35 - Chapter 31: What Geoglyph Did in His Hometown and the Secret Story of the Lotus Gang's Birth
Full Metal Jacket is a good old movie.
During his childhood, Ludglyph Triad lived in despair, believing he was a born loser.
Born as the second son of the Margrave Triad of the Leonesta Empire, the role expected of him was to be a spare for the eldest son. That said, the Triads were not a special case. In a feudal society where preserving the house was the top priority, this was perfectly normal, and it could be said that Ludglyph, who questioned this early on, was the special specimen.
His older brother, Midglyph, was the first child of the current Triad house, and as the legitimate heir, he had been hammered with an education that could be called excessive from a young age, and he showed the talent to live up to it.
On the other hand, while Ludglyph was also educated, he was constantly compared to his excellent older brother. Although he showed a decent amount of talent, he could never show a side that surpassed his brother, who was always ahead, disappointing those around him and himself.
Amidst this, a third child was born into the Triad house. While those around them had hoped for a girl who could be used for a political marriage, a boy was born. However, he was an extraordinary prodigy.
That was Geoglyph.
From infancy, he possessed an impossible amount of mana, and it was an abnormal situation where that amount increased at explosive speed day by day. By the time he could crawl, he would go to the library on his own and devour magic books, and by the time he began to speak haltingly, he had started using elementary magic. His father, Radglyph, believing he would undoubtedly become a mage who would leave his name for posterity, gathered retired court mages and famous independent mages to hire as tutors. However, they soon left the Triad house.
They said, "There is nothing to teach. He has already begun to master magic on his own... he is like a child of magic."
Some handle magic by intuition, but those who achieve greatness through steps are realists who construct formulas theoretically. Therefore, to them, Geoglyph's existence was worthy of jealousy for his talent, but the fact that he was a toddler did not cloud their judgment.
Having been given a kind of official endorsement, Geoglyph obtained an environment where he could freely master magic.
About four years after that... Ludglyph was rotting.
And for good reason. Sandwiched between an excellent older brother and a genius younger brother, even the role of the older brother's spare was unnecessary if the younger brother existed. His entire sense of self-worth vanished, and there was no way he, who was eight years old at the time, could endure it. It was only natural that he became a textbook example of a bad noble like those in stories, looking down on subordinates and committing acts of violence.
Of course, those around him, including his parents, tried everything from lecturing to advising him... but frankly, these were bad moves.
If you tell a person who lacks self-esteem that they lack self-esteem and should increase it, there is no way a negative person will honestly nod. That is the delusion of a person who has only touched upon failure and self-denial on the surface, and if they can recover from that, it is not yet too late. A true negative person who has denied themselves to the very bottom has their screws twisted even in the foundation, whether it be self-blame or blaming others. Even if you hammer the steel beams sticking out of the ground to straighten the visible parts, if the foundation is crooked, it is only a visual solution, and it will collapse immediately if a problem like an earthquake occurs. In terrible cases, they even drag others down with them.
At age five, Geoglyph, who felt a sense of crisis thinking "If we don't do something soon, this is headed for a house feud course," knew this from his experience in his previous life. Therefore, when he encountered a scene where Ludglyph was throwing a tantrum and acting violently, he decided to intervene.
The method was simple. He beat him one-sidedly. Punching and kicking with a body reinforced by mana, grabbing hair and dragging him down... what he was doing was completely child abuse. However, since the one doing it was also a toddler, those around them were unable to intervene in a fight between young masters. No, they should have intervened by putting their bodies on the line, but since Geoglyph showed no emotion at all and beat him down dispassionately while pointing out exactly what was wrong, they couldn't judge whether he was calm or angry. It had gone beyond education and become "mad-ucation."
To Ludglyph, who had fainted and was lying spread-eagle, Geoglyph splashed water magic on him to wake him up and said this as his first words.
"Brother Lud needs comrades."
"Comrades...?"
"Yes. Subordinates, but like brothers of the soul... that kind of comrade."
To his older brother, who was on the verge of tears after being beaten but did not run away, the younger brother showed a wicked smile.
"Let's go, Brother. I'll show you that the pebbles kicked up while enduring frustration... can turn into diamonds if they bounce back."
The SF otaku quoted lyrics from a certain anime opening to help his brother up, took his hand, and headed toward the castle town. The vassals, who had finally come to their senses, tried to stop them, but Geoglyph used wind magic to blow them away, grabbed his brother by the scruff of the neck, and fled. To Ludglyph, who shouted "You'll be scolded later!", the younger brother laughed loudly, "The cause of Brother's twisted personality is Father and the others, so they have no right to be angry. If they say something, I'll lecture them back and corner them with logic, so please be at ease."
Then, they headed to the slums of the town... to a tavern, and entered by kicking open the door, shouting "Order up!"
