It wasn’t until several days later that we learned about the Guard Corps being restructured.
At Leobolt’s order, over a dozen people were immediately purged from the Guard Corps’s roster. Everything had been decided at his discretion alone; he made no attempt to consult with me, Alma, or any of the other squad sergeants beforehand. He just informed everyone after the fact at an all-hands meeting.
Not a single one of us could help but be thunderstruck—not the squad sergeants nor the guards. There had been people expelled from the Guard before, but that had only happened to people like Lambda, who had been involved in serious crimes.
Once the report was over, I went over to the commander’s office to lodge a complaint with Leobolt, the rest of the Fifth Squadron in tow.
“Commander, why did you expel all those men?” I asked.
“It’s just as I explained before,” he responded, looking up from his paperwork. “They were negligent in their work. Despite being firmly reprimanded, they showed no signs of improvement. Instead, they merely complained. If I let men like that remain unchecked, it will set a bad example for the others. This organization has no need of people who cannot abide by the rules.”
“But we have a shortage of manpower right now. You know that. Expelling good fighting men is too excessive a punishment,” I said.
“One bad apple can spoil the others next to it, Sergeant Sieg. In fact, they can eventually spoil the whole barrel. If we don’t want the rot spreading to the entire Guard Corps, we have no choice but to pick out the rotten apples when we find them.”
“I don’t agree that they could’ve ruined the whole organization like that. They might’ve slacked off sometimes, but all of them could be counted on when emergencies happened.”
Those men had fought through hell with us time and time again—during the fight against the undead army, as well as the time we were attacked by demon forces, to name a couple. There was no way we could just toss them out like they were nothing.
“Look, Commander Leobolt. Don’t you think you might be expecting too much perfection from everyone?”
“Those men had been discontented with me for some time already, Sieg. Apparently, they wished for their former commander Bolton to be reinstated. In times of emergency, followers who defy the wishes of their commander are nothing more than complications. Culling them early on is in our organization’s best interests.”
“Oh, I see. So you believe that what we need most to defend the royal capital isn’t comrades who fight together, but followers who are loyal to you.”
“Correct. It would be ideal if there were several hundred of me, but that is not a realistic option. Which means I’ll need to raise the bar closer to my level for the remaining guards. I have a responsibility to put together a powerful Guard Corps for the purpose of protecting our world. I needed to let those other men go to make that happen.” Leobolt’s tone was decisive. “It was a decision made in the interests of protecting both the capital and the world. Tell me, Sergeant, am I mistaken in any of my reasoning?”
Entwining his fingers together on top of the table, he fixed his gaze on me. It was sharp, like a knife held in a firm grip.
He hadn’t expelled them because he had any personal beef with them; he had just decided that it was necessary for the health of the organization. His resolution on that point had been made perfectly clear.
“I honestly can’t say I agree with you,” I said after a brief pause. “If you keep things up the way they are now, the guards are going to lag behind. Not everybody is a genius like you are.”
“I’m no genius—I am but an average man,” Leobolt replied. “If I can do it, other people can as well. The only ingredient they are missing is the painstaking training I endured.”
“Not everyone can do what you did in that regard either,” I objected. “If you push them too hard, all you’re going to do is exhaust them. At the rate you’re pushing them right now, that’s going to happen sooner rather than later.”
“You do believe that I’m mistaken, then...?”
“That’s right.”
“Thank you for your words of caution, then. I am the leader of the Guard Corps, though, and you are obligated to follow my command. That is the duty of all of our personnel.”
“You’re right about that,” I responded. “And I will abide by whatever decisions you make. I’m hoping you’ll keep what I just said in the back of your mind, though.”
“Understood,” Leobolt finally said, and he suddenly gave a wide smile. I couldn’t tell for sure if I was getting through to him underneath his mask of cool indifference.
“That’s all I wanted to tell you,” I said. “Sorry to bother you.”
We had turned around and started on our way out when he spoke up again.
“Oh, that’s right,” Leobolt called out before we could leave. “There’s something I wanted to speak with all of you about.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. It’s about the restructuring of the Fifth Squadron.”
“Restructuring...” Something felt ominous about the sound of that word. “I think we’re perfectly fine at our current strength, though.”
“Of course. There is no problem whatsoever with your strength. There is something else that concerns me, though.”
“What is it?”
“There is one member of your group who is ill-suited to be a guard.”
Silence fell across us as we looked at each other, trying to determine who he was talking about.
“I-Is it me...?!” Seira asked concernedly. “Maybe it bothers the guards to have a foreign princess among them...”
“I seriously doubt that,” I said. “If there were any problems concerning you, it would be about your outfit.”
“Huh? But why?” She blinked.
“Your lack of self-awareness scares me sometimes,” I muttered.
“He’s probably talkin’ about you, right, Fam?” Spinoza piped up.
“I should be asking you that question,” Fam countered.
“Hm? Why would it be me?”
“Your lack of self-awareness scares me sometimes,” I grumbled, giving a strained smile. “In all honesty, though, if someone were to ask me if we were suited to be guards, I’d have to admit all of us have our questionable points—myself included.”
“I personally consider you to be an ideal guard, Sieg,” Leobolt commented. “And while Spinoza displays some unacceptable behavior...she is not the object of my concerns this time around.”
“Hah! Take that!” Spinoza shouted triumphantly, then paused. “Wait, then who’s this about?”
A sudden realization fell upon us. It wasn’t about Spinoza, and it probably wasn’t about me, since he had called me an ideal guard. That only left two possibilities.
Leobolt slowly brought his clasped hands apart, adjusting them before rejoining them, his elbows resting on his desk. Then, after a brief pause, he shot a piercing gaze at one specific person.
“Fam. I am told that demon blood runs through your veins.”
He was looking at Fam—the Fifth Squadron’s archer.
There was no intonation whatsoever in his voice, which gave it a sharp feel, like a blade made of ice.
After a moment of quiet, Fam spoke up. “I don’t recall ever having told you that.”
“It is the commander’s duty to make certain that no rats have slipped into the midst of our organization. I did some checking up on your background,” Leobolt said. “You have demon blood, and you had infiltrated us as a spy for the demons at one point... It is a massive risk to retain someone like that as a guard.”
“You don’t mean...” I began.
“Fam, I cannot allow you to remain in the Guard Corps. From this day forward, you are hereby relieved of duty.”
His heartless declaration echoed across the room, its suddenness stunning all of us into silence.
“Hold on a second,” I piped up once I regained my composure. “Fam is part demon, and she may have been a spy in the past, but she has long since cut all the old ties she had.”
“Th-That’s right!” Seira affirmed. “Fam is our comrade! Relieving her of duty is too harsh a punishment!”
“But we cannot be certain that she won’t switch sides again. It’s possible she is only pretending to have cut ties and is biding her time until she can catch us unawares and strike,” Leobolt murmured matter-of-factly. “With demon blood in her veins, we cannot rule out her doing such a thing. It would be unwise to saddle ourselves with such a risk.”
“Being part demon doesn’t automatically mean she’s a threat to humanity. Besides, there are plenty of humans who threaten humanity themselves,” I told Leobolt. “It doesn’t matter whether she’s a demon or a human. Fam is who she is. She is no threat to us whatsoever.”
“You cannot deny that she used to be a spy, though,” he countered.