I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor
Chapter 109 : The Weight of the Past“......Hoo.”
The moment he opened his eyes, he instinctively grabbed his Longsword and sprang to his feet.
He remained on guard until his vision adjusted to the darkness, the blade aimed so it could pierce an enemy at any moment.
Without the slightest tremor, it reflected the anxiety within him.
A window covered by drawn blinds.
A room containing nothing but a bed and a small wardrobe.
Standing in that darkness devoid of even the faintest warmth, Jin Crow remained motionless for a long while.
Only after his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness did he realize what a disgraceful spectacle he had made of himself.
He let the Longsword slip from his hand and irritably put a cigarette between his lips.
“......Goddamn it.”
Feeling suffocated, he roughly tore open the buttons of his shirt before stepping onto the balcony and lighting it.
Sss—
Inhale.
Gray smoke drifted into the cold night air, swirling chaotically.
Leaning against the railing, he replayed what had just happened.
‘A dream I remember vividly. No... it's closer to a lucid dream.’
Without a doubt, it had been a dream illuminating Jin Crow's past.
Perhaps because of that, the headache Viper's medicine had suppressed began returning, bringing a wave of irritation with it.
Jin Crow bit down on the filter of the cigarette that had already burned to the end, crushed it into the ashtray, then lit another one as he silently gazed beyond the railing.
‘Jin Crow's past.’
Was it because of the cold wind?
Or because the headache had subsided during those brief moments?
Whatever the reason, as his irritation gradually cooled, Jin Crow chain-smoked while reflecting on everything he had seen.
“A test subject. Or was I nothing more than a tool?”
Anyone with half a brain would have realized by now that the past described in the original story could no longer be trusted.
In truth, there had always been hints.
The problem was that he had died before they were ever revealed.
But if someone asked whether Baek Hui-young was still a dangerous death flag at this point...
He could only tilt his head.
‘Things have changed far too much from the original.’
The same was true of Baek Hui-young's attitude.
Originally, he had been a cynical, taciturn guy who only acted warmly toward the heroines.
Yet somehow, he had become downright sly.
As though he'd eaten something strange.
‘It's hard to punch someone who's smiling at you.’
Although...
He was beginning to feel like he actually could.
Anyway, it wasn't the same look he gave the heroines.
How should he put it?
It was more like the look one reserved for a dependable comrade-in-arms.
He didn't know what had caused such a change, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
...It just irritated him.
Having reached that thought, he shook his head and took another drag from the cigarette that had practically become an extension of his mouth.
How many had he smoked sitting here?
A faint chuckle escaped him.
Lighting the last cigarette, he brushed back his hair as the wind swept through it and quietly murmured,
“A monster... A monster, huh...”
Feeling as though a past he could neither shake off nor ignore was slowly tightening around his throat, he could only laugh bitterly at himself.
Kukenhauzen
A military family descended from Kering Kukenhauzen, the hero who rose to prominence by suppressing the colonial planet rebellions before the Federation was founded.
As one of the founding military houses, they formed the largest faction within the Ministry of National Defense alongside the Rosen faction.
Some praised them as the Federation's most prestigious military family.
But everyone who knew them even a little called them something else.
‘A family without blood or tears.’
Whether that reputation stemmed from the fact that Kering, the family's founder, had been purged in his later years by politicians and political officers...
Or because cold blood that thirsted for power naturally flowed through their veins...
No one knew.
Only one thing was certain.
They did not respect the will of the individual.
Everything had to exist beneath the family's grand strategy.
The only concerns of each family head were the family's growth and survival.
That was how they were raised.
That was how they were educated.
Those who failed were either broken...
Or bent beneath the Kukenhauzen family's discipline.
Iron Blood.
Iron Face.
Iron Man.
Those were the values the family had revered for generations.
“Lieutenant Colonel Ideale Kukenhauzen. Proceed to Rocha Colony.”
“......Yes. Understood.”
Within such a family, Ideale Kukenhauzen had always been an uncomfortable existence.
「Youngest valedictorian in the history of the Central Special-duty Officer Academy.」
「Immediately after commissioning, reported supply corruption within a Kukenhauzen-affiliated faction to the Military Police.」
「Awarded the Medal of Merit.」
「Reassigned to the frontmost defensive line.」
「Promoted to First Lieutenant following the outbreak of the Third Galactic War.」
「Reassigned to a rear-echelon supply unit.」
「Repeated requests for frontline deployment. Denied.」
......Omitted......
