Chapter 22: The Legendary Platoon Commander (1)

The next day, as the education officer had said, the cadets were all assigned different units according to their grades. Of course, things were a bit different for Henry. Unlike his fellow comrades, he was given the privilege to choose the unit he desired to go himself, thanks to Captain Iselan. Ronan and Henry gathered all their belongings and waited for the carriages to be sent from their respective assigned units.

“Where did you go yesterday? I’ve been looking for you.” Ronan said to Henry.

“I had a drink with the Captain.”

“By Captain, you mean the third-ranked leader, Iselan?”

“Yep.”

“Damn… so the rumors were true.”

“What rumors?”

“The rumors that you were under the protection of the Commander-in-Chief.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just because of the customs passed down from our seniors.”

“Liar. Were you really only drinking?”

Ronan narrowed his eyes at Henry, who responded with a smirk.

“Well, I got this as well.”

Henry took out the holy sword blessed by the priest and handed it to Ronan.

“A sword?”

“He gave me this as a gift. A holy sword.”

“W-what? A h-holy sword?”

Ronan’s eyes widened. He drew the sword from its sheath and exclaimed at its dazzling color.

“Whoa…”

“Are you jealous?”

“Of course I am! Nah, it’s fine. What’s the point of being jealous over someone else’s stuff? I’ll probably get an even better sword for myself in the future.”

“Heh, that’s the spirit. That aside, which unit were you assigned to?”

“The infantry battalion.”

“Oh, the battalion isn’t too bad.”

“It’s perfect if you’re looking to get promoted quickly. Not only that, I was assigned to their first-class unit instead of their second-class unit, so I should be promoted to an intermediate officer in no time, as long as I don’t screw up.”

At first glance, this conversation may have seemed ordinary, but the truth was that the infantry division was one of the places everyone at the Caliburn Fortress avoided. The probability of running into demonic beasts was much higher in the infantry division than in other units.

.

‘This guy, he pretended to be carefree, but he had it planned all along.’

Usually, cadets with excellent grades hoped for a career in the supply or administrative branch of the army, rather than a dangerous division like the infantry. No matter how valuable the career was, it was never worth more than one’s life.

Ronan was different, though. He pretended to be calm and cool around Henry, but he wanted to be recognized by the head of his adoptive family more than any of the others. He wasn’t a middling cadet either, he was the most outstanding among all the other adoptees.

Thus, despite having access to a safer career in supply or administration, Ronan urged the officers to allow him to join the infantry.

“Then what about you?” asked Ronan.

“Well, if you have to ask, I guess I’m in the infantry as well.”

“Which unit?”

“It’s an independent unit. Have you ever heard of Caliburn’s Needle?”

“Caliburn’s Needle?”

“Oh, so uh, that is…”

* * *

The previous night…

Eventually, having emptied the keg of Makgus’ Flaming Whisky, Iselan was unable to overcome the drink and collapsed onto the table, fast asleep. Henry, who was barely holding on to his consciousness, quickly removed the lingering intoxication through meditation and spoke to the soldier who was waiting nearby.

“Can you ask Tini if I can meet her now?”

“Yes. I will relay your message immediately.”

“Thanks. Oh, and where should I bring the Captain?”

“We will take care of him. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“No, it’s alright. It’s obvious he’s heavy, so someone who can carry him should do it. Lead the way to his room.”

While one of the soldiers went to deliver his message to Tini, Henry lifted Iselan upright with ease and followed the other soldier through the residence.

“Is this it?”

“Yes, this is his quarters.”

“The kitchen is probably a little dirty, so prepare some refreshments in the living room instead. Oh, and bring over the organization chart next to the dining table.”

“Yes, understood.”

Henry only now understood why Tini had told him to call for her.

‘How kind of her.’

Henry wasn’t sure why she was being so kind to him, but since she offered to help anyway, there was no reason for him to decline. While waiting for Tini, Henry looked at the organization chart pinned on the bulletin board.

‘It’s a corps-level fortress, so there’s a ton of troops.’

The large number of troops aside, every single unit was manned with elite soldiers. This was necessary in a place known as the ‘worst dominion’.

Another thing to consider was that the mandatory military service period bound by the Noblesse Oblige was a minimum of one year. Although he was able to work long hours at his own will, Henry had no intention of staying beyond his mandatory period in the fortress.

‘It’s just one year. Since it’s so short, my first job may be my last. So that means that I’ll have to go somewhere that will be of most use to me.’

After a while, Tini arrived at the residence.

Henry bowed his head as soon as he saw her.

“I apologize for calling you so late, Tini.”

“Don’t mention it. At least you’re pretty sensible. There were others who were pretty dense.”

When Tini said this, Henry finally understood the reason behind her kindness. It was all just courtesy, a privilege given to anyone that was the top performing trainee.

‘So that’s all there is to it, huh.’

It was a pretty silly conclusion. After all, Henry had even wondered if she was developing special feelings for him.

“Is there anywhere you have in mind?” asked Tini.

“No place in particular, but I do have certain conditions.”

“Tell me.”

“I want a place where I can move around freely, with no interference from the main unit. And I want to go somewhere where I can be deployed to the field immediately.”

“In other words, you want to be an infantryman, but in an independent unit?”

“That’s correct.”

“You’re so particular about where you want to go, and yet you say that you have nowhere particular in mind? Were you just pretending to be humble?”

“If that’s how it sounded to you, I apologize.”

“Haha, it’s a joke.”

Tini smiled broadly and then drew circles around some of the units listed on the organization chart.

