Chapter 1: Interview |
As I opened the door and entered with a bow, the interviewer looked at me with a very sour expression.
“Applicant number 17? The interview will start now. Please take a seat.”
With those words, I quickly bowed to the interviewer in front of me, introducing myself.
“Applicant number 17, Peter! Understood!”
After saying that, he signaled me with his eyes to sit down.
The interviewer, wearing a black military uniform that seemed like something out of a fantasy novel, realized I was a commoner without a surname. He gave a dismissive, almost mocking look.
I’d been belittled like this multiple times since being reincarnated as an orphaned commoner in a fantasy world. But to face such treatment in this interview, which I saw as my last chance in this life, was absolutely frustrating.
It really sucks.
“Then, let me ask you. Why did you apply to the Empire Academy?”
‘Because if I get kicked out of the orphanage with nothing, I’ll freeze to death on the streets! Damn it!’
But…
Doing so would instantly result in my elimination from the interview. I would miss my last chance.
“I wish to serve the great Reich Empire and His Majesty the Emperor!”
The interviewer, hearing that, clearly showed his annoyance at my clichéd response.
“Fine, let’s proceed to the main part of the interview.”
As I tried to suppress a nervous hiccup, the interviewer began.
“From now on, assume you’re a battalion commander leading a battalion. Answer according to the given situation.”
From what I’ve overheard, nobles applying to the Empire Academy were asked easy questions about a soldier’s attitude or morals, essentially guaranteeing their admission.
These noble students, already paying for expensive special training to prepare for the Empire Academy’s interview, practically had a guaranteed pass since even the interview questions were easy for them.
This was because, even if the path to becoming an officer in the Empire was open to everyone regardless of status, in a state with a class system, it was preferred for nobles to become the commanders.
Interestingly, despite this discrimination, due to the teachings of the founding Emperor, at least 2-3% of each batch included commoners.
However, most of these commoners came from wealthy merchant families, which was the catch.
Certainly, someone like me, who came from an orphan background, might be admitted only once every 10 years.
To ask an orphan, who seemingly had no knowledge about strategic commands, such a question…
It was essentially the interviewer subtly asking me to fail.
While other interviewees would probably stutter and ramble in fear when faced with such a situation, I was… a bit different.
Because, up until I was reincarnated into this world, I had deeply ingrained knowledge about strategy and tactics in my mind.
I should be able to give an answer that satisfies that person to a reasonable extent.
“Understood!”
“Good, then let me present a scenario. You are a battalion commander affiliated with the 1st Division, which has 8,000 soldiers. You are currently engaged in combat with the Francois army, which is of the same scale as the Republic. Both armies are evenly matched, but what command will you give if the Francois battalion engaging with your battalion starts to crumble?”
Although I’d never met noble young masters in my life, I could assertively say that if they prioritized honorable and romantic battles involving spears, swords, arrows, and some magic, they’d likely answer that they needed to intensify their offensive to establish their formation.
Even commoners who had no understanding of the necessary concepts or skills for command would likely answer,
‘Since we’re winning, we should intensify the offense.’
Examiners might praise such an answer at the student’s level and give decent scores, but in my opinion, that was the wrong answer.
“Interviewer, before that, I’d like to know the level of discretion my battalion has.”
The interviewer in front of me, seemingly surprised by the mention of a commander’s discretion by an orphan, answered with a hint of interest in his voice.
“Of course, at your discretion as a commander, you can either aggressively attack or retreat if you deem the situation unfavorable.”
Having confirmed my authority up to this point, even if I were to answer just this much, it would still be considered a fairly good response.
But that wasn’t enough to compensate for my low written test scores and guarantee a pass.
“Thank you for answering. However, even if the situation looks favorable, I wouldn’t hastily change to an offensive strategy as a battalion commander. Instead, I would report the current situation to the commanding officer and hold my position.”
The interviewer, looking slightly displeased, asked,
“A soldier’s primary duty is to win in battle. And you’re saying you’d postpone an opportunity to win? It seems like a disqualification for a commander.”
That question was half right and half wrong.
Because unlike leaders of regiments, divisions, or corps, who could overturn the entire battle situation with one move, I, who commanded only 5% of our deployed soldiers, had limited information and visibility compared to them.
Plus, during a battle, even a single unexpected action could have significant consequences.
