~Chapter 12~
. No, that’s not what I meant……
After the reorganization, the atmosphere of Ice Rock Fortress completely changed.
Starting with lodging assignments suited to the number of people, every task was divided among the members.
The distinction between combat unit and magic unit was gone.
The only difference now was training.
“Hold it properly.”
Gardner, the adjutant of the combat unit, was drilling the members harshly.
They were holding up square shields the size of their own bodies, lifting them off the ground and enduring for as long as possible.
While snowflakes blew through the air, sweat poured off them like rain, and every body trembled violently.
“Anyone who drops it is stuck doing cleaning duty today.”
Despite Gardner’s barked orders, thud, thud, one by one, those unable to endure dropped their shields.
Most of them were former members of the magic unit who had been reassigned to the combat unit.
“H-how are we supposed to hold this thing up!”
“It’s impossible, impossible!”
“They’re… freakin’ monsters…”
The only ones still standing were the soldiers who had originally belonged to the combat unit.
And one other.
“Uu, uuugh….”
The largest man in Ice Rock—Hog.
While the square shield completely covered other soldiers’ bodies, it couldn’t fully hide Hog’s massive frame.
His rounded traps and shoulders jutted out above, and his knees and shins stuck out below.
It might have looked lighter on him, but it weighed the same.
Gritting his teeth, Hog endured.
He remembered how, unlike Esric and Ronan, he had chosen the magic unit just to make things easier on himself.
He regretted it now.
He felt guilt for betraying the two who had saved his life.
He reflected on his foolish past of always running away.
He resolved that he would change from here on.
With those tangled emotions, he kept holding out.
At his side was Ronan.
Ronan maintained his stance as steadily as the senior fighters of the combat unit.
Gardner observed the two intently.
Finding talent among the chronically short-staffed was like discovering gems.
Especially here in Ice Rock Fortress.
Almost everyone here had accepted that they would never leave this place alive.
That meant they had little desire to achieve anything or to improve themselves.
Why bother, when death in this place was inevitable?
Truthfully, Gardner himself had half given up already.
He only persevered to repay Siruela, who had taken him in and taught him.
But those two were different from the other soldiers—and from himself.
They showed the determination that Siruela was always preaching about.
“Enough.”
At Gardner’s command, the remaining soldiers dropped their shields all at once.
“We have plenty of cleaners now.”
He swept his gaze across the exhausted men sprawled on the ground.
Everyone grumbled inwardly but dared not speak aloud.
Gardner had been in the fortress over twenty years.
That meant he had survived more than twenty winters.
Most soldiers, regardless of unit, had witnessed his feats with their own eyes.
To oppose him was unthinkable; even casual words with him were rare.
But then—
“Is the training over?”
Esric, utterly unbothered, strolled over from the magic unit and casually addressed Gardner.
“If not, I’ll wait.”
Gardner thought: These new recruits are all strange ones.
He smirked faintly as he regarded Esric.
“It’s over. What do you need?”
“It’s about some of the recruits…”
Esric’s gaze drifted toward his peers standing on the training grounds.
“I have a request for the captain.”
His eyes settled on Ronan and Hog.
A sense of foreboding gripped Gardner.
“…I’ll come along.”
The three survivors of the snow wyrm attack.
To have crossed death’s threshold together, even once, forged a special bond.
No one knew that better than Gardner, who had fought shoulder-to-shoulder with comrades countless times.
It wasn’t odd that Esric, now leading the magic unit, would want to bring Ronan and Hog under his wing.
It also wouldn’t be strange if the two agreed to go.
Gardner couldn’t allow it.
He couldn’t afford to lose talents like them.
Soon, they arrived at Captain Siruela’s tent.
“I’d like to take one of the men with me.”
After brief formalities, Esric came straight to the point.
“You know the rule: unless they consent, you can’t take them.”
“I know. But they won’t refuse.”
No.
If things went on like this, Ronan and Hog might both end up in the magic unit.
Uneasy, Gardner cut in.
“That won’t do.”
“…Hm?”
“Eh?”
Both Siruela and Esric blinked in surprise at Gardner’s objection.
Then Siruela chuckled, amused.
“And why not?”
“We’ve already gone through a reorganization, haven’t we? The men from the magic unit are only those with flawed inscriptions. Even if you take them back—”
“Oh, that’s not an issue.”
Esric waved it off casually.
“I wasn’t planning to take any of them anyway.”
“Then…”
If not the failed inscriptions, then he could only mean Ronan and Hog.
The bad feeling was proving right.
Before Esric could finish his sentence—
“I’ll…”
“O-only one!”
