Something was wrong.
As the head of the new and improved Guard Corps, Leobolt had led his troops with the goal of creating the ideal organization to protect the world. However, they still weren’t shaping up to become what he had envisioned. Instead, a rift had begun to develop.
In order to strengthen the Guard Corps as a whole, it had been necessary to raise the performance bar of each individual member. To that end, he had assigned everyone training outside of their regular hours of duty. No overtime pay was given out, of course; the reason they had needed such intense training in the first place was because they were lacking in strength, and men with insufficient ability did not deserve extra wages.
Leobolt, at least, would have agreed with that line of thinking had he been in their position. Training hard outside of regular work hours was just common sense to him; if someone wanted to protect the world, they needed to set their aspirations at least that high.
Leobolt had never been particularly motivated by money to begin with. The very act of fighting to protect the world mattered more than anything else.
However, the guards under him were different. They were openly dissatisfied with the lack of pay for their extracurricular training, and they schemed to avoid their work duties at every given opportunity. Since they were paid for completing their set hours, the prevailing attitude was to perform the bare minimum of work and get by with as little effort as possible.
These men have the wrong idea, Leobolt thought. A guard’s salary is not paid by the hour. It is paid according to the value they provide by completing their patrols, warding off monster attacks, and defending the people of the royal capital—and, by extension, defending the world itself. That is why they should make every effort to yield as great a value as possible in the limited time they are given.
He had tried to explain as such to the guards, but apparently it hadn’t resonated with them.
“It appears I must tighten their discipline further still...”
The guards were still lacking in far too many ways. Their bodies and minds had to be trained thoroughly to remedy that. Yet no matter how much training Leobolt imposed on them, they did not show the progress he anticipated.
Why is this happening? Leobolt wondered.
After much thought, he reached a conclusion: They aren’t putting in enough effort.
If he had been training in their shoes, there was no way he would’ve shown such scant improvement. He wasn’t a genius; he was just a good learner. He had put in the proper amount of effort needed for the task at hand—so obviously, others should’ve been able to use the same tactic. If they were failing, it was entirely due to a lack of effort. It had nothing to do with talent.
Leobolt began training the guards with even more intensity. Yet the more he did so, the further he sensed them drifting away.
“Commander Leobolt, perhaps that’s a bit excessive...?”
No longer able to just stand by, a guard who had been part of Leobolt’s inner circle in the former Ninth Squadron finally offered his opinion.
“If things continue like this, our men will end up unable to function at all.”
“You would oppose my wishes, then?”
“N-No, of course not...”
“It is my job as commander to dictate our organization’s policies. Your opinions are unneeded. Everyone else need only worry about fulfilling their own roles.”
Leobolt’s words were not flawed; they were without a doubt correct. That meant any reasonable person should have obeyed them.
However, that was not how things turned out.
It happened one day at the morning assembly, while Leobolt was telling the guards about what changes there would be moving forward.
“To hell with all this!” a guard shouted, then hurled his sheathed sword to the floor.
“What are you doing?” Leobolt asked coldly.
“I said, to hell with it!” Hostility burned in the guard’s eyes. “Day after day, it’s training this and training that... You banned alcohol, you banned gambling, and now you’re gonna ban going out at night entirely?!”
“Leaving during the nighttime will affect your duties the following day. If you have such free time, it would be better spent either training or resting.”
“You work us like horses, and we do it for chump change... If you’re gonna take away every last bit of our fun on top of that, then why the hell are we working in the first place?!”
“That should be quite obvious. You are protecting the world,” Leobolt responded coldly. “We serve a greater calling, and we must strive in dedication to it.”
“Hah! ‘Protecting the world,’ my ass! What a load of bullshit! Let me tell ya, that’s the last damn thing on our minds!”
“What do you mean by that...?” Leobolt frowned scornfully at the guard’s outburst.
“We don’t care about stuff like ‘protecting the world’ and ‘serving a greater calling.’ Working as a guard is just a way to earn money!” the guard yelled at his commander mockingly. “Who gives a shit about ‘callings’ or being ‘world-protecting heroes’? Don’t drag us regular people into some noble rich-kid’s role-playing game!”
The room fell eerily silent. A tension hung in the air. Everyone held their breath as they waited to hear how Leobolt would respond.
“I see,” he eventually said, nodding. “I understand now.”
“Huh...?”
“I had always wondered why none of you seemed to progress much, despite undergoing the same amount of training as I did. Now, at last, I know why.”
He spoke in a tone so subdued that no emotion could be discerned from it.
“The difference between us is not talent—it’s our levels of awareness. I have always aspired to work hard for the sake of protecting the world, while the rest of you have just been mindlessly doing as you’re told as a means to earn your daily wages. No wonder I wasn’t seeing any progress. That is where my improvements should have begun. It was such an obvious thing that I hadn’t thought to notice.”
“Commander Leobolt?! What are you...”
✦ ✦ ✦
Leobolt’s aides were startled to see him draw his sword.
“I am going to slay him, obviously.”
“What...?!”
“He brazenly insulted his most superior officer. Allowing such behavior to go unchecked will disrupt the order of our organization. Therefore, this man must be slain.”
Leobolt held no personal grudge against the guard in question. On the contrary, he was grateful that the man had made him aware of the main issue. However, for the sake of the organization, the man could not go unpunished.
Also, Leobolt realized he had expected too much from the guards. He had always assumed that approaching one’s work and role with a sincere attitude came as naturally as breathing. However, they had no real awareness of the importance of their mission to protect the world, and no associated pride; they were merely working as guards to earn a living. Their motives were horribly impure, and therefore, he couldn’t expect to see any improvement.
It would be difficult to bring the proper awareness to them through dialogue. That means I’ll just have to force it on them by instilling them with fear. Cutting down one of their own before their very eyes will show them what happens if they oppose me—and then I will be able to lead the Guard Corps to even greater heights.
“N-No, stop! Please!”
Looking down upon this man begging for his life stirs no emotions in me. I shall suppress all my personal feelings and carry out my duty.
Just as Leobolt was about to strike the man down, someone else placed their hand on top of his, holding the weapon in place.
“Sergeant Sieg...”
“You wield your sword to protect others, right? Then you definitely shouldn’t be wielding it against your own.”
“Do not interfere, if you please.”
“If you’re going to swing that thing at an ally of mine, you’ll have to get through me first.”
Leobolt fell silent. The look in Sieg’s eyes showed that he meant it. If Leobolt tried to attack the guard, Sieg would activate his Iron Target skill, drawing the attack to him.
Having faced Sieg in battle before, Leobolt knew how incredible the man’s defense power was. No other person had ever been able to defend against Leobolt’s most powerful attack. Sieg was an incredibly huge asset to their forces; injuring him in a situation like that was not an option.
“...Very well. I shall stay my blade for now.”
Letting out an extended breath, Leobolt returned his sword to its sheath.
After the guard’s narrow escape from being purged, his nerves must have been shot; his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground. His face appeared to have aged a good bit compared to earlier.
Leobolt’s intention had been to purge the man and strike fear into the hearts of the other guards. He needed to burn the fact into their minds that no disobedience would be tolerated.
However, he had failed to do so. Sieg’s intervention had prevented him from accomplishing his goal.
Leobolt looked at the rest of the guards. Seeing their eyes filled with distrust, he understood that a deep rift had formed between him and his men.