Chapter 03
To be honest, this was uncomfortable.
Painfully uncomfortable.
Running into an embarrassing fragment of your past was never pleasant.
But at the same time, it wasn’t like I could just say, “Ah. We really shouldn’t be seeing each other like this. Let’s just part ways.”
Think about it.
Who confessed? Me.
Who rejected me? Selena, sitting right in front of me.
If I were the one to cut things off now, I’d basically be admitting, “You rejected me, and I’ve been sulking ever since!”
I didn’t want to look like some petty idiot getting upset over something like that.
…Or wait.
Wasn’t I actually the one who did all that?
Ever since I remembered my previous life, the memories had gotten so mixed together that it was hard to tell anymore.
At least my current self was a little more dominant than my past one.
That was something to be grateful for.
“So? Have you met up with the others yet?”
“Only Etvin. I haven’t run into anyone else.”
“They’re probably all busy. It’s their graduation year, so everyone who hasn’t finished their credits is scrambling.”
Guys.
The professors kept telling you to earn your credits early so you could relax later!
But I guess humans never change.
Nobody does anything until the deadline is breathing down their neck.
Assignments.
Exams.
Credits.
In the end, everyone crams everything in at the last minute.
“By the way, Kal. You said you enlisted in the military, right?”
“Hm? Yeah.”
“Were you deployed during the war with Lugens?”
“Don’t even get me started. I spent almost three years over there. Pretty much my entire military service.”
…Strange.
Didn’t girls usually hate military stories?
Well, if she was willing to steer the conversation there herself, I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
Since Selena had opened the topic, I casually shared a few stories from my time in the army.
Nothing too heavy.
Just the more amusing incidents.
Thankfully, she seemed genuinely interested.
See?
That wasn’t a forced smile.
“…Kal.”
Right as I was getting into the best part, Selena quietly called my name.
“I guess the military really changed you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. How should I put it…? You seem… more relaxed than before. And…”
If I hadn’t remembered my previous life, I’d probably be thinking:
“Oh? Is that a compliment?”
But after surviving that hell they called the military…
Those words didn’t move me in the slightest.
Everyone says that after someone gets discharged.
“You’ve changed.”
“You’ve become more mature.”
Give me a break.
I wasn’t mature.
I was just an overworked slave.
“Oh, right. Kal… did you ever meet my brother?”
“Your brother? Which unit was he in?”
“He was a platoon leader in the Imperial Army’s 7th Regiment.”
“…There were a lot of platoon leaders there. I’m not sure… I don’t think I’ve met him.”
“Really? That’s strange. He said he’d met most of the officers.”
“I wasn’t an officer.”
“…I was an enlisted soldier.”
Selena nodded automatically.
“Oh. I see.”
Then…
“…Wait.”
Her eyes went wide.
“What did you just say?”
…How many times had I seen that exact reaction today?
If I’d known this would happen, maybe I really should’ve gone in as an officer.
“Kal… you enlisted as a regular soldier?”
“Yep.”
“Not as an officer? Why? Why would you do that?”
Good question.
I’d like to know too.
Let’s think back.
Why did I do that?
…Oh.
Right.
To forget the pain.
Ah.
That explains it.
You insane bastard.
No matter how heartbroken you were, what kind of noble kid voluntarily enlisted as an ordinary soldier?
And then, just to make things worse, the war broke out at exactly that time, so my family’s influence became completely meaningless.
The Empire was fighting for its survival.
Imagine a noble using family connections to quietly avoid the front.
The moment that got out…
Not just him.
Everyone connected to him would lose their heads.
“So… you actually fought in the war as an enlisted soldier?”
“Yeah.”
“M-My goodness…”
She covered her mouth in shock, repeating “My goodness…” over and over.
Then…
As if struck by a horrifying realization…
She suddenly shot to her feet.
“W-Wait… no…”
“What?”
“You enlisted as a soldier…”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Was it because of me?!”
“…Huh?”
“Because of me?! Because I rejected your confession?! Because you were heartbroken?!”
“Uh… w-well… I mean… it’s not completely unrelated…? W-Wait! That’s not what I meant! That’s not it!”
I was just an immature idiot back then.
At best…
A complete moron who believed physical suffering could somehow erase emotional pain.
That was all I wanted to say.
But Selena didn’t give me the chance.
“I… I had no idea… and all this time I’ve been talking to you so casually… It always felt strange that a noble like you enlisted as an ordinary soldier… Kal… I’m… I’m so sorry…”
No, wait.
Miss Selena?
Please let me explain!
Sure, you were technically the trigger.
But you have absolutely nothing to apologize for.
The only one who deserves blame…
Is the complete fool my past self.
With a sigh, I decided there was only one way out.
