December website update

    As the extermination war against the Hellrowcast raged on, Cordie Serdos, the elder brother of Dan, was appointed to a certain logistic support unit in the Bolero viscounty located in the Grauksh region.

    "Huff...*pant* Haah... Damn it... why do I have to do this shitty labor work when I’m a part of the brain clique?!"

    An indignant murmur escaped from Cordie''s mouth, and he immediately got berated for it.

    "That''s enough whining, Cordie! Instead of wasting your energy on complaining, you should move your hands and feet more!"

    The owner of the voice was Pet, the leader of the unit Cordie was in.

    In the Yuglia Kingdom, a small group was dubbed a Unit, which was composed of four people. Two units would be called a Squad, four squads made up a platoon, and four platoons would make a company.

    With a commoner background, and being nearly 20 years old, much like Cordie, Pet could be seen nagging Cordie most of the time.

    Their current task was to dismantle the camp where the combat unit responsible for exterminating the Hellrowcast had been stationed, and swiftly set it up again on another designated point.

    While the highlight of this large-scale military operation was, of course, the combat unit that would exterminate the Hellrowcast, Cordie, as someone who knew nothing about swordsmanship or who had no military upbringing, was assigned to logistics as a matter of course.

    This wasn''t to belittle the importance of logistic units, as they were vital in military operations. However, when their tasks varied from predicting the next campsite for the Hellrowcaust elimination operation to procuring and transporting necessary supplies while also keeping an eye on the troop''s health and remaining mana — which all required an experienced hand — an inexperienced nobody like Cordie couldn''t contribute anything significant.

    In the end, Cordie was enlisted as a volunteer laborer to carry the supplies, set up tents, and the like while mapping the hills and dales. Basically, work that required little to no critical thinking. And achieving any meritorious deeds in his current situation would only be possible in his dreams.

    The final nail in the coffin was his rank in the army— a common soldier, the very bottom.

    While he was sent here to learn and to earn some merits, the rank and placement itself was very odd for an heir of a count family, especially since he was a graduate of a Noble Academy.

    Under normal circumstances, as the heir to a count family, he would be surrounded by knights, and would be assigned safer, less strenuous tasks to earn achievements without taking on real danger.

    Then why was Cordie undertaking menial tasks in a team full of strangers? The short answer was due to the *consideration* of Marquis Grauksh, who had extended this blessing especially to him.

    "You bastard! Do you even know who I am!? I-I’m the heir of a distinguished Count family! And my little brother is in the Royal Academy—"

    Just as Cordie made his complaint while glaring at Pet, the latter''s right hand cut through the air toward him. Cordie instantly stiffened when he saw the incoming hand.

    The next moment, Pet delivered a strong slap on Cordie''s left cheek, leaving a red welt and a stinging sensation.

    "Argh!"

    Seeing Cordie falling to his knees, Pet continued in a deep voice.

    "This is the third time, Cordie. Don’t make me repeat myself. When in the military, you better shove your age and status up your arse. You''re a nobody here, a common soldier. That''s what you are right now. You can only throw your weight around in times of peace. In operations like this, any act of disobedience that may disrupt the army''s order is a grave violation of the military rules. I’ll let it slide this time, but know that not everyone is as lenient as me."

    With tears pooling in his eyes, Cordie glared at Pet. He swallowed his saliva that now had the taste of blood mixed in.

    "You bastard... Not even my parents have ever laid their hand on me! I swear, as soon as I get my hands on a way to contact my little brother, I will have your—"

    Pet shook his head in dismay, and then he grabbed Cordie''s arm.

    "You really don''t learn, do you?... I don''t know who your brother is, but they''re the ones who deserve respect. Not you. Moreover—"

    Pet said that, then he once again raised his right hand in the air. ''Eeeek,'' Cordie let out a miserable shriek as he scampered to cover his face with his hands.

    "...No one in the military would dare say crap like they''ve never been hit before. The instant they face danger, they don''t make a chu sound, nor do they take any other action. What they do is put up their mana guard. You mustn’t shut your eyes. Keep your vision unobstructed, and then look at me. Do it."

    Hearing Pet speaking in an unexpectedly soft voice, Cordie clumsily gathered his mana, and hesitatingly lowered his arms.

    As soon he did so, Pet delivered a second slap.

    "Gaah!"

    Pet hastily covered Cordie''s mouth.

