046
The movement of the dishes in the banquet hall stopped. Everyone saw and heard the confrontation between me and Jupe.
Anyone could see that Jupe was in a corner. He must have been suffering from an inferiority complex due to his lack of accomplishments as a soldier. It was so obvious. He probably didn’t know that I would point out that weakness from the very first time we met.
“Even though I haven’t learned any etiquette, I know how to fight pretty well. I learned it under a great captain. If you’re curious, you can try it out.”
I twirled the dinner knife around my fingers. The knife spun vigorously and danced across my fingers.
‘In the Custoria family, one’s value as a soldier comes before that of a noble.’
There are probably quite a few people who think that way, if not all.
Heilas was watching our fight with a blank expression. He must have been smiling happily inside. That was the role he wanted me to play.
“Luka, stop teasing Jupe. And you, stop. You should be ashamed of yourself for raising your voice on the wonderful day of your new family.”
Taking advantage of the gap, the eldest son, Nikolaos, intervened. He displayed his broad-mindedness by attacking Jupe exquisitely.
“As an older brother, I am polite to my younger brother… … .”
Jupe protested as if he had been wronged.
“Our new brother already knows table manners very well. He was just pretending not to know on purpose. Isn’t that right, Luca?”
I put the dishes straight. I cut a piece of meat with a proper knife and fork and put it in my mouth. It tastes amazing.
“I studied it in advance and knew it, but I just forgot it. I was nervous because it was my first time in a situation like this.”
Even the servants standing behind me knew that saying I was nervous was a lie. Jupe fell into my trap and became a laughing stock.
Jupe shut his mouth and sat down. He just moved his utensils and glared at me.
Nikolaos, who took the lead in the conversation, continued speaking.
“I heard you received the 7th Grade Cross Sword Military Merit Medal? I’m not a soldier so I don’t know much, but I know it’s a difficult medal for a cadet to receive.”
Well, someone somewhere served for ten years and didn’t get it.
I swallowed those words. If I provoked him one more time, Jupe could really flip the table over and throw the dishes. Well, come to think of it, I honestly want to see that mess with my own eyes.
“It’s a medal that everyone in the Royal Guard wears. I’m just a second-class guard, too. It’s nothing to brag about.”
Jupe’s stomach will be bubbling with anger.
“I am the eldest son, but I was born with a weak body. That is why I could not become a soldier. I always felt sorry for disappointing my father. Now that you are an excellent soldier, I feel much better.”
One thing he’s incredibly good at is talking. There’s a reason he was promoted to government official so quickly. If this weren’t a military family, he would have been a successor without any objections.
“Brother, does that mean I’m not a good soldier?”
Jupe couldn’t stand it anymore and said, It was like digging my own grave.
“I think you misunderstood, Jupe. As your older brother, I know your abilities better than anyone else. I have no doubt that you will achieve great things in the future.”
“I feel frustrated too. My father is the captain of the guards, so my superiors are keeping an eye on me and not letting me go into combat. I wish there was an all-out war with Corana Bellato. Then I would be sent into combat too.”
Jupe said, holding on to his last bit of pride. It might be true to some extent. Given Heilas’s personality, he wouldn’t blame his superior for his son’s death. It was quite possible that the small-minded would take notice of it.
Heilas neither confirmed nor denied Jupe’s words. People will believe what they want to believe.
The atmosphere of violence died down thanks to Nicholas’s intervention. After that, ordinary meals and banquets followed.
After the meal, relatives whose names I couldn’t even be bothered to remember came up to me and said hello.
I just made my presence felt in the conflict with Jupe. Everyone must have known what kind of personality I have and that I am not an easy person.
“good job.”
Giselle whispered as she passed me.
“Nicholas is no pushover.”
I answered mumbledly.
“You look a lot like your father.”
This concludes the first greetings and introductions.
This was my first day at my parents’ house. I still have two more days to stay.
* * *
Soldiers using high-performance, high-powered bodies are taught separately ‘how to sleep well’. It goes by the grand name of sleep control method.
But sleep quality really is important. I can’t stress this enough.
We can go about our daily lives with nervous system loads several times higher than those of ordinary people. However, we are not invincible, only that we have a high limit for withstanding extreme stress. That is why we use sleep control methods, meditation, and other seemingly incompatible methods to focus on resting our nervous system.
Same goes for me. I can fall into a deep and quick sleep no matter where I sleep.
Anyway, I was still sleeping soundly in an unfamiliar bed. Until three seconds ago.
‘Who is it?’
Someone was coming into my room. The lock opened smoothly and without a sound.
I suddenly came to my senses as if a syringe filled with stimulants had been inserted into my brain. My consciousness rose from the depths of the ocean to the surface in an instant. My breathing was disturbed by the forced awakening. My body was confused by the sudden change in consciousness from rest to combat.
My heart worked hard and the blood flow increased. The senses that had been blocked for deep sleep opened up one by one. My prosthetic limbs felt tingly as if someone had pinched them.
When I wake up like this, my condition is terrible. I stared at the door with an unpleasant feeling.
Keying.
