Chapter 31

The 7th corps arrived at Ipen’s castle, located at the eastern parts of Rinse kingdom, after 10 days of marching .

The lord of Ipen’s castle and the commander of the 7th corps, baron Aaron Tate, started to do a merits award for the troops before they left to their respective headquarters .

The turn of rose troop was quite near the end, so they made camp and rested .

The time where generals and commanders obviously lie down but also normal soldiers rest while completely lying down .

But Roan used that time to train on his spear skills .

‘I have to master the things I remember the fastest possible . ’

The Pierce spearmanship, which he mastered and learnt for the past 20 years while roaming the battlefield .

And even excluding that, he remembered quite many spear skills, combat skills, etc .

‘I have to train and keep training until my body moves on its own . ’

Ever since Roan returned to the past, he had pushed himself to the limits .

Because of that, his strength, stamina, movements, and of course, spear skills got so good it became noticeable to the eyes .

‘Pierce’s help was also big . ’

Roan threw away his personal time and kept training on Pierce’s spear stances .

‘Because of that he could grind and polish his senses to be more sensitive . ’

Although his skills wasn’t as good as before he died, but even so, it was quite close .

‘Even so, it’s still lacking . ’

The moment he gets satisfied he would stagnate .

Roan whipped himself in case he got lazy .

He focused on training his spear skills on an empty ground on the corner of the camp as usual .

Blow .

His hair blows because of the west wind .

Pabat!

His spear dances while cutting through the wind .

Spear skills that don’t have any unnecessary movements .

His spear skills that were for practical use slowly started to become softer .

‘Huh?’

Then, he felt a presence approaching him .

“Whew . ”

He breathed out slowly and stopped his spear .

At the same time, a big builded man appeared .

A really familiar face .

It was vice squad commander Austin .

“Sir adjutant Roan . ”

Quite excited words .

“What happened?”

As Roan smiled faintly and asked back, Austin raised his thumb .

“Our turn finally came . ”

He smiled so brightly to the point his teeth showed and continued saying .

“It’s finally sir adjutant Roan’s turn for the merits awards . ”

“Ah… . ”

Roan let out a low exclamation .

‘Has it been 4 days since we arrived at Ipen’s castle?’

Meanwhile, quite a lot of troops finished their merits awards and returned to their own headquarters .

‘My turn finally came . ’

He had already decided on what he wanted .

‘I have to get inside Brent’s library . ’

It won’t be hard .

The current Brent’s library was nothing but a name .

Although the nobles were allowed to get in, it had been quite a while that even they hadn’t got in .

‘It’s a situation where they shouldn’t deny my proposal to sightsee the library . ’

But of course, this was Roan’s thoughts .

“Sir adjutant Roan . ”

Austin asked once more time to the absent minded Roan .

Only then did Roan nod late .

“Right . Should we go?”

Roan slowly moved his feet .

As he crossed the camp and arrived at the troop commander’s tent that was in the middle of the camp, Gale was already outside waiting for him .

“Your turn finally came . You waited long, right?”

“That’s not true . ”

Roan slightly bent down .

Gale took a step and continued saying .

“If it’s the commander of the army corps, you will be able to ask him anything . Then, tell him honestly, without being aware of him . ”

He kept explaining Roan about Aaron’s temperament, and the methods about the merits award while moving towards Ipen’s castle .

‘So he likes direct things rather than hitting around the bush . ’

Roan put a smile .

These little bits of informations become a great strength later on .

Meanwhile, Gale and Roan passed through the castle’s door and arrived at the headquarters of the army corps .

“Sir!”

The soldiers that were guarding the entrance, noticed Gale and saluted .

Gale nodded lightly and moved his feet .

He was really excited about what price would Roan get on the merits awards .

“It’s troop commander Gale from rose troops, and class 5 adjutant Roan . ”

As soon as they informed to the assembly, the huge door opened .

‘It’s big . ’

The scale of the assembly was quite big .

The ceiling was high and the space was wide .

Wooden chairs, that had long backrest, were aligned to the sides and on a slightly higher platform on the center, a huge table was placed .

‘Corps commander Aaron Tate . ’

Beyond the table, they could see Aaron .

He was in the middle of looking at the many gathered documents .

Gale stood in front of the table and saluted .

“It’s troop commander Gale, from rose troop . ”

Roan also bent down, following him .

“It’s class 5 adjutant Roan, from rose troop . ”

Only then did Aaron, that was busy with the documents, raise his head .

The 6 middle aged men that were seated next to him put interesting expressions .

‘So that guy is Roan . ’

‘He is called the ghost of the battlefield . ’

‘The guy with the biggest merits in our 7th corps . ’

The middle aged men were staff officers that served Aaron .

Although their ranks was that of staff officer, it could be said that they were one rank higher than Gale .

‘So troop commander Richard of the special troop wants him huh?’

‘Then it really means that he’s a fine guy . ’

‘Should I bring him to our side?’

The eyes of the staff all check of Roan’s body .

