"Harder!", shouted the big man in silver armor, his face reddening.

For a week, Sir Ehalek had been teaching the upper groups of newcomers how to use their swords. Cale, Cedrik, and Jarle stood side by side, following his instructions for over two hours. Cale grew bored with the exercise, so he spent his time talking to the Eldest about the situation in Altona. They had begun to set up regular checkpoints at the border, and Grischa was working on a new version of the light crystal that could be seen hundreds of kilometers across the country. This piqued Cale's interest, as there had been no such warning signal in his early life. He would love to pay Grischa a quick visit and see it with his own eyes, but he wouldn't have the opportunity to do so.

"I'm dying", Cedric gasped, utterly out of breath as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and pushed on with the movements. "Am I the only one who thinks this is far too exhausting?"

"Look behind you. The others feel the same way", Cale said calmly.

Since he already knew the movements, he could control his powers with ease. His use of mana, however, was far from negligible, as he relied on magic to spare himself physically. After all, his true body was that of a child, and he could not justify overexerting it from the very beginning.

"Lousy", Cedrik interjected after glancing back and confirming that almost everyone felt the same way. Cale felt similarly, as they had to train in the midday sun and the heat was a bigger problem than he wanted to admit. The only advantage was that the lectures were in the morning, so they didn't have to sit in stuffy rooms.

"I hope you're not giving up already", Jarle interjected.

Like Cale, he had little trouble meeting the requirements, which was probably because he had spent his entire life learning how to use a sword. What surprised Cale, however, was how carefully he held his weapon, as if he were afraid of hurting his hands. His fingers were far too delicate for someone who wanted to become a soldier.

"Me? Never!"

"That's good, then", Cale replied to the young man's exclamation and smiled.

He felt like he was slowly becoming friends with him, but he continued to keep his distance from the high nobleman. In the last few days, Cedrik had emerged as the unofficial leader of their group, as most of the conversations revolved around him. Even though Jarle kept trying to talk to Cale, Cale responded politely but never elaborated on the topic.

After they had reached their third hour, they were finally released. At the end, everyone present was allowed to stretch for a few minutes and run a few laps before freshening up and arriving at the large canteen for breakfast.

The day had barely begun, and the young soldiers were already exhausted. Only Cale sat at the table with a notebook in his hand, memorizing the names and relationships of the nobles while reaching for his drink with his other hand. Over the past few days, he had stayed up late into the night summarizing all the families, their ranks, their pasts, and their influence so that something like what happened during the exams would never happen to him again. He had even recorded some of the Eldest's comments that were not found in the books. Cedrik sat across from him and seemed almost asleep, so exhausted was he from their training, while Jarle poked at his food, completely lost in thought.

A few meters away, Kasim crouched with his group, and they seemed to have fared similarly. Since they used the same facilities and sometimes had classes together, the two groups met from time to time, but today no one had the energy to inquire about the other's condition.

When Cale sensed Mamoru Meyrl entering the large dining hall, he slipped his book into his bag and turned toward their supervisor. They had not seen him in several days, which made Cale curious as to why the man from Groka was here. When Mamoru's gaze landed in their direction, Cale raised his hand, prompting the soldier to end his search and make his way over to them.

"You still look rather fit compared to the others here", the man remarked, prompting Jarle and Cedric to turn around in surprise.

"Mamoru!"

"Good morning, everyone."

"To what do we owe the honor?", Cale said kindly as the man took a seat next to him.

"I just wanted to check in on my protégés. How was your first week?"

"Exhausting", Cedrik replied wearily.

"Interesting", Jarle remarked almost at the same time, glancing down at his younger colleague beside him. At nineteen, Cedric was the youngest of the group. Jarle was five years his senior, which made Cale - claiming a false age of twenty-five - the oldest among them. At times, Cedric's behavior earned him a mild reprimand from the other two, as maintaining respect or taking things seriously often seemed a challenge for him. "Not much has happened yet. We spend our mornings in class and our afternoons in training - which, in my opinion, feels more like etiquette lessons."

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"You'll learn the rules as soldiers of the royal family, don't worry. There are a few dozen", Mamoru replied amusedly. "What about you, Zod?"

"I agree with the others. So far, I haven't had any trouble following what we're being taught."

As he spoke, he caught a reproachful look from Cedric but chose to ignore it. He suspected Cedric feared his words might lead to additional training - though it was just as likely he was simply sulking. Cale couldn't be certain.

"I've never heard anyone say that training is too easy when you're just starting out", Mamoru muttered amusedly.

