Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family

Chapter 39: Misty Garden (1)

“The first is strict military management.”

“The reason?”

“The supply line from the capital to the front lines is not only stretched out over a long distance, but the system involved is also long and complicated. If even one person in the process has a different mind, corruption can easily occur, which will likely lead to supply shortages or errors.”

In my experience, most supply problems occurred because of people in the middle embezzling it when it was properly packaged and delivered. This was especially the case when the supply line was long. They recorded it as a loss and then sent it back to fill their own coffers.

Thanks to that, the ones who were dying were the ones fighting on the front lines.

“What next?”

In response to Professor Gavius’ question, I immediately answered the second question.

“It is the standardization of supplies.”

“Continue.”

“If the specifications of the supplies, such as quantity, weight, length, and width, are the same, it has the advantage of being easy to mass-produce. This is of great help in rapid supply, and at the same time, it does not cause confusion in the frontline units.”

This was also an answer based on what I experienced.

Non-standardized supplies caused frustration and low morale among frontline soldiers. Imagine waiting for six months to receive clothes and armor, but the size was wrong, and the weapons were randomly distributed. This would make it very difficult for the soldiers to use the unfamiliar equipment.

“And finally?

“It’s local procurement.”

“Local procurement? Are you talking about looting?”

Professor Gavius narrowed his eyes for the first time as he looked at me. I shook my head.

“No, it’s locally produced goods.”

Producing food locally.

When going through a war of attrition or a strategic battle, plunder was a limited and not very useful tactic. However, local production was different.

“Local procurement, huh.”

The longer the war dragged on, and the more the two things I just mentioned were violated, the more the quality of supplies deteriorated. However, even if the above-mentioned cases weren’t true, local production had many advantages.

There were a few crops that would grow even if you just sowed them randomly and watered them. With those, the food situation would improve significantly.

By the way, I felt like I was being watched from all sides. However, it seemed like the only people present in this space right now were me and Professor Gavius.

“Could you explain in more detail?”

“Local procurement has the advantage of enabling soldiers to achieve at least minimal self-sufficiency. For instance, in the land surrounding the longest-lasting frontlines of the war against the Drenik Empire, even without fertilizer, you could harvest coarse grains once every three months, and it’s also possible to harvest two kinds of vegetables. Of course, the taste could be better, but it would be more than enough as an emergency food supply.”

These were things that I had seen, felt, and experienced on the battlefield. I’d also farmed and harvested as I mentioned.

At my unhindered explanation, Professor Gavius was silent for a moment. I wondered if it was because I was being presumptuous for a freshman or something else.

“…”

Then, he asked me, “What year are you in?”

“I’m a first year, sir.”

“You’re a freshman?”

He looked at me in surprise for a moment.

“Strict military management, standardization of supplies, and finally, local procurement. All very excellent answers.”

At his praise, an exclamation of surprise rang out from those around me. They were probably Military science students.

“It’s not the correct answer. From a theoretical perspective, it’s not the perfect answer. But if you listen to the explanations, it’s a convincing one.”

Professor Gavius was quite sharp.

“However, your words remind me of soldiers and officers who have been on the battlefield.”

Then in a questioning tone, he added, “When you probably don’t have any battlefield experience?”

Of course I did. But I couldn’t say that.

“I often heard stories from my father.”

“Your father, huh? Then, what is your name?”

“My name is Dane Sogres.”

Prof Gavius nodded in understanding at that.

“The son of the Storm of Battle. Like father, like son, huh? Hahaha.”

Professor Gavius suddenly tilted his head.

“Wait, then… I didn’t even recognize the biggest new celebrity in the academy even though he was right before my eyes.”

Professor Gavius smiled and turned to the other students.

“Everyone, listen carefully. The Military Science that we will learn from now on is something along the lines of Dane Sogres’ answer. It will be based on the textbook but can be applied appropriately in real-life situations. This is the ultimate goal of Military Science.”

He continued with a click of his tongue.

“And Military Science students should be ashamed. Even though he is an Autonomous major, how could there be no one here who can give a better answer than a freshman? Tsk, tsk.”

My answer seemed to have unintentionally hurt the actual major students. I could feel dejected stares from here and there.

“You may sit, Dane Sogres.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I really hope to see you in the next class. I don’t know if you know this, but students from other majors tend to disappear from this class after the first week.”

