42. The Reason For His Choice

Reet explained what would happen from tomorrow onward before taking his leave and heading back to the office to speak with Platoon Leader Ursu.

Larg happened to be in the room when he arrived.

“Platoon Leader, my apologies. I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about my apprentice. I’ve found one, so I wanted to inform you.”

Upon hearing this, Ursu’s expression shifted to one of mild surprise.

“Where did you find her?”

“At the training grounds. Her name is Charlotte. It seems she was apprenticed with the Central Knight Order, but she doesn’t have a master at the moment.”

When Reet spoke Charlotte’s name, it wasn’t just Ursu who reacted with surprise—Larg did as well.

“Charlotte the dwarf? The Brawler girl?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Do you know of her?”

“Ah. She’s something of a local celebrity around here.”

So Ursu said. Larg continued the explanation.

“She’s asked many different knights for a chance to apprentice, desperately pleading for the opportunity to train. But no knight was willing to take her as a student. Eventually, a Company Commander from the Central Knight Order ordered his subordinates to give her a chance, forcibly making her an apprentice. So she’s continued her training despite being treated quite poorly…”

Larg laid out the facts plainly, without any particular contempt in his tone despite mentioning she was a dwarf. This put Reet somewhat at ease.

“But why her? Do you actually understand her ability?”

Larg narrowed his eyes questioningly.

“Yes, I had a mock battle with her.”

At that, Larg threw his hands up toward the ceiling in exasperation.

“Come on, now. Cut that out. Do you understand what you’re getting into? The Platoon Leader exam is a pair test with your apprentice, right? The Platoon Leader exam is nothing like the recruitment exam. You’ll be fighting against knights who are already Seventh Rank—true masters.”

“I understand that, but…”

Certainly, Charlotte’s skill level was considerably low. Everything about her was clumsy, and there were surely countless apprentices far stronger than her.

But Reet had a good reason for having decided to take Charlotte as his apprentice nonetheless.

“Her fists carry an enormous amount of effort in them.”

“Effort…?”

“Yes. They felt like the result of tremendous, almost unimaginable effort.”

“…But that only makes it worse, doesn’t it? She’s put in all that effort and still fallen short. That means she has no talent.”

“No, that’s not quite it. I think it’s because she was in such an unfortunate situation that no one could teach her how to fight. That’s why everything about her technique is clumsy. But I believe her potential is sufficient. In fact, when she fought me, she was able to track my movements with her eyes. Her ability just hasn’t caught up with her perception yet.”

As Reet explained this, Larg shrugged his shoulders.

“Well… do as you like, but don’t drag the unit down with it.”

Once the conversation with Larg had reached its conclusion, Platoon Leader Ursu spoke up.

“I have no intention of passing judgment on your choice. Do your best.”

Relief washed over Reet now that he had his commander’s approval.

“Thank you very much.”

Reet excused himself and left the office.

Left behind, Ursu and Larg exchanged glances.

“…That man is too much of a people-pleaser, isn’t he?”

Larg muttered.

“Yes, he is. He’s treading a path of thorns of his own volition—but perhaps that very thing is the source of his strength.”