Chapter 565

Royal Class dormitory had allowed students to spend their winter break there, but not everyone had returned. The atmosphere was quiet as there were not many people to begin with. Ludwig unpacked his belongings in his dorm room and ran into Dae-to. They exchanged greetings and Ludwig asked about the others, but they were all busy with research. Only Ludwig and Bertholdt remained in the dormitory. Bertholdt rarely saw his peers since becoming emperor, but he reassured Ludwig that he was welcome. Ludwig thanked him sincerely. "I understand the desire to fight more. And I know that even in your current state, your abilities are exceptional compared to regular soldiers. However... you are not a regular soldier."

"I understand what you mean."

It is true that most regular soldiers are used as disposable items and die in battle without much impact. But even those regular soldiers who survive and become disabled are no longer deployed in combat. Ludwig is still capable of fighting, but he is a highly important member of the Royal Class. If he were to die, the morale of the entire Royal Class would be lowered. That's why he was forcibly sent to the rear, and Ludwig knows that well. It's just a sad situation. He can no longer fight and instead burdens his peers by retreating to the rear. "Delfin's situation... it's unfortunate. I haven't talked about it much, but he was a good friend." "..." Bertholdt didn't know Delfin well, but Ludwig had countless memories with Delfin Isard. He watched helplessly as his precious friend died. It was Ludwig's nightmare and reality. "It's all my fault." "What do you mean?" "It's my fault that Delfin ended up helping me." Ludwig muttered with a blank stare. "It's all my fault for being weak..." Bertholdt silently watched Ludwig blaming himself. Everyone was blaming themselves, and Ludwig was doing the same in this situation. It was an inevitable event, but Bertholdt kept his mouth shut instead of saying that they had saved Scarlet. Ludwig was broken. It's not particularly rare or special. Like everyone else, Ludwig will go through the same process. Since he withdrew from the battlefield, he will slowly decay in helplessness. What Ludwig needs is not sympathy or comfort. "There's plenty to do in the Hwangdo, and there are many places where you are needed." You need to know that you don't have to find the meaning of your existence only on the battlefield. "I'll arrange a position in the guard. It's not official, but let's try it once. We'll decide later whether you'll do it properly or not." He needs to feel that he is not powerless. * * * There was only Ellen in the 2nd year A-class dormitory. Of course, there are few people residing in the Royal Class now. So, instead of eating in the dormitory, they had meals in the main hall of the dormitory with mixed grades. Ellen usually ate a lot. But in the battlefield, there was no time and the food itself was a supply. So Ellen ate less than ordinary soldiers in the battlefield where she had to eat firmly. -Omnomnom It's been a while since she came to a comfortable place, so Ellen ate quite a bit, not as much as before, but still a lot. If we divide the Temple Royal Class into before and after the Gate incident, the quality of the food has decreased a lot. Therefore, Ellen didn't eat as much as she used to, but seeing her eat so much made her feel good. However, it was an absurd situation to feel good about eating like an animal in front of the owner. Anyway, it was a happy moment. Ellen fought on the battlefield eating as much as a flock of birds. Was Ellen good at conserving food? "Ellen, did you bring a cat?" "Yes." "It's good for him to be here. You thought well. Are you resting here too, Ellen?" "For a while." "Right. You need to rest." That's why other members of the Royal Class who met me at the Allied Forces' base often stroked me or talked to Ellen. I sat next to Ellen at the rectangular table. Ellen handed me a sausage, and I was nibbling on it. It's edible even if it's not in good shape. Of course, I didn't follow them to get this sausage. I'm looking for the B-Class guys. First of all, Anna de Gerna. Not here. Second, Christina and Louis Ancton. Not here. The only B-Class guys here are Ludwig and Detomorian. I thought I could see Anna, Christina, and Louis in the dormitory, but I couldn't find them. If their names don't come up, I can't tell what's going on. Can someone please tell me? Anna, Christina, Louis. Where are they? -Detto and Louis and the others are in the lab? Are they eating there? I can't see them. -Maybe they're staying there altogether? Isn't that too much? -They come here occasionally after a few days... Ludwig! You're the best. They are here! * * * They're playing. There was nothing else I could say objectively about my appearance after returning to the temple for a few days. I was just playing, except for walking with Ellen. Fortunately, Ellen didn't leave me and go back to the Allied Forces' base, leaving me to Bertholdt. Ellen seemed to be taking a long-awaited rest at the temple. Originally, I was going to gather information. But I couldn't do it. First of all, Ellen always took me with her, and secondly, except for Detomorian and Ludwig, B-Class guys didn't come back to the dormitory. The three of them are definitely at the temple, but it's hard to see their faces. They might be in a research lab or something. And I already have a rough idea of where that is. The fact that the three I'm looking for aren't visible is enough information. Translation:

