“We should refrain from contact, shouldn’t we?”
“Yeah. Since we don’t know what he did, we need to be cautious. Especially you, Kazunari, since you’re representing the 7th Division. It would be troublesome if you got injured here.”
“The same goes for you, doesn’t it?”
“It’s a matter of priority.”
“…What a pain.”
“Complain to the 3rd Division.”
“I’ve done that plenty.”
As Junji says, there are high expectations for Kazunari, who secured the second-place ranking despite missing out on the top spot. This wouldn’t have been such a big deal in normal years, but this year is different.
The reason for this is the annihilation of the 3rd Division at Imphal.
Why this relates to Kazunari, who belongs to the 7th Division faction, is because it’s believed that how many officers each faction can produce in the coming years will directly affect the power struggle between divisions.
Here’s more detailed explanation.
First, as a major premise, there are broadly nine divisions in the National Defense Force.
Their jurisdictions are as follows:
First, the 1st Division. Jurisdiction: Kanto. Main duty: defense of the capital.
Next, the 2nd Division. Jurisdiction: Kyushu-Chugoku region. Currently in charge of the main battlefield in the fight against demon tribes invading from the continent, so they’re allocated a larger budget.
The 3rd Division’s jurisdiction was originally the Chubu region, prepared to back up the capital or Kinki region if anything happened, but they were deployed as the main force of the expeditionary army. Now they’ve been annihilated and are being urgently rebuilt.
The 4th Division’s jurisdiction was originally the Chugoku region, but they handed that over to the 2nd Division and deployed as an expeditionary force. They’re currently fighting around Vietnam.
The 5th Division’s jurisdiction was Hokkaido, but they also handed that over to the 7th Division and deployed as an expeditionary force. They’re currently fighting around Thailand.
The 6th Division’s jurisdiction is the Kinki region. At present, they’re playing a role similar to the 2nd Division’s rear support unit while also exterminating demons that overflow from the Chugoku region.
The 7th Division’s jurisdiction is Tohoku-Hokkaido, mainly fighting against demons that take a detour strategy via Russia.
The 8th Division’s jurisdiction is Shikoku. At present, they’re playing a role similar to the 6th Division as a rear support unit for the 2nd Division.
The 9th Division’s jurisdiction is the Chubu-Hokuriku region. While they’re prepared to back up the capital and Kinki region, they’re also mainly fighting against demons taking detour strategies like the 7th Division, but they don’t have much opportunity to play an active role at the moment.
This is the current state of each division’s jurisdiction and situation.
As you can see from the above, the divisions that are relatively relaxed at present are the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th. The 1st Division, responsible for capital defense, is treated as a special case, so the remaining four divisions are trying to increase their influence over the 3rd Division.
As for the 3rd Division, although they lost a large number of officers at Imphal, their families and relatives remain, so it’s thought that reviving the 3rd Division using them wouldn’t be too difficult.
However, if only those related to the 3rd Division are put in charge, a division eager for military achievements might be created, thinking “We must clear our name as soon as possible!”
The military organization isn’t lenient enough to appoint people known to be impatient for achievements as senior officers—until now, there was some leniency in favoring one’s own people, but if they fail after being overly indulged in the future, the responsibility would also fall on those who appointed them, so they’re naturally being cautious—so officers who can act as a brake are needed. But given the current situation where it’s unclear where the next battlefield will be, none of the divisions have enough leeway to send personnel to other divisions.
So, they’ve set their sights on the students who are about to graduate from the military school. If they can send these students in as the most senior officers, they might be able to increase their influence within the 3rd Division. That’s what they’re thinking.
In fact, if the officers fighting on the front lines are occupied by other factions, the 3rd Division faction will collapse as a faction, and conversely, if the 3rd Division faction can provide field officers, the 3rd Division faction can be maintained.
For these reasons, the ranking within the school is more important than Keita thinks for Kazunari and Junji, who belong to the 7th Division, and Shouko Isotani, who belongs to the 6th Division.
This is why they’re wary of Keita, who is effectively the top student, and trying to figure him out.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
(Of course, the ones most anxious are those related to the 3rd Division)
Among the students who entered Class A this year, three are from the 3rd Division faction.
Specifically, the first, fifth, and ninth-ranked students fall into this category.
This is because for them, with many officers dead including General Muroguchi and many staff officers losing their positions, producing officers from their own faction has become the ultimate goal.
But it’s quite difficult, if not impossible, to gain opportunities for military achievements while being monitored by the military to prevent reckless actions.
However, even in this situation, they had one opportunity.
That was to become mecha pilots and achieve success on the battlefield.
Normally, officers are supposed to command troops, not fight themselves, so seeking battlefield achievements through combat would be considered unbecoming of an officer.
However, it’s also a fact that since ancient times, soldiers won’t follow those who don’t fight on the battlefield themselves.
Therefore, the current Third Division has adopted a policy of “first having officers gain battlefield experience and achieve military merits, while simultaneously educating field-grade and general officers.”
As a result, even the young lady from the faction who was originally supposed to attend a prestigious school for nobles and aristocrats ended up enrolling in the military school this year.
That person was Muto Saori, who enrolled as the top student and became the representative of the new students this year.
(No matter how elegant they try to appear, they’re still just a military faction. If they make a military blunder, they’ll be knocked down as usual. Knock on wood.)
“Kazunari?”
“…Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.”
While she may be pitiful, Kazunari, who couldn’t even get second place let alone first with his own abilities, has no room to worry about others.
(Isotani Shouko, who approached Kawakami Keita only to be promptly ignored. Muto Saori, who’s being forced to work for her faction. Should I revel in schadenfreude at their situations, or take them as cautionary tales and discipline myself? My future will be decided here!)
Of course, Kazunari chooses the latter. After all, despite giving it his all, his entrance exam results weren’t first place but second, and even that was obtained through the faction’s influence.
Kazunari isn’t detached enough to be proud of such a thing, thinking “second place is second place, no matter how it was obtained.”
“Honestly. It throws me off balance.”
In Kazunari’s line of sight as he disciplines himself, he sees Isotani Shouko, who has stood up but still looks unsatisfied.
— For better or worse, let it be noted that neither Kazunari nor Junji could see the white flower that Keita saw.
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