    "You dumb bastard! Are you even thinking, shouting against an order within earshot of another group who could see our tomfoolery? I’ve already said it before, but the others aren''t as broad-minded as me! What you just did could get you court-martialed!"

    "I presume the arrival of the support unit had disrupted our water arrangements. They''re not locals, so they won''t be able to fetch enough water, after all. And most of all, we''re not inside a city, and there''s a limit to a mage''s mana. Their conjured water is mainly set apart as drinking water. In such a prolonged operation, it''s common to collect water from local sources. Be thankful that you can at least clean your clothes because of it."

    Confirming that Cordie had stopped speaking, Pet slowly moved his hand away from Cordie''s mouth.

    "Then why not just bring in civilians who have water affinity magic? There are plenty of ways to handle it!"

    Pet shook his head in disbelief.

    "Do you really think that the higher-ups wouldn''t have thought of what you''re suggesting? That''s bringing an untrained civilian into a support unit inside a mountain where a monster could attack at any moment. Who will take responsibility if someone dies, huh? Or what, do you think they should then just increase the soldiers to tighten security?  But that''s going to increase the tent supply that needs to be carried.

    Just get this through your head. We''re not the ones calling the shots in arranging the supplies. If you consider yourself to be one hell of a strategist, then get some merits and get the hell out of here."

    Hell-bent on not obeying the command, Cordie gripped the stump his back was leaning on with teary eyes. He made himself clear that he wouldn''t be getting up this time.

    Pet heaved a long sigh, and said in a soft tone.

    "Just so you know, Luca and Edge had been silently managing the mess your sorry ass had left behind all this time. You must at least let them take a breather here, or else our Unit will continue to fall behind. And when that happens, you’ll have to carry even greater weight then... Anyway, I believe you still have some mana left. After all, you surpass everyone out here with your incredible mana capacity. I guess that much is to be expected from a Count''s lineage. I’m quite jealous myself."

    Cordie blinked repeatedly when he heard Pet. He wasn''t exactly expecting any praise from him at this point.

    "...Well, my base mana capacity is merely 700 units. It''s a drop in the ocean compared to what the Royal Academy wants."

    There had been a time when Cordie actually exerted effort while carrying the weight of his parents’ expectations at the age of 12. However, after failing to even clear the baseline criteria for the Royal Academy entrance exam, his attitude had become increasingly indifferent. This behavior only worsened over time, leading to his current state.

    "Haha, well at least you got a chance to tackle it. That''s already an achievement you can brag about for your whole life... If you already had 700 units of mana capacity back then, then it''s safe to assume that your mana capacity now might have crossed 1000 already. Mana compression will naturally happen when you train.

    Once you do so, you''re surely bound to become an indispensable corner of this unit— scratch that, I bet even other squads would fight each other to get you into their ranks. And when you hit that potential, the road to becoming an officer is mere inches away. Well, that''s only possible if you get your act together though. This is why I’m telling you to get that flabby belly back into shape. You''re just wasting your talent."

    Wasting your *talent*.

    Cordie gingerly gazed back and forth between the faces of his Unit members.

    As much as he kept shouting ''damn commoners'' or ''how dare you,'' he knew deep down he was dragging everyone down. He had never looked into their eyes properly until now. His inflated pride had shattered to pieces when he had been shoved under the command of a commoner, and was granted the lowest common soldier rank.

    He felt aggravated especially when no one came to even shout at him except for Pet.

    Luca, and Edge, who were even younger than him, made mischievous smiles as they remarked nonchalantly.

    "...It''s tough for everyone in the beginning, Cordie-san!"

    "So hurry up and get your deserved seat!"

    Being the eldest son of the Count family he was in, he had an endless line of people trying to fawn over him in the Noble Academy. However, no one except his mother ever looked at him for his ability, his potential, or had any expectation from him.

    ''Maybe I always wanted someone to see me for what I am,'' Cordie keenly realized the lurking feeling in his heart.

    Pet gave a light slap on Cordie’s back as the latter immersed himself in that feeling.

    "It seems like you got it. Then let''s get going. My mana is already on its last leg."

    Saying these words, he briskly walked forward.

    "D-Don’t get the wrong idea! I’m not doing all this to get your approval!"

    Cordie hastily stood up and followed Pet’s footsteps.

    E/N - Don''t you hate it when you feel like you''re getting blue-balled? Also, Cordie''s about to get his own character development.