by Carlo Zen
“Fairy 08, roger. The area is all clear. I say again, area is all clear.”
“Norden Control, roger. There is an infantry battalion assigned to your observation area. Call sign Goliath 07. Barring new orders from airspace control, continue to perform your observation duties until the area is pacified. Out.”
The demands of the Empire’s geopolitical position have played a large role in this method of procuring human resources. Surrounded by world powers due to historical circumstance, the state has been forced to face potential enemies in every direction. Securing the military strength needed for their large territory’s national defense is a perpetually pressing issue. In order to resolve the problem, the General Staff’s frenzied efforts have reached the point where they’ll exploit anyone within reach.
“Fairy 08, this is the Provisional Corps Artillery Battalion, call sign Goliath 07. How copy?”
This being the case, the army apparently thinks nothing of tossing a young girl out to the border on air patrol if it can use her. I am quite literally a child soldier.
“Goliath 07, this is Fairy 08. Reading you loud and clear. I’ve confirmed the enemy infantry advance. Sending data now. Acknowledge.” I bet the sight of a young girl flying through the air, her adorable voice confined to a matter-of-fact register, must seem terribly surreal. When you get down to it, a proper army is supposed to be composed of proper adult soldiers. That’s only common sense.
But it isn’t just static in the signal—hearing women’s and children’s voices on the mic has become commonplace among mages. The armed forces have a practical exception in place for just about everything. More than anything, the harsh days in service exhaust decent people, so any initial discomfort over allowing a girl to participate in combat has long since worn off.
“Goliath 07, roger… Base piece starting calibration fire.”
That’s why the aerial mage enlisted as Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff is serving as an artillery observer during this battle in the northern reaches of Norden, calmly and skillfully delivering periodic reports via the radio set on her back that’s nearly as big as she is. But actually, it isn’t as though I don’t question or doubt what I’m doing flying out here.
“Impact confirmed… Looks like a close hit. Looks to be within the allowable error margin of ten meters. Fire for effect.”
“Goliath 07, roger. Commencing fire mission now.”
While my blue eyes attentively look below, there’s no denying they hold a glint of frustration. Why was I reborn into this world, made the opposite gender, and now stuck fighting a war?
The most annoying things are the physical changes. A child’s body is horribly inconvenient. At first, even though girls develop quicker than boys, the size difference was simply too great to maneuver my body with the same equilibrium I had trusted for years. On top of that, I’ve keenly felt how much I’ve become a helpless child on multiple occasions since joining the army.
I couldn’t hold a gun. It was too big. In the end, I couldn’t aim worth a damn, and the recoil ended up bruising my shoulder. When I sparred, there was a streak of pity on my partner’s face whenever he threw me.
Until I could see the world as three numeric vectors with the computation orb and get the hang of superposing the realm of numbers with magical interference formulas, I had to crawl on my belly with arms and legs that refused to obey me. Because they depended on brains, not brawn, the magic arts were the only area where I succeeded, if only barely. The constraints of my body couldn’t trouble me, and I could soar across the sky as long as I superposed the world with my formulas.
Perhaps I was able to overcome any reservations I might’ve had about magic due to its usefulness as a tool. But why must I use a tool simply because I have it?
Oh, I get it. It’s essential that we’re able to use an ICBM4 when the time calls for one. That’s why it’s necessary to make provisions for their maintenance, drills, and operations. That said, is there any reason we need to have ICBMs in the first place? In that same vein, gossip about seemingly strained relations with neighboring nations is hardly new.
The Empire and Entente Alliance have been struggling for quite some time with unofficial border conflicts. But in the international politics arena, at least, there’s nominally no dispute over this territory.
The problem isn’t acknowledged because the Empire is such an incredible powerhouse. As far as Tanya is concerned, it’s a simple matter, comparable to how nations surrounding the Soviet Union independently avoid border disputes with it.
…Well, was. The only regrettable part of discussing the Empire’s strength is that it has to be described in the past tense.
Multiple isolated accidents have occurred along the border. There has been “unintentional” fire on both sides, which led to firefights due to misunderstanding. All such incidents were resolved at the level of the local commanding officers, but there’s no denying the continually mounting tension.
Under normal circumstances, if the Empire entered a state of “semi-war” at this point, Tanya’s position would allow her to fall back to the rear echelon and serve in noncombat roles. After all, Warrant Officer Tanya Degurechaff had been a cadet attending the military academy up until the outbreak of hostilities. A greenhorn would only get in the way on the front lines, so it would be normal for her to serve somewhere in the rear, such as in the Technical Arsenal or Logistical Command, once the Empire began making preparations in anticipation of war.
Yet despite the unsettling state of world affairs, Tanya’s optimistic superiors decided this was all merely brinkmanship diplomacy. Thanks to them, she was stuck completing her training out in the field. The flight patrols she took part of in coordination with the army were only intended to serve as an extension of the education she was receiving at the academy. Having lost her opportunity to withdraw to the rear, Tanya was officially commissioned as a second lieutenant and deployed upon completing her training. She was also assigned the call sign Fairy 08. Clearly, people were obnoxiously comparing her to a fairy. Based on outward appearances alone, she was a puny kid—really—an incredibly young child. On top of that, she had blue eyes that seemed to reflect a strong will and short blond hair tied back to make it easier to manage. And considering her pale, clear skin complexion as well, her call sign did start to seem appropriate.
