---

“I’m Gilbert, the commander. I’ll ask for your understanding as I’ll be speaking this way for convenience.”

Gilbert pondered endlessly about how to address his cadets until they arrived.

Normally, he would have been polite, but the backlash from entering Gilbert’s body was more severe than expected.

It was good to be able to read the memories left in the body and use the noble demeanor ingrained in it without thinking, but there was a downside.

One of the reasons was that it was hard to completely abandon Gilbert’s original ruffian-like behavior. It was fine not to cause trouble, but the small habits.

Especially the way he looked down on and ignored others gave off a chilling sense of dissonance. He tried to ignore and correct it, but the more he endured, the closer he got to a panic attack, forcing him to give up on correcting it.

Instead, he found a compromise in his speech. As the pride of a noble was strong, it was possible to show respect to higher-ranking nobles.

To those of lower status, his tone was somewhat stiff, but he managed not to use a condescending tone.

As a result, now that he was in the role of commander, he could use a somewhat stiff tone towards an unspecified number of people, taking advantage of the special nature of his position.

Although some high-ranking nobles showed dissatisfaction, fortunately, there were no cadets of higher noble status, and most importantly, the bad reputation of being a ruffian played a role in tolerating his speech.

It meant not provoking a mad dog for no reason.

“The entrance mock battle will start in 30 minutes. To establish a smooth command structure, I will form a team of ten under the commander, with a deputy and team leaders.”

Once the battle started, it was natural that he couldn’t oversee everything. Gilbert could have just relaxed in the back, but that would clearly result in a poor evaluation in the entrance mock battle. Being a commander in such a small-scale mock battle and just lounging in the back wouldn’t earn a good evaluation.

Although it was called a mock battle, strictly speaking, it was a local warfare. The goal was to either capture the opposing team’s base or annihilate them within a limited area. In such a situation, being a commander and just hiding in the back wouldn’t help the evaluation.

Of course, from a character-making perspective, he could have received some special stats, but this was reality, and to show visible results to the Count of Lithuania, he couldn’t afford to be cautious. If his ruffian image overlapped with that, there was a risk of being branded as trash only concerned with self-preservation.

“Then let’s quickly select the deputy and team leaders. If there are volunteers, step forward.”

At Gilbert’s words, another meaningless skirmish began. Being under the ruffian Gilbert was dissatisfying, but the Demia Empire Academy wasn’t easygoing enough to accept such dissatisfaction. They had to show noticeable results, so wearing an armband as a team leader was more advantageous than being a regular member.

However, Gilbert’s notorious reputation made everyone hesitate, eyeing each other.

“If there are no volunteers, I’ll assign them arbitrarily. We don’t have much time.”

“I’ll do it!”

At Gilbert’s urging, the first to raise his hand was a man with brown hair. Judging from the lack of recognition in Gilbert’s memory, he seemed to be a minor noble or a commoner.

Gilbert, still soothing the remnants of his arrogance, nodded.

“Your name?”

“Hans!”

“A commoner?”

“Y-yes.”

Hans tried to calm his trembling body under Gilbert’s expressionless gaze. Gilbert’s notorious reputation had spread even to the territory where Hans lived. The story of Gilbert beating a commoner almost to death because he was in a bad mood was already famous. Hans began to worry that Gilbert might lash out at him for stepping forward without knowing his place.

“I’ll appoint you as the deputy for now. Hans, stay over here.”

“Ah, understood!”

Relieved that Gilbert didn’t say anything more, Hans stiffly moved to the spot Gilbert pointed to and stood at attention.

At this point, volunteers started pouring in again. Without waiting for anyone to go first, hands began to rise, and team leaders were quickly decided. The deputy position was changed from Hans to another noble, which wasn’t Gilbert discriminating against Hans but rather showing consideration.

He was concerned that Hans, being a commoner, might face oppression from the nobles if he remained as deputy.

The new deputy was the daughter of a viscount, who had not looked favorably on Hans when he was first appointed as deputy. Her expression softened when the position was changed.

However, the team members didn’t view Gilbert’s consideration positively. They thought he was discriminating against commoners and trying to push a woman into the deputy position.

