How to Live as a Genius Knight in a Fantasy World

2.

While Rohan fell asleep with a warm heart after receiving hospitality he had never experienced in his lifetime, a new destination was decided upon in Haken’s home.

“How about we just go see the next village and return?”

“I would like that too, but… Will we have enough time?”

“If we hurry a bit, you should arrive at the coming-of-age ceremony without any issues.”

“Hmm… But the children we brought here seem quite tired already…”

“Still, since we handpicked these children, they should have the stamina, right?”

“Well, recruiting soldiers isn’t something that can be done in a short time. We might have to travel around a few more times like this. And there’s no guarantee of no accidents, so it’s better to head straight to the castle.”

“Understood. I will finish the preparations before sunrise.”

“Good. You should rest well too.”

The next day.

Rohan woke up to the rough shouting of someone.

“You lazy kids! Get up quickly and get ready!”

A strange ceiling, a strange voice.

After forcing himself to get up, despite not wanting to move, Rohan looked around and saw everyone already up, packing their belongings in a hurry.

Although he woke up later than the others, Rohan had no reason to worry at all.

The only belongings to pack were the old clothes on his body.

It was said that other parents prepared old clothes or cheap knives for their children, but Rohan’s father, a man who asked if he could receive the silver in exchange, was so confusing that it was unclear whether to call him a father or not.

“No, I’m just an orphan from today.”

No matter how much he thought about it, it seemed better to be without such parents.

Since he wouldn’t see them again once he left the village, wouldn’t becoming an orphan be no different?

While Rohan made a decision of a lifetime, everyone finished their preparations one by one and went outside.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

As he followed them out, a chilling wind brushed his face, surpassing the coolness.

The cruel season, winter, was approaching.

He felt relieved that he followed them.

The winter in the countryside was so cold and harsh that survival until the next year was not guaranteed.

With animals reducing their activity, traps and snares made by Rohan also didn’t have much effect in this season.

Since they were supposed to raise them as soldiers, starvation wouldn’t be an issue.

That alone was enough reason to head to an unfamiliar place.

After going through a procedure to ensure no one was missing, the group immediately left the village.

Haken was worried about potential accidents, but the journey to the castle was incredibly smooth.

He hadn’t encountered any common bandits or goblins along the way.

The castle wasn’t too far.

Even with children hanging off of him, they managed to walk for three days.

Although the first experience of camping was a bit uncomfortable, Roan was satisfied knowing there was no need for bloodshed.

“Here is where you all will stay,” Haken said upon reaching the castle. He went to report to the Marquis, while Roan and the children were led to the barracks by Schurkel, who served as Haken’s lieutenant.

The place, with its decent size but rugged, humble buildings, seemed like a typical spot for soldiers to stay.

Schurkel led them to a building in the middle.

As he opened the creaking door, he stuck his head inside and shouted, “New recruits have arrived! Fill in the vacancies from the front and report!”

The response was surprisingly quick.

“New recruits! New recruits!”

“Let’s see their faces!”

“You’re all as good as dead now. hehehehe.”

“They’ve finally arrived!”

Various responses popped up, and the sight of them, eyes gleaming and rushing out, including Roan and the new recruits, instilled fear in them.

It was safe to say that anyone seeing those raised corners of their mouths dragged down to their ears would feel a sense of unease.

And the grim premonition was proven right once again through them.

“Damn, no matter where you go, it’s all the same crap.”

Roan, brought to the dormitory, was placed under the charge of a sergeant named Rascal within an hour.

There were no beatings or curses, thankfully, but instead, he had to do all sorts of menial tasks.

Cleaning was a given, and laundry or dishwashing, all fell under Roan’s responsibilities.

With no training whatsoever, after a month of just doing menial tasks, he was starting to wonder if he had joined as a soldier or a servant.

Without even stepping outside the barracks, the daily grind made him question if he had made the right choice.

What he despised the most was fetching water every morning. Due to his size, he had to carry a slightly larger water jug than the other children, making him not only physically strained but also feeling unfairly treated.

Though he felt like just giving up at times, he believed enduring was a kind of test.

Even those who failed would eventually live near the castle and provide labor, so from the Marquis’s perspective, it wasn’t a losing deal.

Having already experienced the military once, Roan knew that in times like this, it was best to quietly do what needed to be done.

Fetching water, cleaning, finishing laundry, and swinging a stick as a full-fledged task, the results of a test that no one had informed him about came out.

That day, as usual, Roan had a slightly larger water jug on his shoulder compared to others.

As he was about to leave the barracks, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Roan, don’t go today. Wait here. Give the water jug to Tiel,” said Rascal, the usually quiet sergeant.

Since Rascal usually showed no particular interest in him, Roan sensed that something was up.

And his suspicion was correct.

Roan, who had been waiting inside the dormitory, was soon summoned to the training ground with the other children.

Though it was far from a proper training ground, being just an open space with makeshift targets, seeing Haken standing emotionlessly on the platform gave off a familiar military scent.

The children were standing around in disarray, not even properly learning the basics, yet no one seemed to care.

Haken was no different.

As soon as the headcount was over, he immediately got to the main point.

“It has been a month since you arrived here. You must have been curious about why you were brought here and given such menial tasks.”

“Of course, you could have immediately joined the existing soldiers to train and wield a sword.”

“The reason it didn’t happen is that it was to identify those with the potential to become excellent soldiers.”

“Rohan, Kenneth, Alun, Hydin, Chris, Ort.”

“Except for these six, everyone else has been eliminated. The rest cannot become soldiers.”

