Chapter 3

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Grand General
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Lucy, feigning nonchalance, casually rubbed the back of her neck and spoke.

“Well, of course. There's only one Lycan in the army with all-black fur and a white cross-shaped pattern on his forehead.”

“What, Arsinoe? You knew too?”

Badel, who was sitting beside them eating soup, chimed in with a chuckle.

“You're probably the only one who didn't know. Geronimo, for a guy who said he joined the army to be like the Grand General, you sure don't know anything about him.”

“Hey, you trying to call me an idiot again?”

“Stop fighting and eat. There are only five minutes left of mealtime.”

When Lucy chided them in a low voice, Geronimo shot her a sullen glare before starting to inhale the food on his tray in a rather unsightly manner.

At his less-than-elegant table manners, unbecoming of the second son of a renowned marquess, Lucy wrinkled her nose and leaned back.

Having devoured his food in an instant, Geronimo seemed reluctant to finish, pressing the bread crumbs with his fingers and licking them off. Unable to watch any longer, Lucy snatched his tray and stood up.

“They said the special lecture is first come, first served. If we don't hurry, we'll lose the good seats.”

“What's so important about a lecture that we have to rush? We still have time.”

“I guess you didn't hear who's giving the special lecture when you passed by the administrative office. Never mind, just follow me. You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't.”

Geronimo scoffed, "Regret? What's there to regret?"

Lucy hesitated between persuasion and force, but deciding that a fool responds best to a firm hand, she sighed and grabbed Geronimo by the collar.

“Hey! *Gack*...! Let go! Hey!”

With a strength unbelievable for a woman, she forced Geronimo to his feet, choking and sputtering. Watching the two of them get up, Badel stuffed the rest of his food into his mouth even faster than Geronimo had, then followed with a grin.

Hiding her impatience, Lucy quickly walked out of the dining hall. Word of the special lecture must have spread, as there were far more cadets heading to the lecture hall than usual.

“I wonder if there'll be any seats left...”

Hurrying to the lecture hall, Lucy sat Geronimo and Badel in the front seats and moved to the very back row herself.

She casually ignored Geronimo's fussing for her to sit next to him, and just as she took her seat, the door at the front of the hall opened.

The noise filling the air vanished in an instant. At the same time, the sound of military boots echoed softly through the silence.

The steady footsteps came to a halt, and a man appeared.

A gray uniform with black epaulets and matching boots. Even his black gloves were standard Royal Army issue, but his face was not that of a typical soldier.

“Is this Lecture Hall 3?”

The man, whose expression seemed to be the very personification of indifference, asked in a colorless tone as he surveyed the room.

There was no answer. After standing silently at the door and observing the trainees, the man walked over and stepped onto the podium.

The cadets in the front rows glanced at the man, their lips twitching.

“What's this? Did he come to the wrong place? I heard...”

“I heard he was supposed to be huge and scary, but why...”

“...is what they said. And the sword, too...”

Barely audible whispers rippled through the hall. Lucy, too, watched him with a sense of surprise.

Contrary to the rumors, the man was of average build, neither large nor small. He exuded a calm, intellectual air, making it hard to see him not just as a legendary general, but as a soldier at all.

His fair, untanned skin and hair so black it seemed to absorb all light, paired with even darker eyes, created a highly intelligent and scholarly impression.

Unlike the female cadets, who blushed without realizing it, the male cadets furrowed their brows and began looking around as if they had come to the wrong lecture hall.

The man seemed to sense the mixed reactions. Staring ahead with clear eyes, he let out a small sigh, as if reluctant.

“Greetings, cadets.”

And then, his earlier hesitation vanished as he began to speak in a calm tone.

“I am Walter Hyverge, Commander-in-Chief of Central Command and Battalion Commander of the Black Eagle Battalion. You are likely more familiar with the title of Grand General.”

The moment he stated his name, the whispers floating through the air died down instantly. Walter continued in a measured tone.

“I happened to be visiting nearby today and was invited to stand here as a senior to you all. I've heard the atmosphere is tense due to the upcoming Royal Guard selection. I would be glad if my presence could help ease that tension, even a little.”

Walter's lips curved ever so slightly, forming something akin to a smile.

“I will answer anything that doesn't involve classified information, so feel free to ask any questions you have about the military.”

A Q&A with the Grand General—the trainees' faces lit up at this unexpected stroke of luck.

However, though their lips twitched, the trainees hesitated to ask.

As they exchanged glances, someone shot up a hand. The first to ask a question was, despairingly, Geronimo—famous for being the most direct and foolish of them all.

“Grand General! Is it true that the demon sword you're wearing is cursed?”

At the mention of a demon sword, the trainees' faces went pale.

