Saga of Tanya the Evil

C.E. 1923 June, Northern Military Region Norden Warzone/Third Defence Line

Why am I fighting a war in a place like this?

Holding an orb in her small hand and placing the rifle which was a substitute for a scepter on the ground, the consciousness known as Second Lieutenant Mage Tanya Degurechaff, bestowed with the ability to soar in the sky kept asking herself, "Why did things turn out this way?"

"Fairy08, paging Norden Control. I say again, Fairy08 paging Norden Control. Please respond."

Floating in the gloomy sky of Norden was a black dot. Diving below the clouds while maneuvering was the airborne sorcery officer that is the pride of the imperial army —that was me, who was reincarnated into a little girl because of some sort of karma.

The thing hanging from her military uniform and held in her hand was an item that used scientific methods to control paranormal phenomena, a Operation Orb that allows Mages to interfere with the world via their will.

This was the modernization of an ancient orb using modern magic and science. As the name implies, it was a magically engineered catalyst that could decipher the world's data.

The mission was to station herself at the altitude of 6000 feet high, maintain cruising speed, and perform artillery observation in the designated airspace.

"Fairy08, this is Norden Control. Reading you loud and clear, your positional tracking is working normally."

This was nothing, just a flight support mission at the Empire-Federation national borders. Only that the figure with a Operation Orb hung on her neck, while deploying flight magic and performing her observation duties looked surprisingly small.

This was not a metaphor, she literally had a small body. She looked less than 10 years old. Even considering that she was female, her physique was still on the petite side.

Compared to her outstanding physique in the past life, this height is really quite depressing for her. Speaking of the size of the aviation throat microphones, Tanya was mocked by others because her neck was too thin when she was issued her equipment. She felt so embarrassed back then.

"Fairy08 copy. Reached mission airspace. Reading you loud and clear."

I have already given up on my voice, but this high-pitched voice always makes me feel uneasy. I'm used to it, but I still can't stand my own voice. My tongue isn't flexible so my words comes out with a lisp, shameful.

"Norden Control roger. Carry on with the assigned mission."

You also have to give it to this army that doesn't care if I'm a small girl, and can't speak clearly. This situation was probably reasonable as aerial Mages only focus on air combat. The only standard that mattered was the users' capability for magic and fighting potential.

In the eyes of the Empire who prioritizes this to the extreme, the age requirements for Mages were a relic of the past. Doesn't matter if you physically look like someone who needs to be cared for, you will still be sent to conduct artillery observation.

"Fairy08, acknowledge. No abnormality in warzone. I say again, no abnormality."

"Norden Control copy. Your observation zone has been assigned to an artillery battalion. Designation: Goliath07. This arrangement will stand until you receive another order or the mission is completed. Over."

The general allocation of human resources was based on the geopolitical needs of the Empire. For historical reasons, the Empire is located right in the middle of the continent, so they have had to think of their neighbouring countries as potential enemies.

To defend their vast territory, their troop numbers were always a tricky topic. To resolve this problem, the conclusion painstakingly reached by headquarters was to efficiently use every resources available to them.

"Fairy08, this is the artillery battalion from the joint division, Goliath07, do you copy?"

Therefore, even if you are a just young girl, if you can be used, the army will dump her at the borders and order her to execute an aerial patrol mission. They were literally using child soldiers.

"Goliath07, this is Fairy08. Reading you loud and clear. I have visual on enemy infantry approaching. Telemetry has been sent. Please acknowledge."

It was a surreal image for a young girl to be making official reports in a cute voice while soaring in the sky. By the way, an orthodox army would consist of only normal adults. This was common sense.

The message might be muffled by interference, but hearing the voice of a young child from the signal set was normal for Mages.

After all, exceptions were frequently given out of practicality in the armed forces. However, the most important thing was that the constant harshness of military duties had already burnt out the soldiers with conscience.

They might feel concerned about young children fighting in war, but their senses were already dulled by the constant grind of their obligations.

"Goliath07 roger....conducting first ranging shot."

And so, Flight Mage Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff, who was commissioned into the military, made periodic radio checks with practiced hands via the signal set that was as big as her back, performing her duties as a forward artillery observer in the northern plains of Norden. To be honest, I do have complaints about why I am flying in such a place.

"Confirming ranging shot... Confirmed target within shot range. Shot deviation less than 10 meters from target's center. Please proceed with bombardment."

"Goliath07 copy. Commencing fire mission."

Despite the blue eyes that was relentlessly observing the situation in front, it was undeniable that there were flashes of frustration within them. Why am I in this different world, turned back into a child, had my gender changed, and fighting a war?

The thing that annoy me the most are the changes to my body. The body of a child is very inconvenient. Girls might develop faster than boys, but my senses are attuned to a larger body, and the size difference is excessive.

And ever since I enlisted into the army, I've had plenty of experiences that remind me that I am now just a powerless child.

Being incapable of using a rifle... They're too big, so I can't aim properly, and my shoulder will hurt from the recoil. During melee combat training, I was thrown around by others with a sympathetic face.

That was until I understood with the Operation Orb that the world is structured by three vector forces, and I learnt the technique to interfere the data of this world. Before that, I had to rely on weak, uncoordinated arms and legs struggling upon the bare earth.

After putting in tremendous effort, I became skilled in magic techniques that were reliant on thinking instead of my physical body. If I can fly through the air and interfere with reality through magic, I won't need to be troubled by the restrictions of this petite body.

