Early morning.
Countless carriages stood in a row across the parade ground.
After arriving at the assembly point, Gale looked around with Joseph, searching for the carriage headed to the 3rd Guard Unit.
“Those assigned to the 3rd Guard Unit, come this way.”
At a drill instructor’s shout, they moved in that direction. Beside an ordinary wooden carriage stood a female instructor with orange hair and drooping eyes.
“Are you the personnel assigned to the 3rd Guard Unit?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She asked while looking at them.
Gale nodded and checked the name tag engraved on her chest.
Staff Sergeant Jane Hessler.
She was not someone he remembered.
As she checked the documents, she said, “Gale… Joseph Light. Everyone is here. Get in the carriage.”
Anesia was already inside the carriage.
“Ngh. Hup!”
Joseph groaned as he climbed into the carriage, and once Gale had boarded as well, Jane got in last, rapping her hand against the carriage.
Then the carriage moved, and the wheels slowly began to turn.
Jane spoke first.
“As you all know, we are headed to the 3rd Guard Unit, which guards the southern part of the capital, Rustav.”
She continued with a sigh, as though even giving them an explanation was a bother.
“We’ll be moving for roughly half a day. Chatter is forbidden during transit, and so is sleeping, so make sure you all stay alert.”
‘The 3rd Guard Unit, huh….’
In his previous life, Gale had belonged to the reconnaissance team of the eastern Scout Unit, so he did not have much information about the Guard Units.
All he knew came from people in charge of supplies or personnel who had temporarily been sent there as support, but every single person who came and went had called the 3rd Guard Unit the worst place of all.
The reason was that a slum had formed around the southern gate where the Guard Unit was located.
It was commonly known as Yoshiura.
Yoshiura was a city that had developed several decades ago, after the Magical Beast War, when the Imperial Army’s influence had weakened and criminals who wanted to live in the capital flocked there.
Its drinking culture was especially developed, to the point that people said liquor flowed in the river. But since it was a city built by criminals, it was famous for having the worst public order in the Empire.
Even so, Yoshiura’s unique atmosphere seemed charming to many people, and it was known to have the largest floating population in the Empire.
The problem was that all kinds of incidents and accidents happened there every day amid that overflowing floating population, and the burden of handling them fell entirely on the 3rd Guard Unit. That was why, among Imperial Army soldiers, it had become known as a posting everyone desperately wanted to avoid.
Gale quietly looked out the window as he recalled the sight of Yoshiura half-destroyed in his previous life.
***
“We’ve arrived. Everyone, gather your belongings and assemble in two columns in front of the carriage.”
When he got off the carriage, what came into view was a building that looked like an old inn.
Lifting his head to look it over, he saw the imperial flag and the Imperial Army’s banner fluttering together, reminding him that this Guard Unit was their destination.
On the opposite side of the Guard Unit building, beyond a large stone bridge, Yoshiura came into view, neat and orderly in broad daylight.
“So that’s the street that shines brighter at night than during the day.”
Joseph, who had come with Gale, also stared at the distant scenery of Yoshiura.
Looking somewhat excited, Joseph said,
“I heard all the beauties of the Empire are gathered there… This is my first time actually seeing it.”
“I don’t think anyone over there would even glance at you.”
“That’s even better….”
When Joseph grinned stupidly at Gale’s words, Jane, who had sent the carriage away, approached them and scolded him.
“Be quiet. You are not here for sightseeing. Maintain your dignity as members of the Imperial Army.”
“Yes, ma’am…!”
Just then, a deep voice came from one side.
“Are you from the Imperial Army?”
When he turned his head, surprise appeared on Gale’s face.
A man with sharply defined features and keen eyes was looking at them.
Over the dark-gray uniform that signified the Guard Unit, his long, pure-white hair was tied back neatly.
There was no mistaking him.
After Jane and the others checked the man’s second lieutenant insignia, they immediately saluted.
“Thank you for your service. Staff Sergeant Jane Hessler and three others have come to this Guard Unit on assignment.”
“You have worked hard. I heard about it. I will guide them from here.”
After finishing the brief greeting, the man said, “I am Second Lieutenant Ron Howard, deputy commander of the 3rd Guard Unit here. We will move to the command post now, so follow me.”
Gale blankly watched Ron’s back as he led them away.
The traitor, Ron Howard.
That was a name Gale could never forget.
In his previous life, just before the gate to another world opened in the heart of the Empire, Ron had been the leader of the Blood Hounds, a coup organization that assassinated important figures within the Imperial Army.
If the Golden Dawn Society was an organization that sought to destroy everything that already existed and pursue a new era,
then the Blood Hounds was an organization that held the belief that the Empire should be reformed by killing the rotten Imperial Army officers.
Originally, the Blood Hounds was a term for the frontline scouts stationed in the northern part of the Empire. It had been a nickname given to them because they operated like wolves whose eyes shone as they searched for prey, even in the extreme environment where blizzards raged every day.
But when Ron Howard, who had been the person in charge there at the time, raised a rebellion against the Empire, the name Blood Hounds came to refer to the traitors who had joined him.
‘So he was part of the Guard Unit at this time?’
The Ron before his eyes now was an ordinary soldier through and through.
He gave off a cynical air, but he looked quite different from the Ron Howard drawn on the wanted posters from his Blood Hounds days.
When they reached the entrance of the Guard Unit building after following Ron, he turned to them and said,
“The Guard Unit captain is currently absent, so I will conduct your training in his place.”
At those words, Gale felt a small question arise.
‘He must have known practicum students were coming, yet he left his post?’
As if such things happened often, Ron began the transfer procedures smoothly.
First, he stopped by the barracks where the practicum students would be staying and had them put away the luggage they had brought.