And Roan also didn’t not notice their sights and interest .

‘I will do what I have to . ’

Right now, he had to get in Brent’s castle, and after that he would get a vacation and go to Potter’s region .

There were no plans at all about moving to another troop or serving another troop commander .

“Mendel . Read the merits report . ”

At Aaron’s words, a middle aged man that was next to him and looked modest took out a thick piece of paper and extended it .

“I will start from when he discovered the goblin army waiting in ambush at Ale gorge . ”

Mendel started to read the merits Roan achieved minutely from when he returned to the past . Just like the inundation tactic, and what he did on Pedian’s plain .

Just by saying that there were more than ten monster commanders he had slain, everybody sighed in amazement .

On top of that, at the word of having rescued the allied troops that were about to get annihilated, everybody put surprised expressions .

‘Didn’t they say that he had just finished his training?’

‘For an 18 year old guy to render this kind of merits!’

‘He rendered even more merits than what I have heard . ’

The staff got astounded and looked at Roan .

On the other hand, Aaron’s expression was still calm .

He opened his eyes sharply and looked at Roan’s body in detail .

‘He wouldn’t be hiding his identity, right?’

Aaron got up and moved next to Roan .

Mendel got surprised for a moment, but he didn’t stop reading the report .

Swish .

Aaron grabbed Roan’s wrist .

‘Huh?’

Roan hurriedly lowered his head and frowned .

‘What is it?’

He couldn’t understand the sudden actions .

And then, a weird feeling entered from the wrist .

Just as if he was tickled with a cold feather .

It was a feeling that Roan also knew about .

‘It’s mana . ’

He had also been through this quite few times because of Pierce, in his past life .

And now, Aaron was pouring his mana inside of Roan .

Actions to check if Roan had mastered some kind of mana or not .

‘Is he dubious about me?’

Roan bit his lower lips .

There was no need to unnecessarily buy suspicion .

He softened his stiff expression and lent him his wrist .

“Whew . ”

After a moment, Aaron spat a long breath and returned to his place .

A difficult smile was on his face, which you wouldn’t be able to discover if you didn’t see his mouth in detail .

‘He had never learnt mana . Then…… . ’

It meant that he had slain the monster commanders with simple spear skills .

‘He slayed an orc troop commander with spear skills that don’t contain mana?’

An honestly difficult merit to believe .

‘Was he lucky? Or were his spear skills that outstanding?’

Whatever side it was, it was clear that it was a big strength .

‘If he was lucky, so be it . If his spear skills are excellent, then there is a need for that . ’

Soon, happiness could be seen on Aaron’s face .

“WIth this, I will finish the report . ”

Meanwhile, the report about Roan’s merits had finished .

“Amazing . ”

A really amazed voice .

“It’s a really amazing merit . ”

“There’s no flaw in it . ”

“It’s outstanding . ”

Even the staff officers that were listening to it, raised their thumbs .

“I was lucky . ”

Roan lowered his head .

A not excessive humility .

He didn’t want to hide the merits .

Aaron stared at Roan’s face as if he was going to pierce it, and then asked bluntly .

“As the merit is this big, the reward must also be big . Is there something you want?”

It came .

Gale slightly bent down and gave him eye signs .

‘If there’s anything you want, say it honestly . ’

He remembered the advice Gale told him when they were coming to the headquarters .

Roan slightly bent down and looked at Aaron .

“There is one thing I want . ”

“Oh . ”

Aaron let out a slight exclamation .

He was thinking maybe, but he hadn’t expected that he really had something he wanted .

He continued saying with an interesting expression .

“It’s good because your character is fresh . Right, tell me . If it’s not excessive, I will listen to you . ”

Roan breathed in .

An instinctive choice .

A really short silence made Aaron restless .

Roan smiled faintly and laughed while replying with a low voice but with strength .

“I want to see Brent’s library . ”

Boom .

At that instant, Aaron’s face get clearly contorted .

Not only him, the faces of the staff and even Gale’s got nicely contorted .

‘Brent library?’

‘He only wants to see Brent’s library for his reward?’

‘Isn’t he out of his mind?’

They all seemed prostrated .

Aaron got ahold of himself late and forced a laugh .

“Ho! So you want to see Brent’s library? Is that really the only thing you want?”

“Yes . That’s right . ”

Roan slightly bent down .

He understood how Gale, the staff and Aaron were thinking .

‘They shouldn’t be able to understand as to why I want to go and see an old library that nobody visits . ’

Even Roan, if it wasn’t for that object, he wouldn’t even have looked at it .

And then, a bald man that was seated next to Aaron frowned and said .

“But wanting to see Brent library means…… . . ”

He dimmed the last part and put an expression as if it was hard to believe .

“Do maybe you know how to read?”

At those words, it was obvious for Aaron, but even Gale put a really surprised expression .

‘He knows about letters?’

‘He knows how to read?’

Something they hadn’t thought about .

