CH 12

“I see. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Still, you should be placing more priority on your current task. Anything could happen, depending on where you’re assigned.”

A sense of unease regarding the future… What a horrible thing to hear.

“Anyhow, you’re pretty unlucky, so take care of yourself. Not everyone out there will be as kind to you as we are.”

I barely held back from questioning how bad it could be out there if my treatment here was quantified as ‘kind’.

Those were some pretty harsh orders you gave me, you know? 10 laps around the campus, every single night.

I’ve built up some stamina now though, thanks to that.

If I were still back in Japan, I don’t think I’d have ever gained this much stamina.

¡Viva La Other-World!

Now that I think about it, I didn’t see any skills related to increasing one’s own potential for growth… If I had seen something like that I would’ve grabbed it immediately.

My thoughts suddenly were sidetracked.

“What do you mean by ‘bad luck’?”

“You had that returnee, Brutocles, as a partner, didn’t you? That’s pretty unlucky.”

“Brute?”

While we’ve only known each other for the past two months, I haven’t come across anything wrong with the guy.

As far as I can tell, all of the discrimination is related to him being an Orc. I’ve never understood a word he’s said, but communication has never been an issue between us.

“Well, it isn’t surprising that you don’t know about it. Things happened, so now he’s starting over from scratch with the other recruits.”

“Things… happened?”

“As I recall… He broke the law and was punished for it. Since he got in trouble, he was discharged.”

“I’m surprised he was permitted to reenlist.”

Brute’s a criminal… That seems hard to believe.

He must’ve had a good reason for it.

“Indeed. I don’t know the exact details, but I heard an exception was made for him to reenlist alongside the trainees. It surprised me just as much, too.”

“I see.”

“His LV is decent, and he’s physically strong too. You can count on him in a fight, but be careful. He’s still a filthy Orc.”

From the way he looks, I doubt Brute’s going to cause any issues, but… Regardless, even if I leave the military I’ll still have a slot available as a ‘Warrior from Another World’, so there’s no problem.

I played it off in a lackadaisical manner… The next day, we were being officially promoted from Trainees to Recruits… Eventually, we were up next.

Brute and I prepared ourselves to move up, salute our superior officer and wait for him to speak.

“The two of you…”

He rifled through the documents in front of him, wondering where he would assign the pair in front of us.

Finally, it was our turn. The assistant to the officer in command raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe Tolvich Cenaille…?”

Upon hearing the name, the senior soldiers who had been congratulating each of the graduates abruptly turned their heads towards us.

The room became eerily quiet.

Our Drill Sergeant, who had once screamed impossible demands with his harsh tone of voice, now had eyes filled with pity instead.

“Training in Emilovia… Make sure you train thoroughly. I hope you pull through, and I mean that sincerely.”

The Sergeant, who had only ever spoken in a businesslike manner, now gave words of encouragement instead.

I’ve… got a bad feeling about this.

“Buu.”

With the oh-so-ominous news being delivered, Brute’s response was the most memorable part.

Based on what I’ve learned from the higher-ups, Tolvich is famous, but not in a good way.

Anything else beyond that is hearsay.

While studying, I didn’t hear a lot about the man, only that his reputation isn’t very good.

I’m praying that they’re only rumors.

So, our journey…… was a two-day ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

That’s even when using the shortest path 

According to the map, we’d traveled quite the distance.

We were settled into a large wagon full of recruits, which drove us out of the city as we disembarked.

The way there was… Well, by and large it was uneventful.

So long as you take the right path, you won’t see many monsters, apparently.

All the excess free time had me bored out of my mind… Finally, we arrived at Emilovia, and exited the wagon.

After dropping us off at our destination, with a clip-clop of hooves, it left.

I then took stock of everyone who got off.

“Ah.”

Besides Brute and I… there was a familiar face.

She was the recruit we’d trained alongside a few times.

Her face had a tinge of cheer to it, possibly because she’d already been acquainted with us.

I’d assumed there would be another girl, but… it doesn’t look like there is.

“So we were sent to the same area.”

“Yeah. I suppose we’ll be working together from now on?”

“Buu.”

“Most likely. That reminds me…”

“Hm?”

Wiping her hands onto her clothes, the girl extended her hand out in front of her.

A handshake?

