Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The First Task
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I’m afraid.
Of new people coming in.
Of giving them my affection and growing close.
—Ah… Ah… Noooooooooo!
The first death of a comrade since I joined the Neokalitz Unit.
It was for a trivial reason.
If I had to pick one, was it carelessness?
We were clearing out a goblin swarm.
A starving pack of them had come all the way to the forest's entrance.
They were among the lowest-ranking monsters to come out of the Bronserian Forest.
But unlike the serious senior soldiers, the new guys' faces were full of confidence.
Of course.
We were just going to hunt some goblins.
But that's always when things go wrong.
One of the new recruits was hit by a poison dart shot by a goblin.
And from a goblin we thought we'd already killed.
To make matters worse, he was unlucky enough to be hit in the eyeball, making treatment impossible.
The poison spread inside his eye, and it became uncontrollable.
After that, new recruits still came in from time to time.
Dianal remembered that day and trained them.
Never let your guard down in the forest.
Even if you meet a worm, make sure to cut its lifeline.
“…Idiots.”
Dianal cursed, recalling the recruits who had died.
Especially the cocky ones.
I told them not to be careless.
To always watch their backs, to be mindful of every single step.
But they only paid lip service and never put it into practice.
Most of them were like that, and they all died.
After about a year, Dianal no longer advised the new recruits.
He didn't care.
They were just guys who would die again in time anyway.
“Hah…”
But why?
‘…What was that?’
That young brat.
The way he looked at me was strange.
Actually, it wasn't a strange look.
How should I put it?
‘It felt like he knew me.’
Though it was a strange feeling I couldn't put into words.
‘Forget it. No point dwelling on it.’
He decided not to think about it.
Dianal soon took his combat boots and went to the military store in front of the unit's base.
“I'm here.”
“Welcome.”
It was the only military store in Erkal that the Neokalitz Unit could visit.
This was because the store owner, Mr. Osman, had a terrible personality.
—Any of you slackers just looking to kill time, don't you dare come near my shop!
The memory of him yelling that at the Erkal garrison was still vivid.
Dianal held up the combat boots he'd brought.
“I need the soles replaced.”
“Again? Isn't it time to replace the boots, not just the soles?”
“Haha, I have other places to spend my money.”
“Tsk tsk, you're not turning into one of your seniors, are you? Save your salary and invest in your gear. That's the way to live even one day longer.”
He was talking about the senior soldiers who frequented the pleasure quarters.
Not knowing when they might die, they spent a good deal of money on drinks and women.
“I don't have the money to go anyway.”
In reality, Dianal sent most of his salary home.
Osman knew this, so he chuckled and said,
“I'll replace them with sturdy ones. When these wear out too, I'll just give you a new pair of boots next time.”
“For free?”
“Heh heh, you young punk… Yes, I'll give them to you for free!”
It was his roundabout way of telling him to survive until these soles were completely worn out.
Dianal let out a low laugh.
“Hehehe, thank you. I'll have to work harder.”
“Don't just work hard, do it well.”
Osman quickly tore off the old soles and began repairing the boots with deft movements.
Finally, with the repairs finished, Osman handed the boots to Dianal and asked,
“By the way, I saw some clueless-looking guys in front of the base earlier. New recruits?”
“You saw them?”
Dianal's expression hardened.
Knowing what that meant, Osman clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. They looked so incompetent I thought they were new recruits for the garrison… I guess they're your juniors.”
“…I'll come again next time.”
Dianal gave a slight nod and went outside.
Juniors.
Damn it.
Recalling the unpleasant memories, Dianal bit his lip and returned to the base.
They probably didn't even listen to the order to clean up.
Most of them would argue, asking why they had to clean as soon as they arrived.
‘First, I need to break their spirit.’
Motivation, confidence, pride.
That kind of crap isn't needed here.
If anything, it just shortens your lifespan.
It's better to crush them completely so they whimper and don't dare disobey their seniors.
That was the method Dianal had chosen.
But when Dianal returned to the barracks.
“…What is this?”
As Dianal flinched and muttered.
“…We were surprised too.”
“Hey, junior, just how hard did you ride the new kids?”
The senior soldiers inside the barracks asked, looking at Dianal.
The mold on the walls and the grime caked onto the floor.
Looking at the interior, which shone like a brand-new barracks except for a few spots yellowed by the passage of time, Dianal swallowed hard.
And.
“Ah, you're back, Private First Class Dianal?”
The young recruit said, holding a bucket full of dirty water.
* * *
“Kyle.”
“What?”
“Wipe.”
“…?”
Demian had suddenly gone somewhere and returned with a cleaning rag.
Kyle took the rag from Demian, frowning.
“Did we come here to clean?”
“This is our job too. No more talking, wipe from there to here. I'll take that side.”
Demian, looking somewhat pleased, began wiping the wall with the rag.
He dipped the rag in the bucket he'd brought and started scrubbing the wall diligently.
Seeing this, Kyle sighed.
“Damn it, cleaning as soon as we get here.”
He'd come expecting fierce battles, not to be cleaning.
But he couldn't just stand by while the other guy was doing it himself.
Though annoyed, Kyle started wiping the area Demian had pointed out.
“Hey, scrub harder!”
“I get it!”