「Promoted to Major due to the success of operational plans personally drafted.」
「Repeated requests for frontline deployment. Denied.」
「Some argued that the combat capabilities of a Penta Gear–class Special-duty Officer were being wasted.」
「Decision of the Ministry of National Defense High Council. Assigned to defend Rocha Colony, located on the advance route of the Holy Galactic Empire's 7th Army Corps.」
「Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.」
The estimated strength of the Holy Galactic Empire's 7th Army Corps, expanded under wartime mobilization, was one million troops.
Meanwhile, Rocha Colony possessed only two Planetary Defense Force brigades and one Federation division.
A total of 25,000 soldiers.
A forty-to-one numerical disadvantage.
Upon seeing that, Ideale abandoned even her pride and immediately requested reinforcements.
She didn't need an entire corps from a neighboring sector.
Even additional Planetary Defense Forces would be enough to hold Rocha Colony.
〔No forces available. Hold the frontline.〕
The reply was concise.
There would be no reinforcements.
Defend the colony.
At the same time, however, the Kukenhauzen family threw her a pitiful lifeline.
“I am Lieutenant Colonel Rick, commander of the 511th Regiment of the Kering Planetary Defense Force. We have been dispatched for emergency contingencies.”
The 511th Assault Regiment of the Kering Planetary Defense Force.
The elite assault regiment from Kering, the Kukenhauzen family's homeworld.
Did Ideale not understand what that meant?
Having endured countless attempts to break her spirit, Ideale looked at Rick with the emptiness reflected in her white eyes and quietly asked,
“Your elders sent you here to ensure our defeat.”
“......”
“And yet they also expect me to survive. Because my life is too valuable. Because a Penta Gear–class Special-duty Officer is too valuable to lose.”
Lieutenant Colonel Rick did not dare answer a member of the Kukenhauzen bloodline.
Even with the fury burning in her eyes, he merely stood there in silence.
The fact that they shared the same rank meant nothing.
Rank itself was irrelevant.
To them, the Kukenhauzen bloodline was something to which absolute loyalty was owed.
The talented young woman before him—
who nevertheless had to be broken—
was no exception.
“......Leave.”
“Glory to the blood of Iron Blood.”
Ignoring Rick's salute, which bordered on fanaticism, she quietly began analyzing the battlefield.
It was an unjust order.
The outcome had already been decided.
A filthy operation driven entirely by politics and subjugation, with no regard whatsoever for the inevitable losses.
She had considered abandoning everything and fleeing.
She truly had.
But she couldn't.
‘Approximately 1.5 million civilians remain on Rocha Colony.’
To those who devoted themselves to the Kukenhauzen family, those lives held no value whatsoever.
Some might laugh at her.
Across the galaxy, hundreds of millions—
even billions—
were dying.
What difference could saving the people of one tiny colony possibly make?
But Ideale could not abandon them.
‘If I hadn't insisted on serving on the frontline... perhaps they could have lived ordinary lives as rightful citizens.’
The Kukenhauzen family had chosen to sacrifice all of those lives to tame one exceptionally promising—
yet insolent—
successor.
So she made her choice.
Not the choice forced upon her.
She would create her own.
“I'll evacuate everyone.”
Conviction filled the white eyes gleaming beneath Ideale's silver-white hair.
What was a soldier?
They were, by nature, an organization built upon violence.
But what was the purpose of their existence?
“Loyalty to the nation. Loyalty to the people.”
Reciting the now old and worn military oath, she moved immediately.
She reorganized the remaining forces.
She ordered the 511th Regiment, who could not refuse the commands of the Kukenhauzen bloodline, to establish a temporary Military Police force and remove every incompetent and corrupt officer.
Then she gathered every defeated unit drifting nearby, expanding her forces into the equivalent of three full divisions.
During that process, she clashed with the Imperial Army and lost her Penta Gear–class Special-duty equipment.
She did not regret it.
“An offensive is impossible. Given the nature of the colony, even a defensive battle won't hold for long.”
“Our best option is evacuation. But the nearby hyperspace coordinates are already known to the Empire. If we're unlucky, the fleet could be shot down during the jump...”
She assembled experienced officers and NCOs into a staff corps, searching for every possible means of evacuation.
She gathered the Special-duty Officers and NCOs into a single battalion and created a support regiment to coordinate with them.
Lieutenant Colonel Rick never interfered.
They did not think.
They simply obeyed the family head's command—
to save the Kukenhauzen bloodline once everything inevitably failed.
Until that moment came, their master remained Ideale Kukenhauzen.
“We've requisitioned every available ship. Civilian vessels incapable of long-range hyperspace jumps will evacuate along three separate routes.”
“The problem is the enemy's dreadnought-class battleship. With this many ships trying to escape, a sacrificial force to delay them is absolutely necessary.”
Five cruisers.
Three armored cruisers.
Two destroyers.
Two passenger liners.
