Corporal Gero was a serious-looking veteran who didn't like to talk much. Perhaps one could say that he was a little slow.
Claude wanted to get to know him better and after exchanging a few words with him, the only response he got was either an 'Mm' or 'Mm'. After that, Claude lost interest in talking to him.
Even though Corporal Gero was a man of few words, he was experienced and thorough in his work.
He brought Claude to register as a new recruit and handed him a temporary soldier's identity card. He then brought Claude to the logistics department to get two sets of military uniforms and supplies before bringing him to the tents at the side of the field.
There were two tents, one on the left and one on the right.
Claude was brought to the right camp, where there were around 30 tents neatly arranged. Assuming that each tent had 12 people to a squad, the right camp could probably hold around 400 people.
The tent Corporal Gero brought Claude to had the number '00307' written on it. It meant that it was the seventh tent in the third row of the right camp.
The tents were made of two layers of grayish-white coarse linen. There was also a layer of tarpaulin between the two layers to prevent water from leaking. The outer and inner layers were all coated with varnish, so the tent's walls felt hard to the touch.
The inside of the tent was around 25 square meters in size and was rectangular in shape. Claude estimated that it was around nine meters long and less than three meters wide.
It was less than three meters in length and width, with six one-meter-wide single beds lined up in a row. Beside each single bed was a wooden cabinet less than half a meter in diameter. The cabinet only had two doors, with keys hanging on the doors.
"You'll sleep on the top bunk of this bed," said Corporal Gero.
He took the blank identity board from the end of the bed and wrote Claude Ferd's name on it before putting it back on the bed. "Oh, right. The top part of this cabinet is for you to use as well. It'll be used to store your personal belongings. You'll have to keep the key yourself.
Also, you can change into your uniform now. I'll check it after you're done. "
"Yes." Claude didn't waste any time and started changing into his uniform.
The Bluefeather Legion's uniform was the same as the other legions in the kingdom. They had a bright red top, black pants, black leather shoes, and a straight red military cap.
The only difference was that there was a feather dyed dark blue on the military cap, as well as two long dark blue ribbons.
After putting on the jacket, one belt was hung on each shoulder and crossed in front of the chest, forming an 'X'. Then, a black leather belt was used to fasten it around the waist.
To the soldiers of the Blue Feather Legion, the blue feathers on their military caps and the two crossed ribbons on their chests were their special glory. It was proof of the Blue Feather Legion's outstanding achievements.
"Not bad, you have the aura of a soldier."
Facing Claude who had changed into his uniform, even Corporal Gero, who didn't like to speak much, gave him a rare compliment.
"Erm, Officer Groh, I'd like to ask, why don't I have an epaulet?"
Claude asked as he looked at his bare shoulder and the red epaulette on Corporal Gros shoulder.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps you'll only be issued after you complete your training," Corporal Gero replied.
"Now, carry those things on your back. I'll tell you where to place them. Remember, don't misplace them in the future."
The so-called carrying equipment was a black leather backpack, a black painted bamboo military water bottle, a black dyed sheepskin sleeping bag, and a red copper lunch box.
"Hang the canteen on the left, not the right. The right side will be used to hang the combat leather bag.
Put the lunch box in the backpack. In the future, you'll also need to carry survival kits, miscellaneous bags, military rations and other items.
The sleeping bag is folded into a roll and placed on top of the backpack.
If you're required to be fully armed, you'll have to bring all these items with you before you can assemble, "Corporal Gero gave a brief introduction of the various things that soldiers carried.
"Officer Gero, why weren't there any weapons when we went to collect our equipment?"
"You'll also need to undergo training before you can receive them," Corporal Gero said.
Corporal Gero said, "The towel, water cup, toothpaste box, toothbrush and soap you received today need to be placed in the copper basin. The copper basin needs to be placed on the wooden mat under the bed.
When you sleep at night, the soldier's things have to be neatly hung at the head of the bed. That way, you'll be able to reach them with your hand. "
Handing the temporary soldier identification card to Claude, Corporal Gero said, "You can have a good rest in the camp for the next two days. Training will begin the day after tomorrow.
Sleep here at night. When you eat, take this temporary soldier identification card to the canteen to get your food. Bring your own lunch box.
After you eat, wash the lunch box and put it in your backpack. Don't leave the camp and don't wander into the warehouse area.
The same goes for bathing. The bathhouse is beside the canteen. You can go in with this temporary soldier identification card. "
After saying that, Corporal Gero turned around and left.
He opened his cupboard and saw that there was a compartment inside. The cupboard was divided into a large compartment and a small compartment. He tossed his backpack into the large compartment and another set of military uniform into the small compartment. Then, he locked the cupboard and placed the key in the pocket of his uniform.
He then rolled up the clothes he had changed out of and stuffed them into the copper basin. He would wash them after he showered at night and dry them before putting them into his backpack. He would only be able to wear uniform in the future.
It was still a little early before dinner time, so Claude decided to climb into bed and take a nap. As for familiarizing himself with the surroundings, he would think about it the next day. There were still two days left and the camp wasn't that big. He would get bored very quickly if he had nothing to do.
However, just as Claude was dozing off, a group of people entered the tent noisily.