As if prompting them to speak if they had something to say, Haken paused for a moment.

As if waiting, murmurs erupted here and there.

“Why can’t we become soldiers?”

“Then what will happen to us?”

Despite the discontent in their questions, Haken responded without any emotional sway.

“Don’t you know why you were eliminated? You were always full of complaints and didn’t perform your tasks properly. Look at Rohan. Isn’t he around the same age as you but didn’t carry water twice his weight? And as for the month of hard work, I will pay you the promised amount of silver. It might be the money you return to your village with. Whether you go back or stay in the castle is your choice.”

“What? Wasn’t I working hard?”

Clearly praising Rohan, Haken’s words greatly soured Rohan’s mood.

Of course, Haken didn’t seem to notice at all.

Although there was a slight uproar from the boys who couldn’t become soldiers, they fell quiet as the soldiers surrounding them raised their clubs.

As the disgruntled boys were led out of the training ground, disappearing one by one, Haken looked each of the remaining six in the eyes and spoke.

“Congratulations. You will now work as soldiers in the Ezell Castle. During peacetime, you will guard the residents as sentinels, and in times of war, you will be the main force on the battlefield.”

“I brought you here as a recruiter, but now I will welcome you as the captain of the guard. You will also need to participate in training from now on, so I hope you maintain the diligence you have shown so far.”

With a brief word of advice, Haken left, and instead, the leaders of each group handed out old but still functional swords, helmets, and chainmail armor.

While everyone seemed pleased to have passed the test, Rohan had different thoughts.

“It’s definitely second-hand. The person who used this… must have died, right?”

He knew in his head that working as a soldier for a salary while being safe was unreasonable, but he hadn’t truly felt it until now.

Receiving this equipment made him realize how dangerous it really was.

Although it was just Rohan’s speculation, in a society where such metal objects were considered precious, there was no doubt that they had been stained with blood.

Carrying the quite weighty items back to their quarters, made of straw and bushes, he sat on the bed.

“Hey! Freshman! Congratulations!”

“Now you can really start working properly!”

Whether it was a welcome or a jest, it felt good to be recognized as part of the group.

The best part was being exempt from hard labor all day.

As his position as the youngest didn’t change, he knew he would have to work tirelessly again from tomorrow onwards, but not in the same way as before.

And the next day.

Rohan was still carrying the water jug on his shoulder.

“Damn it!”

As the most physically demanding task, there was no avoiding Rohan taking his turn.

Moreover, being such a promising recruit as openly acknowledged by Haken, the senior soldiers had no intention of assigning him any different tasks.

After sweating it out in the morning, a day different from the previous one began.

Usually, it was time to put the water jug back in its place and pick up a broom, but today, Rohan stood in the training ground in light attire.

Seemingly coming out with the intention of swinging the weapons he received yesterday, the other aspiring soldiers in similar attire looked puzzled.

Appearing before them was Charles, a senior soldier who had been fully delegated the authority over new recruit training by Haken.

He had a more menacing presence than Haken, so the boys couldn’t help but be on edge.

After a brief introduction about himself, what he demanded from the recruits was simple.

“Run after me!”

Suddenly throwing off his uniform, he started running, and though the recruits were momentarily stunned, they quickly followed, watching his back.

Selected meticulously from the countryside and having passed a simple test, these kids had decent stamina and perseverance compared to their peers, but catching up with Charles, who had been exercising steadily for nearly a decade, was always going to be a challenge from the start.

Leading the recruits outside the barracks, Charles started running along the road by the castle’s lake. Despite appearing to run lightly, his speed was far from slow.

His pace would not be significantly lacking even when compared to the speed at which office workers in the 21st century sprinted with all their might.

Initially, the kids who had nonchalant expressions couldn’t help but pant and wheeze within twenty minutes.

Even Johan, who had consciously trained his stamina, couldn’t keep up for long.

Having spent most of his time on farming and chores, Johan, and Charles, who worked as a guard and trained regularly, couldn’t possibly have the same level of stamina.

But even that much was enough to show a better performance than the other recruits.

As one by one they collapsed, unable to run any longer, some even drooling and gasping, there were those who still moved forward.

And among them, leading the pack, was Johan.

How much further did they run?

Finally, as the sound of the last runner falling was heard, Charles turned back.

“Heck, cough, huff.”

Seeing Johan breathing heavily, almost as if he was about to vomit, Charles’s eyes widened.

“Better than expected.”

With a good physique and apparent perseverance, he had hoped for a lot, but never did he expect Johan to run over ten laps.

The previous record for new recruits was six laps.

He had covered almost twice that distance.

Johan’s physique and perseverance had led to high expectations, but the result exceeded them.

While there were a few noticeable ones among the other recruits, they too had given up on running and were lying down for a while.

Having performed so excellently at the initiation ceremony, it was only fair they were rewarded.

“I will take charge of your training from now on!”

Charles inwardly exclaimed, quietly waiting on the roadside for Johan to catch his breath.

“Huff, huff… Is it… over?”

Johan asked, still catching his breath.

Chuckling, Charles replied, “Yes, that’s it for the morning. You deserve a break.”

Having run longer than anyone else, the other kids wouldn’t complain if he rested a bit.

Although a look of confusion crossed Johan’s face, it quickly turned into contentment.

“I almost passed out, but it was a good run.”

Seeing the stragglers running after Charles again made him feel breathless involuntarily.

It seemed that regular exercise had indeed paid off.

“Playing around while others are huffing and puffing is the best.”

And so, the first day as a real soldier began.