Resting his head on one arm with an irritated expression, he scrutinized the new recruits one by one.

  "I expected you here much earlier!"

  At those words, everyone flinched slightly.

  Were they about to face punishment from the commander?

  "You should have shown up much earlier and freed me from that guy!"

  They sighed in relief.

  But wait—who was he talking about?

  The person who had left the room just before they entered? Were they supposed to save him from that tedious conversation, even though they had no idea what had transpired?

  "Just barges in here and chews MY ear off. Ugh. I have much better things to do than sit here for hours listening to the rambling of that idiot. Just because some minister sent him, he thinks he's something special!"

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  He was genuinely annoyed—everyone was thinking the same thing at that moment.

  At the same time, none of them knew how to respond. Was their new commander just a lazy bastard?

  The man stood up.

  Once again, the recruits flinched.

  "Well, whatever. Ugh. I suppose I shouldn’t judge you too harshly... not yet, anyway. That’s why I’m going to give you an important first piece of advice if you want to serve under me!"

  They listened closely.

  "My doors are always open. Even if the Emperor himself stands in my office—if you can save me from this kind of nonsense, I’ll forgive you!" he said, wearing an unexpectedly serious expression.

  At that moment, they all came to the same conclusion: he was indeed just lazy. He simply wanted to avoid work and be left in peace.

  None of them knew what to say in response—except San.

  "Understood, sir!" he replied, slightly hesitantly.

  Funo noticed this.

  It seemed he had been waiting for someone to respond, and although only one recruit had done so, he was satisfied.

  He turned his back to them and gazed calmly out the window.

  After a while, he spoke again.

  "Even if it doesn’t look like it, we’ve got quite a lot on our plate right now. A troublesome incident is disrupting the peace of my beautiful city. You’ll be helping to ‘resolve’ it as well. But for now, you’re dismissed. Settle into the barracks and do whatever you like. Stay on the grounds or explore the city. Tomorrow, you’ll receive your first missions. And now... dismissed!"

  "Understood!" they replied in unison before leaving the office.

  None of them said a word until they were back in the barracks.