‘Right . If it’s the guy that developed that appalling strategy and tactic, he may be able to write and read . ’

Everybody looked at Roan with expressions saying maybe .

Roan smiled faintly and replied shortly .

“Yes . I’m able to read and write . ”

“Oh!”

Aaron let out a loud exclamation .

‘For a guy that was only a normal soldier until just now knows how to read and write, huh . ’

Knowing words was an outstanding ability .

Excluding the staff officers of the 7th corps, the troops commanders and some adjutants, nobody knew about words .

There was no one among normal soldiers that knew how to read and write .

And actually, even in Roan’s case, he could barely get the chance to learn after his mid thirties .

Because as he became squad commander from the 1st spearmen squad, he became in need to know how to do so .

‘Well, it’s also partly because of Pierce . ’

To read the letters Pierce sent him at times, he need to learn the words .

‘If I learnt a bit earlier, the path to success should have opened much faster . ’

And that was also one of the regrets in his choices .

Anyways, the Roan right now knew how to read and write at the age of 18 .

‘The more I know about him, the more I want him . ’

‘If I can only bring him below me, I will be able to use him well . ’

The eyes of the staff officers start to shine with a conspicuous color .

Rolar felt that he heard noises of his body’s worth rising .

Gale bit his lower lip .

‘Whatever I do, I have to hold him to stay with me . I can’t get this competent person to be stolen by another person . ’

Regret came flowing late .

‘It shouldn’t have been 5 class, but I should have at least made him class 3 adjutant . ’

But it wasn’t late yet .

‘I will have to reward him once again . ’

Gale’s eyes shone and emitted light .

Then, Aaron’s voice was heard .

“If you know how to read and write, somewhere like Brent’s library is quite a charming place . Although it is worn out and old, it’s still one of the best libraries in the western parts of Rinse kingdom . But……”

The last part of his sentence blurs .

A weird expression shows on his face .

“Because Brent library hasn’t been taken care of well, it’s no different to ruins . Rather than sight seeing that worn out library, what about receiving another reward?”

He lightly clapped his hands .

At the back side of the assembly, one soldier appeared with a cool spear and two fist sized leather bags .

“It’s a spear I bought when I went to the capital of Miller . It was made by one of the blacksmith that’s on the top three of Rinse kingdom, by making tests over and over . I will give you this and silver coins . How is it?”

A gently asking voice .

Roan looked at the spear and the two leather bags .

‘It’s certainly a good spear . And there are plenty of silver coins . But……… . ’

He had the travias spear with him, which he couldn’t use yet, and if he got determined on it, he would be able to earn a much higher amount of money .

There was only one thing he needed the most right now .

It was permission to get in Brent library .

‘It’s taking a risk . ’

Roan lowered his head .

“There’s nothing I desire aside of seeing Brent library . ”

A polite yet firm way of talking .

At that moment, Mendel frowned .

“How conceited . You dare to our corps commander………”

“It’s fine . ”

Aaron shook his hand and smiled faintly .

‘How funny . Does it mean that a good spear and two bags of silver is lacking?’

He interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on it .

“Fine . Then I will raise your rank to class 3 adjutant . And if you want, I will also give you a small house near rose troop’s headquarters . ”

Exceptional manners and conditions .

‘Even so, will you still keep insisting that you want to see Brent library?’

An expression as if he was dying to know what kind of answer he will give .

Aaron’s corner of eyes and mouth busily raise up and down .

‘Is he testing me?’

Roan slightly turned up his head and looked at Aaron’s two eyes .

He remembered the words Gale had said .

‘The corps commander doesn’t like dressing things up, and likes direct things . ’

Then, the direct action was the best .

Roan lowered his head again and replied .

“I have already received many rewards at the merits awards . I received a prize and I also became an adjutant . The spear and prize you have told me about, give that to the ordinary soldiers that risked their lives at the front . It’s because of them that the battle at Ale gorge, inundation tactic at Prely river, and the subjugation of Pedian’s plain turned out to be a victory . ”

“Oh . ”

Aaron, the staff and Gale all let out exclamations .

‘Good . ’

‘He has the qualities of a good commander . ’

‘Excellent . ’

A satisfied expression .

Roan looked at Aaron’s face for a moment and bent his head .

“There’s nothing aside seeing Brent library that I desire . ”

“Mmm . ”

A low exclamation flowed from Aaron’s mouth .

“So you say that you will deny the promotion, house, the spear bought from the kingdom and the silver coin bags, right?”

“Yes . ”

Roan was still with his head lowered .

Aaron just looked at him and shook his head .

“Brent library is a place that is only possible to enter by nobles…… . ”

He dimmed the last part of the sentence and clapped his hands .

Clap!

A light sound .

“Fine . If that’s your wish, I can only listen to it . ”

At that instant a bright smile appeared from Roan, that was bending his head .

‘It’s done . ’

He hid his expression and replied with a voice filled with strength .

“Thank you . ”

He got the thing he wanted .

At least until now, everything was happening as he wanted .

End