“These places fit the conditions you mentioned. Ah, one more thing! Most of the independent units are special units. Do you know what that means?”

“I know that they are units for handling special missions.”

“That’s right. And most of them are dangerous. Does that matter to you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Tini nodded at Henry’s resolute attitude. She saw a glimpse of what Henry was thinking about when he came up with these conditions.

‘Ultimately, the goal was promotion, just as I expected.’

There weren’t many units where new officers could be deployed to the field right away. It was too dangerous to put a new inexperienced officer in combat like that.

“I get what you mean. But joining an independent unit is a little difficult. Most of them are senior units, so it’s a bit difficult for new officers to enter.”

“Is there no way?”

“It would normally be difficult. But you have the Commander-in-Chief behind you, don’t you?”

Tini grinned again, then pointed to one of the circled spots on the organization chart.

“You’re going to go here.”

“That is?”

“It’s a special mission squad, an independent unit that can be immediately deployed to the field. It’s also not subject to interference from the main unit as it is directly under the command of the Commander-in-Chief.”

‘Checkmate.’

This sounded like a unit where Henry could make good use of his leadership, that also fulfilled all his conditions. Henry felt glad that he had reached out to Tini.

* * *

“Here comes the carriage.”

As Ronan’s carriage arrived, he and Henry exchanged their final goodbyes.

“I’m heading off.” said Ronan as he picked up his belongings.

“Ronan.”

“What?”

“Don’t die.”

“Damn you. You think I’m heading out there to get myself killed?”

“You’re weaker than me, that’s why. Hold out for just one year, and I’ll give you a nice little present.”

“You’re a funny one. You look out for yourself first, aight?”

It was a brief but genuine moment. Shortly after Ronan’s departure, the carriage sent by the special task force came to pick up Henry. It was a small carriage. A sharp-eyed officer stepped out, and with a rather dissatisfied look on his face, glanced at Henry from head to toe.

“So, is it you?”

“Yes, I’m Henry Morris.”

“Get on.”

“Understood.”

With a cold attitude and not so much as a greeting, the officer climbed back onto the carriage. For the entire trip, the accompanying officer never spoke a single word.

‘Didn’t think he’d be this cold.’

Caliburn’s Needle.

The official name of the special task force directly under the Captain’s command.

The smaller the identifying number in front of the battalion’s name, the greater its power. Similarly, the greater the authority behind the independent unit, the more power it held. In other words, the special task force Caliburn’s Needle was the most powerful among them all.

Henry recalled what Tini had said to him.

- You’re lucky the platoon commander of the special task force isn’t around. But it’s usually not a unit that accepts new officers. Most of the time, only the most elite of the elites are accepted.

With a greenhorn like Henry entering such a unit, it would be more than understandable if he was hated. Rumors spread within the military quickly. However, this was something Henry was already aware of. What mattered more was how he performed moving forward.

Soon, the carriage stopped. The officer stepped down from the carriage and beckoned toward Henry.

“Follow me.”

Still a cold attitude, but Henry didn’t mind a single bit. Eventually, they entered the administrative office, where the company commander sat waiting for Henry.

He pointed to Henry with his chin and asked, “Is this him?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Leave us.”

“Thank you.”

The officer nodded his head and stepped outside. Now, there were only two people left in the administrative office.

‘His name must be Solomon.’

The name ‘Solomon’ was written on a nameplate at the man's desk.

“Your name?”

“Henry Morris.”

“I see. Looking at the files, it says that you were the highest-ranking cadet in the academy?”

“That’s incorrect.”

“No? Then are you saying that the education officers submitted a false report?”

“No. I am simply not as talented as the report makes me out to be.”

“So you’re not that great, but yet the Commander-in-Chief has sent you here? Do you think that this place is your neighborhood playground?”

“No.”

Seeing how the company commander scrutinized every single one of Henry’s responses, it was obvious that he was highly dissatisfied. Ultimately, however, what could he do? After all, he was following orders from his direct superior, the Commander-in-Chief.

After a long while, the company commander let out a soft sigh.

“Listen carefully. I don’t know why the Captain sent you here, but we’re not ready to accept you yet. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“So if you don’t want to be kicked out, you’ll have to do your damn best to hang on here. If you don’t, I’ll kick you out without a moment’s hesitation.”

The commander spoke harshly, but Henry knew that it meant that as long as he did well, everything would go smoothly. The company commander stood up.

"Follow me. I’ll show you to your residence.”

Henry could feel a strong sense of hatred directed toward him, but he decided to let it go. Eventually, the commander took Henry to the front of an old building behind the unit.

“In the Needle Company, we have a tradition of having new officers repair old houses and put them to their own use. Any complaints?”

“No sir."

“The cleaning and repair tools are over there, so just grab them and finish the maintenance work by the end of the day.”

The commander pointed to an old sack, a sparse broom, and a few rags soaked in black grime.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“You can do it, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well then.”

With that, the commander left. It was an obvious act of ridicule. After the company commander had completely disappeared from view, Henry opened the door to his assigned residence.

Creak.

“My, my…”

It was so dirty that it was impossible to tell if it was a residence or an abandoned warehouse. It was bigger than a normal residence, so Henry couldn’t help but think that it would be impossible to clean the entire place even if he was given the whole day.

“That’s if I was an ordinary human.”

It was such a childish act of territoriality from the commander. After looking around for a bit, Henry burst out laughing and raised his right hand.

“Clean.”

As Henry cast his spell, a dazzling, brilliant light flashed from his hand.