20 Yay~ It's a Chapter

The results were out the next morning. Sawamura -San wasn't lying when he said it was going to be a long day. I had gotten up way early in the morning out of habit. That's when I noticed a familiar figure sleeping on the opposite bed. It was none other than the star recruit/flashy guy, Raphael. Oh, the silly coincidences of life, who would've thought! I assumed since he was hanging out with the other "noble" pansies, he would receive some sort of preferential treatment, like being placed in a much fancier barrack. Well, Everyone has their own circumstances I guess.

Since the bathroom was free, I took my sweet time to freshen up and then put on my new Marine uniform. The excitement of putting on new clothes was welling up inside me. I stood in front of a large mirror once I was done and I had to admit, I looked dashing in this outfit. The clean and ironed uniform complimented my aesthetic physique as it fit me perfectly. I didn't have any accessories for my arms, so I just wrapped some bandage around them.

I put on a cap and admire my appearance one more time in front of the mirror before I head down the stairs. There was no one at the hall, so I guess I'm the only guy up and about at this hour. There seems to be no kitchen in the barracks, thus I made my way to the canteen. The Chefs there had just begun preparing the meals so I settled for some small talk with them.

I came to know that the type of meal you're provided here varies with your rank and grade. The high ranking officers and elites get to enjoy exquisite cuisine while the meals get plainer the lower your ranks go. The chore boys mostly eat oatmeal and dried biscuits along with honey or meat depending upon the occasion.

Oh damn… had I known this earlier I would have put more efforts into the exam. Oh well, Que sera sera. I'm not picky about what I eat anyway. Since there was plenty of time before the meals get ready, I decided to explore the area to find some exclusive chilling spots to call my own.

I head back to my barracks and pick up my spyglass from my room. I had purchased it for quite the sum from a pawn shop at my hometown. Everyone was still asleep, thus I silently made my way back out.

Inside the base was more like a maze with the usual patrolling marines in sight, I doubt I'd find any spots. Thus I decided to look around outside the base. The guards at the entrance were a friendly bunch, allowing me to pass without any difficulties.

It was still dark outside. I headed down the town as I looked left and right for any suitable spot,but sadly I couldn't find any. When I mentioned earlier that this place resembled a seaside village in Italy, I meant every word of it, including the fact that it was packed tight with buildings. There was no secluded place around where I could simply chill out away from prying eyes.

Just when I was about to give up my Search, a crazy idea popped up into my head

[What about the lighthouse?]

When I was sailing towards the Island, I noticed from afar that the island had three distinct lighthouses, guiding ships towards it. Later on Sawamura-San explained to me that the Island had not three but four different lighthouses, each corresponding to a Cardinal direction; the one I missed must have been inconspicuous from the direction I arrived. This seemed odd to me because, most inhabited islands with a single port usually have one lighthouse, but this island had four despite having only two ports.

Apparently the 'Ruling' class people, who resided within the inner wall at the top of this island did not like the idea of a Man-made construct being higher than their area of residence. Thus instead of a single, large lighthouse; four smaller lighthouses were established.

The level of pettiness of these rulers is incredible; but I can't say I'm baffled though. I've seen crazier things done by rich people in my previous life. The Sun began to peek out from the horizon, so I assume the time must be around 5:30AM. The base must be getting active at this time so I make my way back to the base after mentally noting down the locations of the lighthouse.

By the time I reached the gate I could see Marines heading in groups to the training ground. I stealthily merge with one of the groups and follow them. It wasn't that hard finding my squad, I mean I like to brag about my detective skills but Sawamura-San's hair is a dead giveaway. I approach them and notice the presence of Raphael and two other marines. They must be the older members of the squad. One of them was a man seemingly in his late twenties to thirties while the other was a rather timid girl who looked no older than twenty.

Noticing my arrival Sawamura-San turned to me and jovially said,"Oh there you are kid. I was afraid you ran away."

"... wow you seem to hold me in high regards there leader. I had just headed out for a stroll since nobody was awake."(Ben)

"Well I'd like to ask you to get acquainted with your fellow squad mates, but it looks like that's gonna have to wait until the day��s clamour dies down."(Sawamura)

As if on cue the Drill Sergeant steps out and starts her well rehearsed shrill screams in order to get us running. Soon the routine Marine exercises followed. This included Running, running, some more running, some exercises, and finally the morning routine concluded. The session wasn't taxing at all. I met up with my squad-mates who were cheerful and getting to know each other well…

Ah who am I kidding, my first team activity was to separate Raphael and Sawamura in order to prevent them from tearing each other apart. It was only my second day in a base yet I had to get involved in a drama. The timid girl was sobbing like a child for some reason and the other guy held back Sawamura-San while I held back Raphael. I don't know if it was the effect of teenage hormones, but for an instant it felt as if the whole base was looking at us. It felt so awkward to feel the prying gazes of the other marines filled with ridicule. This is one of the main reasons why I hate being part of a team. Whether you like it or not you will always be dragged into some shitty soap opera scenario. I nearly popped a vessel trying to hold myself back from punching a hole in their bodies.

