Second Life as a Soldier

The next day, the Captain called me on his own.

On our way to the meeting chamber, I asked Peter, “What do you make of the situation in the commoner district? I have attended every command meeting since the attack, yet the condition of the commoner district has never been brought up.”

“I do not think that is too surprising,” Peter replied. “If the officer in charge were honest enough to admit his shortcomings, the situation would not have gotten this bad in the first place.”

“You are right,” I said. “Keeping this many guards in a civilian district—and, worse, using them to stop people from gathering at a time when they need each other’s help to stay sane—is one of the most foolish decisions I have heard of. These men and women are stuck inside a town surrounded by a death dome. The only thing keeping them sane is the protection of the army. If they believe that is gone, I do not know what will happen.”

I paused for a moment before asking, “How do you think the Captain will react?”

“You see, Sergeant, that is what concerns me,” Peter said. “Even if the lieutenant in charge has not reported anything, it is hard for me to believe that the Captain himself does not know about the situation. The minimum requirement for being a captain is knowing the complete condition of your battlefield, and currently, Velkar Town is Captain Petrae’s battlefield.”

Peter’s expression turned serious.

“I can think of only two reasons he has not acted to rectify it. First, his more qualified officers may be busy with other important tasks. Or, in the worst-case scenario, he may have allowed this to happen.”

I sighed at Peter’s last statement.

Up until then, Captain Petrae had seemed like a sensible person to me, and my biggest clue was his apology for his nephew’s crimes. From what I had heard, nobles did not like to apologize, and the same could be said of captains. They held positions in which an apology could be seen as weakness.

So, if he could lower his head to quell my anger, then I did not believe he would remain unaffected by the anger of most of the commoners in town.

With that in mind, I took a deep breath and entered the meeting chamber.

Captain Petrae was already sitting in the head chair, but for some reason, Leif was also present.

Looking at Peter as he walked in with me, the Captain had an amused expression on his face.

“Looks like we have the same thing to discuss,” the Captain commented before I could even salute him.

Peter and I exchanged confused looks, then saluted him.

“Yesterday, you visited the commoner district, and today, you brought Private Peter with you. That is proof enough that you have realized how serious the situation is there,” the Captain continued.

“Umm...”

Before I could say anything, the Captain shook his head.

“This is a good thing. I want Student Leif and your squad to take over the commoner district.”

This time, I was shocked.

There was no denying that a very small part of me wanted that job. Currently, being in charge of the commoner district meant I would have the responsibilities of a lieutenant, and that was something I had started to dream of since the day Lieutenant Cicero had put my name up for promotion.

But at the same time, I knew the weight of that responsibility.

Leading a company’s worth of people was not an easy task, and I would not just be leading them. I would also be training them to fight against an enemy that already had the upper hand over us.

“Sir, am I not too inexperienced for such a huge responsibility?” I asked honestly.

The Captain let out a sigh.

“It is no secret that we were caught unawares by this attack. So was my battalion.”

Then, looking at me critically, he continued.

“My battalion’s role is to provide fast support and deal heavy damage in battle. Because of that, it does not have many officers who can deal with civilians for long periods of time. Most of them are from noble houses, while the commoner officers are specialists who have little understanding of these kinds of situations.”

He leaned back slightly.

“And after the attack, the officers posted here are either dead or have already been assigned to tasks only they can handle. After all, the survivors are my most important assets, with more knowledge about this town than any of my other officers.”

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His gaze stayed on me.

“That leaves you as the best available solution. Your performance on the day of the attack, along with the goodwill you earned by healing the injured that day, might be exactly what we need right now.”

Listening to the Captain’s words, I paused for a second and analyzed my resources. I had my squad, and for some reason, I felt that, in this situation, they might be more useful than Royal Army veterans. If I combined that with support from House Roscoe and Leif, I had a chance of carrying out this assignment successfully.

“Then I will try my best,” I said. “S—”

I was about to say something else, but after thinking for a moment, I stopped myself.

My next words could be considered disrespectful, but it was too late.

The Captain noticed my hesitation.

“Sergeant, you can speak freely. You might not know this, but your master, my senior lieutenants, and I grew up together and used to be very close friends. Caeso and Scaevola are not otherwise known for sharing their potions and knowledge freely. Your master and I might not have parted on the best of terms, but I still consider him a friend. So, in a way, that makes you something like family to me.”

I

I almost winced when he said those last words.

