"Do we really need to send Liard back?"
"From now on, we'll need someone at base camp to select reinforcements and manage the remaining soldiers."
"I can't just rely on Liard for everything…"
Ferio trailed off, hesitating.
I get the gist. Put it nicely, she wants to gain experience. Put it harshly, she wants to rack up some achievements of her own.
Normally, the commander stays at base while the deputy leads the charge.
She's half-baked in some ways, no doubt about it. Even as vice-captain, to me she's just a green rookie who's barely become an adult.
In army terms, she's a fresh second lieutenant straight out of officer training.
Once you make sergeant, you wanna mess with those shiny new privates. Same deal—when you see a naive superior trying to act tough, the prankster in you wakes up.
"Hey, Ferio. When you wanna say something like that, this is how you do it."
"I want to cut down the enemy with my own hands!"
"I can't send my men into the meat grinder alone!"
"How's that sound? Music to the ears, right?"
"…That's not it."
"No way!? You've been hanging around me so much, I've become too reliable for you?"
"Heh… heh heh…"
A ripple of stifled laughter broke out among the tense soldiers.
Ferio shot a glare at the source, silencing the chuckles, but she couldn't kill their breathing.
"Pfft! Pffft. Pffffff…"
Everyone was desperately holding it in.
Ferio looked utterly lost on how to handle her men.
Whoops, didn't mean to embarrass her this badly.
"Hey, Ferio. Don't tell me…"
'You're a total loner!?' The words nearly escaped my throat.
I've spent plenty of time around groups, but as a natural-born loner, I know exactly how she feels right now.
Past traumas are flooding back.
One joke turns the mood ice-cold, and I'm the only one awkwardly laughing.
Or everyone's cracking up, but I miss the vibe and just stand there staring blankly.
Like getting handed the mic at karaoke with no songs you know…
The agony of not leading the mood, not blending in, and not even being able to bail.
That's Ferio to a T right now.
If you quietly fade into the background as a loner, fine. But getting publicly outed like this? In school, nine times out of ten, you get ignored or bullied.
Worst case, full-on ostracism if the vibe sours.
World changes, but that pain doesn't.
Time for an emergency mood switch!
"Oh! Right, Ferio. Tell me the best timing to provide support fire."
"Uh… huh!?"
"I got lucky missing with that arrow earlier, but I need the timing to nail that smirking old guy's back perfectly."
One of the older soldiers burst out laughing and approached.
"Look at this guy! I was gonna buy you a drink after you drew the orcs' eyes so well, but now I gotta punch you first. What's your name?"
"Kirgil. Just draw a red circle on the shield guy's back, and I won't miss."
"Hahaha!! Name's Tomi, miller's son. Second squad leader. Captain, mind if I sync signals with Kirgil?"
"Got it. Pass it to the relief crew too."
"Yes, sir."
Thanks to the veteran smoothly taking the bait, Ferio's awkwardness vanished in a flash. She was back to her dignified vice-captain self, approving orders.
No one might acknowledge it, but I felt like I'd saved someone today.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇A short while later.
Four went out, six relief troops arrived—including two extras for torches, rations, and spare weapons. One wasn't a soldier.
"Vice-Captain Ferio, I heard about the subjugation and came to help."
Oh, that obnoxious voice…
"Kras? I never heard from the village chief you were coming too."
"Captain Liard encouraged me to join. I'm ready to fight."
"Fine. Tomi, put him in your squad."
Kras bowed politely, then sauntered over to me and tossed out a line.
"Old man, quit standing around like an idiot. Grab the gear and fall back. You'll get in the way of sword swings."
Not surprising treatment, so no anger, but at least pick the time and place.
I was about to retort when Tomi stepped up.
"Hey, you Kras?"
"Yes. I'm Kras—"
"So, the coward who ran off alone during the Agnes Village raid? That you?"
Rumors spread faster than words. The troops here had heard it too.
"What? No… Why would you—"
"You little shit. Think this is an open parade ground? Sheathe that sword. Shield up. Spear ready."
"Huh!? Hold on, my sword skills are better than that guy's."
"You messing with me? You gonna swing in a tight cave and crack the guy next to you?"
"No, but the spear…"
"No spear? Then stand your sword up and stab. Swing sideways, and I'll ram your ass myself."
Caught off-guard by the sudden roasting, Kras looked to Ferio for rescue.
"Tomi, finish formations fast. We move in ten."
"Heard the captain? Shield up, frontline. Repeat after me: 'Shield forward.'"
"Yes!?"
"Hey, draw a red circle on that punk's back too. Tell Kirgil to shoot him if he deserts."
As others piled on, Kras reluctantly shuffled forward. I called out to him, still clueless about the situation.
"Hey, Kras."
And offered sincere advice laced with concern.
"This is the army."
Kras's eyes went wide, like What the hell does that mean?
"Kuhahahahahahahaha!!!"
The squad erupted in unison, howling with laughter.
"Kirgil's a legend! This guy gets it! Kahahahaha!"
Any Korean who's reached adulthood has endured strict hierarchies, absurdities, and irrational bullshit in the military.
That's the army.
Isekai or not, seems no different. Maybe worse.
Dungeons adventurers dream of challenging turned into a grunt work site for a dysfunctional army—odd vibe, but my social cred just leveled up.
…Too bad Status Window doesn't track social skills. If it did, I'd have gained 100 points today.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇"Squad, advance."
