#39 Other Circumstances: A soldier’s circumstance

I had raised my sword to protect but had failed.

I had become a soldier to protect my family and lover when I was young because the enemies were coming.

However, they had died. The enemy troops had avoided where we had hidden to massacre the entire village. Only corpses remained.

It was then we pledged to kill our enemies. We had become stronger, but there was a cost.

One by one, we died, and those still alive kept the promise alive.

When I returned to my senses, the revenge was over, and no one was by my side.

I was the only one alive and had no will to live.

I began to fight, looking for a place to die. Berserker Bekella was born this way. I was weary, but I fought on the battlefield because I was still breathing. Even when I nearly lost a limb, I did not feel pain. The physical pain had been nothing compared to my mental agony, but now..!

“Ah..”

I could only say that I was in pain. What had hit me?!

“Ahhhh!”

“No..”

Screams came up everywhere, and I nearly fell down when I tried to stand up. It seemed I had lost strength in my body.

“Don’t kill me!”

“You won’t die.”

“Is that..”

The knight from the palace was beating soldiers up, and I saw at least thirty on the ground. Not one lasted three hits.

“What is that?”

It seemed that he was hitting people with a wooden bat. It seemed ordinary, but everyone was screaming like it was made of fire.

“Next is..”

Our eyes met, and I could not suppress a shudder. It had been too long since I had felt fear. I now remembered my first days as a soldier, and that memory affected me severely.

“It’s only three hits.”

I knew I could not win. My body tried to run for survival, which I had not done for twenty-five years. However, I could not.

“I was hit!”

I suddenly found myself raising my hand and shouting.

“You did?”

‘Yes, I was the first.”

The knight nodded.

“I recognize your scary face..you were the first.”

“I am!”

“You’re quite something to stand up already.”

I felt sweat pour down my back. I knew what that smile meant. He was going to repeat his performance!

“I’ll look forward to seeing you.”

“Ah..”

I pledged to follow the rules in the future.

#40 Other circumstances: Rea’s circumstance

“At ease.”

“At ease!”

All troops halted at my command.

“Rest for twenty minutes.”

“Rest!”

Everyone lowered their weapons and removed their helmets. They spread out everywhere on the ground, and I let them be. They were all elites who had done their training perfectly. Giving them rest was not a bad idea. I could allow this because they knew how to regulate themselves.

“To think of..”

I had to admit that Ast had a tough job controlling his soldiers.

“Her majesty had been too much.”

She had given Ast soldiers that had caused problems, and I was still uncertain whether the men I had seen were really empire soldiers. I had thought Ast had hired thugs as camouflage and had asked her majesty for confirmation. She had said yes, but I still remained undecided.

“Get ready!”

The troops got into formation in an instant, and I was certain I would win this time. I had trained elites with my family’s training, and I could say I had not done a bad job.

Therefore, I was really curious now.

“What have you done?”

I could not keep my mouth closed. I had come without thinking too much, as the three months her majesty had given us was nearly over. I had gone to observe how Sir Ast was doing. However..

“Count!”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

I saw soldiers moving as one.

“Sir Rea, you’re drooling.”

“Ah!”

I closed my mouth on Sir Ast’s words and wiped my lips.

“You don’t have a handkerchief?”

“It’s all right..”

“I’m not.”

“Thank you..”

I used it and thought Sir Ast was not such a bad..

“If you touch me with those hands, your drool would be on me. That’s unclean.”

I felt my face go red.

“Do you have to say such things?”

“This is why you’re still solo.”

“Agh!”

I did not have a comeback.

“I had one..”

I had someone I may have married if he had not died in an accident.

“I apologize.”

“Be careful if you really are.”

It seemed Sir Ast thought he had gone too far.

“Sir Rea..”

Sir Ast tried to console me, and I must have looked blue.

“You will meet a better person.. maybe.”

“Why do you end in such a way?!”

I was angry, but the sergeant’s orders had my attention.

“Go!”

“Formation!”

“Move quickly!”

The soldiers moved naturally like how water flowed in a river.

“What in the world did you do, Sir Ast?!”

I glared at him once I saw the troops move in perfect lines of ten.

“Don’t look at me so heatedly!”

“Don’t change the subject!”

I saw him cluck his tongue and knew that he had given me his handkerchief to hide what he had done from the first.

“Isn’t that so, Sir Ast?!”

“No, the drooling was real.”

I quickly spoke once he showed me the wet handkerchief.

“What did you do to change the soldiers like that?!”

I recognized the soldiers. They were the ones I had met before. What had he done to change them in two months?!

“Things can change a lot in a short time.”

That was not possible. Soldiers like his were the most difficult to control, as they were too strong to kick out.

“Did you threaten them? No, that won’t work since they do not have families. Then..”

“Why do you think I committed a crime? I only hit them three times.”

“Did you do it with an axe?”

“What in the world do you take me for?”

“An evil villain?”

“....”

I thought I had gone too far in his silence and only exclaimed my surprise. I would not know Sir Ast was an actual villain until some more time passed!