36. Platoon Leader Appointment Exam

A week passes before Reet is fully healed by the healer’s power and finally returns to the royal capital.

His first priority is to retrieve Aira, whom he had left in care.

Led by the dragon caretaker, Reet enters the room where Aira is being kept—

and finds her huddled in the corner, her head and wings drooping sadly.

Even from a distance, her melancholy is palpable.

Admittedly, if no one came to pick her up for nearly ten days without so much as a message, she’d be right to think she’d been abandoned.

Though, to put a positive spin on it, at least her demeanor didn’t suggest she’d forgotten her master?

“Hey, Aira?”

Reet calls out gently from behind, careful not to startle her.

“Ryu!?”

At the sound of Reet’s voice, Aira’s head snaps around sharply.

Upon confirming it’s Reet, she flutters her wings eagerly.

“Riiiii!!”

Then she launches herself straight into Reet’s chest.

She stretches out her short front legs, back legs, and even her wings with all her might, clinging to Reet’s body.

“Sorry I couldn’t pick you up sooner~”

“Ryu—!”

It’s then that Reet notices something.

“Did you get a little bigger?”

His appearance hasn’t changed drastically, but he distinctly senses that she’s grown.

“Well, with how many croissants she’s been eating every single day,” the caretaker says, “the first few days were fine. But after that kept going and you didn’t come back, she’d eat in a frenzy, then huddle in the corner, then eat again, then huddle again—it was a constant cycle.”

Hearing this account, Reet’s heart tightens.

I’m truly sorry.

“But you know, she spent seven hundred years in that egg looking for her master, and yet she can’t wait even a single week?”

The caretaker laughs as she speaks.

“Riiiii!”

Despite this, Aira remains focused on rubbing her cheeks against Reet’s chest.

†

Upon arriving at Platoon Leader Ursu’s office, he wears an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry, Reet. I wasn’t able to determine the circumstances behind the Eastern Knight Order’s submission of that false support request.”

Platoon Leader Ursu explains the results of his investigation.

The Eastern Knight Order was directly contacted and informed that the mission didn’t exist. When requested to explain, they responded with nothing more than “administrative clerical error.”

Within the Request Management Department—which collates dispatch requests from various sources and distributes them to each unit—they claim they mistakenly misrecorded a request and forwarded it to the Palace Guard. However, the details of what happened afterward remain unclear.

“I also confirmed the facts with acquaintances at the Eastern Knight Order, but unfortunately, I couldn’t identify the responsible party. I apologize.”

“No, thank you for going to such trouble.”

“Of course, I’ll continue investigating. But if there is someone targeting you, the upcoming Platoon Leader exam could become an easy target for them.”

“The Platoon Leader exam?”

“Yes. It’s an exam that those of Eighth Rank or above can take. It begins in three weeks. Just last week, I submitted your application recommendation and it was approved.”

Reet had heard that Platoon Leaders are generally those of Sixth Rank or above, serving as managers who coordinate their unit in the field during multi-person missions.

“The exam consists of a mock battle conducted as a tag team with an apprentice knight. Teamwork as a Platoon Leader will be required.”

Apprentice knights are those who become disciples of regular knights and learn through practical experience. Regular knights are able to take apprentices, but of course, Reet, having only just become a knight, hasn’t yet taken a disciple.

“For the exam, you’ll need to select an apprentice knight. You should recruit one quickly, as practice will be necessary. If you have any acquaintances, that works, but if you don’t have anyone in mind, I can have someone from the Palace Guard introduce you. What would you prefer?”

“I apologize, but I don’t have any acquaintances among knightly candidates, so if possible, could you assist me?”

“Understood. I’ll reach out and sound people out.”

“Thank you very much.”

Reet expresses his gratitude.

Afterward, upon confirming his work schedule, he discovers he has no assigned missions for today, so he decides to head to the training grounds for practice.