Kady's Journey -Freesia-

Chapter 17: The Devil

"You are like a one-woman parade, don't you know that, Kady?"

I laughed at Daryl's remark the moment I entered the big living room of his villa located at his family's territory, the Barony of Agatio where the industrial capital of the Dukedom. 

I was surprised when Yosef told me that Daryl wants me to go to his villa the very next day after our trip south of Riksent. He said it's a general meeting of sorts but looking at Marga, Rod, and Belle who are also here with Silmeria, Hrist, and Lenneth, I think I can safely assume that the Imperials and Royals are having their own meetings like this as Denal was summoned by Kyrus as well.

"Why did you say that? As far as I am now, I am very inconspicuous and low-profile with Denal," I said innocently that made Rod snort before throwing a newspaper on my direction which I barely caught.

"Read it, Kady."

I did and I gasped when I saw the front page and read it loudly, "A Serene Young Lady And A Dapper Boy Bring Joy To Riksentian Establishments," I shook my head as I continued pursuing the article, "Store owners and employees are expressing their happiness when telling our correspondents their encounters with the shopping duo that was reported to have been on a massive buying spree these past few days around Laroost and other baronies. Their names are withheld at the request of the head of House Freedel for their privacy and security but it cannot change the fact that they are already bringing good publicity to the Gearth Military Academy which sent them to our Dukedom for their immersion activity along with the rest of their class..."

The front page has a blown-up colored picture of our backs as we were staring outside of a Laroost store with our arms and hands laden fully with shopping bags making us look like we are onto our next target.

Which is honestly what we are doing...

"Well, Kady?"

I looked at Belle who sent me a flying kiss, "Look at what your threat did to me. I landed on the front page!"

She laughed and winked at me, "Well, at least it's better than doing your shopping with me and my mom in a reality tv show."

"What threat did you tell her?" Marga asked curiously as she motioned me to sit between her and my close friend.

"Well, I told her that if she didn't splurge in Riksent, I will make sure she will do her shopping properly on primetime tv," Belle said happily that made Rod groan.

"I now understand why you suddenly decided to do the thing you hated the most so much you landed front page at Riksent's biggest broadsheet," the fiance of Marga said as he looked at Lenneth who is reading the newspaper now, "Any other important news we might've missed?"

Hrist and Silmeria peered over their sister's shoulder as they joined her in reading, "Well, the Chancellor of the Empire got more support behind him and over half of their generals rallying to his call of a tougher stance against the Kingdom."

"Vladimir Bogdanov, the three-term Chancellor of the Democratic Empire of Scania. The main reason why Kyrus and his mother lost so much of their power and mostly relegated to mere figureheads," Marga said with so much contempt and disdain in her voice, "Very racist and xenophobic as well. He only thinks of Scanians as the best "species" in the world with him the epitome of his distorted dogma. He treats my mother with blatant disrespect even before I was born."

Rod nodded at his fiance, "Dad said that that man is craving for a war against the Kingdom so he can "crush them once and for all", how delirious."

"And he got the power and position to back up his insane mindset," Silmeria said worriedly as Hrist nodded, "What did you say Hrist again about that kind of man?"

The member of the Arngrim House grunted and spat at the trash can near her, "That Chancellor is the kind of person who will not think twice killing millions or sending soldiers to their deaths just to further his ambitions. I shudder to think what insidious thing he will do if he gained even more power in the next elections."

"As far as I know, you can only be elected as a Chancellor for three terms, five years each, right?" Aerith piped in as she quietly returned from the corner of the room bringing refreshments for everybody."

"Well, I don't know what he is plotting but mother said that he is doing everything he can both over and under the table just to ensure that he will stay in power," Marga said forebodingly before shaking her head and looking at Lenneth who got what she wanted to say as she unceremoniously threw the newspaper to the trash can, "Why are we talking about that corrupt crook anyways? Daryl, please take it away."

