And so, while it appeared that Sanchez had been put in his place by Altair, the matter wasn’t entirely resolved.
Although Sanchez was remarkably polite around Altair and followed the instructions of the senior soldiers, he still displayed arrogance and disrespect when it came to privates and recruits.
He didn’t openly defy the privates, but he flat-out ignored the instructions of the recruits.
Since Karon had been promoted to private this month, the only recruits left besides Sanchez were Jaiden, Milphy, and Benny. None of them seemed bothered by Sanchez’s dismissive attitude.
Benny was too focused on honing her swordsmanship to care. Milphy, being the ultimate coward, never voiced any complaints. And Jaiden? That spineless weakling embodied the principle of "strong to the weak, weak to the strong." Ugh, just thinking about him makes my blood boil again.
‘So, how am I supposed to approach Sanchez about the artifact?’
At this point, the best option seemed to be leveraging Altair’s influence.
Of course, since Altair and I were close, he’d likely warn Sanchez if I asked him for help. But...
‘If I get caught asking outright about a black magic artifact, things could get ugly.’
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no clear answer.
After mulling it over for a while, I decided to kill some time with Aquila. Pointless conversations with him sometimes cleared my head.
“Aquila.”
I peered into the training field and spotted Aquila practicing.
Although the official training hours had ended, ever-diligent Aquila was still hard at work.
“Salvia.”
The moment he saw me, he lowered his sword.
Since there were no senior soldiers around, I casually stepped onto the training field and approached him.
“I have the 3 a.m. shift tonight. It sucks,” I grumbled, walking closer to him.
As I neared, I caught sight of the recruits training nearby.
‘Benny’s doing well, as usual.’
She was sparring with Milphy, though it was more of a one-sided beatdown. Before long, Milphy’s sword flew out of his hands, skittering across the ground. Milphy looked at her in awe.
“Wow, Benny. You really don’t have any openings.”
“Thank you...” Benny replied with a shy smile.
“She’s so good, isn’t she?” I commented.
“Yeah,” Aquila replied, though his tone lacked interest. I could tell just from his voice that his thoughts were elsewhere.
Following his gaze, I shifted my attention.
‘Sanchez?’
Aquila was staring at Sanchez.
To be precise, he was staring at Sanchez staring at Benny.
Sanchez, who had clearly been watching Benny and Milphy’s sparring session, had an unusual intensity in his gaze as he looked at Benny.
“Oh.”
It seemed Benny had earned Sanchez’s respect as a strong opponent. Not that Benny seemed aware of it.
Finding Sanchez’s newfound admiration for Benny amusing, I decided to stir the pot a little.
“Benny!”
“Ah, Salvia!” Benny’s face lit up as she spotted me.
“You’re working hard again today, huh?” I said, walking over to her with a cheerful smile. Placing an arm around her shoulder, I added, “I haven’t seen your sword in action in a while. Could you show me an aura blade?”
“Oh, of course! I’d be happy to!” Benny replied, her face glowing with enthusiasm.
“Show me what you’re best at.”
Eager to please, Benny gripped her sword, ready to demonstrate her skill. Meanwhile, I shot Sanchez a sly glance, enjoying the look of keen interest on his face.
In front of all of us, Benny stood still, holding her sword with both hands. She took a deep breath and then leapt gracefully into the air. As she swung her sword mid-air, an aura blade shot out.
Unlike other Arkons who produced large, singular aura blades, Benny’s style was unique—she created short, consecutive aura blades with precision and fluidity.
Without a sound, her aura blades sliced through three branches on a tree. The birds perched on the branches fluttered away, unharmed.
“Benny, that was amazing.”
“Thank you...!”
Benny’s swordsmanship was characterized by its calmness and precision. Unlike the usual approach of cutting down an entire tree with one powerful aura blade, she left the tree completely unscathed, save for the three severed branches. Even the birds sitting on them escaped unscathed.
Anyone familiar with swordsmanship would understand how difficult such precise control was.
And Sanchez, watching from a distance, had his mouth agape, utterly impressed.
‘That’s your superior, Sanchez,’ I thought, feeling a swell of pride. I’d spent a lot of time mentoring Benny in the past, so while I wasn’t as invested in her as I was in Karon, it felt like watching my own protégé shine.
As I was about to leave, satisfied, Sanchez’s deep voice called out.
“Benny.”
“Huh?”
Benny turned around, her eyes wide with surprise. She hadn’t expected Sanchez to address her.
Looking at her with a heated intensity, Sanchez said, “I have a request. Could you show me something more challenging?”
“Like what?” Benny asked.
“For instance... could you target a bird in flight?”
It seemed Sanchez wanted to see more of Benny’s abilities. I glanced at Benny, confident she could probably pull it off effortlessly.
But Benny’s response was unexpected.
“I can’t harm a bird. You shouldn’t kill an animal without reason,” she said firmly.
Her words made me feel a bit guilty. On my first day here, I’d shot at birds without a second thought.
“If that’s what you’re asking, I can’t do it. I didn’t learn to wield a sword to harm life without cause.”
Benny’s resolute tone made me feel even more ashamed.