The building used by the Guard Unit had an atmosphere that felt somehow drooping and hollow from the inside.
After roughly putting away their belongings and moving to the command post, the interior of the command post revealed itself, as old as the building’s exterior.
In that place filled with old objects, Ron moved naturally as he found and issued the basic equipment needed for guard duty.
The issued items were a long, sharpened longsword, chainmail that could be worn under the uniform, a dark-gray Guard Unit jacket, and a belly band.
“From this moment on, you are soldiers belonging to the 3rd Guard Unit. Think of yourselves as the face of the Imperial Army and maintain your dignity at all times.”
He slowly inspected each person’s attire in turn.
Once they had finished putting on their basic arms, he continued.
“Starting tomorrow, you will pair up with senior duty personnel and carry out patrol missions. The details regarding patrol missions are written in here, so make sure you familiarize yourselves with them.”
Ron handed them a notebook containing the basic duties.
Inside, the tasks Guard Unit members needed to perform were written in dense detail.
‘This was all written by hand.’
He did not know who had written it, but while admiring the sincerity—if that was what it was—that had gone into it, he looked through the notebook. In the meantime, Guard Unit members who had finished their shifts entered the command post.
They looked over the group once and threw out a comment each.
“New recruits?”
“It’s not recruit assignment season yet, so they’re practicum students, you idiot.”
“Deputy Commander, why are you arming them already? Take it easy, sir. If you do that, they’re all going to run away.”
“They should have run away on the first day…. It’s not too late for you lot yet.”
Looking at the unit members spouting words with no discipline at all, Ron held his tongue.
“I am training the new arrivals. All of you shut your mouths and take off your gear.”
“Yes, yes.”
Ron did not let them sway him, but seeing his expression stiffen for an instant, Gale could clearly tell what the atmosphere here was usually like.
Ron turned to the practicum students and said, “We will now move to the patrol area.”
***
Since the practicum students did not stand sentry duty guarding the southern gate of the capital, patrolling Yoshiura was their main duty.
The four people, including Gale, began walking through the streets of Yoshiura under Ron’s guidance.
They were walking as they learned basic knowledge about patrols from Ron when Yoshiura’s unique atmosphere captured the four of them.
Even though it was still early, the faint scent of liquor and fragrant powder tickled their noses.
All along the way, they could encounter various races such as elves and beastfolk, and when their eyes met, the people gave eye-smiles and waved softly.
“As you all know, this place is the largest slum in the Empire. Incidents and accidents never cease here. So move while staying as alert as possible.”
Though it was broad daylight, the streets of Yoshiura began to look dark, surrounded by tall buildings. In various places, the flustered voices of employees already struggling with drunken customers could be heard.
Ron approached a drunkard causing a disturbance on one side and grabbed him.
“Goddamn it, let me go! Huh? What, you’re Imperial Army?”
“We are the Guard Unit. If you continue causing a disturbance, you will be detained.”
“I was feeling suffocated anyway, so good! You bastards live off the taxes I pay…!”
“If you continue disturbing public morals….”
“You bastard, I’ve been letting it slide, but you’ve gone too far. Do you know who I am?!”
The moment the man tried to stand up to Ron, a heavy voice came from one side.
“That will be enough.”
Following the voice, Gale turned his head, and his expression twisted.
A jacket issued to a Major was draped over the man’s shoulders, and around him stood courtesans who looked as if they worked at high-class establishments.
He had short white hair swept back neatly and a sharp impression.
There was no mistaking the man from his memories.
Drawing a long breath of tobacco smoke from his long pipe, he exhaled a pure-white sigh and walked toward the drunkard Ron was holding.
“M-Miguel…!”
For an instant, the drunkard looked as terrified as if he had seen a ghost. But perhaps because of the heat of alcohol in him, he shouted even louder.
“Y-you’re the one in charge, right? How can the Imperial Army do this to an innocent imperial citizen…?!”
When the drunkard shouted, Miguel gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
In that instant, a gust of pressure rose.
The drunkard’s clothing was sliced thinly.
“You are in front of my subordinates. Please preserve my dignity.”
The drunkard could not say a word.
Miguel approached Ron, grabbed his head, and pressed it down just like that.
“This fellow seems to be reflecting on his actions as well, so how about letting the matter end here for today?”
Overwhelming charisma.
The murderous intent flowing from him made it feel hard to breathe.
The drunkard pointed at Ron, who could not lift his head, with a resentful expression and said,
“You… I’ll remember this!”
After confirming that the drunkard had left, Miguel took his hand off Ron’s head.
He drew in the rest of his tobacco smoke, exhaled a pure-white sigh, and said,
“Your neck is as stiff as ever.”
“…I will correct it.”
“See that you do. A reed that does not bend is bound to break.”
Miguel turned his head slightly, and his gaze came toward them.
“Are these the candidates who came for their practicum this time?”
“That is correct.”
He slowly approached them.
After passing Anesia and Joseph, he stopped in front of Gale.
He stared steadily into Gale’s eyes and said,
“You have troublesome eyes.”
Gale said nothing.
He was merely suppressing the anger burning inside him with great effort.
Miguel Wiseburn.
A man whose roots were planted deep in the Golden Dawn Society, and who held his position among the Twelve Generals until the very day the Empire fell.
‘I didn’t know I would meet him like this.’
The brutal acts he had committed appeared vividly before Gale’s eyes, as if they had been embedded there.
As Gale quietly seethed with anger inside, he clenched his fist.
Miguel, who had continued meeting Gale’s eyes, turned away.
“I will be going now. I leave the rest of the training to you.”
“Understood.”
As Miguel left with a wave of his hand, the courtesans followed behind him.
Ron stood blankly for a while, then seemed to collect himself and turned toward them.
“…I will continue the training. Follow me.”