Ghislain smiled, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly. He couldn't cause a scene here. Something really important was coming up.
With a trembling smile, he said, "It's a rule to handle personal maintenance yourself, isn't it?"
At that, an older veteran widened his eyes and asked, "What kind of army does that?"
"..."
"Seriously, what kind of army sticks to that rule, you idiot?"
"..."
"Ha, I don't understand kids these days. They don't know how the world works."
The veteran stood up and approached Ghislain.
"My name is Victor. I'm the squad leader here. Since you're a rookie, I'll personally train you. Got it?"
Victor tapped Ghislain lightly on the neck as he continued, "Why aren't you answering? Do you think the army's a joke?"
"... No, sir."
"Or are you planning to quit military life altogether?"
"..."
"Go do the laundry right now. Unless you want me to beat you like a dog here. Or you can go report me upstairs."
'Should I just kill him?'
Ghislain was still smiling with trembling lips. He wanted to kill him, but he had to hold back.
He could easily snap Victor's neck with mana threads without anyone noticing. But if he actually killed him? This unit might be excluded from the negotiation table.
Units involved in incidents were typically left out of important meetings.
'Maybe I'll just beat him up secretly?'
That was risky too. There couldn't be any incidents at all if this unit was to safely participate in the negotiations.
You little bastard, I've memorized your face.
"What are you doing? Move!" Victor shouted.
"... Yes, sir," Ghislain replied.
Ghislain grabbed a pile of clothes and started doing the laundry, pouting as he worked.
"Ugh, these military injustices really need to disappear."
It seemed he might need to conduct a surprise inspection in the Fenris Army soon. Although their discipline was known to be strict, you could never be too sure.
Recently, new soldiers had been continuously recruited, so who knew what might happen?
Besides, the Northern Army was a force made up of soldiers from various estates. There was no guarantee there wouldn't be issues like this.
For maximum combat effectiveness, such problems must never exist. Ghislain resolved to restore military discipline after a long time.
"Lucas was good at this kind of thing," he muttered.
Lucas had been in the same mercenary corps as Ghislain in a past life. Back when he was a rookie, Lucas had been a laundry genius.
He suddenly missed Lucas's face, even though they hadn't been apart for very long.
After finishing the laundry, Ghislain returned to find a pile of weapons awaiting maintenance.
'This is so disgusting.'
The condition of the equipment was atrocious. It was clear how low the standards of the Kingdom's foot soldiers had fallen.
He understood why. Recently, everything had been destroyed and the army reorganized. They even took in all sorts of riffraff to bolster their numbers.
After Marquis Branford's downfall, supply chains likely collapsed, so it was natural for the state of things to be poor.
'But still, for discipline to deteriorate this much…'
The Kingdom's army hadn't been like this before. Maurice, the former commander-in-chief, was meticulous about the army, even if he lacked in other areas.
Now, it was obvious they prioritized numbers over proper inspections.
Ghislain pulled out a cloth and oil and began cleaning the senior soldiers' weapons one by one. He sharpened the blades and fixed problematic parts.
Honestly, he could've finished it in an instant, but he needed to keep his strength hidden for now.
Still, everyone was astonished at Ghislain's incredible maintenance skills.
"Whoa, what's with this guy?"
"How's he so fast?"
"The weapons are shining!"
Even soldiers who had been slacking off gathered around to watch. They had never seen someone handle weapon maintenance so skillfully.
Victor, looking slightly uneasy, asked, "Hey... Were you in the army before? Don't tell me you were in the Delphine Army?"
Recently, many soldiers from the Duke's forces had joined various units. Existing Kingdom soldiers dared not treat them lightly.
Their presence and skill were clearly superior to that of Kingdom soldiers.
Thus, when the army was reorganized, most of them were placed in tough, high-combat units.
Shaking his head, Ghislain replied, "I was in the army, but not the Delphine Army."
"Then where..."
"The Rayfold Army."
"Whoa, that Countess? The one who recently seized a bunch of Eastern territories?"
"Yes, I was there for a bit."
Ghislain didn't hide his past as a soldier. No matter how well he disguised himself, traces of having been in the military were hard to conceal.
Of course, he couldn't use the names Fenris or Perdium, so he conveniently invoked Rayfold's name.
Since he was familiar with Rayfold's command structure and military system, it was easy to fabricate details.
Victor, intrigued, asked, "Then how'd you end up here? Isn't their army pretty well off?"
"Oh, my hometown is in the East. During the Eastern conflict, I was forcibly recruited but later discharged."
"Really? And yet, you're a soldier again?"
