Episode 55: Chang-Grang.
“Huh huh huh. Sorry for my sin!”
An urgent voice came out of Victor’s mouth, unable to even catch his ragged breath.
“No, no. Try again.”
“…yes?”
“Try again.”
“Yep yep!”
Logan grinned, picked up the sword rolling on the floor, and handed it to the guy.
‘It’s definitely a great talent.’
These were not empty words.
Now sixteen. It’s only been one year since I learned swordsmanship.
Perhaps because he had completely mastered the most basic sword techniques of the kingdom of Grandia, he held the basic posture without realizing it even when swinging his sword at random.
Even though he was making an unorthodox cut, his stride was constant and his eyes were looking straight at the imaginary target.
‘Basic sword techniques are perfect for the body.’
Moreover, the momentum when swinging at random was much higher than when using standard sword techniques.
It meant that such a temperament suited Viktor well.
The noble slayer’s nature may have changed, but his martial arts still seemed to be more violent and violent.
‘I can even understand the temperament of swordsmanship.’
As Viktor has changed, he will also be changing.
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter as I felt it wasn’t that bad.
However, if there is a problem….
“Haaap!”
Okay. Skag.
Paaaang.
This type of violent swordsmanship can never be completed by practicing alone.
‘Now I need a partner.’
And that’s an opponent of his own level, not someone as overwhelmingly stronger as him.
In other words, they are not at the level of force users, but they are close to it.
A real-life sparring with A-class mercenaries or elite soldiers was necessary.
“Does it feel stuffy?”
“….”
Viktor, who was swinging his sword with all his might, nodded wordlessly.
If he were to behave normally, he would have said no and just swung his sword vigorously.
‘I guess that means he feels it too.’
Future Auror user.
That talent once again impressed Logan.
And fortunately, the solution to the frustration he was feeling right now was simple.
“I plan to leave Castle McRain tomorrow and train my soldiers at Tethron. Perhaps all winter.”
“…yes?”
“Follow me. Tell your younger brother well.”
however.
“…Can’t I go with Lia?”
This stupid little brother spouted nonsense.
“You’re going to take a girl to a military training center full of only guys?”
“Can’t we go together?”
“Do you really think that would be good for your brother?”
“I want to go with you!”
This was a guy I really didn’t know.
The boy who normally seemed very precocious became a child whenever his younger brother was involved.
I would take my little sister to a place full of men, especially hot-blooded men in puberty.
‘What kind of accident are you trying to create? Hmm… wait?’
Logan nodded, contrary to his initial thoughts, as a thought flashed through his mind for a moment.
“…Okay. Let’s take him.”
“thank you!”
Logan sighed inwardly as he looked at Victor who was so happy.
‘Haa… this guy is so cool.’
It was nice for Victoria to be this guy’s controller, but the obsession was too much.
‘Because of this, he may try to take care of his younger brother first no matter what he asks him to do later.’
At this point, I thought it would be better to handle that obsession a little bit.
If things go as planned, it’s clear…
“But if anything goes wrong, know that it’s all your fault. You brought it on yourself.”
“Yes! I will take good care of it.”
“That’s not true! I’ll give Victoria a separate job, so make sure to separate the construction work. If she can’t do anything without her brother, I don’t need her.”
“…sorry.”
Although he answered well, Victor’s eyes were shaking.
“Victoria. Come here!”
Victoria, who had been watching restlessly from the side since he appeared, came rushing over.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did wrong, but please forgive me this once!”
As the small child repeatedly bowed his head with a pale complexion, Logan felt like he had a headache.
“Okay. There’s nothing like that.”
Even though favors were shown, the siblings were still wary.
‘Maybe that’s why he wants to go with his younger brother…’
Logan couldn’t hide a bitter smile in his empty heart.
Children who have lived a difficult life with no one but each other to lean on.
I had hoped that I would have received enough comfort over the past year, but it still seemed like I was wishing for too much.
“We will be going to Castle Tethron during the winter. Your brother will be moving with the soldiers for training, and you will accompany the servants in charge of food. Do you understand?”
“yes!”
The answer is that I think I am better than my brother.
After Leah disappeared to pack her things.
“Is your younger brother that important?”
Logan asked quietly out of sudden curiosity.
In his past life, he felt sorry for his family for the mistakes he made and regretted it for the rest of his life.
Logan continued to try not to leave that feeling behind again.
However, Victor’s feelings for his younger brother seemed to be different from that.
“Because we are our only family.”
The answer came so easily that Logan’s worries seemed futile.