Before he could even finish, Badel grabbed him by the hair, dragging him down and repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." No one tried to stop this excessive reaction. In fact, one trainee even reached out and slapped Geronimo across the cheek.

Sensing the overheated atmosphere, Walter raised an eyebrow and spoke.

“That's enough.”

Walter glanced down at his own waist with an ambiguous expression before stopping Badel. From his perspective, it was a question he had heard countless times, so it was nothing new.

“Unfortunately, I don't know the sword's history, so I can't give you a definite answer. Still, given its peculiar characteristics, it's clearly not some blade forged in an ordinary smithy. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. Any other questions?”

“Then how many people have you killed with that sword—*Ugh*!”

“Grand General, I heard you're also serving as the Captain of the Royal Guard. Is the atmosphere there very different?”

Badel drove his elbow into Geronimo's stomach, asking a new question in a bright tone.

Walter's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but after seeing the nonchalant gazes of the audience, he realized that violence against Geronimo was a daily occurrence. He looked at the boy, now curled up clutching his stomach, with a sympathetic gaze and spoke softly.

“As you all know, the Royal Guard is not part of the military but belongs to the royal family. The regulations are less strict, but the atmosphere is more severe than in the army. If you wish to apply for the Guard, the things to be mindful of are...”

Walter stood straight and continued the topic in a slow voice, as if explaining to a child.

His explanation, which merely listed facts without speculation, would have sounded quite dry and uninteresting to an outsider. Funnily enough, the simple fact that the speaker was the Grand General was enough to capture the trainees' full attention.

Watching even Geronimo, who loathed theoretical lessons, listen with sparkling eyes, Lucy was struck anew by just how high the Grand General's stature was.

The Grand General of Parnas, Walter Hyverge.

Born into the House of Count Hyverge, renowned for its iron-blooded legacy, Walter became a brigadier general in his early twenties, setting the record for the youngest general officer.

The year after becoming a brigadier general, he quelled the Lycan uprising known as Talkisin's Rebellion and was promoted to Grand General in one fell swoop, becoming a symbol of military might in his own right, even surpassing his family's fame.

While his meteoric rise was exceptional, a large part of his ascent to legendary status was undoubtedly due to the sword at his hip.

Lucy rested her chin on her hand, her eyes fixed on Walter's waist with interest.

“So that's the sword.”

It looks so ordinary.

The sword some called a demon sword and others praised as a legendary blade.

The sword, said to twist space-time and halt everything its blade touched, was surprisingly crude in appearance.

No, crude wasn't enough to describe it; it was utterly plain. The unadorned pommel and the guard, which looked like a mere piece of iron attached to the hilt, made it seem even less impressive than the standard-issue swords of the Royal Army.

*Is that really the demon sword?*

*Maybe he only carries it for important battles. Perhaps he uses a regular sword for everyday carry.*

Musing on this, Lucy quickly shook her head, dismissing the thought.

*That can't be it.*

True to its name, the demon sword was said to drive anyone but its master mad or kill them with a curse. Besides, it was rare for a soldier to be without his sword, except when sleeping.

*In that case, is that really...*

*...So it is.*

“It's real...”

*Is the man standing before me truly Walter Hyverge?*

A belated wave of astonishment washed over her, and Lucy's eyes narrowed. Beyond the reflection of the present, ripples of past regrets stirred in her gaze.

In her previous life, and the one before that, Walter Hyverge had been a renowned military commander across the entire continent.

His undefeated skill, combined with his noble integrity and unwavering loyalty, was beyond compare. With such a man serving as the Grand General of Parnas, it was only natural that the Empire would struggle to swallow the kingdom.

That was why the Crown Prince had used Lucy.

"Walter Hyverge... is there no way to use that damned Grand General?"

He had planned to use her as a hostage to lead negotiations and then betray them at a critical moment, or to use her as a spy from the start to invade Parnas.

Had it not been for Walter Hyverge, the Crown Prince likely could have seized Parnas with ease, without ever needing to use Lucy.

Walter Hyverge...

When she had been loyal to her homeland, he had seemed like a hero. When she had sided with the Crown Prince and acted as a spy, he had felt like a damned enemy.

But as she lived through life after life, her feelings about him had faded. Whether she saw him as a hero or a villain, her own life never improved.

Yet, seeing him in person now left a bitter taste in her mouth from the complex emotions. She had heard stories about Walter Hyverge until she was sick of them, but this was the first time she had ever seen him in the flesh.

A living, breathing Walter.

Walter, wearing the sword that was the stuff of legends.

Walter, the hero who saved his country.

...Walter, who in this life, will become my loyal pawn.

“...Hah.”

The moment she sealed her hope with a final resolution, a sigh escaped her lips unconsciously.