Chapter 10:

Enrolment Verdict

Blade: Belonging


"HAHA! What an amazing series of battles we have had today! Now all the enrollees come out onto the arena for the final conclusion. HAHA! It is time to decide what will happen with you all!"

All of us in the armoury began walking out. They gave us some extra time for the ones from the infirmary to recover enough to walk. Finally, everyone was out on the arena ground, all lined up facing towards the King's observation spot.

A man who stood beside the King began speaking

"We have all watched you go through each stage of the enrollment process and have evaluated you based on the performance you showed us. The King is thrilled to see so many of you be this skilled so early on. However, not all have met the required criteria. Those who will be named take a step back."

So they will name everyone who failed first, bringing shame upon their names like that. I really hope that I made it, I don't want to go through more shame. I had enough of it.

"HAHA! Those who I will now name will be the failed ones! So we have Kirigaya Gennai, Yanagi Tadataka, Furuse Motoyasu and Yanai Natsu."

Sigh

Glad it's not me. Really glad it's not me. It sucks for those four, but better, them than me.

"Now then, you will be kindly escorted out of the arena by our friendly neighbourhood guards! HAHA!"

A large group of guards flooded into the arena floor and began grabbing the failed group of four, dragging them out. It's quite the overkill but if that's how they do it around her, then I'm in no position to argue.

The King's sideman began to speak again.

"Now, that we have sorted that out, we will be allocating you to specific groups which would be fitting for your abilities. The four which got escorted out didn't fit into any of them, and were seen as a handicap to the military."

Hmm, I wonder what groups they will put us in.

"Hino Yuichi, since you are over the age of 18, in excellent shape and well trained, you will be put on the 1st battalion. You will be taking part in the upcoming training drills with the rest of the battalion. We will be expecting a lot from you."

Not surprised. Hino outperformed everyone during the combat experience we had. Managed to solo a lot of the waves and did a lot of support work against the dragon. Quite the inspirational guy to look up to. I'll be sure to beat him in a duel one day.

"Bruno Yuudai, although you haven't performed your best you have still been selected, as we saw a lot of potential growth for you still. Since you are already aged 18, we will place you in the 3rd battalion. Drill training begins tomorrow for you with the rest of the battalion. Be prepared for it and do your best, we will be keeping an eye for your growth."

Bruno bowed in respect, I have to say, he is quite skilled, if not for the little bit of knowledge I have in mana manipulation I would have been dead against him. It was a fun fight though, hopefully, we will be able to have a rematch at some point.

"Wanijima Naohiro, you have presented us with fantastic athletic ability and putting that into use well in combat, we see a lot of potential growth in you and we will be expecting great performance from you. However, since you are 17 years old, we cannot put you into the main battalions like the rest. You will be put into the training corps till next year."

I haven't noticed this guy till now, weird, but oh well. From what it seems I will probably be in the training corps with him since I'm also under 18. Luckily my birthday isn't too far away. Takeo will be with us as well, which is fantastic.

"Kato Mito, you have shown phenomenal abilities throughout this whole event. From great athletic abilities to good strategic thinking and teamwork to excellent fighting skills and unexpectedly the knowledge of mana manipulation, which is really rarely seen at such a young age and overall rarely seen. We have extremely high expectations from you. However, due to being under 18, just like Mr Naohiro you will be in the training corps till you turn 18."

I bowed and took a little step back. Glad to see they have noticed everything I have done so far. This really helps me get noticed. The more noticed I get the better reputation I will get.

"Last but not least, Takeo Togoshi. You have shown great leadership skills and great strategic thinking. Your fighting skills are great as well. You will be put in the training corps since you are under 18. Good luck."

Why did Takeo get such an effortless message compared to everyone else? I wonder if this is related to what happened earlier with that buff red guy. Or maybe it's related to that one time he went out early in the morning.

The King began to get up. He started to walk down the stairs towards the arena. The whole arena fell silent. As the king came to the bottom of the stairs guards came near and kneeled behind him. I have never met the king personally, I'm not too sure what to do. Everyone around him kneeled down as the King approached closer to us.

Unsure what I was supposed to do, I kneeled down with the rest. However, Takeo still hasn't moved. He stood still as if he was frozen. The King came closer. Looking up from down below made the King look massive. He was extremely intimidating.

He stood in front of Takeo. They stared deep into each other's eyes. Neither of them moved.

"Good job Togoshi. You've proven you're competent, now keep working towards proving your point." The King said breaking the silence.

Takeo bowed and kneeled down. There's something going on in the Togoshi family, I really wonder what. Although it's not my business, it's rather intriguing.

The King took a few steps to the side standing before me.

"Mr Mito. Stand."

*Gulp* "Yes, your Majesty." I stood up and tried to look directly at the King.

"You seem rather tense, is there something wrong?" The King asked me.

"N-no, your Majesty." I have never felt so anxious. This is worse than when I was first trying to enrol. So much worse.

"There's something interesting about you. I shall be keeping track of your progress personally. Don't disappoint me." He said in a strong tone.

"I… I w-won't your Maj- Majesty." I felt like crying. Just him looking at me makes me feel uneasy. I tried keeping calm but looking at him directly was terrifying.

The King turned around and headed back up the stairs. I felt relieved. I took a large breath and attempted to relax.

"Quite the exhilarating event we had, HAHA! Hate to see that only so few of you are remaining here. However, the overall performance from you guys has been greater than we ever had before! HAHA! Now, get out of here before you get escorted out HAHA!"

We all started heading back into the armoury, however, Hino Yuichi seemed to have a few issues with me. He wouldn't stop staring at me. I tried to act as if I didn't notice but it made no difference.

When we entered the armoury he came up to me and pushed me against the wall.

"Aren't you a lucky little fella, getting the King's attention right after the first time being here. Don't forget who you are, you filthy peasant. Just because you're talented that doesn't mean you are going to be a Nobel."

He released me and as he was walking away he spat at me and said "Filth!" as he left the building.

I wanted to say something, however, I was far too surprised by this. I didn't expect this to happen. What an idiot. This is why I can't stand men. Always trying to act tough and always pretending that they own everything.

I tried looking around for Takeo but he was nowhere to be found. There's a chance that he already got back to the room we were staying in. There was nothing else to stick around here for anyways. Since we made it into the military, we will have to move to the camp anyways.

Thinking about it now, getting changed in the barracks with the rest of the trainees might be troublesome for me. Going to have to find a way to avoid getting dressed around the same time as them.

Oh well, I will figure that out when I get there.

Oshitami
icon-reaction-4