Is it simply an instinct that comes from blood relations?
“Hmm. That’s it?”
When Logan asked back, Viktor, who had hesitated a little this time, opened his mouth again.
“…My parents died because of me.”
The unexpected answer left Logan speechless.
“Lia lost her parents because of me. I have to protect her as the only family left.”
Victor bit his lip and lowered his head.
Not wanting to see the expression on the guy’s lowered head, Logan looked at the distant sky.
I will do anything to wash away my sins.
I will risk everything to protect my family and my brother.
No, it has to be that way.
Is there anyone who understands the complex emotions of love and resentment better than Logan himself?
The question I suddenly asked revealed a bitter truth and also strengthened my resolve.
“Okay. Let’s do our best.”
‘Both of us.’
Logan could only pat his shoulder as he looked at his younger self.
* * * 500 volunteers, or now trainees, escorted by 50 soldiers and 300 mercenaries.
The road to Tethron with them was stable, although a little slow.
The tents and camping gear prepared by the mercenaries and soldiers were not very good items, but to those who were camping for the first time, they were simply amazing.
Logan personally scooped up warm stew for the trainees and made eye contact with each of them.
“I respect anyone who is capable, regardless of their status. So, work hard. Work hard and become a capable person. As long as you have the ability, I will make you a knight no matter what your status is.”
Maybe it was just pretense and cheap food.
The applicants, who were still naive, were easily moved by the small kindness shown by their master.
Also, regardless of the fact that most of them would not become knights, word spread that Victor, standing proudly next to Logan, was a slave worse than a peasant, boosting their motivation.
– Let’s become a knight.
It was a moment when this decision was firmly engraved in the hearts of the trainees.
Among the particularly difficult farming families in McLane, they are small and shabby compared to others who come from particularly difficult families.
The determination of the children who thought that Logan, who was chosen as the new standard, was talented was even stronger.
– Must….
“Thank you.”
“I will do my best.”
A small voice of determination and a small fist clenched.
Even the wooden bowl containing the stew seemed difficult, but their eyes were all hot.
Many of those eyes were directed at Viktor, which made Logan happy.
This was one of the reasons why I brought Victor with me.
‘Maybe the odds are higher than you think.’
Another crisis is not far away now.
I naturally smiled as I felt like the pillar that would support my family’s future became a little more secure.
* * * The evaluation of Logan in Tethron Castle was polarizing.
The one who massacred the former monarch and his children and massacred numerous conscripts made up of territory residents just six months ago.
And the hero of the miracle who provided food to those struggling during the spring hunger season and made grass grow in the wasteland.
However, no matter which of the two people accepted him, the reaction of those who actually encountered Logan was the same.
Just be respectful and do not approach.
From the village outside Tethron Castle to the inside of the castle, which is twice as large and spacious as Macin.
When all the territory residents encountered saw the flame flag and Logan’s face, they lowered their heads and avoided it.
And Vector, who faced him at the door of his inner room in such an atmosphere, greeted him with a completely different attitude than in his memories.
“Thank you for your hard work in coming all the way, Grand Duke. Would you like to eat first? Or would you like to receive a report first?”
Back bent at 90 degrees. The narrow, slitted snake-eyed pupils were still constantly moving, but I didn’t feel the slightest hint of hostility.
“…Vector. You’ve changed a lot.”
So, I had no choice but to say an absurd tone without realizing it.
“Hahaha. It’s natural for subordinates to serve superiors.”
“Then what about before?”
“I just follow Madam’s will. He is the owner of my life.”
“Ho. Are you saying you’re going to blame it on your mother?”
“If you still have any grudges, just cut off my head. I won’t hold any grudges.”
“Really? Really?”
Slurp.
When I pulled out my sword without hesitation, contrary to my determined voice, I saw cold sweat on my forehead and trembling hands.
However, the eyes that always scanned the surroundings slyly were looking at him motionlessly at this moment.
“I don’t want anyone to worry about you because of this. Please just forget about me.”
Looking at that, Logan smiled and put away his sword.
Even though the ill feelings from the past remained, Vector’s loyalty to his stepmother was genuine.
“Please continue to do so from now on.”
A hand that passes by by tapping the shoulder instead of cutting.
The grizzled middle-aged man stumbled as if he would fall, but his expression immediately brightened.
“Oh, I need to stand up straight. Anyone who sees it will think I hit it really hard.”
“I’m sorry. I was so nervous…”
“Tsk. I’ll just pretend to eat like this. I’ll get the report first.”
“All right.”
