I’m Just an Ordinary Academy Student

1 – Don’t Make Fun of Me for Being Military-Trained

Why are there people like that? Confessing to a fellow student and running away to the military when rejected.

Honestly, I couldn’t comprehend it at all. No, it’s not like we broke up while dating, so why bring up the car?

He even confessed right after entering school and broke up, enlisting in the military? He must be the king of idiots.

“But why does that idiot have to be me! Damn it!”

“Sorry, Carl. You’re a good person, but I just don’t see you romantically.”

The me from the past confessed a month after entering school, even in front of everyone.

I still wonder where that confidence came from. Did someone slip drugs into my lunch, perhaps?

“I’m really sorry. I hope we can still be friends without making things awkward.”

He coolly stepped back, but of course, there’s still a guy’s pride in his appearance! Got it! And he left like a boss.

And then? He immediately applied for a leave of absence. Just a month after entering school. Crazy bastard.

The next part is even more legendary. Without informing his family, he simply applied to join the army.

It’s amusing enough for a noble to volunteer for the military, but he’s not even an officer, just a common soldier.

And it doesn’t stop there. The highlight is that the imperial war department accepted my enlistment!

– An imperial noble volunteering as a common soldier? Isn’t this the tastiest propaganda ever?! –

A noble of the empire, setting an example, personally enlisted as a soldier!

This is the class of the empire! See that?! You scavengers!

…Admittedly, it’s a topic the public relations department could spin to their advantage. I’ll give them that.

Anyway, that’s how the me from the past, a high-ranking noble, became a lowly private.

Naturally, from the first day in the new unit, I faced glares and suspicion.

“No way. They were happy a new recruit arrived, and they send a young lord?”

“Hey, could this be a disguised transfer from an officer or something?”

“A real shitty thing came in at the end of my military life.”

And before even memorizing the names of my seniors, war broke out, and I was immediately thrown into the battlefield.

Now, I’ve endured three years of hell, rolling in mud like a damn fool.

If only I could strangle the past me if given the chance.

Oh. Why do I keep using the phrase ‘the me from the past’? Well, I got hit by a magical bombardment, flew off, hit a rock with my head, and memories of my past life resurfaced.

In my past life, I was just a guy living on Earth, and this world is the setting of the books I used to read.

But of all things, it had to be an isekai, not a comedy or adventure.

Crazy bastard. If I’m going to read, right? How great would it be if it’s a hypnosis to charm women?

If not, flying around in the air and shooting laser beams like a crazy chicken is fine too.

Of all things, it had to be a romance fantasy. Of all things, the protagonist is just an ordinary loser among losers.

Decisively, of all things, he had to confess to the female lead and end up with the role of a rejected side character in the early stages.

As expected, whether you look at life from afar or up close, tragedy is unmistakably evident.

“Hey!”

“Oh, yes, sir.”

“Are you dozing off while drinking coffee? Was it like that in the military?”

What kind of coffee is there in the military? I’m neither an officer nor a mere soldier.

I do want to have some coffee, but if I say so, I might get a swift kick to the back of my head.

At this hour, you’re not a nobleman! You’re a chick, a second-rate private! Bonus points for being a low-ranking soldier!

“But you managed to come back well.”

As Senior Marcus said, I belonged to the category of those who came back well.

Not with limbs disabled like some, or with only a dog tag left.

“Was military life bearable?”

“What do you want me to say? It sucked.”

“Yeah. You speak like a proper soldier. Did you like being an officer?”

Ah, damn it. Do I have to start this all over again?

“I’m not an officer, sir.”

“Huh?”

“I enlisted as a private.”

For a moment, an awkward silence hangs between me and Senior Marcus.

Now, let me predict what different words could come out now, considering I remember my past life!

It’s probably going to be, ‘What? Is this idiot serious?’!

“What the hell, is this idiot serious? Are you joking right now?”

Oh, nailed it.

“Sadly, it’s not a joke.”

“…If that’s not a joke, then either you’re crazy, or I’m imagining things. There’s no other explanation.”

Why pick one when you’ve already declared both as crazy?

It’s better to say, either I’m crazy or not as crazy. Something like that would be more considerate.

“Did you really enlist as a private?”

“Yes.”

“Noble-born?”

“Yes.”

“And you went to the battlefield?”

“That’s right.”

As the senior nodded while sipping his coffee, a sigh escaped him.

The expression on his face seemed to say, “Is this guy insane too? It’s just like that professor earlier.”

“…Did you really get your head banged up?”

“I almost did, thanks to a magical bombardment on the battlefield.”