As if he knew where to find all the cleaning supplies, Demian brought a mop and a scraper at just the right time.
The old stains on the floor.
Demian completely eradicated the mold stains from the humidity and even the dust in the corners of the ceiling.
It was enough to make Kyle wonder if Demian's parents owned a cleaning company.
But.
“Hah… Hah… Hah…”
Was cleaning always this hard?
At some point, his whole body ached, and sweat poured down like rain.
He even had to wipe away the sweat that dripped while he was wiping the floor.
“De-Demian. Isn't this enough?”
It's clean enough.
But Demian shook his head.
“Can you lick the spot you just wiped?”
“What kind of crazy talk is that?”
“Wipe it until you can. There are still water stains. Finish it with a dry cloth.”
“You psycho! At this rate, we should just quit and start a cleaning company!”
Kyle shouted.
He thought this was going too far.
But Demian looked at Kyle with a serious expression and said,
“Kyle, this is the first mission we've received since joining this unit.”
“How is this measly cleaning a mis—”
Kyle grumbled.
But Demian cut him off and said,
“I don't want to do this first mission half-heartedly. Perfectly, so anyone can see. That's what's important. If you're going to do a sloppy job, it's better not to do it at all.”
“…”
Kyle wanted to ask what kind of bullshit he was spouting.
But he couldn't say it.
Demian's expression was just too serious.
‘…Perfection.’
And he found himself reconsidering the meaning of the perfection Demian spoke of.
‘Shit, fine. Since we've come this far…’
“Alright, I'll do it.”
At Kyle's words, Demian grinned.
* * *
It seemed to sparkle.
Every member of the Neokalitz Unit who entered the barracks couldn't hide their surprise.
“Hey, how hard did you push the new guys to get them to do this?”
“Ah, no. I didn't really…”
All I did was tell them to clean.
Dianal looked at Demian with a bewildered expression.
There was no sign of intimidation.
Instead, the kid approached him with a relaxed smile.
“We have completed the order to clean. Would you like to check if anything is lacking?”
“Uh…”
How could anything be lacking?
If anything, it was more than excessive.
Dianal was tongue-tied.
‘This brat… what is he?’
What was he thinking, doing all this?
Usually, they either didn't clean, or if they did, they just went through the motions.
Every single one who'd come before had been like that.
So what was this situation?
‘…Is this some kind of intelligent defiance?’
Dianal looked at them.
Both of them were shirtless, their torsos drenched in sweat.
Just looking at the dripping sweat, you could tell how enthusiastically they'd worked.
At cleaning.
“You, you brat…”
Dianal couldn't hide his bewilderment.
He was at a loss for words.
Are you defying me?
But he couldn't say that, because all they had done was clean thoroughly.
But then.
“Kekekekekekekek.”
Tarone, who had been watching the situation, let out a low laugh.
At the sight, the unit members' eyes wavered slightly.
‘The captain is laughing?’
‘That stone-faced man?’
The unit members looked at Tarone with expressions as surprised as when they'd first seen the clean barracks.
It was only natural, as Tarone's expression was usually emotionless.
Like a man who had forgotten how to laugh.
Perhaps because Tarone always wore a dry expression, the other unit members' expressions were similar.
As if they were just grimly enduring a depressing situation.
And despite the stares of his men, Tarone paid them no mind and spoke to Demian and Kyle.
“You two new recruits, come here.”
At Tarone's words, Demian walked before him without hesitation.
When the two stood in front of him, Tarone asked.
“Did you two do this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why did you clean so thoroughly?”
“It was Private First Class Dianal's order.”
Demian answered.
When no further explanation followed, Tarone looked perplexed.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, sir.”
It was an order from a senior.
So we simply cleaned it thoroughly.
At the lack of further words, Tarone pressed his lips together and looked at Demian and Kyle.
It was a perfect situation to show off.
Or they could have used it as leverage to ask for special favors.
But.
“…”
Tarone looked at Demian and Kyle.
The big one seemed a bit uncomfortable with the atmosphere and swallowed dryly.
And the young one…
‘I can't read him.’
Usually, you can gauge a man's depth just by looking at him.
Especially for someone like Tarone, who had rolled around on battlefields of life and death for a long time.
The big one's physique is quite impressive.
So much so that it's hard to believe he's a new recruit.
With a little polishing, he could be sent into actual combat right away.
But as for this Demian fellow, he couldn't get a sense of his depth at all.
—This guy graduated first in his class at the training center.
Suddenly, he recalled what Kyle had said.
‘There's a reason, then.’
He didn't know what it was.
But it meant the kid had something he didn't know about.
Moreover, he volunteered.
Among those who enlisted in the Baroque Kingdom's army, few wouldn't know of the Neokalitz Unit.
It's impossible to volunteer without knowing.
‘And yet he came of his own free will?’
Unpredictable guys.
Pfft.
A laugh escaped him.
He tried to hold it back, but he couldn't suppress the laugh that broke through his lips.
Slowly.
Tarone rose from his seat. Then he placed a hand on Demian's and Kyle's shoulders.
He turned them around.
“Everyone, listen up.”
Tarone said, having turned Demian and Kyle to face the other unit members.
“Starting today, they're our new kids. Make them feel welcome.”