Fortunately, Vector was more capable than expected.
“As for the financial situation…”
“The state of the territory’s residents…”
“And we have prepared everything regarding recruiting soldiers.”
Thanks to Vector’s active cooperation, the selection of Tesron’s trainees was completed quickly the next day.
‘ha. There are about 250 people here who are truly talented. Well, we need crossbow cavalry right now. And…’
The Empire only found a highly probable method, but did not completely reveal the mechanism for awakening the Force.
Nowadays, people who seem to have no talent might become force users.
Logan encouraged himself and selected 500 trainees from Tethron.
* * *
1,000 trainees selected in that way.
Fortunately, the soldiers’ quarters built in Tethron were large enough to accommodate close to 1,500 people, including existing soldiers.
Unfamiliar facial expressions and young age in group accommodation for the first time in my life.
Some of the trainees gathered in one place had a good atmosphere.
“I’m Rom. Let’s do our best from now on.”
“I’m Tess. Please take care of me.”
There were some bad ones, too.
“Hey. What? You’re not apologizing?”
“You were blocking the road.”
“What man?!”
“Stop it!”
It was difficult for either of the young bloods, placed in an unfamiliar environment, to fall asleep easily.
“Everyone, don’t be quiet!”
“If you don’t sleep, I’ll force you to sleep!”
Despite the crackdown by senior soldiers and instructors, the trainees’ dormitories were filled with people who couldn’t sleep.
next day.
At the sound of the early morning wake-up horn, more than half of the people who had gathered at the parade ground in a clumsy group were covered in snow.
And Kai, the general instructor who saw such a pitiful situation, seemed to have no intention of pointing out the messed up formation and ordered the first training from the podium.
“Five laps based on the inner wall. The last 100 people to come in will get two more laps.”
The expressions on the faces of the trainees who had gathered in confusion at Kai’s sudden words were bewildering.
“yes?”
“run!”
“What happened all of a sudden…”
“Let’s run!”
Even in confusion, when one person started running, the reaction was quick.
Trainees flocked together and started running along the inner wall, which had a circumference of nearly 5km.
Those who started running without even considering that walking five times around it was almost impossible for the average person.
It was a very natural result that after an hour or so, after returning from one lap, people started to stumble.
“Heh. Heh.”
“Haha. Haak.”
“Hmm!”
For most people, jumping has become no different from walking, and some people have begun to see people whose eyes are not only relaxed but their legs are relaxed.
But only one of them.
A boy with blue hair and red-blue odd eyes was running at the head of the group without the slightest sign of fatigue.
“What is that guy?”
“He, the slave…”
“The late Confucius?”
The distance gradually widens as others stumble from exhaustion.
Victor’s propaganda stimulated those who followed him.
‘That slave does it too…’
‘What can’t I do?’
‘I can’t lose!’
The light returned to my eyes that had been diluted, and my wobbly legs gained a little more strength.
The aftereffects of this over-pacing may cause more suffering in the future, but right now, the entire trainees began to follow Victor as if under a spell.
‘Victor effect… Just as Logan said.’
Kai, who was running with the trainees to supervise them, laughed at the sight.
What Logan and Kai wanted to see from the trainees now was not strong physical strength.
Just the will not to give up was enough.
Therefore, the first training session was stopped right after the fourth lap, when 100 people gave up running any further.
“For those who give up or fall down, as soon as they get up, they get another two laps. If they can’t do it this time, they just go home. Do you understand!”
The complexions of those who sat down in difficulty at those words turned pale.
Those who endured the hardships breathed a sigh of relief.
“Huh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. I lived.”
“Whoa… don’t make me do it.”
“Cough. Use it. Whoa.”
“That monster.”
While everyone was sitting down, only one boy was doing light stretching to relax his muscles.
Others also knew that it is better to relax the body rather than resting immediately after excessive exercise.
But even if you knew that, it was difficult to put it into practice right away after training to push your limits.
In other words, it was like saying that this training, which pushed the limits of other trainees, was not particularly burdensome to Victor.
And Logan was watching from inside his office, far away from the parade ground.
The golden eyes jumped over a great distance and scanned Viktor’s expression and physical condition.
As a result, Logan was able to smile with satisfaction.
‘The Force is definitely seeping in. It won’t be far.’
If Victor awakens during training, all the soldiers with him will know.
Even slaves can become knights.
And that will be more motivation than anything else for the soldiers.
‘Because his status as a slave would be enough to obscure Victor’s genius.’
As shown by that guy approaching Viktor right now.
