The man broke into a cold sweat as he stared at the notice, then hurriedly led his subordinate into an alley.
The old district was one of the primary reasons they had been dispatched to the city. They could not allow some reckless fool to run wild there.
There was a reason they had supported the new district while suppressing the old one.
Yet a single Retired Veteran had crawled into the city, revived a street that had been on the verge of death, and was now attempting to rehabilitate criminals and send them throughout the old district.
“Shouldn’t we report this to our superiors?”
“At this point, we have no choice.”
Of course, their superiors probably would not be able to do much more than they could.
A large number of agents from the Herse Intelligence Bureau had been dispatched because of that damned man.
If they moved too hastily, they might ruin everything.
“Could that bastard have actually been sent here by Herse?”
“So far, there have been no signs that he has made further contact with the Herse Intelligence Bureau. Besides… they still appear to be on poor terms.”
The man looked troubled by his subordinate’s answer.
“Phew… I wish he would stop right here….”
“Considering he’s the man who reduced the Herse Intelligence Bureau to that state, I can’t help feeling concerned.”
The subordinate was worried because Kyle was the culprit who had plunged the capital of Herse into chaos.
The man evidently felt the same way and let out a deep sigh.
However, worrying would change nothing.
All they could do now was hope that Kyle would not cause a major incident while they were being summoned and reprimanded by their superiors.
The mysterious men disappeared while praying that Kyle would refrain from causing any trouble.
Contrary to their wishes, Kyle immediately began working to put his plan into motion as quickly as possible.
“Taking things slowly doesn’t suit me.”
He could not continue pouring so much time and effort into the Rehabilitation Center forever.
He needed to raise the trainees to an adequate level, create a system that would function on its own, and then focus his attention on the children.
For that purpose, Kyle endured the inconvenience and began drawing up a more detailed plan.
“Good.”
Kyle smiled in satisfaction as he looked over the schedule he had created.
[Rehabilitation Center Education Schedule]
「Education Stage 1」
Labor and Basic Education
「Education Stage 2」
Practical Combat, Mana Circulation, and Application
「Education Stage 3」
Applied Technique Training
「Education Stage 4」
Advanced Course (Instruction in High-Rank Techniques)
Kyle nodded in satisfaction at the four-stage plan.
In truth, he intended to be selective about those admitted to the third stage and beyond.
If someone without sufficient talent was taught applied techniques unnecessarily, they might become overly dependent on those techniques and actually regress.
Kyle intended to teach only those who possessed the talent to properly absorb the lessons.
And if he had some of those receiving Stage 3 education teach the Stage 1 and Stage 2 trainees in his place?
“I’ll finally be free of the Rehabilitation Center.”
It remained little more than a dream for now, but the mere thought brought a smile to his lips.
If more rehabilitated experts appeared throughout the streets, public safety would improve, and the neighborhood would become brighter than it was now.
That would also create a better educational environment for the children.
There was no reason to delay once he had made up his mind, so Kyle immediately took action.
“As I mentioned before, we’ll spend the next several days preparing for Mana Awakening. Those who pass the initial selection, along with the trainees who are already Mana Awakened or stronger, will begin practical combat training.”
The Rehabilitation Center trainees began murmuring among themselves.
“Quiet.”
The group immediately fell silent at Kyle’s single word.
He showed them the schedule he had prepared before dawn.
“As you can see, I’ll need to concentrate on those undergoing practical combat training for a while. The rest of you need time to recover after all the harsh training you’ve endured, so focus on physical conditioning in the meantime.”
Everyone looked enviously at the Mana Awakening candidates.
For their benefit, Kyle offered an alternative.
“While I’m away, Maron will provide magic consultations. You’re prospective Awakened as well, so take this opportunity to seriously consider which path you want to pursue.”
Kyle then looked toward the Mana Awakening candidates.
At the mention of real combat, their expressions held an equal mixture of anxiety and excitement.
Kyle explained their upcoming schedule.
