As the atmosphere became somewhat relaxed, everyone naturally aligned themselves into rows. Yuder spotted a distinctive red hair not too far away. It was Gakane.
He hadn't noticed Yuder yet, but it was slightly amusing to see him constantly looking around as if searching for something.
"The commander is entering. Everyone stand straight."
Finally, someone stood on the prepared platform at the front of the training ground amidst the noise outside. A few knights followed him in, as if escorting him, but only one stood on the platform.
The tall man with shining blonde hair, red eyes, and white uniform instantly captivated everyone's attention. Just his presence alone made it feel as if everything around had lost its light.
"Nice to meet you all. I am Duke Pelleta, Kishiar La Orr."
A man whose very existence was like the sun itself. That was the true face of Kishiar La Orr without using transformation magic.
All 330 members of the Cavalry Corps and the Imperial Knights could not take their eyes off Kishiar. He glanced around lightly as if to confirm that everyone was looking at him.
Yuder saw his red eyes flicker ever so slightly when their eyes met, but he didn't show any reaction.
"As you can see, I am a member of the imperial family born with the power of light and a duke at the same time. But does that matter to you? ...No. It doesn't mean anything here."
Kishiar's soft voice echoed through the space, making it feel as if it was bewitching. Only the Imperial Knights seemed confused and embarrassed.
"Here, I am merely one who has awakened by the power of the Red Stone, just like all of you. And I was chosen to represent you simply because I know His Majesty a little better. The spirit of the Cavalry is solely for the security and power of the Empire, and your own freedom. That should be enough. You may not understand the meaning now, but I hope you will realize it someday."
"..."
Everyone fell silent at his declaration, which was more shocking than radical. Not even a breath could be heard.
"I'll end my inaugural address here. You will temporarily reside on the Imperial Knights' premises until the proper construction of the Cavalry's exclusive building is complete. If you have any questions, feel free to visit the Cavalry commander's office. That's all."
"Now, let's greet the commander."
Unable to hide their confusion, one of the Imperial Knights shouted. The inexperienced new recruits, who didn't even have a proper way to salute yet, each gave their own individual greetings. The knights watched with a disgusted expression, sighing in disbelief.
Kishiar La Orr was the only one smiling there.
"The commander, huh? He's quite an odd one."
After the shocking inauguration ceremony, the Cavalry members were guided to a temporary housing building. They were divided into groups of four based on gender, sharing a room together.
They had received a vague explanation that they would live like this until the division of tasks within the Cavalry was finalized, but no one complained.
That was because Kishiar's inaugural address had been so shocking, and their curiosity about meeting others with the same abilities for the first time in their lives was immense.
"Yuder! I knew you'd pass!"
Yuder finally spotted Gakane among the new recruits, running towards him like a puppy that had found its owner.
"I passed too. And so did Kanna. Have you seen her?"
Gakane's ability to quickly switch from formal to informal speech and become friendly was surprising. When Yuder shook his head, Gakane happily patted his back, saying he'd be able to greet her soon.
"It's amazing that all three of us passed. It must be thanks to your blessing. Which room are you in?"
"Um…"
Yuder glanced at the paper in his hand. His accommodation was in room 36 on the third floor of the building. Seeing this, Gakane let out a small cheer.
"We're in the same room! I wonder who the other two are?"
"Well, we'll find out when we get there."
Yuder didn't care who he shared a room with, but Gakane seemed to feel differently. He couldn't hide his excitement, having never shared a room with anyone like this before.
"It feels like we've really become knights. Living together, training together. Doesn't it sound fun?"
"…"
‘Fun, huh…’
Yuder recalled the most difficult times in his memories. For about a month after he first joined the Cavalry, he was pushed to the brink of death. Back then, they hadn't yet developed standardized training methods for each ability wielder.
Kishiar had rolled up his sleeves and experimented with the early recruits to create a system. Thanks to that, by the next recruitment round, the Cavalry had a somewhat structured organization.
Things probably wouldn't be much different this time. Even if Yuder were in Kishiar's position right now, he couldn't think of a better way to establish the newly-formed Cavalry' system.
He'd see if Gakane could still call it fun after a week.
Returning to the past wasn't bad, but the thought of going through hellish training again wasn't pleasant. After all, Yuder knew best how to develop his own abilities, and there were hardly any physical methods involved.
But he couldn't explain that to Kishiar, so he just had to endure.
Sighing, Yuder arrived at their room to find two men who would share the room with them had already arrived.
"Are you two our roommates?"
A skinny, freckled man asked nervously. His name was Juan, and his ability allowed him to move at a speed that made him nearly invisible to the naked eye.
"I'm Juan. And that guy over there is Kurga."
Yuder looked at Kurga, who was shamelessly lying on a bed. He looked more like a bear than a human.
In fact, his ability was to enlarge his body and maximize his combat abilities, so his appearance was fitting.
Although Yuder had seen both of them in passing and remembered their faces, they hadn't had any real conversations due to their unremarkable skills.
There was a stark difference between Yuder, who had quickly become a leader shortly after joining the Cavalry, and the ordinary Awakeners.
In the past, Yuder didn't have the leisure to pay attention to others with lesser abilities. Yuder's focus had always been on becoming stronger and protecting his own body, and since strange signs appeared in the world, his focus shifted to discovering and stopping their cause.
But this time was different. He had learned through death that he couldn't solve the problem alone, so he decided to broaden his attention to those around him and never become the leader of the Cavalry again.
"I'm Gakane. This is Yuder. I have the ability to summon my shadow whenever I want, and as for him... Come to think of it, Yuder, I didn't know what your ability was."
Yuder finally remembered the quite useful ability of Gakane Bolunwald, which he had thought of before.
'Right. He could summon a doppelganger through his shadow, using it for communication or combat, and was highly rated for it.'
"I can imbue my sword with fire and water."
"Fire and water? Both?"
"Quite impressive."
The others widened their eyes at Yuder's words. They would probably be more surprised if they knew he was capable of even more, but it wasn't the time to reveal that.
"Alright. Let's get along from now on."
"Uh, yeah. Me too."
After exchanging greetings, they divided the beds and areas to use. Many of them had anticipated group living before joining the Cavalry, so there were no conflicts.
'It must be like a dream come true for commoners.'
Excluding Gakane, the other three who would be staying in this room were all commoners without surnames. For them, it must have been a very unfamiliar experience to live in a spacious room with four beds, clean bedding, and meals provided.
'But they'll get used to it soon.'
Thus began Yuder's second experience in the Cavalry.
Of the 330 Cavalry members, just over 200 were without surnames.
This meant that more than half of them were illiterate. Before the Red Stone fell, they wouldn't even have crossed paths with those who had surnames, but their fate had completely changed now.
Training facilities that only the Imperial Knights could use were now all occupied by the Cavalry. Every day, there were explosions of fire and broken equipment at the training grounds, but no one found it strange. It was only natural when those with abilities were together.
Commander Kishiar ordered the Cavalry members to undergo physical training, get accustomed to their power, develop their individual abilities, and even study letters simultaneously.
It was an incredibly demanding task, but knowing what a great privilege it was, everyone moved according to the training schedule with a do-or-die attitude.
As a result, after a few weeks, the Cavalry members achieved remarkable results at an astonishing speed. Of course, no one could catch up to Yuder, who did everything twice.
