“Well then, did everyone pick their Weapon class?” Pierre clapped his hands to signify that the time is up, “If so, everyone in the Bow class can follow me this way.”

“Guess we’ll be separated for a bit.” Edward turned to me, “Good luck, man.”

“Yeah, same to you.” I replied, “But are you sure you don’t want to be in Aaron’s group? I feel like you two would have a lot to catch up on.”

“I’m afraid I can’t, sadly.” He sighed, “Remember, I’m not here to meet any old acquaintances. I just want to help put an end to this war in any way I can so that I can hopefully move back to our old home in Stringwood. After that…”

“After that?”

“N-Never mind!” He looked away, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it! As for now, just do your best to keep up. Aaron may look a bit friendly, but his skill in combat is second only to Jorgen, the General’s brother.”

“Eh? Really?” I tilted my head.

Aaron didn’t at all strike me as that powerful of an individual. I mean, even now he’s patiently waiting for me and Edward to finish up our little chat, despite the other rookies clearly showing signs of growing agitation. Well, then again, if Edward of all people says that this guy’s ruthless, then I’m sure he’s not joking in the slightest.

“You ready, kid?” Aaron pulled me away, “Come on, your friends are getting impatient.”

“We’re not friends with that stuck up suck-up!” The rookies corrected him.

“Hey now, that’s rude…” He then stopped for a moment, “Heh, stuck up suck-up! I should write that down, it’s pretty good! Oh, no offense, kid.”

“None taken.” I replied calmly, “I don’t even see what part of that is an insult.”

“You…” He gazed at me with interest, “You’re giving me a nostalgic feeling, but I can’t quite pinpoint the reason why yet…”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, that aloofness, that naivety. It’s refreshing, don’t change it.”

Refreshing? That’s quite the way to describe it. Usually, my personality is described as dull and annoying to try to understand. People are quick to judge me outside of Oden, and they’re very much against taking the time to figure me out, unless of course forced to, so I’m not quite sure how to react to that. I’m not sure what Edward’s on about, but General Aaron seems pretty nice!

“Now, everyone take your spears and shields.” Aaron clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention, “First challenge – try and get a hit on me. I wanna see what level you’re at right now.”

“General, you must be kidding…” The rookies sounded worried.

“Don’t worry, you twerps are years away from actually harming me at all.” Aaron mocked.

“That’s not true!” They protested, “General Pierre said we’ve gotten really good since enlisting! You’ll see!”

“But you’re all bones?” Aaron was brutally honest, “Just looking you guys, I can guarantee that a single collision will break your spines like a twig. The other half might make it past the warm up…”

Well, he’s not wrong. Even Edward and I noticed how out of shape these guys are, and that’s entirely on them for skimping out on their training. It seems Aaron’s years of experience are showing, but not everyone has the ability to bulk up, so I don’t quite understand why he’s so harsh on the skinnier guys.

“Alright now, come at me!” He whistled with all his might, indicating the start of the test.

In the very next moment, everyone ran at him at full speed, trying desperately to prove him wrong, but it was all for naught. You see, I noticed a pattern in Aaron’s fighting style. He likes to parry and counter, almost to the point where that’s all he does. That being said, none of his parries are easily predicted. He switches his stance up a lot, and can even be seen swapping his left and his right hands when using his weapon. Yeah, he has no obvious openings, but all I’ve got to do for now is observe.

“Take this!” A rookie tried hitting him from his blind spot, “You can’t deflect us all!”

“Ugh, no respect for the uniforms…” Aaron rolled his eyes, “Look, if you’re gonna train under me, then at least have the decency to tie your shoelaces.”

“My shoelaces?” The rookie looked down for a split second before realizing his mistake, “Wait, these are army boots! They don’t have laces-!”

“Gullible dumbass!” Aaron drove his fist into the rookie’s skull, “Rule number 1 – Screw words! On the battlefield, we fight with sticks and stones!”

“If spears won’t work, then I’ll charge in with my shield!” Another rookie mowed through half of his subordinates just to get to Aaron.

“Mnn… You’re close.” Aaron easily took his shield and smacked him with it, “But you just killed half of your allies trying to take down on measly enemy. Not to mention, you’re so weak that you couldn’t even knock me down. Rule number 2 – Allies above anything else! What’s the point of winning a battle if you have no more friends left to celebrate your victory with?”

“That’s right!” Three others ran in a formation towards him, “That’s why we’ll be using teamwork to make our dream work! Tiff, Hark!”

“Aye, aye, Ole!” The two other stooges ducked down to boost the first guy high into the sky above Aaron.

“Oh? Looks like you’re trying to use Brains instead of Brawn.” Aaron honestly commended them before simply stepping away from the trajectory of the guy’s attack, “But you’re thinking too narrow mindedly. I won’t just stand there and take the damage, I’m not a suicidal idiot. That’s rule 3 – Your enemies will act and react! They are not at all a static factor!”

