Prologue
Attendance grades matter.
They’re the standard by which diligence is judged.
Even if you bomb your exams, as long as you’ve attended class consistently, you’ll still earn the basic participation points.
“Riley.”
“Here.”
“Hor.”
“Here!”
“Heseman.”
“Yep.”
Just like every other day, the professor called roll.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
This time, however, there was something new.
“It looks like we have a returning student. Student Karl?”
A young man with short hair, seated in the back row, quietly raised his hand.
“So you’re Karl. Hmm… You’re from the Class of ’19, yet you’re still a freshman. Didn’t you take a leave of absence after only one semester?”
“…Yes, Professor.”
“What were you doing all this time before coming back?”
The returning student hesitated for a moment before answering.
“I was serving in the military.”
“I see. As an officer?”
“As an enlisted soldier.”
“…Aren’t you a noble?”
“Yes, I am.”
Then why did you enlist as a regular soldier instead of becoming an officer?
That question was written all over the professor’s face.
What’s wrong with this kid?
“Well… I suppose you were trying to set an example as a noble. In any case, work hard.”
As the professor finished speaking, the other students turned to look at the returning student.
Their eyes were full of curiosity.
A noble who enlisted as an ordinary soldier instead of an officer?
No!
They were Class of ’22, while he was Class of ’19!
Good grief—they were all freshmen, yet their enrollment years were three years apart!
Of course, that curiosity lasted all of three seconds.
A freshman from an older class year.
That was it.
Everyone quickly lost interest in the returning student and turned their attention back to the lecture.
Actually, scratch that.
They began sinking into the professor’s incredibly powerful lullaby.
Professor… please… It’s only the first day of the second semester. Let us out early…
* * *
While checking the student roster for the second semester, Teaching Assistant Marcus suddenly grinned.
He had spotted a familiar name.
Karl?
At first, he thought he’d read it wrong.
But no—it really was him.
A junior from three years below him.
They had never been particularly close, but they’d crossed paths often enough to know each other.
Marcus was quietly chuckling to himself when a knock came at the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
The person who stepped inside was none other than the owner of that familiar name.
“What the—Karl? Is that really you?”
“Huh? Marcus… Senior?”
“I’m a teaching assistant now.”
“Oh… right.”
“Come on in. Close the door first.”
Marcus had never imagined they’d meet again like this.
After Karl took a leave of absence, everyone assumed he’d simply disappeared.
Enough time had passed now, so Marcus finally asked the question he’d been holding back.
“So… have you gotten over your heartbreak?”
“Ah, come on. I’d really rather not talk about that.”
“Nope. Not happening.”
Marcus smirked.
“You tragic hero of unrequited love.”
Karl—
was a military veteran returning to college after taking a leave of absence because he confessed his feelings… and got rejected.
Chapter 01
You know the type, right? The idiots who confess to a classmate, get rejected, and immediately run off to enlist in the military.
Honestly, I never understood them.
I mean, it’s not like they dated and broke up. They just got rejected. So why?
And someone who confesses a month after entering the academy, gets turned down, then immediately enlists?
That isn’t just an idiot.
That’s the king of idiots.
‘Except… that idiot was me. God damn it!’
“I’m sorry, Kal. You’re a really nice person… but I just don’t see you that way.”
A month after enrolling, the old me somehow found the courage to confess.
In front of everyone, no less.
Even now I have no idea what kind of confidence possessed me.
Did someone slip something into my lunch?
“I’m really sorry. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do anything like this again. It makes me uncomfortable.”
Still, my pride as a man kicked in.
“Haha! Got it!”
I acted all cool and backed off.
And then?
I immediately filed for a leave of absence.
One month after enrolling.
Heh.
What a complete lunatic.
But that’s not even the best part.
Without even informing my family, I signed up for military service.
A noble volunteering for the army was already ridiculous.
But instead of becoming an officer…
I enlisted as an ordinary soldier.
That alone was enough to qualify as absolute insanity.
But here’s the real kicker.
The Imperial Ministry of War enthusiastically accepted my application.
“An Imperial noble wants to enlist as a common soldier instead of an officer? This is propaganda gold!”
“A son of the Imperial nobility personally volunteered to serve as an ordinary soldier in order to set an example!”
