Vol 1 Chapter 36 (2/2)
“Hey, What do you think of Lieutenant Royce and Lieutenant Kelvin?”
“Well, I really like Lieutenant Kelvin.”
“n.o.body asked you for your opinion, Reeno.”
Locke, who had asked the question, smiled bitterly.
They were being led to the equipment division, while completely disregarding the long queue.
Kelvin spoke Royce’s name, and surely enough, the clerk at the equipment division brought several bundles to Wynn and the others.
Each bundle had a wooden nameplate tied to it. Wynn’s bundle contained a brand new sword, and the standard-issue s.h.i.+rt and trousers made of a st.u.r.dy black cloth.
The gazes of the knights who were waiting in line were threatening upon seeing their clearly special treatment with the advance preparations.
Somehow, Kelvin had the nerve to ignore them, but the four students were petrified by nervousness, and hurriedly left after taking their bundles.
The four put on the brand new leather armour from their bundles, while whispering amongst themselves so as to not be heard by Kelvin, who was standing some ways away from them.
“Hmm, despite his appearance, it seems that Vice-captain Kelvin really does give off a knightly aura. But Captain Royce doesn’t at all.”
He[5] put his sword into his sword belt and looked at Kelvin, who was waiting for them to change.
“Honestly, I’m disappointed. Is he really only in his thirties? With that belly, does he really intend to fight?”
“What do you think, Wynn?”
Wynn, who was staring at the brand-new knight’s sword, looked up and thought about Locke’s question.
“Honestly, my first impression of Captain Royce was bad during our first meeting, but…”
He had spoken disdainfully of commoner knights. In addition to that, he was obese, despite being a knight. He was completely different from Wynn’s ideal knight.
From the time Wynn met him at the palace until now, Wynn’s impression of him was the worst.
However—
“Even though his outward appearance doesn’t give a good impression, I believe that he is, at least, a capable person.[6]”
Wynn’s gaze returned to the sword, which was polished to the point of glistening in the sunlight.
The grip, the blade, and the tip.
The whole thing fit Wynn perfectly.
When he drew the sword after receiving it, the blade had already been thoroughly sharpened.
It was the standard-issue knight’s sword[7], ma.s.s-produced in large quant.i.ties, so it needed constant maintenance.
However, this sword was polished so much that there wouldn’t be a problem if he used it immediately.
When he infused it with magic as a test, magic runes gave off a pale glow.
Wynn did not have a good affinity with any of the practice swords he had wielded before.
Therefore—
He now wore a brand-new s.h.i.+rt and pants, and even brand-new leather armour.
The leather armour had already been adjusted to fit Wynn’s body.
“Oh, that’s right.”
Reeno also looked down at her leather armour.
Her armour fit a smaller female build like hers. It fit her perfectly, as if it had been tailored to her.
Likewise, Wedge’s armour also fit his tall body perfectly.
“So he might be good on the administrative side of things, huh?”
Locke also changed his appraisal of Royce.
To put him in the best light, Lieutenant Royce looked like a typical corrupt n.o.ble, but considering how he arranged for them to receive equipment and supplies, especially before setting out, despite the anger of those waiting at the equipment division, his administrative[8] capabilities definitely improved his evaluation.
Could it be, that when he received the names of his subordinates, he went to the Knight School to find out more about them?
The Knight School naturally had all sorts of information about the students, including their physical ability and grades.
Royce even circ.u.mvented regulations to give Wynn a knight’s sword.
He was biased against commoners, but as a soldier, but he seemed to have a sense of justice that disregarded status.
Good weapons and good equipment would raise the chances that the whole group survived.[9]
Royce was a competent officer, for being able to understand this fact— at least compared to the long line that included Lieutenants and Majors.
Despite his boorish outward appearance, Locke was amazed by his astuteness.
Most of all, Locke was happy to see his friend Wynn happily eyeing the sword he was given, so he raised his evaluation of Royce.
Even during that periodic subjugation mission, the sword Wynn used was just a loaner, since he was just a knight cadet.
However, for this mission, the knight’s sword was actually given to Wynn, despite his status as a knight cadet. It was also a conciliatory gesture towards Wynn.
‘There was nothing else to say about Lieutenant Royce’s leaders.h.i.+p abilities and personality after that.’
At least for now, he decided to trust in that surprising apt.i.tude for command.
Translator Notes
These ranks are a mess that I will promise to fix after the arc is over, and I figure out what the big picture is. For now, Captain is just the t.i.tle for a leader of a group. Lieutenant is the actual rank. Not sure if actual militaries work like that. —back
騎士剣->Knightly sword, the most common sword in the middle ages or something. —back
paraphrased… —back
a rank above Lieutenant. Centurion would work if roman —back
either Wedge or Reeno(female)… —back
so forgiving… —back
This is apparently an actual type of sword. “The most common type of sword in the middle ages”—paraphrased from Wikipedia. ElephantNo5 dot(.) wordpress dot(.) com —back
Not my favorite word here… an adjective befitting an officer —back
Well, no traitors is a bit more important… —back
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