After joining the subjugation army, Rufus stood in front of his platoon1.
“From now on, I am this platoon’s commander, Rufus.” Hearing Rufus’s greeting, his soldiers shook their heads. It wasn’t surprising. He had the same reaction in his past life.
The reason was simple:
‘What kind of platoon leader is a kid who hasn’t killed a single demon yet!’
‘Is it true that he became a platoon leader just because he is born a noble!?’
All of Rufus’ platoon members resented him. And they were right. Rufus had been an inexperienced, incompetent commander. He was appointed as a platoon leader purely because of his lineage and the king’s orders.
Rufus couldn’t handle his sword correctly and had inadequate control of his magic. His incompetence took the lives of many platoon members. Therefore, Rufus understood their dissatisfied gazes toward him.
But he won’t tolerate it just because he understands it.
“Is this everyone gathered?”
“Yes.”
Rufus counted the platoon members gathered in front of him with a glance.
The platoon members initially assigned to Rufus were twenty in total. And none of them survived to the end. There was only one fellow who stayed alive for a long time.
“Captain, how old are you?”
And it’s that person. The man was leaning against a tree, looking at Rufus.
“Iroel,” Rufus remembered this man who chewed jerky and showed a foul attitude from the start. The illegitimate son of Viscount Eustace, the man who was called the shame of his own family.
The last person to survive in the Rufus platoon and the person who was eventually killed by Rufus.
Iroel spat out the jerky he had been chewing.
“Damn amazing. Have you even memorized my name in the meantime?”
“How old do I look in your eyes?”
“Well, seven years old? You look like you haven’t even grown any hair on your dick yet.”
When he threw that bad joke, the other platoon members laughed along with him.
No matter how young the platoon leader was, they could not speak recklessly since Rufus was a nobleman, and that man scratched their itchy backs. Although he was an illegitimate child, Iroel was also a noble once.
In addition, he was from a Viscount family that is slightly higher than the Baron family that Rufus came from. Therefore, Iroel was presumptuous enough to dare to joke with his superior, Rufus.
Rufus stared at Iroel with a stiff face.
“Ugh, don’t be afraid. Why are you staring at me like that? Your eyes will fall out.” Iroel snickered.
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“…”
Without a word, Rufus strode toward Iroel.
“What? Are you going to hit me?” Iroel grinned and looked down at Rufus. Since he was older than Rufus, it was a matter of course that he was larger in height.
In hand-to-hand combat, Rufus was at a disadvantage.
But it doesn’t matter.
“Take out the sword,” Rufus ordered.
“What?”
“It’s an order. Draw the sword.”
The platoon members gathered around them and began to gossip. Some laughed at him, ridiculing he was playing a petty trick to keep discipline.
Iroel glanced at Rufus as if there was no point in it.
“Is the platoon leader fighting me?”
“Don’t talk; pick up your sword.”
“No, I won’t. Why should I?”
“If you defeat me, you’re the platoon leader.”
At Rufus’s remark, the platoon members became silent as if they had been hit by cold water.
Iroel narrowed his eyes.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Haha, that’s fine. But no fussing later.” Iroel grinned and straightened himself up.
“Instead,” Rufus spoke to Iroel, who had already put his hand on the sheath. “If I win, you’ll have a conversation with me.”
“Conversation? What, are you trying to nag me? Heh, my deceased mother didn’t do that either.”
Iroel pulled out the sword with a grin.
The iron sword shone sharply. Seeing this, Rufus clicked his tongue.
He used a sword made of iron to subdue demons.
He should have noticed it back then. Rufus felt pathetic for not noticing it sooner.
Had it not been for this, he would have been able to kill the Demon King earlier. He had been taunted by this guy and wasted away three years. All in vain.
“Wow, the captain uses a sword made of silver. It sure is good to be a baron and be able to use such expensive things.”
“Do you think everyone is like you, the viscount’s illegitimate child?” Rufus nodded coldly.
“Our platoon leader is so rude!” Frustrated, Iroel leapt at Rufus, brandishing his sword.
Rufus raised a sword infused with his mana with a grim expression.
He shouldn’t drag this on.
Kwang!!
Rufus’s sword radiated sword energy and pressured the opponent.
While Iroel, who was pressed back by the influence of magic, faltered for a moment, everything was settled. Rufus’ sword was aiming precisely at Iroel’s throat.
“… Shit.” Iroel swore.
“Are you going to continue?”
“No, I won’t. I’m not humiliating myself further.” Iroel threw down the sword he was holding.
“Yeah, I was wrong. You have excellent swordsmanship skills and are good at handling mana. Yes, yes… do your best as the platoon commander.” Iroel groaned and collected the thrown sword.
Still holding the sword, Rufus looked back at the surroundings with a chilly aura.
“If there’s anyone else who wants to run their mouth, come out.”
“…”
The platoon members quietly bowed their heads. They had messed with the wrong person. They thought he was a young, immature kid, but they were far too off with that presumption.
They just confirmed it in that brief sparring. The way he was wielding his sword and accurately aimed for the opponent’s vital point was at the same level as a veteran.
Silencing the platoon members, Rufus turned to the grumbling Iroel.
“Iroel.”
“What?”
“I won. Come with me.”
“What? Why?”
“Conversation.”
“Hey, do you want a heart-to-heart talk between men? … What are you going to talk to me about?”
Then, something utterly unexpected popped out of Rufus’ mouth.
“A woman’s story.”
“Huh?”
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Rufus is now back on the battlefield! It will probably take us two to three more chapters until we meet Sarubia again. Next chapter will be up soon, it’s almost done.
Thank you for the translation (シ_ _ )シ
Thank you for reading! (シ_ _)シ