Shiyun may have been named the Next Emperor, but for the moment...
She was currently...
"Again. Do it over."
"Waaaaah!"
...locked in a desperate struggle with a set of bedsheets.
She was now a locally enlisted Private Second Class. To be honest, we didn't really know the first thing about training a private. So, we decided to treat her with the same Officer Academy style we used for Tatiana and One-oh-one.
In short: bedsheets, ironing, and uniforms.
Normally, I would have treated her as an honored guest since she's foreign royalty. But Shiyun was the one who refused that. She specifically requested to be treated the same as her new friends, Tatiana and One-oh-one.
If that was her wish, then she needed to learn bedsheets, ironing, and dress code... basically, she had to learn to look after herself. That part was vital.
During roll call and the uniform check, Tatiana leaned over to Shiyun.
"Listen up and stay sharp, Shiyun... Look at Big Brother Leo’s face. See how relaxed he looks? Don't let it fool you! He’s the most ruthless of them all!"
"You’re really going to say that while I’m standing right here?"
"Shut it! The Brigadier General is such a perfectionist that he unconsciously demands everyone else perform at his level!!! It’s a total nightmare for us, sir!!!"
That Tatiana! She went out of her way to use a complete mess of formal speech just to mess with me! How cold!
One-oh-one nodded in agreement.
"The Brigadier General is strict with himself and others alike, sir!"
I’ve never bullied One-oh-one, have I? Hey, come on, why am I being framed as some kind of hard-ass? Why?!
Well, for the time being, I decided I'd actually be strict with Tatiana and One-oh-one while I focused on teaching Shiyun the bare essentials. Once she went back home, a civil war was a very real possibility. It would be for her own good if she knew how to handle her daily needs and use basic weaponry.
I’d consulted Shiyun about it, and she told me, "Please, don't hold back."
Though I think it turned out to be a few degrees more intense than she’d expected. Still, we weren't Ogres. We weren't demanding she reach actual Officer Academy standards. As long as she didn't get in the way of her own soldiers, that would be enough.
"I did it!"
"Passed. Next is your uniform. Your badge is crooked. Push-ups!"
"Waaaaah!"
I wasn't being mean. I watched her finish her push-ups and then checked her again.
"Good! Once you're done, we move to shooting training! Double time, march!"
"Yes, sir!"
We ran to the training room. Shiyun looked like she was hitting her limit just from the jog there. Once we let her rest enough to catch her breath, we started the shooting training.
"Boot up the simulator! Set One-oh-one and Tatiana to Imperial Army Rifles. Shiyun, set yours to a Latarnia Army Rifle!"
"Understood!"
Shiyun would likely be fighting with Latarnia Army gear. Our goal was to ensure she wouldn't be a liability to her soldiers when the time came. Beyond that, I wanted her to experience the front lines so she wouldn't be tempted to run.
A commander's habit of fleeing... well, if it’s a strategic withdrawal, that’s fine. But if it stems from a weak heart, it can’t be allowed. Neither I nor my Wifey ever ran away. If we ran, our comrades would die. I think the main reason we were able to minimize casualties was simply that we stood our ground. My abilities and everything else are just excuses people use to explain it after the fact.
"Begin! One-oh-one, Tatiana, focus on precision shooting! Shiyun, focus on laying down suppressive fire from cover!"
The roles of professional soldiers and the high-value target are different, after all. One-oh-one and Tatiana moved with the precision of career soldiers. Shiyun's job was to buy time until her guards arrived. We were running a simulator scenario where Shiyun was isolated on a space battleship and the other two had to rescue her. Shiyun stayed behind cover, only poking her hands out to fire her rifle. Returning fire was the first step. That was the important part. Since it was a plasma rifle and she didn't need to worry about ammo, she could fire away. She fled while firing.
One-oh-one and Tatiana deployed their personal shields and initiated a charge. As long as the shields were up, they could soak up a few hits. If Huma-san or I were there, we would have charged in with axes, but this was the girls' team, so we skipped that.
"Moving in, sir! Tatiana, cover me!"
Wait, what? One-oh-one grabbed a shipping container and hurled it. No way! Nobody told me about this! Since when was One-oh-one that strong?!
"Ora ora ora ora ora!!!"
Tatiana was firing her rifle, too. Hmm, she had a truly wicked look on her face. Back in the Ogre God Nation, that face would have been pixelated for religious reasons.
"We've linked up!" Tatiana shouted. Everything was going great up to that point. Then the reinforcements arrived. Slowly, they were pushed back. One-oh-one took a hit and went down, followed immediately by Tatiana. Simulation over.
"Hey, Big Brother."
"It’s Brigadier General right now."
"Brigadier General! Is this simulator even possible to beat?"
"If it were me, I could solo clear this with a wooden sword."
"I was an idiot for even asking."
"Brigadier General! How should I have positioned myself, sir?"
"One-oh-one, use your gun properly. Follow the Imperial Army Manual."
"Yes, sir!"
She had the right attitude, at least... but One-oh-one was the type to rely purely on physical ability. She had the same tendencies I did, in a way. Well, she’d get used to it eventually. Probably.
"Shiyun, you're doing well."
She’d only been training for a few sessions. This was a solid start.
"Th-thank you very much!"
The two of them adjusted their tactics to focus on guarding Shiyun. Alright, one more time.
"Yes!"
And so the training continued. We weren't just playing around, believe it or not. My goal was to get Shiyun to a certain level. She didn't necessarily need to be able to protect herself. The point was to have her think like a commander by experiencing the overall flow of operations, while using the simulations to learn individual operations. At the same time, she was studying the Officer Academy curriculum alongside Tatiana and the others. Broad but shallow knowledge. She didn't need to be an expert in any one field, but she needed to understand the whole.
Ultimately, I wanted to increase Shiyun's survival rate. Once she understands the gravity of these missions, we'll move on to joint training with the rest of us. Shiyun herself doesn't need to be strong. My goal is just to make her understand what everything means. I want her to reach a point where she can handle operations at the squad leader level. If she understands that, then moving on to classroom studies to handle larger-scale operations should be feasible. Eventually, she’ll be capable of operating at the level of an Emperor.
That’s why I’m making her experience the work of those at the bottom. I hope she doesn't end up hating me for this... but Shiyun's got plenty of drive. I want to believe she’ll be just fine.