Second Life as a Soldier

My reply caught everyone by surprise, even me. My squad looked at me with wide eyes, while Peter almost stepped between the captain and me.

I messed up.

I would have liked to blame the travel and the recent changes in my life, or maybe the fact that, subconsciously, Captain Roscoe’s identity as Peter’s father had become more important to me than his identity as a captain. But those were just excuses.

I was in front of a captain, and he deserved just as much respect as Captain Darrow and Captain Dunvale, if not more.

“And that gives you permission for this unsightly display?” the captain asked with an eyebrow raised.

“I am sorry, sir. It was a momentary lapse in judgment. This will not happen again,” I replied, bowing my head a little. There was nothing wrong with apologizing for your own mistake.

Listening to my reply, Peter, for some reason, smiled at his father. And while there was no change in the captain’s expression, his frown eased a little.

“I hope so,” the captain said. Then, looking at me and Peter, he continued, “There are a few reasons I called you all here. Most important of them all is that Captain Tellus Petrae is also arriving in a few days, and with him, a lot of nobles will come. He has requested a meeting with you, Sergeant Edward. If you don’t want to make your life more difficult, make sure you do not make mistakes like this in front of them.”

All my thoughts came to a halt at that statement.

Who was this Tellus Petrae? I knew House Petrae was the house of Count Petrae, but I did not know who this person was or why he would want to meet me. What was with these nobles, and why did my path keep crossing theirs? I was done.

“Oh, he was the one who came on that giant beast during the grand beast tide,” Barry muttered.

The captain completely ignored my shock and Barry’s comment.

“Another reason is to assign a place for your squad to stay. I have assigned quarters close to the town hall for Sergeant Edward and Private Peter, while the rest of your squad can stay in the barracks in front of it. They both share a training yard.”

“Captain...”

“Captain! I would like to stay with my fellow squad members. There is no need to go through the trouble for me,” Peter said.

Peter and I had started speaking at the same time. I allowed him to continue, then nodded.

“Same for me, Captain. I can stay with my squad.”

The captain looked at me and said, “I was not asking. It is an order.”

Then, turning to Peter, his expression softened a little, and he continued, “Your mother will kill me if she finds out her son is staying in a barrack.”

I smiled internally at the captain’s words. Here he was, a strict man commanding more than a thousand soldiers, yet still scared of his wife at home.

The captain nodded to the sergeant who had brought us here, as if dismissing us.

“Sergeant Edward, I will keep a close watch on you and your squad,” he said, then walked away, leaving me confused and frustrated.

I had come here hoping to get some time to relax after spending almost three years in a constant state of survival, only to get dragged into noble politics of a level I had never seen before.

“Well, Lord Father has a stick up his...” Barry’s comment was cut short when he noticed the glares from a few of the Tier-3 soldiers who had come with the captain.

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Kael looked at Barry with disappointment, then turned to me with almost the same expression. “Edward, maybe you should limit the amount of time you spend with Barry. You almost got us killed.”

I just shook my head.

“Sergeant Edward and Private Peter, follow me. I will show you to your quarters,” said the watch sergeant, while another soldier took the rest of my squad to the barracks.

The quarters were close by, so we arrived there in less than ten minutes. Peter and I were given adjacent rooms, so once I dropped my backpack and gear in my room, I called Peter out.

“Do you know who this Tellus Petrae is? I was unconscious when he was at Fort Darrow. Honestly, if not for Barry’s comment, I would not even have known that the person your father mentioned and the person who saved Fort Darrow were the same person,” I asked.

“Hard to say. I initially thought you two had crossed paths during the beast tide, but now that I know that is not the case, I cannot even begin to think why someone like Captain Tellus would want to meet you.”

I frowned at Peter’s words. I knew I was not important enough for a captain to be interested in me, but I had already met four captains in my short tenure as a sergeant. Meeting one more should not be as big a deal as Peter made it sound.

Understanding my confusion, Peter explained.

“Sergeant, you might not know this, but Tellus Petrae is the leader of House Petrae’s previous generation. Big houses assign leaders to each generation, and those leaders deal with people on the same level as them. That means he holds a position equivalent to that of a baron, and even lieutenant-level soldiers do not usually get the opportunity to meet him.”

That only increased my confusion further, and I shook my head. Then I asked another question that had been bothering me.

“Do you know what your father meant when he said he would keep watch on me? Initially, I thought he was talking about my behavior in front of nobles, but I am not completely sure.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he would care enough to bother himself with how you behave in front of nobles,” Peter said, smirking.

As if a thought had suddenly occurred to him, Peter asked, “Did Captain Darrow or Lieutenant Cicero tell you anything?”

That was when it dawned on me. The only thing, or rather the only person I knew, that could bring this type of attention to me was Lieutenant Cicero.

“Yeah, something major happened, but I was so caught up in my research that I forgot to talk with you about it. Lieutenant Cicero informed me that he had transferred me to a new squad.”

“Why? Changing lieutenants is practically unheard of, especially when the lieutenant in question has endorsed you for promotion,” Peter asked in surprise.

“It is related to my research, but he also made me his disciple. I have not yet received any information on who will...” I stopped myself from continuing because it looked like Peter had stopped listening halfway through my sentence.

“D-Disciple? How? Why?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. You know about most of my research, and you might know more about the lieutenant’s house than I do.”

Peter just shook his head. “I honestly do not understand how you are able to do this, and I am 100% sure you do not understand what being a disciple of Lieutenant Cicero means. But that does answer all your questions. My father hates House Cicero and what they did wholeheartedly. If not for Lieutenant Cicero’s work at the fort and the respect he earned as a soldier, my father might have arrested you just for having a connection with someone from House Cicero.”

Before Peter could explain further, I asked, “If your father hates House Cicero, why don’t you? It always felt to me like you admired Lieutenant Cicero.”

“Well, this might sound bad, but the House Cicero incident happened long before I was born, so for me, it was just a horror story. And somehow, the only righteous knight in that story is Lieutenant Cicero.”

I nodded, then Peter continued with his previous explanation.

“As for Captain Tellus, though House Cicero has only one member left, some old nobles follow tradition rigidly. According to them, Lieutenant Cicero and Captain Tellus are from the same generation, making you the leader of this generation of House Cicero.”

“WHAT THE FUCK! Does this mean I will keep getting invited by nobles?” I said in horror.

I hardly understood how to behave in front of knights and captains. How was I supposed to survive meeting high-level nobles?

“I don’t think you have to worry about all that. House Cicero hardly holds any status nowadays. The only benefits you get as a commoner are that nobles will not be able to execute you casually, force you to reveal your research, or let you die of hunger if there ever comes a day when you are unable to feed yourself.”

Peter paused, then continued, “House Cicero and House Petrae had a close relationship. That might be why Captain Tellus wants to meet you. Or, given House Cicero’s past, he might simply want to observe you and discuss your philosophy.”

I sighed. I did not know what type of mess Lieutenant Cicero had dragged me into. I just wished I could survive this.

Looking at the horizon and contemplating my future, I took a few steps forward before calling out to Peter.

“Come on. You are guiding me around your town. Also, take me to a shop where I can buy something decent enough to wear in front of nobles.”

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