Second Life as a Soldier Chapter 95 - Under Watch

I woke without any nightmares.

That made it the first peaceful night since I had regained consciousness after the battle. It had been three days since my confrontation with Varric.

My right arm was now functional and mostly healed, though I was still not cleared to use [Mana Reinforcent (UC)] with it. That restriction should be lifted within a day or two. Using [Mana Manipulation (UC)], I could sense the damage clearly. Multiple small tears ran through the muscles of my arm. The problem was not the severity, but the cause. These injuries were created by forcing too much mana through my body, and because of that, their healing speed was slower than normal. Even [Vital Restoration (UC)] was less effective than it usually was.

Still, it was progress.

Another good sign was that I had not slipped back into my gloomy state.

I had resud my personal training. The sergeants’ quarters had a small training yard in front of the building, just large enough for individual drills. I used it whenever my arm allowed. I had also finished reading every book Lieutenant Cicero had given . And I had not stopped there.

Using [mory Recall (UC)] and [Applied Military Theory (UC)] to their fullest, I spent hours formulating training plans, analyzing possible paths forward, and reviewing the profiles of Garran, Varric, Barry, and Kael. Based on their backgrounds, cris, and combat tendencies, I began assigning provisional roles in my mind.

After washing up, I prepared to head out.

I had made several plans the previous night, and I wanted to speak with the squad to gauge their reactions. As I gathered the notes I had written, a knock ca at the door.

I turned and opened it.

A man stood outside.

“Sergeant Edward?” he asked.

I nodded.

He extended his hand in greeting and stepped forward without hesitation. “Peter Roscoe,” he said. “Lieutenant Cicero asked to bring you to him.”

He was around six feet tall, fair-skinned, his uniform clean and properly fitted. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. There was sothing practiced about his posture.

I was slightly surprised by the expression he wore. It felt as if we had known each other for a long ti. Still, I did not comnt on it. I gathered my papers and nodded.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We made our way toward the command building.

“Is there sothing I should know?” I asked as we walked. “Why the lieutenant is calling ?”

Being summoned by my direct superior did not bother . I had planned to et him anyway, after speaking with the squad. But the smile Peter carried was starting to unsettle .

“I don’t think there’s anything you should be worried about,” he replied, still smiling.

I returned the smile and looked ahead.

I was not sure why it bothered so much. It felt like he wanted to say sothing, but was deliberately holding back.

We reached the command building and knocked on the lieutenant’s office door.

“Sir,” we both saluted simultaneously.

“At ease,” Lieutenant Cicero said.

His gaze went to my arm. “I see your arm is functional again, Edward.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “But it is not fully combat-ready yet.”

He nodded.

“I had a eting scheduled with you in two days,” he said. “But since I have already called you early, we will address everything today.”

He reached into a drawer.

“First, your sergeant badge,” he said, placing it on the desk. “You are considered promoted as of the end of the beast tide. Your first full month will be counted as complete in seven days.”

He continued without pause.

“Starting today, you will assu your full responsibilities as sergeant of the Royal Army, Seventh Legion, Darrow Battalion, Company Eleven, which include maintaining discipline within your squad. Your squadmates have caused several issues while you were recovering. They are no longer allowed to occupy the southern wall area.”

I smiled inwardly. Given how they behaved there, I was not surprised. Most new privates would have avoided that area entirely.

“This company focuses on healing,” Cicero went on. “Normally, sergeants et multiple tis each month to discuss company level plans, but you are the only sergeant in this company who is combat focused. You will be an exception. Instead of attending those etings, I expect detailed reports from your squad after every mission.”

He leaned back slightly.

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“Your squad should be fully assembled within two weeks. During those two weeks, you will report directly to . We will begin working on the skills we discussed before you start taking assignnts.”

“You’ve read your duties?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then coordinate with the supply division to requisition equipnt,” he said. “I hear your spear was destroyed during the battle. You can request a replacent. As a sergeant, you are entitled to a rune spear.”

It seed he was unaware that my previous spear had also been a rune weapon.

“Well, about that,” I said. “There are so things I wanted to discuss regarding how I intend to handle my squad.”

“Go ahead,” he nodded.

I glanced at Peter, who was still standing in the room.

“Oh,” Cicero said, noticing my look. “I forgot to introduce him properly. This is Peter Roscoe. He will be joining your squad.”

My frown was imdiate.

“He is an intelligence private,” Cicero continued. “Like you were. He specializes in mana analysis and threat assessnt.”

That caught off guard. With his na, he was either a minor noble or the son of a wealthy rchant. I had not expected an intelligence private to be assigned to a death squad. I had assud that even after my promotion, I would continue handling those duties myself.

I pushed those thoughts aside and extended my hand.

“Welco to the squad, Private Peter,” I said.

He shook my hand firmly. “Happy to be here,” he replied with a smile. “And happy to help keep the criminals in line.”

I frowned.

“Now, Sergeant,” Lieutenant Cicero said, drawing my attention back to him. “You wanted to discuss sothing.”

