“…Did you see what happened, Junji?”
“No, I didn’t catch it. What about you, Kazunari?”
“Me neither. But I doubt she just fell over on her own.”
“I agree. It didn’t look like he tripped her or anything. Maybe he used a breathing technique or something to upset her balance?”
“You think he’s a martial arts master?”
“I’m not ruling it out.”
“Fair enough…”
Kazunari had noticed Keita Kawakami getting mixed up in something right after the entrance ceremony. Thinking he might be able to step in if anything happened and get in Kawakami’s good books, Kazunari had decided to observe from a distance alongside his classmate and fellow Seventh Division member, Junji Fukuhara.
From where they were standing, it didn’t look like Kawakami had done anything—but they knew he must have.
“Ugh! What the hell was that?!” a girl shouted after Kawakami, who’d briskly walked away.
The young lady—Shoko Isotani—remained on the ground, visibly upset. She was brilliant, top of her class at middle school, and had been admitted this year with the fourth-highest score. If Keita hadn’t been there, she would have been third.
To her, Keita Kawakami was a clear rival. A threat.
What’s more, her family belonged to the Sixth Division, responsible for protecting the Kinki region. Of course they would be interested in the movements of the Second Division, which was handling defense operations in Kyushu and the Chugoku region.
Considering that, she’d probably decided to try to get some dirt on Keita, thinking he was linked to the Second Division.
But what had just happened was a problem.
Shoko Isotani was supposed to be the pride of the Sixth Division. Her ranking alone showed she wasn’t some average student. Yet Kawakami had brushed her off like she was nothing.
Who was he?
“I think it’s best we avoid direct contact for now.”
“Yeah. I don’t know what he did, but we definitely need to stay alert. Especially you, Kazunari. You’ve got the whole Seventh Division riding on your back. It’d be a real problem if you got hurt.”
“That goes for you, too.”
“It’s a matter of priorities.”
“…You’re a pain, you know that?”
“Take it up with the Third Division.”
“Already have. Plenty of times.”
As Junji had said, expectations were high for Kazunari, who’d missed out on the top spot but managed to come in second. Normally, that wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but this year was different.
All because the Third Division had been wiped out at Imphal.
What did that have to do with Kazunari and the Seventh Division? Over the next few years, the number of officers each faction managed to produce would directly affect its standing in the power struggle among the separate divisions.
The National Defense Forces were divided into nine major divisions, each with its own jurisdiction.
The First Division covered the Kanto region. Their main job was to protect the capital.
The Second Division handled Kyushu and the Chugoku region. They were the front line against demonic forces invading from mainland Asia, so they received the lion’s share of the budget.
The Third Division was normally responsible for the Chubu region and served as backup for both the capital and the Kinki region. However, they had been deployed as an expeditionary force and effectively wiped out. Right now, their top priority was rebuilding.
The Fourth Division used to cover the Chugoku region, but their jurisdiction had been handed off to the Second Division so they could join the expeditionary force. They were currently fighting somewhere around Vietnam.
The Fifth Division was formerly in charge of Hokkaido but had been reassigned to the expeditionary force. They were engaged in battle somewhere around Thailand.
The Sixth Division covered the Kinki region. They mostly played a support role for the Second Division and dealt with stray monsters from the Chugoku area.
The Seventh Division now handled the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions, mainly fending off monsters trying to invade through Russia.
The Eighth Division covered Shikoku while also serving as rear support for the Second Division, like the Sixth.
The Ninth Division handled the Chubu and Hokuriku regions. They provided backup for both the capital and Kinki, and dealt with monsters trying to come in through alternate routes, like the Seventh did with Russia. So far, however, they hadn’t seen much action.
That was a general rundown on the current state of each division.
The ones that had some breathing room at present were the First, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Divisions. The First Division was treated differently, being responsible for the capital, but the other four were all looking to boost their influence at the expense of the fallen Third Division.
Despite losing a large number of officers at Imphal, the Third Division had left behind families and relatives. It wouldn’t be too difficult to use them to rebuild. The downside to this was that filling the void with only their own people might create a division that was desperate to restore its reputation as quickly as possible.
No military organization worth its salt would appoint someone known to be thirsty for glory as a senior officer. The National Defense Forces had a history of playing favorites with prestigious families, but after this disaster, nobody wanted to take the fall for coddling someone and risk another screwup. This meant they needed a cadre of levelheaded officers they could fall back on. However, with every division stretched thin, nobody had spare personnel to loan out.
That was where the military academy graduates came in.
Each division understood that if they could send in some of their own people as entry-level officers, they could start exerting influence within the Third Division.
If graduates deployed to the front lines ended up being mostly from outside the Third Division, its factional status could very well collapse. On the other hand, if the Third Division was able to train their own people to serve as officers on the battlefield, they might be able to keep their faction alive.
That was why people like Kazunari and Junji from the Seventh Division, and Shoko Isotani from the Sixth, cared a lot more about their school rankings than Keita realized.
It was also why they were watching Keita, the unofficial top of the class, so carefully.
Though, really, the ones panicking the most are the people from the Third Division.
Three kids in this year’s Class A were affiliated with the Third Division—namely, the top-ranked, fifth-ranked, and ninth-ranked students.
After General Muroguchi and countless other officers were killed at Imphal, the Third Division had become desperate to produce new officers. It was currently their highest priority.
However, being under tight surveillance by the military, they had almost no chance to earn military honors. In fact, it was practically impossible.
There was one path open to them still, though—becoming mech pilots and making their name on the battlefield.
Normally, officers commanded from behind the lines, thinking it unbecoming to actively fight on the front lines. Yet the old saying still held true: No one followed a commander who didn’t fight alongside their troops.
As such, the current Third Division policy was to get its young men and women commissioned as junior officers and send them to the battlefield to distinguish themselves. At the same time, they would be trained for higher positions.
In fact, even noble-born daughters who were originally supposed to attend fancy, elite schools had ended up here at the military academy—which was how Saori Muto, this year’s top student and the incumbent class representative, had found herself here.
No matter how refined she tries to act, in the end, she still belongs to a military faction. One slipup, and it all comes crashing down. Knock on wood.
“Kazunari?”
“…Sorry. Just lost in thought.”
He didn’t not feel bad for Saori Muto, but Kazunari didn’t have time to worry about anyone else—not when he hadn’t been able to take the top spot for himself. He hadn’t even scored second on his own merit, but only with some outside help.
Keita Kawakami brushed off Shoko Isotani like she was nothing, and Saori Muto is being pushed into battlefield duty for the sake of her family. Should I just sit back and enjoy the show, or do I take this as a warning? Whatever happens, this place is going to shape my whole future.
Naturally, Kazunari chose the latter option. After all, he’d given everything he had in the entrance exams and still come up short. His second-place rank—boosted by the influence of his faction—wasn’t something he could be proud of.
“Honestly. This is throwing me off…”
His gaze fell on Shoko Isotani, who’d finally risen to her feet, though she still looked far from satisfied.
Either fortunately or unfortunately, neither Kazunari nor Junji had witnessed the white flower Keita had seen.