Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading Chapter 15

Chapter 15. What's wrong with our Platoon Leader? (3) Of course, Chevalier knew. That his platoon leader no longer drank as he used to. But that didn't mean he understood why he stretched with strange movements before and after training. Why he kept showering in the cold river? Why he went to bed in the early evening? It was not something he could comprehend. He still didn't even understand why Roden kept asking him to borrow books he didn't even seem to read. He had briefly suspected that it might be because, as Zailo had said, Roden really wanted to befriend him, but that didn't seem to be the case. For someone trying to be friendly, Roden had a strong tendency to only say what he wanted to say. It wasn't that he was simply inept at social life. It was to the point where he didn't seem to have any will to engage in social life at all. Crucially, Roden's strange behavior was most prominent on weekends. Just one day a week. The day when the entire 3rd Infantry Platoon didn't have regular training and had personal maintenance time. Roden had been conducting personal training without a break. Swish! Swish! Swish! Chevalier had witnessed Roden's personal training purely by chance. On his way back from borrowing books from another platoon to grant Roden's request. He had heard the sound of someone swinging a sword from a quiet clearing hidden by dense trees. As he pushed through the bushes to take a look, the person swinging the sword was none other than Roden. Moreover, Roden was concentrating on the most boring and difficult basic skills training. ‘Why is he training on the golden weekend… Don't tell me, is it to make his drink taste good today too?’ Chevalier's mind overloaded, and he came up with this thought. Even though he knew Roden wasn't training hard in regular sessions just to drink. There was simply no other way to explain Roden's current behavior. Moreover, Roden wasn't just swinging his sword carelessly. Watching him closely, he was swinging his sword 500 times per movement, sweating profusely. Even when his speed had slowed down considerably, his form didn't waver at all. ‘Just why?’ Lost in such thoughts, Chevalier stared blankly at Roden's training process for a while. Although it was a bit strange, Chevalier was actually quite satisfied with Roden's recent changes. He wasn't helping with the regular training as he had thought. But unlike before, just the fact that Roden was diligently participating in the regular training was slowly bringing order to the atmosphere of the 3rd Infantry Platoon, which had been like a mercenary band. It was an undeniable fact that their platoon leader was working harder at regular training than anyone else. But he had never thought that Roden would go so far as to conduct personal training like this. This was a change that far exceeded Chevalier's expectations. For that reason, Chevalier's mind, as he watched Roden's personal training, couldn't help but be filled with question marks. Roden, who had conducted personal training all morning, had lunch and then devoted himself to basic skills training in the afternoon as well. Watching him quietly, he could realize that the intensity was roughly on par with the regular training. ‘Was he just… extremely bored?’ Chevalier, who couldn't understand the current situation at all, somehow squeezed his thoughts and came up with a plausible conclusion. ‘Yes. It'll just be for today.’ But surprisingly, Roden's personal training continued the next week, and the week after that. It wasn't a one-time thing. In the end, Chevalier couldn't hold it in any longer and, on the evening of the day the personal training had been repeated for three weeks, he asked Roden as he handed him the borrowed books. “Why are you doing personal training on your day off?” Roden's face, which had been beaming with joy at the thought of reading the books, stiffened for a moment. Then he asked Chevalier. “You saw? Me training?” “Yes. I did. For the first time three weeks ago.” Chevalier's voice was filled with conviction. Roden hesitated for a moment before answering. “Um. I did it to make my drink taste good on the weekend too.” “You expect me to believe that?” “I knew you wouldn't. Was it too insincere?” “You've already been working hard at regular training for that reason every day. By now, you would have had more than enough to drink all the whiskey the Company Commander gave you, and even the whiskey the Battalion Commander gave you.” “What if I told you I've developed a new secret method to make cheap rum taste delicious?” “You might as well just tell me to pretend I don't know. Then I will.” As Chevalier continued to be suspicious, Roden scratched his cheek in an awkward manner. *** Roden was indeed feeling troubled. Why was he doing personal training? He had not expected to be asked such a question today at all. But that didn't mean he had no countermeasures at all. Roden also knew. That someday, someone would notice his change. And that the highest probability of that was the 3rd Infantry Platoon. That was why Roden had to prepare countermeasures in advance. Just because the 3rd Infantry Platoon noticed his change didn't mean it would be immediately reported to the Glockner family, but if it did, it would be extremely troublesome. The two wars Roden had to survive. He could face a crisis in one of them, the Succession War. Roden, who intuitively knew that it was time to bring out this countermeasure, organized his thoughts for a moment and then opened his mouth. “Um. I