Whether it was the result of heavy drinking or a banquet that had simply continued, there were still customers in the dim interior despite it being early morning, and all of them were people who looked like thugs. Because such a crowd all turned suspicious gazes toward them at once, it was not strange for the still eight-year-old Ludglyph to shrink back with a "Hieee!"
However, Geoglyph, who was younger than him, continued through the store while dragging his brother, found a table that looked just right for a podium, jumped on it, and raised his voice.
"Gentlemen. Gentlemen. Gentlemen. Are you listening, gentlemen?"
He cleared his throat once.
"Yes, you gentlemen. You good-for-nothings drinking in a tavern this early in the morning. No work. No skill to perform it. No guts to acquire the skill."
The attention gathered on the five-year-old who had suddenly started giving a speech began to heat up.
"No motivation. No future. Therefore, no productivity. What you produce is the same as what you squeeze out of your asses, literal pieces of shit. You're practically poop-manufacturing machines."
It was a dangerous heat. He had suddenly appeared in a tavern in a high-crime area and started insulting an unspecified number of people present. Ludglyph, standing behind Geoglyph, turned pale seeing the thugs around them with veins popping on their foreheads.
However, Geoglyph relentlessly raised his fist...
"I dare say it. You are scum!"
He picked a fight. Maybe that was all he wanted to say.
"You brat!"
As if triggered, the thugs rushed at Geoglyph, but he delivered a dropkick to the man in the lead and shouted to his brother.
"Let's go, Brother! Now is the time to use the muscles you've been secretly training in hiding!"
"Huh? Hey, wait a minute! How do you know about my secret training!?"
To Ludglyph, who was flustered at having his unexpected diligence revealed, Geoglyph continued with a loud laugh.
"Listen up!? The password is... in-fight until you collapse!!"
"I-I don't care what happens!?"
With the slum tavern as the stage, a royal rumble began.
●
In the end, the royal rumble was suppressed by the security force that gathered after hearing the commotion.
Among them were the sons of two high-ranking officials, and the security captain, as well as the thugs who had fought, turned pale, but Geoglyph elegantly brushed it off, saying "Just throw them in the dungeon for today. I'll come to collect them tomorrow." He returned to the castle, their home, dragging Ludglyph along.
Naturally, upon returning, Radglyph, who had heard the report, was furious with his eyebrows and hair standing on end, but there, as declared, Geoglyph began his lecture. Starting with "The reason Brother Lud was acting out is because of Father and the others, you know?" he continued with things like "What exactly are you telling him to do his best at? People who are told vague things like 'do your best' just lose their sense of direction and fall deeper into a hole," and "It's fine to be proud of your own achievements, but if you don't also tell him about the things you messed up, you'll lose your humanity and Brother Lud will be crushed by Father's false image," and "You can read the feelings of other nobles, but you can't read the feelings of your own son? Then why don't you just become family with those nobles?" and "Isn't it a parent's role to discern strengths and weaknesses? Brother Lud isn't a duplicate of Brother Mid, you know?" He performed a "thousand-knock" of words, sometimes prickly, sometimes stabbing, so that the surrounding vassals eventually tried to stop him, but he brushed them aside by firing off magic, "Shut up. I'm talking about family right now. Or do you want me to make you family too?" In the end, he cornered the current head of the house into saying "Yes... yes... I'm sorry... I'm a failure of a parent, I'm sorry..." and left it vague. Furthermore, Radglyph, who was so emotionally wounded, was said to have fallen into a depression so deep that he was unable to handle government affairs for about two days after this.
"How did it end up like this...?"
"There's no 'how'. It's for Brother's sake, you know?"
"No, I know that, but..."
The next morning, as Ludglyph watched the knights go to collect the thugs they had thrown into the detention center while holding his head, Geoglyph continued.
"If you will, they are the praetorian guard for Brother that we will create from now on. The knights of officer rank are already attached to Brother Mid, not Brother Lud. That's natural, since he's the next head of the house."
"Then, I need to find and create them myself... I heard that earlier. But are they usable? They're all just commoners. Moreover, thugs..."
"Brother. What do you think is the most important troop type in a war, not a duel?"
"That's gotta be knights, right? Then mages."
"Incorrect. I said not a duel. What is most important and necessary in a war... are the ashigaru who can be entrusted with the baggage train."
"Ashigaru?"
"Infantry."
"Eh? Infantry?"
To Ludglyph, who hesitated thinking they were the lowest of the low, Geoglyph laughed. A child who does not understand the importance of logistics would not be able to understand the importance of infantry. Well, he figured Ludglyph wouldn't be in a position to complain once the hardships to come arrived, so he let him say it for now.
"Well, just watch. I asked Father and secured the cooperation of one of the knights as an instructor. I also gave orders on how to train them. So be at ease... and please receive the training 《《together》》, okay?"
"Huh?"
And so, Ludglyph would experience hell.
●
For Ludglyph... no, for the thugs as well, that encounter was intense.
