'What?'
Illya's body shook as she walked and was dripping with sweat.
Axion's arms, wrapped around her shoulders, suddenly hugged her body tightly.
His broad chest pressed directly to her back without a barrier.
His body heat transferred to her entire body.
Without knowing it, her face turned a little red and her heart began to race.
'What, what is he doing suddenly?'
She tried to free Axion's arms that were holding her body tightly, but her attempts failed.
The more I tried, the tighter the embrace became.
Perhaps he was doing this out of fear that he would slip and fall off her body.
'Is it some kind of survival instinct?'
It must be so.
While she was thinking like this, she gritted her teeth and continued her arduous steps again towards the medical clinic.
•
At that time, in the medical clinic on the third floor of the annex building.
Military doctor Theo sighed as he brushed the strands of green hair hanging over his forehead.
“Anyway, these spoiled sons of masters...”
He stared at the patient beds lined up on one side of the clinic.
The beds were full of young men moaning and lying on them.
These were the ones who were brought here after they quarreled among themselves, claiming to determine their ranks before the recruitment ceremony.
He was upset that he had become so busy treating them even before the recruitment ceremony.
At that moment, the clinic door opened and Keisha entered.
"Greetings!
What's the matter, sir?"
Theo stood up and gave a military salute, and Keisha extended his hand towards him.
“I came to take the medicine.
The one I take every day.”
Theo opened his desk drawer and took out a small medicine box, then handed it to him.
“Are you finished already?
Here you go.”
"Thanks."
While Keisha was receiving the medicine box and returning the greeting, Theo asked him.
“Colonel, by the way, is it true that someone enlisted illegally?”
“Ah, you mean the young man from the Duke Richie family?
Yes.
An early report arrived this morning.”
"What happened?"
When Theo asked, Keisha took out a pill from the box and put it in his mouth, then answered in an indifferent voice.
“We have just completed the investigation and fired him.
Duke Richie’s family has been stripped of their position.
Fortunately, the matter was discovered before the recruitment ceremony.”
“Ah, that's right.”
If the matter had been discovered after the official enlistment ceremony, it would have caused great inconvenience.
“So, are you going to hire an extra person?”
“Of course.
The Grand Duke has prepared reserve candidates in advance.
We sent the notice out a while ago, so it will arrive before the recruitment ceremony.
Well… he will most likely be a worthless scoundrel.”
Of course, Keisha was expecting nothing from the newcomer.
“But why are there so many people in the clinic?”
When Keisha asked as he looked at the beds full of patients, Theo shook his head.
“It seems that these wretches had a fight before the recruitment ceremony.
They are not little children!
Colonel, please discipline them a little!”
Then, Keisha shrugged.
“These are not my responsibility before the enlistment ceremony.
Then, isn’t it normal for men to quarrel and decide their ranks when they meet?
It might happen.”
Theo sighed inwardly.
He had expected that, but Keisha was strangely tolerant in these matters.
“Seeing those bastards reminds me of when I was fifteen years old in the Imperial Army and I took down everyone around me.”
Keisha now began to recount his past memories with a face steeped in nostalgia.
“Remember, Theo?
Some of them even became so miserable that they couldn’t continue military service right after they were drafted, and were medically discharged.
Haha!”
“...I remember.”
Theo has been Keisha's subordinate since his teenage days in the Imperial Army, before Keisha met Grand Duke Vonberg.
Since then, Keisha naturally loved quarrels, violence, and military discipline, and was severely lacking in morals.
However, thanks to that, his abilities as a soldier were extremely excellent, and he had achieved achievements in the war of humans and demons, successively adored the stars, and rose to the rank of colonel as the youngest colonel in the empire.
This terrifying Keisha only acted kindly in front of Lavinia, the daughter of the Grand Duke.
Theo looked at Keisha nostalgically recalling the memories of his violent past, and smiled pityingly.
'But fortunately, the Colonel has returned to normal.'
After “that incident,” Kesha seemed like a different person for a while.
Of course, considering that the dosage of the medicine had increased again, it seemed that he had not completely overcome it, but he had improved a lot compared to being a broken person like before.
Just as Theo was about to indulge in memories of the past, Keisha asked him with an interested face.
