14: Enter the training camp

「It's wrong, Onii-chan!」

The one who stopped me from almost grab Forte was none other than Selen

「I am the one who asked Forte Onee-chan! I forcibly asked her! Because I want to fight too!」

「Ehhh?」

Since when did my sister become such a war-loving person!?

「Because, if I don't fight, I can't be together with Onii-chan! If I fight, then I can be together with Onii-chan, right!?」

「......!?」

That's why Selen tried to gain power

When I was about to left for my training 5 years ago, the young Selen was frantically clung at me and refused to be separated

She didn't want to taste that bitterness ever again

So she picked a way to be able to be with me...!?

「Jira...」

Forte also says

「I am also a girl who choose the way of fighting. I was born in the Lobos tribe, the wolf tribe who lives on the grasslands. But we fought against the empire, was defeated and surrendered」

The hostage who was sent to the empire as the proof of submission is Forte

That's why she lives in the empire despite being a person from the grassland

However, without yielding to the current situation, she repeated her training to become stronger

If she's strong, she will be scouted by the army, and if she gains merits from the war, her position in the Behemoth Empire will also increase, then her own tribe will also receive important position in the empire

That's how she serves her own tribe

「It was my responsibility for being unable to stop the effort of Selen, a girl just like me. If you want to blame, then blame me」

「......」

I shook my head with a deep sigh

I couldn't blame those two who have made such a serious decision

「That being said...! My military service hasn't even started. And yet you two are already elite candidates, aren't you guy moving too fast!?」

Selen is still 13

Let alone her gender, even her age hasn't met the requirement to enter the military

Even so, she was picked as an elite candidate, that means everything else can be exempted as long as you have strength

That is indeed a mechanism exclusively for an evil empire

「Are you really worry about that? If Jira registers to the army, you can immediately advances. Because you have that much strength」

「Onii-chan, you will soon be our colleagues!」

No

Why do you guys decide that I'm strong as if it's natural?

「If you want to avoid that, shall I make a recommendation? Then you can skip the useless procedure and immediately reach the same rank as mine」

「Yay, Onii-chan! If you receive recommendation from an imperial guard like Forte Onee-chan, Onii-chan can immediately become an imperial guard too!」

Hey, don't decide things on your own accord

「Rather than that, Forte-san naturally is in the top rank, right?」

「Aah, I luckily obtained the chance and became a member of the imperial guard under the emperor's direct control. Selen here is still a cadet, but she will soon become a formal member of the imperial guard too」

The imperial guard under the emperor's direct control

Perhaps, that is....

「This is just between you and me, okay?」

Forte brings her lips close to my ear and whispers

I understand she did that to prevent others from listening, but a girl should be hesitate about contacting with the opposite sex of the same age, right?

「...This is just at the level of mere rumor, but it seems like the imperial guard will soon be reorganized」

「Eh!?」

「It seems like a few elites will be strictly singled out to make a completely new group directly under the emperor. The targets for examination won't be just the members of the already existing guards. Even someone in the lowest rank of the imperial army, as long as they have real strength, they will be used」

Without caring how high or low one's social status is

Everything depends on one's strength

「However, only the soldiers of the imperial army can be chosen. That is the minimum requirement. If Jira can seize this chance and formally become an imperial soldier before the selection starts...」

No, I don't think I want such a sudden promotion

...That thinking was already in the past

Right now, my thinking has changed a bit

Previously, I wanted to avoid participating in the war and lived a tranquil life, but after returning from the training trip, my goal was reversed instead

The time I spent with 『Beats Fantasy 4』's protagonist – Sero, was important

I want to avoid the situation where he and the empire become nemeses and they have to kill each other

My ultimate goal – protecting myself has not changed from the start....

But my desires increased each time I met a person, that is really greedy of me

◆

However, in the end I decided to enter the training camp as normal

General military personnel would need to enter the training camp first

After receiving training there, they will formally become regular soldier.

If I received Forte's recommendation, I could skip those steps completely and become a regular soldier...and could even receive a higher rank within limitation, however after careful consideration, I refused her good favor while being thankful for that

I already received a considerable favor from Forte for taking care of Selen, so I would be even more sorry if I, her brother, am also indebted to her

To let Selen receive more help from Forte in the future, I decided to advance with my own strength

Year 97 of the empire

Following the convocation letter every men in the empire would receive upon reaching 15, I arrived at the military training camp

In that place, a large amount of men of the same age as mine are gathered

The number was really uncountable, at least in the hundreds

This large group of young men certainly came here to become soldiers

「...n?」

Within that, I spotted a face that I somehow remembered

I feel like I have met him really recently

That towering, huge body is really impressive....

「Ah」

I remembered

「The extorting guy I met on the street!」

「what!?」

When I identified him, he also seemed to recognize me to.

「What? You, why are you here!?」

「That should be my line」

Appeared in the training camp, that means this guy is also joining the military

That means this guy is also 15!?

With that body, and that look!?

「n, well! Calm down!」

While I and the big man glared at each other, a small, jester-like man forced his way between us

I also remembered this face

The sharksucker guy who was together with this big man in that incident

「You two are together even in this place!?」

「Well, brother Gashi and I are pretty much of one flesh! Rather than that, it's unexpected to have met you here! From our appearance, we thought you was just a normal traveler!」

The little man keeps on talking without a hitch.

「It's true that I was on a trip. A training trip for this military service」

「Well well, so you are here for the same reason as ours!? What a coincidence! I am called Seki! And this giant here is brother Gashi!」

I couldn't interject his self-introduction

This guy is too talkative

「Oi Seki! Why are you talking to him so friendly!? Did you forget what that guy did to me!?」

「That's the reason! That guy is strong like a monster, you also realized it, right? Do you think we can get through the training while keeping a threatening attitude against such a guy!?」

They have some kind of discussion

Then, perhaps being persuaded by the little guy's words, the big guy said while having a not really pleasant expression....

「...W, well, last time it was my bad」

「It's fine, it was I who did it unilaterally」

More or less, we were able to reconcile and exchange handshakes.

「I am Jira」

「I see...I want to surely complete the training here and become a regular soldier. So I showed off my power a little before entering the training camp」

「Then, we could earn points if we captured a suspicious guy and brought him to the garrison guards. At that time, boss was like an outsider because of the traveling clothes, so we thought we could get higher points if you was a foreign spy!」

Then you quarreled with me?

In the case that person is not a local one, you bumped into him on purpose  and blame him, then aren't you guys really the suspicious ones?

Then you obviously demanded money, right?

Then I stopped trying to corner them

If these guys are the same trainees as me, it would be troublesome if we quarreled and caused troubles

Can I accept the reconciliation here and aim to become the imperial soldier together with them?