Cadet for a Day
1918 Words
“Can I stay here at the military school for one more day, pretty please? I'm sure His Highness won't mind. Besides, I find the environment here in this institution exciting when compared to my sheltered life in the palace.”
The superintendent, Lt. Gen. Caralde, responds, using the same public address system.
“I understand. But do not be too reckless, Your Highness.”
“Yes, I know. And also, for tomorrow only, I'll be relinquishing my status as a princess and be a cadet myself.”
After a brief moment of silence, the superintendent relents.
“Alright, as you wish, Your Highness. I'll deliver a spare set of cadet gear as well as your favorite katana to your guest room while you are sleeping. Those two things must be the first you'll see in the morning.”
“That's great. Now then... cadets, have a pleasant night. Once the sun rises tomorrow morning, I'll be among you, so please never underestimate me.”
“Never underestimate me?”
Well, if she's using the representative weapon of the Tsukuban warrior, then it's a more viable reason not to judge a book like Her Highness by its cover.
Earthday. The last day of the school week.
If Metalday, which was yesterday, was exciting enough, this one blows the other out of the water.
Even though Earthday classes will be conducted for half a day as normal, we three can't wait to see how Her Highness conducts herself as a cadet.
Once 6:30 ante meridiem hits, we cadets are gathered in the open-air field, and the superintendent himself introduces the honorary cadet for a day.
“And as declared last night, she is not a princess for today. She instead must now be known as Cadet Mahalia Murasaki Polidario Almarius; and thus, she is subject to all the existing rules and regulations stated in the cadet handbook. Do you understand, everyone?”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
To be honest, she looks more elegant in her cadet uniform, coupled with her sheathed katana, when compared to how she looks in her lavender dress.
My silent appreciation of her looks doesn't earn the ire of Laika or Yulissa, thank goodness; as they also think the same way.
I can also see her custom-made name tag that reads “ALMARIUS MMP”.
Cadet Almarius then declares...
“And before I forget. The reason I ordered an entire carriage's worth of donuts and gave them all away to you for free yesterday evening... is because I didn't want my discount coupons to all the bakeries and donut shops here in the capital to expire without using them. After all, 'waste not, want not', right? This favorite mantra of mine should also be inculcated to my fellow cadets.”
Lt. Gen. Caralde concludes...
“If there are no more questions, and I believe you have nothing to ask, then please get ready for today's classes! Dismissed!”
Minutes later, we file neatly as normal for today's classes.
Cadet Almarius deliberately sits on the last row, as sitting in the front row counts as flaunting of her own social status and thus runs contrary to her temporary relinquishment in the first place.
Today's Military Geography 101 class discusses the countries surrounding the kingdom, which are the State of Langmorn to the west-northwest, the Confederacy of Xhierra directly to the north, the Republic of Sardentha to the northeast, and the Duchy of Manoli to the west.
While diplomatic relations with Langmorn, Sardentha, and Manoli are on a good standing, our kingdom's relations with Xhierra is in an uncertain status, as its prime minister resigned only a month ago due to inaction regarding a massive explosion that took many lives and caused unthinkable property damage. The explosion is highly believed to be the fault of various separatist movements calling for the dissolving of the confederacy, who are extremely hostile to one another but resort to the same barbaric method that is terrorism.
The professor conducting the lesson wraps up with the following.
“In the end, we as a peaceful, non-aggressive country could do nothing but wait for the inevitable; as the confederacy, by our modest diplomatic standards, is as good as non-existent. There is no functioning government in that place as we speak; and establishing new relations with the entities that comprise the confederacy is doable, but will be an absolute nightmare.”
Good thing we three are born in this kingdom that prioritizes progress, harmony, and understanding.
But still, we must think of the poor citizens of the confederacy, as they are unfortunate victims of the ambitions of greedy warlord wannabes.
Cadet Almarius basically feels the same way; and in her own mind, she must do something to welcome refugees escaping the chaos.
The school day eventually ends. It's exactly 11 ante meridiem.
We cadets can feel free to remain in the campus or go out and enjoy ourselves in the capital.
Lunch isn't being served every Earthday, so cadets must buy their own food or even cook dishes themselves, as stated in the cadet handbook.
The cooks must have their own dedicated days of rest, after all.
But even with the school day formally ended – and thus her relinquishment period should have, too – Her Highness still wants to remain as Cadet Almarius until the day ends.
Thankfully, the superintendent lets Her Highness off the hook.
The choice of lunch for us three is some take-out lunches from mom-and-pop eateries located near the main gate of the Royal Academy proper.
Personally, I don't consider those eateries and the Academy's cafeteria as competitors to each other; they as a whole offer students so many food choices as a result of the combined efforts of farmers, cooks, food technicians, and food and drink alchemists over the past years.
