NOVEL NEXT The soldiers, who were watching at the spar while holding their breaths, couldn’t hold it any more and yelled.
Even if Reil was considered a hero in Rinse kingdom, Roan was their fellow soldier and a good friend.
That’s why they could only get excited at Reil’s declaration of defeat.
“Waaa! Certainly, sir adjutant Roan!”
“Roan! Roan! Roan! Roan! “
“Waaa! Sir adjutant Roan was my predecessor!”
“Kuha! He certainly is the pride of our 13th squad!”
“I knew that he would become big!”
The people with the biggest voices even in the middle of the cheering, they were the 13th squad that served with Roan before it became the 12th squad.
Vice squad commander Austin of the 12th squad and the commander of the 13th squad, Tane, were shaking hands while they were beaming.
“Wuooooooo! Roan! Roan! Roan! Roan! “
The noisiest one was Pete, of the 13th squad.
He cheered Roan with a voice as loud as his body was big.
“You sure are popular.”
Reil smiled brightly and hit Roan’s shoulder.
Roan just smiled awkwardly instead of replying back.
Then Aaron, Gale, etc., approached him with Io at the front.
“It was an amazing spar.”
Io complemented Reil first and then looked at Roan.
It kind of felt like he wasn’t interested in Reil.
‘For the man that sang the Baker, Baker, Baker song to be like that……..’
Albert, who was looking at the sides, was astounded.
“Roan. It really was an amazing fight.”
“Thank you.”
Roan bowed deeply.
‘Kugh.’
As the internal shock wasn’t completely gone, the state of his body wasn’t that good.
‘If Viscount Baker showed all of his skills……..’
He knew that Reil had held himself back in this fight.
If he didn’t do so, this battle wouldn’t have flowed in a normal way in the first place.
“Rest for now, and then let’s talk.”
Io was very leisurely and benign.
‘What’s more precious and doesn’t return is time. And rather than that time, he’s someone I don’t want to let go.’
Roan was someone he didn’t want to let go.
‘Perhaps even more so than Viscount Baker.’
His mouth slightly rose up.
“Roan! Roan! Roan! Roan! “
“Rose! Rose! Rose! Rose!”
The soldiers surrounding the training field yelled with all of their strength.
Now, for them, Roan was a hero as amazing as Reil.
But of course he still had many things to do until he became a real hero.
*****
Roan could stay in a lodging all alone because of Gale’s efforts.
When he was still settling down in his imperfect interior, footsteps were heard outside the door.
‘He came.’
Roan put his mana in order and stood up.
As he stood in front of the entrance, the sounds of the footsteps stopped.
Kiiig.
The creaking of the wood was heard when the door opened.
“Oh! You were waiting for me?”
It was a familiar voice.
It was Reil.
He closed the door and walked in.
“How’s your body?”
At the question, Roan faintly smiled and nodded.
“I’m fine.”
At that instant, Reil checked him with his eyes.
“You are okay? Does that mean that things such as my spearmanship isn’t that much?”
“N, no.”
As Roan shook his head with a perplexed expression, Reil burst out in laughter.
“Hahahaha. It’s a joke. A joke.”
And then, he sat down in a chair.
“Then, shall we talk?”
Reil had a weird expression.
“Yes. Understood.”
Roan sat at the opposite side and nodded.
“You learned mana, right?”
Reil, went directly to the point.
Roan replied with a calm expression.
“Yes. I did.”
“So I was right.”
Reil put on a faint smile.
He looked at Roan while crossing his arms.
“It hasn’t been that long since you learned it?”
“Yes. It’s been about a month.”
“Then that means that you learned it during your retirement.”
The smile on Reil’s face became even bigger.
Roan just looked at Reil’s eyes.
‘Is it time he asked me how I learned it?……….’
He had already prepared an answer in advance.
‘I learned it from a retired soldier.’
It was the answer he used when Tane, the commander of the 13th squad, asked him where he learned his spear skills after he observed Roan.
The first time it was about fate helping by giving him a retired soldier who taught him the spear in his childhood. This time it was about him learning mana.
But rather because it was too obvious, there was no space to doubt it.
‘How many retired soldiers, knights, and powerful hidden people are there…….’
But of course, learning spear skills and mana from one of those people was quite a scarce difficult thing to actually do.
But even so, it wasn’t impossible.
‘Now, ask me quickly.’
Roan was prepared to answer.
However, Reil just spat out strange words.
“But your mana technique is quite peculiar.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know it well but it feels like it’s not stable.”
When he grabbed Roan’s wrist to calm down the internal shock, Reil could certainly feel it.
‘It had a feeling like many different natures were mixed into it.’
But what was fortunate was that one energy was really rough and active and the other energy was was calm and still.
