How to Live as a Genius Knight in a Fantasy World

14

“He mentioned it was near the blacksmith’s shop.”

Generally, manor houses were not that large.

The Friel Manor, influenced by a longstanding rivalry with the Dussel Manor, had a sturdy outer appearance compared to other manors, but it still didn’t feel spacious inside.

Thanks to the clue of the blacksmith’s shop, finding the destination was too easy.

The blacksmith’s shop they asked for was filled with smoke and the sound of hammering iron, bustling more than other places with passersby.

“Where is it?”

As Rohan looked around, his eyes fell on two-story houses that seemed quite old.

Approaching the residential area, he was wandering around without a precise address or familiar face.

A familiar voice called out Rohan’s name. “Rohan?”

Roan turned his head to identify the owner of the voice, and a delighted expression crossed his face.

“Argen! You’re safe!”

It was Argen, a soldier who had clashed with Roan several times before.

Even Roan, who had made considerable progress in his own right, couldn’t dare to think of matching Argen in strength.

Perhaps due to his innate power, despite having been through several battles, he didn’t seem to have any major injuries.

“Yeah, I’m fine. But Roan, in the end, you ended up here too.”

“Yes, I came with the conscripts. They suddenly said they were sending reinforcements…”

“Yeah, I heard that more people arrived here at the Isel.”

“…Where are the others?”

“Oh, here are the captains, lieutenants, and the four houses next to the back house are all soldiers’ quarters.”

“Oh, by any chance, my comrades…”

“…Have you heard any news?”

“Yes, Charles told me about it.”

“Yeah, it’s inevitable. Those foolish guys…”

As if he had witnessed their fate firsthand, Argen’s expression turned melancholic.

“Anyway, the remaining two must be in that house over there. Since our troops have a curfew today, they’re probably not napping.”

After bidding farewell to Argen, they knocked on the door where their comrades were staying.

Whether there was no one inside or they were truly sleeping, there was no response.

Slowly pulling the handle, the creaky sound of the old door opening filled the air.

The house consisted of a small living room and four rooms, and the second floor didn’t seem to have a significantly different layout.

“By the way, it’s really hard to get used to not having a bathroom inside the house.”

Roan’s face frowned at the sight of the chamber pot left alone in the living room.

In the countryside, it was preferable to handle such matters outside, as it would lessen the smell indoors, but in a castle or a town center, people usually used chamber pots indoors, leaving a lingering odor in the house.

Although they had entered the house, upon seeing all the closed doors, they couldn’t decide what to do next.

Opening each door might seem like the logical choice, but the problem was that even among the soldiers from the same Isel, there were quite a few unfamiliar faces.

But standing dumbly in front of the door couldn’t last forever.

After cautiously knocking on each door and repeating the process, they finally found their comrades on the second floor.

“Ro… Roan?”

As if they were indeed napping, Chris, with sleepy eyes, suddenly sat up from the bed as if startled.

“Chris! Kenneth!”

It was the names of comrades they hadn’t called out in a long time.

As Roan called their names, Kenneth, who had been sleeping facing the wall, also jolted in surprise and got up from the bed.

“Roan! It’s really good to see you!”

“You also ended up coming this way…”

Two people looking at Roan with a mix of joy and sorrow.

After a brief hug, as Roan examined his comrades who had risen, his gaze stopped at Kenneth’s hand.

“Kenneth… Your… hand…”

Roan couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

Meanwhile, as if it was nothing major, Kenneth showed Roan his hand with two missing fingers and said, “

“Ah, this? Nothing special. Just a wound from fighting. I don’t know how thankful I am that it’s not my dominant hand.”

Although it sounded somewhat boastful, Rohan felt like he could understand how much Kenneth had suffered to be able to say that.

“Rohan… Have you heard any news?”

“The rest… about our comrades?”

“You heard? I see…”

Seeing Chris, who always used to be grumpy, looking gloomy, it seemed like the shock from the war was immense.

Unable to bring himself to inquire further about war-related matters, they discussed topics like the families left behind in Eizel Castle and life in the Lordship of Prielle that remained in the castle.

“Oh? Ellie has a boyfriend now? His name is Tien? Rohan! What have you been up to without telling anyone!”

“Mother is doing well… That’s really fortunate.”

Both sighed with relief at the news of their families.

As the initial heavy atmosphere began to ease, Rohan’s heart felt lighter.

“But Rohan, are you planning to continue staying apart?”

“Really? I’m not even a sergeant, why would I need to be with the conscripts?”

Agreeing with Chris’s words, Kenneth chimed in.

Rohan also wanted to be with his comrades, but it wasn’t something he could easily achieve.

“Well, for now, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

At Rohan’s words, the two nodded in agreement.

Though it had been a short time, the two had become accustomed to the battlefield and the camaraderie that came with it.

Just a mere two months difference made it quite useful to have comrades who had already settled in and rolled with the punches.

They were able to hear detailed information about working in Eizel Castle, people to be wary of, and the atmosphere within the castle.

Without friendship, no one would share such stories.

Of course, Rohan had not only received but willingly shared supplies with them.