After relief and rest, the unit pushed deeper into the cave.
Leave even one, and it threatens the village. Plan was slow and thorough extermination.
The cave still narrowed and widened, bumpy up and down.
I stuck with Ferio at the rear. When we entered, no one liked a noob like me lounging safely by the captain.
Liard, absent now, had shown the same vibe at first.
Now? Different. They angled torches my way, cleared space for arrows—small considerations.
Kras, on the other hand…
"You idiot, don't drag the shield! Raise it! Hold it up! And move faster! You're crowding the guy behind!"
Total loser treatment.
Honestly? Kinda satisfying.
"Ferio, is dungeon conquest around here always like this? Or just cave clearing?"
"This is a cave, not a dungeon. No idiot sends troops into a real dungeon first."
"Dungeons are different?"
"Just what I've heard. Dungeons are fortress-shaped living creatures. Village chief never told you?"
"Heard tons of tales from her dungeon buddies… but never asked about dungeons themselves."
Surprisingly, I'd never been curious about dungeons proper.
Plenty else to learn, and games/manga made them familiar: 'Maze with monsters and treasure chests.'
But this goblin hole was way off, so gotta ask later.
"Halt!"
Troops stopped at a fork: wide downhill, narrow uphill.
"Split into two groups, one shield per. Tomi, your formation—"
"Hold on, Ferio! Wait!"
Doesn't this feel off to everyone?
I shoved through to the front.
Recent hunting had me tracking animal traces, so the anomaly hit me quick.
"Uphill has more scratches and gouges than downhill. And the wide downhill's too quiet."
"Hey, Kirgil. We gotta sweep every rat pup. No footsteps doesn't mean empty."
"No, something's wrong. Hold a sec."
The downhill wall looked unnaturally smooth. Halt the advance—I had to check.
I passed Tomi into the right path. He crossed his arms with a grunt: Not thrilled, but waiting.
One word in my mind.
STATUS WINDOWSafety check important, but if Status Window means anything, now's the test.
Others can't see it—confirmed before.
I peered at the window, inching cautiously down the dark slope.
"!!"
Light dizziness. Status Window flashed Poisoned, HP ticking down.
So that's it!!
Status Window lets me view myself objectively.
Saw a story online: 'canary in the coal mine.' Bird's cries and death warn miners of toxic gas.
Status Window's my canary. Normal folk might miss subtle signs, but it flags them!
I spun back, hurrying to the fork.
"Hey, Kirgil! Enemy!?"
"Hoo~ haa~ Hold on."
Deep breath—poison cleared from Status Window.
Lucky, clean air here.
"Trap down there. Poison gas pooled. See?"
If explosive, goblins would've used it.
I tossed my torch downhill. It extinguished before hitting ground—like darkness devouring the flame.
"Hah! Vile monsters! Setting such deadly traps."
"Well, actually…"
Heavy gas trapped low. Not a chemist, and they wouldn't get it anyway.
Lazy to explain—play along.
"Yeah. Never go that way."
"Second squad! Mark the trap. Then left. Kirgil, without you, half our split team would've died. Thanks."
I nodded lightly to Tomi's thanks, heading rearward.
Soldiers who'd sluggishly parted before now hurried aside.
Huh, squad's consideration level upped. Some clapped shoulders, muttered thanks.
Returning buoyant, Ferio faced me.
"Getting curious about your past now. Too late, but… You treat me like it's natural, even knowing I'm a knight. Without Agnes, I wouldn't have tolerated you."
"Maybe I was someone high up before my amnesia."
That's my stock backstory.
Amnesia? Convenient.
'Reincarnator'? They won't get it, and a weak one like me? Just call me crazy.
Easy excuse they buy. Chief knows, says it's best.
Feudal knight or not, raised democratic, I get hierarchy intellectually but not in my gut.
Honestly, Ferio sometimes looks like a cosplaying college girl to me.
Blame all the knight media. Ahem.
"What'd the chief say?"
"'Kirgil is like the great northern star guiding a lost big sis through dark night. Touch him without cause, and Star's Tears will fall on your castle.' …Something like that."
"Star's Tears? Dropping meteors from the sky?"
"No idea. Lord reckons chief's old flame, ordered us to watch carefully."
'Don't mess with my grad student pick!' Professor laying down the law.
"I know they're not together now. You're no lowlife. Training showed you're not that dangerous either."
"Told ya, pointless worry. I'm ordinary."
"First met, you were a naked savage. And I saw… that too."
Mid-sentence, her eyes flicked down—just a moment. You too!? Why are women here so shameless!?
"Th-that couldn't be helped. Situation wasn't normal. Ahem."
"Guarded at first, but you followed orders quietly. No reason to hate."
"Hate? You dragged me out daily for training hell, rain or shine."
"No. You're fun—worth teaching."
"Fun?"
How to read that? Goodwill… right? Spilling sensitive stuff like this.
"Vice-Captain, resuming advance."
Tomi reported; Ferio cut chat, handed me a fresh torch.
True soldier—no, knight. Sharp starts and stops.
"Kirgil, let's go."
But different. Normally handed off blind. This time, eye contact.
What's this subtle vibe!? Expecting my performance?
Luck, circumstance built my cred, but I'm not craving expectations.
Cut a guy some slack. Pressure's real for a reluctant social climber.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 292 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/an-ordinary-guys-adventure-in-another-world
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━