That was an interesting fact.

“It’s really strange. Military Science is such a fascinating field.”

I thought it was a common characteristic among the professors that they thought their own field was always fascinating.

“Oh, if you have time, come to my office after class.”

Since I had a bit of time before my next class, I nodded. Was it because he knew my father? But the moment I turned to sit, I saw the Military Science students looking at me with eyes filled with pity.

‘Wh-what is it?’

“Then, let’s start class.”

After class, I realized why. My second sister had told me if someone invited me to the Imperial graduate school, I shouldn’t say anything and leave immediately. At the time, I didn’t quite understand why.

Even she had chosen to go to graduate school and was currently working as an assistant professor at the academy. But now, I thought I understood.

“I almost went to graduate school.”

I had barely escaped from Professor Gavius’ office. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The professor’s persuasion skills were no joke. He tried to win my favor by asking how my father was doing and offering me tea. Then, he started talking about Military Science and offering all sorts of advice.

I had almost nodded my head in agreement when I felt something was off. Thankfully, I recalled my second sister’s advice.

“I don’t have any plans like that.”

It would be one thing if there was something I truly wanted to learn more of, but I still wanted to learn about a wide variety of things and experience different things. However, as an assistant professor, I would have limited career paths and effectively become the professor’s alter-ego.

He didn’t seem like the kind of person to give up right away, though…

“Dropping the class is a bit much.”

Well, I’d just have to avoid him.

It was time to go to my next class.

I was supposed to meet Leila by the central fountain square, right?

I looked at the map and started walking towards the central fountain square. The academy was very large, so a map was essential. Even with one, it was easy to get lost.

The path I chose was a maze-like garden also known as the ‘Misty Garden’. If the weather was even slightly cloudy, the garden would be covered in fog, making it very easy to lose your sense of direction inside.

The already complex labyrinthian garden became a place people avoided once it was foggy. There were rumors that ghosts appeared at night. There was also a strange legend that the structure of the maze changed when it became foggy. I heard that several people got lost inside of it every year.

“For a place like that, this place is really good.”

It felt like our family garden. While our family garden felt warm and cozy, this garden felt familiar, as if I had been there before.

“Is it because my eldest sister told me about it?”

I didn’t feel any rejection of the place. I had a feeling I would be going through it more often in the future. Even though it was in the middle of the day, the garden was incredibly peaceful and quiet一

“Save me! Is anyone there?!”

Not so quiet after all. I listened to any more sounds.

“Please save me! I’m lost!”

So, it was a lost soul. I checked the time, pondering for a moment.

There was ample time. As long as I didn’t get lost as well, I could just take them with me and get out.

My mother always told me that if I saw someone in trouble, I shouldn’t hesitate to help them. That was what I had to do as a noble, as a family member of war heroes, as someone from House Sogres.

“Please save me!”

I walked towards where the sound came from and finally found the person calling for help.

“Th-thank god.”

I saw a guy wearing thick glasses. He was so thin that it looked like he would fall over if you poked him. He also looked terrible.

The moment he saw me, he was so relieved that it made me feel sorry for him.

“I thought I’d be lost forever… I never thought there would be another person in this garden! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The guy who kept expressing his gratitude was sobbing. He quickly introduced himself.

“I’m Ernest! Ernest Dylan, a freshman from the Exploration Department.”

Exploration Department.

I heard that it was a major that focused on exploring and discovering various civilizations, wonders, relics, and treasures that existed in the world. It showed how diverse the majors offered in the academy were.

However, the way he spoke about his family background seemed very unconfident.

By the way…

“Why is someone from the Exploration Department lost?”

“Th-that.. I was too excited and was running around…”

How excited were you?

“If it’s Baron Dylan…”

“Hahaha, it’s located…”

“It’s a house in the West, right? The emblem is probably a boat and a sailor?”

“Oh my goodness, you know that? Even what kind of house it is?”

Of course I did. The battlefield was where the banners of all the noble houses in the empire gathered.

Should I say that even if you didn’t want to learn, you would naturally come to know it? After about ten years of rolling around on the battlefield, you could easily identify noble families just by looking at their coats of arms.

The same went for the noble families of the Altheon Empire, which was the enemy country at the time.