And just like that, I saw countless others try their hand at attacking the General, only to get easily deflected. Seeing as I was just idly standing back and watching it all unfurl, I could even see Aaron try and get me in on the action. He was obviously trying to provoke me to run up to him as well, but I didn’t really want to rush into an unknown enemy like the others. Before long, I was the only guy standing, and Aaron had no other choice but to start approaching me.

“I just knew you were gonna be above the others, y’know?” He flourished his spear, “You stepped back and didn’t rush. You have some brains in you, unlike these simple cattle. Tell me – did you use this time they bought you wisely and figure out how to beat me?”

“No, not really.” I shrugged, “I was just waiting for the Sinus wave to start rising.”

“The what?” Aaron stopped for a moment, “You’re… quite odd. It’s kinda cute.”

“Cute?”

Something about the way he said that made my cogs turn. Really, you’re not gonna call a guy cute, much less a soldier, so why would he specifically choose that word of all words? Let’s see, his first rule said not to get hung up on words, so do I ignore it? The second rule can’t be applied since all of my allies are already “dead”, so to speak. And the third only works when I’m attacking. But I can’t just ignore that word, it’s kind of getting on my nerves… Wait!

“It’s mocking!” I realized as I just barely dodged his spear attack, “You’re purposefully trying to rattle us into blindly attacking you, making our movements extremely predictable!”

“Heh!” Aaron stopped for a moment, “Apart from Lune, you’re the only kid his age who figured it out. Mad props, cutie!”

Ugh, won’t he stop calling me that?! No wait, I just figured out that this is all part of his plan, so I can’t get angry, no matter what! Just got to patiently wait for my chance, and…!

“It’s here!” I stuck my spear out, feeling an impact from the other side of the tip, “Wait, this is…!”

“Cough!” The General stood surprised as he coughed up a red liquid, “Damn kid, didn’t I say that we’re just practicing?”

“General!” I threw away my sword and shield to aid him, “Crap, what have I done! I’m so sorr-ACK!”

“Tsk tsk!” He pinned me down to the ground, “You did well, so I’m gonna teach you the final rule I have. Rule number 4 – There doesn’t exist a tactic that is too sly in war.”

Looking at the place I thought I had stabbed him, I noticed a poked ketchup packet stand in its place. Quickly turning to look at the spear I tossed aside, I saw the General take the red liquid from its tip and lick it off his finger. Damn, I was tricked, that wasn’t blood at all!

“Meil, was it?” He smiled from ear to ear, “I finally figured it out. That nostalgic feeling. Come with me to my office this instant.”

***

Entering the office, I had noticed that it was rather disorderly. General Aaron might be looking his sharpest when on the battlefield, but he really doesn’t mind working in a pigsty, I guess. Even still, out of all the books, weapons and quills scattered throughout the floor, there’s one thing that seems to be always kept tidy, that being the desk. On the desk, only two things were present – a candle stand, and a group illustration of him with a couple other people. One of the older guys kind of resembles General Pierre, whilst the younger people in the drawing are none other than Lune, Edward, Cecily, and another red haired boy I don’t quite recognize.

“Like the illustration?” Aaron leaned on his chair as he put his feet on the table, “That image is one I had personally commissioned. It’s all of the Generals and Vice Generals of ARA.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” I felt a bit uncomfortable about the situation.

“Nice? I’d rather use the word expensive.” He slapped his knee, “Oh, but don’t get me wrong, it was worth it. Seeing those four standing together like that again is something I just don’t want to ever forget. Sigh, gone were the days where these kids could honestly smile.”

“I’m sorry for asking, but who is this red haired boy?” I inquired, “I’ve met Edward, Cecily Lune, but this person is someone I haven’t ever seen before.”

“Right, makes sense that you haven’t.” He looked down, “That’s Carter. Cecily’s brother who passed during a larger gang dispute.”

“Oh, so that’s Carter!” I zoomed to take a closer look the image again, “I see! He really does resemble his sister!”

“…You know of him?”

“Ah, I haven’t met him before.” I cleared up the misunderstanding, “But Lune’s told me all about him through his stories. From what he’s said, he’s also the one who saved Nelly from a burning building.”

“Nelly!” Aaron suddenly remembered, “How is she doing? God, I haven’t seen the kid in ages! Come to think of it, where is Cecily even?”

“Ah, she went to Abyssus Solis to meet up with Lune. This goes without saying, but she took Nelly with her. For reasons, they’re all currently somewhere far away, where even I don’t know the location.”

“I see…” He twiddled his thumbs, “Damn those two idiots. Heh, they sure made love look easy, didn’t they?”

“Not really” I cut to the chase, “Sir, what did you call me in here for?”

“Right.” He continued with an ahem, “I won’t waste your time and just ask you straight out – you know what sex is?”

“…Eh?”