When they saw me, the troops began to whisper and stir.
“That’s the guy who did in Daz.”
“Apparently, he moves and attacks so quick that you can’t see him.”
“You’ve got to be joking…”
“Huh? Didn’t he enlist with us yesterday?”
“Yesterday? You mean he’s brand new?”
“What the…? That’s nonsense…”
The training leader shouted at the troops to silence their chatting. “Quiet! This is Anry Everton, special platoon leader. He’ll be overseeing your exercises from now on!”
I didn’t recall being given that particular title…
“Platoon leader…?!”
“And it’s only his second day.”
“This has to be a joke…”
“What in the devil…? How did he get promoted that fast…?”
I shared the crowd’s sentiments. Truthfully, I would’ve preferred to enjoy my time as a recruit for a little longer.
Evidently, the man in charge was the equivalent of a company commander.
“Teach, you may take the floor…” The training leader bowed to me and stepped back.
“Teach?”
“Teach…?”
“Why are they calling him ‘Teach’?”
Now the soldiers were making even more of a commotion.
“I’m Anry Everton,” I called. “The training we will endure over the next few days will likely be the worst experience of your lives. And that’s how you should think of it. If you’d like to abandon your pride, then by all means, leave now. I promise that those who stick it out until the end will progress as soldiers, as men, and as human beings!”
I rarely took the spotlight like this, but shouted as though giving an arousing speech. I tried to channel Elvie, who was better at this type of thing.
The whole place went quiet. Something about the atmosphere had changed. The soldiers shuffled, clicking their bootheels together to stand up straight. I expected them to be unimpressed with me, yet instead saw vigor brimming in their eyes.
So my speech did raise morale. I was convinced these people were here for the salary. However, now I understood that wasn’t wholly the case. I thought about it and realized the recruiters rejected those who applied merely for the money.
The training proved difficult for the men. I had them run through a pathless mountain for a week after determining they weren’t ready to practice with proper weapons yet.
I expected complaints about the simplicity of the exercise or that I was underestimating the men, yet I heard no such grievances. During my time training the two ladies from well-off families in the party of heroes—Almelia and Elvie—there’d been no end to the gripes, and they began on the first day.
Once the soldiers grew accustomed to the exercises, I taught them hand-to-hand combat. They had a will and ambition that differed entirely from the adventurers at the guild.
I always joined in during practice and gave the men pep talks as we went. That clearly affected the soldiers because…
“Teacher! Would you check my stance?!”
“Teacher! I’m sorry to bother you, but would you spar with me?”
“Teacher! I want to tell this girl I love her, but I have no idea how…”
…for some reason, they kept coming to me looking for advice.
A month had passed since I became an instructor, and I’d started taking on work beyond overseeing training and the occasional guard jobs.
“We got a job to guard and transport some supplies,” the company commander stated. He was in a meeting room within the barracks on the outskirts of town. Most of the troops, myself included, lived in military lodgings. I was with the company commander, as were three platoon leaders.
“Most of the supplies are provisions. We’ll take those to the designated area.”
The Adventurers Guild often handled tasks like these, too.
“Provisions? Is there a shortage somewhere?” I asked. However, the company commander shook his head.
“No, there’s no scarcity issue. I believe we’re preparing against potential famine. The contents are all dried meats and root vegetables—enough for someone to get by, if nothing else.”
I kept silent and listened. I learned this was a regular assignment and that the food would be delivered to specific collection sites.
Generally, rations were brought straight to their destination and rarely changed hands. That this occurred so frequently suggested to me that it might be a contractual arrangement.
“The crates are in the storehouse next to the barracks. You can take a look if you have time.”
Another platoon would be handling the acceptance of the supplies and their transport, and the meeting concluded quickly.
I took the commander up on his suggestion. I’d lived here for a while, but this was the first time I went inside the storehouse. Supposedly, it contained emergency provisions.
I greeted the guards at the storehouse, then headed in.
Many large boxes were piled up, and each had a mark indicating its place of origin. Half of them came from famous towns, with the rest having traveled from less notable places.
“They should’ve just said upfront that these were weapon shipments.” I opened one of the boxes to inspect the contents. “As I thought.”
The crate was packed with swords. A second contained spears, while a third was full of bows and their strings. Curiously, the number of weapons far exceeded the total troop count.
And these shipments had come in fairly recently.
The weapons were likely being secreted in with the provisions, and I doubted that would stop anytime soon.
“This is no small effort. I guess preparation has been proceeding steadily in secret.”
…
I glanced at one corner of the room, spying a shadow.
“Hey.” Did he think I wouldn’t notice? Perhaps I’d caught him off guard by visiting unannounced.
“Come out. I see you,” I said.
A man slipped out from the shadows of the piled boxes.
“I should’ve known you’d spot me, Teach…”
“You enlisted the same day as me. What are you doing here?” I questioned.
He seemed to have realized I meant him no ill will, so he began to explain, though reluctantly.
“I was doing a little investigating.”
“…Under whose orders?”
“Let me ask you a question first: Why did you come to this town, Teach?”
“I have no obligation to answer that,” I replied.
Was someone else conducting an investigation similar to mine?
“A certain person believes there’s something illicit occurring here,” the man said, “and they’ve ordered me to learn more.”
“…You mean King Randolf?”
“…”
Evidently, I’d guessed correctly. The king was smarter than he let on.
“That makes this easier to explain. Tell him not to make any rash moves,” I added.
“…Who are you…?”
“Let’s just say I’m someone who seeks to be normal. He’ll understand.”
The man asked me nothing more. Spies understood that it was best not to know more than necessary. If an enemy captured him, there was a chance he’d be forced to reveal all his secrets.
The man nodded and used a skill to disappear, passing through the wall.
“So even King Randolf is keeping an eye on the unnatural flow of supplies.”
I gazed up at the stack of rations and weapons.
First, I’d need to do something about these storehouses.