Chapter 73: A Little Brother

Elinox Holmes had grown up with more connections available to her than almost anyone standing at the station. Her family name belonged to one of the great ducal houses of Olmost, and she could have spent much of her childhood surrounded by tutors who would have prepared a comfortable path into military command.

She had refused to let that path carry her.

Her childhood had instead been filled with Mana training, weapons instruction, physical conditioning, tactical studies, repeated examinations, field exercises, and years of work that continued long after instructors stopped expecting her to keep going. Every promotion she received had come with enough scrutiny that using her family to obtain even one of them would have followed her for the rest of her career.

At eighteen, she had become the youngest High General in Olmost.

Of course, Zishan knew none of that.

He only stared at her and thought she sounded strangely angry about nepotism for some reason. ’This girl is good! I approve!’

Elinox returned her attention to him. "You earned the opportunity. Whether you continue earning the rank afterward will depend on you."

Zishan considered her words for a moment before another question pushed everything else aside.

"Does a Captain pay more?" he suddenly asked, his eyes sparkling.

Commander Holtz closed his eyes, while somebody behind the Lieutenant coughed into his hand as if trying to hide a reaction. Even Elinox took a moment before answering him.

"Yes," she eventually answered.

Zishan nodded with complete seriousness. "Then, I wholeheartedly accept. Nothing beats a Jet2holi—I mean... nothing beats the power of motivation!"

Corporal Tagum rubbed his forehead. He truly couldn’t read the mind of this young man.

The Senior Soldier who had objected looked as if that answer had confirmed every complaint he had ever wanted to make about Zishan’s personality.

Elinox continued before anyone could restart the argument. "Your appointment can be entered into the field registry here, though your official Captain’s insignia will have to be issued in the capital."

Zishan looked down at the simple military insignia attached to his uniform. "Why can’t they just change this one?"

"Because a Captain’s insignia isn’t simply a piece of metal," she replied.

Zishan waited for an explanation.

As though she had read his mind, Elinox reached toward the insignia on her own uniform and said, "Officer insignias issued through central command are military artifacts. Magic Engineers construct the internal pathways using Artifice Mana Affinity and refined Magic Stones."

Zishan’s eyes sharpened at the familiar term. ’Artifice.’

He remembered the Magic Cube and the explanation he had received during his interrogation. Metal Mana Affinity affected the material itself. Artifice dealt with how constructed things worked together.

Elinox continued, "The insignia stores a limited amount of Mana and maintains a recovery lattice around its registered owner. It does not replace Mana Recovery Potions, though while you’re resting, it can help your Mana channels draw and circulate ambient Mana more efficiently."

Zishan stared at her insignia. "How much faster?"

"That depends on the quality of the insignia, your own Mana Capacity, and the environment," she said, not looking away from him.

His attention remained fixed on it.

Elinox lowered her hand. "Do not try to take mine."

"I wasn’t going to, though... stingy..." Zishan’s mouth twitched.

Elinox looked at him in a daze. Nobody had spoken to her like that since the day she was born. Now, a random young man actually dared to talk to her without reservations or regard for her status. It was something new, and she... she didn’t seem to hate it. Unlike some young nobles who tried to cozy up to her or make her feel good by giving her gifts and all... Zishan was quite different and endearing for some reason.

Commander Holtz looked at him.

Zishan became offended. "Why does everyone think I’m going to steal things?"

Corporal Tagum’s stare moved toward him.

Zishan remembered the medical station’s Mana Recovery Potions. "Borrow things."

The Corporal looked away before his patience suffered another injury.

Elinox continued explaining that the recovery function was only one part of an officer’s insignia. The artifact also carried identification engravings linked to military records and command permissions, making it much harder for an enemy to simply kill an officer, take the insignia, and use it as proof of authority.

Only a limited number of Magic Engineers were trusted to create them. The best of these engineers worked in the capital.

Zishan liked the sound of the capital more with every passing second. "So, I have to go there?"

"You were going there regardless," Elinox replied. "You’ve already seen more combat than someone this new to the military ordinarily would. Your body needs rest, your appointment needs to be registered properly, and there are people in the capital who will want to evaluate what happened here."

That last part sounded less pleasant.

Although Zishan ignored it for now, he took note of it in his head.

Commander Holtz added, "You’ll also receive formal orientation there. You have gaps in your knowledge that are becoming increasingly difficult to overlook."

"That’s insulting. It’s basically saying I’m an ignorant young man who did not go to school even once."

"You asked me whether every Kingdom had the same military ranks," Commander Holtz argued. "That screams nothing but ignorance."

"That’s a reasonable question!" he protested, puckering his lips.

"It wasn’t the only question you asked," the Commander replied in a flat tone.

Zishan decided not to continue because the Commander possessed too much evidence.

Elinox’s lips moved slightly before she continued. "The capital will also give you a better idea of what Cyrune looks like outside a battlefield. Your reports mention gaps in your memory, so seeing more of the world yourself may help. Humans aren’t the only race you’ll encounter there either."

Zishan’s attention returned at once.

He had been told enough by now to understand that other races existed, though most of his actual encounters since arriving in this world had involved Humans and Magic Beasts trying to kill each other.

"The capital has a lot of them?"

"Enough that you won’t be asking that question after you’ve spent a few days there," she said, nodding.

That sounded promising.

Then, Zishan remembered someone.

He turned his head and found Ollie helping two soldiers carry a smaller supply crate toward the transport area. The boy had survived another battle that should never have involved someone his age, and the sight pulled Zishan’s thoughts away from the capital almost at once.

"High General," he called. "May I ask something?"

Elinox followed his gaze. "You may do so."

"Can I register someone as my little brother?"

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Author’s Note: Be one of the Privilege readers and purchase at least the 1st Tier of this novel. Help me reach at least the Top 10 of the New Privilege Ranking by the end of this month (September 2026). I will mass-release Chapters if we reach this goal! It would help me grow as an author as well. I would like some golden tickets also, pretty please (practically begging). Or super giftsss! Hahaha! That would motivate me to write more and release more Chapters than I already do.

Regardless, thank you so much for reading until this Chapter. I appreciate you all a lot. Lovelots!