The Strange New Unit and Its Eccentric Leader
Early in the morning, Cloud made his way to the military district for work, finished the officers’ meeting, and immediately headed to check on his troops. Cloud’s unit was the 10th Regiment, quartered in a decaying wooden building. “What a goddamn place they made for us,” he grumbled as he gathered the sixty soldiers waiting inside the building into the drill yard. “Um. I’m Captain Cloud. I’ve been assigned as the new 10th Infantry Regiment commander. Please take care of me. By the way, I used to be good at drill, so I’m really good at catching guys who goof off. Just don’t start slacking off—get to work. Got it!” “Understood!” “Yes!” “Yes, sir!” The soldiers answered crisply and well. But when Cloud looked them over, they looked… off. Not healthy soldiers at all, but rather people with some physical or mental flaw. “Hehehe, that’s our leader, sir.” “I hope he’ll play with us on the monkey bars.” On top of that, every single one of them wore wooden helmets and wooden armor that only protected their chests and backs. It wasn’t even a proper soldier’s outfit; the gear was terrible. ‘What the hell is going on?’ Just as Cloud tilted his head in confusion, Silvia was inside the room meeting with Felipe. “You’ve been given command of the unit under your brother?” “Don’t worry. Captain Cloud is taking the weakest unit in our family. He’s probably meeting with them by now.” That was the real reason Silvia had forced Cloud onto a weak unit—her resolve never to send him out to hunt witches. Cloud, none the wiser, smiled brightly and decided to be happy with it. “A good captain’s first step is remembering each soldier’s name. Now, let’s introduce yourselves one by one. If you make a memorable introduction, I’ll take you somewhere really nice later for a drink. Looking forward to it!” The first soldier out was the acting company commander who had been in charge until Cloud’s assignment—someone Cloud already knew. “I’m Lucy Christina.” Cloud had seen her before. The red-haired woman with twin tails had stood in line when he was recruiting new recruits. “Just call me Lucy. One eye’s gone blind, so I got dumped in this shithole place.” Her tone from the very first words was just as sharp as when she’d argued with the clerk back then. “I’m from the western Lotwar area. Age?” “Age? You have to say your age.” “Whatever.” “Twenty-two.” She kept talking in a bomb-like, terrifying atmosphere. “My specialty is dual-wielding. I don’t play any instruments, so don’t ask. This is enough, right?” Her face clearly said she didn’t want to say anything more. Cloud clapped his hands before she could get irritable. Clack-clack. “Good. Get in line.” Next came a boy. A small-framed boy with his head shaved. The wooden armor and helmet looked comically oversized on him. He also seemed mentally fragile, like a stray dog that had been abandoned. “I- I’m Thomas.” Thomas stood at attention, body stiff, face buried in the dirt and grime as he spoke. “I- I’m from this city and I’m fourteen years old.” “Wait. Fourteen? That’s too young, isn’t it? Did they really let you in?” Thomas looked up in surprise at Cloud’s casual words and nodded frantically. “Y-yes. They said there weren’t enough applicants…” “Yeah, yeah. You came at a young age.” Cloud waved for him to continue. Thomas spoke in a polite, hesitant voice. “M-my mother and I live alone. My mother is sick and always in bed, and I’ve been surviving on the money I’ve earned doing favors for neighbors. Then when I heard that the lord was going to hunt witches, I enlisted. They said if I kill a witch I’ll get huge treasure and can eat all the delicious food I want…” Cloud listened with a sympathetic face, recalling his own youth. After Thomas finished, Cloud patted his back encouragingly. “All the treasure from killing the witch is yours.” “R-really?!” “Yeah. So you have to definitely defeat the witch.” “Y-yes, sir!” Even though it was said lightly, Thomas’s eyes sparkled like a starving lion hunting prey. After Thomas came the next person. A wrinkled old man with only bones left on his leather-like skin, long white beard, and bald head. He wore wooden armor and a helmet that didn’t even sit right. Leaning on his cane, the old man shuffled out and suddenly froze when he saw Cloud. “Huh? Lucy, when did you turn into a guy?” “Grandpa, I’m right here.” Lucy, sitting in the front row, scowled and waved her hand with an annoyed voice. The old man nodded in relief. “Oh, I see. Over there. Over there.” Lucy told him, pointing at Cloud. “This old man’s