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Of new people coming in.

Of getting close to them and forming attachments.

—Ah… Ah… Nooooo!

The first death of a comrade after joining the Neokalitz unit.

It wasn’t a big deal.

If there was a reason, perhaps it was complacency?

It was during a goblin extermination mission.

The goblins, driven by hunger, had ventured as far as the forest’s entrance.

Among the monsters that come out of the Bronselian Forest, goblins are considered lower-tier.

But unlike the serious veterans, the new recruits had a relaxed attitude on their faces.

It was natural.

After all, they were just going to hunt goblins.

But it’s at times like these that things go wrong.

One of the recruits got hit by a poisoned dart fired by a goblin.

From a goblin they thought they had already been killed.

To make matters worse, the dart hit him in the eye, making treatment impossible.

The poison spread inside his eye, and it became uncontrollable.

Even after that, new recruits continued to arrive.

Dianal remembered that incident as he trained them.

Never let your guard down in the forest.

Even if you meet a worm, make sure to finish it off completely.

“…Idiots.”

Dianal cursed under his breath as he recalled the rookies who had died.

Especially the talented ones—they were the worst.

He would tell them not to be complacent.

To always watch their backs and be mindful of each step they took.

But they only answered with words and didn’t put them into practice.

Most of them were like that, and they all ended up dead.

After about a year, Dianal stopped giving advice to the rookies.

He didn’t care anymore.

They were going to die eventually anyway.

“Phew…”

But why is it…

‘…What was that?’

That young kid.

There was something strange about the way he looked at him.

Actually, it wasn’t really a strange look.

It was more like…

‘It felt like he knew me.’

It was a peculiar feeling that couldn’t be explained with words.

‘Whatever, it doesn’t matter.’

He decided not to think about it.

Dianal then grabbed his boots and headed to the military store in front of the unit.

“I’m here.”

“Come on in.”

It was the only military store in Erkal where only members of the Neokalitz unit were allowed.

That was because the shop owner, Mr. Osman, had an extremely bad temper.

—Don’t even think about coming to my store if you’re just here to kill time!

The memory of him scolding the Erkal defense force was still fresh.

Dianal took out the boots he had brought.

“I’m here to replace the soles.”

“Again? Isn’t it time to replace the whole boot?”

“Haha, I need to save money for other things.”

“Pfft, you’re not turning into those seniors of yours, are you? Save your salary and invest in your gear. That’s how you’ll live another day.”

He was referring to the seniors who frequented entertainment venues.

They didn’t know when they might die, so they spent a considerable amount of money on drinking and women.

“I don’t even have the money to go.”

In reality, Dianal sent most of his salary back home.

Osman knew this, so he chuckled and said.

“I’ll replace them with something sturdy. If these soles wear out, I’ll just give you a new pair of boots next time.”

“For free?”

“Haha, you’re a cheeky one… Fine, I’ll replace them for free!”

It was his way of indirectly telling Dianal to survive until the soles wore out.

Dianal let out a low laugh.

“Haha, thank you. I’ll work even harder.”

“Not harder, just smarter.”

Osman then removed the soles of the boots and quickly set about repairing them.

Once he finished, Osman handed the boots back to Dianal and asked.

“I saw some clueless-looking guys in front of the unit earlier. Are they new recruits?”

“You saw them?”

Dianal’s expression stiffened.

Knowing what that meant, Osman clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought they were recruits for the defense force, but… I guess they’re your rookies.”

“…I’ll be back.”

Dianal gave a slight nod and walked out.

Rookies.

Damn it.

With bitter memories in mind, Dianal bit his lip as he returned to the unit.

They probably didn’t even listen to the order to clean up properly.

Most of them complained about having to clean as soon as they arrived.

‘I’ll have to crush their spirits first.’

Motivation, confidence, pride.

None of that is needed here.

It would only hasten their deaths.

It’s better to crush them thoroughly so they can’t defy their seniors.

That was the method Dianal had chosen.

But when Dianal returned to the barracks.

“…What the hell is this?”

He muttered in shock.

“…We’re surprised too.”

“Kid, how many guys did you take down?”

The seniors in the barracks looked at Dianal and asked.

The mold that had covered the walls and the grime stuck to the floor.

Except for a few places that had yellowed over time, the interior was now shining like a new barrack. Dianal swallowed hard.

And then…

“Ah, you’re back, Corporal Dianal?”

The young rookie spoke, holding a bucket filled with dirty water.

* * *

“Kyle.”

“What?”

“Start cleaning.”

“…?”

Damian suddenly left and came back with a rag.

Kyle frowned as he took the rag from Damian.

“Did we come here just to clean?”

“This is part of our job too. Stop complaining and clean from over there to here. I’ll take care of the other side.”

Damian, seeming oddly cheerful, began wiping the walls with the rag.

He dipped the rag into the bucket and vigorously scrubbed the walls.

Kyle sighed at the sight.

“Damn it, cleaning as soon as we arrive.”

He had come expecting fierce battles, not cleaning duties.

But with Damian diligently cleaning, Kyle couldn’t just sit still.

Despite his rising irritation, Kyle began cleaning the spot Damian had pointed out.

“Hey, scrub harder!”

“I got it!”