A member of his family had tried to kill me just a few days ago. Even being compared to Julius or mentioned in the same conversation as him made me nauseous.

Setting aside my uncomfortable feelings about the Captain’s words, I replied, “I was afraid I might offend the lieutenant currently in charge.”

The Captain stared at me with one eyebrow raised.

He did not reply immediately. My heart began to beat faster as I waited for him to respond.

“Looks like you still have some bitter feelings about House Petrae, or maybe nobles as a whole,” the Captain said. “But let me tell you this: Julius is not a good example to compare against, and I assure you that, if we survive this, you will learn that Julius has been punished far more severely than you can imagine.”

His gaze sharpened.

“As for the lieutenant being offended, he can be offended. That does not matter. He will follow my order. This is my battalion, and my officers are trained to follow my commands whether they like them or not. If he cannot do that, it will not just be him who is affected. His entire house’s standing will suffer.”

I nodded meekly at the Captain’s words.

It looked like my question had affected him more than I had expected. While he was speaking, a little of his mana had leaked out, and I realized why.

To him, I was not just questioning his lieutenant. I was questioning him and doubting his capability as a captain.

The Captain took a deep breath.

“Any other questions?” he asked in a commanding tone.

“No, sir.”

“Then I am giving you the same order I gave to the lieutenant in charge of the commoner district. Keep the situation in the district under control and recruit as many militiamen or conscripts as you can. I will make sure they get weapons.”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“According to my current estimate, that lieutenant has already recruited five hundred able-bodied men, and that is the minimum number we need to man the walls during an attack.”

Then the Captain looked at me with a critical expression.

“Sergeant, you have proven that you are unconventional, but I will tell you this clearly. The commoner district has the largest number of people available, and we need as many of them in fighting shape as possible. The current lieutenant’s method might be flawed, but I still require you to achieve the same result, or perhaps an even better one. This time, however, I need it done without angering the masses.”

I fell into deep thought.

While it was a tough ask, I did not think recruiting five hundred to a thousand militia members would be impossible with more than twenty thousand commoners present. If I included the merchant houses, that number would be even higher.

And it was not just that.

Since the day of the attack and my visit to the commoner district, I had been playing with an idea that could increase the combat capability of almost every commoner.

“Sir, there might be something that would be useful only if the enemy successfully breached the wall. I assure you that, if we did it, the commoner district would become a nightmare for any invader. But as you said, this would be somewhat unconventional.”

“What is it, Sergeant?”

“What if we armed all the households with weapons—multiple spears and daggers for each house?” I asked.

“That is an interesting idea,” the Captain said.

His eyes narrowed slightly, almost as if he were brainstorming with himself.

“Most invaders burn, kill, and rape commoners to take control, but if those commoners were armed... an overwhelming number of armed Tier-1s might be able to take down tired Tier-3 warriors.”

Then, after a moment, instead of looking at me, he looked at Peter.

“What do you think, Private Roscoe? Will your name be enough to stop the half-barbarians from turning on us?”

Only then did I remember that nearly twenty percent of the town’s population was made up of Draknir, who could align themselves with the invaders. My idea, if implemented without proper caution, could turn into a much bigger nightmare.

My ears reddened in embarrassment.

Here I was, thinking about making more than five hundred people battle-ready, and I had forgotten to consider such an important point before I had even started my duties.

“My name does not hold that much sway, Captain,” Peter replied. “But my sister Eleanor’s name does, and so does my father’s. As long as both of them are alive, the loyalty of the Draknir will be with you.”

I smiled inwardly.

Whether it was because of my squad’s influence or Eleanor’s, Peter had started standing up for himself. More importantly, he had called them Draknir instead of half-barbarians.

The Captain nodded.

“We will go ahead with this plan. We will start giving weapons to families close to the central district and move outward. The slums will receive weapons only near the end of the two-month period. Weapons in their hands will be as much a liability as an asset.”

I nodded at that.

I could not agree more.

“Actually, I was thinking that, for weapon allocation, especially in the slums, we should use Eleanor’s help. She already works with them and knows a lot of people there. Her help could be vital not just in managing the slums but also in managing the whole district.”

“If you feel that is right, I have no problem with it,” the Captain said.

After discussing a few more details, he dismissed us.

Once we were outside, I gave Leif a bear hug.

“Looks like we are working together, brother.”

“Looks like it,” Leif said.

Then, in an overly enthusiastic tone, he continued, “Let’s fucking show these people how it is done.”