‘Is she calling me out on purpose?’
No, Benny was too kind to do something like that intentionally...
Well, regardless, it seemed Sanchez had now recognized Benny’s strength, which was a positive development.
Considering how much Benny liked and respected me, I might even be able to ask her to help facilitate a conversation with Sanchez. I hadn’t expected things to unfold this way, but it was worth a shot.
In the end, it wasn’t the male leads who tamed Sanchez—it was Benny.
‘I’ll deduct five points from each of the male leads’ protagonist power.’
Not that any of them had a positive score to begin with.
***
“Miss Benny, let me handle that.”
“Miss Benny, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Miss Benny, what is that?”
Just as I had predicted, after witnessing Benny’s aura blade, Sanchez began following her around tirelessly.
He was even more polite to Benny than he was to Altair, and although Benny seemed slightly overwhelmed by his attention, she didn’t outright reject his presence.
‘Perfect. Everything’s going according to plan.’
I watched them with a satisfied smile.
Ever since Sanchez started trailing after Benny, he became polite to all his seniors.
Perhaps it was because Benny liked me the most, but Sanchez was also exceptionally courteous to me. So much so that Karon, seeing this, would grumble and claim that all the tasks I assigned Sanchez were “his responsibility.”
‘...Now that I think about it, that’s kind of a weird statement.’
Anyway, with Sanchez now firmly integrated into the group, Alpha Platoon regained its peace. A truly wonderful outcome.
“Benny, you seem to be getting along well with your junior lately,” I said casually, taking advantage of Yuri’s absence from the barracks.
At my comment, Benny’s face flushed bright red.
‘...Wait, is this turning into a romance subplot?’
My mind raced.
I’d always thought Sanchez’s role was to serve as a benchmark for the male leads’ strength. But clearly, my expectations for this romance-fantasy progression were already off.
‘...Could it be that Sanchez is actually part of Benny’s romantic storyline?’
Damn, this is why I keep reminding myself not to assume the entire story revolves around me. Just because I got reincarnated here doesn’t mean I’m the center of everything.
It made sense, though. Sanchez seemed to be developing a romance arc with Benny—a strong woman he uniquely recognized as different from all others. A typical “You’re not like other girls” trope. Of course, as I’ve said before, every girl is unique; it’s just that the male leads never seem to realize it.
Looking back, Benny did have a lot of traits typical of a heroine: a genius swordsman, strong backing, hidden strength, gentle yet tough personality, and an innocent, endearing appearance.
Damn it, this really was the setup.
I decided I wouldn’t be surprised if Benny eventually confessed she’d fallen for Sanchez. In fact, I’d be amused if she came to me first to share the news.
“Thanks to you, Miss Salvia, we’re getting along well...” Benny said, her face still red as she looked at me.
‘...Why is her face still red?’
It seemed more and more likely that this was turning into a romance arc between her and Sanchez.
‘Wait, something feels off about what she just said.’
I had absolutely nothing to do with Benny and Sanchez getting along.
“Sanchez respects you because of your skills, Benny. He sees you as a strong warrior,” I said.
But Benny shook her head, her voice barely audible.
“No, it’s because of you, Miss Salvia. You always speak so kindly of me...”
This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.
***
“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” Benny asked Sanchez.
They were in the laundry area, where Sanchez was vigorously scrubbing a shirt, having insisted on doing all the work himself. Given his strength, it looked like he’d finish quickly, but just a few days ago, he wouldn’t have even glanced at the laundry. Now, he was trailing Benny everywhere, and she couldn’t figure out why.
“It’s because you’re strong, Miss Benny,” Sanchez replied, his gray eyes meeting hers.
Benny’s confusion only deepened.
‘Aquila is strong, and Winter is strong too. If he’s seen my swordsmanship, surely he’s seen Aquila’s as well...’
But Sanchez only followed Benny, leaving her at a loss.
“Why are you only following me?” she asked.
His response was firm and resolute.
“Of all the people I’ve met, you are the strongest.”
“That can’t be... Sir Winter, Sir Aquila...”
“I’m talking about inner strength.”
At that, Benny fell silent and listened as Sanchez continued.
“I’ve met many people who wield swords without purpose. But you, Miss Benny, have a clear reason for why you fight. That’s why I want to be like you.”
Sanchez recalled the words Benny had spoken not long ago.
“I won’t grant that request. I didn’t learn to wield a sword to take lives needlessly.”
Hearing those words had completely changed his view of her.
There were a few people Sanchez acknowledged as strong in this platoon—Winter, Aquila, and, of course, Altair. Altair was undeniably powerful.
But among them, Benny stood out.
‘She’s incredible.’
Before enlisting, Sanchez had worked as a blacksmith’s apprentice, learning the use of various weapons from mercenaries.
To them, swords were merely tools—a means to an end.
But Benny treated her sword as a part of her life. For her, it wasn’t just a weapon or a tool.
Her words had deeply moved Sanchez, making him feel ashamed of his past self. He now wanted to learn what “true strength” meant from Benny.
And so, he decided to regard Benny as his mentor.