The trouble began right after Tanya officially assumed her new post in the field with the border army. The administrative unit was composed of direct promotes from the magic officer training school and local relocations. As a new transfer, Tanya was forced to accept orders to stand by for forty-eight hours. Assuming it was a traditional training exercise conceived by the brass to test their capacity for coping and maintaining alertness, Tanya had reluctantly suited up and gone on duty twenty-four hours ago.
Then the emergency warnings came flying in from security outpost positions scattered along the border with such impeccable timing that it surely made the devil smile. Apparently there had been signs that the Entente Alliance was planning to conduct a large-scale cross-border operation.
The Entente Alliance’s new policy direction had already been a cause for concern. The reshuffling of executives, resulting from a change in administration, and the ensuing rise in nationalism had required a dramatic shift in doctrine. Honestly, the Entente Alliance’s operation was carried out with such ridiculously poor planning that not only Tanya but also everyone in the Imperial Army was left wondering, Why now of all times? Before they knew it, the Entente Alliance was scattering notices demanding imperials to withdraw—a declaration of war.
In other words, the Entente Alliance had insisted, Imperial soldiers are to withdraw from our nation’s territory within twenty-four hours. Perhaps a lowly company officer was incapable of understanding the Entente Alliance’s reasons, but maybe the assumption was that the Empire would avoid full-blown military engagement since regional conflicts were extremely politically sensitive.
If the Entente Alliance couldn
’t face reality, it’s possible it would go down in history for all the wrong reasons. Are they stupid? Or so people wondered. Perhaps they devised some great plan that will lead them to victory?
Despite being unable to comprehend the Entente Alliance’s agenda or objective, the Empire nevertheless maneuvered its finely tuned bureaucracy and military organizations according to protocol. They played it by the book and made preparations to intercept enemy forces. As a cog for her country, Tanya had no choice but to put in work commensurate with her pay. Admittedly, at this point she rather optimistically predicted that all this was mostly for internal propaganda.
After all, there was no way the nearby Federation would want two neighboring nations fighting on its doorstep. Everyone expected this to hold the Entente Alliance in check, whether through mediation or intimidation. Moreover, the Commonwealth and Republic were propping up the Entente Alliance. Surely they would put the brakes on this suicidal advance for fear that all the aid they had provided would be wasted. Yes, the vast majority of officers and soldiers were certain of the future. Military folk were realists by nature, after all.
It goes without saying, but the Entente Alliance didn’t stand a chance facing the Empire head-on. Everyone was certain one nation or another would step in to arbitrate, and then the politicians and diplomats from the two opposing nations would hash something out.
But the scenario that had been inconceivable to all—except for the Entente Alliance, apparently—became reality and astonished every human alive in this day and age.
“Disarm and surrender to the advancing Entente Alliance Army or leave immediately.”
From a commonsense perspective, the Entente Alliance’s demands could only be described as “shocking”; yet even then, the Empire continued to monitor the situation, incredulous. While reports that the Entente Alliance had crossed the border were not entirely unexpected, it was difficult for the Empire to see how such a thing could have actually come to pass.
It seemed so preposterous that Lergen, an officer in the Imperial Army General Staff, would much later voice his suspicion: “…We were so unable to determine what the Entente Alliance was hoping to achieve that it made more sense to suspect our own military leaders of scheming and acting behind closed doors.”
Doubts and ambiguities aside, the pragmatic Imperial Army responded soberly by ordering an immediate response to the Entente Alliance’s major cross-border operation. While there was hesitation and confusion over the Entente Alliance’s agenda, once signs indicated that a potential conflict was brewing, the military began amassing supplies in preparation. All of the Great Army divisions that formed the core of the Empire’s military power then assembled by rail from Central. The Imperial Army was so efficient that it pulled all this off without incident. In fact, everything went so smoothly that it was internally regarded as an “organizational victory.”
But although the Empire had procured an abundance of supplies and even gone so far as to mobilize troops, it was continually troubled by partial skepticism. Really? They’d never!
The Empire was known for its superior armaments, even among the great world powers. During times of peace, it would deploy a corps-sized garrison to the border under the pretext of routine patrolling. The additional corps mustered to meet the minimum number of reserves, just in case, included Tanya’s unit. With information warfare in mind, the Empire even extended invitations to mass media from various countries. So as usual, the military was completely prepared, but the “usual” was precisely what made everyone wonder, Is the Entente Alliance really going to invade?
Tanya never dreamed the Entente Alliance would, without any semblance of justification, launch their inferior forces across the border in an offensive against a military titan, right in front of the media.
But truth is stranger than fiction. Tanya naturally found the turn of events utterly bewildering. If she could have spoken freely, she probably would have described it as witnessing the moment a death wish took concrete form.