"I am Vice-Knight Commander Garderman Armey, the training instructor! Do not open your mouths unless spoken to! Say 'Sir' before and after you shit your mouths! Do you understand!? You maggots!"
A hellish training that an eight-year-old should never experience.
"If you sows can survive my training, each of you will become a warrior. A priest of death who offers prayers to war. Until that day, you are maggots! The lowest form of life in this world! You are not human! You are only worth the value of gathered amphibian shit!"
A barrage of insults that he had never been showered with as a son of a noble.
"You will hate me for being strict. But the more you hate, the more you learn. I am strict but fair. I do not tolerate racial discrimination. Humans, beastmen, demi-humans, even demons, I look down on none of them. All are equally worthless! My mission is to cull the useless! The pests of my beloved knight order! Do you understand, maggots!"
Days of repeating walking, running, climbing, and descending over and over.
"I'll adore you thoroughly! I'll make it so you can't cry or laugh! Get up, now!"
Since the use of mana was permitted, they barely kept up physically, but they still collapsed many times, and each time they were forced to stand up without mercy.
"Your daddy's semen became a stain on the sheets, and you are the scrap left in your mommy's crack! Which hole did you grow in!?"
If they missed a shot with an arrow, insults flew.
"An old man's fuck has more spirit than this!"
If they swung a sword, foul language was hammered down.
"Do you pig-girls love the knight order?"
"Lifelong loyalty! With our lives! Fighting spirit! Fighting spirit! Fighting spirit!"
"What grows the grass?"
"Hot blood! Blood! Blood!"
"What is our business, young ladies?"
"Killing! Killing! Killing!"
"What is the password of the gang!?"
"In-fight until you collapse!"
Mixed in with the thugs, Ludglyph ran. Slurping mud, shedding blood and sweat, standing up before counting to ten. Singing songs with dirty words, together with the thugs.
Already, in such an extreme situation, origin did not matter. Eating the same food, receiving the same training, being scolded with the same insults... they became comrades who shared the same heart.
After surpassing those eight weeks of hell...
"As of today, you graduate from being maggots! From today, you are members of the Fourth Knight Order, Special Organization Group, the Lotus Gang. You are bound by the bond of brothers. Until the day you drop dead, no matter where you are, a gang member is your brother. Many will head to the battlefield. Some may never return. But keep this in mind. Soldiers die. We exist to die. But soldiers are eternal. In other words... you are also eternal!"
The former thugs cried and hugged each other. Naturally, Ludglyph was among them.
The other-world 《Marine Corps》 style personality modification was useful in this world as well.
●
Ten years later, Ludglyph had become the captain of the Lotus Gang.
At eighteen, his height had grown significantly, and he was about to reach 190. He had gained plenty of muscle, a blessed physique that could be called a great man. And it was likely the result of his noble bloodline. His face was well-featured, so he was popular with women. Since his older brother Midglyph had married, Ludglyph also got engaged soon after. Actually, the partner happened to be the granddaughter of Garderman, who had conducted that hellish training.
Having assumed the position of captain at the age of fifteen upon reaching adulthood, he had recently become able to command without deficiency and had acquired a dignified air. He had enough composure to handle failures calmly without panicking, and because they were the Lotus Gang who had received the same training, the loyalty he received was high. Ludglyph trusted the gang, who moved as his literal hands and feet, from the bottom of his heart.
It was the morning of such a fulfilling daily life.
"Captain. Where to?"
"Ah, to Brother Mid's place. Earth Dragon materials were sent this morning, right? I thought I'd ask him to spare some for us if possible."
To Ludglyph, who was about to leave his seat shortly after the morning assembly, Vice-Captain Leidrich asked. He was a first-generation member of the Lotus Gang, and the man who had been the first to be knocked out by Geoglyph's dropkick in the slum tavern. At the time, he still had the innocence of a boy, but now he wore the aura of a veteran warrior with his body covered in scars.
"It seems to be Young Master Geoglyph's achievement. I'm glad he seems to be doing well."
"Doing well... well, I guess he is..."
That guy is already causing trouble in someone else's territory, Ludglyph thought with a distant look in his eyes. However, Leidrich and the other first-generation members did not seem to feel the same.
"If we hadn't met the Captain and Young Master Geoglyph that day, we would probably still be drinking in the tavern. I am grateful. Therefore, it is a joyful thing that you all are doing well."
"O-oh."
"Then, we will strive in our training as usual. All personnel, begin march!"
"This is my sword, and this is my great spear."
"This is my sword, and this is my great spear."
As the Lotus Gang began to march, carrying their drawn swords on their shoulders and grabbing their own crotches with their free hands while singing, Ludglyph suddenly wondered.
"I wonder if this was really for the best..."
It's fine because Brother's sulky personality was corrected, he felt as if he could hear the SF otaku's loud laughter.
To be continued tomorrow.