After studying the flushed faces of the teenagers, Grey nodded in satisfaction. Judging by the color of their skin, the minor potions were working effectively. Even though they still looked like a pack of stray dogs, at least they no longer seemed as if they were about to collapse dead at any moment.
Clearing his throat and clasping his hands behind his back, Grey began to speak.
"Although I already promised that the first competition will take place in a week, the same does not apply to tests..."
"You will run from the estate all the way to the tallest sequoia growing in the direction of the city. You need to find one of its branches before returning. The distance isn't that great. Only six kilometers. I'm sure you'll manage."
Tense breathing spread through the formation.
"Although this isn't a competition," Grey continued, "there will still be rewards and punishments. The three fastest will receive an extra serving at lunch. And that's not all. The three slowest will become their full-fledged servants for one day, and can be ordered to do any kind of work."
The teenagers swallowed nervously.
"Aileen, Irene, and Hope won't participate. They're too young. They only need to run to the sequoia. The last three will carry them back."
Everyone couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. The distance was not small at all. The last three, who would already have it the hardest, would most likely be completely exhausted before they even finished the run.
Grey knew exactly how to squeeze every last drop out of them. He was a true tyrant. They already found themselves missing the days when he had been absent and Sunny had been the one giving orders.
"I want to say a few more words. Although I won't give you the exact time limit, it certainly exists in my heart. Anyone who fails to make it should get out of this estate. I have no intention of keeping trash here."
He stepped aside and added as if it had just occurred to him:
"Oh, right. Today's menu includes delicious eggs. I even bought some salt to celebrate your success. So do your best."
The teenagers swallowed again, but this time it was saliva.
"On your marks. Get set. Go."
The moment the command rang out, they shot forward as if cultists were chasing them once again.
Grey silently watched their backs.
'A bunch of degenerates. They don't even understand what it means to maintain formation. If they adjusted their pace and ran together, it would make things much easier for them. But no. Every one of them is blowing his own horn. What could they possibly know about air resistance?'
Grey had never been a soldier and had never served in the military, but he was familiar with military discipline. Having graduated from high school in a country with a socialist system, he had a fairly clear understanding of the basic principles of collective work and knew how to apply them in practice.
'Then again, this is even better. A lesson paid for with suffering tends to stick far more firmly. Although...'
"ACHILLES!" he shouted. "Stay where you are. Come here."
The runners turned around and cast strange looks at Grey, but not one of them dared to stop. They immediately continued running.
Achilles was the most capable among them, and the fact that he had been held back gave the others a slight head start. Even if it seemed somewhat unfair, no one dared to complain. In the end, Grey was in charge. He fed them and covered all their expenses. No matter how unreasonable his actions might appear, arguing with him was pointless.
Achilles walked over with a slight frown.
"What is it? You want to give the others a head start? Actually, it's not a bad idea. It'll give me even more motivation. Besides, it'll make the competition fairer."
Grey shook his head.
"You've misunderstood. Since you refused to become my subordinate, I can't treat you the same way I treat everyone else. That wouldn't be fair."
He looked him straight in the eyes.
"You're not participating in this test."
Achilles wanted to object and say that it was fine. Since he was living under Grey's roof, he should follow the same rules as everyone else. He was familiar with training. He even enjoyed it. So he wouldn't have complained if someone else had been in charge of his schedule.
However, Grey didn't allow him to say a single word. Casually draping an arm around the boy's shoulders, he pulled him closer.
"In that case, I want to ask you for a favor. As a friend, not as a subordinate. Will you grant my request?"
Achilles looked at him strangely, as if he couldn't quite believe such outrageous nonsense, but he didn't argue and simply nodded.
"Go ahead."
Grey leaned closer and whispered a few words into his ear. A chill ran down Achilles's spine at what he heard.
"..."
"I understand," he replied quietly. "I'll do everything I can. But are you sure? I feel like this is... wrong."
Grey nodded.
"Fine. This time, I'll trust you," Achilles answered with a helpless sigh before hurrying off to catch up with the others.
===========
Today had been a difficult day.
Josh woke up just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Yesterday's speech had affected him deeply. Even now, he still felt as though his blood was boiling.
Ever since childhood, people had treated him like dirt. He was the youngest child in the family of an ordinary serf. Seven older brothers, all sturdy, healthy, and strong... unlike him. He had been weak and sickly. His father had never considered him his own son, blaming his mother for having conceived him with another man.
Josh had poor eyesight.
The world around him always appeared blurred, as if hidden beneath murky water. Every task was difficult for him and quickly turned into torture. His mother constantly scolded him, his father beat him for the slightest mistake, and his brothers never missed a chance to laugh at him.
Three months ago, his mother died. A strange death, to be sure. That evening, she had served dinner as usual, and by morning, she simply never woke up.
After that, everything became worse.
First his father fell ill, then his brothers, one after another. Weakness overtook their bodies, and red spots spread across their skin. Only Josh remained healthy.
He began taking care of them. He cooked meals, changed their damp bandages, and fed them by spoonfuls. He did it clumsily and slowly, often spilling things, but he kept going back to it again and again. Although his family complained, he knew they needed it, so he did everything he could.
Perhaps grief would bring them closer...
It continued like that for a week.
