Manga Chapter 7

## War College II: Total War Theory

**War College II: Total War Theory** is the seventh chapter of Youjo Senki Manga.

## Summary

After stumbling upon Zettour's location in the library, Tanya quickly apologizes for disturbing him, to which Zettour replies that she should treat him as an alumnus for the time being. They exchange introductions, and Tanya fantasizes internally about what a wonderful opportunity it is to create connections. Of course, she externally remains calm and indifferent to the situation after the initial shock of disturbing the general before her, her gaze seemingly determined to the general.

Instead of kissing up the the general, Tanya decides indifference is the best route, and behaves as normal. After a few brief comments from Zettour about her achievements, he asks how she thinks the current war will develop. She first says his question is too vague, so he specifies to what kind of war she thinks it will be. She then states that is beyond her pay grade, and Zettour gives her permission to speak freely in response. Using her (his) knowledge of business and presentations from being a salary-man, Tanya then confidently states it will be a "Great War," in this case using knowledge of World War One, originally called the "Great War" and the politics surrounding both wars.

Upon being asked, Tanya defines a great war as one that will involve most of the great powers, eventually leading to global conflict. She then states that the Empire, while younger than most other great powers, is by no means inferior, and if the conflict against the Republic continues uninterrupted by other nations, the Empire will likely become a hegemon if it obtains victory. Zettour brings up that the Republic might also become a hegemon if it wins, so Tanya states that the other nations will try to assure destruction of both countries. Tanya then states that, seeing as there is no "silver bullet" type solution, the best outcome is minimization of losses. Tanya continues, saying that victory for the Empire should be "achieving national defense without losing."

This would be achieved, according to our main character, by bleeding out the enemy completely and crushing their war sustaining power, suggesting defensive trench warfare so as to drain the "human resource" of the opponents. This can conserve the nation's power for the striking of blows by using flight mages to complete infiltration assaults and battlefield interdiction so as to tire out enemies. Zettour asks how many mages would be required for such a task, to which Tanya states "A wing is best." Zettour states that is a practical choice, and Tanya feels confused and worried by this choice of words.

In the Imperial Army General Staff Operation Department, Rudersdorf congratulates Rerugen on his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel before assigning him the task of heading to Norden and obtaining information on the current state of things out there, which will allow the top brass of the military to determine which front, between Norden and the Rhine, should be focused on, so a war on two fronts can be avoided. On Rerugen's way out, Rudersdorf hands him a paper/essay from Zettour, claiming it is a good read. Rerugen reads it, the paper titled "The Form and Forecasts of the Ongoing Great War" on the train to his next destination, remarking that the title sounds like Zettour. However, after reading it, he seems terrified at the possibility, and logically concludes that it is in fact very likely. He brings up that the Empire signed non-aggression pacts with two of its neighbors, the Russy Union, and the Kingdom of Ildoa, which left the possibility of a second front to the Legadonia Entente Alliance. He then begins to think about the idea of Total War, where all belligerents must use any and all military might they have at their disposal to fight.

"An enormous consumption of human resource." After stating this line in his head, he gets stuck on the idea, remarking that people are instead being treated as numbers that rapidly decrease. His terror at the nature of the world in Zettour's essay sends shivers down his spine, as a feeling of familiarity sets in. He then hears the laughter of a "witch," and something of unknown nature enters his mind. He then questions aloud where Zettour might have gotten this idea.

## Characters

* Tanya von Degurechaff
* Hans von Zettour
* Kurt von Rudersdorf
* Erich von Rerugen