He opened his eyes and looked around.

He clearly remembered sleeping on a blanket next to the temporary camp.

Where is this place?

A soft bed, blankets, a ceiling shielding me from the rain, and sunlight streaming in through a window.

There was a small refrigerator making mechanical noises intermittently.

It seemed like a dormitory, or maybe a professor's private room.

I scratched my head and got up from the spot.

As I did so, something that had been resting on me fell off.

-Thud.

Just moments ago, it had been lying across my stomach, but as I sat up, it slid off.

It was a person.

“What?”

Just in case, I brushed aside the hair to check the face.

The face seemed familiar…

I stared at it for a while, but no one came to mind.

Blond hair, snow-white skin.

Perhaps because she was sleeping peacefully, she seemed quite calm and gentle.

She was small in stature and wearing cute pajamas.

Is she a classmate of mine?

But who is she?

Why am I sleeping in the same bed with this woman?

No answer came to mind at all.

"What on earth is going on..."

I got out of bed and looked around. My clothes were hanging on the wall, and what seemed to be her clothes were strewn on the sofa.

I examined those clothes carefully. A neat uniform and a white gown. There were some inconsequential pieces of cloth scattered on top, but I didn't look too closely, fearing it might be impolite.

"They're the Health Teacher's clothes."

Did she bring me in after seeing me sleeping on the roadside?

As I was coming up with a reasonable guess, I heard a rustling sound and then the Health Teacher's voice.

"Gardner? Why are you here..."

The woman with blond hair and blue eyes was wearing white pajamas. When she was asleep, she had the gentle look of a doll, but now that she was awake, she gave off her usual Health Teacher aura.

She seemed to think for a moment before speaking.

"Oh, now that I think about it, you fell asleep next to the camp yesterday. I thought it was dangerous for you to sleep on the roadside, so I brought you in. Please be more careful next time."

"Thank you."

I bowed my head to express my gratitude. Although the thought crossed my mind about why we were in the same bed... I didn't say anything since it was true I enjoyed her hospitality.

I simply offered my thanks calmly.

After having a brief conversation with the Health Teacher, I put on the coat hanging on the wall.

"Are you going straight to the Disciplinary Committee?"

"Yes, I just checked the terminal, and there's a meeting, so we're to gather by 9 AM."

"You can stay a little longer since there's still time until 9."

"I wouldn't want to impose."

"In that case."

"Thank you very much."

With that, I opened the door and left the private room.

Inside the Health Teacher's personal room after Gardner left.

The Health Teacher touched her head with her fingertips.

‘What on earth was I doing?’

She distinctly remembered falling asleep on the sofa, so why had she ended up in the bed?

It seemed that she had woken up midway to change into pajamas because she'd fallen asleep wearing her coat.

After that, she had thrown all her clothes onto the sofa and then jumped under the covers in her pajamas.

While sleeping, something firm had pressed against her stomach and chest area, and thinking it was a pillow, she hugged it and slept.

She never imagined in her dreams that it was Gardner.

“…”

The Health Teacher finally opened the front of her pajama top to check inside.

Her completely clear, pure white skin was visible. There was no underwear inside.

Then she turned her gaze to the sofa.

A neat uniform and a white gown.

And atop those, a piece of black underwear.

It was obvious, even though she had tried not to think it might be, that she had taken it off last night.

It stood out quite a bit as it lay on top of the white gown.

Gardner had kindly pretended not to notice.

Surely, he couldn’t have missed seeing it.

Though she later moved the underwear to a more discreet place, it was already too late.

She pondered over her embarrassment for a long time after Gardner left but regained her composure once it was time to head out for work.

As I left the Medical Room, I checked my terminal.

Two messages had arrived.

[Disciplinary Committee meeting by 9 AM in the Disciplinary Room.]

[Head to the Student Council Room immediately after reading this message. There's something to convey.]

Summons from both the Disciplinary Committee and the Student Council President.