My choice of take-out is fried smoked sausage with sawmill gravy and a bunch of empanadillas.
Laika's is banh mi and mashed potatoes with turkey gravy.
Yulissa's is pasta, bean, olive, and spinach mix with hummus plus egg noodles with mushroom gravy and meatballs.
And no matter the meal, the perfect drink is always a large glass of brewed iced tea.
After the hearty lunch comes the usual rest.
We three are just chilling in our room when we hear a knock on the door.
I take the responsibility of opening the door, and...
“Oh! Your...”
“I'm still Cadet Almarius, you hear? The superintendent basically extended my honorary cadet status until this day ends.”
“I see. So, why the visit?”
“I want to challenge you three to a handicap match!”
“WHAT?!”
Five minutes later, at the training hall...
“The reason I wanted to take on you three is simple. I sought to keep myself in tip-top shape, and I admit I'm getting rusty in terms of wielding my katana. And you three... I see so much potential in you.”
I then remember what she said last night: “Never underestimate me.”
Besides us three and her, Cpl. Ben-Kulera is also present at the training hall, quickly learning of that challenge from the superintendent himself.
“It's great that someone like her doesn't allow herself to get too complacent. What if war suddenly breaks out and we are getting caught off-guard? You wouldn't want to fumble in getting yourself ready to answer the call of duty, am I right?”
We four readily answer, “Sir, yes, sir!”
“Hah. Even at times like these when school's out, you still remain faithful to the school's protocol. Alright then, let's not delay ourselves.”
The commanding officer declares, as we organize our positions and get our blades ready to draw...
“Three-on-One Handicap Match consisting of the team of Cadets Keenan Floribunda, Yulissa Floribunda, and Laika Santiaguel versus Cadet Mahalia Murasaki Polidario Almarius. Ready yourselves... commence the bout!”
It should be noted that he uses “bout” instead of “duel” because there is at least more than one combatant on at least one side.
Once we all draw our blades, we three non-verbally agree to charge at her all at once.
We've done this before at one point, during basic weapon combat classes.
But then, she nonchalantly blocks our simultaneous strike.
As our sabers are locked against her katana, she quips...
“Good thing you didn't resort to the cliche of typical evil underlings I've read in action novels and watched in action moving pictures.”
Ah, the thing where those underlings always charge at the protagonist individually, like they're dancing?
I reply, “Good foresight!”
“But subverting cliches isn't enough to defeat me!”
She then performs a simple kick, which tumbles us all down.
Fortuitously, we rise up in no time.
She's now on the offensive, trying to pick us off one by one.
That should be our opportunity to know her usual tactics.
From what we observe, she is employing a quite rare sword art, even by Tsukuban standards.
She does her stances and attacks as if she's wearing traditional Tsukuban warrior armor, even though she actually doesn't wear one currently.
Thus, her feet are always planted on the ground, and she leverages that stability and low center of gravity to deliver powerful chopping swings.
With careful calculations, we decide on one thing: Topple her after she makes one such swing.
We first all bait her into making her chopping swing; and once we all dodge it, we should attack her perceived weak point: Her head and torso.
But...
“Hallowed Blade Art: Uhou Ongekizan (Rain-scented Sonic Striking s***h)!”
She releases a huge, invisible vacuum wave that consists of water vapor.
And we three are unfortunately caught up in that wave, and we are all knocked down.
But thankfully, that attack doesn't hurt real bad.
She then points her katana at us, which means...
“Bout over! Cadet Mahalia Murasaki Polidario Almarius wins!”
As she helps us three get up, I realize that we shouldn't just underestimate her.
We need to adapt her sword art into our usual modus operandi, since not many in our kingdom know about Tsukuban martial arts in general.
The day eventually ends, and Her Highness is back to her old self, wearing her lavender dress.
Her stint as an honorary cadet is over, and thus...
“Thank you three for providing my much-needed exercise and inspiration.”
Yulissa replies, “Aw, that's just nothing, Your Highness.”
Laika follows, “Your Highness, you said you were getting rusty, but your way of the blade is so good, that we still have much to learn from you. Too bad you'll be returning to the palace tonight.”
Her Highness responds, “I just wish I had one more day to spend with you and the other cadets, but I hate it if I abuse my royal privileges. And Cadet Sir Floribunda... looks like it'll take a while before I finish that entire novel and return it to you.”
I conclude, “No prob, Your Highness.”
As she leaves for her carriage, we all give her our firm salutes and our steadfast smiles.
In response, she waves us goodbye in a pretty exquisite way, as expected of a princess.
We all wonder when we'll rub shoulders with a member of the royal family again.
But we still all have to prioritize our years-long promise to one another.
- Writer