Because of that, the energies weren’t hitting or clashing against each other yet.
‘Was it originally this kind of mana?’
Reil looked at Roan well.
And Roan also had a confused face.
‘It seems like he’s not even conscious of it. Then, that means that it’s not that big of a problem…….’
Reil took in a deep breath.
If by chance the energies collided against each other, it may not simply end at him losing his mana.
‘He may become disabled.’
Roan, who has outstanding talent, become disabled?
Reil wanted to block at least that much.
“How did you learn the mana technique?”
It was a question thrown out to exactly grasp the situation that doesn’t have any rebellious intent.
Roan brought forth the answer that he had prepared.
“I learned it from a retired soldier.”
For a while, Roan narrated the story that he had created a while ago.
Reil slowly nodded.
‘I don’t know the skills of that retired soldier, but the mana technique may be unstable by itself.’
He bit his lower lip.
‘I will have to keep checking up on him for now.’
There was nothing that he could do right now.
Reil forced a laugh and looked at Roan.
“Then, Roan’s spearmanship is also……?”
“Yes. I learned it from the retired soldier. As it didn’t have a name, I put in my name.”
Roan shyly laughed and bowed.
‘Pierce, i’m sorry.’
But even so it was Roan that had some considerations.
“I would also like to meet that retired soldier once.”
Looking at the level of Roan’s spearmanship and the fact that he had learned mana from him, he certainly wouldn’t be an ordinary soldier.
His warrior’s curiosity surged up.
“I’m sorry. He tends to move around quite a bit so I don’t know his precise location.”
“Hm. Can’t do anything about it then.”
Reil shook his hand as if it was okay and nodded.
It was up to there.
Reil didn’t ask anymore about questions related to the mana or the spear.
‘There’s no need to ask anymore.’
In the first place, this was what Reil’s personality was like.
The current state was what was important and not who taught him, when, where and how.
On top of that.
“I will keep it a secret for now.”
He decided to keep his mouth shut about Roan learning mana.
‘There’s no need for me to spread it when he himself is trying to hide it. On top of that, he has just started to learn it. If rumours were to spread, he may be targeted by people that wanted the mana technique.’
But there was only one thing he had to be certain about.
‘The possibility of being a spy.’
But that possibility was really low.
‘According to the words of Duke Tate, he had already investigated him once.’
But even if he was still uneasy, he just had to check the information of the kingdom or ask a request to the thieves guild.
Reil looked at Roan.
‘Whatever it is, it would be good if he grew quickly.’
His thoughts were rather fixed in a weird way.
‘Only then will we be able to spar again.’
Reil was a real warrior.
He was expecting for Roan’s mana technique and spear skills to grow a lot more compared to now.
‘I was too bored until now.’
There weren’t many opponents for him in Rinse kingdom.
The knights and magicians didn’t suit him in temperament or what they did.
‘Even so……’
He felt regret.
“It’s regrettable.”
His thoughts popped up unconsciously.
“What is?”
As Roan carefully asked, Reil let out a short sigh.
“Whew. Because you learned another mana technique……”
His last words dimmed a bit.
Roan just waited for the next words.
“I can’t formally take you in as a disciple.”
Reil smacked his lips.
“It’s really something to say this right in front of you but I quite like you.”
But of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
‘If I taught him myself, he would be able to grow more quickly.’
Then, he would be able to properly battle a little bit quicker. But he couldn’t formally take in someone who learned another mana technique, as a disciple of the Baker family.
“Ah……..”
Roan let out a low exclamation.
‘Did I get recognized by Viscount Reil Baker?’
A corner of his heart became numb with pride.
In his past life, he couldn’t even get a glance from Reil.
But right now, Reil wanted to take him in as a formal disciple.
Reil continued speaking.
“Because formal disciples of the Baker family have to learn the Baker mana technique.”
Roan just nodded.
Becoming a formal disciple of a family meant that the first thing you had to do was to learn the traditional mana technique of the family.
But although not every family was like that, that was the common practice and custom.
“But even if that’s the case, I can’t ask you to forget the mana technique you already learned.”
Reil smacked his lips.
Roan put on a smile.
‘I can’t give up on the mana technique of the fire monarch Reid. And…………’
His eyes became calm.
‘Even if that wasn’t the case, I can’t become your disciple.’
Roan took in a deep breath.
In the first place, he wasn’t planning on becoming his disciple.
No, precisely speaking he couldn’t.
‘I can’t leave this place for the moment.’
Roan had many things he had to do from now on.
He had to have a solid start for his future actions.
They were very important things.
‘I don’t know if you would stay here and teach me yourself……’
It was impossible to leave for Reil’s territory.
But even so, Reil also couldn’t keep roaming around in the eastern territory of the kingdom while leaving his own territory empty.