At some point, I got so bothered with the unwanted attention that I grappled both Sawamura and Raphael in a Half-Nelson choke hold and forcefully dragged them to our barracks. Both of them struggled fiercely in my grasp, well they tried but they simply couldn't budge my arms. The other two squad members trailed behind me worriedly as I forcefully sat those tho on the picnic bench outside our Barracks.

Before the two rowdy members could rise up in protest, I sent them a calm gaze promising unfathomable pain to anyone who tries to push their luck with me. My gaze seemed to do the trick as both men quietly sat down on the benches, albeit at opposite ends. It felt wrong to get angry at Sawamura-San, who has been kind to me thus far; but the embarrassment that I went through somehow made me overlook all civilities and formalities. I quietly gestured for the other two to also take their seats as I headed into the barracks to get some Tea, only to be reminded that there was no kitchen in the barrack. Thus I headed back outside with five glasses of water while simultaneously making a mental note to buy at least a portable stove for my needs.

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<<POV CHANGE-Sawamura>>(A Few Hours earlier)

"*Breathes in* Haa.. I love the smell of justice I the morning!"(Sawamura)

It was a day like any other in the life of Sawamura, veteran marine officer and leader of squad 203. His day always begins with his pregame routine, a series of small tasks carried out in order to feel motivated and lucky throughout the day. His first task on the list is to tend to his hair, his pride and joy. He prefers to take a shower at the public bathrooms even after individualized showers were established at the barracks years ago. After about 30 minutes of combing, pomade, hair gel, he finally relishes his pompadour in the bathroom mirror.

"Oh Yeahhh! Big, Black and thick, just the way I like it…"(Sawamura)

His weird monologue only gained him wary gazes from other marines who were up and about at this hour in the shower room.

The next on the list is his daily morning Patrol around the base. Sawamura has always considered himself a social butterfly, he enjoys initiating small-talk with his fellow officers who are up and about at this time of day, mostly veterans like himself, like his good old buddy who just exited his barracks at the moment.

"HaHa Genji!! Ma Man!Boy am I Glad to see you!!"(Sawamura)

"Oh Hell No! Not you again! "(Genji)

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?!"(Sawamura)

"Friend my a$$!! Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot your ugly mug after that $hit you pulled last time."(Genji)

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you are still mad about that one time-"(Sawamura)

"YOU GOT DRUNK AND BEAT THE S#IT OUT OF MY GIRLFRIEND'S DAD YOU B@$TARD!!! "(Genji)

"At least he didn't die¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ."(Sawamura)

"THAT'S THE PROBLEM JACKA$$!! NOW THAT OLD FART WONT LET ME ANYWHERE NEAR HIS DAUGHTER!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FOR A MAN MY AGE TO GET IN A RELATIONSHIP?!!!"(Genji)

"Oi… (-_-) "(Sawamura)

By this time the other tenants in the area were awake due to the commotion and soon words such as 'Shut up!','Give me back my sleep!','It's not even 5 AM!' and much more were thrown at Sawamura. To which he merely laughed and said 'See You later Suckers!!' before running away.

As a man who had spent most of his life being a marine, this base was home to Sawamura. It was all he ever knew. There was no one on this base that didn't know his name. Despite all his fame and notoriety it can be said that Sawamura had nothing to show as his achievements. Even after working for decades, he still hadn't been promoted to a rank beyond Petty officer. Most may think that this this is due to his ineptness, but those few officers that have known him long enough know that this cannot be any farther from the truth.

When he had joined this base he was seen as one of the most promising recruits of his time. Not many know what happened over the years but as his peers got promoted he somehow remained in the same rank. Even those who performed poorer than him ended up getting promoted due to their days in service but not him. The story behind that is a rather tragic one but that's a tale left for another time.