The Crown Count coughed a little and smiled at my direction, "Well, the reason why I summoned you here and the other Maharlikans is to tell you all that the Gearth Military Academy War Games will be officially kicked off the moment we returned to the Republic five days from now. It is customary that Riksentian and Maharlikan students compete against the Scanians and Kalalitans under one flag. I trust that Kady, Margarita, Rodrigo, and Belle already knows why it is like that, right?"

"Because basically, Riksent and Maharlika is functioning as one country in all intents and purposes but having completely different governments," Belle answered knowingly, "Shopping around Menardi made me realize that."

I nodded and smiled, "One cannot survive intact without the other, or so I heard."

"Exactly. That's why it is imperative for us to work together more than ever," Aerith said excitedly.

Silmeria however, raised her hands respectfully, "But Aerith, the Maharlikan and Riksentian coalition never won before, right?"

"Too true. The gauge for the Empire and Kingdom is won or lost. For us, it's how long before we get steamrolled," Daryl said sadly as he looked at Lenneth, "What is our best record before we got wiped out?"

One of the Baroness' prodigy pressed her finger on her lips for a while and trying hard to remember before smiling, "Four hours and fifty-two minutes before total annihilation."

"Ouch," Marga exclaimed sadly as Rod chuckled hopelessly.

"Dad said that when it was his time, he and Marga's mom lasted for about three hours before the Empire kicked them to the curb and routing the Kingdom," he said before nodding at Hrist, "You, however, don't look like you have any intentions of just rolling over and die."

The dominant of the three sisters nodded, "It is against our family's doctrines to go down without a fight. With all due respect, Aerith and Daryl, I propose that we still mount an aggressive defense at the very least."

"Well, I am all up for it but is there anyone here who can lead us to battle because goodness knows that even I won't follow my own advice during times of battle. The House Colt is an expert on the field of manufacturing and engineering, military? Not so much," the Crown Count said as Aerith looked crestfallen since she seemed to be eager to go to battle uncharacteristically.

To my surprise and Belle's, Hrist looked at our direction, "We do have Kady and Belle here. They have Strategy as their major subjects."

"Who? Me?!" my close friend exclaimed as if she was surprised to be singled out at all, "I can understand Kady but why me as well? I only took that class randomly!"

"Well, it doesn't change the fact that you two are the ones who take that subject and apparently excelled at it," Silmeria said pointedly, "If remembered correctly, Belle got the lowest grade out of you four and it's A-. Kady got A right?"

I nodded slowly trying not to show that I am committing to their crazy plan, "Let me remind you two that Silva also got A while Galion and Lexei got a whooping A+. In case you all are forgetting, there are two Kalalitans who took Strategy and I am telling you honestly that Lexei got A+ because there is no such thing as S rank score to properly label his superiority to Galion. That guy's brain is nuts!"

"Wow, the way you put it, it seems like you are already sure that we will lose," Aerith said sadly as Daryl patted her back.

I shook my head as I look at Belle who is the only person understanding my position because she is there as well every single time Galion and Lexei have a strategy debate, "We are just being realistic. I don't want to get your hopes up when there is nothing to be had at all, to begin with. You can only say things like that because you weren't there at our Strategy class. Forget Silva and Galion, Lexei seemed to be born to strategize."

They all fell silent and I tried to change topic as I am starting to feel guilty for letting them down, "How are we going to do this wargame anyways?"

"Do you know the virtual reality, Kady?" Silmeria asked me and I shook my head quickly in confusion.

"Visual what?"

Belle laughed and hugged me fondly as if I am her cute toy or something, "Dumb it down as much as possible, Silmeria. Kady here is very popular in the Empire particularly in the Yekaterin Dukedom for being impressed and dumbstruck by just about any slightly advanced piece of technology."

"Ok, Belle. I'll try," the smartest of the Baroness' prodigies smiled at me as she began to explain slowly and clearly what she meant, "Virtual reality, Kady. It is a kind of device that lets you experience things that aren't real. How can I explain it further? Let's see, think of it this way, you enter a dream world made by other people conscious. Like the video games kids are playing today but this time "you" yourself is inside the game. A wargame."

It took me several seconds to process what he said before coming into a conclusion, "So basically it is a make-believe world that is very close to our real one and we can move there as if it is physically us but it is, as you said, just a game."