Gardner thrust out his hand urgently.
“Just take one of them.”
“…What?”
“Please, don’t take both. I beg you.”
Gardner bowed his head to Esric.
“No, I wasn’t—”
“I’ve never seen our adjutant speak like this before. He must be very fond of these new recruits.”
Unlike the flustered Esric, Siruela just laughed heartily.
“Since he insists, I’ll allow you only one. You may take just one, Commander Esric.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Esric sighed, looking reluctantly between the two.
“…I was only planning to take one anyway.”
Leaving the embarrassed pair behind, I returned to my quarters.
I’d taken over the whole room that Barnard used to occupy.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
The door creaked open, and a massive figure stooped and squeezed his bulk inside.
“Welcome, Hog.”
“Th-thank you f-for calling me, Commander.”
He bowed, stammering as he spoke.
“We’re comrades. You don’t need to be so stiff.”
“N-no, I-I prefer it this way.”
“Do as you like, then.”
“Um, Commander…”
Hog hesitated, then asked carefully:
“M-may I ask w-why you chose me?”
“Because I need you.”
I answered flatly.
Truthfully, anyone would have done.
I just needed someone to hold the shield.
I chose Hog because he was the largest.
But more than that, I sensed his desire to repay kindness.
He didn’t seem like the type to betray—his honest nature set him apart.
In this place swarming with criminals, that was remarkable.
“M-me?”
“Yes.”
There was no falsehood in my words.
“I chose you because I need you.”
“B-but Ronan is much more…”
True.
Aside from sheer size, Hog had nothing over Ronan.
Considering Ronan’s physical ability, even their strength might be comparable.
Ronan’s agile, instinctive movements were a talent beyond comparison.
However—
“Let me be clear.”
On the flip side, no matter how Ronan tried, he could never match Hog’s sheer bulk.
“I need you more than Ronan.”
“…!”
“Instead of dwelling on what you lack, think of the strength only you possess.”
“B-but I don’t have any strengths…”
“No one is without strengths.”
I cut him off.
“If you refuse, you can go back. But as I said, I need you. This is something only you can do. If you go, I won’t replace you with anyone else.”
Hog froze, shocked.
His eyes wavered violently.
Then tears welled up and rolled down his cheeks.
He didn’t even seem to realize he was crying until the drops fell from his chin.
Startled, he wiped his face with a thick arm.
When he looked back up, his gaze no longer wavered.
“I-I’ll do it!”
His voice was the loudest, most certain I’d ever heard from him.
“Good. I’ll be counting on you, Hog.”
I grinned broadly.
“Now, take off your shirt.”
“…Eh?”
Hog recoiled, his body shrinking back.
His eyes trembled again—worse than before.
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
I sighed, shaking my head.
Why was everyone in this fortress so quick to jump to the wrong conclusion…
Once the misunderstanding was cleared, Hog sat shirtless on the floor.
“Stay like that. Don’t turn around.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Though the misunderstanding was gone, he still seemed wary.
I gave a wry smile and placed my palm against his broad back.
“It’ll feel cold.”
“O-okay?”
Wummm.
I pushed mana through my circle, flowing it quickly.
It traveled down into my hand and seeped into Hog.
Startled by the alien sensation, Hog gasped.
To steady him, I spoke calmly:
“Don’t move.”
I guided the mana toward his heart.
Whummm.
Mana began to pool along the engraved sigil.
“It won’t take long.”
Sensing it, I began to interpret the inscription.
Like a blind man reading braille, I traced the magic with mana.
The sigil’s form.
The spell it carried.
Its nature.
Its length.
Its capacity.
Bit by bit, I analyzed.
…A mess.
The inscription was in even worse condition than I’d thought.
The shape, which should have been a perfect circle, was warped.
That explained why it held mana so poorly, and thus why its capacity was so low.
There were traces of patchwork attempts as well.
Whoever carved it must have realized, mid-way, that it wouldn’t function.
They had tried to salvage it—but failed.
Because an inscription is engraved.
Once carved into the heart, what could possibly fill that space?
That’s why once an inscription is made, repairing it is impossible.
And incomplete ones, like Hog’s, were near-impossible to fix.
But…
『The contractor invokes magic.』
For something like this, it wasn’t beyond reach.
“<A vow engraved upon the heart, a nonexistent flow, a forcibly halted time.>”
I poured mana into Hog’s heart, filling the inscription.
“<A binding that steals freedom, a prescribed constraint, be inscribed here.>”
I corrected the warped form and sharpened the blurry script.
“<Signo.>”
The most fundamental spell was engraved.
