We enter into the room, with him leading and me following a few steps behind as we walk down the central aisle. All conversation shortly cuts off, and I am left wondering at the reason until I remember the Sir Lector is carrying the corpse of a young noble recruit. Yeah, I guess I can see why that would shut a room up.
When we are about halfway across the room, the lion-maned man who welcomed the new recruits yesterday lets out a sigh so deep that I can see his chest fall from over a hundred feet away. He then gets up and, moving so fast that my mind only registers a blur, comes to stand before us.
"I was already informed of this," he says quietly enough that my ears only detect it due to their skill-based enhancement. "Do you think you could announce the reason for his death? It would at least bring something good out of this tragedy."
"Sure," Lector replies, sounding strangely nonchalant when considering the seeming severity of this occurrence.
Lector then continues up towards the raised platform against the back wall where the commanders' table is positioned. When he notices that I am no longer following, he motions me along. I follow his cue, trying to ignore the countless looks that I am receiving. [Not that I mind being the center of attention, but these people may think that I have something to do with his death. Although I guess I was likely to receive looks either way, aiming to sit with a commander and all.]
Lector steps up onto the stage, again motioning for me to follow. The general looks at me questioningly, but I don't know how to respond other than a shrug. So, there I find myself standing next to a commander facing out at a room full of soldiers on my first day of training. I'm moving up in the world… I guess.
"Now, some of you are perhaps wondering why this soldier is dead. If not, then you are probably wondering why I brought him here in front of you. Is it for the purpose of fully imparting to you the degree of difference in the power level between yourselves and we commanders? Partially. This was a promising young soldier, yet he now lies dead. This is the importance of strength; he was still weak, and yet did not operate in the demeanor of the weak. The weak are to cower before the strong, and, if presented with an opportunity like that which you receive by training under us here, they are to learn from this strong. This is done so that they may someday stand among the strong. However, the main reason I have brought him here is to impart the importance of respecting your commanders. He was disrespectful towards me; now, as follows the natural order of things, he lies dead. If he had not respected me, and was stronger than me, I would not have even challenged him to a duel. However, I am stronger. And so too, every commander upon this stage is more powerful than any soldier off of it. If we were not more powerful how could we dare to command you? Our country has a long history of wars being fought primarily by our most powerful warriors acting of their own volition to bring us the greatest benefit. How could a commander give orders to a soldier stronger than himself when the soldier would be more effective accomplishing missions by his own methods? When you become strong, as a handful of you here might, you may disrespect anyone short of our King, our nobles, and Our Lady so long as you bring victory. However, for so long as you are weak, you will be under another's command so that the various fragments of strength spread amongst you may be condensed into an actually useful force for our nation. That is all to say, for so long as you are a soldier in our army, you are to follow commands as given by your superiors. That is all."
[Heh. It looks like this world primarily focuses on developing individual strength amongst its soldiers, with any soldier too weak to stand alone on the battlefield being placed with other weaker soldiers under a commander. No wonder the order of command is so important; the point of these soldiers is to work together with a commander to try to replicate the capability of a single powerful soldier. Of course that is going to require a very rigid structure. Yet, because the soldiers know that they will be allowed to operate on their own if they grow strong enough, they still focus more on personal strength development than group combat training. Furthermore, the military encourages this focus on becoming more powerful at the expense of group training, as it actually wants its soldiers to be powerful enough to not require a whole organized unit to function. A truly interesting setup, and very different from Earth. On Earth, the focus is of course on working as a group above all else. In this world, because the individual capability of a soldier can be so much higher, and because a single powerful soldier is easier to deploy than a group of weaker soldiers, the focus is on developing personally powerful soldiers while still preparing them to the necessary extent to work together under a commander, as that is most likely the role that they shall serve. I wonder if that is the standard in this world, or is unique to this country?]
After his brief speech, Sir Lector turns away from the crowd. As soon as his attention is no longer upon them, they begin loudly talking to each other. What the subject is, I have no idea; however, it can probably be assumed to be about the speech that he just delivered. Though perhaps they simply returned to their previous discussions from before we entered.
Once their attention is no longer upon us, Sir Lion asks the obvious question of me. "What are you doing up here, recruit? As I'm sure you're aware, this place into which you are trespassing is only for commanders. Explain yourself."