I am part of the Disciplinary Committee, so that was expected. But why the Student Council President?

I don't recall having any significant dealings with the Student Council President before.

But since I've been called, I have to go.

There's time until the Disciplinary Committee meeting, so I should head there now.

I started walking.

"Damn it..."

The Student Council President's office.

The Student Council President was holding two documents, burying her head in her hands.

[Temporary revision of guidelines related to the Academy.]

[List of recipients for the Medal distribution.]

First, setting aside the Medal distribution for now.

The other document contained extremely concerning content.

[Due to the current 5th Division's frontline defense forces not meeting the standard...]

It essentially suggested taking members from the Academy since there weren't enough personnel for the frontline.

Normally, she would have protested, saying this was nonsense. She didn't think it would work this time.

Usually, the Division would subtly hint, ‘We're struggling with the battles here, aren't you soldiers too? You should help us out, right?’

But now, the weight of their request is different.

‘It's really dire at the frontline now, and if things go wrong, we might have to conscript civilians. Wouldn't you Academy folks fight better than civilians? We'll make sure you can study on the frontline too, so just come.’

That's basically what it said.

"Damn... What should I do about this?"

The Student Council President was deep in thought.

The Academy is both an educational and military facility.

The people there are not yet fully trained soldiers.

It's a place where they receive basic military training and gain experience in military operations, shaping them into proper soldiers.

Such is the Academy.

As it is responsible for a Contaminated Zone, it always has the capacity to be deployed to the frontlines.

If they were to assign a part of the frontline to the Academy right now, it could be managed to some extent.

Such is the capability of the Academy.

However...

What the 5th Division desires is probably not just for the Academy to take charge of a segment of the frontline.

"If I accept this, they might try to dismantle the Academy entirely..."

There's already resentment toward the Academy.

They say what takes three years to learn at the Academy can be learned in three months on the battlefield.

It's because they studied for three years at the Academy that they can adapt to the battlefield in just three months.

A recruit who has learned nothing won't adapt to the battlefield in just three months.

However, if the Academy were completely dismantled and all recruits were sent to the frontline...

The battlefield would probably become hell.

A hell filled with the bodies of recruits who know nothing.

Therefore, preventing the dismantling of the Academy was not only for its own sake but also for the future juniors.

The Student Council President held her head in her hands, pondering how to have the directive withdrawn.

"President? Please have some of this while you think."

A girl with snow-white hair and blue eyes approached.

She had brought shortcake and black tea.

"Oh, thank you."

The Student Council President was about to eat the cake she was given.

Perhaps it was a prank by the Vice Student Council President.

She placed the cake and the black tea on top of a stack of documents on the desk, out of the President's reach.

The Student Council President was quite short.

Seeing that the President's short arms couldn't reach over the stack, the Vice Student Council President said, "Oh, my apologies."

She placed the cake and tea on an empty spot on the desk.

"...Azriel."

"Hehe... Don't glare at me like that, it’s scary."

The Student Council President called out the Vice Student Council President’s name.

Calling someone by their name often meant ‘I'm angry.’

As a gesture of apology, the Vice Student Council President brought another piece of cake.

Only then did the Student Council President stop glaring.

The Vice Student Council President observed the scene and thought to herself.

'Could she be pretending to be upset just to get more cake?'

Despite this suspicious thought, she decided to focus on her original intention.

To cheer up the Student Council President. That was why she brought the cake.

"President, do you have something on your mind?"

"Hmm... It’s perfect timing. Take a look at this."

The Student Council President handed a document to the Vice Student Council President.

[Academy's Instructional Revision (Temporary)]

It was stamped with this title.

After flipping through a few pages, she spoke.

"They want to distribute Academy students to the frontlines... This must be rejected."

"Why do you think that?"

Why do you think that? The Vice Student Council President responded with a bewildered expression to her question.

"This is basically saying they want to use our cadets as cannon fodder."

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