A huge gate protected the entrance to Caliburn Fortress. Not only was it the entrance to the fortress itself, but it was also the last stronghold that prevented the demons from escaping.

“Someone is approaching.”

A soldier, who had been watching a suspicious individual from the watchtower, immediately reported what he saw.

“Who is?”

“Uh… I don’t recognize him. He’s in a robe, and he’s riding a black horse.”

“Just one person?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“What’s up with that? Did the Capital send him?”

“I don’t see any flags.”

“Put everyone on standby.”

Upon receiving the report, the Chief of Guard, Herbant, immediately ordered the archers to stand by. This was one of the most dangerous areas in the empire; this level of caution was necessary.

After a while, the suspicious visitor reached the front of the gate. Using a trumpet that amplified his voice, Herbant gave his command.

“You there! Stop.”

The horse stopped. The man in a robe raised his head toward Herbant.

“Identify yourself!” Herbant’s voice boomed.

At Herbant’s request, the man pulled out an identification card and threw it toward the top of the gates with all his might.

Whoosh!

“Huh?”

The identification card flew past Herbant and landed perfectly inside the watchtower. It was a formidable display of power. One of the watchtower soldiers picked up the card and immediately descended to present it to Herbant.

“H-he managed to throw it all the way here?”

No matter how strong a man was, there were not many who could throw something from the ground that high, and precisely into the watchtower no less.

But this man had done it.

Amazed by the man’s physical strength, Herbant hurriedly checked the identification card.

“A baronet?”

The status badge was made of silver, which proved that the owner was a baronet. In addition, a blue star symbolizing the Order of Merit was engraved on it. Seeing the blue star, which symbolized honor, relieved Herbant of all his remaining doubts.

“He’s a true baronet.”

After checking the identification card, Herbant shouted again with his trumpet.

“Please wait a minute!”

After a while, a section of bricks that were located right next to the gates began to open up, brick by brick. It was a side door that could only be opened from the inside, accessible only to those that were approved to use it. After the side door opened, Herbant appeared along with a few guards.

“Are you a baronet?”

“That’s right.”

“I apologize for the lack of respect. Please forgive our behavior, considering the location we are at right now…”

“It’s alright. This is the insignia that symbolizes our family.”

As soon as Henry dismounted from his horse, he immediately held out his family insignia. After checking it, Herbant replied with a more gentle look on his face.

“So, you’re Henry Morris. Nice to meet you. My name is Herbant, commander of the guards assigned to protect the entrance to Caliburn Fortress here.”

“I’m Henry.”

The two exchanged a light handshake after their greetings.

“May I ask what brings you all the way here?”

“I came here to enlist.”

“Enlist?”

“Yes, the Noblesse Oblige.”

“If you’re talking about the Noblesse Oblige… ah! But, Sir Henry, aren’t you a baronet?”

“And what if I am?”

“As far as I am aware, baronets are not obliged to partake in the system. Unless…?”

“That’s right. I am enlisting voluntarily.”

“Please accept my apologies then, sir! I have disrespected an honorable man!”

“It’s okay. This is a letter of application, and this is a letter of recommendation.”

Henry handed all the papers he had to Herbant, in the hopes that they would be processed speedily. Receiving the papers, Herbant said, “Please follow me. There are a couple of documents you will need to fill out as part of the process.”

“I understand.”

“Ah, and as for your horse! We’ll take care of him for a while.”

Herbant gestured with his chin toward Jade. The guards immediately grabbed Jade’s reins.

Neeeeigh!

“Whoa, whoa!”

The moment the guards went for his reins, the quiet Jade raised his front legs and began threatening them. Seeing this, Henry approached Jade to calm him down.

“Sorry. He’s a feisty one.”

“Haha… he sure looks the part,” Herbant said, eyeing Jade’s impressive physique. He was certainly a fine stallion.

After ordering Jade to stay still and behave himself, Henry followed Herbant until they arrived at a small administrative office near the gate. Among the administrative officers on duty there, Herbant approached an orange-haired man with glasses. He introduced Henry by handing the man Henry’s identification card and documents.

“Fermit, this is Sir Henry, who came to volunteer through the Noblesse Oblige system.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Fermit.”

After accepting the papers, Fermit shook Henry’s hand.

“Fermit will provide you with the details. I’ll take my leave.”

Herbant returned to his post. After he stepped out, Fermit spoke.

“Welcome to Caliburn Fortress. First of all, I would like to thank you for offering your services to the empire even though you are not obliged to.”

Fermit was a polite young man. After expressing his gratitude, he handed some papers to Henry. As Henry was filling out the form, Fermit opened up the letter of recommendation and the letter of application and began reviewing them. Sometime later…

“Uh… Sir Henry?”

“Yes?”

“Regarding this name written on the letter of recommendation. Is this ‘Iselan’ the same Captain Iselan from our fortress?”

“I’m not too sure. All I know is that a man named Iselan was close to my father.”

“May I ask for your father’s name?”

“It’s Hans Morris.”

“Hans Morris, Hans Morris… please hold on.”

When Fermit heard Hans’ name, he began to rummage through a pile of documents. Not long after, his eyes widened.