"Exactly. Our classmates are correct, you might not be the most intelligent of us but you sure are quick on the uptake," Silmeria said happily as her sisters nodded in agreement.

"Thanks but I have a question. What if we got shot or a bomb exploded near us, will we feel the pain or are there any bad things that will happen to us?" I asked worriedly.

She shook her head, "Nope. If you get hit in a vital area of your body or the computer deemed you too injured to go on, you will get kicked out of the game. No physical pain or anything detrimental will be felt by the participants."

"Though the Empire is developing a virtual reality that can make your body feel the pain as if it's really real," Marga said matter of factly that made me surprised.

"Why would they want you to be hurt in a simulation or game? Doesn't that defeats the purpose of playing it?" I asked incredulously that made the daughter of the Scanian diplomat laugh patronizingly at me with my other classmates.

"Because they said that to feel more the weight of every actions and order, one should be presented with a harsher penalty for each misstep that you or your leader makes rather than just being kicked out if you got hit badly in-game," Rod said clearly for me as he shrugged his shoulders, "The Kingdom also haves the same opinion but thankfully for us, the technology for that is still years away so we're safe."

Lenneth snorted and laughed a little, "Yeah, we're safe from physical pain but the emotional and mental one once we lost will be rather unbearable. I just wish we can lose this with as much grace as possible."

"I wouldn't be too keen about a graceful exit, Silmeria," Aerith said dismissively as she looked at Daryl with disdain, "Our leader here is not graceful at the very least. I shudder to think how pathetic our exit will be with Daryl on the helm."

"Hey! I resent that," the Crown Count said as he heaved a sigh and nodded at us, "Welp, there goes our last chance to at least managed to win. Let's just hope that Kyrus and Trevor will be so busy with each other they will ignore us completely."

Hrist raised her eyebrow when she heard those words, "Fat chance. Those have the same lust for battle and brutality. I doubt they will just turn a blind eye on us when they know their victory should be absolute and will leave no room for doubts."

"That and as Belle and Kady said, Galion and Lexei are really the keys to their war plan. I doubt Galion will settle for anything less than complete and absolute destruction of his foes," Rod said confidently, "His father is a strict follower of the Kakalitan supremacy dogma and although they are not on the best terms, dad said that Galion has the same bloodlust and mental fortitude like his father. Expect Trevor to use that to his advantage."

"Likewise, please remember that even though Kyrus is a chronic slacker, his cunning brain is second to none that he inherited for the Tsarina of Yekaterin," Marga reminded us all after she sips tea from her cup, "Tsarina Alexa wasn't called by the Kalalitans as the Witch of Yekaterin for no reason. She and her son are very tenacious and persistent. I'm quite certain that he will make sure that our defeat won't be quick and painless. He will pick us out bit by bit before circling in for the kill."

Belle nodded and heaved a sigh, "I just remembered now that last week, Silva said that in the grand scheme of things when it comes to strategy making, he is completely inconsequential and Galion's only edge against Lexei is the superior numbers of the Kingdom's horde the Alricer can bring to bear."

"Is this wargame only for our class or other classes of first years are going to join us?" I asked curiously that made Aerith looked more embarrassed for Daryl who let out an exasperated laugh.

"If only it's us who will play and a few first years, I wouldn't be this worried," the Crown Count moaned as he put his palm in his face and shook his head, "No, Kady, all twenty thousand students of the Gearth Military Academy's first and second years will be divided according to their nationalities and be put under the command of the highest-ranking student of their respective countries."

"So it's you for the Riksentian and Maharlikan students, Kyrus and Trevor for Scanians and Kalalitans respectively," I said quietly before smiling sweetly at the heir to the throne of the Dukedom, "Boy, we really are screwed, aren't we?"

Even Daryl laughed with the rest of us after I said that. 

"Don't laugh as if you won't be sharing the shame, Kady," Daryl warned me before starting to throw several folders to each of us, "You will lead the 1st Heavy Artillery Batallion."