Then, on Sunday evening, when the sun was already sinking toward the horizon, a man in a black cloak came to their house. He spoke calmly and confidently. He said he could cure the entire family. In return, he asked for only one thing: to take Josh away with him.
His father agreed immediately, as though he had been waiting his whole life for such a profitable offer. He did not even ask any questions. Josh remembered little of what followed. All he remembered was the ingratiating look in his father's eyes.
His brothers stayed silent as well. No one argued. No one shouted. Everything happened far too easily.
Only, that man turned out to be a member of the Merciful Flame's Cult. Josh had been taken as a sacrifice, and inside, there had been only emptiness. Not fear. Not anger. Emptiness. He neither cried nor resisted. He simply walked forward and waited for the end that had been prepared for him.
But for some reason, he didn't die.
Then came the hunger.
He and fourteen other ragged children hid from their pursuers in a half-ruined hut. It was always cold there, and the air smelled of mold. There was nothing left to hope for.
Achilles was a good leader. He tried. He did everything he could. But he wasn't all-powerful.
And Josh had already stopped hoping for anything.
And then a strange boy named Grey appeared.
Everything changed so quickly that he couldn't keep track of it all.
Josh knew that Grey was a cripple. Someone even more useless than himself. Yet at the same time, he was different. There was a strange sense of superiority and detachment about him, as though he didn't consider this world worthy of his attention. It was both captivating and frightening.
One moment, he was eating. The next, he was drinking medicine. He had only just woken up, and now he was already standing in a straight line, shouting "NO!" at the top of his lungs along with the other teenagers.
Grey didn't divide them into groups. He didn't treat anyone better than the others. To him, they were all equal. To him, they were all trash.
And Josh didn't want to be trash. He desperately didn't want to be.
And Grey had given them a chance. A chance to prove themselves, to become stronger, to live in relative safety.
Josh swore to himself that he would do everything he could. He would no longer remain the weakest one. He didn't want to repeat the same mistake and become a burden, the kind people discarded first.
So he ran.
He ran as fast as he could.
After only a few kilometers, his body began to feel as heavy as lead. Running turned out to be far harder than working in the fields. Back there, he could stop, straighten his back, and catch his breath. Here, he couldn't. Still, gritting his teeth, he maintained a steady pace.
After all, the commander had said there would be eggs for lunch. Josh couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten something so delicious.
Everyone else shared his excitement completely, so they pushed themselves to the limit through clenched teeth.
Even so, Josh had his doubts. Could these strange exercises really make him stronger? Why learn how to run when strength meant weapons and strikes? What use was it to the commander if they could run fast? So they could learn how to flee the battlefield? If not for the strict order, he would have started arguing long ago. But the temptation of eggs was simply too great.
He reached the pine tree, but arrived last. Even the three girls they had been ordered to carry back had not fallen far behind him.
Waiting for them beneath the tree were the two temporary commanders, Sunny and Reus.
'How is that possible? Are those two really weaker than everyone else? I don't believe it! I don't know much about Sunny... but Reus is one of the strongest in the group. He was our savior, alongside Achilles. Then why did they stay behind? Don't they want to eat eggs? Don't they want to obey?'
'Oh, right... the girls... I think they're Sunny's sisters. But what about Reus?'
Josh understood very little and decided not to dwell on it. He picked up the first branch he could find and waited for the girls. He had to catch his breath. At least a little. Otherwise, he would collapse the very moment they started back.
He was still the weakest.
But that was fine. The important thing was making it back in time. He wasn't hoping for an extra serving. Simply avoiding expulsion would already be an achievement.
Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Sunny.
"Don't worry. The boss is a reasonable person. He wouldn't throw us out over a slight delay."
"Mmm," Josh nodded. "But why is Reus with us? I thought he was the fastest among us."
Sunny chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
"Well... that's my fault. I just worry too much. The forest isn't exactly a safe place. When we were searching for the estate, a panther attacked us, and we barely survived. As for weapons, only Reus and Achilles have anything worthwhile. Achilles isn't here, so I asked Reus to stay behind. He agreed."
A chill ran down Josh's spine. Perhaps Grey wasn't the most thoughtful leader after all.
"Aren't you afraid of being expelled?" he asked almost automatically.
"Not really. Unlike all of you, I'm following the boss of my own free will. He knows my goal is to protect Aileen and Irene. So I doubt he'll blame me for it. Well... I'll eat a little less. What a tragedy... Compared to the life of a city rat, it's still better."
Josh felt as though Sunny had reached some kind of enlightenment, but he asked nothing more. The girls caught up to them, and they began running back.
It was so hard. He didn't even know who he was carrying. His breathing had fallen into disarray. Pain twisted through his stomach. His vision blurred even further. All he could see was the black dot ahead that he had to chase. It felt as though he were dying slowly.
He stumbled several times. Several times he rolled through the mud with the girl on his back. But each time, someone helped him back to his feet. Sometimes it was Reus. Sometimes Sunny. Sometimes it was the girl herself, stubbornly clinging to his shirt.
They patted him on the shoulder. Encouraged him. They didn't rush him.
Josh wanted to cry.
At that moment, he felt that he belonged.
At that moment, he was no longer running for eggs.