Chapter 112: The Official Beginning—Armament Exercise

“Thank you, brother!” After patting Cole on the shoulder, Treshi turned to the host and said, “Mr. Host, why don’t we begin our military exercise now? I heard we’ll be using the military version of Battlefield Commander this time, correct?”

Hearing this, the host suddenly grew curious. “What’s the matter? Your Highness, are you not aware of this?”

At those words, Treshi shook his head. “How would I have access to military equipment? Don’t forget, I’ve only just returned.” After a brief pause, he continued, “Although there is a civilian version, it’s merely for entertainment. I’ve never been fond of that sort of thing.”

“Understood!” Phelps nodded. “Then allow me to explain in detail. Battlefield Commander was originally developed by the military specifically to train officers in command positions—field-grade officers, colonels, and even generals. It is based almost entirely on real-world data. Through the use of simulation pods, commanders can experience the battlefield firsthand and even sustain injuries during military training. Because this method of command is far more practical and efficient than tabletop simulations, it has gradually replaced war games conducted on sand tables.”

“I see. I don’t know much about it, but… wasn’t this something my teacher, Titan, invented in the first place? I never expected to come into contact with something made by him.” Treshi smiled.

In truth, he knew the Battlefield Commander system quite well. The civilian version was built using fully immersive virtual reality or certain channel simulators. In addition, most command skills could be activated manually whenever the historical conditions were met, such as during simulations of the United Kingdom’s War of Independence.

The military version, however, worked differently. Although the military still took soldiers’ “morale” into account, it offered almost no obvious data panels for the commander to consult. The commander had to rely on instinct and judgment, meaning that he was truly directing an actual battle. After all, everyone knew that on the other side of the system was another commander just like oneself.

Furthermore, since this was the military version, it used the latest data: ship specifications, aircraft specifications, tank specifications, and even randomly generated weather conditions and other variables. The reason was simple—to simulate reality as closely as possible.

“Your Highness Treshi, since Wales is so ambitious this time, I imagine you have already made all the necessary preparations. I hope you can show us an entirely new Wales,” Phelps said, his words carrying an unmistakable bias.

Yet everyone present knew why. Treshi’s faction had not appeared in the public eye for a very long time. Now that they had finally returned, it was only natural that everyone wanted to make a spectacular story out of it.

A few minutes later, the simulation pods opened. Treshi and Doctor Roger entered two separate pods, clearly indicating that the two of them would serve as their side’s primary and deputy commanders.

Even so, the audience was obviously curious. Doctor Roger was not an unknown figure. Everyone knew that he had once been Cole’s personal physician before becoming Prince Treshi’s personal assistant. Some people had even dug into his background and claimed that he was the illegitimate son of one of the patriarchs of the Durendal family of Europa. They said that he had fallen out with his family after choosing medicine as a career and had left home as a result.

Because Roger and Cole had spent so much time together, many people had already come to regard them as a couple. Cole was taciturn, cold on the outside but warmhearted within, while Roger was refined and courteous yet utterly aloof. Although Roger now worked for Treshi, the situation had not changed very much. Even so, Doctor Roger was still hailed as the most popular figure after Cole.

“Commander detected. Synchronization beginning. Connecting to the Commander system.”

Inside the simulation pod, Treshi closed his eyes and allowed the pod to penetrate his consciousness. In fact, he had long since begun to wonder whether, when they first “arrived” in this world, they had also been inside simulation pods.

He knew the pod designed for him extremely well. When Teacher Titan had first created it, Treshi himself had been one of the first “users”—or, more accurately, one of the test subjects.

“Synchronization rate: twenty-five percent… fifty percent… seventy-five percent… one hundred percent… Synchronization complete. Entering the Commander system. Welcome back, Your Highness Treshi!”

Welcome back?

Upon hearing that greeting, the audience began to understand that something was amiss. What did he mean, he was not familiar with it? If this was his first time entering the system, shouldn’t it have said something like “Nice to meet you” instead? Or was this simply how the military version operated?

“Your Highness Treshi! Please select your combat faction!”

The unpleasant electronic voice irritated the audience as well. In the standard mode of Battlefield Commander, the artificial-intelligence marshal at the highest difficulty level spoke in exactly this manner. And on the opposing side… there was no mistake. The system imitated the command habits of the marshals and generals from the era of the United Kingdom’s War of Independence.

Of course, that was only how things appeared on the surface. In artificial-intelligence mode, the opposing commanders were usually given the names of those historical marshals.

“Wales!” Treshi answered without hesitation. He was the Prince of Wales himself, so naturally he would choose Wales.

What he did not know was that his younger brother, Prince Charles, had no intention of following the usual pattern.

“Selecting Ireland!”

“Selecting Scotland!”

Prince Queville, at least, obediently chose his own Scotland. As for why Prince Charles had not chosen England, perhaps it was because England’s starting point was London. If he had chosen it, both his elder brothers, Treshi and Queville, would have concentrated their attacks on him first. He was not foolish enough to make that choice.

“Faction selection complete… Generating battlefield… Theater: United Kingdom… Beginning connection…”

Listening to the electronic voice while waiting in the virtual corridor, Treshi felt slightly annoyed. “Couldn’t the military department use a better voice? After this is over, I’ll have Cole replace it.”

Cole had also entered the battlefield exercise, but because there were only two positions for supreme commanders, he could only choose another command position. As for what that position was…

“Connection complete… Five minutes of mobilization time remaining…”

At that moment, the corridor before Treshi began to change, gradually transforming into the interior of a command center. Yet only he and Roger were present.

“A command center? Oh, come on! I don’t like commanding from a chair. Roger, you’re in charge of defending headquarters. I’ll make a few adjustments and then begin planning.”

From the commander’s seat, the entire map of the battle could be seen clearly. For the moment, the troop deployment in his homeland—Cardiff—could still be observed. As for the headquarters of the other two factions, their positions could not be determined at all. The fact that Cardiff was located in such an unusual position made that immediately obvious.

“Understood! Begin the plan!”

—Author’s Note—

Fate/Grand Order, Azur Lane, Arknights—good heavens! Every game I play is running an event, and I’ve only just finished my college entrance examinations. I’m exhausted!