"Wait, the what?" I asked confusedly as I opened the folder he gave me and I saw hundreds of names of both Maharlikan and Riksentian students.

"1st Heavy Artillery Battalion, Kady," Daryl said slowly as he pointed the folder I am holding right now, "You will have eight hundred students specializing on heavy artillery tactics under your direct command. They will follow your orders to the letter unless for some odd reason I decided to override your authority which I wouldn't do since I don't even know what to command you all in the first place. You will meet and get to know them better when we returned to Maharlika. The rest of the students back at the academy are now practicing and preparing for the wargame so it wouldn't take long for us to mobilize. We will just do a bit of trust-building and teamwork exercise before the wargame proper begins."

I looked at Belle who is reading her own papers carefully, "What battalion is under your command, Belle?"

"2nd Intelligence and Propaganda Batallion. Lightly armed infantry troops specializing in, intelligence gathering, and propaganda. I see familiar names on my list. Some child stars and media celebrities around my age who like me entered this school for further studies. The others are bearing last names of prominent Maharlikan and Riksentian families excelling at either sports or scholarly fields."

Rod chuckled as he and his fiance pursued their own folders, "I have to hand it over to our teachers, they really know where to put which students to what battalion. My 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion is full of students from Zamboanga province and Saturos Barony which produced the best infantries of the Maharlikan and Riksentian Army."

"Likewise, the 4th Guerilla Warfare Battalion is full of students from Karst Barony and Tayabas City. Home of the best insurgency specialized soldiers of our countries," Marga then looked at the three sisters who are sitting next to her and poring over their folders seriously, "What do you three got?"

"The 5th Paratrooper Shocktroopers Battalion for me. Hrist has the 6th Security Espionage Batallion and Silmeria with the 7th Airborne Mortar Battalion," Lenneth answered as she looked at Aerith who is content at what she sees.

"I've got the 8th Logistics and Supply Battalion," the countess said happily while looking at Daryl who is groaning again, "What's with the groan?"

"The overall command and responsibilities of mobilizing the joint armies fall on my shoulders," he said sadly and this time, he really looks scared of failure.

We may not have spoken that much at the academy nor I can consider that we are the closest of friends, I still didn't forget the advice he gave me on my very first day months ago.

If not for his concern and kindness, I would've never known what I must do in order to not just cope up but also enjoy my time there. It is not an exaggeration to say that it's because of Daryl that I am able to even survive to study at our school without continuously butting heads with the nobility.

I looked at Belle who smiled at me meaningfully. I bet she is thinking the same thing right now. I have confided to her before what Daryl had told me back when I walked out of the cafeteria and how much his words helped me in my school life.

"Daryl, how much do you trust me?"

He suddenly looked up to me and blinked his eyes, "I actually trust you more than I trust myself."

"To the point that I will be willing to defer to your judgments at the heat of the battle. I am really not just cut out for things like these, Kady. I am so ashamed of myself right now."

I shook my head and glanced at my close friend who smiled kindly at Daryl, "There is no shame in admitting your weakness. I guess that what makes you different from Trevor and Kyrus. You are not afraid to show your flaws. You are willing to ask for other people's help rather than bear the burden of leading all alone."

"Well, if I can't be true to myself, how can I be to others?" he asked before laughing a little that made Aerith smile at her impressed, "So, Kady. Did you change your mind?"

"I wouldn't say I did completely but if I am going to be serious about this, I need to concentrate on strategy alone. I am not stepping into your shoes, Daryl," I made it clear to him which he agreed quickly.

"Of course, I will be your mouthpiece. If there is anything that you need from me, just ask," he said as he looked at Baroness Severina's prodigies, "I am absolutely sure that Hrist, Silmeria, and Lenneth will do everything they can to assist. Aerith will handle the paperwork and communications."

Aerith beamed at me as Hrist give me a thumbs up, "I knew you will come through for us, Kady. But you have almost zero ideas about the military strategy of the Dukedom and understandably so. We are not a very militaristic nation. Want me to borrow some documents and books from my elders?"

