Chapter 08
The Medal of Honor.
The greatest distinction a soldier of the Empire could ever receive.
In the more than two hundred years since the Empire’s founding, fewer than a hundred people had ever been awarded it.
More than half of those recipients hadn’t even accepted it themselves.
Because by then, they were already resting beneath the earth alongside their comrades.
That alone showed just how incredibly difficult it was to receive the Medal of Honor while still alive.
No.
Calling it “difficult” wasn’t enough.
It was practically impossible.
Yet somehow, someone who had survived the war and received the Medal of Honor had appeared at the Academy.
Officers from the Ministry of War had personally visited, treating him with the utmost courtesy and even informing him of the ceremony’s schedule.
Under those circumstances, it would have been stranger if rumors hadn’t spread.
The problem was…
As with all rumors, most of them were complete nonsense.
“The senior who came back this semester—the Class of ’19 one. I heard he cut off elf hea—”
“Not their heads! Their ears! He supposedly strung them together and carried them around!”
“How insane do you have to be to earn the Medal of Honor in your twenties?”
“Maybe he wiped out entire enemy battalions by himself!”
“Or maybe he infiltrated behind enemy lines and assassinated important targets! Or stole military intelligence!”
In the blink of an eye, an ordinary returning Academy student had become either a monster…
Or a killing machine.
* * *
“There he is! Senior Kal!”
“How incredible were your achievements?! Please tell us!”
“Is it true you flew through the air while firing pistols at elves?!”
You lunatics, please stop.
I never did any of that!
What incredible achievements?!
And I’m not some Gundam! How the hell am I supposed to hover in midair while spraying bullets?!
Who’s spreading these insane rumors?
Did the Ministry of War’s propaganda department sneak into the Academy too?
“Congratulations on receiving the Medal of Honor, Senior Kal!”
“Ah, tha—”
“But… were you really known as the Grim Reaper among the elves?”
“…”
I’d be perfectly happy if you’d just congratulate me, junior.
The Grim Reaper?
I never had a creepy nickname like that.
Now, my comrades did call me an idiot all the time.
Just one syllable apart, yet the difference couldn’t be bigger.
If my old squadmates could see this, they’d be rolling on the floor laughing.
“The idiot is being called the Grim Reaper?”
Ha…
You bastards.
Now I kind of miss you.
“Senior!”
“Senior Kal!”
“Hey, Kal!”
“For fuck’s sake! Knock it off already!”
Just a little while ago, I had practically been a ghost on campus.
Now everyone’s attention was focused on me.
The problem was that all that attention revolved around my military service—
The one thing I wanted to talk about the least.
I didn’t even want to think about it, but people kept surrounding me.
They really weren’t kidding when they said too much of anything was bad.
Honestly…
I’d rather people ignored me.
It’s not like I crave attention.
I never wanted everyone staring at me like this.
I just wanted to quietly enjoy campus life like any other student.
“Kal, my boy. I heard the news. Truly remarkable. Receiving the Medal of Honor alive at your age…”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Kal, if you have time, would you care to join me for lunch? I’d like to tell my students about you during my lectures. If there are any stories you’re comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear them.”
“It would be my honor, Professor. What would you like to know?”
Ah, of course.
When it came to professors, I bowed my head as respectfully as possible.
Sure, the Medal of Honor was impressive.
But the Academy was the Academy.
These people would be responsible for my precious grades from now on.
This was exactly when I needed to earn some goodwill.
Maybe…
If I got lucky…
They’d throw me an extra point or two.
…No?
Well, worth a shot.
Anyway, ever since the Ministry of War visited, people’s opinion of me had completely changed.
I’d gone from being “that strange Class of ’19 student who came back after military service…”
…to not a war hero—
But an Elf Judge.
Even when I insisted I’d never judged any elves, nobody believed me.
Instead, they just said I was being humble.
You idiots…
I’m not being humble.
There’s literally nothing to be humble about…
Honestly, I’d secretly hoped people would call me a war hero.
But no matter what, nobody used that title.
Damn it!
“Elf Judge”?!
That’s so lame!
It’s so childish!
Just call me a war hero already!
It’s not like I’m some forgotten hero from a novel that nobody remembers!
Hah!
You’ll all regret this someday!
You’ll suffer!
Regret! Anguish! Obsession!
“Well, well. If it isn’t our elf butcher.”
“…Seriously, Senior Markus? And it’s not ‘butcher.’ They’re calling me the Elf Judge. Even though I’m neither!”
“Same difference.”
“No, it isn’t! Not even close!”
If you’re going to give me a nickname, at least make it sound normal!
