Claude was truly surprised. His younger brother was even more ferocious than he was when he was younger!
Bloweyk continued to describe how Felidos, the head steward of Whitestag, was an annoying old man who kept trying to recommend him to join Bluefeather despite the fact that he had rejected him several times.
But after the new year, the old man went on to get Bloweyk a conscription order for Bluefeather without even informing him. What was done could not be undone, just like how the old man recommended Claude to Bluefeather to attend officer training back then.
What the old man didn't expect was that Bloweyk would rush to his door with Bluefeather's conscription order. The moment Bloweyk saw the order, he rushed up the stairs and took out his certificate of service as a reserve soldier of Ranger. That meant that Bloweyk had long been a reserve soldier of Ranger and would have to report to Ranger the moment Ranger needed more men. The date on the certificate showed that it was done in the second half of last year.
The old man was so annoyed that he scurried away with his tail between his legs.
It was a huge joke for Bluefeather to conscript Ranger and Claude wondered how the old man would deal with it.
Bloweyk said that the old man was sick in the head and that he was addicted to recommending others to join the army. A few years ago, the top student in physical studies from middle school was forcefully recommended to Bluefeather. He even used Claude as an example and said that Claude wouldn't have had his current prospects without his recommendation.
Claude could only shake his head. He was lucky to have made it this far. If he had really served in Bluefeather, he would've died many times over.
Bluefeather was the unluckiest of the five years of war in the east. First, they were surrounded in the Sidins Principality's Amelia Plain. They only managed to break out after losing more than half of their men. Then, they were annihilated in the Great Plains of Canas. This was the second time they had to rebuild.
Claude was curious as to where his brother got his proof of service as a reserve soldier of Ranger. He felt sorry that he forgot to prepare such a document for his brother and allowed Felidos to set his sights on him.
Bloweyk said that in the second half of last year, Ranger arrived in Whitestag in the middle of the tenth month and a colonel called Skri came to visit.
He said that he was Claude's colleague and good friend and that he was sorry that he couldn't attend Claude and Kefnie's wedding ceremony due to his busy schedule. Since he was stationed in Whitestag, he came to visit Claude's child and greet his family.
When Skree came, he brought some expensive gifts with him. Mother refused to accept them. Skree said that he and Claude had been through life and death with each other and they had fought together on the battlefield, so it didn't matter if the gifts were expensive or not.
It was Anna and Kefnie who cooked for Colonel Skree, accompanied by her brother and mother.
Colonel Skerry chatted with his brother for a long time and asked him about his service.
Claude said he hadn't decided where to join the army yet, but Skri told him not to think about it. Claude was in Ranger, so he should prepare to join as well.
The next day, Skri sent his adjutant to deliver the certificate of service as a reserve soldier in Ranger.
But as soon as the new year passed, Felidos came knocking with Bluefeather's conscription order and asked Bloweyk to serve there, only to be slapped in the face by his younger brother's proof of service as a reserve soldier of Ranger.
Claude could only sigh at Bloweyk's good luck and was grateful for Skri's good intentions.
The reason was simple. His brother was a meat pie that fell from the sky this time. The date of his service was last October, so he joined Ranger 131 just in time for his promotion. He was promoted from private to corporal.
Comparisons were odious. Bloweyk hadn't even held a gun for a day, nor had he finished a day in the military. He hadn't even participated in the recruit training, yet he was promoted as soon as he registered. It was ridiculous.
But that was the procedure. The date recorded on the certificate was the date of his enlistment.
When Myjack brought Bloweyk to the barracks, he didn't register for the first day of enlistment. Instead, according to the date recorded on the certificate, Bloweyk had been a soldier for half a year and was reporting to Line 131 today.
However, Ranger was currently at war with the Shiksan colony on Nubissia. Claude didn't want Bloweyk to enlist so early.
With the certificate, Bloweyk could report for duty half a year later, which was his twentieth birthday.
After all, only his mother and Kefnie were left at home. It would be easier to have a man to take care of them if anything happened. Not to mention, Bloweyk would be the head of House Ferd by the time he came of age.
Bloweyk felt wronged and said that it was Angelina's fault. She couldn't stay at home anymore and forced me to report to you.
What's wrong with Angelina?