"Please do, Hrist. Lenneth, I want you to help me formulate battle tactics but actually, before that, I want to verify something. In the virtual reality, will the military hardware of Riksent and Maharlika in their tip-top shape? All of us here know that if it is taking into account the real world, Riksent's military equipment are either mothballed a best or already dismantled at worst. Don't get me started with the Maharlika's."

Lenneth nodded as she looked at Silmeria, "As far as I know, it is using the data way back when the Dukedom's and Maharlika's military capacity is at their prime to keep it fair against the Empire and Kingdom."

"But I doubt that even if they are in perfect shape, it still way more outdated than the Kalalit's, Kady. We haven't updated our data for decades unlike those two nations since, well, we don't have anything to update, to begin with," Silmeria warned me.

"That is actually the best thing we have right now. I am just thankful that we don't have to deal with rusty armaments even in the virtual reality," I looked then to my Maharlikan classmates who are waiting for their orders, "Rod, Marga, I need your input more than ever about the Kingdom and Empire's military behavior and biases. Belle, I am counting on you for intelligence gathering, especially in propaganda purposes. The greatest contribution of our country to this joint effort is its troops. We need them to be well prepared and properly motivated."

"We can ask our parents for public military reports from Kalalit and Scania," Marga said happily.

"Fortunately for us, those two countries love to brag about their military capabilities, a simple request from our parents tonight and you will have the files you need by tomorrow first thing in the morning," Rod said confidently as they took out their phones to message the consuls.

Belle, however, giggled sinisterly beside me, "Oh this is going to be fun. They wouldn't know what hit them after I and my celebrity friends are done."

"You know what to do, Belle. By any means necessary," I said meaningfully to my close friend who giggled even more.

I looked at Aerith who is busy taking minutes of our meeting and called her out, "Aerith, I want you to refrain from cascading our plans starting now to other students under our command. We will give them real-time orders to make it look like we are headless chickens running around."

"Of course. Just send me a signal and what or which part will be given or omitted and I will have it done in no time," she promised as she looked around us gleefully, "Oh, I'm so excited. I can feel that we are going to put a good show!"

I just sighed and look at Daryl who is staring at me hopefully.

Don't worry, Daryl. I won't let you be a laughingstock and butt of everyone's joke.

I promise you that...

-0-

"Here are the records that you requested, Kady," Yosef said before handing over a thick ledger with yellowing pages, "The personal documents my house has compiled about the Dukedom's military tactics and strategies."

"Thank you very much, Yosef. I know these are confidential files and I am truly grateful that you will let me read them."

He shook his head sat beside me, "No problem, Kady. I heard from Daryl that you agreed to help him and he just can't hide his relief."

"I owe him more than he knows. I just remembered that. I will do everything that I can to help but I am in no way promising a victory. That's borderline impossible," I said curtly as I opened the ledge he brought and flipped through the pages, "But really, Riksentians have a fondness with big guns, huh Yosef?"

"You said it. If the Empire has advanced missiles that can hit a moving target and the Kingdom's rockets which have a big explosion yield, the Dukedom and to some extent, Republic has unguided artillery for the last century."

I nodded as I stare at the impressive black and white pictures of Riksentians testing and creating artillery batteries en masse, "It is not laughable to say that Maharlika and Riksent are left to dust quite literally."

"Manually reloaded, cumbersome, slow and awfully loud, the artilleries are relics of the past," our host said sadly as he looked at the pictures himself, "Look here, these are Maharlikan mechanics working with Riksentian Scientists."

I looked at where he is pointing and true enough, there are greased covered men and women unmistakably Maharlikans standing side by side happily with Riksentians who are wearing white lab coats and looking impressed at the companions.

"I guess even back then, our countries are working side by side with everything," I said happily as I flipped again through the pages until I remembered what Yosef said just a while ago, "Manually reloaded, cumbersome, slow and awfully loud, the artilleries are relics of the past."

"Yeah? That's the truth though. We are so far behind the Kingdom who is having trouble keeping up with the Empire themselves. Heck, most if not all of the controls for our artillery and airplanes are manual. Kalalit already upgraded to digital decades ago. Geez, I'm sorry. I'm not a bundle of joy, huh?"

