Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Faith Division's Way
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Loan was startled and rushed over to the Commander.
He had only intended to graze and shatter the outer wall of the mana shield surrounding the Commander, but he never imagined the Commander would press his face against the stream of water in that brief moment.
"Are you all right?"
"Insubordination!"
"Pardon?"
"Just kidding."
As the mist completely cleared, Adrian picked up his glasses from the ground, stared intently at the lenses, and continued.
"It's been a long time since my shield was broken."
"So why did you..."
He meant to ask why he had pressed himself against it.
He had seen it in the flow of mana. He had done it on purpose.
"I was curious. Something was flying at me, and it just didn't feel like water."
Did he mean he'd stuck his face out to see it head-on?
He knew his superior was a bit unusual, but he hadn't realized his curiosity was this intense.
Moreover, it was a jet of water fired at ultra-high pressure in an instant, infused with an immense amount of magic.
He had thought it would be impossible even to see, let alone react to.
*‘The practice was good, but reaffirming that the Commander is a monster is an even greater gain.’*
Loan placed a fist on his chest, expressing both his apology and respect to the Commander.
"It's fine, it's fine. I let it happen on purpose. And hey, I didn't get wet, did I? Let's be clear about that."
"..."
"So, is that it?"
The magic he had received from Aul was completely gone.
Magic always corresponded fairly, one-to-one with power.
"Overwhelming power and delicate control. I tried to satisfy both. How was it?"
"Yeah. I think that was enough. It was a truly terrifying moment."
"It was only possible because you were here with me, Commander."
Loan expressed his gratitude once more.
Then he asked if he could take the remaining two priest heads.
Adrian nodded without hesitation, then belatedly tilted his head.
"People will look at you funny if you carry those around. Why not have Aul eat them and store the magic?"
"Ah..."
Thanks to his experience of dragging a priest's head and a ghoul's tongue through the air, he hadn't given a single thought to how others might see him.
Perhaps that was why.
The Commander had enlightened him on something he hadn't considered.
Loan summoned Aul, who had disappeared after burping.
"Aul!"
Aul, as if having overheard the conversation with the Commander, immediately replied that it was possible.
It was a great relief.
He wouldn't have to carry the heads around every time.
Loan sat patiently beside the Commander, waiting until Aul had eaten both heads and burped twice.
A moment later, the Commander tapped Loan's shoulder and stood up first.
He looked at his punctured glasses with an amused expression.
Back in his quarters, Loan reviewed his training.
He mentally simulated transforming the shape of the magic mass, re-evaluating its attack power and efficiency.
He further expanded his hypotheses to masses of magic with different properties.
To be able to immediately apply magic suited to any situation—fire, earth, wind, or anything else—he needed to solidify the images in his mind beforehand.
Loan did so at once, becoming deeply engrossed.
It put a considerable strain on his body, but he continued to train right at the edge of his limits.
His heart fluttered with excitement; he couldn't possibly stop.
It was as if he had finally received a toy he had desperately wanted since childhood.
* * *
The next day, Loan happened to cross paths with Crown Prince Denian.
As Loan bowed his head, a blunt remark followed.
"I heard you're going to Sion. Make sure your pathetic skills don't tarnish the Union's name."
He met his gaze directly, listened to his words, and gave a slight tilt of his head.
For a moment, one of the crown prince's eyebrows shot up.
"What's with that insolent tilt of your head?"
Taking it as an invitation to ask a question, he inquired.
"Are you perhaps offering to teach me another lesson?"
"What nonsense are you spouting... I'm telling you to strive for improvement."
"Is that so? My apologies."
The prince also knew that saying more would only be a loss for him.
Watching the prince turn and walk away, Loan thought that he was acting, both then and now.
*‘It’s like he decides on an attitude first and then displays emotions to match it.’*
He had offered some unexpected words of encouragement, but the man himself hadn't changed at all. His eyes and his mana said as much.
Perhaps his disposition was just that rotten, or perhaps his illness ran that deep.
Loan felt a sense of pity for him.
And on the other hand.
*‘The Union. Now that I’m actually in it, something feels… off.’*
Theory and practice can never be a perfect match.
He hadn't expected the Union he learned about to be identical to the one he was experiencing, but there seemed to be a clear, fundamental difference.
*‘The world isn’t entirely friendly toward the Union.’*
Even the royal family, who should have been a clear ally, was like that.
From what he had experienced coming and going, only the powerless common people were kind to the Union.
Those with power, those who could throw a punch, those who could swing a sword or possessed strange talents—they were all wary of the Union.
So the conclusion was.
*‘I have no choice but to get stronger. I have to bind the Union together more tightly.’*
It was the only one he could reach.
That was the minimum requirement for overcoming the apocalypse five years from now.
Fortunately, Loan's thoughts didn't seem to differ from those of his seniors in the Faith Division.
When he returned to the Faith Division after his rest, a mountain of things he needed to learn awaited him.
It felt as if Crown Prince Denian's words had become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
A similar training regimen was handed down not only to Loan, but to Lucas as well.
"Do we have to learn all of this?"
Lucas asked with a tearful face, unfolding the document.
—Encryption techniques and decryption, interpreting suggestions, understanding signal systems, surveillance and observation skills, information gathering methods and tools, disguise and camouflage, tracking techniques and routes, stealth and concealment, developing insight and improving intuition, crisis response methods, emergency escape, covert communication techniques, geographical information gathering and navigation...
And so on, a long list of things to learn was written down.
For Lucas, who had always shunned studying, the shock was even greater.