The strange sensation of using magic is solved with a convenient item. However, possessing such an item doesn't mean we should use them, right?

I see, ICBMs have to be used when necessary. So there is the need to do maintenance, to train and be prepared to launch it during peacetime.

Speaking of which, is there any reason that necessitates the use of an ICBM? It was because of the deterioration of relations between the Empire and its surrounding country, which isn't a recent event.

A long time ago, the Empire and the Federation had an unofficial dispute over the drawing of the national border. At least on the platform of international politics, neither parties argued over the ownership of the territory in question.

But this was only because of the overwhelming strength that the Empire had; that's why this problem was kept from surfacing.

For Tanya, this situation was actually very simple, it was the same reason why the smaller nations wouldn't enter into border disputes with the Soviet Union by themselves.

...The past could only be discussed using past tense, which was the only regrettable thing.

A few coincidental events happened at the border. The border garrisons from both nations misfired accidentally, and firefights broke out because of some misunderstanding.

These issues could be resolved by the commanders on the ground, but it was clear the situation was becoming tense.

If the Empire moved into pre-war footing early, Tanya would be able to retreat to the rear lines and be assigned to non-combat duties. After all, before the battle began, Warrant Officer Tanya Degurechaff was just a cadet officer from Officer Cadet School.

Trainees would just be a burden on the frontlines. And so, if the Empire had been able to recognize the situation and make timely preparations, Tanya could have looked forward to her transfer to a research unit or work as an administrator in the rear.

However, high command ignored the turbulent situation and judged it to be simply brinksmanship, resulting in Tanya's deployment to this place for a military training exercise. This was just an extension of the training she did in Officer Cadet School (OCS), a joint exercise with the army while keeping to her flight patrol route.

But after losing her chance to retreat to the rear lines, Tanya was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant after the exercise and deployed for combat.

The call sign given to her was [Fairy08]. The call sign, "Fairy", irked her. Appearance wise, she was just a short child — no, a loli.

She had blue eyes showing strong determination and short blond hair that was easy to care for. Considering her white pristine skin, this name suited her.

After receiving her call sign and officially joining the border garrison, Tanya was assigned to the unit made up of the OCS training branch and local forces. Her first duty was a mandatory 48-hour standby order.

She thought she would be sent for training as usual after the formation of the unit to confirm the team members response time and functionality, but she was forced to standby in full battle gear. That happened about 24 hours ago.

Following that, with a timing that would make the devil smile, emergency reports came from the outposts at the frontlines. They warned that there were signs of a large scale Federation military invasion.

The Federation's changes in policies were what the Empire dreaded. Due to the change in political regime and the installation of new leaders, the rise of nationalism demanded a huge shift in national policies.

To be honest, not just Tanya, but everyone in the Empire's military found it hard to understand why they chose this time to start a reckless military campaign.

Before they knew it, the Federation had already issued an ultimatum for the Empire's forces to withdraw, in lieu of a declaration of war.

They demanded for the 'Empire forces to leave their national borders within 24 hours'.

The circumstances of the Federation weren't something a mere Lieutenant could fanthom. However, since border skirmishes were 'politically sensitive', it was obvious the Empire wanted to avoid war from officially breaking out. But failing to see the facts for what they are would make them infamous in the history books.

The infamy of being known as idiots. Maybe the Federation had some strategy to seize victory up their sleeves?

Although the Empire could not understand the objective and intent of the Federation, they followed the plans laid out by their country, mobilizing the cautious bureaucracy and military arm in preparations for the theoretical attack that might happen theoretically.

For Tanya who was a cog in the war machine, she only did her job as expected of her pay grade. At this point of time, she still thought optimistically that, "Well, this is probably just a political maneuver."

After all, the neighbouring Union would probably object to military operations occurring so close to it and call for a ceasefire or restrain both sides through intimidation.

The Kingdom and Republic that gave aid to the Federation in the past would fear that their past efforts to help them would be lost, and would stop the Federation's suicidal campaign.

That's right, this was what most of the soldiers thought would happen. After all, soldiers are all pragmatists.

It was clear the Federation had no chance of victory if they fought the Empire head on, so one of these countries would call for a cessation of hostility, leaving the clean up to the politicians and diplomats of both nations.

However, something that was unfathomable to all except for the Federation happened.

"Federation forces are advised to lower your arms and surrender or retreat."

Going by the common sense of the Empire, this was a shocking advisory. The Empire might be watching the situation develop in disbelief, but the reports of the Federation trespassing borders wasn't completely unexpected. The fact that it was really happening was what was baffling to them.

According to after-action logs, the soldier Lehrgen, serving at the military headquarters said, "...It would be easier to comprehend if it was all just a show orchestrated by their military high command, that's how unfathomable the intentions of the Federation were," to express how confounding this incident was.

Putting their doubts aside, the pragmatic Empire immediately issued the command to stop the grand scale invasion by Federation forces. They might be confused or troubled by the Federation's intent, but when they learned of the possibility of open warfare, the Empire started logistical and battle preparations as per standing orders.

Forces from the regiments deployed in various parts of the Empire were mustered by rail, showcasing the smooth and efficient organization of the Empire military, lauded as the reason for their might.

Despite gathering large amounts of resources and mobilizing units, the Empire still couldn't shake off the doubt and worry in their heart: "Are they for real?"