“This is the greatness of the Empire! Do you filthy peasants see this?!”
…
I had to admit.
The Ministry of Public Relations probably would lose their minds over a story like that.
Anyway…
That’s how the former me—
A high-ranking noble—
Ended up becoming a private.
Naturally, from my very first day after joining my unit, I was greeted with suspicious stares.
“What the hell? We were excited about getting a new recruit, and they send us some young master?”
“Hey… is this secretly some officer pretending to be enlisted?”
“Great. Just what we needed near the end of our service.”
Before I even managed to memorize my seniors’ names…
War broke out.
Straight to the battlefield.
And for the next three years, I rolled around in the mud like a damn dog.
If I could, I’d go back in time and strangle my former self.
Oh.
You’re probably wondering why I keep saying “the former me.”
Well…
A magical artillery strike sent me flying headfirst into a boulder.
After that…
I remembered my previous life.
Back then, I’d lived on a planet called Earth.
And this world?
It was the setting of a novel I’d read.
The problem was…
It wasn’t some R-rated fantasy.
It wasn’t an overpowered power fantasy either.
It was…
A romance fantasy.
Damn it.
If I was going to remember another life, couldn’t it at least have been one where the protagonist hypnotized beautiful women?
Or one where he flew through the sky firing laser beams?
Anything would’ve been better.
But no.
A romance fantasy.
And not even as the protagonist.
Not even a supporting character.
Just some completely forgettable extra.
Worse still…
My only role in the story was getting rejected after confessing to the heroine at the beginning.
Life really was a tragedy.
Whether you looked at it from afar…
Or up close.
“Hey!”
“Ah—yes, Instructor.”
“You’re dozing off while drinking coffee? Is that what you learned in the army?”
Coffee?
As an enlisted soldier?
Please.
If I’d dared say, ‘I’d like some coffee,’
I’d have gotten kicked in the back of the head.
“From this moment on, you’re no noble! You’re just another chick fresh out of the egg! A worthless private!”
That would’ve been the bonus lecture.
“Still… looks like you made it back in one piece.”
As Marcus-senpai said…
Compared to many others…
I was one of the lucky ones.
Unlike those who came home missing arms and legs.
Or those whose families received nothing but a dog tag.
“So? Was military life bearable?”
“What’s there to say? It sucked.”
“Hah! You really sound like a soldier now. Officer life must’ve suited you.”
Damn it.
Do I really have to explain this from the beginning again?
“I wasn’t an officer, Senior.”
“Huh?”
“I enlisted as an ordinary soldier.”
Silence.
An awkward silence settled between us.
Now then.
Allow me, someone who remembers his previous life, to predict his next words.
They’ll probably be…
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“What the hell is wrong with you? You’re joking, right?”
Oh.
Called it.
“Sadly… I’m completely serious.”
“…If that’s true, then I can only conclude one of two things.”
“Either you’re insane…”
“Or you’re completely insane.”
You literally said the same thing twice.
At least say ‘insane or only slightly insane.’
“Seriously? You enlisted as an ordinary soldier?”
“Yep.”
“Even though you’re a noble?”
“Yep.”
“And you actually fought in the war?”
“I did.”
I took another sip of coffee and nodded.
Marcus let out a long sigh.
That expression on his face…
“What kind of lunatic have I met?”
It was exactly the same look the professor gave me earlier.
“…Did you hit your head or something?”
“I almost did after taking a magical artillery blast.”
“This bastard’s actually crazy.”
That was practically verbal abuse.
Unfortunately…
I couldn’t argue with him.
Seriously.
What the hell was my former self thinking when he enlisted as a private?
Damn it.
“So… what did you do as a soldier?”
“What else? I did whatever I was ordered to.”
“I heard you fought on the front lines. Did you at least beat those Luzens elf bastards?”
Beat them?
Please.
Our unit got beaten so badly our souls nearly left our bodies.
“…Well… I guess you could say we taught them a lesson.”
“What? You said you were a soldier. Don’t tell me you barely saw combat.”
“Forget combat. All I really did was save a few comrades. Happy now?”
Marcus muttered,
“What a disappointment. I thought you were some legendary war hero.”
This guy.
Does he have any idea what a battlefield is like?