“Then, first, Team Leader Hans.”

“Yes!”

“Go meet the commander of Team 2 and propose an alliance. Tell them the alliance will dissolve when the two teams separate.”

“Is there a reason for Team 2?”

It was Angelina, the deputy, who asked. She agreed with quickly forming an alliance but was curious why Team 2 was specifically mentioned.

“The commander of Team 3 and I don’t get along, so the chance of an alliance is zero. The commander of Team 4 is likely to have serious conflicts of opinion. By process of elimination, the remaining team is Team 2’s commander.”

Originally, Gilbert’s plan was to form an alliance with Lily the moment he confirmed her presence. He intended to play the role of a mid-boss to help the protagonist grow, but realizing their relationship was at its worst, he revised the plan entirely.

The commander of Team 4 was somewhat self-centered, though not as much as Gilbert, so they were out of the question, leaving only the protagonist’s team.

Of course, there was a possibility they had already formed an alliance elsewhere or might refuse, so it was natural to probe other team leaders as well. Plans had to be flexible and redrawn if things didn’t go well.

“Team Leaders Bentley and Alex, go meet the commanders of Teams 3 and 4 and make the same proposal.”

“Is this in case things don’t go well with Team 2?”

“Correct, Deputy Angelina. Even if Team 2 is the best choice, we don’t know how they’ll respond.”

“Not bad. Team leaders, don’t forget to check if other teams have already formed alliances. We must consider the worst-case scenario.”

Gilbert looked at Angelina with new eyes as she gave additional instructions.

In the original work, she wasn’t a notable character, but her ability to grasp the situation and give clear commands was impressive.

She seemed to have a good sense of what needed to be said, showing she was well-suited as a deputy.

“Commander, why are you looking at me like that?”

“It seems I’ve chosen a capable deputy.”

“Interesting perspective. Not something I expected to hear from the commander.”

Gilbert didn’t respond to the sharp criticism. His reputation wasn’t helping at all.

But Angelina was revising her evaluation of Gilbert. The notorious ruffian of the Count family, said to have no abilities, was showing a side completely different from the rumors.

In Angelina’s view, Gilbert knew his position and accurately understood the obstacles it posed in forming alliances.

He wasn’t just expecting alliances to form upon request but was considering the other party’s tendencies, his own notorious reputation, and the commander’s personality, which deserved high marks.

Although there were moments of condescension or intimidating glances, considering his position as the heir of the Lion Heart family, it was rather acceptable.

Especially given the rumors surrounding him, it was almost believable that he was a different person.

‘We’ll have to see how far this goes.’

Angelina silently watched Gilbert as he looked at the tactical board, waiting for the team leaders to return.

After about 10 minutes, the team leaders came back. There were roughly 10 minutes left before the mock battle started.

“First, Team Leader Hans, report.”

“I proposed an alliance to Team 2, and they politely declined.”

“I see. Next, Team Leader Bentley.”

Though inwardly frustrated, Gilbert didn’t show it.

Every action of the commander could affect morale, so Gilbert maintained a poker face and silently listened to the next report.

“Team 3 also declined. From the atmosphere, it seemed they were planning to take us out first.”

“As expected. Lastly, Team Leader Alex.”

“Team 4 was the same. It was clear they had already formed an alliance elsewhere.”

The worst-case scenario had arrived. It was unclear how the alliances were formed, but it was certain they were in a dire situation.

The atmosphere quickly soured upon hearing all alliance proposals were rejected.

They were smart enough to realize that with the numerical disadvantage against three enemy teams, the chances of losing without doing anything were high.

Gilbert sighed inwardly at the sudden drop in morale. The situation he had feared had become reality, and it was a bit disheartening.

Perhaps his reputation made him untrustworthy, or the thought of sinking together in an alliance had been planted in the cadets’ minds.

‘No choice.’

He erased the failed alliances from his mind. There was only one option left.

Holding the command staff, Gilbert pointed to the base on the tactical board.

“Then I’ll explain the alternative plan. Everyone, focus.”

The name of the plan he devised was one.

The Rotten Water Technique.

 

---