The Regretful Enlistment
“Hmm?” Felipe’s eyebrows twitched as she kept watching from a distance. Cloud strolled in place, then abruptly walked over and collided face-first with the chest of the man leading the group approaching from behind. “Whoa, sorry,” Cloud immediately apologized. Just as he was about to turn it off nonchalantly, the other grabbed his shoulder from behind with a sour expression. “Hey, where do you think you’re going, punk? Just push off?” He turned his head to face the man properly. The guy wore a helmet shaped like a wild boar, clad in full armor, and stood over two meters tall with a massive build. Behind him, four companions—two men and two women—grinned mockingly at Cloud. Watching from afar, Felipe stroked her chin with a curious expression. “Those are the guys from our city known for their cruel and savage personalities. Jir and his crew. They’ve raped or assaulted men and women multiple times, done jail time, and because no one likes dealing with them, people are terrified and avoid them. Tough luck for you, Cloud-san.” Felipe’s lips curled slightly. “It could be the perfect chance to test your skills. Against a bunch of thugs who turned an orc village into a wasteland, what exactly will you show them? Not planning to run away, are you?” She kept her gaze locked on Cloud standing in the middle of the training ground. “Sorry? ‘I’m sorry’ is not what I said, just sorry? Is that an apology?” Jir twisted his ugly face in rage, and Cloud let out a dry chuckle as if finding it ridiculous. “Come on, guys. Getting lightly bumped and saying sorry should be enough, you don’t need to take it out on me.” The stares of the surrounding people began to gather toward this noisy spot. Cloud racked his brain to find a way out of the situation. But Jir gave him no time to think and raised his hand. “Shut your damn mouth!” With a sharp slap aimed at his cheek. Right before the big palm landed, Cloud’s tattoo on his back activated, slowing time to a crawl. ‘Ah, even in situations like this I can use it!’ Cloud momentarily forgot about his power and lived it. The ability activated and he marveled. Then he grinned. With Jir’s movements crystal clear, Cloud dodged sideways. Time sped up again. To everyone’s eyes, Cloud had swiftly dodged Jir’s palm. “Whoa! That guy dodged it so easily!” “This bastard!” Realizing he’d been evaded, Jir gritted his teeth and swung his fist again. But the Cloud watching him vanished instantly. Appearing behind him, he kicked Jir’s butt hard. *Thud!* “Ouch!” Jir tumbled comically and the spectators burst into laughter amid cheers. “I’ll kill you, you bastard!” Bracing for shame, Jir rose from the floor and drew the dagger from his waist. Cloud’s eyes widened at the sharp blade. Swallowing, he stared fixedly at Jir’s hand without blinking. “Die!” Jir charged with his dagger swinging. Cloud snatched the hand and stole the dagger, then stabbed it deep into Jir’s right thigh with the hilt. *Stab!* “Gyah! Aaaah!” Jir dropped to one knee, clutching his bleeding thigh with both hands. The crowd cheered and applauded Cloud’s amazing skill. “Everyone, grab him.” The only serious-faced companions of Jir drew their weapons one by one from the crowd. They glared at Cloud, deciding they couldn’t let him go quietly. They had to break him as half a cripple and repay the shame. Otherwise they’d become jokes for the rest of their lives. For victory, they didn’t care about cheating. The four surrounded Cloud and one female teammate reached for the crossbow strapped to her back. As she pulled it forward, someone shouted from the side. “Hey! Using the main weapon is a foul! The guards will come running!” Ignoring the warning, she loaded an arrow into the crossbow and drew the string rapidly. The arrow flew straight toward Cloud’s eyes. Cloud caught the incoming arrow lightly in front of his face. “Whoa, snatching a flying arrow!” Before anyone could admire it, two burly men attacked from both sides. One swung two daggers horizontally to hamstring him, while the other leaped into the air with a sharp rapier to pierce his shoulder. Cloud disappeared from sight and their ambitious attacks missed. The two, stunned by the unfamiliar speed, were soon stabbed in the palms with the arrowheads Cloud held in his hands. “Aaaah!” “Aaaah!” Both dropped their weapons screaming, clutching their bloody palms and rolling on the floor together. Cloud rushed to the female teammate aiming her crossbow a second time. Quickly behind her, he manipulated the crossbow in her hand and shot one of the other female teammates. The arrow buried itself in her shoulder and she groaned. The last female teammate holding the crossbow fell instantly. The situation ended. Guards were already running toward them blowing horns from afar. Cloud tossed the bloodied arrow in his hand to the floor. Rubbing his hands, he sat on the ground with a dazed look and stared at Jir. “Listen, honestly, I came here wanting to join the army but I’m so fed up I want to cry and go insane. Why the hell did you guys start something? If you drag me to jail like this, you guys will die there for sure. Just you watch.” “Hah! W-we were wrong!” Cloud’s icy glare sent chills down Jir’s spine. By then the guards arrived, identified the fighters, and bound them