“Oh, isn’t this pemmican? This is expensive…”

“There’s jerky! And salt too!”

While these items were nothing special when staying in Eizel Castle, they were invaluable in a situation where they were heavily reliant on distribution.

Seeing his comrades brighten up and laugh for the first time today, Rohan couldn’t help but chuckle as well.

“Anyway, I should head back now.”

“Already?”

“Yeah, I have to go.”

Lost in conversation, they hadn’t noticed how time had flown, and the sun was already setting, casting a yellow hue.

“Let’s meet up again soon!”

“Yes, if our schedules align, I’ll come visit!”

After bidding farewell to his comrades, Rohan returned to his original quarters.

Feeling slightly tense about leaving his post unattended, he found that there were no issues; the unfamiliar faces were still scattered around as before.

Just as Rohan was about to settle in, a familiar face entered the room, looking for him – 2nd Squad Leader Kade, who had left Eizel two months before Rohan’s group.

“Rohan! Smith! Are you here?”

“Yes, this is Rohan.”

“Oh, it’s been a while. Step outside for a moment.”

After setting up Rohan and finding Smith, Kade led the two towards the back of the lodging.

Once he confirmed that no other soldiers were around, Kade began speaking in a more relaxed tone.

“How have you been? It must have been quite busy with the decrease in personnel at the easel, right?”

“Well, it was a bit tougher than before, I must say.”

“Yeah, but you’ll be better off here than there. Many have died and been injured here. When you return to the easel fortress, you’ll probably see a significant decrease in numbers.”

At Kade’s straightforward words, the faces of the two men stiffened.

No one was pleased with the news of being sent to a dangerous place.

Although the atmosphere quickly grew heavy, Kade continued speaking nonchalantly as if unaffected.

“Now you’ll be operating with the original unit. Specifically, since the original unit has decreased in numbers, it was decided to split and replenish your unit. Your lodging will be reassigned. And the reason you were called separately is to appoint you as corporals. You have been assigned to our white division. Oh, and I am the white colonel.”

Despite the sudden assignment and the flood of information, the two men looked bewildered, but Kade simply handed each of them a piece of paper with a list of ten soldiers.

“Since you have the list now, let me tell you in advance. It may be your first time as corporals, but with your experience, you shouldn’t have any issues. Since most members are conscripts, they shouldn’t be too difficult to handle.”

Both men clearly needed more explanation, but Kade seemed to consider his job done as he patted their shoulders and turned away.

“So… We’re corporals now?”

Smith, with a dumbfounded expression, asked almost to himself, but Rohan, who had a similar look, was of little help.

Kade was known to be easygoing, but it seemed that the war had taken a toll on him more than rumors suggested.

Although feeling deep bewilderment, orders were orders, regardless.

After calming the slightly shaken mind due to Kade’s unusual command style, they found the soldiers listed on the paper and moved out.

“If I had known it would be like this, I should have divided them earlier.”

Although he was slightly bothered by having eaten alone and left in the morning, there was no use regretting it now.

The list was a simple roster with just names, and fortunately, there was only one other soldier with the same name, causing a minor issue.

Having two soldiers with the same name led to a small problem, but it could be resolved by choosing the stronger one as per Rohan’s preference.

“After all, the one taken first is the owner.”

The mistake wasn’t Rohan’s, but the person who wrote the list with just names, so he had no qualms of conscience.

Although it was his first time as a corporal, Rohan had experience holding a similar position as a squad leader in the advanced military of South Korea.

Back then, he had to control soldiers with just a meal as a weapon, but now, with the addition of actual force, he wasn’t too worried.

After gathering all the soldiers, he divided beef jerky and pemmican while starting a conversation.

“Nice to meet you. I am Rohan, who will be your corporal from now on.”

With the formal introduction from Rohan, the tense expressions under the considerably younger corporal began to relax.

Rohan had firmly established his position as a soldier, but he was still just a teenager.

Legally an adult, but not quite old enough to be considered one by those accustomed to traditional hierarchical order based on age.

Amidst the relaxed atmosphere, Rohan continued speaking.

“From now on, we will fight under Colonel Kade. Some of you may not trust me, but as your corporal, I will never leave any of you to face danger alone. Once we are organized as a unit, whether we live or die, we must stick together. I will do my best to protect and lead you. I hope that you will fight alongside your comrades, protect each other, and safely return home. Let’s do our best to survive together.”

There was no response, but seeing the slightly loosened faces, even with a hint of a smile, it seemed that he had given a decent inaugural speech.

He requested brief self-introductions from the unit members and those whose turn it was hesitated before stating their place of origin, name, and age.

They were hastily accepted unit members, but they seemed to have developed a sense of belonging and began sneaking into the same building as Rohan, one by one, from that night onwards.

Thanks to this, complaints about the narrow space arose from other conscripts, but including Smith, the newly appointed corporals, and others, Rohan completely rearranged the lodgings by units.

Although Kade’s attitude seemed particularly indifferent, that was how corporals were appointed in other white divisions.

Finally, it felt like he had properly joined the Easel Army.

And those words also meant that it was time to forget about the past battles and embrace a new role.