The story so far—

In the Belgarian Empire, there lives a girl named Marie Quatre Argentina de Belgaria—“Altina” for short—who happens to be the fourth in line to the imperial throne. She is a princess who, at a mere fourteen years of age, resolved to fix the corruption plaguing her nation.

“I’m going to become empress,” she tells Regis Aurick. “I need your wisdom.”

Now, Regis is inept with a sword, unable to ride a horse, and apathetic toward the empire he serves. He is a hopeless soldier by all definitions who spends his days buried in books, yet she still enlists him to be her tactician.

Through a duel with the hero Jerome, a battle against barbarians, and the capture of the impregnable Fort Volks, Altina steadily raises a formidable military force.

At the beginning of April in the year 851, the fourth princess makes her return to the imperial palace of La Branne. Here, Regis uses his ingenuity to fend off a scheme by Second Prince Latrielle and corner First Prince Auguste—actually Auguste’s younger sister Felicia in disguise—into relinquishing his rights to the throne.

Later that same month, on April 23rd, High Britannia declares war on Belgaria. A western port falls to a vicious bombardment, and upon making landfall, High Britannia’s First Division devastates the Empire’s Second Army.

On May 19th, the two nations meet in the Battle of La Frenge. The Empire’s Seventh Army forms a close-knit formation and charges their foe, but when pitted against High Britannia’s newest firearms, the Belgarian Army’s attack leads only to catastrophic losses.

Meanwhile, Second Prince Latrielle, marshal general of the Belgarian Army, falls victim to a surprise attack from Mercenary King Gilbert. The encounter leaves Latrielle partially blinded, though his eyesight is expected to one day deteriorate completely.

Regis manages to defy the odds on the western front. Serving as admiral proxy, he leads the Western Liberation Fleet to a swift victory, managing to take out the enemy fleet. From there, he immediately leads the Empire’s Fourth Army to rout the last supply shipment under the protection of the infamous Mercenary King.

Their battle unfolds in the western regions of La Frenge, and while a great number of casualties are expected, Regis causes a thick fog to set in that renders the enemy’s guns near powerless. But the Mercenary King does not go down so easily. He launches a surprise attack on the Fourth Army’s main camp...but to no avail. He is bested in combat by Altina, the newly improved Grand Tonnerre Quatre in her hands.

And so, the Belgarian Army puts a stop to the High Britannian invasion. Latrielle returns to the imperial palace to deliver the news, but the behavior he witnesses is completely unbefitting of a nation-threatening crisis. The emperor spends his time indulging in pleasures, and upon seeing him succumb to such depravity, the prince’s anger finally reaches breaking point. His hand moves to his treasured sword, the Armée Victoire Volonté...

The cause of the emperor’s death is of course falsified: he is announced to have died of old age, with the sixth consort having taken her own life out of grief, while the Empire being embroiled in war gives Latrielle an opportunity to hold an informal state funeral.

Regis has his share of doubts about the situation, and following a summons from the Ministry of Military Affairs, he separates from Altina and the Fourth Army to investigate the capital.

“...I’ll be sure to write.”

“Then I will too! I’m not very good when it comes to letters, but I’ll do my best! I’ll send you one every single day!”

After returning to the capital with ministry officer Fanrine as his supervisor, Regis nearly loses himself in a familiar bookstore. He is there for more than the latest fiction releases, however: the young tactician has a plan to gather the information he seeks.

Around this same time, Third Prince Bastian happens upon the Mercenary King’s three sisters—a development driven purely by coincidence...or perhaps the guidance of the stars.

The fleeing High Britannian Army joins forces with the Kingdom of Langobarti, and together they capture the fortified city of Grebeauvoir to the north. At Latrielle’s request, Regis joins the First Army in its campaign to recapture the stolen territory.

On July 20th, Third-Grade Combat Officer Jean Juris de Varèse manages to infiltrate the city. With the assistance of a local girl named Fel, he immediately gets to work, contriving to meet the representative of the captive citizens.