Claude was no longer sleepy. He sat up and prepared to look at his comrades in the same tent.
It was four soldiers in uniform without epaulets. When they saw Claude lying on the bed, they froze for a moment and didn't say anything else. The tent fell silent.
Claude jumped off the bed and greeted them with a smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm new here. I'm Claude Ferd."
The young soldier at the front had a head of red hair and a few freckles on his face. He was only 1.7 meters tall, about ten centimeters shorter than Claude. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aboyev Bach."
"I'm Moriad Kerriman."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Dyavid Ji Randolph."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Berklin Ro Benson. You can call me Beck."
Claude looked at the two soldiers behind him curiously. "You're nobles?"
The one who called himself Beck smiled. "Actually, the two of them are nobles as well. They just purposely removed the 'Bestow' in their names."
"Why?
If you're nobles, you can always enlist in the royal capital's army academy. You'll be a second lieutenant once you graduate. Why do you have to come to this training? "
Beck's expression darkened. He forced a smile and said, "I'm the seventh in my family. Maud is the fourth, Dyde is the sixth, and Boff is also the sixth.
We weren't qualified to go to the military academy, so our family sent us here. "
Claude immediately understood. While the four in front of him were nobles, their mothers were heroine mothers who gave birth to their children in batches.
If the eldest son inherited the family business and the second and third went to the military academy, the fourth and fifth wouldn't be given any special treatment other than having an extra 'Bestow' in their surnames. They would have to compete with the commoners.
The other two who purposely removed the 'Bestow' in their names were probably illegitimate children. While their fathers acknowledged them as their own, the wife of the family wouldn't allow them to be treated the same as her own children.
Perhaps they didn't purposely remove the 'Bestow' in their surnames. Instead, the wife of the family wasn't willing to give the 'Bestow' in their household register.
"You guys sure came early. I thought being here two days early was good enough. I didn't think you'd come even earlier than me," Claude said, trying to find something to talk about.
"We've been here for more than a week and couldn't stay at home any longer, so we came here early," Aboyev replied honestly.
"Oh, where are you from?
I'm from Whitestag, the three southwestern prefectures. Do you know me? "
Beck replied, "We're all from the royal capital. After graduating from middle school, we had nothing to do and stayed at home for half a year. Everyone was sick of it.
Then, we heard that Bluefeather was going to be undergoing officer training, so our families sent us here. "
Claude could tell a lot from his answer, but he could tell that they weren't loved by their parents and were often neglected at home.
It was rare for them to have a place to go, so their families couldn't wait to send them away so they wouldn't be an eyesore.
"Did you just graduate from middle school?
Me too, "Claude said.
"No way. Judging from your appearance, I thought you were already in your twenties," Moriad said, making a fuss about nothing.
"Is that so? Do I look that old?
It's only been less than half a year since my 18th birthday, "Claude said, stroking his chin.
Then they began to count, and it turned out that, except for Aboyev, who was not yet eighteen, his birthday was in November.
Their birthdays were only two or three months apart, and Claude's March was the earliest.
So, he called him Boss instead.
"Don't call me Boss. Look at the twelve beds in the tent and there are only five of us. Who knows, we might even be the youngest when everyone's here."
At that moment, a loud bugle sounded in the camp and interrupted him.
"What's going on?
Why is there a bugle? "Claude asked.
"It's nothing. It's time for dinner," Aboyev replied.
"I'm hungry anyway. Let's go to the canteen for dinner."
Claude took out the lunch box from the black military backpack he was given and saw Becker and the other three standing there motionlessly.
"What's going on? Don't you want to eat?" Claude looked at them strangely.
"We're not hungry yet," Dyavid said. Everyone heard his stomach rumble, but the other three pretended they didn't hear anything.
"What's going on? Speak clearly. What's stopping you from going to the canteen even though you're hungry?" Claude put down his lunch box and glared at them.
The four of them didn't dare to look him in the eye. In the end, Becker saw that he couldn't avoid it and stammered, "The soldiers bullied us. When we went to get our food, they said that we weren't official soldiers and didn't have the right to line up in front of them. They pushed us to the back and when it was our turn, we were left with nothing but leftovers. So, we decided to go to the canteen an hour later. By then, there wouldn't be many soldiers there to eat."
He really wanted to laugh. What a pitiful child. The children of four noble families were bullied by a bunch of soldiers and didn't even dare to go to the canteen to eat. Didn't they know that the more you endured in the camp, the easier it was for you to be bullied?
"I remember there are military police in the canteen, right?" Claude asked.
"They saw it, but they didn't care. They only laughed at us," Aboyev said, feeling wronged.
You're already holding back, so what else do you want them to do? They won't stand up for you unless things get out of hand. It's better to avoid trouble. Human nature is the same no matter where you are. Nobody is willing to look for trouble for themselves.
He picked up his lunchbox and headed for the canteen. Before he left the tent, he said to the four cowardly nobles, "I can't stand starvation. I can't wait an hour. I'll go eat first. You can come back in an hour."
The four looked at each other as they watched Claude leave.
"What do we do?" Aboyev asked.
"We'll go too. If there's nothing we can do, the five of us can just wait an hour in the canteen!" Becker said through gritted teeth.