As the day started getting brighter, the rest of his squad members had woken up and had begun making their way towards the training ground. This included his oldest squad member Ito, a dapper and well mannered young man, as well as his second oldest squad member Marigold, who also happens to be his god-daughter. Marigold or Marie as he endearingly calls her is a timid and shy girl who has a hard time getting along with others. It is not her fault though according to her paediatrician who insists that Marie has Social Anxiety Disorder(SAD)… whatever that means. To Sawamura, Marie has always been the apple of his eyes. So what if she can't start a conversation with a couple of Jackasses, that doesn't diminish her in any manner. Cuz whatever ability she lacks in communication, she sure as hell makes up for it in shooting. Ever since the day he brought her along to one of his target practices, she immediately became attached to the sport, almost to a possessive degree. Every day since, Marie would continuously pester either him or her parents to teach her about marksmanship.

While her parents were hesitant, Sawamura wasn't one to shy away when it comes to a chance at showing off in front of his god-daughter. That's how he discovered her gift for marksmanship. Mary almost had a terrifying talent when it to any long ranged weapon ranging from throwing knives to rifles and even weapons like the tomahawk. He knew that with skills like these she would no doubt make a name for herself one day. But alas man proposes and god disposes… her whole world came crashing down when her parents passed away due to a disease outbreak that had affected her hometown. It crushed his heart to see the poor girl staring vacantly at the tombstones of her parents, her tear-stained face frozen in a look of grief knowing that her mama and papa are gone. He wouldn't wish that sort of grief to befall his enemies, let alone this poor child.

Thus on that day in front of the grave of his brother by creed, he swore to look after Marie as if she were his own flesh and blood. The very next day he set sail for the base along with her and enlist her as a marine so that he could always be there for her. It makes him so proud to see how far she has come. Her timid nature hasn't changed much but she has bloomed into an officer that he can be proud of.

Seeing Marie come forward and offer him a salute, Sawamura reciprocated it and gave her a warm smile. Then he turned towards one of his newer members, Raphael. He had heard the story of how the least favoured son of an aristocrat was about to enlist in the Marines and how his family members were looking to bar his path by nook or crook. It would explain why he somehow came under Sawamura instead of starting at a more higher rank like the other self-centered milksops of similar influential background. From his gaze he could tell that the kid was not too pleased with his current predicament either. At least Sawamura had to admit inwardly that this kid takes things seriously judging from his performance at the tests. He didn't even bother to follow protocols and offer a Salute to his superior officer. Welp, Sawamura wasn't one to adhere to the protocols, so he did not take any offence.

It was a while later that the final recruit of his squad made his appearance. Clad in his new Uniform like all recruits, the boy looked like a dapper young man, walking without a care in the world. After their little chat yesterday, he realized that the lad had a good head atop his shoulders. From the brief chatter he had him, Sawamura grew fond of him. Although the kid mostly keeps to himself and isn't boisterous like your usual Marine, he is a good listener, which always makes a conversation delightful. Still, Sawamura couldn't help but be wary of the kid. Call it his instinct (as minuscule as it may be), but something told Sawamura that there is more to the kid than meets the eye.

After his squad had assembled, he decided he may as well observe them from the sidelines, since he is basically exempt from his training due to his seniority. He paid close observation to how all his juniors performed. Especially young Marie. She was always uncomfortable around others, and was prone to make make gaffes in front of others when in distress; which should make it obvious to any sane person that the life of a Marine is not meant for her. But the thought of letting her god-given gifts waste away sent prangs of frustration down his very soul. Thus Sawamura hoped dearly that her experiences in the Marines would toughen her up to be a damn fine officer. Perhaps Sawamura was projecting his ambitions and dreams on the sweet girl, but he couldn't help it after all he was human and thus flawed. Nonetheless, he would always make sure he would be there for his god-daughter when she needed him.

As the session was nearing its end, the Marines were ordered to run laps before departing for their duties. During the final lap, Marie who was visibly exhausted tripped and fell on the ground, unfortunately causing Raphael who was right behind her to trip over her body and and fall face first on the ground. This caused Raphael, who was already in an irritated mood to get incensed. The fact that the marines in the proximity were all either laughing in mockery or engrossed in their sense of Schadenfreude only aggravated the situation. Thus he decided to take out all of his anger on the cause of this problem, Marie. Before the poor girl could make heads or tails of the situation she was grabbed by the collar and had all sorts of profanities thrown at her by Raphael. As she was already overwhelmed by being the centre of attention, the act of aggression made her break down in tears.

All of this happened in a very short span of time, so before the Drill Sergeant could intervene, Raphael was already sent staggering by the punch of a infuriated Sawamura, who then proceeded to yank him by the shoulder in order to deliver another punch which was parried by Raphael and then their Scuffle began. Not too long after, our protagonist who was busy with his own inner monologue, noticed and jumped into the fray.

