“This is it.”

Early in the morning, Henry rode Iselan’s wagon to the officers’ training academy located in the back of the fortress. He experienced no hangover.

The effects of the alcohol were broken down by his magic, but he had barely slept thanks to his efforts to match Iselan. Henry was okay with this, because he knew he would not have to see Iselan for a while now.

Iselan was still sleeping deeply. It was Tini who took his place as Henry’s companion officer.

“What are you going to do? You’ve slept so little,” she said.

Since Henry was not a proper trainee yet, there was no reason for Tini to mistreat him. That was why Tini continued to be polite and checked on Henry’s well-being.

“I’m okay. Besides, it looks like you, Dame Tini, must be having it rougher than I am.”

“Well, it’s the same old for me.”

“I wish you luck.”

It had only been one night, but Henry already realized how extreme the job of being Iselan’s trainee was. Therefore, although Henry and Tini had only seen each other a couple of times, the two were able to form a strong bond based on sympathy.

“Ah, right! Sir Henry, please take this.”

She handed a piece of paper to him.

“What’s this?”

“Since Sir Henry is enlisting in the middle of the training period, I’ve summarized all the basic training contents that you may have missed out on.”

“Thank you for taking care of me. Truly different from the commander-in-chief’s reception.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

It was an unexpected act of consideration. Henry glanced at the summarized notes that Tini had organized.

“I’m done. You may take it back.”

“Sorry?”

“I’ve just memorized them all. My memory’s pretty good, you see.”

For a moment, Tini thought that this man in front of her was surely bluffing. Even though the note was condensed and summarized only the core contents, it was still too much to read and memorize in an instant.

‘If we’ve just entered week two, it means we’d be learning about rituals. That means that in the first week, I would have been educated on the basic virtues and literacy of an officer.’

Henry could tell without even looking. An officer’s curriculum was no different from any other regular curriculum. Besides, Henry had spent more time on the battlefield than anyone else in the fortress. Even without looking at the notes, he was already more of an officer than most officers.

“If you don’t believe me, ask me anything.”

“T-there’s no need for that. I was just a little surprised.”

Seeing the nonchalant look on Henry’s face, Tini figured that his memorization skill must be the real deal.

‘I’m not seeing things. This guy… he’s definitely a genius.’

And she was right. After all, the best brain in the history of the Magical Spire was now serving in the military once again, so it was to be expected that everything would fall into place relatively easily for Henry.

A short while later, they arrived at the academy.

At the entrance, an officer from the academy, who had been contacted by Tini in advance, came out to greet them.

“You must have had a long journey.”

The academy officer gave a brief salute to Tini. After handing over the necessary documents to him, Tini greeted Henry farewell.

“Have a good time. I’ll see you again.”

“Thank you,” Henry responded with a short answer.

Soon after, the officer took Henry to the administrative office for a procedure that was similar to the one he had experienced when he first arrived at the fortress. Basically, reviewing documents and verifying information. The officer spoke.

“Here, all titles are ‘Officer’. And from now on, since you are a trainee, you must not drop formalities with anyone except your batchmates.”

“Yes, understood.”

“If you go to the end of the hallway on the third floor of the building, you will find room number 305. It is a two-person room, and you will stay there during the training period. Since the morning class is currently in progress, you can join the afternoon class later.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Are there any items you have brought with you that you need to report?”

“I don’t have any objects, but I did bring a horse with me. My own personal horse.”

“I know. Don’t worry, your horse will be kept in the stables at the Captain’s residence. If there’s nothing else for you to report, head to your room, unpack, and come back down.”

“Yes, understood.”

It was the beginning of Henry’s full-fledged career in the military.

He made his way toward room 305. It was a simple room with a bed, locker, and desk on each side. He started cleaning his empty bed. No matter how well it had been taken care of, it was still a bed that had been used by countless testosterone-fueled men in the past.

“Clean.”

For that reason, Henry only unpacked his personal belongings after thoroughly disinfecting his furniture. When he headed back down to the administrative office, the officer handed over supplies for Henry to use at the school.

“I’ve prepared it according to the size submitted. If there are other items that you require, sound out immediately, and if you want to use a weapon other than a longsword, you are to report that immediately as well. Of course, you will have to receive basic swordsmanship training first.”

Among the supplied items, there was a wooden sword that weighed the same as an iron sword.

“This longsword is enough,” Henry said.

“Have you had your meal?”

“Yes, I have.”

That was a lie, but Henry had no appetite because of the stress he had been subjected to all night.

“Then, from now on, you will spend a little extra time after the daily schedules to catch up on the lessons you have missed. Even though you’ve been admitted in the middle of the training, with this, you shouldn’t be falling behind.”

“Sir, I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“Is what I’ve missed from the first week all literacy education?”

“That’s right. At the end of each week in our academy, you will take a test based on what you’ve learned that week. Cadets are also encouraged to complete their training and follow up with an exam on the weekend two weeks later.”

“What happens if one doesn’t pass the exam?”

“There has never been a single cadet that has failed the exam.”

“I hope this doesn’t come across as disrespectful, but in that case, would you allow me to take the test now?”

"Do not be arrogant, cadet. How can you possibly take the test without going through the lessons first? Are you trying to insult our academy?”

“No, sir. I came here after receiving some training from the Captain, so I was wondering if I would not need the additional lessons if I pass the exam now.”

Although it sounded like an arrogant remark, the officer began to worry about the fact that Henry had been educated directly by the captain. After thinking for a long time, he allowed the test.

