Assignment

Before dawn, the Cadet Officers from the other counties began packing their belongings, and the atmosphere throughout the Military Academy suddenly became tense. Caleb Winifred stood beside his horse and turned for one last look at the Military Academy.

After some time, even the direction of the morning sunlight had shifted, leaving Caleb's face in the shadow of the backlight. The crowd that had come to say farewell dispersed, and much later, only a handful of mage officers remained outside the Academy gates. Most of the Cadet Officers from the other counties had already set out on the road home.

"Young master, aren't we leaving yet?"

"Wait a little longer..."

In the end, Caleb never saw the person he was waiting for. In fact, Catherine Cavendish was not even at the Military Academy. With his retainer attending him, Caleb mounted his horse and left, riding toward Farpass County without looking back.

Inside the Military Academy, the atmosphere was tense as well. The Cadet Officers of Blackport County were waiting for their assignments. They would be distributed among the various departments and become formal officers.

Leo and Brad sat in the last row of a Military Academy classroom, waiting for the senior officers from the various departments to arrive. The results of last night's battle had been brutal, leaving the entire classroom under a heavy cloud. Many classmates they had lived and studied beside every day had died in the fighting.

Most commoner mages like Leo and Brad did not awaken until they were fifteen. They had received little military training as children, and inadequate nutrition had left them physically worse off than noble mages. Most of those who died yesterday had therefore been commoners.

Among the seventy mages from the two school years who had taken part in the battle, twenty were noble mages. Two of them had died, leaving eighteen. Of the fifty commoner mages, twenty-three had died, leaving only twenty-seven.

Some people already knew where they were going and spoke quietly among themselves. People like Leo and Brad, who had no background or connections, could only wait in silence.

Marcus Nawey, Viscount of Rouen Castle, was the first to enter. He had originally been their classmate, but after inheriting his title and becoming the distinguished Viscount of Rouen Castle, he now entered as head of the Staff Department. He called out three names, all heirs to various viscounts. They would enter the Staff Department.

The head of the Military Administration Office came into the classroom second. He was enormously fat. Even an oversized military uniform was stretched tight around him, its metal buttons fighting desperately to restrain his round belly. The officer from the Military Administration Office read out the names of five Soul Mages. Leo saw Lydia Murray stand up. She had been assigned to the Military Administration Office.

The head of the Quartermaster Office came in next and read out the names of another five Soul Mages. Once assigned there, the five women would probably become professional battlefield doctors.

The head of the cavalry company looked full of energy. After entering the classroom, he called the names of twenty-five mages. Those twenty-five would become cavalrymen in the 3rd Corps cavalry company.

Only seven people remained in the classroom, and the seven looked at one another. An officer from the infantry brigade entered with a dark expression and called five names. He was clearly furious that the infantry brigade had received only five new people. That left only Leo and Brad in the entire classroom.

Brad said excitedly, "Leo! We must be the special ones! There are only two of us left!"

Leo answered somewhat gloomily, "We're definitely the special ones. Just the especially unlucky kind..."

At that moment, Major Willy walked into the classroom, sleepy-eyed and with dark circles under his eyes. He looked at the two men in the last row and said without much enthusiasm, "You two. Follow me."

Major Willy's boots thudded along the corridor. He said nothing, and Leo and Brad did not dare speak either. The three of them reached the Military Academy's riding grounds, where Major Willy immediately ordered a servant to open the stable.

"Go. Pick a horse each!"

Leo and Brad moved quickly and promptly selected two horses. Major Willy was already mounted.

The stablemaster in charge of the riding grounds hurriedly rushed out of his wooden shed. "Major Willy! Those are all the Count's horses! I heard you've been promoted to the infantry brigade. You can't ride these horses anymore!"

Major Willy simply turned his horse and rode out of the stable without paying the stablemaster any attention. The man did not dare actually stop him, but he reached out to grab Leo's reins. Just as Leo stood there at a loss, Major Willy said softly from ahead, "Get lost!"

The stablemaster's hand froze in midair. Leo and Brad hurried after Major Willy.

Major Willy was in an extremely bad mood. After they had ridden for a while, white steam was already rising from his head, and Leo could not tell whether it came from anger or heat. Sometimes emotional agitation made people sweat. Major Willy was obviously in an exceptionally foul temper.