Sienna, who was in charge of training the newcomers, spoke.
"That's the basics. Engrave it in your mind and master it with your body."
Loan nodded, thinking it was only natural.
The Faith Division specialized in intelligence and reconnaissance, operating on the front lines.
Everything he had observed in Sienna during the last mission and felt was necessary was included in the document.
Lucas asked Sienna.
"Do we have to master all this just to leave Oz?"
"You figured that much out, surprisingly. It's a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one."
"What else is there?"
"Look at the back. It lists the combat techniques the Faith Division must learn."
"What?"
Loan and Lucas simultaneously looked at the back of the page.
Contrary to what Sienna had said, there was nothing of the sort.
There were no secret arts or ultimate techniques, nor was there an itemized overview of skills to be learned.
There were only lines of text, like aphorisms.
[A Faith Division battle doesn't need to be beautiful.]
[Pettiness is not something to be ashamed of.]
[On the border between life and death, trivial values are unnecessary.]
[Those who insist only on secret arts and ultimate techniques usually die young.]
[If necessary, abandon your sword and pick up a stone.]
[The Faith Division does not discriminate by situation, weapon, or opponent.]
[Conviction doesn't come from a decision, but from one's usual attitude.]
[There are no variables. Combat is, by nature, always improvisational.]
[If your gut tells you to, then strike first.]
[In the Faith Division, you are me, and I am you. First and foremost, I must survive.]
[...]
And so on.
They all seemed to be words focused solely on survival and victory.
"Hmm..."
The more he mulled over each sentence, the more the images of his seniors on the battlefield came to mind, connecting with each phrase.
He was filled with admiration and came to a natural understanding.
The enigmatic words were packed with profound principles.
*‘So it’s possible to convey so much in such a short time.’*
Is this the domain of adults, the world of the strong?
The moment they joined the Faith Division, they were already acknowledged for their outstanding qualities, yet each had different swordsmanship, skills, secret arts, and ultimate techniques.
What bound them together was not a set of common combat techniques they had to learn.
A clear understanding of where to place their values and what to strive for was enough.
*‘If I can fully internalize this...’*
Even without ever having fought alongside them, he could trust his comrades and engage in battle without reservation.
Of course, certain minimum skills would be needed to make this possible.
Fortunately, Loan had already learned the fundamentals through his last mission.
Had this been arranged in advance for this very purpose?
*‘They don’t show it on the surface, but everyone is very considerate.’*
Loan was newly impressed and grateful, but in truth, his seniors had no idea his growth would be this fast.
Normally, in cases like this, it was considered fortunate if the newcomer simply grasped the necessity and direction.
The goal of the rookie training was to awaken their motivation through real combat and have them correct their course by studying the aphorisms.
"What does any of this even mean?"
As expected, Loan was a fast learner.
Lucas, on the other hand, repeatedly read the aphorisms with a deep frown, occasionally grumbling about whether any of it made sense.
Sienna said.
"You'll have to learn these gradually through missions, but Loan, you might be going on a long journey soon, so it would be best to hurry and get in sync with the seniors."
"Understood."
Loan replied in a resolute voice.
His voice seemed more forceful than usual, so Sienna asked.
"Feeling the pressure?"
"Not at all, Senior."
He didn't feel pressured at all.
On the contrary, he felt good, as if he were gradually being acknowledged as a true member.
As was to be expected, Lucas chimed in.
"Huh? What about me? Am I not going with him?"
His voice was so loud that even the Commander, Vice Commander, and other seniors, who were some distance away, turned their heads.
The Vice Commander shouted.
"You can barely take care of yourself, and you want to go out there?!"
The contrast between Loan's smile and Lucas's crestfallen expression made the seniors laugh.
Loan and Lucas spent their days studying and training.
Various theories and pieces of knowledge tormented Lucas.
As the Faith Division specialized in intelligence, reconnaissance, vanguard, disruption, and front-line combat, there was an immense amount to learn.
Loan offered words of comfort to the struggling Lucas.
"It's probably because you don't have a solid foundation. If you had just diligently completed the five-year school curriculum, it would have been enough. Ah, no, that's right. You were there for seven years..."
"..."
"Well, it's fine. I think it's more that you *didn't* do it, not that you *couldn't*. Of course, your insight, interpretation, comprehension, observation, concentration, analysis, reasoning, and critical thinking skills are all lacking, but you've got grit above all else."
"..."
"You just have to keep at it until you get it, what's the worry? You did graduate from school in the end, after all."
Lucas tried to make up for Loan's teasing during physical training, but that didn't go easily either.
For one, the seniors didn't leave the two of them alone.
The training was, quite literally, a series of improvisational situations designed with the battlefield in mind.
Scenarios where they were tailed while tracking, fell into traps, or watched helplessly as enemy reinforcements arrived were set up like real combat. It was a process of rolling and struggling through them, engraving the aphorisms into their bodies and minds.
In fact, since there was no time to use powerful magic, it was more advantageous for Loan.
And so, the two of them gradually blended into the Faith Division.
Loan looked back on how he was growing stronger and felt very satisfied.
Becoming stronger was just as important as accumulating merits through missions.
That, too, was a condition for promotion.
Of course, it would be even better if he could do both at once.
A few days later, Sienna called for Loan.
"The crown prince has returned to the royal palace. It seems the reason was that he personally requested guidance from the Governor-General and was refused."
"The Governor-General can refuse the crown prince's request? Then what about the matter concerning me... by any chance..."
As Loan trailed off, Sienna gave his shoulder a light push.
"Her word is never broken. She's calling for you now, so you should go."