Company 4, platoon 10, 1st squad (1)

Following behind, a limping man appeared with a face as if he had seen a ghost.

"You, you're...?"

It was Simon.
The sentry whose ankle I'd broken at the end of our argument.

"N-no way...?"

I lightly nodded, replacing surprise with that old saying: "No way" ends up killing people.

"Ugh, but of all the squads in 3rd Battalion, why here?!"

Squad leader Cliff Shannon asked,

"What, you two know each other?"

"It's not that I really know him... But it's not like I don't know him either."

"What is that supposed to mean? Then you do know each other. That's good. No need for a formal introduction then."

Next out was a thin, wiry woman.

She had various sizes of daggers strapped here and there over her tight pants.
Looked to be in her early twenties.

She wasn't big, but the wiry muscles on her arms and legs meant she was no ordinary person.

With a gaze full of dissatisfaction, she scanned us up and down.

"I'm Lisa Fox. First senior."

She finished her brief introduction and promptly slumped onto a nearby tree stump.

Then the second senior stepped forward to introduce himself.

He had dark shadows under his eyes, and his unfocused pupils shivered restlessly without fixing on anything.

"I'm Bier Nolan... You still look young and yet you've ended up in this cursed squad..."

Lisa Fox, sitting on the stump, grimaced hard.

"Hey! I told you to stop with the 'cursed squad' talk!"

"But we're all doomed anyway..."

"Ah, you totally useless coward."

Finally, the deputy-squad leader came out.

"I'm Deputy-Squad Leader Leonard Schuler. Welcome to Platoon 10, 1st squad."

Really.

If it was going to be like this, it would have been easier if Bastian and I had just gone into the barracks together in the first place.

Seems like after poking his head into the barracks and yelling who-knows-what, he ordered everyone to come out one by one.

Just from this short moment, I realized how utterly inefficient Cliff Shannon was as a person.

Plus, when the squad leader says to come out, watching everyone sluggishly shuffle outside one at a time...

What a well-run military.

* * *

To fit smoothly into an organization, the first step is to understand its members' personalities.

First, Squad Leader Cliff Shannon.

He's clueless and incompetent.

From the way he moves, it's clear he's neither skilled in swordsmanship nor even athletic.

Deputy-Squad Leader Leonard Schuler.

He at least appears somewhat smart.

He probably leads Platoon 10, 1st squad from behind the scenes.

First senior, Lisa Fox.

A bit irritable.

She has a solid build, the only female squad member, yet acts tougher than the rest.

Second senior, Bier Nolan.

This guy is the real problem.

He seems to understand exactly what role a 1st squad infantryman plays, and because of that, acts like he's already lived through everything—a total coward.

At first, I didn't realize it, but after spending a little time near him, I heard him constantly muttering, "We're all going to die..."

Third senior, Simon.
A pushover.
Still, he's a senior, so since I broke his ankle, I sprayed him with the expensive potion I brought.

Regular squad member, Dirk.

Extremely cheerful—in fact, even his brain seems cheerful.

He knows absolutely nothing, never thinks, and joining the army is the peak of his life accomplishments.

"Ugh, why is the food in Company 4 always so bad? Back at my family, I wouldn't even touch this stuff."

Squad Leader Cliff Shannon started grumbling about the food again.

Happens every meal.

To strengthen squad cohesion, most of the squad spends almost all their time together, including meals—picked up from the cafeteria on rotation and eaten together near the barracks.

Of course, the duty always falls to regular members like me, Bastian, and Dirk.

"Back at my family, you know. At dinner time..."

Squad Leader Cliff Shannon never missed a chance to talk about his family.

The Shannon count family.

Fairly reputable among nearby noble houses.

But.

Does this guy know, or doesn't he?

Being assigned as infantry to act as a meat shield in 1st squad means his family completely gave up on him.

It could mean there's either a big flaw with him or he's a distant branch, not a direct descendant.

If you ask me, it's probably both.

Scratch, scratch.

Lisa Fox finished eating first, took out a dagger strapped to her ankle, and started carving a small piece of wood.

Bastian, unable to contain his curiosity, moved over and asked,

"First senior!"

"It's just Lisa. Call me Lisa."

"Lisa!"

"What?"

"What have you been carving since yesterday?"

Lisa Fox held up the piece of wood she was carving.

"This?"

"Yes."

"A rabbit."

"A rabbit?"

"Yeah, a rabbit."

"Why a rabbit?"

"Because it's cute."

"Oh..."

At that moment—

Swiish!

The dagger Lisa Fox had been using to carve the rabbit split the air.

Thunk!

It flew straight into the tree right next to where Bier Nolan was sitting and embedded itself deep.

A moment before, he'd been muttering, as usual, that we were all going to die.

Now he tucked his chin in like a turtle.

