003
“You held out until the end? You should have passed out more cleverly. I told you that you have a very honest side.”
It was the day after the pain tolerance training. Ilay Kartika came to see me and said something that I couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or a sneer. It was probably a mixture of the two.
“Because it was bearable.”
I answered briefly and drank water. My mouth was bitter and my throat was rough. My fingertips were trembling intermittently. When I walked, I lost my balance without realizing it.
The aftereffects of pain tolerance training were still lingering on my body. I would need to rest and receive treatment for a few days to fully recover.
“Haha, the blindfold really suits you. I thought a space pirate showed up.”
Ilay said, looking at my face.
“Once my nervous system recovers, I’ll be receiving artificial eyes. A better model than you.”
During my break, Ilay often came to see me.
Illei had a refreshing smile on his face and spoke in a relaxed, soft tone. He seemed more suited to being an administrative official than a guard.
‘But he’s a really talented guy. I have to admit it.’
Gradually, the gap in skill between peers became more noticeable.
Ilay and I were the best. This wasn’t arrogance or pride, it was a fact. In most training sessions, the two of us were first and second, or even at the top. In terms of overall performance, Ilay would be slightly ahead of me.
I was sick during the break. I wanted to get back to training quickly. As soon as I recovered to some extent, I quickly got an artificial eye transplant. The doctor recommended that I have my remaining eye removed and replaced, but I refused.
‘This is a surgery performed at the captain’s own expense.’
I heard it too. Gouging out my eyes was the captain’s impulsive action. That’s why he supported my surgery out of his own pocket.
‘… … If you’re the captain of the guards, you’ll have a lot of money to spare. And your family comes from a very wealthy family.’
Still, I hated the feeling of being unnecessarily in debt.
‘You didn’t gouge out my eyes with malicious intent.’
It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way about the captain of the guards.
“The captain seems to be quite concerned about you. You have caught his eye.”
Illei also said so.
I also felt the gaze of the captain of the guards. That’s why I didn’t feel bad about losing one eye. As a result, I was able to receive a better eye early. It was a biological eye that would eventually be discarded anyway.
Wheeing.
I couldn’t sleep properly for two days because of the high-pitched ringing in my right prosthesis. After three days, I couldn’t hear anything. My brain and nervous system had completely adapted to the new prosthesis.
“You made it yours much sooner than expected. Are you really a talented member of the Royal Guard?”
The doctor said with a sly smile. He held the precision examination device to my right eye and checked the complex movements of my pupil.
After finishing the examination, I looked in the mirror.
OMG.
As I became conscious, my right prosthetic eye became activated and its edges lit up. A virtual interface appeared on my retinal display, augmenting information from my surroundings.
‘Activate trajectory prediction.’
It was the most important function.
There was no gun around, so the trajectory was not visible. But I still had a bad headache. A huge amount of information was rushing into my brain.
My brain was expanding and reconfiguring its nervous system to accommodate the new capabilities it had added, and it would take some time for it to fully utilize these capabilities.
“Take one pill a day before bed until the system adapts.”
The doctor who had been watching me held out a bottle of medicine and said, It was a medicine that helped the connection and formation of nerve cells.
“thank you.”
“Give your thanks to Captain Heilas. I am paid to do this.”
Heilas, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard the name of the captain of the guards. I’ve always called him by his title, so I rarely get to hear his name.
I’m grateful to the person who gouged out my eyes… … It’s funny, but I feel really grateful. If someone heard me, they’d think I was crazy.
* * *
Our training also entered the third quarter of the second year. During that time, only two out of forty people were left. Most of the guard cadets, if they did not die, completed the four-year training course and became regular members. There were almost no desertions.
However, the low number of defections did not mean that the training and education process was easy. The training of the guards was so harsh that they were proud to be the best in the empire, and they had to acquire all the necessary knowledge as both combat soldiers and officers.
The Guardsmen were flexible elite soldiers who could be called upon immediately in any situation or mission.
“Because the cadets of the Royal Guard are selected from the beginning through a screening process, only those who can endure the training process are selected. There are almost no ones who drop out in the middle. Those who couldn’t endure and dropped out must have paid extra money to falsify the results of the screening.”
Ilay said, aiming his pistol at the target. His gun’s pupils must be displaying an interface that assists shooting.
Ssuk.
I also pulled out my gun. The sound of gunfire from other people could be heard intermittently in the shooting range.
Although the Guard prefers melee weapons, they are not lax in their marksmanship training. The Guard must be able to handle all the equipment and weapons of the Empire to a proficient level.
“Is it possible to manipulate the screening test?”
I asked back. Ilay’s lips curled up even deeper.
“There is no evidence, but the suspicion is clear. The Empire has been class-based for too long. The illusion of meritocracy is slowly disappearing. With status and wealth, even the incompetent can pretend to be competent.”
“That’s a dangerous statement, Ilay.”
I said it as a warning. To be honest, I was a bit worried about that bold statement. Is it right for a citizen of the Empire to say something like that? Even if he is from a prestigious family… … .
‘worry?’
I pulled the trigger and smiled bitterly. It seems I have become close with Ilay. I, who came from an orphanage, am worried about the young master of a prestigious family.