“You’ll take the Awakening Test today. Practical combat training will begin exactly ten days from now. I’ll accompany you, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“You’ll be fighting monsters, but it would be better if you could earn money while training, wouldn’t it? During those ten days, visit either the Hunter Guild or the Mercenary Guild whenever you have time. Pass their examination and bring back a request.”
Everyone nodded at Kyle’s declaration that he would only take those who passed the mercenary examination.
However, their faces were tense.
The standards of Weiden’s guilds were reasonably strict.
Despite that, Kyle looked completely unconcerned.
“If you’re good enough to pass my standards, you’ll pass a mercenary examination with room to spare. Don’t worry.”
Kyle lifted his cudgel as he spoke.
The trainees tensed at the sight of the weapon, which appeared even more ominous than usual.
“All right! Shall we begin?”
With those words, their time in hell began.
Unlike before, however, very few of them lost consciousness.
They knew just how precious this opportunity was.
Fainting might free them from the pain, but it would also delay their opportunity until the next selection.
‘I have to seize this chance.’
Their determination to join the very first group receiving practical combat experience directly from Kyle kept them conscious through the agony.
One after another, the trainees began experiencing Mana Awakening.
Under pain far more severe than anything they had previously endured, their faded sense of Mana resurfaced.
Acting instinctively according to their will, their Mana resisted the Aura entering their bodies.
“Uaaaaah!”
One trainee let out an involuntary roar and succeeded in pushing Kyle’s cudgel away.
“Don’t forget that sensation.”
Kyle immediately swung his cudgel at the next trainee.
He beat them with enough force to make it seem as though he intended to kill them, driving Aura throughout their entire bodies.
Unlike before, there was a possibility that they would suffer internal injuries.
But if they could achieve Mana Awakening in exchange for a minor internal injury?
It was an unquestionably worthwhile trade.
“Phew! That concludes the morning lesson. Those who haven’t awakened yet will continue the lesson this afternoon, so remain here. Maron, counsel the others this morning. I’ll teach the children in your place.”
Maron, who was once again half unconscious, barely managed to nod.
Kyle chuckled and headed toward the Orphanage Director’s Office to change out of his sweat-soaked clothing.
Meanwhile, those who had achieved Mana Awakening desperately attempted to circulate their Mana so that they would not forget the sensation.
But Kyle knew better than anyone that a single experience would not be enough.
That afternoon, he dragged them into another beating.
To an outsider, the hellish sight of Kyle merely striking people under the pretense of training might have appeared crude and foolish.
However, the other trainees leaving for work could only look on with envy.
‘Next time, I definitely will….’
As they headed toward their workplaces with such resolutions, the people who had gathered to watch the unusually lengthy training began widening their eyes.
Even they could clearly see the number of people undergoing Mana Awakening increasing.
That was not all.
Some of the newly Awakened were receiving consultations from Maron and practicing the fundamentals with Magic Tools.
That sight was every bit as unusual as the rapid increase in Mana Awakened.
“All right! Hold it here. Don’t tense up. For now, simply imagine that you’re pouring Mana into it.”
The fields diverged later, but the fundamentals of handling Mana were much the same for both Mages and Knights.
For people who had only just begun handling Mana, becoming accustomed to the sensation through Magic Tools was more effective than being mindlessly beaten with a cudgel.
Kyle and Maron complemented one another.
Thanks to their combined instruction, those who had only just achieved Mana Awakening rapidly became accustomed to their new abilities.
They had only ten days after awakening.
Within that time, Kyle intended to have them pass the mercenary examination and receive an official request.
To anyone else, it was an insane schedule.
Perhaps for that reason, once the schedule became known throughout the city, rumors about Haynes Orphanage began circulating again.
“Are they insane?”
“Becoming a mercenary isn’t a children’s game.”
The mercenary industry might not have been as strong as it once was, but it was not a place where children could gather and play around.
Of course, not every region recruited only skilled fighters.
They also needed people to handle menial work from the bottom.