“It’s war! Everyone, I repeat, it’s war! A war has just begun! The Empire has declared war on the Regadonia Entente Alliance for violating the border! Moments ago, the Entente Alliance Army began crossing over at multiple locations! Imperial Army troops are rushing to the border one after the next to respond! We’ve received reports that fighting has already broken out in some areas!”
But there was no denying the sight of friendly armored forces and other troops rapidly deploying below her. At the same time, the war correspondents raised their voices to transmit the latest news to the whole world over the airwaves.
…Surely the Empire would only pull this publicity stunt with complete confidence in victory. Well, given its vastly superior national might, level of technology, and armaments, it was an obvious choice to make the next move with an eye on victory.
If journalists were reporting the developments at the border right up to the declaration of war, it meant the brass was relaxed enough about the situation to think about publicity; spreading propaganda about the fair, mighty Empire couldn’t hurt the political situation, either. Furthermore, the Entente Alliance crossing the border first provided legitimate justification. And by admitting the mass media, they were essentially announcing this was a war they would win. Even in this alternate world, national leaders who would consider allowing journalists to freely cover losing battles only existed in fantasy. The fact that imperial officials had nothing to hide, or at least very little, was proof that everything was going smoothly.
All of these factors help ease Tanya’s nerves. Honestly, when she first heard that she was getting sent to the north for field training, she wanted to yell, “I hope you rot!” to the military state that was planning to work a young girl to the bone out in the borderlands. She wanted to curse Being X for getting a good, decent person mixed up with this world to begin with.
But Tanya is completely fine with the Empire presenting her with an opportunity to climb the ranks in a one-sided conflict like the Gulf War. This war is winnable, and the soldiers are the winners. Her mission is simply to take out enemies from the safety of the sky and get promoted. While extraordinarily unexpected, it isn’t a bad deal. In fact, it’s better than “not bad”—Tanya’s been presented with a one-in-a-million chance. Border patrol missions are simple but dangerous, and even if you get results, there is a tendency for the brass to claim your achievements don’t officially exist thanks to some “political consideration” ridiculousness. As a result, patrol duty in the disputed Norden Territory has a reputation within the Imperial Army as an “all pain and no gain” endeavor.
It isn’t easy to rack up achievements there, and to make unfavorable conditions worse, like it or not, Tanya Degurechaff has the physique of a fair-skinned, blue-eyed, blond-haired little girl. On top of that, a glance at her records shows that she’s a military academy graduate on track to become an elite mage. If she’s selected for an assignment and fails, there would be no way around the bad PR saying the army had ruined a young person with a promising future. Setting her capabilities aside and going strictly by outward appearance, even Tanya feels put off by her doll-like face. If I weren’t Tanya, I wouldn’t want anything to do with her outside of the call of duty.
This objective perspective has been consistent since she was commissioned in the Imperial Army. Before, Tanya didn’t have a bad reputation among the instructors, but the fact that her work contributions matched her pay grade simply couldn’t wipe out the stains of rumors about the “little girl mage.” The only way around it was to produce even greater results, but as much as she wanted to do just that, the opportunity had never arisen—until now.
In other words, even though Tanya is a mage, no one recognizes her as one. She’s treated like a baby getting in everyone’s way. In a sense, they’re claiming that she’s defective. It’s insulting how they barely pay attention to her career. Ironically, the Empire wound up giving her active combat duty in a situation where its army handily dominated the
battlefield—an unexpected stroke of good fortune for her first battle.
It seems the war will continue for a while under favorable conditions. If Tanya hopes to keep surviving, she needs to use that time to gain status and influence. I also want her to secure some connections. To that end, it’s imperative for her to play a proper role in this predictable war and rack up honors and commendations.
Having thought that far, Tanya unconsciously curls her rosy lips into a grin as she reassesses the situation. This might not be so bad after all.
“Actually, couldn’t this work out wonderfully for my career…? I should consider this a pretty sweet deal.” No one is around to overhear her egocentric whisper. Even if someone were flying nearby, the howling of the imperial artillery gunnery below would have drowned out her voice, not to mention the endless echo of shells making landfall and exploding. If I think of the cacophony as a VIP view of the Fuji Firepower Review5 but with several times the roaring artillery, it isn’t so bad.
“Fairy 08, this is Goliath 07. Requesting firing results.”
“Goliath 07, this is Fairy 08. Good effect on target. I say again, good effect.”
Tanya’s job is simple. She only needs to calmly observe and report to the artillery batteries. Flying around with the radio set weighing her down while maintaining the flight formula isn’t easy, but the Imperial Army’s computation orb is up to the task. Due to the disputed nature of the Norden Territory, many of the troops spread across the north are temporary transfers from Central Command. On paper, Tanya is only on loan from Central after she completed her field-training program.
If she takes her duties to heart, she could definitely return to the garrison in Central eventually. A position in the rear echelon isn’t just a pipe dream. Once she’s chosen as an officer magician in the rear, there’s a distinct possibility Tanya could spend the rest of the war on standby under orders to defend the capital. Depending on how she looks at it, Personnel might have actually given her a golden ticket for developing a promising career in the long run.