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<POV END>

There was a strained atmosphere at the table with my squad either staring daggers at each other or looking away and trying to make this situation less awkward. Hah! well its too late for that. I set the cups on the table while casually strolling to my seat and sitting down. I decided to let the silence sink in before I began to interrogate the squad. In the end, the situation was cleared, subtle warnings were issued, and everyone went on their own ways, (meh I was never really a fan of Soap Opera dramas so I settled the mess as quickly as I could.)

Since all new recruits were free until their official contracts were issued at the end of the day, I decided it was time to go back to looking for a chilling spot. I headed to the Lighthouse at the East-end of the island since I could get to enjoy watching the sun rise every day.

As I neared the lighthouse the buildings became sparse and there were even small empty plots of land where children were playing. It was soothing in a way to watch this scene complemented by the cries of birds and even seagulls as I was approaching the shore.

Soon I reached the bottom of a small hill that ends in a cliff at the other end. The lighthouse was perched on the top of the said hill. Only a lonely beaten track connected it to the bottom o the hill. Except that one path, the other areas were covered by grasses and weeds. I mentally congratulated myself for a job well done an happily proceeded to make my my way uphill.

At the entrance of the lighthouse, there was an old man sitting on a chair looking lethargic, most likely the lighthouse keeper. I casually walked over and placed a bottle of Whiskey on the old man's hands and continued to enter the lighthouse. The old man stared at my disappearing back and then looked forward as if nothing happened. Just like that a tactic understanding was reached between the both of us. I could have sky-walked my way to the top of the lighthouse, but as it was my first time here, I wanted to explore the lighthouse entirely. The inside of the lighthouse was narrower than I expected. The walls were made of large uniformly sized gray concrete blocks and were littered with cobwebs here and there.

I climbed the stairs that continually got narrower until a point where I had to move sideways in order to proceed. Once I reached the top, I was stunned by the view. The conical roof of the lighthouse was suspended on six pillars that allowed for a huge gap between the railing and the roof. There was nobody at the top except for the lamp used to signal the ships. Ahead of me lied the vast Ocean, dotted by a few ships that were leaving or arriving at the port. Behind me was the entire Island. I could even see the base from here as the lighthouse was elevated and considerably near the base. The palace were the royalty lived was still hidden behind the wall. I could faintly see silhouettes on top of the wall.

Upon inspecting closer with my Spyglass, I noticed that they weren't marines but actual soldiers garbed in red uniforms and carrying rifles. Obviously any kingdom's ruling body would have its own army, so I quickly lost interest. My gaze then shifted to the Marine Base. I used this opportunity to look at the various areas that I had not visited. It surprised me that there was a small pond within the base with a small bridge running across it. As I was about to look elsewhere, I suddenly focused my gaze onto the top of the small bridge.

I noticed a familiar figure, or in this case a familiar Hair style, on top of the bridge. It was none other than Sawamura-San. He seemed to be in a heated argument with someone another Marine, clearly a superior Judging by the outfit. The confrontation ended with Sawamura walking away angrily and the other marine staring at him. I wasn't able to deduce anything further due to the distance, but if I were to guess the confrontation could have been about the incident that occurred earlier this morning.

Since there was nothing else to see. I looked at the residential areas of the superior officers to see if I could spot anything interesting. The buildings were all guarded by marines. Possibly recruits like myself. The idea of staying on guard duty didn't bother me much, since I'll mostly get to stay idle.

I spent the rest of the day switching between scoping out the base and lazying around. As dusk approached I made my way back to the base and headed for my barracks. Sawamura-San was sitting at the picnic table smoking. I simply greeted him and walked inside, after receiving an envelope from him. I wasn't one for needlessly poking my head into others business so I didn't bother asking him about what happened at the bridge. Not that I'll ask otherwise, because that would be akin to admitting that I was spying on him.

I hurried to my room, ignoring Raphael who was staring at me and proceeded to tear open the envelope. Inside it was a beautifully printed letter depicting my official enlistment into the Marines. Along with it were papers related to the facilities that were provided to me based on my result. Despite holding back as much as much as I could, I was still graded as a B-Rank officer.

This gave me a monthly salary of 70,000 Beri which would put me in the upper-middle class of society based on my income. I was also allowed a month off for vacation each year… which doesn't really excite me since it takes fifteen days to travel to my hometown by ship and fifteen more on the journey back. Sigh, there goes my plans for visiting home. Other than this, all the other conditions provided to me were excellent. Thus without further ado, I placed the letter in a secure location and then called it a day.