In the end it became a situation where Roan couldn’t become Reil’s disciple.
“Regrettable. Too regrettable.”
Reil continued to smack his lips and shook his head.
Then, Roan’s mouth slightly rose up.
‘Should I tell him now?’
The solid starting point for the future.
And it was one of the most important things even amongst them.
Roan whispered in a low voice.
“If it is okay with you, may I recommend you a soldier?”
“Recommend?”
Reil had an interested expression.
‘Mmm. Recommend………’
He had already checked his outstanding abilities but he didn’t know about his eyes in judging people.
‘Well, it isn’t bad to hear you out for now.’
Reil slowly nodded.
Roan brightly smiled and continued saying.
“The soldier I want to recommend……..”
Strength was put in his voice.
“Is spearman Pierce from rose troop of the 7th corps.”
*****
“No! I don’t want to!”
It was a rough voice and one with a firm attitude.
You could see in Pierce’s attitude and expression his absolute intention to decline.
“Pierce. Do you know just how amazing of an opp………”
Roan said as if he was easing him up but.
“I don’t want to. I don’t want to leave your side.”
Pierce cut off his words right from the start.
Roan had a troubled expression on his face.
It was an expression of various mixed emotions.
‘It’s stifling but at the same time proud.’
Looking at Pierce wanting to remain at his side whatever happened, he really felt great.
But even so, he couldn’t leave him at his side.
‘Pierce. You have to become Viscount Baker’s disciple.’
Roan was planning to send Pierce towards Reil.
‘And fortunately, the viscount also sees you in a good light.’
It was after Reil had personally checked Pierce’s talent in the 10 days he spent at Beno castle.
He was rather surprised and happy as his thoughts coincided with Roan’s.
‘There’s no way for Viscount Baker to not recognize your skills.’
Roan pulled up Pierce who had a cold and hard expression and sat him down in the chair in front of him.
“Pierce.”
He called out in a low calling voice.
Pierce just turned his head away instead of replying back.
It meant that he didn’t want to talk.
‘I also have it more comfortable if you are by my side.’
Pierce was picked to be the one with the best talent in all of history.
He became a supreme commander after having climbed up to become a duke in his past life.
He was one of the existences that lead Rinse kingdom to prominence.
That existence was Pierce.
He really wanted to leave him by his side and take care of him so that no one could steal him away from Roan.
However, he wouldn’t be able to make Pierce’s real talent bloom that way.
‘You have to learn spear skills from Viscount Baker. Only then will you become the spear genius from my memories.’
He looked at Pierce’s face fixedly.
He was still dodging his sight with a stiffened expression.
“Pierce. Do you remember what I told you last time?”
A sudden story.
Pierce, who was resolved to not converse at all, slightly turned away.
An expression implying what he meant.
Roan smiled faintly and said.
“The day when the two of us remained when of all the others went on vacation.”
“Ah……..”
Pierce let out a low exclamation.
Roan continued saying.
“That time you told me. That I will become a great general that makes the continent tremble.”
“Yes. I certainly did so.”
Pierce unconsciously nodded and replied back.
Roan brightly smiled and asked in return.
“So what did I tell you then?”
At that instant, Pierce flinched.
It was a memory that he couldn’t forget.
As he hesitated, Roan continued saying.
“That if I become a great commander, you will become the best spearman in the continent. I certainly said so.”
Roan took in a deep breath.
“I still haven’t changed my mind about that. Pierce, if it’s your talent you will certainly be able to become the best spearman in the continent.”
He had eyes that don’t even have the slightest movement.
Pierce’s heart began to beat faster.
Roan started to put in more and more strength in his voice.
“Pierce. I will work hard to become a great general that makes the continent tremble.”
It was a declaration.
It was a really bold one.
It wasn’t something a mere class 5 adjutant should be saying.
But even so, Roan’s eyes and expression was still serious.
‘Actually, i’m planning to become a monarch……….’
He wasn’t in a situation to be able to say that yet. Roan continued saying.
“If I become a great commander, i’m planning to use you as a general as promised. And because of that……….”
His eyes became hot.
And that was also the same for Pierce.
“You also need to become the strongest spearman in the continent as promised.”
Boom.
A big rock fell down in Pierce’s heart.
“Strongest spearman in the continent………”
He bit his lower lip.
‘To become a spearman stronger than anyone………’
Becoming Reil’s disciple was the most certain method.
Pierce raised his head and looked at Roan.
And Roan slowly nodded.
“The opportunity to become the best spearman in the continent is right in front of your eyes.”
Pierce’s face heated up.
Roan grabbed Pierce’s shoulders with both of his hands.
“Pierce. Grab this opportunity.”
A voice with strength followed.
“For me.”
< A new start (3) > End
Translator’s note: Thank you for reading!