Leo and Brad desperately whipped their horses, yet Major Willy pulled farther and farther ahead. He was riding far too fast.

Eventually, Major Willy stopped beside the Loire River. He swung down from his horse and stood at the riverbank. After throwing his cigarette butt into the water, he watched until it vanished far downstream.

Leo and Brad hurriedly tied up their horses and joined him. Leo lowered his eyes and stared solemnly at the river, as if he were completely absorbed in the rolling water. Brad looked at the sky, then the ground, then the opposite bank, then the woods behind them, scratching at his head and face all the while.

Major Willy looked at Leo on his left, then Brad on his right, and sighed again. "Some good news. The three horses behind us belong to us now. I doubt anyone dares come and ask for them back. Consider it compensation."

"These are our horses? I get a horse too? But we left so quickly that I didn't even get a proper look at mine!" Brad immediately broke into a grin and ran back to inspect his horse more closely.

A horse like this cost eighty silver pennies, which was four gold pounds. No wonder Brad was excited. As for why no one would come to reclaim the horses, the reason was simple: Major Willy Belloc was a C-Grade Mage. There were fewer than twenty C-Grade Mages in all of Blackport County. Sometimes, when an angry C-Grade Mage did something a little out of line, it was not considered much of a problem.

Leo asked, "Major Willy, what's the bad news?"

"The bad news..." Major Willy looked at Brad circling around the horse. "Shouldn't we wait until Brad comes back before I tell you?"

Leo answered firmly, "There's no need."

Major Willy took out another cigarette and glanced at Brad, who was riding farther and farther away. "All right. I think you're right. There's no need to wait for him.

"The bad news is that I didn't become Company Commander of the 4th Company in the cavalry company. Because of some troublesome personal relationships, a lot of people don't want to see me advance any further.

"The 3rd Corps is preparing to expand. The infantry brigade will add another battalion, and the cavalry company will add another company. The infantry brigade originally had only three infantry companies, and the Count has ordered me to form the 4th Infantry Company.

"Expanding the establishment requires the approval of old Duke Blois in Coldlance City. A round trip by the Count's attendant will take at least a month.

"During that month, there isn't much we can do. Of course, we won't be sitting idle either. The Count has ordered our 4th Battalion to help handle some city-defense duties while it is being formed, until the 4th Battalion has been completely established."

With that, Major Willy looked at Leo, wanting to see his reaction.

"That's it? This..." Leo asked in confusion. "How is that bad news?"

Major Willy stared at him in surprise. "We didn't get into the cavalry. We didn't get to become mage cavalry. How is that not bad news?

"In other words, not only did I fail to become Company Commander of a cavalry battalion, I ended up becoming commander of the weakest newly formed infantry company. After thinking it over, I recruited both you and Brad under me. Not only did you two fail to become mage cavalry, you also joined the weakest newly formed infantry company. How is that not bad news?"

Leo scratched his head awkwardly. Somehow, not yearning for the cavalry seemed almost disrespectful toward Major Willy's dream.

The cavalry was the pride of Blackport County, the pride of the Unicorn Legion, and the dream of every child who ran wildly through the streets. There was something mysterious about a helmet with only a narrow slit to see through. There was the full suit of silver or black metal armor, the towering warhorse, hoofbeats like war drums, the cavalry retainer following behind, and the packhorse carrying the cavalryman's lance. What could possibly look more impressive?

Leo said, "Major Willy, you know I'm a Cipher Mage. I'm not suited to becoming cavalry. A warhorse has a hard time adapting when the weight of the weapons and equipment on its back keeps changing. If I strengthen the defense of an entire suit of plate armor, the horse would be crushed under the weight. So I've never been especially interested in becoming cavalry."

Major Willy nodded. "That's true. You're a Cipher Mage. You were born to be infantry."

He turned toward Brad. "But Brad is a Form Mage. This news must be bad news for Brad. How am I supposed to break it to him later?"

Leo smiled. "Don't worry, Major Willy. You gave him a horse. You don't even need to tell him anything. He'll only think the Goddess of Fortune kissed him today. He won't notice anything strange about the day at all. He won't notice now, and even many years from now, he'll still think today was an exceptionally lucky day for him, full of wonderful memories."

