I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy

Chapter 19: Stairs To Glory (1)

After Lieutenant Peter Yaeger left, Stefan von Bolton, the commander of the Reich Empire’s 7th Division, let out a sigh and mumbled to himself.

“Ever since student platoon leaders started participating in actual combat on the Raintlant Front, I’ve been wondering if that bastard might be a genius. Truly, that kid is exceptional. Be it character, strategy, or eloquence, he lacks nothing. If my youngest son had followed even half of Yaeger’s path, he wouldn’t have slipped up at the rank of 1st Lieutenant…”

Stefan briefly felt a surge of anger but then recalled Yaeger’s achievements once again.

Stefan read the reports,

“From the front lines, even a student platoon leader who simply understands orders properly and moves accordingly is praiseworthy. But this one led his platoon himself, annihilated an enemy battalion, and even killed their commander. Thanks to his achievements, he advanced to the rank of lieutenant and contributed significantly to the promotions of other officers in the same company. Moreover, he made a decisive intervention to rescue a neighboring battalion that had been put at risk due to the misguided actions of student platoon leaders who thought they had become used to the front lines. He even repelled around 300 troops of the Francois Republic army.”

Stefan said,

“Killing at least 400 to a maximum of 600 from among 9,000 Francois Republic troops, capturing one colonel-level commander, and two lower-ranking officers. Such feats would have been unbelievable even in the novels I used to read back in the academy.”

Although Stefan had often been called “talented” or “promising” among his noble peers as he climbed up the ranks to become a division commander, he found himself envious of his subordinate, Lieutenant Yaeger, who was seven ranks below him.

“If Yaeger hadn’t been there, I would have had to retreat to Weinburg Castle by now after wasting almost 3,000 troops with no accomplishments. I might have been dishonorably discharged.”

Stefan realized he himself had shortcomings as a division commander for not being able to control the actions of the student platoon leaders, which had resulted in the loss of their troops.

With a loss of about 3,000 and having killed half of the Francois Republic army, which was over 10,000, the military merits and faults offset…

No, if one considered securing the territory up to right before Rejin Castle, he could have been promoted to Major General with honors.

“While I can’t personally become a great general, if I recommend Lieutenant Peter Yaeger, who has the qualities of one, to His Highness the Crown Prince, I can bring that guy under my influence.”

Because in noble society, it was an unspoken rule that one must serve, or at least repay, the favor to the person who had promoted them.

With that decision, Stefan, full of ambition, wrote a report heavily favoring Lieutenant Yaeger and sent it to the Crown Prince.

After defeating the Francois Republic army at the Raintlant front, progress was made swiftly, without a moment’s rest.

Of course, there wasn’t actual combat with the enemy during this time, so there weren’t any life-threatening battles.

The phrase “as busy as war” made sense now, since they all had to move continuously.

Firstly, I had to file documents with the Imperial Army’s Veterans Affairs regarding the merits of the soldiers who followed me and fell in battle.

In addition, I personally wrote letters of condolence to their bereaved families.

Next, I had to clearly assess the merits and faults of the surviving officers and soldiers and send them to the 7th Division headquarters.

Every three days, a feast was held for the soldiers who remained at the front despite our victories. There, I had to drink, eat, and elevate the mood of the soldiers.

Time seemed to fly as if winding a clock because of how chaotic things were.

Damn, was that why my uncle, who used to be the Chief of Operations, said this?

“Once you graduate from the military academy and become an officer, you’ll be swamped with paperwork. Soldier training? That’s important, but you’ll spend most of your time buried in documents.”

Lost in these old memories while engrossed in paperwork, the platoon leader burst in, his face flushed with excitement, and said,

“Captain, great news! Really great news!”

Had I not been so overwhelmed with work, I would have been truly delighted by this news, but right now, I’m so swamped that I feel like a zombie.

But, in front of my happy subordinate, I couldn’t very well say,

‘I’m too busy on the verge of collapse to be happy about anything.’

Stefan curiously asked,

“What’s the news that made you so excited?”

“Just now, the Division Personnel Officer announced the units participating in the parade! Our company is on the list. I can’t believe it.”

Hearing the platoon leader’s report, I honestly didn’t feel that moved.

That was because units like ours, which had greatly contributed to the victory, were traditionally included in such parades.

This was a basic military system taught even during the first year at the academy.

Moreover, I had already received a hint from the division commander confirming our participation in the parade.

The platoon leader was a staff officer, not from the academy like me, but he should know at least that much.

That was probably why my response came out a bit sarcastic rather than complimentary.

“You knew that already, didn’t you? Of course, participating in the parade is an honor. But considering our unit’s achievements, it’s not surprising.”

The platoon leader then spoke with even more excitement,

“Yaeger’s company will carry both the Raintlant Republic Army’s division flag and the Reich Empire’s 7th Division flag at the forefront of the parade! It’s been officially declared that we’re the top contributors in this battle!”

Stunned, I asked,

“Is that true?”

Because participating in the parade usually only certifies and showcases that ‘our unit has performed well in this battle.’

But leading the parade and being allowed to carry both the enemy and friendly flags meant that Division Commander Stefan acknowledged our achievements as greater than those of other units combined.

Objectively speaking, this front would have been pushed back without the contributions of me and my men.

“Really?! I couldn’t believe it so much that I pinched my cheeks! Congratulations, Captain!”

“Thank you. Any word on what happens to the rest of the units?”

“150 knights from our company and the Knight Division, and 700 from each regiment, will participate in the parade. Once the Crown Prince arrives with the following troops, everyone will move to the rear. It seems the siege on Rejin Castle is off the table due to our casualties.”

While the platoon leader seemed to regret not participating in the siege of Rejin Castle, the original plot would have seen us not just losing the siege but also getting wiped out up to Weinburg Castle, putting us in a dire situation.

Then, the newly commissioned noble young protagonist would save the Empire from crisis, launching his career as a war hero…

But I had snatched all that away. What would happen to the original novel? Well, opportunities to earn merit were limited; if I succeeded, it meant someone else would suffer.

Now that the division commander has thrown such a large ‘bone’ at me, was he trying to pull me into his faction?

I did make significant contributions in this battle, but I didn’t think he’d try to recruit me this quickly and at such high stakes…