[Oculer, SW 17th Avenue.

First Naval Command, The Nautile.

Lieutenant Jens Will.

To Lieutenant Jens Will,

Hello. This is Aira Til. How have you been?

I’m doing well without any problems.

I’m diligently attending classes and doing well in practical training.

Your promotion ceremony seems to be delayed. It’s already well past the time when it should have been held.

My classmates are looking forward to the promotion ceremony for soldiers who participated in the Servolang Naval Battle. I suppose on that day, cadets will attend the ceremony instead of classes.

Well then, I look forward to your reply.

March 12, 3762, 214.

– Aira Til.]

* * *

[Conifer,

SE 3rd Avenue,

First Naval Academy, Theori East Building Room 212.

157th Class Cadet Aira Til.

April 18.

– Jens Will.]

* * *

[Oculer,

SW 17th Avenue,

First Naval Command, Naval Intelligence Unit.

Lieutenant Jens Will.

To Lieutenant Jens Will,

Hello. This is Aira Til. How have you been?

I received word from Mr. Kle that your mailing address has changed. I suppose you’ll no longer be aboard the Nautile. Whatever happens next, any unit you join will be quite fortunate. I look forward to seeing what happens.

Your reply was certainly an efficient letter length, but I spent quite some time wondering if it was a coded message.

Are you allowed to tell me a date that hasn’t been announced to the press yet?

Actually, even if I get a day off for the promotion ceremony, I don’t have anything particular to do. Besides, the classes aren’t bad, and when I exert myself fully in practical training, it’s nice to have all the complicated thoughts in my head fly away.

What kind of school days did you have?

I’ll end the letter here, looking forward to seeing you someday.

March 24, 3762, 214.

Aira Til.]

* * *

[Conifer,

SE 3rd Avenue,

First Naval Academy, Theori East Building Room 212.

157th Class Cadet Aira Til.

Give your name at Rouge-Sucre. Don’t go alone.

– Jens Will.]

* * *

[Oculer,

SW 17th Avenue,

First Naval Command,

Naval Intelligence Unit.

Lieutenant Jens Will.

To Lieutenant Jens Will,

Hello. This is Aira Til. How have you been?

I went to Rouge-Sucre as you suggested, but… are cookies really all there is?

The shop owner turned pale as he served the cookies. I suppose he recognized who I am from the newspapers. Have you had any trouble since the press announcement?

My roommate really enjoyed the cookies. My roommate is a girl from Prong named Roje Riya, and she’s very sociable. Even though I said it was fine, the owner packed up plenty of desserts for us to take, and my classmates enjoyed them. Thank you.

Today we learned about knot-tying. They say that even though ships have been steam-powered, knot-tying remains essential for sailors.

Apparently, we’ll eventually need to know how to tie knots with our eyes closed, whether on a rocking ship or hanging upside down. There are terribly many types.

I’ve been fiddling with them whenever I have free time, and my hands now smell of rope. But it’s quite fun.

Actually, I’d like to read more books, but the procedure for borrowing from the library is complicated. When I borrow a book and take it to the librarian, they censor it for at least a week before returning it to me.

They’re being unnecessarily strict when the academy library probably only has dry, technical books anyway.

But despite all that, life here is more comfortable than I expected. The dormitory cafeteria has such a good reputation that my roommate says this will be the best food in our entire naval career.

I use Roje’s daily food praise as my mealtime notification.

I’ll end here.

April 4, 3762, 214.

– Aira Til.

P.S. Please don’t feel obligated to send me books. That’s not why I mentioned it.]

* * *

[Conifer,

SE 3rd Avenue,

First Naval Academy, Theori East Building Room 212.

157th Class Cadet Aira Til.

Wear gloves. Once your hands are damaged, you can’t restore them. Most of the time when you’ll be using ropes, you’ll be wearing gloves anyway.

– Jens Will.]

* * *

[Oculer,

SW 17th Avenue,

First Naval Command,

Naval Intelligence Unit.

Lieutenant Commander Jens Will.

To Lieutenant Commander Jens Will,

Hello. This is Aira Til. How have you been?

Gloves are included in our supplies. I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I’m fine. I’ll return them through Mr. Kle later. As you said, I’ll wear gloves when practicing knots.

Congratulations on your double promotion. However, I suspect you’re the only person who could look so displeased while receiving medals at a promotion ceremony. The ceremonial protocol is only natural given the significant achievements that have elevated the Republic’s standing.

