Xavi Inocencio was terribly addled. Because he was together with his fellow recruits, he took care not to betray his agitation, but his pulse was elevated, and a cold sweat covered his body.
Even after returning to his bed in the barracks, having finished training and bathed, he couldn’t rid himself of his growing anxiety. Unable to sit still, he writhed in secret on his bed.
He was supposed to have died. It was Kuklo’s continued existence that bewildered Xavi. Sentenced to death for the crime of murdering Dario Inocencio as well as the cultists, Kuklo should never have shown himself again. Not only that, the execution had taken place a week ago. Though Xavi was not there to witness it, he’d received a report from the Military Police, so he was certain of it. Why is he alive?
Until now, everything had gone exactly as Xavi had planned. He had provided false testimony to the Military Police in order to finally rid himself of the eyesore that was Kuklo, and doing so had even resulted in a death sentence. His scheme had been flawless. Except, of course, for the fact that Kuklo was still alive. It was an utter paradox. It was impossible.
Could it be someone else who happens to look like him?! But Xavi immediately rejected the idea. The cut on his right eye. I did that to him. Even without the wound, Xavi would never mistake someone else for Kuklo. And vice versa. He came to show himself to me… He wanted me to know he was alive.
Xavi had deemed his plan perfect, but something must have managed to upend it. He had no idea what that thing was, nor did he know why the Military Police wasn’t apprehending Kuklo anew, but it seemed as though the devil’s own luck had worked to miraculously save the Titan’s son.
This is bad. Very bad. Kuklo’s existence was nothing short of a threat to Xavi. If Kuklo told the truth, Xavi faced ruin. Not only would his path to the Military Police be cut off, he’d be thrown into a dark prison and left to rot, his remaining days a bleak gray. Sharle, his younger sister, knew the truth, too, but she’d kept her silence until now and promised to be harmless. Perhaps she was no longer of this world to begin with. It wasn’t one that a girl with her sheltered upbringing could navigate.
Even more was on Xavi’s mind. Why is he in the Training Corps? He could tell by the emblem on Kuklo’s jacket that he belonged to the academy. But why?!
Kuklo still being alive could be chalked up to some sort of twisted luck, as Xavi forced to persuade himself… Kuklo joining the corps as a recruit, on the other hand, was unthinkable. Not only that, he was with Cardina, who was supposed to have left.
The unexpected developments sat in Xavi’s mind like a ball of tangled threads. It was all he could do to keep from panicking. There was one thing, however, that he understood in his confusion.
They’re definitely going to be a menace. Both Kuklo’s very presence and Cardina’s abilities as a soldier endangered Xavi’s standing. Cardina returning to become a recruit meant, quite simply, that one seat on the Military Police was gone. Kuklo’s abilities were still an unknown, but he was the Titan’s son. He could be hiding incredible power within him. Xavi couldn’t help but fear that his road to the Military Police was receding.
I’m the one who’ll be applying to be an MP! he nearly screamed the words without thinking, but grit his teeth to hold them back.
Xavi had established his current position by winning over potential rivals with money. Those stubborn enough to resist him he subjugated by force. Even then, it was unlikely that he could graduate at the top of his class, so he’d resorted to any and all measures to secure his spot in the top ten.
“You think you can get in my way?”
His body atremble, Xavi searched for a way to make sure that only he found happiness.
✦ ✦ ✦
Roughly five hundred recruits stood in rows on the athletic grounds. The sight of the orderly lines of stern faces seemed almost like a work of art, the result of days after days of training.
Yet they were most certainly not there as decoration. Though still in training, they were indeed soldiers. In an emergency, they would be sent into battle as a matter of course to protect the citizenry. While no records spoke of the Training Corps engaging in actual combat, its members were absolutely ready to be tapped. That much was clear from their expressions.
Their collective attention was on two recruits who stood facing them: Kuklo and Cardina, freshly out of their disciplinary cells that morning. Since they’d been placed in their cells before they could introduce themselves as classmates, Jorge was giving them a chance to do exactly that.
Due perhaps to the earlier incident, the pair were receiving a less than hearty welcome, as was clear from the tension in the air and the askance looks, as if the two brought bad luck. Graduation was now in sight, making this an important period. Any unnecessary trouble had to be shunned like the plague. In particular, Xavi, who stood in the front row, had murder in his eyes as he gazed at Kuklo.
So many enemies, I see. But this neither inconvenienced nor upset Kuklo. He’d come to the training academy to learn how to use the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment in order to kill Ogre. He wasn’t here to be chummy or to make friends.
“I didn’t think I’d ever have to wear fatigues again,” Cardina moped beside Kuklo.
“Better than a death sentence.”
“Now, that would shut me up, wouldn’t it?” Cardina scratched his head and smiled bitterly.
“This is Kuklo and Cardina. They’ll be joining you as of today. There’s not much time until graduation, but I’d like you to work with one another as you aim to better yourselves. For the king, for the country, and for the people,” Jorge succinctly informed the wall of recruits. Then he looked at Kuklo and Cardina. He seemed to want them to introduce themselves.
What do I talk about? Kuklo couldn’t think of anything worth telling the group.
As he stood there confused, Cardina boldly stepped forward. Placing his right fist to the left side of his chest, he hollered, so loudly his voice seemed to echo into the farthest corners of the grounds, “Cardina Baumeister! Due to certain reasons, I have returned!! I intend to make up for every day I have missed by devoting every drop of sweat I have to my training! Thank you all!!”
Kuklo blinked and turned a surprised look at Cardina, not expecting anyone so low-keyed to bellow from so deep in his stomach. Nevertheless, standing straight as an arrow and saluting, Cardina was the very picture of a soldier ready to sacrifice his life for the king, the country, and the people. He had just been moping so it was hard to tell what was in his heart, and maybe it was all for show.
It was Kuklo’s turn next. Following Cardina’s lead, he took a step forward. He hadn’t come up with anything to say, and he lacked Cardina’s glibness to make do with platitudes.
I came here for one reason. His only choice was to tell them the plain truth.
“I am going to slay a Titan!”
Kuklo’s declaration caused a stir among the recruits.