Joining the War (2)
The bulk of a magic unit was made up of Magic Assistants. Full mages were almost always assigned as officers. Ellen had been appointed commander of a platoon composed entirely of Magic Assistants.
Think you can handle those hot-blooded brats? Mages are especially difficult for them, you know.
Proveng spoke just as they reached the barracks.
That depends on how I handle them, doesn't it? Managing Magic Assistants is something I'm confident about. If anything, they'll be an asset to me.
Quite the confidence. Even in my living days, reducing friction with them was one of my constant headaches.
With a structure like this, it'll never be solved.
Ellen said it thinking of his own past. The mere memory of the tyranny of mages like Leonard was enough to set his teeth on edge.
"You hear about the new mage coming in?"
The voices of Magic Assistants reached Ellen's ears.
"Seriously? Our last platoon leader bailed the moment someone died, and now another one's already being sent in?"
"Bound to be another greenhorn with zero combat experience, just like the last one."
"Ugh. And he'll look down on us like dirt on top of it."
Already looking less than easy.
Proveng had heard them as well. He worried whether his young disciple would be able to bring them under control.
Exactly what I expected.
The barracks door rattled open. Conversation cut off at once. Three men came into view as Ellen stepped inside.
"I'm that platoon commander."
"Y-yes… sir?"
One of the men choked as if something had gone down the wrong pipe. They might curse him behind his back, but he was still their direct superior—and a mage.
"Ahem. It's still mealtime, so not everyone is here yet."
He coughed a few times before managing to string the words together.
"I see. Then let me know once they've finished eating and returned."
"Yes, sir."
Ellen took the answer and went into his room.
"He heard us, didn't he?"
"His first line pretty much said he heard every word. What do we do? This is going to be a nightmare."
"Mages. Always the same—can't stand the lot of them."
"If we ever actually faced him, he'd be nothing."
The three lowered their voices further and kept muttering about Ellen. A short while later, a stir rose outside the barracks.
"Daz needs to set the tone. You know how it is with mages—if you don't pin them down from the start, you're finished."
"Quit the nonsense and show the new platoon commander proper respect."
The door opened. The men filing in were the members of the 3rd Platoon of the 5th Army's Magic Unit, back from their meal.
"Sir Daz, you've arrived."
Janette, the highest-ranking among those who had remained in the barracks, saluted him.
"Yeah. What's wrong with all of you? You look like your souls left your bodies."
"W-well, the new platoon commander is here. He's in his room right now."
Janette scratched the back of his head as he spoke.
"The platoon commander's already here? Janette. Don't tell me you were rude again."
Janette's inferiority complex toward mages ran particularly deep. He had been the one most openly displeased with their previous platoon commander as well.
"I didn't come out and say anything to his face. Just… unlucky timing."
Daz let out a sigh at that and stepped up to Ellen's door.
Knock, knock.
"Daz, adjutant of the 3rd Platoon."
"I'll come out."
The voice from inside made him tilt his head.
Younger than I expected.
The door creaked open. The platoon commander who emerged looked barely twenty.
"Ah. Everyone's finally here. I'm Remida—I've been assigned as commander of the 3rd Platoon."
The men's hostility showed at once in answer to Ellen's greeting. Someone in the back muttered that he was an arrogant little bastard. Whether the man meant to be heard or not, the words landed clearly in Ellen's ears.
I understand the feeling. I know how raw that word 'mage' still is for them.
The inferiority and resentment the word stirred in them ran deeper than most people could imagine. Magic Assistants lived their whole lives under the oppression and contempt of mages—and still spent those same lives striving to become the very mages who looked at them like insects. Again and again they were driven to their knees before the wall called talent.
Ellen had felt that same emotion countless times in his previous life. A few decent mages along the way were never enough to make it fade.
"I've heard you've already fought several small engagements with Gosen Empire troops, and that you took some fine victories. I also know those victories were thanks to your skill."
The men's expressions shifted, little by little. Those were not words that should have come from a mage platoon commander's mouth. Watching their faces, Ellen pressed on.
"It's an honor to take command of a unit this capable. I hope we can work well together from here on."
In the end, their reaction to the greeting was much the same as at the start. They had been briefly thrown off balance, but the rift in their chests was not something a few kind words could close.
Not much of a response.
Even so, this is more than enough for me.
He had never expected a single greeting to erase their hostility completely.
"Daz. Would you brief me on the 3rd Platoon's combat strength in my room?"
Ellen understood the capabilities of Magic Assistants better than anyone. Grasping their strength and designing a formation took priority over soothing their resentment.
"Yes, sir."
Daz harbored his own dislike of mages. But he was the adjutant, and the duty was his to fulfill. He answered promptly and followed Ellen inside.