guess I have no choice. I'll answer you honestly. I've recently become interested in getting stronger. That's why I'm working hard on regular training as well as personal training.” He had guessed as much, but Chevalier, who seemed surprised as if he had never expected to hear such a thing from Roden, asked back. “…Have you grown tired of drinking?” “Well, something like that. It's actually been quite a while since I've had a drink.” “How did you…” “I realized it a while ago when we encountered the Imperial cavalry during the operation. At this rate, I wouldn't survive this war. I had to get stronger.” “Ah.” “Yes. For the first time in my life, I felt a sense of crisis. A sense of crisis that I might really lose my life if I just despair over my lack of talent.” As he listened to the explanation, Chevalier retraced Roden's strange behavior. Certainly, Roden was trying to become stronger. If not, his diligence in regular and personal training couldn't be explained. But even so, there were a few things he didn't understand. Since he was already asking, Chevalier decided to ask about this as well. “I understand that you are trying to get stronger, Platoon Leader. But there are a few things I don't understand.” “What are they?” “First of all, I don't understand why you are reading whatever books you can get your hands on. I don't see what that has to do with getting stronger.” A rather sharp question. However, Roden already had an answer prepared for this as well. “Because I realized in the last operation that just strengthening my body wasn't enough.” “Just strengthening your body isn't enough… What do you mean by that?” “Think about the reason we succeeded in the last operation. It wasn't simply because our army was strong. That's when I realized. That I need to strengthen not just my body, but my mind as well.” Chevalier's eyes widened. As he listened to Roden's answer, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning. “Don't tell me, the military strategy you proposed back then wasn't a coincidence?” But Roden shook his head again and lied. “That wasn't it. If I was already at a level where I could come up with such military strategies, I wouldn't have been reading whatever books I could get my hands on to strengthen my mind, not just my body.” “Then?” “That's right. It was a coincidence. But that coincidence gave me a realization. That my mind needs to be strong. That then, I might be able to overcome the limits of my talent and become stronger.” “So that's why you were so obsessed with books. But why didn't you finish reading ?” Roden was momentarily flustered by Chevalier's question. He couldn't understand why he thought he hadn't finished reading . And only then did he belatedly realize that an ordinary person cannot read a 2,211-page book in a single day. ‘Ah. If I had known, I would have held onto that book for a bit and returned it later.’ After briefly reflecting on his carelessness, Roden made a suitable excuse. “Ah. That book didn't seem very helpful for strengthening my mind. It was a bit too difficult, I guess.” Fortunately, Chevalier was convinced. “It certainly is a book that gives that impression.” “Still, for a while, I plan to read any book I can get my hands on, so please lend me any books you get.” “Yes. I will do that.” Chevalier replied to Roden's additional words, which he had added out of concern that he might be picky about the books he borrowed. But Chevalier's questions didn't end there. Although his curiosity about why Roden read books was resolved, other questions remained. Indeed, Roden's strange behaviors were not just one or two. “Then why do you stretch your body with such strange movements before and after training?” “Ah. I learned that from Nedhab. He said that doing those movements helps to alleviate the muscle soreness the next day. I've actually seen the effects.” “Really? Then was that also why you were rubbing your body with that strange stick and showering in the cold river?” “The Deputy Platoon Leader is very interested in me. To know all that.” “Ahem.” At Roden's sudden remark, Chevalier coughed and blushed. But Roden paid no mind to it. It was just that Roden had said what came to his mind. He was more focused on answering Chevalier's question. “That's right. Just as Chevalier said. Both are actions that are effective in alleviating muscle soreness. I learned to rub my body with a strange stick from Nedhab, and I figured out soaking my body in the cold river myself.” Only now could Chevalier understand why Roden had been showing such strange behavior. But that didn't mean that Chevalier thought he should do stretching, massages, and cold water compresses like Roden. Muscle soreness would disappear after a few days of rest anyway. He was now used to suffering from muscle soreness. But Roden's story didn't end there. It was about time to get to the main point. “And I didn't do these things simply to alleviate muscle soreness.” “Then?” “Actually, I found out one interesting fact, maybe because I was more talented at using my head than I thought.” “……?” Roden gave a wide grin to Chevalier, who had a question mark on his face. Then he continued. “I'll tell you about it now. If you learn this, Deputy Platoon Leader, you'll be able to get stronger at an incredible speed. You'll be able to reach the 2-star level twice as fast. So I'm saying, how about we make a promise?” That was right. The countermeasure Roden had come up with to shut Chevalier's mouth. That countermeasure was to tell him his secret method of raising his aura proficiency. As a kind of deal.