Time to borrow one of those propaganda speeches the Ministry of War Education loved so much.
Straighten my posture.
Lower my voice.
Alright.
Here goes.
“It wasn’t because of you, Selena.”
A good start.
Apparently lowering my voice had quite the effect.
She looked genuinely startled.
The senior soldiers used to tell me,
“Your normal voice is too high. Try speaking lower once in a while.”
Turns out…
They were right.
“I simply wanted to fulfill my duty to the Empire as a noble.”
“And if I was going to serve anyway…”
“I wanted to experience life from the perspective of an ordinary soldier instead of an officer.”
“…Really?”
“Really.”
“I mean… who in their right mind would enlist as an ordinary soldier just because a girl rejected him?”
Yes.
That lunatic…
Is standing right here.
“I-If that’s really true…”
“Then… that’s a relief…”
“That really was the reason?”
“It was.”
“So stop blaming yourself.”
“If you keep doing that, it’ll make the years I sacrificed for the Empire look like they were wasted for some ridiculous personal reason.”
Please.
I’m begging you.
Don’t think of me as the idiot who enlisted because he got rejected.
One person looking at me with pity is already enough.
Please.
Please!
After what felt like an eternity of persuasion, Selena finally began calming down.
Well, it made sense.
Imagine finding out that the guy you rejected got so devastated that a noble enlisted as a common soldier.
No decent heroine would just shrug and say,
“Oh. I see. What an idiot.”
That was something you’d expect from a villainess…
Or some tyrant empress.
Fortunately…
Our reunion didn’t turn into some terrible disaster.
Thank goodness.
Imagine if the first thing she’d said was,
“Sorry. There’s still no place for you in my heart.”
The shame of everything my past self had done would’ve probably driven me to take another leave of absence.
“Anyway…”
“Welcome back, Kal.”
“…Or should I call you my junior now?”
“Absolutely.”
“First-year freshman reporting for duty, Senior Selena.”
“Good luck surviving your graduation year.”
“…You really are completely different from back then.”
“Of course I am.”
“I spent years in the military contemplating the meaning of life.”
“Hahaha!”
Selena burst into laughter.
Apparently my nonsense had struck a chord.
Fair enough.
Even I knew that was complete bullshit.
Contemplate life in the military?
Anyone saying that clearly had an easy enlistment.
Who has time for philosophy in the army?
You’re too busy getting worked to death.
Labor every day.
Training until your body breaks.
Then war starts.
You spend every waking second desperately trying to survive.
By the time that’s over…
You’re not contemplating life.
You’re just grateful you made it through another day.
“S-Sorry…”
“My brother used to say something similar.”
“Then he must’ve gone through some rough experiences too.”
“I think he did.”
“Oh—I have class now.”
“See you later.”
…Why does it have to be see you later?
Can’t we just never meet again?
This is way too awkward.
Still…
At least my past self wasn’t blind.
Seeing her again…
Selena really was Selena.
There was a reason she was the heroine.
There was a reason more than ten guys had confessed to her.
She really was beautiful.
If I’d met her as a complete stranger…
I probably would’ve ended up blushing too.
But now?
She was nothing more than an awkward former classmate.
Nothing more.
Sip.
After finishing the rest of my coffee, I got up to leave the café.
I’d only just returned to school.
I still had no idea where anything was.
Better walk around and familiarize myself with campus before I ended up getting hopelessly lost—
“Ugh!”
Without warning…
My body jerked backward.
Before I could even react, someone dragged me away.
What?!
What?!
Am I being kidnapped?!
In the middle of the Academy?!
Are they Imperial spies trying to force military secrets out of me?!
Please don’t kill me!
I’ll tell you everything!
“I brought him.”
“So it’s true? He was just talking with Selena?”
“I saw it myself.”
“…He’s the first one…”
“My God.”
Voices came from all four directions.
The most irritating part?
Every single one of them belonged to men.
A moment later, I finally regained my freedom.
I looked around.
“…Well, well.”
I immediately recognized the people who had dragged me here.
From the right—
Schlieffen.
Wilhelm.
Alexander.
And Joachim.
The glorious Four Male Leads.
Every single one of them had also been rejected by Selena.
Ah, right.
You’re probably wondering:
“How do you recognize these guys when you don’t even remember your own classmates?”
Simple.
They’re ridiculously handsome.
The kind of guys that make other men irrationally annoyed.
And when there are four absurdly good-looking guys constantly traveling together?
There’s a one hundred percent chance they’re the Four Male Leads.
“What do you guys want?”
Still…
Even if they were the famous Four Male Leads…
I was the first one Selena rejected.
They still had a long way to go before surpassing my legendary record as the—
…Wait.
What the hell am I even proud of?