Ellen offered Daz a seat and took his own.
"I'll begin the briefing, then. The 3rd Platoon currently consists of twenty Magic Assistants. Within the magic unit, we primarily handle reconnaissance."
Daz laid out the unit's strength without a hitch.
"I see. Do you also know each man's individual capability?"
"Yes. Of the current roster, fifteen are 3rd Circle users, and five—including myself—are 3rd Circle masters. Furthermore…"
The explanation continued. Daz's grasp of the unit was astonishingly complete.
A perfect adjutant.
Thanks to him, Ellen absorbed nearly everything he needed to know about the platoon. He already sensed he would be leaning on Daz a great deal going forward.
"Then when we take reconnaissance duty, it would be best to split Janette and these two others between the forward and rear screens. They have larger mana reserves, so they can cast more times in a day. Our warning net will be wider front and back than it's been until now."
"Yes, sir. That sounds like an excellent approach."
Daz was thoroughly impressed. The platoon commander in front of him had heard the briefing once and was already building tactics on the spot.
Even put together right here, it's clearly good tactics.
He was nothing like the platoon commanders Daz had known before.
In his previous life, Ellen had spent more than twenty years as a mercenary. Across countless dungeon expeditions he had studied to build efficient tactics, tearing through dozens of books on formation and strategy. He had done it to keep even a single party member alive. That any party he joined had an extremely high survival rate was only natural.
On top of that, the tactics he had studied were twenty years more advanced than anything in use now. To Daz's eyes, nothing of the sort should have been able to come out of a twenty-year-old greenhorn mage's head.
He feels like a man who's spent decades on the battlefield.
Ellen seemed to understand every word Daz said. It was impossible to think of him as a newly posted platoon commander.
"Thank you. That made putting a plan together far easier."
Daz felt a quiet pride at the courtesy.
This one is different from the other mages. Truly different.
Most of the hostility he had carried in at the start was already gone. The mages he usually dealt with—especially the fresh ones—had neither skill nor experience, yet ordered him around on nothing but rank. Prejudice against their kind was only natural. This platoon commander was not like them.
"Not at all. It was a briefing I owed a newly appointed commander. I look forward to working with you."
"The feeling is mutual."
A month had passed since Ellen took up his post with the unit.
In that time, the men's attitude had barely changed at all. Ellen paid it no mind. He knew better than most how slowly that kind of hostility died.
"Training again today? How does he never take a single day off?"
One of the men grumbled to Janette.
"Tell me about it. He's relentless. But look at him. How are we supposed to sit around with our guts hanging out when he's like that?"
"Yeah. Truly relentless. You think he's putting on a show for us?"
The men looked out at Ellen, already on the drill ground collecting mana.
"Well… it does actually help."
Janette sighed, then spread a mat on the drill ground and sat.
Every morning they gathered there for mana collection. From the day after taking command, Ellen had taught them the Hameron Breathing Method.
Mages were no exception, but for Magic Assistants in particular, mana capacity was the one thing they chronically lacked. Their gathering power was weak, so they could never stockpile much mana in ordinary life—and their affinity wasn't strong enough to use what they had efficiently either.
For men like that, the Hameron Breathing Method had been a whole new world. The amount of mana they could gather had jumped far beyond what it used to be, and with it, the number of times they could cast in a day.
"That mage… he's got some real ability, doesn't he?"
"First one here, last one still sitting."
"He's different from the ones we've had before. At least in that."
A few of the men, worn out from the breathing method, watched Ellen. He had been sitting in the same posture for hours. They shook their heads.
Tactical drills followed immediately after. Ellen designed formations and tactics tailored to each man and drilled them accordingly.
"Gale, how many times do I have to tell you that is not your position? Fall back from there!"
During those drills, Ellen shouted himself hoarse. At first the men struggled hard with the unfamiliar formations. Midway through, some even tried to slip away, claiming they were done with training.
"Hey. Quit slacking and get into position."
Whenever that happened, Daz stepped in. He had already completely revised his opinion of Ellen, and what Daz said carried absolute weight among the Magic Assistants.
"Thank you. Because of you, we can actually run the drills properly."
"Not at all. I'm learning tactics from you as well, sir."
Just then a messenger came tearing onto the training ground.
"Platoon Commander! Adjutant Daz! Word from headquarters—we're deploying!"
The Magic Assistants mid-drill stopped where they stood. Tension settled over the entire field.
"Give me the details."
The messenger caught his breath and went on.
"This evening, all platoon commanders and adjutants are to assemble at headquarters. Viscount Jett will explain the particulars then."
"Understood."
And with that, Ellen found himself thinking of his first battle.