"Well, with the world being what it is these days, farming and business are tough. Plus, I heard rumors that His Majesty has recovered his health, so I enlisted in the Kingdom's army."
At those words, Victor and the other soldiers looked at Ghislain with pity.
"You should've just gone back to the Rayfold Army."
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"Uh, no, forget it."
Victor clicked his tongue. The Kingdom's army was no longer a place one could easily leave once enlisted.
Every army had mandatory service periods, but that wasn't the issue here.
After a moment's hesitation, Victor sighed. Even though Ghislain was new, he couldn't keep this from him.
"Hey, rookie, listen up."
"What?"
"You know about the Northern Army, right? Their commander?"
Ghislain's eyes turned cold. He debated whether to kill the man in front of him.
Just as he slowly raised his hand, Victor said something unexpected.
"We might end up fighting that terrifying Northern Army."
"... Excuse me?"
"You don't know about the Northern Army? Don't you know about Count Fenris?!"
"I've... heard rumors."
"Yeah, that monster army, said to be the strongest in the Kingdom. We might have to fight them."
"Why... would we fight them?"
Victor glanced around cautiously, and the other soldiers crowded closer to Ghislain, whispering.
These days, the biggest buzz was the possibility of a battle with the Northern Army.
"There's a rumor that the Northern Army's commander disobeyed His Majesty's orders."
"Yeah, so the Duke's forces and the Kingdom army are supposedly teaming up to crush them soon."
"If we fight that crazy army, we're all dead."
The soldiers wore terrified expressions. The Northern Army's fearsome reputation was well-known. Just the thought of fighting them was enough to terrify them.
Victor boldly exclaimed to the murmuring soldiers, "What are you so scared of? Count Fenris being terrifying is just a rumor! Have any of you seen him yourself?"
The Kingdom's 2nd Corps had coincidentally never fought alongside the Northern Army. They had never seen them in action. They only knew what they'd heard.
Of course, Victor secretly didn't want to fight such a fearsome army either. But as a squad leader, he couldn't show fear.
Looking at Ghislain, Victor confidently said, "Hey, rookie, don't be scared for no reason. Isn't Count Fenris just a person? His body's not invincible, is it? If he shows up in front of me, I'll just pierce his belly and kill him!"
"... I see."
"Honestly, if I had mastered a mana cultivation technique, I'd be stronger than most knights."
The soldiers around him nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, the squad leader is really good at fighting."
"He's a man born with strength."
"They say he killed a knight during the last battle with the Duke's forces."
Though the knight had been severely injured and exhausted, it was true Victor had delivered the finishing blow.
Ghislain nodded with empty eyes.
"You must be really strong."
"Of course! So, even if we have to fight the Northern Army, don't worry and just follow me. Got it?"
"... Yes."
"That guy's reputation is just hype. How good can a noble at fighting be? It's all thanks to the people under him."
"... True."
"If we do fight, let's kill Count Fenris ourselves and earn some glory."
"... I'll do my best."
"For a rookie, you've got guts. Since you're good at weapon maintenance, you can handle that from now on. I'll excuse you from other duties."
"..."
Victor praised Ghislain and returned to his seat, followed by the other soldiers patting Ghislain on the shoulder.
'What the hell…'
Ghislain regretted not being able to reveal that he was the Northern Army commander.
After receiving such enthusiastic "encouragement," Ghislain soon reached dinner time.
Seeing the food he was served, Ghislain could only stare in disbelief.
"Huh?"
The meal was terrible. Thin soup and a single piece of bread were all there was.
As far as he knew, the Kingdom's military meals had been significantly improved after the drought, thanks to the massive and consistent food support from Fenris.
Chicken, in particular, had been supplied so abundantly that it was practically overflowing.
Even though the support has been cut off, there's no way they've run out of food already.
Marquis Branford had been careful not to waste the supplies and had stored them well. He'd even brought in mages to focus on freezing and preserving them.
But looking at this now, it seemed they were giving out just enough to keep people alive.
Ghislain turned to Victor and asked, "Why is the food like this? The Rayfold Army had excellent meals."
Amelia might have been lacking in other areas, but she always made sure her soldiers were well-fed. The Rayfold Army was famous for eating just as well as the Fenris troops.
Victor, aware of this, clicked his tongue and replied, "Ugh, it wasn't always like this. Until recently, we ate really well too."
"Then what happened?"
Victor glanced around cautiously before speaking in a low voice, "His Majesty regained his health and seized power, right? The nobles were replaced too."
"I heard about that."
"The higher-ups are pocketing everything. They took a ridiculous amount of food."
"..."