Claude found it strange that she couldn't stay at home anymore.
What followed was Bloweyk's half-an-hour rant about Angelina. Titles such as female tyrant, dictator, demoness and so on came out of Bloweyk's mouth, making Claude want to laugh.
One could only imagine how much Angelina affected Bloweyk. Perhaps it was because of her strict upbringing that Bloweyk, who was pampered by his parents since young, didn't grow up to be a wastrel and useless head of the house.
After complaining for a long time, Bloweyk finally revealed the reason Angelina came with him. She couldn't stay at home anymore due to her mother's forced marriage and had no choice but to come to Nubissia to get some fresh air.
Her excuse was to accompany Bloweyk to report to Claude. Before they left, his mother told Angelina not to go home until she found a husband.
Claude didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He slapped his forehead and blamed himself for not noticing the situation at home after staying in the barracks for too long.
Angelina was four years younger than him. Claude was already 28 and Angelina was 24.
Perhaps it was common for his sister to marry a few years later in his previous world, but in this world, a 24-year-old girl who didn't have a family was akin to a 30-year-old leftover girl in his previous world.
It was no wonder that his mother would nag Angelina so much that she couldn't stay at home any longer and had no choice but to seek refuge with him.
Forget it, I'll find some time tomorrow to have a good chat with my sister and ask her about her situation. I'll see what she wants in a mate. But I doubt whether my persuasion will work. Ever since my sister started learning magic, she was no longer the cowardly girl she used to be. Even I, her younger brother, am afraid of her.
She had her own opinions and Claude didn't want to force her.
After talking about Angelina, Claude talked about magic cultivation with Bloweyk. Perhaps Bloweyk's talent in magic was inferior to Claude's and Angelina's. For instance, when Claude was training in meditation, he took almost a year to become a level-one rune magus. Bloweyk, on the other hand, took two years.
He said that the main reason he didn't have any friends in school was because he had to train in meditation and didn't have the time to play with those kids.
If anyone didn't like him in school, he'd teach them a lesson until they did.
Bloweyk said that after he officially became a level-one rune magus, he went to the ruins of the magic tower in Egret and searched for two days, but he didn't find any useful magic items.
In the past two days, he killed a clouded leopard, a python, three wolves, and seven wild boars in the mountains of Egret. He hired someone to deliver the carcasses to the city, causing quite a stir in the city.
Bloweyk's magic cultivation was about a third of the first ring and it would take him another three to four years to become a second-ring rune magus.
But in the military camp, there were too many people, and this would affect the effect of meditation.
Just like Claude, it took him almost six years to become a second-ring rune magus.
Of course, Bloweyk was no longer a rune magus. The basic spells he inscribed were for combat purposes and not for alchemical experiments.
Even Hand of Magic and Precise Control had been transformed into hunting weapons by him.
He said that he would go to the primeval forest to dig out a bear's nest in winter and use Magus' Hands and Fine Control to cut open the belly of a bear and dig it out without any effort.
Last winter, he went to the mountains behind and dug out two bear's nests.
Fortunately, Bloweyk was now Claude's orderly and could stay with him.
With Claude covering for him, Bloweyk's magic cultivation wouldn't be interrupted just because he was in the camp.
However, Claude didn't know if Bloweyk's progress would lead to the formation of a hunter magus, just like the nature magi that Sheerah mentioned.
That night, Claude and Bloweyk chatted late into the night and only fell asleep when the sun was about to rise.
Claude had a lot of things to do and Bloweyk was new to the camp, so neither of them slept well.
When the reveille sounded, the two of them got out of bed. Claude instructed Bloweyk on what to do as an orderly. After breakfast, he went to look for Myjack, only to be told that he hadn't returned since he left the camp.
Claude didn't think too much about it and called Gum over to give Bloweyk some training. At the very least, Bloweyk had to look like a soldier.
It wasn't until two in the afternoon that Myjack returned with Angelina.
Angelina's first words almost caused Claude to fall off his chair. "Bro, I'm getting married. He's the groom …"
Angelina pushed Myjack to the front. Myjack had a bitter expression on his face.
"No, no, when did you two get together?" Claude was shocked. He never thought that Angelina and Myjack would be a couple.
