Claude strode up to the podium and saluted.
Michelic returned the gesture and took two steps forward. He took off Claude's epaulette with three black stars and replaced it with a silver moon epaulette. That meant that from that moment on, Claude had crossed the huge gap between a junior officer and a field officer and was officially a major in Aueras.
During peacetime, it would take at least five to seven years to go from a captain to a major. One would also have to perform well and receive at least three commendations.
Claude, on the other hand, was only 25 and had only been in the army for seven years. He hadn't received any formal training from the military academies, yet he was already a major.
It was akin to being promoted on the frontlines for meritorious service on the battlefield. It had become a legend in the kingdom's military.
It was a year-end promotion. Only seven of the 26 students in the advanced seminar were promoted. One lieutenant colonel was promoted to colonel and five majors were promoted to lieutenant-colonel.
After that, Claude was promoted to major. His promotion made the seminar a field officer seminar in name only.
More than ten field officers who participated in the formation of Ranger and didn't receive training in the academy were also promoted. Major Skri was one of them and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel.
It was actually a form of compensation for him. Back when he was forced to retreat from Canas, he managed to preserve 1st Ranger Tribe's strength. When he returned, he was framed by a noble officer at frontline command for losing his homeland and was imprisoned.
It was only when Claude asked Maria to send a letter that the first prince regained his freedom.
But this way, 1st Ranger Tribe wouldn't be able to gain recognition from the ministry of war for over a year in Canas.
After all, the territory was lost and it had been two years since the war ended. They could only blame it on their bad luck for not being able to receive recognition for their contributions.
The only consolation was that the soldiers who sacrificed themselves were given double compensation for their heroic deaths. That was one of the things that 1st Ranger Tribe didn't have any regrets about.
This promotion was a way for the commoners like 1st Ranger Tribe to make up for the grievances and oppression they suffered during the war. Basically, all the soldiers of 1st Ranger Tribe were promoted a rank.
Myjack was promoted from non-commissioned officer to sergeant major and Gum was promoted from staff sergeant to non-commissioned officer.
On the other hand, Moriad and Dyavid were promoted from second lieutenants to first lieutenants. Berklin, on the other hand, was a little unlucky. He was in 2nd Ranger Battalion and didn't get promoted because he escaped from the Great Plains of Canas.
It was the 30th of the 11th month in Year 582 of the Sacred Light Calendar. Claude was promoted to a major.
That year was a very important one for Claude. Kefnie, who had been pregnant for ten months, gave birth to a healthy boy on the night of the 25th of the 8th month. He finally had a descendant of his own in this world.
However, Claude didn't know about the good news that day. On the 2nd of the 9th month, he was ordered to lead a mobile division of Ranger with his classmates to the border of the Great Plains of Canas to receive the third batch of warhorses from Canas. They only returned to Calleben in the middle of the 11th month.
When he returned to the academy, he received a letter from his family that he had been waiting for two months. He was overjoyed to learn that he had become a father. He immediately booked the hotel in the village that had just opened for half a year and held a banquet for his friends and classmates.
Even though he really wanted to apply for leave to go home and see his son, he resisted the urge.
The journey was too long and he could only apply for a month's leave at most. It would take more than half a month to go back and forth on a fast horse. He might as well apply for family leave next year. That way, he would have two months of leave and could stay at home for a while longer.
Angelina's letter told him that Kefnie and the child were safe and that he didn't have to worry about them.
The child's name was also agreed upon before Claude left: Tesoray Ferd, meaning 'Ray of Hope' in ancient Hez.
Also, because she had a grandson, the mother's body recovered very quickly, and she stayed by the baby's side all day …
There was also a secret message in the letter. Claude took out a bottle of healing potion and applied it on the inside of the letter. It revealed a long paragraph about Bloweyk.
Bloweyk was already fifteen years old this year. Angelina found a chance to test his talent in magic and found out that he also had the qualifications to learn magic. However, his talent wasn't that outstanding.
Landes mentioned in his diary that elemental affinity and spiritual power of seven to eight represented outstanding talent in magic. However, Angelina's test result for Bloweyk was seven for earth elemental affinity and six for spiritual power. That was a number between outstanding and passable.
Considering that Landes had taken the magic aptitude test at the age of twelve, and his brother was already fifteen, it was obvious that if he had been twelve as well, his result would have been between five and six, which was only a passing grade and not an outstanding one.
Angelina said in her letter that if Bloweyk wasn't interested in magic, he should pretend that he didn't know anything. It would be difficult for him to learn magic with his talent anyway.
Unfortunately, she was a little too excited when she found out that Bloweyk had talent in magic. Her brother found out that she knew magic and kept pestering her to learn it.
However, she was worried that her brother would be too jumpy and brag about learning magic and bring disaster to the family.
So, Angelina asked Claude what he should do and whether he should let Bloweyk learn magic.
Claude put down the letter and closed his eyes in deep thought. He thought about his deceased father and his ailing mother.
What was certain was that Morssen and Morssen's parents had extraordinary talent in magic, which was why their children were naturally talented in magic.
It was a pity that his parents didn't know that. His eldest brother, Arbeit, who hadn't been home for a few years, wasted his talent.
Claude had once seen a document in the cave library left behind by Sheerah's mother. The gist of it was that if both parents were magi, their first child would most likely have talent in magic. However, it was hard to tell whether the talent was good or bad.
If they continued to have children, it would be hard to tell if their second or third child would have talent in magic.