"Ugh, damn it. It's frustrating to go from eating well to this, but what can we do?"
"How can anyone work on this?"
"Even in times like these, the army is the only place that gives you anything at all."
"Really?"
"People in the capital can't even eat one decent meal a day. Everything gets taken from them. At least we're soldiers, so we get two meals. You should've just stayed in the Rayfold Army."
Victor muttered softly as he took a bite of his bread. Ghislain sighed.
How could things fall apart this quickly after the downfall of the high-ranking nobles?
'There really are a lot of terrible people in power.'
He suddenly realized how hard the previous nobles had worked to keep the Kingdom running.
Shaking his head, Ghislain ate his dinner. It tasted absolutely awful.
The next day, training began. Ghislain didn't resist and quietly participated in the drills.
Until it was time to join the negotiation table, he needed to comply with military life.
"One, two! One, two!"
One of the most common drills for soldiers was running. Building basic stamina was essential for easy marches.
Sometimes, they ran without rest to the point of absurdity.
They'd be pushed to their limits until they collapsed, either by the commander's orders or from prideful competitions among the soldiers.
As time passed, the soldiers running diligently began collapsing one by one, their faces filled with shock.
"That guy... what's with him..."
"Why is he running so well..."
"Was he a courier or something before?"
Only Ghislain kept running with a calm expression.
He was simply suppressing his strength and running at an average pace.
Thud, thud, thud.
One by one, the running soldiers dropped to the ground on the training field. Ghislain clicked his tongue at the sight.
'Ugh, why are they so weak? Is it because they're not eating properly?'
The soldiers here were unbelievably weak. In Fenris, anyone collapsing at this level would immediately undergo special training.
While Ghislain's standards were drastically different, the soldiers around him were looking at him as if he were a monster.
Victor, who had barely managed to keep running out of sheer pride, panted heavily as he said, "Haah... You... haah... are really... haah... good at running..."
"Ah, yes."
"Today... haah, haah... is just the first day... so I went easy on you... haahhh..."
"Ah, yes."
Despite Ghislain's soulless reply, Victor went on to explain just how much he had "gone easy."
Ghislain's exceptional ability was impossible to hide. What could he do when even this much training didn't tire him?
It was the same with the other drills.
"Shields!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Shield formation drills were the most important training for infantry. This part was strictly overseen by the training instructors.
"Thrust!"
"Thrust!"
At the command, the soldiers thrust their spears through the gaps in their shields. Their target was a straw pillar in front of them.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
At first, it went well. But as time passed, the soldiers grew tired, and their formations began to crumble. Shields dropped, and gaps appeared everywhere.
With many new recruits, most couldn't even thrust properly, often missing and hitting to the side. The spear heights were all over the place.
Amidst this chaos, one person stood out.
"Who is that guy?"
The instructor stared at a single soldier with astonished eyes.
Normally, after this much training, everyone would be exhausted and disorganized. It was inevitable.
But that one soldier was still full of energy.
He held his shield in perfect form and thrust his spear with unmatched precision. The instructor had never seen such a soldier in his life.
"Stop!"
The instructor halted the drill and approached Ghislain.
"You, what's your name?"
"Dougley!"
The instructor nodded several times before shouting loudly, "You idiots! Even a rookie soldier is doing this much, so what are you all doing? Go run laps around the training field!"
The soldiers, pale-faced, began running. Ghislain could only watch them blankly.
The instructor smiled in satisfaction.
"I've never seen a soldier as hardworking as you in all my years in the army. If anyone bothers you, let me know anytime."
"... Yes."
"You said you were in the Rayfold Army before, right? No wonder they're as good as the rumors say."
"..."
Amelia unintentionally received praise alongside him.
Ghislain hadn't even been trying. He was so bored he'd nearly dozed off during training.
That's how vast the difference was between him and the other soldiers.
During every training session, Ghislain became the instructors' favorite. He received so much praise that the other soldiers, though seething, couldn't touch him.
And so, Ghislain spent his days receiving a bit of isolation and a lot of "intensive" training.
A few days later, all members of the 3rd Infantry Company of the 2nd Corps gathered on the training field.
The company commander stood on a high platform, and before him stood Ghislain.
With a dignified voice, the company commander addressed everyone, "Attention! There is a soldier who has shown particularly outstanding performance. We will honor him today. The man in front of me is Dougley!"
"..."
"Dougley is the pride of our army and a role model for all soldiers..."
The commander's speech dragged on and on.
Standing in front of him, Ghislain maintained his soulless expression.
Before he knew it, he had become the best soldier in the infantry company and was even receiving a commendation.
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