I woke up and grabbed the knife I had placed on my nightstand. My body and mind were ready for battle.
‘It’s still dawn… … .’
I looked at my watch; it was 3 o’clock. It was not a time for a regular visit.
“You react quickly, Luca.”
“Captain?”
I lowered my arm holding the knife. The man in the dim light was Heilas.
“I’m sorry to come to you in the middle of the night. I wanted to make it seem like I was in a neutral position.”
Heilas sat down on the chair, shaking the bottle of wine.
“Captain… you too… drink alcohol.”
It was unexpected. Smoking and drinking alcohol are, in principle, prohibited for guards. Of course, if you don’t do it openly, you won’t get caught. The guards aren’t that inflexible.
But I didn’t know that Haylas could drink alcohol.
“Doctors and scientists say that things like alcohol and cigarettes have a negative effect on the nervous and hormonal systems that are tuned for combat. Would you like a drink?”
It’s not just the guards that are ruined. Alcohol and cigarettes kill people slowly. Thinking rationally, there was absolutely no reason to do it.
“I don’t want to unnecessarily increase the risk factor. It’s enough to just learn the Archie’s fighting techniques.”
I declined Heila’s offer.
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Heilas smiled as if he had known that would happen. He took a sip of his drink and wiped his lips with the back of his hand.
“I will advise you not as the captain of the guards, but as a senior in the guards. You need to have irrational and inefficient impurities inside you to last long. That is the key to opening the box called humanity.”
I asked back.
“… …Do we need humanity?”
“People who spoke like you were eaten by the Legion before anyone else.”
My pupils must have wavered for a moment. I carefully lowered my eyes and opened my mouth.
“You seem drunk, sir.”
Of course, I know he wasn’t drunk.
“Make sure to develop at least one hobby or habit that is not only unrelated to combat, but may actually be a hindrance.”
“Is this an order?”
“No, I’ll say it again, it’s advice. Think of it as a gift of becoming a family.”
I felt a lump in my throat. It wasn’t something stuck in my throat. It was a psychological reason.
“I will remember it.”
My answer is more like a negative. Haylas will know that too.
I was overwhelmed just by sharpening myself. I didn’t have the luxury of carrying impurities. No, maybe I already have a lot of impurities inside me. And what if I add more here? I don’t want to be someone like Elaine Kinouan.
Druk.
Heilas stood up. Today was the most ‘human’ thing I’d ever seen him do.
‘He gave me advice that was of no use to me.’
As a father does to his son.
* * *
The second day at my parents’ house was also full of unpleasant tasks for me. The only enjoyable thing was visiting the family’s armory.
‘arsenal.’
It was hard to believe that it was the armory of a single family, as there were so many weapons on display. Everything from antiques over a hundred years old to cutting-edge weapons were lined up along the walls.
The Custoria family used an entire building as an armory. The further inside you went, the older and heavier the weapons became. Eventually, you arrived at the armored body on display. There were legions and myrmidons of each generation, as well as models that had disappeared.
“Is it your job to guide the armory?”
I said as I watched Giselle walking alongside me.
“Why do you think I’m studying mechanical engineering at the academy? In the Custoria family, the women are in charge of managing and maintaining the armory. There are things that can’t be left to outsiders. It’s a pretty important position. Right now, my mother is in charge of the armory. I’ll take over later.”
“You don’t seem to be in the mood for oil stains… … .”
I said, thinking of my adoptive mother Eva. She was the typical noblewoman I thought of.
“His skills are truly amazing. Even now, my mother takes care of my father’s body and weapons.”
“Don’t nobles often have political marriages? If things don’t go well together… … .”
I spoke up to that point and then glanced at Giselle. She was nodding as if it was obvious.
“That’s right. That’s why I leave the maintenance to my mother. It’s a long-standing family tradition. It shows that my faith and trust are strong.”
As I listened to Giselle, I stopped walking. Then, as if in a trance, I raised my head and stared at the old armored body.
It was a full-armored body with traces of the Legion here and there. However, it was a bit more crude, and the colors of the parts were inconsistent and there were differences in the degree of discoloration, as if it had been used for a long time. And what was unique was the head with a single horn and the asymmetrical arms. The right arm was a bit longer and larger than the left arm. It seemed to have been modified to handle some special weapon.
It’s probably a model that’s an old ancestor of the Legion, since the Custoria family has a long history with the Royal Guard.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the old armor. It kept catching my attention.
“Luca?”
Giselle tilted her head to the side and looked up at me.
“I thought about it for a moment.”
“Even if you’re tired, you have to see this. It’s related to our family’s history. It’s a full-body Skilla.”
Giselle said, standing in front of the monocle armor.
“Skilla?”
“It’s not a model name, just think of it as a name. There is no other armored suit of this model. It’s the exclusive armored suit of Agatha, the founder of the Custoria family. This is never taken outside. It’s an antique that’s worse than the Mirmidon, but let’s go check it out.”
Skilla, the armored body, and the ancestor Agatha Custoria.
I raised my eyes and took a picture of Scylla’s appearance in my head.