"Please don't twist my words, that's not what I meant", Cale quickly corrected, but Mamoru just grinned and patted him on the shoulder as if to tell him he didn't have to try and hide it. Mamoru must have expected a lot from him if he assumed that Cale had simply enjoyed the last week. "I have a question, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead."

"When are we allowed to carry weapons?", Cale began cautiously, glancing at the silver sword their supervisor wore at his waist.

"Usually after the first year, but there is no specific date. It is frowned upon for inexperienced people to walk around the city with weapons", Mamoru explained with a regretful undertone. Cale had already expected such an answer, but he had asked for a completely different reason.

"Are we allowed to own our own swords?"

"You will be given one by the palace anyway. "

"I meant whether we are allowed to use our own. Not the ones provided by the royal family."

"Are you saying that the swords here in Sylve are bad?", Cedrik asked irritably, sitting up straight. Cale sighed and waved his hand, realizing he had been completely misunderstood.

"That's not what I meant. The swords here are excellently forged and of good quality, but I have my own sword at home that I would prefer to carry with me. It's quite valuable to me."

"Well, that might prove to be a little difficult, as the weapons are forged from a special metal that is much more robust than ordinary swords. No offense to your own sword, but it would probably be out of place here," Sir Meyrl explained calmly, tapping the dark scabbard of his weapon with the knuckle of his index finger.

"Do you have something like a standard that must be followed?", Cale remarked simply, despite not yet owning the Kama sword he was referring to.

He would buy it from the blacksmith in the south of the city at the end of the month, once he had saved up enough money. So far, only Aaron, the Eldest, and Fengari knew about his legendary sword, and he wanted to keep it that way.

However, he had no intention of pretending to be an inexperienced soldier for a whole year.

"Hmm, good question. I know some commanders and nobles bring their own weapons, but I'm not sure it's that simple. If you'd like, I can look into it for you."

"I'd be happy to."

"Which forge did it come from?", the advisor quickly added as he was already on his feet.

"Is that... relevant?"

"Don't you know?"

"Yes, I know, but...", Cale replied to the surprised exclamation and stopped.

There was really no reason why anyone should hide which forge their sword came from. If he did hide it, it would be obvious anyway that it was a Kama sword. Should he invent a blacksmith or claim that it was unknown? But if they were so careful with their soldiers' equipment, the royal family would certainly not just accept that.

"But...?", Mamoru interrupted his thoughts.

Cale had no time to craft a convincing lie, and besides, concealing the sword's origin in the long run would be nearly impossible. One glimpse of the engraving would give it away. He sighed and lowered his hand in a subtle gesture to Mamoru, signaling that he did not wish to make the matter public. The tall man inclined forward slightly, while Cale leaned ahead without so much as acknowledging his younger colleague.

"It's a Kama sword", he whispered, and the man looked at him in surprise. He remained silent for a moment, as if he had to process the statement first.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"How did it come into your possession?"

"Coincidence", Cale said simply, sidestepping any further explanation. Jarle and Cedrik, however, exchanged puzzled looks, clearly having no idea what he was referring to.

"Well, that changes things considerably. I'll get back to you as soon as I have more information", their supervisor, Mamoru Meyrl, announced, letting the matter drop - though it was clear he remained curious about where Cale, or his family, had obtained the sword.

With one last assessing glance at his protégé, the man took his leave and vanished back into the crowd. Cale, meanwhile, stuffed the rest of his meal into his mouth, stacked his tray and dishes beneath those of Cedric and Jarle, then gathered everything in one hand and rose to his feet.

"What is it?", he asked hesitantly when he noticed his colleagues' reaction.

"Why are you hiding this from us?", Cedrik asked, sounding almost a little offended. The brown-haired man next to him nodded in agreement as he grabbed his things and also stood up.

"Because I'm being cautious. Once the matter is settled, perhaps - pardon me", Cale replied with a faint, dismissive smile before parting from them and returning the tray. With one hand resting on his shoulder bag, he threaded his way through the crowds outside and exhaled in relief.

Perhaps it would have been better if he had waited to ask his question. If he had spoken to him alone, he wouldn't have gotten into this awkward situation. On the other hand, it was a topic that would have caught up with him sooner or later. Constructing such elaborate lies was always a problem, but he consciously took the risk nonetheless. In this life, he didn't want to give up owning a trustworthy sword. Although... he also had an emotional attachment to the sword.

When he thought of the sword, Cale immediately thought of Will and Ben.

If he managed to secure a high position in the palace, he would try to establish contact with them. If he was a recognized soldier, he might even have the opportunity to spend more time with them and fulfill what they had missed in their past lives.

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