with ropes to drag them away. “All of you are under arrest for using weapons in a place where weapon use is strictly prohibited!” Cloud, who had injured others with his tools, was also arrested. “Damn it.” He sighed deeply and was led away obediently, but suddenly a soldier came running and spoke to the guard captain. “This man has no fault, please release him.” “Who?” “It’s, uh…” The soldier whispered in the captain’s ear. The captain’s eyes widened instantly. “Release him at once!” At that very moment, from afar, Felipe watched Cloud being released. “He took down those vicious Jir thugs in one go. Cloud New Qoo Sara Pon Athran… he’s no easy man.” Winning the fight was good, but there was an inconvenient part too. “That guy seems like quite the expert!” “Isn’t he a famous person?” “His skill is amazing! I’m falling for him!” The stares of the people looking at him admiringly clung to him, making it impossible to leave with his pride intact. ‘I got noticed for nothing. If I go home empty-handed after coming to apply for soldier recruitment, it’ll be funny…’ Cloud had no choice but to make up his mind. With everyone’s eyes on him, he walked out with his shoulders squared like someone important. He climbed the stairs straight to the headquarters. At the entrance, a soldier asked, “Are you someone hoping to enlist?” Cloud nodded silently. The soldier turned the number on the stamp in his hand one notch and said, “Unroll your left sleeve and extend your arm.” Following orders, he offered his left hand and the stamp with the number was pressed on his wrist. The soldier yawned as if the simple labor was boring and repeated, “Go to the reception desk and tell them the number written here.” Was he just counting the number of applicants? Cloud thought that as he walked inside. Wide lobby. Five reception desks. People lined up in five rows heading toward those desks. Bustling. Murmuring. Cloud threaded through the crowd and stood in the middle line. Curious about the flow, he looked at the front. The receptionists were helping applicants with their enlistment forms. Since there were many illiterate applicants who couldn’t write, the receptionists were filling in the forms for them. Cloud looked back and glanced at the person right in front. A red-haired woman with long twin-tails stood there, twin daggers in scabbards strapped crosswise to her back. While waiting in line and killing time, Cloud decided to leisurely admire her back view. Slowly scanning from below upward. She wore brown boots reaching her ankles over black pantyhose. Her legs were long and slender. Her lower half was cyan hot pants, upper half a white tank top with a black vest layered over it. ‘Hmm, that slender figure looks usable. The small butt is a bit of a shame, but still.’ The sad mood he’d had earlier about not wanting to join the army had already been forgotten, and Cloud was now thinking something else. Two hours passed. After the front lines cleared, finally it was the turn of the woman right in front. When she approached the reception desk, the receptionist pulled out a new enlistment form and prepared to write with a pen. “Number?” The middle-aged mustached receptionist asked in a busy, annoyed tone. “One hundred and sixty-six.” The red-haired woman answered curtly. “Where are you from?” “Rothwar.” “Hmm, from far away. Name?” “Christina.” “Surname and first name.” As if annoyed, she suddenly glared sharply at the receptionist. She answered nonchalantly, “Lucy Christina.” The receptionist bowed and wrote on the paper. To Cloud, her voice sounded like a fierce person. Something prickly. He thought such types would be troublesome to deal with during consultation. But the receptionist seemed used to it. “What military branch do you choose?” “What’s there? Recommend one.” “Um, do you shoot arrows well or ride horses well? Or do you know how to build houses?” “No idea. The only thing I’m good at is swordsmanship.” “Then infantry.” The receptionist’s recommendation was simple. The red-haired woman being consulted also nodded simply in agreement. To Cloud, the consultation felt somewhat sloppy. If good at swordsmanship, infantry. If good at shooting arrows, archer. If good at building houses, engineer. Assigning military branches based only on what the applicants say was funny. And this was usually the case, “It’s something done when there’s a need for arrow catchers in guerrilla warfare…” Anyway, it has nothing to do with me. I won’t be going on witch hunts. Cloud waited for the person in front to finish and looked around. A man passed by holding the issued military uniform. It looked like it had been stored in the supply warehouse and pulled out immediately, so the clothes were quite wrinkled and dusty. The man soon complained to his companion. “Man, there’s not a single uniform that fits.” “Mine fits the clothes but there’s a hole here.” Pointing to the armpit area. Looking at it, it seemed the guards were storing uniforms previously worn by existing soldiers and distributing them to new recruits. Several people around were wearing shabby uniforms that didn’t fit their bodies, laughing and mocking each other’s appearances. Cloud quietly watched the scene and turned his gaze forward again. The red-haired woman’s consultation was still ongoing.