24. The first day

Thyra finished the bread and the hot stew. The weather had begun to become chilly, and the hot meat stew hit the spot.

"My lady, shouldn't it be better to eat at the mansion?" One of the mercenaries yet to complete her food asked, "These foods…"

"What is wrong with this food?" Thyra looked around in the dining hall, where the recruits were also having breakfast, asking, "If everyone can eat it, why couldn't I?"

"I am not…" Hilda, one of the mercenaries hired by Hure, failed to express herself.

It wasn't that Thyra hated the food at the mansion. Contrary, she loved it a lot. However, Hure was there, and she would make Thyra follow the ethics and manner of eating. It felt like a pain in the ass.

Thyra smiled and ruffled her hair. Although it looked odd that a thirteen year old was doing it to a girl older than her, Hilda didn't resist.

"My lady, I don't think most are eating anything." Kaya, the other mercenary, said.

"Don't worry." Thyra left the table, adding, "They will eat when hungry. Gather them around the field."

By the time the recruits came to the field, Thyra had already changed into the squire training cloth. But what was surprising was that Thyra was wearing two handcuffs in both hands.

None of them understood why she was doing that, except the knight whom the viscount sent to train Thyra. Although it looked like a regular handcuff, Ruth knew what it actually was.

It was a rare item. It was the essence-surprising cuffs. As soon as someone wears them, they lose the ability to use their essence abilities. However, the person wearing them shocked him the most.

'She isn't even fourteen yet!' Ruth wasn't sure what to make of it.

There is a suitable age for absorbing the essence because a young mind could easily be overwhelmed by the beast instinct that remained in essence. Worse comes to worst; the child could even go mad. That was also why the royal shaman decided the appropriate age.

But there were always more impatient ones. And the proof was in front of Ruth. But the most significant difference was the lady succeeded.

'Does Justin know about it? Is this why he told me to teach her?' Ruth looked at Thyra with renewed interest. After all, it wouldn't be every day you would find someone willing to train her body even after absorbing the essence.

Thyra had no idea what was going through Ruth's mind. She was concentrating on the recruits in front of her.

"Four months. You have four months. We will be going to war after four months." Thyra's words stuck like thunder.

The recruit's morale was already low, and the announcement didn't help to lift the mood either. However, it did make them curious.

"Now it is up to you to decide whether you will die like the one you bit to death or leave to tell the tale."

"Who are we going to fight against?"

"Eder empire."

Curiosity killed the cat. The recruits started a fierce discussion between them. But the shock and fear were apparent in their voices.

Eder empire was not just big; its army was also larger than the kingdom's.

"Before you get any funny ideas, let me tell you, you are already part of the Viscount army. Anyone who decides to run away will be branded a deserter. And there is only one punishment that awaits them: death."

"Doesn't that mean we are going to die either way? Why should we still fight?"

"Technically, yes. Similarly, if you don't have food during winter, you will die too."

There was silence. Thyra wasn't sure if the speaker joined the army for food. Still, the most common reason for death during winter was a lack of food. And she had heard some recruits talk about the scarcity of food.

During the four-month-long winter, it was near impossible to farm. Even foraging was challenging in that situation.

Justin had to subsidise food in the city for people experiencing poverty. Thyra understood if it is the case in the biggest city of the domain, it has to be shared at other places too.

The recruits knew what Thyra was talking about was the truth. Winter is the most dreaded time of the year. And it would be hard for them to survive if they had to go back. They had no other option.

"The way you are, you will die as soon as you enter the battlefield. I will not say you will win every fight if you follow my training methods. But even if you don't, you will survive."

The recruits were still talking between them. Although unsure about it, they felt what Thyra had felt was right. After all, the regular recruitment during the summer. And only 20-50 soldiers would be allowed to join.

They had to accept that they were going to war after a few words from Thyra. If the kingdom really went to war, they knew they would also be forced to fight sooner or later.

That didn't make them willing to follow Thyra, even more so after this morning's events. However, Thyra knew how to entice them.

When Thyra raised three fingers, all of them turned towards her. "Three meals. You will eat three meals during the training period. I will sign a magic contract with you. If you follow me to war for three years and survive, you can leave the army and be given 50 gold."

If the murmurs generated a moment ago were fear talk, now their voices sounded excited. After all, three meals a day is a luxury for all of them. Only nobles dared to be so extravagant.

It was still hard to believe. Although soldiers would be given 100 gold during retirement, they needed to fight for ten years. However, 50 gold coins in three years is a good choice. 50 gold coins are enough to buy land outside the city.

On the other hand, Thyra had to devise such a plan because she knew not everyone would be willing to sign a contract with her.

And there was no way she would easily believe others. She knew from the novel that assassinations and betrayals were ordinary in this world. People will change sides at the drop of a hat.

To survive, she needed to ensure the people close to her didn't do that. And a magic contract was the only way to do so.

She could just slide such options into the contract. As they are her soldiers, there would be no reason for them to disagree. On top of that, most of them didn't know how to read.

"I will sign the contract tonight. Those who sign the contract will be given a month's income as a bonus. But for now, let's start the training."

"All of you know you do not even have the qualifications to join the army. So when we train, you would need to come to the level of others and then surpass them."

"For the first month, you will follow a simple routine. You will wake up in the morning and run around the city five times. After breakfast, you will learn how to use a sword and shield properly. Then you will learn hand-to-hand combat techniques. After that, you will eat and study language and other things. Then you will practice your weapon or combat training. And before dinner, you will go on another run around the city."

"That's bullshit."

"Can a human do it?"

The voices weren't loud, but Thyra could hear them.

Thyra smirked, understanding what made them so angry. After all, they had never had a proper training method.

From the instructor, she had learned that all they do during training is train with swords, shields, and spears. Other than that, they wrestle with each other and carry weights. But that was more of a hobby.

Thyra wanted to train them using modern military techniques. Alas, she was never part of the military. All she learned from videos and blogs. But one thing she was confident in doing was building a physique.

Thyra came forward and carried the weight bag. It was the same weight as a soldier's bag during the war.

'It does have its weight.' Thyra thought. As she wore the essence-suppressing cuffs, she felt the bag was heavy.

After putting on the bag, she looked at others and said, "I am thirteen. If I can do it, why can't you?"