Thirteen large merchant ships.
One hundred seventy-two small merchant ships.
With not even a proper battleship to their name, they had been forced to requisition civilian vessels to prepare for the evacuation of every citizen.
Then Ideale spoke without hesitation.
“Three cruisers. Two armored cruisers. One destroyer will remain behind to conduct a delaying action. The destroyer will serve as flagship. I will assume command.”
“Lieutenant Colonel.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Rick. I did not grant you permission to speak.”
Naturally, Rick attempted to object.
But Ideale coldly silenced him as a member of the very Kukenhauzen bloodline she despised.
“If your orders are to keep me alive, then drag me away after our defeat is certain. If you attempt to take me before then...”
The command room instantly turned frigid.
The killing intent flickering within her white eyes fixed itself squarely upon Rick.
“Even I don't know what I'll do to you.”
“......I understand.”
Rick withdrew.
The operation proceeded according to plan.
The Holy Galactic Empire's 7th Fleet appeared near the colony and sealed off every hyperspace jump route.
〔Cruiser Adon has been sunk!〕
〔Aaaaaaaagh!〕
〔Delta Platoon of the Assault Battalion infiltrated the enemy flagship. All life signs have been lost.〕
〔Alpha Platoon of the Assault Battalion. All life signs lost.〕
“What about Red Platoon?”
“No signal!”
“......Ah. Ah...”
Ideale had done everything she could.
Yet all of her struggles accomplished nothing more than buying a little more time for the evacuation.
〔Ar-Armored Cruiser Pritson. It... it was an honor... Cough... to serve... Bang—!〕
“We're taking you with us.”
When even the final warship conducting the delaying action was sunk, the soldiers of the 511th Regiment silently seized Ideale's arm.
The soldiers who had fought to the death meant nothing to them.
The only thing that mattered was boarding the transport ship with her alive so they could fulfill the family's orders.
‘So... this is how it ends.’
As they dragged her away against her will, Ideale experienced true despair for the first time.
She had done everything she possibly could.
But once defeat had been predetermined, there was nothing left she could change.
Perhaps Rick and his regiment had known from the very beginning.
No matter how desperately she struggled...
No matter how fiercely she fought...
She could never meaningfully alter the course of this battlefield.
‘So this... is the power... of factions... of families...’
Looking back, that was when Ideale had begun to break.
Slowly.
Gradually.
She was being worn away.
Even as she boarded the transport ship, the communicator in her hand remained her final thread of hope.
The moment she let it go...
She probably would have broken completely.
But then—
〔This is Houn-- Battalion. First Lieutenant Jin Cr--ow. Accepting the support requ--st from Armored Cruiser Pritson. We will stri-- the enemy flagship.〕
The signal was weak and constantly cutting out.
Yet that voice pierced directly into her mind.
Calm.
Unemotional.
An ordinary battalion calmly declared that it would strike the enemy flagship.
He knew with certainty it was a suicide mission.
Even so, he simply stated his intentions—
and added nothing more.
“Move!”
Ideale immediately shook off the soldiers restraining her and ran toward the nearest window.
What she witnessed there...
Was nothing short of madness.
“......Good heavens.”
KWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNG!
An assault craft plunged straight into the rear hangar of the enemy flagship—
and exploded.
Watching it, Lieutenant Colonel Rick calmly remarked,
“......A suicide attack. What a pity.”
His voice carried neither sorrow nor surprise.
Only indifference.
Ideale lowered her head.
Stepping away from the window, she quietly sat back down.
Without offering her comfort or consideration, Rick turned to his soldiers and ordered,
“Activate stealth mode. The risk of Imperial detection remains high. Hold position for twenty-four hours.”
Their only concern was returning her alive.
How much time passed?
At least ten hours.
Just as Ideale's spirit was about to shatter completely—
“W-What...?”
One of the soldiers assigned to watch her stared out the window and cried out in shock.
KWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNG!
The enemy flagship exploded.
Nor was that all.
The resulting shockwave forced the surrounding Imperial ships to retreat in haste.
Moments later, they entered hyperspace and withdrew.
“......This.”
As though entranced, Ideale approached the window herself.
The explosion painted her pale face crimson.
She gripped the communicator tightly.
〔This is First Lieutenant Jin Crow. Mission complete. Returning to base. Over.〕
That name echoed through her ears.
Murmuring it to herself, Ideale emerged from her memories.
She looked up at the man standing before her.
“Still not planning to give up on the frontline inspection?”
“Yes.”
Jin Crow.
She stared silently at the man whose black eyes always managed to irritate her.
In the end...
Remembering the debt she owed him from that day...
She stamped his paperwork once more.
“Get out at once!”
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