"You little punk, if I hear you say that we're all going to die one more time, I'll rip your mouth open."

It was the same woman who had just said she was carving a rabbit because it was cute.

After finishing his meal, Squad Leader Cliff Shannon pulled Lisa Fox's dagger out from the tree.

"Lisa, when are you going to teach me that dagger-throwing technique?"

"It's not something you can learn in a day or two. I told you to start with fork-throwing practice."

"How am I supposed to stab a potato ten meters away with a fork, not a dagger?"

"I'll teach you dagger throwing only after you can do that."

"Tch, so strict."

Now, sub-Squad Leader Leonard Schuler approached and asked me,

"So, why did you guys join the army?"

What kind of obvious question is that?

"To become a soldier."

"You're wearing fancy clothes, your sword looks expensive, and especially the potion you sprayed on Simon's ankle—must've cost a fortune, right?"

"I inherited some wealth."

"Then why put yourself through all this hardship in the army?"

Cliff Shannon cut in.

"Isn't it obvious? To elevate your family's name. Like me."

I'm telling you, your family gave up on you.

Deputy-squad leader Leonard Schuler asked,

"Is that it?"

"No. I'm not interested in raising my family's name."

"Then?"

No need to lie.

"There's nowhere else I can improve my skills as quickly as here."

I'd spent more than a thousand years as a sword.

Back then I was in human hands, but as an actual human, I've only spent twelve years.

Even if I'm growing stronger by constantly breathing in nature, to make faster progress, I need real combat experience.

"You joined the army to improve your skills quickly?"

"Yes."

Squad Leader Cliff Shannon cut in again.

"Ah! Perfect. Let's see just how good our new recruits are. Hey, Simon."

He called the third senior, Simon.

Simon stared at him, his face turning pale.

"You test the strength of our little rookies, alright? Your injured ankle's healed now, hasn't it? What a waste of such a pricey potion for a fracture that would heal on its own."

"M-me, sir?"

"Or do you want me to do it?"

Simon turned his head to me, and our eyes met; he flinched and then glanced at the deputy-squad leader.

"Deputy-squad leader, there's always Dirk. Do I have to...?"

"No need for regular squad members to compete and create an unnecessary hierarchy. Seniors up to second senior are enough."

"Ah..."

Dirk jumped up and shouted with excitement.

"Oh! Senior Simon is going to test Evan and Bastian's skills? I thought I'd die when I had to be tested by Senior Lisa."

"That's because Simon was on leave back then, and Bier was on duty."

Dirk looked at Bastian and me.

"You guys are lucky. I really thought I'd die when First Senior Lisa tested me."

Lisa Fox glared at Dirk.

"Eep! N-no, I mean, thank you for teaching us, first Senior!"

Squad Leader Cliff Shannon hurried them along.

"All right, get up, both of you. Evan, Bastian, who's going first? No, let's have both of you go at once. Simon, don't go easy just because they're kids. They're proper soldiers now."

* * *

"Don't go easy on them?"

Simon's mind went dark.

"What should I do..."

Evan Dagon.

There is no way I want to fight that guy again.

The way he rolled like a monkey and coiled around my ankle like a snake is still vivid.

"Think! Simon!"

If I get utterly defeated here by a twelve-year-old rookie, the rest of my army life will be a tangled mess.

"Squad leader, even though they're just kids, as you said, they're real soldiers now. Wouldn't two versus one hurt my pride?"

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

The squad leader looked at the two newcomers.

"So, which of you is stronger?"

Obviously,

It would be Evan Dagon.

"Him."

Whew.

Simon let out a sigh of relief at Bastian's answer.

"It's working!"

Before anyone could say anything, Simon quickly suggested,

"Then, I'll take Bastian, and Evan can go against Second Senior Bier. I mean, I could fight both in sequence, but wouldn't it be good for Second Senior to teach too...?"

Please, just agree.

Agree!

Squad Leader Cliff Shannon nodded.

"That sounds fun too."

It worked!

"Then Bastian, stand up and grab your sword. Simon, get your sword, too."

Simon replied with great vigor.

"Yes, squad leader!"

"Yes!"

Bastian also replied briskly, stood up, and grabbed his sword.

Srinng.

Bastian drew his sword.

The well-forged Damascus steel blade shone with elegant patterns.

Meanwhile, Simon retrieved a clumsy two-handed longsword.

Plain-looking, but more than twice as long as Bastian's blade.

It's thicker, broader, and at least six or seven times heavier than Bastian's sword.

Vwooong.

Simon swung his longsword wide with both hands.

"All right, let's begin, rookie."

Bastian replied energetically.

"Yes, third senior!"

Bastian gripped his sword with both hands and took a stance.

While appearing indifferent as she whittled her rabbit, Lisa Fox looked at Bastian with surprise.

"Well, look at that. Pretty good form, kid."