Myjack was quite a suitable candidate. He was only a year older than Angelina and was an orphan. He was tricked by the local officials of his hometown into taking a place in the army when he was 16.
Claude was the one who took him in. Ever since then, he had been loyal to Claude and had always been by his side.
While he wasn't particularly talented, he was reliable and reliable. He went through life and death with Claude on the battlefield and did everything he was given to do well. He was Claude's most trusted aide and aide.
Myjack was 25 this year and was already a first lieutenant. He was young and promising, but he couldn't compare to a freak like Claude.
Compared to the other young officers in the camp, his greatest advantage was that he was always by Claude's side and was trusted by Claude. He had more opportunities to contribute and get promoted in the future.
Due to his experiences in his youth, he didn't have much attachment to his hometown and was more willing to follow Claude around.
"I'm getting old. It's time for me to find a husband and start a family.
Myjack is someone I know and he doesn't have a girlfriend. He's always been clean and honest. I think he's a good guy, so I asked him if he'd be willing to marry me. He agreed.
So, Second Brother, you have to give us your blessings, "said Angelina.
Yes, Myjack was indeed someone he knew. He had spent quite a bit of time with Claude's family. Angelina would order Myjack around and make him drive her to the market to buy things. Sometimes, she would even make Gum tag along as a coolie.
However, he didn't see any sparks of love between Angelina and Myjack. Claude looked at the two of them and felt that something was off. Myjack looked like he was about to cry as if he was being forced by Angelina.
"Myjack, tell me, what's going on?" Claude looked at Myjack.
"Sir, I was forced by her … Ugh …"
Angelina slapped him on the back of the head. "Don't go back on your word. Don't forget that you spent the night with me. You have to take responsibility …"
"Quiet down, Angelina. Let Myjack finish."
Claude felt his head throbbing. Bloweyk was right. Angelina was really different from when she was young. She was too violent.
But what was going on last night? She even said that Myjack had to take responsibility.
Myjack looked outside without saying a word. Angelina went to close the door and cast a silence spell. Claude's gaze froze.
Myjack wasn't a magus, after all.
"He knows that I'm a magus," said Angelina.
He could only blame himself and Angelina's carelessness.
Claude had ordered Myjack to find a place for Angelina to stay in Lanu. After learning that Angelina would be staying there for a while, he rented a small wooden hut beside Lanu. It was rather secluded, but it was quiet and had a nice view. Angelina was quite satisfied with it.
However, Myjack was worried that Angelina, who was new to the area, wouldn't understand the local customs and wouldn't be wary of the nikancha. So, he returned to camp and got two muskets to send to Angelina so that she would have a weapon to defend herself.
Angelina, on the other hand, was obsessed with alchemical experiments. The journey from Whitestag to Tyrrsim and then Lanu in Anfiston took about a month and a half.
Angelina was itching to be unable to conduct alchemy experiments for so long. Now that she had her own house, she waited for Myjack to leave before using Magus's Hand and Precise Control to clean up the room. She then opened her suitcase to take out the alchemy formation disk and started fiddling with it.
Myjack felt that something wasn't right the moment he returned. The windows were shut and even the curtains were drawn. That made him suspect that someone had broken into the house.
It was Angelina's first time staying there. Logically speaking, she should have opened the windows to let in some fresh air and cleaned up the place instead of shutting it so tightly.
Fearing that something might happen, Myjack reloaded his musket and barged in.
He saw the Luminous Pearl floating above the room and the motionless Angelina, as well as the medicinal herbs and potions that were fusing together in the air.
Myjack's sudden intrusion scared Angelina out of her wits. The potions in the alchemical formation were wasted.
Myjack put down his musket when he saw that Angelina was fine. His attention was drawn to the glowing Luminous Pearl and he was tied up by the enraged Angelina with Magus' Hands for a good beating. After that, Angelina started thinking about how to deal with the aftermath.
Firstly, Myjack had barged in out of goodwill. Secondly, Myjack was someone she knew and was Claude's trusted aide. Thirdly, Angelina couldn't bring herself to silence him.
In the end, Angelina thought of tying the two of them together. Marrying Myjack would solve the problem of her mother urging her to get married. Secondly, if Myjack became her husband, he would have to keep her identity as a magus a secret.