Second Life as a Soldier

“NO! Absolutely not. Have you lost your fucking mind? Edward, for the love of the System, you know I like your tactics and your way of thinking, but this is foolish and might get most of our squad executed. Varric and Barry are barely stable enough to meet normal army officials, much less someone as high-status as Tellus Petrae,” Peter yelled at me as we walked at an extremely slow, leisurely pace toward his house for lunch.

That was how I told him what I had done yesterday, and as soon as I mentioned bringing Barry and the others with me to meet Tellus Petrae, Peter lost his shit.

“Why do you have a problem with that idea? Didn’t you tell me spars are common in noble gatherings? I do not see anything wrong with bringing my fighters to the meeting, and it is not like I am getting invited to a noble ball. From what your father told me, it is going to be a formal meeting between a Royal Army captain and a Royal Army sergeant who share some house connection. Showing the captain what type of unit I lead is almost my duty.”

“For the hundredth time, any connection with old nobles is not a small connection. People have become successful merchants only by knowing some long-lost relative of an old noble, and you are the disciple of the last remaining heir of one such house. Moreover, your logic does not make any sense. By bringing people like Varric, you are almost making it certain that you will get dragged into a duel, maybe worse,” Peter said, eloquently pointing out the holes in my reasoning.

“Fine! It is not just that. You know they are part of my permanent team now. Depending on what future assignment I get, I could become a lieutenant within two or three years. And I recently realized I still have a hard time trusting the men who are supposed to be closest to me and my first line of defense after I become a lieutenant.

“This is why I have given them the freedom to explore the town. If they really want to do something nefarious, they can do it now. If they want to make a run for it, this is the perfect opportunity. Unlike the frontier village, this town is more closely connected to Avalon and safe enough for Tier-2 warriors like them to travel alone. If they stay in line and come back to the squad, I will no longer have to worry as much about their intentions.

“As for taking them to a meeting with a noble, this is my first meeting with a military-focused family. They have knowledge of how a death squad could act, and they will not expect me to be on perfect behavior. That makes this the perfect opportunity for me to test them in front of nobles.

“If I become a lieutenant, I might encounter captain-level individuals on a regular basis, and by using this as a test, I can find out what we might have to be careful about in future meetings.”

After my explanation, Peter had a thoughtful look on his face. Then he nodded. “Hmm, I hate that this makes sense. No wonder you are a sergeant and I am still a private.”

“Don’t fool yourself. I became a sergeant only because I was lucky. Forget about that. Tell me about your family. Who exactly am I meeting, and should I be afraid that your father might kill me for being disrespectful?” I asked jokingly.

“I am not sure whether he will kill you or not,” Peter said in a tone that made me unsure whether he was joking or serious. “As for the rest of my family, I have a younger brother who, unlike me, is a prodigy. He is the heir to the house and is currently studying at the Royal Mage Academy.

“I also have a younger sister who is almost your age, and she might be an even greater disappointment to my father than I am. She has no interest in getting married or joining the army. She is interested in city administration, which, in my father’s mind, is politics.

“Then, obviously, there is my mother. She is the best. She supports all of us no matter what we want to do. Even yesterday, she didn’t scold me. She was just worried about me, and that is why she wants to meet you.

“I also have two grandfathers. My mother’s father is one of the biggest merchants in this town, and my father’s father is bedridden due to age. Neither of them will be present today.”

“How old is your father’s father?” I asked.

“He is around one hundred and fifty. Honestly, he does not remember when he was born. We just estimated his age based on the events he remembers,” Peter said.

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I nodded. It was not like there were birth certificates here, and I was sure that no matter how important the day of Awakening was to someone, after a hundred years, they would start to forget it.

“Don’t get me wrong, but from what I heard, the average lifespan for a Tier-3 is around one hundred and forty years. Was your grandfather a warrior as well?” I asked.

“Yeah, he also had enough affinity to progress to Tier-4, but for some reason, he was never able to break through. That is also why he has more mana in his body than most Tier-3s,” Peter said.

As we talked, we reached Peter’s house.

No, calling it a house was a mistake.

It was a manor.

