Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Gifts and the Selection Process
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The vacation, which had felt so long, ended in the blink of an eye.
Having nearly finished his business in Velotra, Lian entrusted the aftermath to Adelson.
There was nothing left for Lian to do in the current situation anyway.
Clack, clack.
With his tasks completed, his heart felt light as he returned to the unit. And besides,
“I hope the guys like it.”
Lian muttered softly, glancing at the large crate loaded onto the carriage.
Before long, the carriage arrived in Kurtein, where Lian’s unit was stationed.
“Vice-Unit Commander!”
“You’re back?”
As Lian returned to the unit, the members who had already come back welcomed him.
Lian looked at the newly built barracks.
“So this is our new home now?”
“You’ll be living outside the barracks, Vice-Unit Commander. Ugh… I’m jealous.”
“But if you get bored, feel free to drop by anytime, heh heh.”
Lian chuckled at Brandt’s words.
“Cut the nonsense. I’ll be spending most of the day here anyway. Coming and going might end up being more of a hassle.”
“More importantly, what’s that?”
“It doesn’t… look ordinary, does it?”
Kyle’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the large crate Lian had brought.
It seemed like a gift, but he couldn’t guess what it was.
Lian glanced at the crate on the ground and grinned.
“Open it up. It’s a gift for you all.”
He added that he’d nearly died carrying it, but they were already ignoring him.
Their attention was solely on the crate.
“Uwah!”
“Uoo-!”
When they opened it, the unit members’ eyes went wide.
Arthur in particular couldn’t hide his shocked expression and let out a cheer.
“Is this really for us?”
“Yeah, I even had your names engraved, so check them out and take yours.”
“Ooo! This shield has to be mine, right?”
“Swords, spears… this is no joke.”
“…The difference from standard issue is huge. Can we really use these?”
Brandt picked up the sword with his name engraved and asked Lian.
Lian nodded.
“Do you all like them?”
“We love them, Vice-Unit Commander. Thank you.”
“Wow… thank you, Vice-Unit Commander.”
Especially Isaac, who received two swords, looked truly delighted.
It was no wonder—his fighting style relied on ‘speed.’
The standard-issue swords were all uniform long swords, making them hard for him to wield effectively.
But he had asked Walter to use lightweight metal and make the blade half as wide as a standard long sword.
“Feels a bit unfamiliar, huh?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. But… I love it, Vice-Unit Commander.”
“They say in some place across the sea called the East, they use swords like this.”
“The East?”
“I don’t know exactly where it is, but anyway, it’s closer to a blade form with an edge on one side for slashing, unlike the swords we mainly use. I hope you make good use of it.”
“…Thank you.”
Isaac bowed his head to Lian in gratitude.
Lian explained the weapon he’d brought to each member one by one.
Smiles never left their faces—they all seemed satisfied.
At that moment, someone entered the barracks and called for Lian.
“Vice-Unit Commander Lian, the Company Commander is calling for you.”
“Be right there.”
Lian followed the soldier straight to Raymond’s office.
He was getting quite familiar with the place now.
As Lian entered, Raymond smiled and offered him a seat.
“How was your vacation?”
“Great, thank you.”
“Heh heh, and here you are already looking busy.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“You will be from now on.”
Raymond grinned and handed Lian a single sheet of paper.
Lian tilted his head curiously as he looked at it.
“What’s this?”
“Paperwork regarding soldiers for the Arrowhead Unit.”
“Ah….”
Lian nodded at his words.
It detailed how to fill the unit’s ranks, which had suddenly expanded from ten to a hundred men.
Typically, the parent unit would provide the necessary soldiers.
It was the fastest way and most convenient for the unit commander.
The other method was to directly select soldiers who wished to join the unit.
It had the advantage of seeing potential members in person, but selecting for larger numbers consumed enormous time and effort.
That was why most commanders just took whoever was assigned.
Soldier quality didn’t vary much anyway.
“I’d prefer to select mainly from applicants, even if it takes longer. If there aren’t enough, no choice.”
Heh.
Raymond chuckled, as if he’d expected that answer.
Lian was unique.
He had the youthful spirit of a boy yet the seasoned cunning of a veteran commander.
Even now.
Most would just accept the assigned soldiers.
But this 14-year-old commander wanted to pick his own.
He wanted to respect the kid’s opinion. Though one concern lingered….
Rustle.
Raymond stood and brought over a large box.
It was filled with palm-sized sheets of paper.
“Applications to join the Arrowhead Unit.”
“Huh?”
Lian’s eyes widened.
There were easily over a hundred sheets.
Raymond explained.
“Quite a few from Eagle Company expressed interest in transferring. Around thirty, give or take.”
“Ah… What do you plan to do, Company Commander?”
“I don’t mind. They’re all valuable soldiers, but after talking to them, they were quite impressed by your exploits.”
From discovering the barbarian ambush in Pellon Gorge, to facing enemy commanders. Then the bold crossing of the Isis River and the decisiveness, plus the Battle of Saleron—all in such a short time. Lian’s feats were extraordinary.
It seemed to have ignited a fire in the young soldiers’ hearts.
“They were all earnest and eager to work hard.”