Reciprocating the gesture, we shake hands.

She also shook Brute’s hand.

That left a good impression. Not hating Brute is always a good thing.

“I’ve yet to introduce myself. My name is Philin Royliz. Rank, Recruit.”

“Totsuka Yukikazu… Yukikazu is what I go by. Just like you, I’m a Recruit. He’s Brutocles, also a Recruit.”

“Buu.”

“Yukikazu. Based on the name, are you a foreigner?”

“W-Well, something like that.”

I often get asked that question whenever someone hears my name.

Not gonna delve into it any further than that, though.

The country has an ethos of accepting any applicants, so long as they show the right attitude.

Thinking back to bootcamp, ethnically, it was a melting pot of diversity. Probably can’t be bothered to be bogged down by every tiny detail.

“I wanted to thank you for the help during our joint training, and for all the snacks too.”

“You’ve told me that every time we’ve met; it’s fine, honestly.”

“Ehe… I suppose that’s true.”

Training alongside a familiar face… Truthfully, I felt some trepidation before arriving.

I’d managed to remain in a position of relative comfort until that fateful day.

At the time, we had no idea that the curtain known as “Military Hell” had been raised.

Firstly, we made our way to Emilovia’s Adventurer’s Guild.

In actuality, I believe it’s more akin to a station for soldiers instead of an Adventurer’s Guild, but the semantics don’t really matter.

Upon arriving, we reported our arrival with a salute, just like we’d been trained to.

The Guild here felt… felt a lot shabbier when compared to the Guild back in the castle town.

Rather, the countenance of each individual here wasn’t good at all.

It may be more apt to assume it to be a hideout for thugs instead.

“Ah, you’re here. Leave your personal effects in your room, then you’ll get started immediately after.”

A rough-and-tumble type of soldier appeared suddenly, blindsiding us.

We were then given keys to the guild provided dorms.

They’re incredibly run-down.

Bootcamp had been one thing, but this was like comparing apples to oranges.

You could easily call this place a ruin.

A dilapidated building like this would totally have ghosts haunting it.

“Alright, I’ll go drop off my luggage then.”

“Right.”

Naturally, Philin had a separate room.

From what I heard from a senior, the rooms are supposed to be shared between two people.

I’m curious as to what ours is actually like.

Upon opening the door to my room, I’m… not exactly thrilled.

The door opened with a… creaking sound. Inside of the room there was a bed, a desk, and a window… all of which were worn-out and in shambles.

Huh? Isn’t this way too small?

Not even on the level of a single-room apartment. This is more akin to a tool shed.

Why is there only a single bed?

The room’s barely a few meters in size.

“Buu.”

“Ah, right.”

Leaving our luggage on the bed, we reported for duty immediately.

Meeting up with Philin on the way there, we made our way back to the guild.

Then, we were directed to a room that looked as if it were being used by the executives of the guild.

“The new recruits are here!”

“Enter.”

The door opened, clattering as we entered the room.

An individual, seemingly in charge of the place, was sitting on a chair, watching us with… condescending eyes.

That’s… the only way I could describe those disgusting eyes.

As for his face… I want to say he’s like lesser version of Captain H**k.

And his age… How old is he?

Late 30s? Sounds about right.

His eyes studied Philin, I think he even licked his lips.

This guy is making my hair stand up.

Finally, we introduced ourselves.

“New arrival, Recruit Yukikazu Totsuka, Sir!”

“Buu!”

“I will be speaking for him. He is Brutocles, the same rank as myself, Sir.”

I spoke on Brute’s behalf when he introduced himself.

“Ph-Philin Royliz, recently dispatched Recruit, Sir.” 

Philin, also saluting, waited for the other party to introduce themselves.

“You’re new recruits I’ve heard about then. My name is Tolvich Cenaille.

As your Commanding Officer, you’ll be reporting to me.”

Then, Tolvich, our C.O., stood up in a drunken manner and approached us as he scanned over our bodies, slowly.

“There’s dust on you, right here. 30 minutes of pushups! Now! Ah, the woman doesn’t need to.”

What?

Not dust in a room, but on a person?

There’s something wrong with having dust on yourself?

From what I can tell, there’s no dust…

Well, those are the kinds of irrational orders we had to fulfill back in bootcamp anyways.