“There are two reasons for my judgment. First, while striving to establish a formation is commendable, there’s no point if you don’t secure a victory. I believed we needed support from superior officers to win. Second, I thought it might be a trap where the Francois and Republic commanders intentionally showed their weaknesses to lure our forces. It’s hard to gauge the entire army’s situation from the perspective of a single battalion.”
In actual large-scale battles, a common strategy was to purposely make a small unit retreat, lure the enemy to attack, and then counterattack.
As I said, during an ongoing, intense battle, one unit might purposely appear vulnerable to lure greedy middle-ranking commanders. The enemy could then slowly grind down the overconfident unit, achieving victory.
The interviewer, who just a few minutes ago was eager to finish this interview as quickly as possible, now looked genuinely shocked.
He probably hadn’t anticipated such an answer from a test taker like me.
I’ve got to admit, it was quite satisfying to see his reaction.
“I understand your reasoning. Then, one last question. If you were the commanding officer and received a request for support in that situation, what would you do?”
After pondering for a moment, I provided my best answer.
“I would mobilize the archer units and magicians in the rear to support the battalion that requested assistance. Additionally, I’d deploy half of the reserve forces as backup. Anticipating that the enemy would also urgently deploy infantry to prevent a major breakthrough, I would utilize the knights to flank and delay the enemy reinforcements, causing more damage.”
After hearing my answer, the interviewer, now sounding much friendlier than at the start of our conversation, said,
“Understood. Our interview time is now up. You may leave. I hope to see you next time as a student interacting with the academy instructors.”
While these might be customary words from the interviewers, considering my background, such words weren’t easily spoken. It seemed to hint at a positive outcome, perhaps even acceptance.
I sincerely hoped it meant I passed.
No, I’m sure I passed.
Then, as when I entered, I saluted and exited the room with proper posture.
Exiting the door, while I had felt my heart constricting with anxiety about needing to pass when I first arrived for the interview, a sense of relief washed over me, thinking that I had perfectly concluded the interview.
The interviewer, Lieutenant Colonel Hans Weber, who had just finished interviewing candidate number 17, murmured in a voice laden with astonishment,
“When the Lieutenant Colonel instructed me to be an interviewer for the academy, I thought it would be tedious, and frankly, I didn’t expect much. I had intended to just go through the motions. Especially after seeing the dismal results that the orphan upstart had in written subjects like Imperial History and Sociology. I saw his audacity in applying without any knowledge of the subject. My intention was to reprimand him with a few words, disgrace him, and then disqualify him.”
It was understandable. It was because even if the main duty of a commander was to fight and win, an officer was treated with a status almost equivalent to nobility and, therefore, must be equipped with knowledge and refinement fitting to that rank.
Aspiring officers, or academy cadets, were also expected to have similar attributes. And if one failed a test designed to ascertain this knowledge in advance?
It would be appropriate to disqualify them to maintain the dignity of the Raich Empire.
Lieutenant Colonel Hans Weber recalled how candidate number 17, or rather, Peter, responded with such confidence.
Could an officer, educated in a noble family and graduating from the academy, answer so crisply and decisively?
Lieutenant Hans, whose intellect had put him in the top 2% of his academy class in terms of career advancement, answered himself,
“Unless they are an exceptional prodigy, or rather, a one-in-a-million genius, they wouldn’t be able to provide such a rapid and insightful answer.”
Considering Peter’s background as an orphan, prior to receiving military education at the academy, he would have only been familiar with the basic military terminology as a mere soldier.
“If that boy isn’t a genius, producing such a strategic perspective would be impossible.”
And as a noble and commander of the Empire, Hans felt it unjust to deprive such a genius of the opportunity to enter the academy simply because he was an orphan and lacked the refined background.
Moreover, the very system was established with the intention that…
“If there are individuals amongst the commoners who possess a strong ambition and genius talent, they should be given an opportunity for the advancement of the Empire.”
Hans believed this to be the solid basis for admitting a genius like Peter to the academy.
With these thoughts, Lieutenant Hans wrote in the interviewee’s special remarks:
[Despite being an orphan of commoner origin, if given the opportunity, he will be a significant asset to His Majesty the Emperor. I believe he absolutely deserves a chance. Interview Score: 100/100..
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