A huge entrance gate stood in front of us, guarded by several men. The guards saluted Peter as soon as they saw him and opened the gate.

Beyond the gate was a garden and a road leading to the manor. The manor itself was made of white marble, with carvings unlike any I had seen before.

The only problem was that the beautiful view was ruined by the frowning face of Captain Roscoe, who was accompanied by his son, Peter’s brother, Edmund Roscoe, he looked just like Peter. The only difference was that he was wearing noble attire. Beside them stood a middle-aged noblewoman, Peter’s mother.

“Welcome, Sergeant Edward. It is great to finally meet you,” Edmund said, stepping forward.

I nodded, stepped forward, clasped his hand, and then greeted Captain Roscoe and his wife.

“Ma’am, I brought two small rose plants. Peter said you like roses and gardening. I hope you will like them,” I said, taking the small plants out of my backpack.

I was trying to make the best impression I could on Peter’s mother. From what I had heard, she had the ability to yell at Peter’s father. Maybe she would be able to protect me here.

“Oh my, thank you for such a thoughtful gift. Sergeant Edward, you are quite young. Peter never mentioned your age to me,” Peter’s mother said in surprise. “Come in. I have food prepared for you. I am sure you boys will like it.”

After saying that, she took Peter’s hand and dragged him inside. Edmund followed them.

Before I could follow, my path was blocked by Captain Roscoe.

Looking at me with narrowed eyes, he said, “Do you know that yesterday, almost all of your squad members visited pleasure houses and spent the rest of the night drinking like madmen? I heard even you were in that area. Is this the type of sergeant you are?”

“Captain, did they break any laws?” I asked.

I was not concerned about them visiting brothels. I was concerned that they might have broken some rule.

“Not yet,” the Captain replied.

Instead of answering him, I just gave him a questioning look. I was not sure what he wanted me to do. Honestly, did a captain of the Royal Army have nothing better to do than keep track of my squad’s sexual activities?

As if reading my thoughts, he replied, “I do not care what they do, but you are a different story. You are now an officer of the Royal Army, and one of my sons serves under you. Your reputation matters a lot to me. If you had not turned back yesterday, I would have asked for Peter to be reassigned.”

After saying that, he walked inside the house, leaving me confused. I was not sure if that was a father’s concern speaking or a noble Royal Army captain.

I had so much to say to him. I wanted to argue with him and tell him to mind his own business, but he was too intimidating, so I just followed him awkwardly.

I also realized that I was finally seeing what nobles were like. Even though Peter’s family was a military family and less of a noble family, if it was this hard to deal with a knight family, I was not sure what it would be like dealing with non-military nobles.

Thankfully, in the presence of Peter’s mother, Captain Roscoe was a lot more bearable and felt like a normal human. Once we were seated at the lunch table, servers started bringing appetizers, and the conversation flowed smoothly, with Peter’s mother controlling it properly. After a few minutes, all of us started smiling and laughing.

Peter’s mother was a charming woman who showed care for everyone at the table. She made sure none of our plates were empty, and for my sake, she explained what the dishes were and how they were made.

What caught everyone at the table by surprise, even me, was my ability to handle silverware. I was definitely not as graceful as Peter’s mother or his brother, but to me, just being able to use it properly was good enough.

“Peter, why did you not invite the rest of your squad for lunch?” Peter’s mother asked, wiping the smiles off both our faces.

Our forks stopped halfway to our mouths, and Peter looked at me as if unsure what to say.

Trying to help him, I cleared my throat and said, “Ma’am, I think the rest of our squad might not be fit for this type of gathering. Most of them are not regular soldiers and have criminal backgrounds,” I said honestly.

Sooner or later, she would learn about it, and it was better that she heard it from us instead of some outsider.

Peter’s mother frowned at my answer. It was the first time I had seen her face do anything other than smile, so I immediately started getting worried.

I almost got scared when Captain Roscoe spoke up.

“Then why did you not try to bring them to the right path, Sergeant? Is that not what death squad sergeants have traditionally done? Punish those who are too stubborn and reward those who have the potential to improve. But from what I hear, you did not do that, Sergeant Edward. Why?”