“But who is he?”
"What do you mean?"
“First place in the status struggle among these young people.”
Theo frowned and shook his head.
“I don’t know.
Isn’t he the young man who brought down those bastards?
It is said that they were beaten by one person.
His name is Axion.”
“Oh, you mean that little Ruppelt.”
Keisha muttered, her face lost in thought.
“Is there anyone else?”
"Who do you mean?
Do you have someone in mind?"
"…no."
Theo changed the subject.
“But have you decided who will be assigned command of the unit?
We should quickly select him to take the oath of office at the recruitment ceremony, right?”
“No one pleases me.”
“If you can't find anyone, entrust the matter to this man called Axion.
His strength seems to be unparalleled.”
“Hmm...”
غرق كيشا في التفكير.
Accion Rubelt.
From the noble Ruppelt family of the Imperial Army.
In Keisha's eyes, that young man was a model elite soldier, who had received systematic training from a young age and had proper military discipline.
He certainly stands out among these miserable scoundrels, and seems best suited to be the unit's leader.
'But…'
An image of the red-haired boy, Erhan, came to Kesha's mind.
Not from a noble family of the Imperial Army like Axion, but from a poor and humble baronial family whose name is unknown.
His appearance was as lean and pretty as a girl… but he was surprisingly martially disciplined, and his behavior was excellent.
If Axion was a gem well polished by a famous jeweler, Erhan was more like a raw gemstone that came out of the ground.
From the point of view of Keisha, who had enlisted in the imperial army at a young age and had suffered without any help or support until he reached the rank of colonel, Erhan was strangely more attractive to him than Axion.
He even felt that someone like Erhan might protect Lavinia better in the future.
But he could not entrust him with this important position as the leader of the Demon Resistance Unit based solely on personal admiration.
‘If Erhan had something clearly superior to A=Axion…!’
Then there will be no need to think.
While he was thinking like this, the corridor outside the clinic was extremely noisy.
“What's wrong?”
When Keisha peeked his head out of the clinic, he saw these spoiled bastards running in groups with excited faces towards somewhere.
The sound of their noise reached Keisha's ear.
"Is this true?
Did Axion lose in one-on-one combat?"
“It's true!
They say Axion is now back unconscious!”
When he heard that, his eyes widened.
He grabbed one of the scoundrels by the neck and asked him.
“What does that mean?”
Then the young man started to get upset.
“Ah, uncle!
Leave me!
I have to go quickly!”
Uncle?!
Keisha was determined to show this bastard a living hell in training, he asked him while gritting his teeth.
“What happened?
Answer quickly.”
“There is chaos now!
This Axion went to fight and was defeated and fainted!”
Keisha's face showed signs of interest.
“Really?
Who did you fight with?”
“Ah, what’s his name… the one with the red hair who looks like a girl…”
Keisha's eyes widened.
“Do you mean Erhan Trencin?”
“That's right, Erhan!
They say he's now number one here!
I told you, so leave me now!”
Keisha released the bastard's neck and looked at him as he scurried away.
A smile of satisfaction and pleasure appeared on his lips.
“Indeed, that boy never lets me down.”
•
We have arrived.
Elia emerged from the forest carrying Axion on her back.
The annex building was appearing in front of her, and she saw Lennox running towards her.
“Elle, are you okay?”
"Yes.
I'm fine.
Can you help me with the Axion?"
"concept!"
That was when Lennox tried to help her support the unconscious Axion.
Hold tight!
Axion did not loosen his arms, but instead hugged Elijah's shoulders tightly.
What an incredible survival instinct.
"No way.
I'll do it alone."
“Oh…”
She and Lennox headed towards the entrance of the annex building.
But at the entrance, there were a lot of young people.
They looked at her with excited faces and shouted:
“Number one in the rankings has appeared!”
Number one in the ranking?
Are these scoundrels spouting terms that only appear in Internet novels?
Are they fully mentally capable?!
Elijah's limbs were twitching in embarrassment.
Of course, it's true that the Axion she carries on her back is the strongest here, but...
“The new number one in the ranking, Erhan, has appeared!”
“Erhan crush Axion!”
اتسعت عينا إيليا.
One moment.
What do they say now?