Summary of previous part of chapter only for context: In this chapter, the protagonist, who is a cat, is with Ellen, the owner, and other members of the Royal Class at the Allied Forces' base. Ellen is seen eating a lot, which makes the protagonist happy. They are looking for the B-Class guys, Anna, Christina, and Louis, but they are not present. They ask around and find out that Ludwig and Detomorian are the only B-Class guys present. Later, they find out that the three missing B-Class guys are in a research lab, but the protagonist is not able to gather any more information. They spend their time playing and walking around with Ellen. The protagonist is relieved that Ellen did not leave them and go back to the Allied Forces' base.

They are not present altogether, which means they are all included in the Empire's secret research. Secret research related to the remains of a warrior. Louis has an excellent understanding of all magic fields, so it is understandable that he is involved in the project. Anna's talent in black magic can be guessed. But Christina's talent, alchemy. I don't know why an alchemist is needed. What are they doing? I will observe the situation rather than doing something suspicious or returning in human form to investigate. Edina said she would gather information with plenty of time, so there is nothing to worry about there. So, the only thing to do was to watch Ellen resting by my side. There were times when I lost consciousness and was dazed for a long time, but there was no movement to leave the palace. When Ellen becomes like that, she sits dazed for a long time and then regains consciousness after a while. "I've been here often." -Meow. The Temple Trail Hill. A place where she often ran as a running course. She ran with Adriana often, ran countless times alone, and ran with Ellen many times. Ellen looked down at the scenery below the hill with a faint look in her eyes. I felt like I knew what she was thinking.

* * *

They use that kind of language in the military. Rest is also a mission. Managing fatigue is a very important matter for maintaining the combat power of the military, so rest is inevitably a very important part of the military operation. So the saying that rest is also a mission is not just a saying, it is really a mission. And a very important one at that. Ellen was always at the forefront because she was in charge of reconnaissance and extermination in most battles, and when she occupied a place, she went out to pacify the surrounding areas and was the last to return. She was the first to jump into the battlefield and the last to return. Of course, there were occasional days off, but Ellen would have even jumped out of bed if she received a call from the command post. Ellen is resting now. She fully understood Berthus's words that she needed to rest. For the sake of others, just like how Ludwig was forced to return to the rear of the battlefield. For the sake of others, Ellen accepted that she needed to rest. It's not sleeping on a makeshift bed while maintaining a tense state on the battlefield. She's sleeping in her own room, wearing loose pajamas, and sleeping without anyone looking for her. Ellen not only eats, but also sleeps a lot. Like trying to catch up on the sleep she missed. There were times when she slept for more than twelve hours a day and even missed meals, and sometimes even took a nap. How tired must she have been? It's not just a problem with the Allied Forces. After the Gate incident, Ellen had to fight against monsters without rest. "When one place is cleared, they move on to another battlefield without rest. Ellen, like me, has been busy since the Gate incident three years ago. However, I didn't fight continuously like she did. I had more days where I was troubled by Edina's internal affairs. Even so, I rested for a long time in Lizai. But Ellen had to keep fighting. She slept with the blanket wrapped around her as if she were dead. This is probably the first time Ellen has had a proper, long rest since the Gate incident. So it's inevitable that she sleeps like she's dead to relieve the accumulated fatigue in her soul. Her door is slightly open, as if to say 'come and go as you please.' Since the A-Class dormitory is empty, there's no one to come looking for Ellen. She knows I'll be back soon even if I disappear, so she doesn't plan to confine me. Of course, Ellen probably doesn't know that you shouldn't actually raise a cat like that. It's early in the night. Let's go to the B-Class dormitory. The three I'm looking for might have come back today."