That was precisely the role of an Apprentice Mercenary.
It was said that the Apprentice Mercenary qualification could even be purchased with a bribe, but it still had minimum requirements.
And they planned to meet those requirements in only ten days?
“This is ridiculous.”
The people at the Mercenary Guild criticized Haynes Orphanage with dissatisfied expressions.
However, one detail caught their interest.
According to the rumors that continued arriving afterward, far more Mana Awakened were emerging than anyone had expected.
They had assumed that producing even a few Mana Awakened from the candidates would be fortunate.
Yet reports claimed that several people were awakening every few hours.
They could not help finding that extraordinary.
Sensing Mana as though it were a hazy fog and engraving that sensation into one’s body were entirely different matters.
That was why having talent was not the same as actually becoming Mana Awakened.
Circulating Mana was yet another challenge.
With that in mind, the fact that several candidates were continuously becoming fully Awakened was impressive enough.
When rumors added that those people could already circulate Mana properly, some mercenaries could no longer contain their curiosity and visited the orphanage to watch for themselves.
Before long, Haynes Orphanage had become the only subject discussed in several industries for days.
Naturally, the rumors surrounding Maron were also brought back into the spotlight.
“He must have possessed genuine ability after all.”
“Then was the claim that he lacked ability and was expelled because he failed to secure the right connections merely a false rumor?”
“Perhaps the story that he possessed exceptional ability but was expelled for committing a crime is more reasonable.”
In this way, some of the many malicious rumors about Maron began naturally filtering themselves out.
It created a positive cycle.
The people who had spread the rumors were the ones left flustered.
Those who had claimed that Maron lacked ability came under suspicion, and the people who had joined them were subjected to hostile looks as well.
Even worse, as long as rumors about Haynes Orphanage continued to appear, the stories about Maron would also continue to be reexamined.
That meant the people responsible for spreading those rumors would inevitably be dragged back into the discussion every time.
“This is driving me insane.”
“What exactly do they do at that place?”
Any other organization would have closed its doors or at least posted a sign announcing a temporary suspension of operations.
Haynes Orphanage not only stubbornly endured but continued launching new projects.
While everyone stood around in confusion, unsure of what to do, Kyle finally succeeded in awakening every candidate in a stable manner.
“All right! Prepare properly, pass the examination, and return.”
With those words, Kyle sent all the successful candidates to the Mercenary Guild.
By Kyle’s standards, Apprentice Mercenaries were inferior even to recruits who had only just completed basic training.
If one of his trainees could not even earn that qualification?
Kyle intended to make certain that the bastard received thorough training the moment he returned.
The idea that someone Kyle had trained could fail to qualify as an Apprentice Mercenary in Weiden, rather than even the southern region of the Herse Empire, did not exist in his vocabulary.
Expecting everyone to pass, Kyle calmly waited while drinking tea.
Before long, the young men appeared wearing their mercenary badges as though becoming mere Apprentice Mercenaries were the proudest accomplishment in the world.
Kyle smiled at them.
“Those adorable fools.”
Watching them rejoice over something so minor reminded Kyle of the soldiers he had trained in the north, and he began losing himself in old memories.
Every one of them proudly wore a wooden mercenary badge around his neck.
Then Kyle noticed one person at the back approaching with his head lowered.
“Surely not….”
Kyle wanted to believe that he was mistaken, but there was always a problem child wherever one went.
The moment Kyle saw the worthless bastard who had become frightened and collapsed because he could not withstand the killing intent of a mere high-ranking mercenary, his expression twisted.
“You’re dead today.”
Kyle raised his rod of love toward the piece of trash who had disgraced his name.
The object was considerably heavier than anything that could reasonably be called a rod, and it began moving toward the young man.
“You collapsed because a little killing intent frightened you? I’ll reform that rotten mentality of yours before the day is over!”
After Kyle’s merciless cudgel beating—or rather, his time administering the rod of love—finally ended, the young man returned for another examination.
This time, a wooden mercenary badge hung around his neck.