“As proof… … Luca, there has never been a case of an irregular like you failing the Empire’s upper-level soldier training course. Because they can’t get away with bribery. Only the truly outstanding ones have made it. It’s strange to even call them irregulars in the first place.”
You can say such things because you have a strong background. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to say such thoughts out loud even if I had them. More importantly, I’ve never had such thoughts before.
‘Even nobles can be incompetent?’
I never thought about it like that.
The nobles are superior, and the commoners… …especially the lower classes are incompetent. The empire gives all its subjects a fair chance through screening. Those who are too incompetent to seize that chance end up living a life of failure.
This is what I have heard my whole life. I am the proof. I came from a lower class background, but I was able to rise through the selection process and seize the opportunity.
“Luka, I know what you’re thinking right now. But you’re undeniably brilliant, and that’s why you got the opportunity. Keeping a talent like you out of the house is just another source of trouble. Rather than watching the embers of a fireball grow out of control, I’d rather bring them inside… … .”
The gunshots drowned out Ilay’s voice.
Ilay pulled the trigger repeatedly. The hole in the firing mark had been the same since before. This was because the bullets kept passing through the same spot.
“… … And only when an irregular like you emerges and succeeds from the bottom can people see their failures as their own incompetence and accept the current system.”
The more I listened to Ilay’s words, the more dangerous they seemed. I instinctively felt a sense of rejection. I could not accept Ilay’s words with my common sense and world.
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“I could report your exact words to my superiors right away. Even a member of the Kartika family wouldn’t let that go unnoticed.”
Ilay looked at me with an undimmed smile. His finger was still on the trigger. His shooting skills were still intact even though his gaze was turned to the side.
“I know you won’t. If you really thought that, you wouldn’t have said anything like reporting it. Thank you for worrying about me, Luca.”
Ilay spoke as if he had seen into my inner self. I was annoyed by that. Because… …it was true.
* * *
The Accresia Empire had two long-standing enemies.
The Bellato Federation and the Holy Nation of Korra.
These are the two nations that settled on the planet Novas before the Empire.
“Vulgar opportunists who mistake meanness for wisdom.”
I’m talking about the Bellato Federation.
“While whispering sweet peace and hypocritical justice, on the one hand they prepare for war… … fanatics of false beliefs.”
The Holy Kingdom of Korra doesn’t get a good evaluation either. It’s better than Bellato, I guess. It’s about the same.
The Empire despised the Bellato Federation and was hostile to the Holy Nation of Korra. But there were those who treated us worse.
Bellato and Cora, who were separated from the starting point of humanity on Earth, had a chance to join hands. They said that they had inevitably formed an alliance in the past. After all, they are the same species.
… … But alien races with different roots were not even worth interacting with. It was difficult to see alien races in the Empire. Alien races were not given any protection even if they committed a crime within the Empire, and they did not even have the right to self-defense.
Discrimination against alien races is natural to us. Alien races have always tried to use and deceive the empire. If you extend a hand out of favor, they will cut off that hand and steal it.
This is the knowledge I have heard and learned countless times. However, I have never seen aliens, let alone the Bellatoins and Corans, with my own eyes.
Today is my first time seeing Corin. But it won’t be a pleasant meeting. There will be bloodshed. Of course, not by us, but by them.
“Luka and Ile each take on the role of platoon leader. If you have any complaints, come out and fight for them.”
The captain of the guard spoke while sitting on the rock. Iley and I stood on either side of the captain of the guard. In front of us, the cadets stood motionless like machines.
The cadets were silent. There was no disagreement about appointing Iley and I as platoon leaders.
“Beyond that canyon lies the outpost of the Korin people who have illegally occupied our territory… … .”
The captain of the guard raised his index finger and pointed somewhere out of sight. He trailed off and gave an order.
“… … No prisoners. Kill them all.”
This was also part of the training process.
Without saying anything, the cadets gathered around Ilay and I. All we had were melee weapons of our own choice and a pistol.
The pistols we were issued with were so weak that they couldn’t even penetrate light combat uniforms. They were essentially meant for suicide or close-quarters executions.
We moved along a narrow cliff path. It was a quiet march, so quiet that we could even hear each other’s breathing.
We took a short break after moving for about thirty minutes. We stood guard in order without anyone telling us to.
“Luka, do you see? There’s a handsome senior over there watching us.”
Ilay spoke to me while drinking water. I listened to Ilay and gazed at the forest above the valley.
When I paid attention, I saw something moving in the darkness of the forest. The dim shadow was the shape of the Legion, the full-armored body of the Royal Guard. It looked like a giant of steel standing between the trees.
He is nominally our protector, but he also has a surveillance purpose.
‘surveillance…….’
What are you watching? I shook my head to shake off the thoughts that were following me.
After a short rest, the march continued.
Soon we found an outpost located at the top of the canyon. The front was surrounded by a wall, but the back, facing the cliff, was open and wide.
The guards would never have guessed that we had moved along the cliff path.
Drumroll.
We climbed the steep cliff with our bare hands. There was going to be a battle soon.
‘Kill them all. No prisoners needed.’
I recalled the captain’s orders.
Arriving at the edge of the cliff, Ilay and I just stuck our eyes out and looked around. The other cadets also hung below us, waiting for orders.