“Butcher?!
Anyone hearing that would think I was the one skinning people’s scalps!”
“Still, it is impressive,” Markus said.
“I thought you said you didn’t really do anything during the war.”
“I didn’t. Seriously.”
“Oh, cut the crap. Someone who did nothing doesn’t receive the Medal of Honor. Do you think the Ministry of War hands those out for playing pretend? Come on. Spill it. What exactly did you do?”
“Damn it. I’m not trying to be modest. I really didn’t do anything!”
Markus tilted his head.
“So the rumor about you being an elf butcher…”
“I told you, not butcher! And the whole thing got blown way out of proportion!”
Growing frustrated, I finally explained what was probably the closest thing to the truth.
How I’d gone into the enemy encirclement alone to rescue my squad.
How, by sheer luck, I’d managed to bring back a lot of other soldiers too.
That was all.
I was just lucky.
I wasn’t some fearless warrior.
I hadn’t changed the course of the war.
None of the people I rescued were especially important figures.
…
Ah.
Well…
Selena’s older brother had apparently been among them.
At least I managed to save the heroine’s brother.
“So now do you get it? I’m not some lunatic running around slaughtering people!”
“…Hey.”
“The fact that I got the Medal of Honor doesn’t mean I’m some kind of war machine!”
“Kal.”
“What?!”
I was already annoyed, expecting him to say something ridiculous again.
But then…
“…”
The look on Markus’s face made me stop.
It was the same expression he’d worn when I’d first enlisted.
“You’re actually insane.”
“Senior, comments like that really hurt your junior’s feelings. I could report you for verbal abuse, you know…”
“Then do it, you idiot! You went in there alone and rescued hundreds of people! And you’re telling me that’s nothing? You accomplished something nobody else could have done—or even dared to try!”
“But I was just lucky! I wasn’t brave! I didn’t kill a bunch of elves! I didn’t turn the tide of the war!”
I had only wanted to save my squad.
Those bastards I’d spent more than two years with—
The ones I’d seen at their absolute worst—
I couldn’t stand the thought of them ending up zipped inside body bags.
They were ugly enough already.
If they lost their scalps too…
They’d look even worse.
Faces like lumps of poorly molded clay…
Even so…
As long as they were smiling.
As long as they were alive.
They looked a whole lot better.
That was all.
The reason I walked into hell…
Was never for a medal.
* * *
The sudden graduation project had forced Selena to spend several nights without sleep.
Only after finally defeating the assignment and catching up on the sleep she’d missed did she regain some peace of mind.
That’s strange…
Why is the Academy so noisy?
Everywhere she looked, students gathered in little groups, whispering among themselves.
At first she’d assumed someone had confessed their feelings again.
Or perhaps another couple had broken up.
Or a new one had started dating.
Then her older brother contacted her through the communication crystal.
“Big Brother? What’s wrong?”
“Have you heard the news? I only found out myself, so I called you immediately.”
“What news?”
She admitted that she’d been too busy staying up all night working on assignments…
Then sleeping afterward…
To know anything that had happened.
Her brother sighed.
“Do you remember what I told you before, Reni?”
“…You mean about the soldier who saved you and your unit?”
“That’s right. That nameless hero.”
“We finally know who he is.”
“Really?! That’s wonderful! You’ve found your benefactor! Who is it?”
He had saved countless lives.
Her brother’s among them.
Even if he had only been an ordinary enlisted soldier, she intended to personally thank him.
Smiling, she eagerly waited for the answer.
“…Ah. So you really don’t know anything yet.”
“Huh? Know what?”
“Didn’t you hear? The Medal of Honor ceremony is being held at your Academy next week.”
“The Medal of Honor…? You mean… that Medal of Honor?”
The highest distinction reserved for the Empire’s greatest heroes.
The symbol of sacrifice respected by every citizen.
“Really? B-But why would they hold the ceremony at the Academy?”
“Because the recipient is an Academy student.”
“And because he’s the one who saved my life.”
“An Academy student…? Who could possibly…”
She stopped mid-sentence.
A face suddenly appeared in her mind.
The man she’d shared tea with not long ago.
The same man with whom she’d once had such an awkward relationship after rejecting his confession.
Kal?
Then the survivor on the other end quietly spoke.
“Kal Adelheit.”
“Yes.”
“That was definitely his name.”
“…Ah.”
So then…
Even if Kal insisted her rejection hadn’t been the reason he enlisted…
Surely…
It had at least been part of it.
And despite that…
He had saved her brother.
In the middle of that horrifying battlefield.
“My goodness…”
Kal…
Just… just how much did you… love me…?