"It really does look that way..." Major Willy watched the delighted Brad. "Leo, is Brad always this... quick to feel happy and satisfied?"

Leo nodded. "Yes. Always. Major, happiness favors the slow-witted."

"Yes... Slow-witted people are easier to satisfy." Major Willy looked away from Brad.

"Leo, I'm going back to my barony. I'll form the 1st Infantry Company of the 4th Infantry Company there. At the very least, after a month, the 4th Battalion should have one company we can actually put into the field.

"During this month, you and Brad can help me handle the work assigned by the city defense company. Once the other soldiers of the 4th Battalion arrive a month from now, you'll go to the 2nd Company as a Squad Leader. I'll promote you to Platoon Leader soon after that.

"Train hard. You only recently became a D-Grade Mage. If you can become a High-Tier D-Grade Mage as soon as possible, you'll be strong enough to become an infantry Company Commander."

A company was a formation of roughly one hundred men. That was already an extremely large force.

Leo was very satisfied with Major Willy's promise. "Understood, Major Willy. I guarantee I'll complete the mission!

"Major Willy, I have another question. I didn't see Miss Catherine Cavendish this morning. Where was she assigned?"

"Miss Catherine? She won't be assigned anywhere.

"How should I put it... She's already seventeen. When Miss Catherine turns eighteen, she'll be married. I've heard that even the Manchel royal family has heard of Miss Catherine.

"In the Duchy of the Peninsula and throughout the Kingdom of Manchel, many nobles are searching for a noble mage lady of suitable status for their heirs. The Count of Blackport's second-in-line heir, a beautiful D-Grade Form Mage, is obviously an excellent match.

"Miss Catherine even came to me last night and thanked me for giving her the chance to become a real lancer. Unfortunately, her career as a lancer ends here. She has her own duties, if marriage can be considered a duty."

Leo said, "That explains it. I thought Catherine would at least become Squad Leader of a cavalry squad."

Major Willy said, "Leo, you should wish Miss Catherine well too. Hope she marries a future Count or Marquis.

"Then, when Marchioness Catherine sees you again, she'll remember that in her youth she once charged the enemy as a cavalrywoman, and that you were once her most reliable Cipher Mage guard. Perhaps you could obtain a hereditary fief from the future Marchioness Catherine.

"Unlike me. My barony cannot be inherited. Only viscountcies and higher can be hereditary."

Leo shook his head. "I'm not going to rely on a woman to obtain a hereditary fief. I've taken a liking to warhammers lately. I'm planning to smash out a hereditary fief for myself with a hammer."

Major Willy let out a long sigh. "When I was young, I thought exactly the same way you do. Twenty years have passed, and I still haven't managed to carve my family name into a single piece of land.

"And I'm already in my forties. How many more years can I maintain my strength as a mage? Ten years? Five? And even now, not one of my children has awakened as a mage..."

Leo was still young and could not understand Major Willy's troubles. He jokingly looked him up and down.

"Major, you still look healthy enough to me. Keep trying. I suggest eating more oysters. There are plenty in the markets of Blackport City."

Major Willy smiled, then his gaze gradually became distant. No one knew what he was thinking. Leo fell silent as well.

In the distance, Brad had climbed onto the horse Leo had picked. If Leo was not mistaken, Brad was already wondering how he could claim the better of the two horses for himself.

After a while, Major Willy called Brad back. "Brad, from now on, you and Leo will work together to complete the tasks assigned to you by the city defense company. You both live in the city and don't have stables or riding grounds. For now, keep these two horses at the city defense company's riding grounds. I've already spoken to them about it."

Brad immediately said, "All right! Can we go to the city defense company's riding grounds first? I don't know whether their stablemaster is properly qualified. I want to inspect the details of the place!"

Major Willy shrugged. "I don't have time to stay with you. You and Leo can discuss things between yourselves and handle them as you see fit.

"Also, tomorrow, go to the Military Administration Office yourselves and collect your formal uniforms and ranks. Brad Baker, like most of the others, you're a Warrant Officer Class II. Leo earned a Third-Class Merit, so he's a Warrant Officer Class I."