“It’s a house famous for exploration, right?”

The guy nodded with an excited expression on his face, saying, “That’s right! Our family is very famous for exploring! For generations, our ancestors have explored the seas and unknown lands!”

Although he seemed a bit scrawny, it seemed like he chose a fitting department.

“By the way, you’re really smart. Wait, I’ve seen you somewhere…”

“My name is Dane Sogres.”

“Dane Sogres!”

Ernest covered his mouth in surprise.

Great reaction.

“So you’re the rumored top student? The first freshman who passed the autonomous major department in fifty years?”

“Yes. That’s me.”

“Oh my goodness! What good luck! I really wanted to meet you at least once!”

I tilted my head at those words and asked, “Me? Why?”

“Because you’re really great! You’re the top student, from the Autonomous Department, and even the son of Count Sogres, whom I respect!”

Ernest suddenly grabbed my hand and shook it, then he scratched the back of his head with a startled expression on his face.

“S-sorry. Did I go too far?”

“It’s fine.”

Since he admired my father, this much was fine.

It looked like there was a bruise under his clothes. Some scars too. Was it because he explored a lot? It looked a little different for something like that.

I changed the subject for a moment.

“If you’re from a house famous for exploration and from the Exploration Department, were you exploring in the garden?”

“How did you know?”

I just asked, but judging by the way his eyes widened, it must be true.

“Exploration excites me. In fact, everything new I encounter is an adventure! People, things, places! And of course, this labyrinthine garden!”

Then the boy opened the backpack he was carrying and showed it to me.

“All of this is exploration equipment.”

There was quite a lot. A map, compass, and various surveying equipment. It was probably quite heavy, but even though he looked scrawny, he seemed to be quite strong.

Well, it would be funny if he could really ‘explode’ if he was really that scrawny and weak. There were a few bruises beneath his collar. There were also scars on his face and arms. Were they from exploring?

“Amazing.”

“Right? Aren’t they amazing? My goal is to explore the whole academy!”

Ernest became excited and continued talking when I showed interest.

“Actually, this place is the same. Others don’t realize it, but if you look closely, there’s something here. It doesn’t make sense that it always becomes foggy just because the weather is a bit cloudy, right?”

He wasn’t wrong.

“So?”

“There’s something here. Some kind of force is at work here in this maze-like garden.”

“But no one has figured it out.”

“Yes, but what if it’s because no one thought to look, or if they tried, there was a reason they couldn’t find out?”

I tilted my head.

“A reason they couldn’t find out?”

“Yeah, a reason that is unknown at this point. But if we think of it in reverse… it could be due to an unknown element, such as a legacy from a lost ancient kingdom or summons from Beyond the Horizon?”

A legacy from an ancient kingdom, huh?

That sounded interesting. But before that, we had to leave the garden since we couldn’t be late. But just then…

“Huh? Rain…?”

Ernest covered the sky with his hand. Suddenly, the sky became cloudy and rain began to fall. A fog slowly began to rise, as if it had been waiting.

“Th-this is bad!”

Ernest took something out of his pocket in a fluster.

It was a compass.

Whiiiiirl

But the compass needle was turning around and around. That meant that it had lost its sense of direction.

“I heard about this, but how did this happen…?”

The rumor was true. I could understand why people were getting lost every year.

“This is bad, Dane. What should we do? We can’t move until the fog disappears.”

“Can’t it be solved through exploration?”

“No, not right now. I’d be confident anywhere else, but seeing as even the compass isn’t working, I think my guess is true.”

His guess, huh?

“There must be some unknown force acting in this Misty Garden.”

An unknown power.

It wasn’t a bad guess. Otherwise, the compass wouldn’t spin around like that when we hadn’t moved.

“My body feels like it’s slowly getting heavier. What should we do?”

I was fine. Rather, I felt strangely empowered.

Was it just a feeling? Or…

“Wait.”

Could this phenomenon have something to do with the fact that the fog felt both new and familiar?

I tried to gather some magic just in case. Then, the fog began to disperse from around my body.

“Aha.”

This was it. I smiled at the hypothesis that came to mind.

“Let’s go.”

I had a feeling that I knew the way out.

And the garden…

There might be a secret hidden there that I could uncover.

A secret that only I could uncover.