“Alright. However, your remarks make light of the educational process of the academy. Should you fail the exam, you will be punished accordingly.”

“Thank you, Officer.”

The officer thought to himself some more. According to the documents, this cadet had only arrived the day before, yet he was now bragging about how well he had studied overnight.

‘I’ll prepare a special test just for you.’

According to Tini, Henry was under the protection of the commander-in-chief, but no matter how much protection he was under, rules were still rules. The officer was determined to use these rules to correct Henry’s arrogance.

* * *

The exam was held in a small room in the administrative office. There were a total of one hundred questions, and the cut-off was eighty points. Although it looked relatively tough, the reason why there had never been a single student who had failed was because the questions were actually quite easy. It was called the 'introductory exam for new officers' for a reason.

However, the training officer gave Henry the exam papers for junior commanders, which were only given to junior officers.

‘Now let’s find out how great you really are, eh?’

There were various topics that came up in the literacy test. For example, the virtues of an officer, the actions an officer should take in case of an emergency, the history of the Caliburn Fortress, and the history of the Demonic Beast Forest. For Henry, who had been serving as the top commander of the empire for many years, this was laughable at best.

As soon as the exam began, Henry picked up his pen. He immediately began writing down the answers as if he was reading a book and copying the answers from it.

‘Hmm, looks like even these academies are giving out fairly advanced questions these days.’ Henry thought.

Henry quickly realized the test was obviously only meant for the junior commanders, such as those in positions like platoon commander or company commander. Therefore, despite the relative difficulty of the test, all he did was think ‘at least the academy is keeping up its education standards!’

Scribble scribble.

The pen moved non-stop. Soon, Henry had solved all one hundred questions.

“Sir.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve finished the test.”

“What?”

It had not been long since the exam had started. The officer glanced at the hourglass on the side of his desk, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

“You’ve already finished it?”

“Yes.”

‘The sand hasn’t even dropped halfway yet!’ The officer thought that Henry must have lied. The tests were designed to make sure that time was usually tight.

“Oh, and sir?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I found some typos on questions forty-one, seventy-three and ninety-three, and have corrected them accordingly.”

“W-what?”

The surprises kept on coming. The truth was, the test paper that was given to Henry was meant for intermediate commanders that were to be given later in the year. In other words, the paper had yet to undergo any detailed revisions yet. Not only had Henry completed the test quickly, but he had also managed to spot the typos.

“Y-yes. Well done. Then let’s begin the grading.”

The surprises didn't stop there. The grading was not done yet, and the officer could only know for certain after completing the grading. However, as he went through each question, the officer's jaw dropped further.

‘A-a perfect score!?’

Unable to believe what he saw, the officer re-examined the paper a few more times, but the end result was still the same. A newcomer had gotten a perfect score on the intermediate commanders’ test.

“How is it?”

“C-congratulations. It’s a perfect score.”

“That’s a relief. It seems that the test was easy.”

“The test was easy?”

“Yes, I think so.”

‘What the hell.’

It was a questionable result, considering that not even the officer in charge of the lessons himself could have possibly gotten a perfect score. Somehow, though, this newcomer had done it with ease. The officer finally understood why Henry was under the commander-in-chief’s protection.

‘If you mess with him, you’re dead!’ he recalled Iselan's demands.

Now, the officer understood the situation. This cadet really was not one he could mess with. Once he finished grading, the officer spoke to Henry with a bright smile he had not shown before.

“You did very well. Outstanding, just as expected.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“There will be martial arts classes in the afternoon, so you may rest comfortably in your room until then. If you need anything, come to the administrative office.”

“Understood.”

The officer’s attitude had softened considerably. What Henry did not know yet was that this officer had been given the nickname ‘Ice Officer’, reputed among the cadets to be very cold. Henry was just about to leave the administrative office when the officer stopped him.

“Cadet Henry?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Have some.”

The officer had brought out a small container of cookies.

* * *

“Oh, come on. Does that even make any sense?”

“It’s true. He said that he was personally taught by the Captain himself and requested a test early.”

“So you gave him the unrevised test paper meant for the intermediate commanders?”

“Yeah. And he got a perfect score.”

Shortly after the morning class, the education officer was busy telling the other officers what had happened with Henry. Nobody believed him.

“Maybe he was just really good at guessing? If the test paper was for intermediate commanders, not even we could guarantee a perfect score.”

“That’s what I’m trying to say.”

“You said that he has the backing of the commander-in-chief?”

“Yep. Dame Tini told me.”

“Then do you think that Captain is trying to raise this cadet as Tini's successor?"

“The next trainee knight?”

“Right now, the trainee knight is Dame Tini. But, as we all know, with a career like hers, it’s only a matter of time before she takes up a position as an executive in another department. So that’s why Captain has deliberately picked out one talented guy and is training him to take her place.”

“That makes sense. Captain’s trainee knights must be highly skilled, after all.”

“But that position isn’t obtained just from having smarts, is it?”

“You're right. Dame Tini was outstanding with her swordsmanship, too.”

“Whose class is it later in the afternoon? Isn’t there a close combat and swordsmanship lesson?

“It’s Sanche and Beric’s classes.”

“Shall we test him one more time?”

“What?”

“That kid, Henry. Whether he’ll become an engineer with his smarts or whether he’ll become a trainee knight like Dame Tini.”

“Is there something you have in mind?”

“Let’s try that.”

“By ‘that’, you mean…”

As a result of his perfect score on the exam, Henry had unwittingly become the hottest topic at the academy.