The better the talent of both parents, the better the talent of their first child. However, the talent of their subsequent children would gradually weaken.
According to the document, Claude was certain that his parents had extraordinary talent in magic. That was why Angelina and Bloweyk all had talent in magic.
Claude and Angelina were only the second and third oldest children. Even though their talents hadn't been tested, it was certain that they were outstanding. Only Borke's talent was starting to weaken.
If his eldest brother, Arbeit, had learned magic as well, perhaps his talent would be considered a genius.
However, he didn't have the opportunity to do so. At his age, his talent was no longer of much use. He would no longer be able to come into contact with the hidden world of magic and could only live the life of a commoner.
Actually, there was no lack of geniuses in any world. It was just that they didn't have the chance to display their talents. Or rather, they didn't even realize that they were geniuses.
In the vast world, it was easy for them to lose their edge and become one of the countless commoners.
Claude decided to give Bloweyk a chance to learn magic. He also sent a message to Angelina, telling her that she didn't have to teach him meditation for the time being.
Instead, he gave him the recipes and the two diaries of Magus Landes and had him translate the contents written in ancient Hez.
He would give him a year and if he became more mature and thoughtful, it wouldn't be too late to teach him magic then.
Bloweyk didn't have much talent in magic, so the key to learning magic was whether he had perseverance and perseverance.
If he could endure the loneliness, he would eventually become a fifth-circle magus no matter how long it took.
As for taking the next step, Claude had never thought about it. It wasn't a matter of perseverance. Instead, it required a large amount of magic resources and a lot of risk to become a sixth-circle magus.
Sheila's mother had written in her notebook that ever since magi had been chased out of Freia six hundred years ago, no one had been able to become a Sixth Circle magus. Many magi didn't even know how to do it.
Even on Higros, many new magi believed that the fifth-circle was the pinnacle of magi.
This was also the main reason why Sheila's mother insisted on excavating the undiscovered magic ruins on Nubissia. She would rather leave the young Sheila alone in the Witch Forest to live alone.
Only after becoming a fourth-or fifth-circle magus would a magus have the hope to further explore the mysteries of magic.
That was the end of the matter with Bloweyk. Perhaps he could examine his brother again during his next leave to see if he had the temperament to learn magic.
Claude watched as the words on the letter disappeared one by one. When the letter returned to its original state, he replaced it with a new bottle of ink and started writing to his family.
He first told them that he had just returned from a mission and that he was happy that he had become a father. He also asked about his mother and Kefnie's health and wished them a happy new year.
At the same time, he told them that he had been promoted to major and that his mother and younger siblings could enjoy the privileges of a citizen.
As long as his younger sister wasn't married and his younger brother wasn't of age, he would still be the acting head of House Ferd. His immediate family would be able to enjoy the privileges of a citizen. For example, the family's wood would be exempted from taxes by a third each year. The taxes on the two-storey shops would also be reduced by half. While it wasn't much, it was still a symbol of his status.
At the very least, none of the officials in Whitestag would be so foolish as to shirk their responsibilities like they would a commoner.
As for the balls and banquets held by the nobles of Whitestag, he could invite his mother, sister and Kefnie to attend.
Of course, that was just for show. As Claude's wife, even though she was a citizen, she didn't like to attend such banquets and balls.
However, Claude did hope that his sister could attend. She was already in her twenties and perhaps she could get to know some outstanding young men and settle her marriage.
Claude told his family that he wouldn't be able to apply for leave at the end of the year. He wondered if he would be able to squeeze out two months of leave in the second half of the next year.
However, he wasn't sure if he would be able to squeeze out two months of leave after his military academy training and would be assigned to Ranger.
Claude expressed that he missed his family and the son he had never seen before. But since he was in the military and wasn't free, all he could do was pray for his family to be happy and not worry about him.
Now that he was promoted to major, the academy's logistics department would send someone to Whitestag to handle the paperwork for Claude's family to be promoted to citizen status. That way, the letter would be delivered directly to his family after the inspection.
At the end of December, the dispatched officer returned with another letter from home.
The letter said that they were relieved to receive a letter from Claude. Everyone had been worried after not hearing from him for two months. The only consolation they had was that the letter they sent wasn't returned with a stamp indicating that he wasn't in his possession.
Now that they found out that Claude was out on a mission and didn't receive a letter, they breathed a sigh of relief. They were even happier when they found out that he was promoted to major.
There was also a secret letter from Angelina. She told him to follow Claude's instructions and that she would keep an eye on him so that he could learn ancient Hez well. If he couldn't even do that, he should just give up on learning magic.
At the same time, she was happy for herself, her brother and her mother to be treated like citizens. However, she was quite dissatisfied with Claude's request for his mother and Kefnie to take her to some banquet or dance to meet some handsome young men to settle her marriage. She didn't want to get married and even said that she would rather be single if possible so that she could devote herself to exploring the mysteries of magic.
Claude could only smile bitterly. His sister used a private letter to express her anger. She knew that if she dared to openly write it home, her mother would nag her for three days and two nights. So, she could only use this method to express her anger at Claude for being a busybody.
But when he thought about it, she was only 21 and there was no need to worry about her marriage. It wouldn't be too late to wait a few more years.
On the 30th of December, the military academy held a grand welcome party. General Micheli attended the party to welcome the new year together with all the officers of the military academy.
Skri whispered to Claude that after the training ended, Michelic would step down from his post as chief instructor of the military academy and become the first line commander of Ranger.