“If you vouch for them, Company Commander, I’ll take every applicant from Eagle Company. Nothing’s more reliable than your endorsement.”
“Kekeke, suddenly my shoulders feel heavy? Guess I’ll have to review them again.”
“No need.”
Lian and Raymond burst into laughter together. Soon, Lian glanced at the applications in the box.
Raymond asked,
“And the rest? All applicants?”
“Not sure yet. But I’ll keep some reserves just in case.”
“You’ve got something in mind, huh.”
“…Yes.”
Lian nodded.
Truth be told, forming a unit with an archery squad was one of his goals.
‘Gotta take it one step at a time.’
Building a 100-man unit was laying the foundation for his grand plan.
He had to approach it carefully and cautiously.
“Then I’ll set up the schedule.”
“Sooner the better.”
“Heh heh, you’ll be busy for a while. Good luck.”
“Thank you always for your care and consideration, Company Commander.”
It was sincere.
Becoming a 100-Man Commander so quickly was only possible because of Raymond.
He hadn’t stolen Lian’s credit—instead, he’d actively reported it upward and supported him.
At Lian’s words, Raymond patted his shoulder.
“This is all thanks to your hard work.”
With that, Lian returned to the barracks with the applications Raymond had given him.
‘So many applications….’
But he quickly understood why so many had flooded into the Arrowhead Unit.
“…What is this?”
“Vice-Unit Commander, this… feels off, doesn’t it?”
As the unit members reviewed the applications together, they frowned at the stated motivations.
If it was this blatant on paper, things could be even worse in person.
Heh.
But Lian couldn’t hold back his laugh.
One corner of his mouth lifted high as he looked at his annoyed members and said,
“What, pissed off?”
“More annoyed than pissed, really?”
“I’d love to grab these bastards and give them a proper thrashing.”
The intentions blatantly revealed in the applications.
They were looking down on the Arrowhead Unit. Or more precisely….
‘Age is the issue.’
Lian was only 14, yet commanding a 100-man unit.
To those who didn’t know him, it must look like he’d lucked into the position.
They probably wanted to join and manipulate things to their liking.
“…Idiots everywhere.”
“Yeah.”
It was true Lian’s age was young compared to his achievements.
But if you thought differently: a ‘commoner’-born ‘14-year-old’ boy had become a 100-Man Commander.
Shouldn’t that mean something special?
“You’ll see when you meet them. But….”
Glance.
Lian looked at Isaac.
Isaac, reviewing an application, tilted his head at Lian’s gaze.
“What is it?”
“Isaac, know what position most of these applicants in the papers are gunning for?”
“…Vice-Unit Commander, right.”
“Yeah.”
They couldn’t become Unit Commander anyway.
So they aimed for Vice-Unit Commander to control the actual commander, Lian.
“You can hold your spot, right?”
“Just leave it to me.”
There was no hesitation in Isaac’s eyes.
No, it was more like burning fighting spirit—fitting for him.
Seeing that, Lian stood up.
“Alright, let’s drop the applications. We’ll know these thunderheads when we meet them anyway.”
He rolled his shoulders lightly and said to the unit members,
“Long time no training.”
“Huh?”
“I thought we were taking it easy today?”
“When do we ever skip training? Everyone, fall in.”
That day, the Arrowhead Unit members’ groans and screams echoed until late evening.
* * *
Thanks to Raymond arranging it, things proceeded smoothly.
Lian decided to select applicants at the training ground within Eagle Company.
He couldn’t ignore the soldiers’ combat abilities, after all.
‘And their intentions are clear.’
There were over a hundred applicants, but he planned to limit selections to about sixty.
Around thirty from Eagle Company transferring over.
The remaining twenty or so, he wanted to form a support team skilled with bows if possible.
‘Right now, archery support teams are rare, but in ten years, they’ll be essential.’
Lian stood and headed to the training ground.
His unit members would have everything prepared by now.
He arrived at the training ground.
Applicants were already gathered outside, and as Lian appeared, they began murmuring.
He could guess what they were saying without hearing.
“You’re here?”
“Lots of them, huh?”
“Not sure how many we’ll take from this bunch….”
With so many impure motives, worry crept in.
Lian patted Kyle’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry like that—you’re too big for it.”
Lian smiled leisurely and entered the training ground.
There was a prepared table and chairs, with Brandt standing beside them.
“Vice-Unit Commander, this way.”
“Gonna take a while, huh?”
“Yeah, there’s… way too many people? Is this how units are normally formed?”
Brandt seemed a bit flustered by the unexpectedly large number of applicants.
Lian chuckled softly at his reaction.
“Not the usual way. It’s a hassle. But it happens sometimes—some units do direct interviews like this.”
Come to think of it, in his past life, the Devil Knights had formed their unit this way.
When they were a 500-man unit, they’d crushed double their number and become hugely famous in the kingdom.
Later, they grew to three thousand as a single unit, with over ten aura-wielding knights— one of the strongest.
“Checking all these in one day is impossible. We’ll have to split them up.”
“So we’ll send some away. Even at fifty a day, it’ll take 2-3 days.”
“Let’s do our best.”
At Lian’s words, Brandt nodded with resolve.