Somehow, Damian always found the right tools, bringing back a mop and a scraper at just the right time.

He completely eradicated the old stains on the floor.

The mold stains from the moisture and the dust in the corners of the ceiling were also completely removed.

Kyle started wondering if Damian’s parents ran a cleaning business.

But…

“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh…”

Was cleaning always this exhausting?

At some point, his whole body started to ache, and sweat poured down like rain.

He had to wipe the sweat off the floor again where it had dripped.

“D-Damian, don’t you think this is clean enough?”

It was definitely clean enough. But Damian shook his head.

“Could you lick the spot you just cleaned?”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

“Clean it so thoroughly that it’s possible. There’s still grime left. Finish it with a dry rag.”

“You’re insane! At this point, we might as well quit and start a cleaning business!”

Kyle shouted, thinking this was too much.

But Damian looked at Kyle with a serious expression.

“Kyle, this is the first task we’ve been given since arriving at this unit.”

“Cleaning isn’t exactly a mission…”

Kyle grumbled.

But Damian cut him off.

“I don’t want to take this first task lightly. It’s important to do it perfectly, so that no one can criticize it. If we’re going to do it half-heartedly, it’s better not to do it at all.”

“…”

Kyle wanted to say that this was nonsense.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Damian’s expression was too serious.

‘…Perfect.’

And he began to reconsider the meaning of the word “perfect” as Damian used it.

‘Damn it, fine. We’ve come this far already…’

“Alright, let’s do it.”

Damian gave a wide grin at Kyle’s response.

* * *

It was almost sparkling.

Every member of the Neokalitz unit who entered the barracks couldn’t hide their surprised expressions.

“Hey, how much did you ride the new recruits to get it this clean?”

“N-no, I didn’t really…”

All he did was tell them to clean.

Dianal looked at Damian with a puzzled expression.

There was no sign of intimidation.

On the contrary, the kid approached him with a relaxed smile.

“We’ve completed the cleaning task as instructed. Could you please check if there’s anything we missed?”

“Well…”

There couldn’t possibly be anything missing.

If anything, it was almost excessive.

Dianal was at a loss for words, like a mute who had eaten honey.

‘What’s with this guy?’

What was he thinking, doing all this?

Most recruits either didn’t clean at all or just pretended to.

Every single one of them before had done that.

But what is this situation?

‘…Is this some kind of intelligent rebellion?’

Dianal looked at the recruits.

Both of them were shirtless, their upper bodies drenched in sweat.

Just by looking at the sweat pouring off them, you could tell how intensely they had worked.

Cleaning, of all things.

“You, you little…”

Dianal couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

He didn’t know what to say; the words were stuck in his throat.

Rebelling?

It was just cleaning, and they had done it thoroughly.

But at that moment…

“Hahaha…”

Tarion, who had been watching the situation, let out a low chuckle.

At that, the eyes of the other soldiers wavered slightly.

‘The captain is laughing?’

‘That stone-faced guy?’

The soldiers looked at Tarion with expressions just as surprised as when they saw the spotless barracks.

It was only natural, as Tarion was usually expressionless.

As if he had forgotten how to smile.

Tarion’s perpetually dry expression often influenced the other soldiers, who adopted a similar demeanor.

It was like they were just enduring the grim situation, barely holding on.

And yet, Tarion didn’t care about the soldiers’ stares as he looked at Damian and Kyle.

“Newbies, come here.”

At Tarion’s words, Damian walked straight to him without hesitation.

When the two stood before him, Tarion asked.

“Did you two do this?”

“Yes, we did.”

“Why did you clean so thoroughly?”

“It was Corporal Dianal’s order.”

Damian replied.

When nothing more was said, Tarion looked at him in disbelief.

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s all.”

It was a senior’s order.

So they just cleaned thoroughly.

Seeing that there was nothing else to say, Tarion looked at Damian and Kyle in silence.

This was definitely a situation where they could boast.

Or they could use it as leverage to ask for other favors.

But…

“…”

Tarion looked at Damian and Kyle.

The bigger guy seemed a bit uncomfortable with the situation, swallowing nervously.

And the younger one…

‘I can’t figure him out.’

You can usually gauge a person’s depth when you look at them.

Especially someone like Tarion, who has spent a long time in life-or-death situations on the battlefield.

The bigger one was quite impressive.

He didn’t seem like a new recruit.

With a little training, he could be sent into action right away.

But the depth of this kid named Damian was hard to grasp.

—This guy graduated first in his training camp.

Kyle’s words suddenly came to mind.

‘There’s a reason for this.’

He didn’t know what it was.

But it meant there was something unknown about this kid.

And he volunteered.

There aren’t many who don’t know about the Neokalitz unit when they volunteer for the army in the Baroque Kingdom.

It’s not something you do unknowingly.

‘And yet he came willingly?’

These guys are unpredictable.

He couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

He tried to stop it, but the laughter broke through his lips.

Swish.

Tarion stood up and placed his hands on Damian and Kyle’s shoulders.

With a smile, he turned them to face the other soldiers.

“Listen up, everyone.”

He said as he made Damian and Kyle face the unit.

“These two are our new youngest members starting today. Make sure to welcome them.”

—