“This guy, is he really a lunatic?”

It’s almost like a blunt insult, and it’s too heartbreaking to refute.

My past self. What the hell were you thinking when you signed up for military service? Damn it.

“So, what did you do as a soldier?”

“What do soldiers do? Just endure and complain.”

“You said you went to the battlefield. Did you give those Elven bastards from Lucent a hard time?”

Give them a hard time? Our unit got thoroughly beaten, down to our souls.

“…Yes. Well, maybe we gave them a hard time.”

“What the hell. You were a soldier, and you didn’t even fight properly in battle?”

“I survived the battles, and all I did was save a few comrades. Is that enough?”

At that, Senior Marcus mumbled, “Disappointing! I thought you were a hero of comebacks or something.”

This guy. How messed up is the battlefield? Talking about heroes and comebacks, those who do are the ones who end up dead!

“Senior, let’s stop this talk. It’s quite impolite to discuss military matters in front of someone who has recently been discharged.”

“Coming from a noble who joined as a soldier.”

“Still, I didn’t discharge as a soldier. I was a sergeant. I completed my service as a sergeant.”

“Big deal. My younger brother, who’s three years younger than you, is probably a captain by now.”

After rolling his eyes, Senior Marcus finished his coffee and spoke.

“So, what’s the purpose of visiting the faculty room?”

“I’m forehead-slappingly asking that just now.”

“I got tired of the nonsense about a soldier’s lunatic stories.”

Stop it! Enough! Stay!

“Actually, I had planned to return to school next year, but my schedule got tangled up, and I ended up going back for the second semester.”

“Come to think of it, is that so? Did you forget the date or something?”

“It’s not that; it just happened to turn out this way, completely by chance.”

Hidden here is another painfully sad legend.

I distinctly remember saying I would return to school next year. I said it.

Whatever miscommunication happened, the academy immediately approved it.

Yeah. So, it’s not next year; it’s returning for the second semester.

What a mess. That female student who slapped past me, the protagonist in a romance novel.

She’s still at the academy. In her last semester of the fourth year.

“I thought you might confess to me again.”

“…Senior. Do you know why the saying ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ came about?”

As I say this, grabbing the pen on the desk, the senior immediately surrenders.

Be careful. If you dig up someone’s embarrassing past, what happens? You become an unrivaled thug.

“Anyway, about my classmates. I’m curious about what classes they’re taking.”

“Hey, even if you’re a teaching assistant, you can’t just tell anyone what classes students are taking.”

“I’m worried it might get uncomfortable if we happen to run into each other, especially with Selena.”

“Well, I’ll just tell you. Especially about Selena. Just wait!”

Selena Ifrit. The ultimate beauty. The protagonist in a romance novel. And the female student who slapped past me.

I absolutely don’t want to collide with her. If I do, I might die of embarrassment.

“Oh, but you shouldn’t change your mind and confess again, just in case.”

Hahaha. I immediately grab the pen on the desk and point it at the senior.

Luckily, the pen has its cap on. If not, it would have been attempted murder.

*

“Your Excellency, here is the list of this year’s recipients of the honor medal.”

The honor medal. A plaque only the empire’s greatest heroes can receive.

From commanders to rank-and-file soldiers, once you receive it, you get tremendous respect.

At imperial events, everyone, except the emperor, salutes first when the invitation arrives.

Not only oneself but also one’s family receives the highest treatment.

However, it’s equally challenging. Stepping over the threshold of the afterlife is a given.

Once there, you have to chat and gossip with the reaper to even have a chance at receiving it.

“I plan to select one of these four.”

“Hmm.”

The war-hardened general, who received the report, looked at it briefly and nodded.

“No, we can’t. Bestow the Order of Military Merit on all four here and redo the presentation of the Medal of Honor.”

“What? Why would you do that? They all have solid expertise, and their loyalty to the empire is unwavering.”

“I know. I understand, but something else is needed. The war is over now.”

The chief, who had brought the report, sighed at the general’s words.

“How many have they killed? Of course, that’s important too. But the criterion for this Medal of Honor is how many imperial soldiers they saved. That’s what it comes down to. Such orders have come down from above.”

When the general referred to ‘above,’ there was only one place.

The chief also just sighed, reluctant to say anything more.

“But, General, rescuing allies is too ambiguous a criterion.”

“Most of it was done as part of operations under the command of the officers. I know. I understand, but still, isn’t there a bit more? There were rumors going around last time. I heard that one soldier saved an entire company.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t make sense, does it? How can one person save over a hundred?”

Maybe. Well, that’s true. The general bit on his cigarette.