Weekly chapters (2/2)
More explanation~
Let’s speed-up~
Enjoy~
Northern Fortress's Soldier Marco's Story of the Past
It was….how many years has it been?
It was when I was still an apprentice soldier. During the usual morning gathering from the Fortress' head chief Rouen-sama, I heard that there would be an introduction of a new squad leader. Although Rouen-sama said so, everyone was nervous, fearing that it's someone horrible from the royal capital.
Regarding Rouen-sama, he is an excellent general who had steadfastly defended the country from Wolfgard Empire for decades, even someone from another country would know his name. Previously, I heard that he's been invited to become a minister on the Royal Capital by His Majesty himself no less. But it's said that he turned down the offer because he's still duty-bound to the Archduke…..Well in short, he's an awesome person and everyone adores him.
However, because the one being introduced was actually a ten-year-old child…..everyone was really amazed instead of surprised. Well, I can only laugh when thinking back about it. Anyways that child is apparently the young lord of the Schwarzer clan. But when he was first introduced, that important fact was hidden from us.
[Squad Captain Alan]
By the way…
I felt bad for him at first. Who the hell is that kid anyways? If not for Rouen-sama taking care of him, I would've. That's pretty much what the less savory soldiers said.
However……no matter how much irresponsible that was, the soldiers of Schwarzer are not so incompetent that we became disturbed by such a thing. The order is absolute. However…..I wonder what I will end up like from following that kid's order….that's the kind of despair I had back then.
That was how…..Squad Captain Alan….no, Ares-sama took charge of our squad.
Now then, after the rather abrupt introduction, Ares-sama….no, let's use Squad Captain Alan since that's how we know him as back then….captain Alan said that he wanted to see our sword training routine.
That's not something a child normally likes to watch; at first I thought like that. But as I said before, orders are absolute…..we're quite used with training inspections for quite a while now anyways. But what's more, captain Alan also wanted to participate in it….which kinda surprised me.
Pardon me if he really wanted it. It's as if he's trying to make a fool out of all of us. That's why, on that occasion, I shouldn't be the only one thinking about going home as soon as possible. That boy was really a brat.
But there are people out there that is beyond any expectation….although it's rude for me to say that, I actually witnessed one right there.
To begin with…we were just new recruits.
I would be happy to take up the offer if it was coming from a veteran soldier, let me tell you this. As for me, I hate bullying the weak…..but I guess I don't have much of a choice.
Anyways, we sparred…..and it was me who ended up falling on the ground in a matter of seconds. I had no idea what had happened. However, I was astonished when he apologized and helped me got back up, just like a veteran soldier would do.
After that we continued our training session…but what can I say, we couldn't even beat him even we came at him en masse. All of our swords were evaded, parried….and ended up only cutting air.
Not even veteran soldiers could do that…..it's not us who were weak, the other party was just a monster.
At the end of the day, the one who got bullied…..was us.
After that…our attitude to him changed completely. If he can show that kind of power…..then, we have nothing to say……it's pathetic for us, but the army has always been about power.
Right, someone please tell me.
That boy looks to be a young normal boy but the contents inside are worth many odd years, doesn't he? Just like the elves whose appearance doesn't change even after hundreds of years, I guess it's interesting to have someone like that in our squad. I couldn't come up with a better conclusion at that time.
Well, we ended up working under captain Alan for a few years. In addition to regularly improving our abilities, we were sortied to maintain security then eventually, punitive assaults….Captain Alan's orders were always precise. How to react when in a dangerous situation, when to attack at the most decisive moment….no, it felt very easy in retrospect.
Under captain Alan leadership's, the squad rarely, if ever, suffered any damage. On that regard, I really appreciated his presence.
Before we knew it…..we've become entirely compliant to captain's order.
Now then, about captain Alan….there are two memorable events etched in my head.
The first was when the northern fortress was attacked by a large number of bandits. At that time, we only had 100 soldiers on our side. Meanwhile there were 500 bandits attacking. Their number was five times ours. To be honest, we were prepared to kill as many bandits as we can before dying. We have our pride as Schwarzer's soldiers after all.
However…..captain Alan was different. When he saw the enemy, he laughed, and said this.
[We will rout the bandits now.]
He said.
At first, I thought he said that because he went crazy out of fear. He's still just a brat after all.
However, he devised a strategy and started giving us instructions. It was like this.
[They're just bandits. Mere scavengers. They are no match for the trained Schwarzer's soldiers]
He said.
He then started issuing instructions. And how precise those instructions were.
[Our opponent is not familiar with the geography here. If you hide in the bushes and lay in ambush for them, we can cut down their number considerably.]
[They might think that we'll attack head on. So let's do the opposite and have the cavalry attack from their rear.]
[Their cohesion is actually fragile and can easily collapse. We'll be able to rout them immediately.]
Now, we basically considered captain Alan a god. Everyone calmed down upon hearing him speaking like that. Against such odds, I thought that I was going to die for sure.
But now survival has become a certainty.
And indeed, we managed to rout the bandits while only suffering minor injuries.
I once thought, this guy is like the heroes written in history…..no, he can be something more than a hero.
Everyone was already intoxicated by captain Alan. It's a mysterious sight. From veterans to youngsters….us, the adults, actually honoring a ten year old kid. But for us……he's a captain we can put our respect into…..and someone we can look up to as a hero.
And the second memory was……..his expressions.
Captain who was like a god of war during battle…..acted like a normal kid during his leisure time.
Eating snack at a street stall, swimming in the river, goes fishing…..
One day, it's been decided that he would be staying at my house. It's something new, but beyond that, it's an order for captain Alan to stay at my house.
When I got home, captain actually talked with my mom as if they are a close friend. That surprised me.
Other than that, he seemed to enjoy eating at home.
We arranged our beds together in the evening. At night we talked about the girl I took a liking to, how we will spend our holiday…..just talking…..he really is still a kid after all. On my part, I enjoyed the sense of having a younger brother during those days… it was kinda inappropriate when I think about it again now.
Later on I was told that captain Alan was actually the Archduke's son. I was amazed at that time. But, strangely…..I felt relieved. Yeah, that means there will be more in this world for the captain to achieve.
That's what I, personally thought. But, I guess everyone was thinking the same thing, that is
If one day that person will become the king of this continent…..that will probably be the happiest day in this world.
And that's why. The Schwarzer's soldiers will be willing to put down our life just for him. Although, Ares-sama would not let us to.
Even now after I've become team leader of 10 member squad…..I still think the same.