8.0 - Recruits, Again
(Change first person to Cethus)
-------------
I was walking around the entire area of the knights' recruit headquarters.
I was marching along a path covered in stones. Tents were set up parallel to this path.
I've been here for a week now, so I more or less understand how things work.
I had my hands in my pockets.
Every day here looks the same.
Huh?
My face was obscured by shadow.
I stopped.
Two adult men stood before me, also part of the recruit squad.
One had brown hair and beard, and the other had black hair.
They were dressed in the equipment we use during training.
"Mr. Baldur Clothar informed us that there is a kid in our tent." The one with the beard smiled.
I stood straight in front of them and just stared at them.
"This is not a place for kids, hahaha." The other one butted in.
"hahaha..."
The man with the beard laughed along with his buddy until he noticed something in my unusual appearance.
"This hair color... albinism? Hahaha! Not only is he a kid, he's also sick. I guess your parents threw you out of the house because they didn't want to support a brat like you. You probably didn't know how to cope, so you went to any job to earn Zeniths. Knights are in short supply these days, so they accepted you without a problem."
"Hahahahaha..."
I got lost in the first sentence. I don't even know what albinism is, so it's hard to understand the rest right away.
"Who were you talking to?" I gave them a serious look.
The men stopped laughing and looked at each other for a moment. They nodded to each other.
The one with the beard bent down to my height and looked at me with a serious expression on his face.
I didn't break our eye contact, quite the opposite, I looked at him as intently as he did at me. I didn't show them even a shred of fear or doubt.
"I'm Glaton Grawer, and my buddy is Oiser Nezdor." The one who was looking me straight in the eye said it.
"Mr. Baldur mentioned that you didn't give your real name, only a pseudonym." I think it was Oiser who said it.
Glaton stood upright.
"How did it go? Sefyus? Hahaha! It sounds lame, like the name of some character from cheap mythology."
"Do you know what we want to tell you through all this? This is no place for brats. Only the strong, mature and with a masculine personality can be here. You show none of these traits."
Have they finished their testament yet?
Glaton suddenly grabbed me by the neck. He lifted me up with his hand.
I grabbed his hand with my hands to loosen its grip. It didn't help.
Sweat was pouring from my face, I was suffocating.
It looked like Glaton was enjoying it.
That devilish smile on his face says it all.
I smiled slightly myself.
It must have looked strange, after all I'm suffocating and trying to free myself.
What families were they from? Nezdor and Grawer?
Hahahaha.
"Excuse me! You can't do that!"
A short boy of my height ran up and shouted.
"Who are you?"
"Leave him alone! H-he didn't do anything!"
You can see he's afraid of them. He is shaking all over.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.
Glaton got angry because of the boy's arrival.
He waved the hand he was holding me with and threw me 3 meters away on the path.
I was all scratched up from the stone path.
I lay there on the ground without moving.
"Hahahaha!" Grawer and Nezdor laughed.
I guess I have to pretend that I am seriously hurt.
When I heard the men slowly leaving, I slowly opened my eyes.
My eyes glowed a strong yellow. I watched them leave for a moment longer.
"D-did anything happen to you?"
A boy ran up, thanks to whom I landed on the ground.
The moment I turned my gaze to him, my eyes returned to their previous form.
I slowly got up from a lying position to a sitting one.
I sat there, all scratched up on it.
"Don't interfere in other people's business, it's not your problem." I replied to him.
The boy grabbed my arm and tried to help me get up.
When I noticed that he wanted to help me, I got up on my own.
"H-huh?" He reacted.
What's so strange about being able to get up?
I brushed myself off the sand.
"Someone told me that there's o-one person my age in the recruit ward." He started to speak.
I watched him stutter with a neutral expression on my face.
"And you know... e-everyone here is about 30, s-so I thought I'd find you and befriend you."
What? He probably doesn't know what he wants to get into. He even witnessed what I mean just a moment ago.
The people in the tent don't like me and avoid me. Random people on the path, have a problem with me.
Baldur Clothar has a grudge against me, no matter what I do on fencing training.
Everyone on my team thinks I'm a weirdo, because of how I behaved on the first day.
I'll just ignore him. I know he doesn't really want that.
I put my hands in my pockets and walked the route I was on a moment ago.
Why is he following me?
"I'm v-Vikir Sullvan and I'm 13, just like you."
How is 13 years old the same as me?!
Wait, I heard the name Sullvan somewhere.
"L-like I said, we're the only ones here who are of similar age so we can be friends."
Don't follow me step by step! Get lost!
"You've already said it and don't follow me!"
I think I'm going to get some kind of neurosis!
Vikir didn't listen to me and continued following me.
I could feel strange emotions coming from him. He's shy and cheerful at the same time.
"Huh?"
Suddenly I felt something. A familiar aura.
I stopped, and Vikir, who was following me, bumped into me.
Such a strong personality... it can only be...
Disturbing, is there already four on this planet?
"Y-you know my mother is a strong warrior and..."
However, this aura is different, I don't know it.
This person definitely knows about me here too. If he's hostile, then I'm screwed.
I suddenly turned to Vikir.
"Shut your mouth! I'm trying to focus!"
I yelled at him, then immediately turned around and started running at a fast pace.
Vikir tried to keep up with me, but after 20 seconds of running, he was out of breath.
When I reached my destination, I sneaked behind one of the tents.
I have to identify who it is.
I crouched behind the tent.
Huh?
I turned around.
A boy my height was standing behind me. He was wearing a long coat, I couldn't see his face.
Despite everything, I'm sure it's THAT person.
We looked at each other for a moment with a neutral expression on our faces.
He knows that I know too.
I was quite surprised.
I was expecting someone completely different.
I heard Vikir run up all tired.
"W-Why did you run so fast? I-I couldn't catch up with you."
The masked man and I were now looking at Vikir.
The boy in the coat immediately went forward when he saw the person who had just run up.
He just passed us without a word.
Damn, I wanted to talk to him about something important, and that Vikir ruined everything!
I stood up to a vertical position.
I looked at the masked person for a moment, who was already a few meters away.
The boy turned around for a moment, even though he was standing a few meters away. He looked at me for a second, then moved towards his goal again.
I didn't stop looking at him, even when he turned around again.
"D-do you know him?" Vikir asked.
"May.. Wait, why should I answer you at all?!"
Unfortunately, I realized too late that I had given him an answer.
I got angry immediately when I realized it.
"I heard that everyone is afraid to talk to him." Vikir added.
Hmm? Afraid?
I looked back in the direction he had gone. There was no trace of him left.