“Uh?”

“What is it?”

“P-please hold on.”

Fermit got up from his seat with a look of surprise on his face, before taking the letter of recommendation and disappearing for a while.

He showed up a long time later.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I’ve checked, and the name written on your letter of recommendation is indeed referring to our captain.”

“Sorry?”

“And Captain Iselan just gave his order. He will guarantee Sir Henry’s status, so you are to be treated with respect. He’ll send a carriage for you shortly, so please wait a moment.”

‘A carriage?’ Henry thought to himself, confused. Before Henry could even assess what could be happening, a man poked his head through the office door.

“Pardon me. I’m here for Sir Henry.”

“Speak of the devil. Sir Henry, please leave the paperwork to me and follow him.”

Just as Fermit had said, there was a carriage waiting for Henry outside the office. A soldier bowed politely to Henry and started to steer the carriage with great speed.

‘Got to admit, I didn’t expect this.’

Hans simply said that Iselan was a high-ranking officer. However, if he was the captain, then wasn’t he the third in command after the commander and the deputy commander? Regardless, he must have had a lot of influence if he had the authority to send a carriage for Henry.

‘I’ve got a good feeling about this.’

Nowhere were connections more important than in the military. Henry was pleased with his unexpected windfall.

* * *

“Sir Henry, we have arrived.”

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, the soldier who was acting as the coachman quickly got off the carriage and opened the door for Henry. It was an excellent level of service.

“Oh ho.”

They had arrived at a building too large to be a personal office. The size of a building was usually proportional to the rank and authority of the person who resided there. Henry grew more and more satisfied. This was further evidence that the person backing him held significant power.

The soldier guided Henry past the first floor and into the office on the second floor.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

Creaaak.

Henry went through the open door and was greeted with a spacious office.

The soldier followed behind him. When he entered the office, he immediately stood at attention and reported in a loud voice.

“Captain! I have brought Sir Henry!”

“Oh, well done. You may leave.”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldier exited with haste.

“Come in. Hans’ son, huh? Come and have a seat.”

“Yes, thank you.”

There were stuffed animal heads hung all over the walls. There was also a young woman, who looked to be Iselan’s assistant, looking at papers on her desk. Henry sat down at the tea table.

‘As expected, it’s a face that I can’t remember.’

This was the first thought that came to Henry’s mind. He thought that even if he could not remember Iselan’s name, considering that Iselan was a captain of the fortress, he should at least remember his appearance.

Unfortunately, this was the first time Henry could recall seeing Iselan’s face.

“You’ve come a long way. Who would have known that Hans had a child this old already?”

It seemed that Iselan and Hans did not see each other very often, but this did not matter to Henry. What was important was that he could make use of this good connection.

Iselan began speaking again.

“That aside, you’re a fascinating one, my friend. Why did you volunteer when everyone else wants out, and to the infamous Demonic Beast Forest of all places?”

Iselan was huge and bulky, and was wearing a silver suit of armor. There were clear streaks of gray in his hair, but his face was full of youthful charisma. If Henry had been just an ordinary recruit, he might have lost his composure on the spot. At least, that was the impression that Henry got. When it came to charisma alone, Henry would have edged out Iselan in his previous life.

He answered succinctly.

“Because of the demonic beasts.”

“What?”

“I heard that there is nothing more dangerous than the demonic beasts here. I enlisted here because I thought I would be able to learn Aura quickly if I faced them.”

It was not a dishonest answer. To quickly learn Aura was one of the many reasons why Henry had chosen the Demonic Beast Forest.

Iceland laughed heartily.

“At least you’re an honest one! Did Hans tell you to give such an answer?”

“Father tried to stop me from coming here.”

Iselan smiled widely.

“Yeah, he would have. Safety was of utmost importance to him. Tini, stop looking at those documents and bring us two glasses of water.”

Seemingly satisfied enough with Henry’s answer, Iselan finally offered him something to drink.

“I like your ambition. But this isn’t the kind of place where you can get by on ambition alone.”

“I’ve worked hard to prepare for this.”

“Really? Can you back those words up?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s see.”

The office was spacious and had high ceilings. It was big enough for Iselan to test Henry’s combat skills. Henry got up from his seat, approached a spacious corner of the office and drew his sword. Iselan did the same.

‘That’s a sword?’

Henry had a premonition of danger when Iselan ordered him to draw his sword. The sword that Iselan drew out was much bigger than Henry could have anticipated.

It was a two-handed greatsword, with a much wider blade than other two-handed swords. Despite its massive size, Iselan wielded it like a one-handed sword.

“The Imperial Swordsmanship is something anyone can learn and practice.”

Thud. Thud.

With his blade drawn, Iselan approached Henry. With every step he took, the ground shook loudly.

“The difference comes from how much effort newbies like you put in.”

He swung his sword like a baton, then pointed it at Henry.

“This is a place where newbies like you will die a swift death if you don’t put in the effort. You only get one chance. I will swing only once, so try to block it.”

With that, Iselan raised his sword. He swung it downward forcefully, with the sound of a mighty wind.