I open my mouth with intent to pass all the blame onto Sir Lector; however, before I can say anything, he answers for me.
"I invited him to eat beside me, general. As you are aware, I have long been searching for a suitable apprentice to pass my knowledge along to. While he is perhaps not as skilled as I am looking for, he seems to be far more eager to learn than the other potential candidates, and is certainly far more respectful towards me compared to near anyone else that I have trained of late."
[Eh? Apprentice? This is the first that I am hearing of this! I mean, of course I'll accept if he clearly offers, but I certainly did not expect this…]
"Oh, apprentice you say? I'd thought that no one would ever meet your specifications… that said, I don't know if I can allow this. He is here to receive general training, with the express goal of helping us obtain victory on the battlefield. Furthermore, he is a slave. Not only did we spend good money to have him here working for us, it would only worsen your already bad image if you were to take on a slave for special training. Of course, I fully understand that you only joined this force with the goal of finding an apprentice to pass your knowledge to, but this one hardly seems appropriate, wouldn't you say?"
To this multifaceted and reasonable argument, Sir Lector only responds with a single word "No."
"Oh? Well, please explain your reasoning to me then. Otherwise, as the owner of this slave and as your commander, I'll have to forbid it. This comes at the risk of distracting you both from what should be your primary goals, as well as sullying the reputation of one of our esteemed commanders, you know."
"Very well then. My criteria for picking an apprentice were manifold. The apprentice had to have some skill in magic, of course, as this one does. While I was looking for someone of a bit more skill, he certainly qualifies considering his complete lack of training even when compared to other mage soldiers here. The apprentice also has to be willing to learn, and willing to recognize that they are currently weak to the point of uselessness, and have a desire to improve that weakness into strength. I have already seen signs of these within him, and through our discussions tonight, I intended to check for others. Finally, he has to respect me and I have to like him enough to pass down my knowledge. He passes with flying colors on both of these fronts. I can't say for certain why I like him, but I certainly do. It may be that he is a slave, or that he is not pointlessly proud in his meager talents, or that he show far greater respect for me than other soldiers. But, whatever the reason may be, I rather like him. And that, to be honest, is what I was most searching for in an apprentice, and what I had yet to find until a few hours ago."
"Well, it does certainly seem as though you have thought this through. So long as he receives all of his training in all of his fields, I will not object. Furthermore, whether he is willing or not, as a slave of this military I command him to be your apprentice if you will accept him."
At this, Sir Lector simply waves away the declaration. "No, if he will not submit himself to me as my willing apprentice, I will not have him. The most important trait of an apprentice is a willing eagerness to receive imparted knowledge. If he is not willing, then this simply won't work."
Lector then turns to me. "I'm sure that this is all moving rather fast, but would you be willing to be my apprentice? You have already heard my reasons for such, and this is certainly not an opportunity that you want to miss. As my apprentice, you will assist me and receive training from me whenever you are not occupied with your other training. How does that sound?"
I do not even need to consider this before accepting. While it is certainly true that I am aiming to become a magic swordsman, and that currently my expertise lies in swordsmanship, improving my ability with magic definitely can't hurt. And besides, this does truly seem like the opportunity of a lifetime.
"I accept!" I answer, intentionally allowing excitement to color my voice. "If you will take me as your apprentice, I will gladly take you as my master. Furthermore," I say, turning to the general "I will certainly not be remiss in my training with the sword, and in other aspects. This institution, alongside yourself, are, and shall remain, my owner and so also my master."
"Very well then!" Sir Lector exclaims, giving the first smile that I have seen from him.
[Though isn't our relationship progressing a bit fast? We only met but a few hours ago, and he has already made clear how he thinks of me and has accepted me as an apprentice. He must have been extremely desperate for an apprentice to accept me so readily. Though, as Lord Lion revealed, apparently he only joined this place to find an apprentice… he must really see a lot in me, though I am not really sure why. Well, I'm not really complaining.]
"Very well," Lord Lion echoes. "See to it that you both are not remiss in your duties or I will have to punish you both. Furthermore, while I do not mind if master and apprentice share a table for dinner, a slave will not be allowed to sit at the table of the commanders. Either you will sit separately, or you, Lector, will sit with him at a normal table. That is all."