Chapter 162 - Well Blended Into The Military.

Episode 155- Well blended into the Military. 

The ride to the Military base didn't take that long and before they knew it, they were already in the base,  warming up together with the older soldiers. After Eugene and Aernest turned 7, they choose to fully train as a soldier and have officially relocated to the military base camp. It was difficult, however, because of their natural talent and superb learning ethics, they were able to earn themself a good spot in the military and be recognized for their outstanding growth rather than their name. 

Aernest's use of his ears was another important aspect of him being recognized in the military, although most people think that he is just sensitive to his surroundings and has a quick reflex. While Eugene didn't have anything special, people who train with her know that she is an important asset to the military and that… she was stronger than most people despite her age.

Of course, the soldiers had prejudice towards Eugene and Aernest at first. However, after seeing the two children train like two madmen, their feelings slowly changed. At this point, Aernest and Eugene were well blended into the military, they never asked for special treatment, followed the instruction of their superiors well, followed their fellow soldiers well, ate the same food as their fellow soldiers, and also talked like commoners that the soldiers didn't regard them as Nobles. If they regard the two as nobles, it would only be when they sometimes coincidentally see Eugene and Aernest get off of the expensive carriage that belonged to the house of Veria.

"Alright!" A voice spoke loudly. "Let's warm-up before the simulation game with those rich men."

Eugene raised a brow at Instructor T.E who appeared out of nowhere and shocked the soldiers senseless. Well, of course, the soldiers would be shocked, after all, they were talking about women -cough-. 

'Am I not rich as well?' Eugene tilted her head but said nothing. The 'rich' people Instructor T.E mentioned were the knights.

Yes, today, they will be joint training with the Knights of Xenperia. 

"AH!!! INSTRUCTOR!" One soldier shouted from shock. His palm raised and rested over his loudly beating heart. 

Eugene's lips curved slightly and she shook her head at Arie. 

That's right. Arie, Zene's knight trainees. He wasn't the only trainee here, but all of Zene's knight trainees from six and a half years ago, Aren, Argen, Con, and you guessed it, Dea.

They obtained permission from the King of Zene to migrate and become citizens of Xenperia six and a half years ago, thanks to Duke Marleigh's assistance. They've been training as Xenperian soldiers ever since. Dea recovered in two years and has been training with the rest of the group nonstop since he recovered.

Arie, Aren, Argen, Con, and Dea were back to their happy-go-lucky selves, though sometimes, they would dream about their dark days in Zene. Nonetheless, with the assistance of the soldiers in Xenperia and their noble friends, they were able to recover and move on with their lives as soldiers of Xenperia.

Instructor T.E smiled, "Do not blame it on my ordinary looks. Do you not see the bags under my eyes? Ever since you seven joined, my face has become tremendously old." He complained slightly as he walked in front of 20 men… well, 19 men + 1 girl. 

Eugene pursed her lips as she stared at this ordinary-looking instructor. She had to agree, he did indeed have heavy bags under his eyes which truly did appear when the 7 knight trainees joined. Apart from that, he hadn't changed much since teaching her, Euria, Aernest, Aedelak, and Aeselak how to use guns alongside fellow soldiers Four and Tea.

Funnily enough, those two were never promoted all this year and welcomed Eugene and Aernest as fellow comrades. What was weirder was their reactions. Instead of being embarrassed by their rank, they looked incredibly honored; as if they had been waiting for them all these years just so that they could be comrades. 

The look on comrade Four and comrade Tea faces when they found out both her and Aernest's rank was quite… something. Eugene pursed her lips together to hide her smile. 

"Let's go, go, go!"

Eugene glanced up at the voice and followed along with the group of soldiers who chanted as they ran around the training ground. Though it was a sight she was used to seeing, it was still impressive how some soldiers would run with one whole tree behind them. Because this was a warm-up, soldiers were allowed to take their tops off and run. Both Eugene and the soldiers have grown so comfortable with each other that she couldn't believe there was a time when the soldiers would take off their tops shyly due to her presence. She knew they had come a long way when one of them accidentally mentioned her running half-naked like them. The silence that followed, followed by everyone beating that soldier up was… hilarious. 

Back to the point, their warm-up goal was one, and one thing only. And that was to complete a twenty km run, with tree trunks tied behind them, and finish the run within 50 minutes. 

Aernest panted hard and with a flushed face he shouted, "It would have been easier if we weren't dragged down!" His teeth were gritted as he ran with 15kg tied to him. Though this was the warm-up they do every time they train, it never gets easier, especially when the time is always reduced, or when more weights are added. 

Eugene combed through her loose hair as she ran looking forward, "It wouldn't be training if it wasn't hard." She immediately refuted his words. At this moment she was carrying 30kg tied to her. Usually, 30kg is a hard challenge especially when it comes to people her age, however, because she was well adapted to running with weights all these years, it did not bother her.

Also, no one should underestimate her! Despite her age of 10, she was 158cm and weighed 60kg. Eugene, of course, rounded this number up and tells people who ask her height that she is 160cm tall. Her 60kg weight is not fat, but muscles that she developed over the years; her 3 portions a meal, plus training playing a huge part in her growth and muscle development. 

"What training! This is warming up!" Aernest protested!

One soldier overheard Aernest's and Eugene's conversation and sided with Eugene, "We soldiers must always challenge ourselves!" He gave Eugene a wide smile and a thumbs-up as he rushed on forward. Despite his nonchalant appearance, he was running with one whole tree behind him. 

Never underestimate smiling soldiers!

"Let's go! Go!" Aren, the bald twin brother of Argen, pointed straight ahead as he rushed forward. 

"Wait...Wait!" Argen shouted as he trailed behind Aren. Unlike the rest of the soldiers, Aren was running with his arms forward, just like a zombie.

"Dea shook his head as he gave a light smile, "There they go again." He chuckled as he watched the twins' comedy skit. The sight of two brothers running behind each other, one chanting, whilst the other zombie running was not unfamiliar. Aren was the excited twin who wanted to finish in the top 10, while Argen, who disliked sweating, hates losing to his younger brother, hence forcing himself to finish before his brother. 

"AHHHHH!!!" A scream could be heard! Everyone who had already completed their run turned back to the source of voice only to see Aernest deep diving to the finish line. Together with the log behind him, he rolled on the ground to ease the impact and when he stopped rolling, he immediately turned his head towards Instructor T.E. His eyes showed a determined look.

Did he fail? Or did he pass?

Unfortunately, he could not read instructor T.E's ordinary face, and his eyes slowly changed from determination to eagerness. Almost as if he was begging for hope. 

"You…" Instructor T.E began.

Aernest gulped. 

"You passed with 54.555 minutes."

"YESSS!!!" Aernest raised both his arms up in a victory pose before slipping down to the ground. His chest rose up and down as he tried to calm his body craving for oxygen.

"Con, 4th place, and Eugene 5th place." Instructor T.E nodded at Eugene and Con before turning away and leaving for a moment. Where he went to, no one knows. The only thing they knew was that they took their eyes off the instructor for one second and by the second second, no trace of the instructor could be seen. 

Con and Eugene remained silent and returned to their respective resting spots. The two of them were similar people inside and out, this was noted by their comrades. Their outer appearance looked cold and nonchalant; however, once you get to know them, you know that the two of them were kind souls.. These two were always pitted against each other whenever they train, and if they weren't competing against one another, they were very good partners who can communicate efficiently and achieve good results.