I watched from a distance. I’ll keep it a secret that I overheard classmates wondering why your expression was so sour. I could clearly see Lieutenant Yuvil repeatedly nudging your side. You should have at least refrained from yawning.

Thanks to you, the atmosphere at the academy has lightened considerably, and I enjoyed a rare relaxing break. My roommate and some female classmates got hold of root beer to celebrate and had hidden it away.

I said I wouldn’t go, but my roommate insisted on dragging me along.

During evening personal maintenance time, we slipped out of the study hall and secretly gathered at a certain location. (I’m calling it a “certain location” for reasons you can probably guess.) There was a unique kind of fun in quietly drinking and eating while trying not to make noise.

But when we returned to the study hall later, the officer instructor…

He spent quite some time sniffing around, checking if we had been drinking alcohol, but it was just root beer. If they had actually hidden real alcohol, I wonder if I would have stopped my classmates despite risking their dislike. Expulsion would be troublesome, and it would cause problems for you too.

We did end up getting disciplined. Roje grumbled about what’s so wrong with growing teenagers eating and drinking, but I suspect the real issue was skipping study hall.

Well then, I look forward to seeing you next time.

April 18, 3762, 214.

P.S. Using two different year systems is really confusing. I suppose that’s why you don’t write the date.

– Aira Til.]

* * *

[Conifer,

SE 3rd Avenue,

First Naval Academy, Theori East Building Room 212.

157th Class Cadet Aira Til.

Who built the Conifer port in ’51?

What happened in 3713?

– Jens Will.]

* * *

[Oculer,

NW 1st Avenue,

Armeria House.

Jens Will.

Please stop sending cryptic messages.

To Lieutenant Commander Jens Will,

Hello. This is Aira Til. How have you been?

Thanks. To. You. I spent a very perplexing day. What was clearly a history question testing my academic abilities was scrutinized by the school for hidden meanings.

If they want to know what you meant, they should ask you directly instead of interrogating me.

You didn’t need to ask like that—I’m studying hard to honor the scholarship. Admiral Nüer built the Conifer port, and 3713 was the year when the Journal-class warship was first commissioned at Conifer port.

History is a mandatory subject for freshmen. My preparation is perfect, so you needn’t worry.

I do enjoy practical subjects, but my lack of stamina makes them challenging. The training grounds are especially far. How nice it would be if I could fly like a bird.

Though according to Scarabe’s “Zoology,” birds consume much more energy than walking or running animals. So even if I could fly, I’d probably be more exhausted.

Speaking of zoology, which subjects did you excel in and enjoy?

May 3, 3762, 214.

– Aira Til.]

* * *

Jens Will picked up the letter and smiled slightly. When they scrutinize even ordinary cadets’ letters like hunting for mice, they certainly wouldn’t miss letters to and from a key figure like Aira. His replies too, of course.

Though officers’ envelopes supposedly weren’t censored, given who she was, that certainly wouldn’t be the case, and sending letters that way would only arouse more suspicion.

The correspondence with Aira was more entertaining than he’d expected.

He had thought she would spend her days as dryly as he had during his cadet years, but she was different than he anticipated.

Whether due to the overwhelmingly smaller number of female cadets compared to males, or thanks to her roommate, she was consistently socializing despite showing reluctance.

Unlike her grim appearance in the interrogation room, it was refreshing to see her grumbling about her roommate and discussing her subjects.

It would be good if she could continue living normally like this.

It had only been two months. The Imperial court’s spies didn’t seem to have found a way to extract her from the academy yet.

That blond 3rd Prince must be fuming, but he himself appeared quite busy with the Empire’s internal affairs.

Still, it was remarkable that he continued to plant people in both Jens’s residence and the academy.

Additionally, the Archipelago’s spies had notably increased.

While it was understandable for a neutral country to plant spies, they had recently been gathering at the academy.

“Even the Archipelago is taking notice. I thought we’d have more time before her manifestation was discovered.”

Jens tapped his chin thoughtfully. Though their exact purpose remained unclear, when it came to naval cadets, there could only be one target.

But the political burden seemed too great just to obtain a princess whose magic hadn’t yet manifested. The incident with the disguised Imperial warship had already earned them disapproving looks from those in the know.

However, Jens couldn’t keep Aira under surveillance indefinitely.

Because he would soon have to leave.