I shook my head and smiled as an idea began to appear clearer in my mind's eye, "That's it. The pivot I am looking for."

"Pivot?"

"Yes. Digital and analog systems. Scania and Kalalit rely heavily upon electronics for their military hardware while Riksent and Maharlika are left behind using analog systems which require manual input," I quickly grabbed the military reports Marga and Rod sent me earlier and opened it, "They developed various electronic countermeasures to disable machines based on digital systems. But that's useless against us."

Yosef grinned after finally getting what I am trying to say, "They said that their rockets and missiles don't need to hit their targets to cause damage because most of their purposes are to disable electronic machinery. Well, they won't do anything substantial against our equipment that runs on analog."

"Exactly. So it means we can attack without fear of being disabled," I said excitedly as I turn the pages, "Also, most of the anti-air flak guns of the Dukedom, while not tested, can theoretically be used against rockets and missiles."

"As much as I wanted that to work, Kady, there is one problem. The targeting system of our flak guns is manual. Meaning they can't possibly aim at high-speed projectiles accurately," he said seriously as he pointed the picture of one of Riksentian-made Maharlikan flak artillery.

"No, there is no need to aim," I said simply as I showed him the seven thousand anti-air guns and artillery of the Republic and Dukedom combined, "We will deploy countless anti-air guns, each will shoot continuously at a predetermined position."

"Wait, you don't mean a blanket cover for the advancing troops?" Yosef said as he looked at me impressed.

"Yes. We have the numbers to make it theoretically feasible enough to make a flak barrier bubble to fend off the rain of missiles and rockets as we slowly advance to the frontlines," I said as I began thinking about the required ammunition to make it possible, "Do you have any idea just how many stockpiled bullets and shrapnels Riksent have?"

"If you are thinking of running out of bullets then worry not. We have literally hundreds of millions of bullets for every gun we have," Yosef said confidently as he glanced at the picture of the reigning Grand Duke of that time, "For better or for worse, our ruler at the time is a very paranoid man. Aside from modernizing and mass-producing countless artillery batteries, he also made sure that we will be able to fire them for years if needed be continuous. Madness."

I laughed because of what he said but looked at the severe-looking old man talking seriously to Maharlikans and Riksentian factory workers, "Madness it may be but it is based on plain reasoning. I am thinking that with all its focus on economy and trade, Riksent will be easy to invade but studying these papers made me realize how prepared your country is against an invasion. Just be thankful that the future he was so paranoid about didn't come to pass but at least if ever something happens, the Dukedom won't be caught unprepared."

"Well, let's hope it won't happen at all," Yose said casually as he smiled at me, "You really are full of surprises, Kady. I know you are one of those intelligent folks but to quickly adapt your knowledge to military use is something else."

"My father just loves talking about this kind of thing. Looking back, I think he is just one big military nerd or something," I said quietly making it clear that I don't want to talk about it anymore, "Anyways, what do you think of this defensive curtain, Yosef? I mean we don't have this kind of problem with flak but with artillery, this can go horribly wrong in just one misstep."

He looked pensive as he thinks deeply before answering, "In theory, it is a magnificent plan of action. Hiding your infantry forces and lightly armored vehicles like the Maharlikan armed personnel carriers behind a moving wall of artillery fire while at the same time flattening the defensive entrenchment of your enemies is all good on paper. But in practice, I think it is hard to excecute, it requires forward planning and absolute trust between the Riksentian gunners and Maharlikan troops."

"I see. I guess that's the one that we need to tackle with great scrutiny. I can't just throw my countrymates at the front without so much as a care for their wellbeing. I hope you won't be busy today, Yosef. It looks like I will need your help badly."

He smiled and winked at me, "If my brothers haven't already fenced you, I would've to know you even more on a personal level. But alas, Yuro and Yugo are not keen on sharing you to just about anyone, even to their lovely brother."

"Lovely?" I asked in disbelief that made him laugh out loud.

 He really is more approachable and apparently has more sense of humor than Yuro and Yugo combined.

What a strange family...