to ask again: are you guys sure, that you want to participate in that battle?”

Her tone got serious again, but there was a faint of concern in it.

“Of course! That goes without question!”

Jonath shouted excited, he has regained his high spirit attitude and confidence.

“If we five are together, we won’t have anything to worry about~”

Rie said cheerfully, radiating with her positive aura.

“As if I’d be scared of some lowly common soldiers!”

Crossing his arms, Ralph ranted again, being overly self-confident.

“Hm, alright. How about you, Leyrid?”

“Tehe~ I believe, that Adel will hold up his promise to protect us.”

She smirked teasingly at me.

Oh great, you just had to say it in front of everybody, didn’t you?

If anyone is going to ask me, I’ll just pretend that I don’t know what she was talking about.

“I see, I will remember those words you said today. Let’s hope that you will turn them into reality.”

Vinelda said, as she was slowly walking past us, going through the gate.

“-Vinelda!”

I suddenly shouted her name, stopping her from going further.

“Hm? What is it, Adel?”

“…Eh… How do I put this … Be careful…”

My voice became small and it was a bit hard for me to get these words out of my mouth.

I don’t know why I said it. I just had an unsure feeling that something might happen if not.

She turned around to me again and smirked.

“Who do you think, you’re talking to? I am Vinelda Augustalis, the leader of the Stormtroopers.”

“-Tch, fine. Forget it.”

Vinelda then faced the way to the outside of the gate again.

It was at this moment, that I could hear a quiet:

“Thank you.”

I started to blush a bit as she left us behind.

Why did I just do this?

“Hey~ Adel, my buddy, what was that earlier from Leyrid? That part about protecting us?”

Jonath hung his arm around me, grinning overly happy.

“…I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Now, now~ I am pretty sure that I heard something!”

“Like I said, no!”

Seems like the day that will change our current lives is going to come faster than I anticipated.

We only have a week to prepare.

Furthermore, I don’t know what kind of battle will await us.

It is also highly unlikely, that every one of the Squads is going to survive.

I fear what the future is going to hold for us. All I can do is hope for the best.