People dreaming about becoming heroes were the first ones to die.
“Senior.”
“Let’s stop talking about the army.”
“It’s incredibly rude to make someone who just got discharged relive military stories.”
“Says the noble who enlisted as a private.”
“Even so, I wasn’t discharged as a private.”
“I made sergeant before leaving the service.”
“What an achievement.”
“My kid brother’s friend is three years younger than you and already a second lieutenant.”
Clicking his tongue, Marcus finished his coffee.
“So.”
“Why’d you come to the assistant’s office?”
“Only now you ask?”
“The story about the idiot who enlisted as a private was too entertaining.”
No!
Stop!
Enough already!
“Actually… I was planning to return next year.”
“But my schedule somehow got messed up.”
“So I’m coming back for the second semester instead.”
“Oh?”
“I was wondering why.”
“Did you get the dates mixed up?”
“No…”
“It really just… happened.”
There was another depressingly tragic story behind that.
I clearly said I’d return next year.
I definitely did.
Somehow…
The academy misunderstood.
Instead of approving my return next year…
They approved my return this second semester.
Which meant…
The girl who rejected me.
The heroine of the romance fantasy.
She was still here.
Beginning her final semester as a fourth-year student.
“I honestly thought you were planning to confess again.”
“…Senior.”
“Do you know why people say the pen is mightier than the sword?”
As I reached for the pen on his desk…
Marcus immediately raised both hands in surrender.
Careful.
If you keep digging up someone else’s most embarrassing memories…
You’re going to awaken the inner thug that has nothing left to lose.
“Anyway.”
“My classmates.”
“I wanted to know what classes they’re taking.”
“Hey.”
“Even as a teaching assistant, I can’t just hand out students’ schedules to anyone.”
“I just want to avoid awkward encounters.”
“Especially with Selena.”
“Hmm.”
“In that case, I should definitely tell you.”
“Especially about Selena.”
“Give me a second!”
Selena Ifrit.
The academy’s greatest beauty.
The heroine of this romance fantasy.
And…
The girl who rejected me.
I absolutely did not want to run into her.
I’d die of embarrassment.
“Oh—but don’t go changing your mind and confessing again.”
“Haha…”
Without another word…
I grabbed the pen on the desk and stabbed Marcus with it.
Thankfully, the cap was still on.
Otherwise…
That would’ve been attempted murder.
* * *
“Your Excellency.”
“Here is the list of candidates for this year’s Medal of Honor.”
The Medal of Honor.
The Empire’s highest military decoration.
From commanding generals to ordinary enlisted soldiers…
Anyone who received it was treated like a national hero.
They were invited to Imperial ceremonies.
Everyone except the Emperor saluted them first.
Not only they themselves…
But even their families enjoyed the highest level of privilege.
Naturally…
It was almost impossible to earn.
Standing on death’s doorstep was practically a requirement.
You had to be close enough to the Grim Reaper to casually chat with him before anyone even considered giving you the medal.
“We plan to select one recipient from these four.”
“Hmm.”
The Minister of War accepted the report.
After skimming through it…
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Promote all four to recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross.”
“Start over.”
“I want new Medal of Honor candidates.”
“What?”
“But why, Your Excellency?”
“They all have unquestionable achievements and unwavering loyalty to the Empire.”
“I know.”
“I do.”
“But we need something different.”
“The war is over now.”
The department chief immediately understood.
“…Ah.”
“The number of enemies killed.”
“Yes, that’s important.”
“But this year’s Medal of Honor will be judged by something else.”
“How many Imperial soldiers did they save?”
“That’s the new standard.”
“The order came from above.”
When the Minister of War referred to ‘above,’
There was only one person he could mean.
The department chief could only groan.
“But, Your Excellency…”
“Rescuing allied soldiers is far too vague a standard.”
“Most of those rescues happen as part of a commander’s planned operations.”
“I know.”
“I know.”
“But isn’t there anyone?”
“I heard a rumor the other day.”
“They say one soldier saved an entire company.”
“Frankly…”
“I don’t believe it.”
“How could one person possibly save over a hundred soldiers?”
The Minister nodded slowly.
“True…”
“It does sound impossible.”
He placed a cigarette between his lips.