I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “I was going through my duties and the squad’s resource allocations. According to regulations, I am allowed to requisition runic equipnt. Spears, shields, and armor. Instead of that, I was thinking of requesting standard equipnt along with mana liquid and other materials used for rune engraving. I can draw runes on the equipnt myself.”

Lieutenant Cicero raised an eyebrow.

“You could do that,” he said slowly. “But why would you waste your free ti drawing runes?”

“Because equipnt without runes is significantly cheaper,” I replied. “For the sa cost, I could acquire enough rune materials to outfit four full sets of equipnt. I also plan to use rune materials as an incentive to keep my squad motivated.”

I did not try to hide how I intended to handle them.

“That’s dangerous,” Peter said imdiately, before the lieutenant could respond.

Both of us turned to look at him.

“Sorry, sir,” Peter said quickly, taking a step back.

Lieutenant Cicero raised a hand. “No, Private. Go on. Share your thoughts.”

“Sir,” Peter said, straightening slightly, “providing criminals with high-quality equipnt is risky. If they reach their limits, or decide to turn on us even at the cost of their own lives, they could seriously injure us. Even with mana oaths in place.”

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then continued.

“And as their mana cultivation grows, their resistance to the oath will increase. We also know that even the strongest oaths have loopholes.”

The lieutenant turned his gaze to .

“These are valid concerns,” Cicero said. “Even I would be wary of that.”

I t his eyes.

“I believe they value their lives like anyone else,” I said. “If I push them to the point where they are willing to attack their own sergeant, knowing full well that the mana oath would kill them in the process, then I have already failed as a sergeant.”

I paused, considering my words.

“A mana-bound criminal attacking their own commanding officer is not logical,” I continued. “The better option would always be to run.”

The mana oath chanism was not as foolproof as I had once believed. It worked well when instructions were clear and focused, making it easier to restrict soone from causing harm to fellow squad mbers. But when it ca to activity based restrictions, it was far harder to implent and left many loopholes. If soone truly wanted to escape, they could. As long as they avoided cities and major towns, it was possible to evade the oath’s enforcent for a long ti.

That also explained why almost all of my current squad had committed so kind of offense after being arrested. It was one of the main reasons they had been sent to the fort. Escape was almost impossible here, and even if soone managed it, they would be surrounded by wildlands. Alone in the wilderness, their chances of survival were almost nonexistent.

Peter frowned at my response.

“Private Peter,” I said calmly before he could speak again, “could you give us so privacy? I would like to discuss sothing with the lieutenant.”

I did not have a problem with him questioning my decisions, but I had doubts about his position in my squad. I needed so of those questions clarified by the lieutenant, and I wanted to understand how Peter’s presence would affect my squad without him being present.

He looked surprised, but after a mont, he nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

When I turned back, Lieutenant Cicero looked mildly amused.

I ignored that and went straight to the issue that had been bothering .

“Sir,” I said, “I can’t help but notice that Private Peter is either from a minor noble house or a wealthy rchant family. His assignnt doesn’t make sense to .”

Cicero did not interrupt.

“I didn’t think death squads were assigned intelligence privates,” I continued. “Especially when I already have experience doing that job myself. So I need to ask this directly.”

I t his gaze without flinching.

“Am I still the sergeant of this squad,” I asked, “or are my decisions going to be scrutinized and overridden by him?”

My question only seed to increase his amusent.

“Your behavior confuses , Sergeant,” Cicero said after a brief pause.

“You wish to treat criminals, people whom even ordinary commoners would gladly kill if given the chance, like normal soldiers. Yet you imdiately remove soone you suspect might be a minor noble from the room, and then question a decision made by your superiors, whom you know for certain are nobles.”

His voice remained calm.

“That is sothing even the sons of knights would hesitate to do.”

I realized then that I could not explain myself to him.

I could not tell him that my behavior ca from values carried over from mories of Earth. In those mories, rcy toward even the most heinous criminals was not considered weakness. Torture was frowned upon in most parts of that world, and many of the thods casually accepted here felt disturbingly close to it.

As for how to treat nobles or superiors, those mories offered no help at all. In this world, I knew I was supposed to fear nobles. To revere them. But I had never been taught how to behave around them. And the mories from Earth only made that worse, where questioning authority was not only allowed, but encouraged.

Cicero studied for a mont longer before continuing.

“But to answer your question,” he said, “you are still the sergeant of this squad. No one is scrutinizing your decisions.”

He paused, then added evenly.

“At least, not more than we already were.”

I accepted that.

“You are also correct,” he went on. “Death squads do not normally receive intelligence privates. However, so lieutenants expressed concern over your lack of formal command experience. As a result, Private Peter was assigned.”

I frowned slightly, but did not interrupt.

“You can trust him,” Cicero continued. “He has a clean record. Even if his opinions differ from yours at tis, he is there for the betternt of the squad, not to undermine you.”

I nodded.

“Is that all?” he asked. “Or is there sothing else you wish to discuss?”

“That’s all,” I replied.

He dismissed with a nod.

I collected my sergeant’s badge, turned, and left the office, preparing to have a conversation with Peter.