name is Latinus. He used to teach magic at the royal academy.” “Oh, really?” “Then he got old and caught dementia, so this is what happened. When he’s lucid sometimes, he says he joined the army because his mother-in-law always scolded him and he wanted to do something.” She explained calmly and surprisingly. “If he was a famous professor, he must have earned a lot of money. Where did it all go?” “He donated all his life savings to the country, claiming he was helping poor people.” “So his mother-in-law hated him. And then he got dementia too…” “Huh?” Latinus, who had been quietly listening, suddenly jumped at Lucy and clung to her. “Grandma! I missed you so much! You came back!” “Grandpa! I’m Lucy! Lucy!” “No! When I touch your face, it’s definitely my grandma! It is my grandma!” The soldiers had to pull the clinging old man away from Lucy. After sending the confused old man back to his spot, the next soldier came out. Around his thirties, blond and beautiful hair swaying. He looked quite handsome. Cloud found himself envying his appearance. The armor he wore was also ornate, making him look like the most “leader-like” soldier in the group. “Leader-like?” Cloud blinked and stared at the man’s armor. It bore the Valua family crest and the shoulder strap showed a rank far above his own 100-man commander. “A 1000-man commander?!” Cloud’s eyes widened. The 1000-man commander was the highest rank after 500-man commander. The man puffed out his chest proudly. “Indeed. I am a 1000-man commander. My name is Leonald Cara di Valua.” “Valua? Like Lord Aaron’s Valua?” “Lord Aaron is my father.” “No way.” A thought flashed through Cloud’s mind. Silvia had said she had one crazy brother. Was this him? “Why is a 1000-man commander here? Don’t you have other places to go?” “I heard there was a new 100-man commander being assigned today, so I came to take a look.” “Even if that’s true, what if you mix in with the soldiers? You wouldn’t even be noticed.” “Blood ties and ranks don’t help anyone live life. Wherever I am, I exist as myself.” Leonald kept rambling nonsense, ignoring the conversation. “We must live without being bound by frameworks, doing what we want to do. Only by pursuing something valuable like me will you have no regrets later.” “What is this valuable thing?” “I’m currently obsessed with gathering materials for a flying ship.” “Flying ship? What’s that?” “The flying ship is the essence of overtechnology that lets humans fly in this era.” Leonald nodded happily. He seemed to feel immense pride. “The completion of the flying ship is my destiny, so I will do my best.” A flying ship in the sky… “What materials?” “I don’t know.” “What?” “I don’t know the materials for the flying ship either. That’s the most fatal part.” “You’re saying you’re making a flying ship but don’t know what’s needed? No blueprints?” “Blueprints? Hahaha, Cloud, don’t ask me for too much. The flying ship is the essence of overtechnology. No one dares to even sketch a blueprint. Because they don’t even know how it works.” He was completely babbling nonsense. Pointless chatter. No one could understand someone whose common sense didn’t apply. After just a few words, Cloud understood why Lord Aaron hadn’t sent him to the knight school. “Okay, then. Gather those materials and get in line.” “Understood. Keep up the hard work, Captain Cloud.” “Yeah.” Leonald didn’t go anywhere else; he sat among the soldiers and began proudly explaining the flying ship to the surrounding troops. It was confusing—whether he was a soldier or an officer. It felt like this place was his playground. Lord Aaron’s playground for keeping his crazy son. “Ha…” Cloud started feeling frustrated. Being a captain and commanding sixty soldiers sounded great, but in reality he had taken command of a ragtag unit. He craved promotion, yet his superiors treated him like a fool. He couldn’t become the man Silvia respected like this. Elena was pregnant now, and to untangle the complicated knot of Silvia and Elena, he needed to be promoted properly—but that clearly wasn’t happening. Cloud’s heart grew increasingly anxious. After Leonald sat down, the introductions of the remaining soldiers continued one by one. And finally, the last one. She was blind, walking slowly while groping the ground with her cane, eyes closed. Next to her, a middle-aged man with a neat mustache and tidy suit kept watching her with nervous eyes. Neither was armed like the other soldiers. The blind woman wore a soft purple dress and elegant noble accessories. “I am Yusne Avent. I am twenty-eight years old.”