Although 'The Emperor' allowed Lancer to continue staying in the guest room of the palace, Lancer actually moved from the palace to the barracks after he decided to join the Imperial Guards.
Although 'The Emperor' tried to make him stay many times during this period, Lancer politely declined. After all, a person with a normal brain would not take someone else's gratitude as a command token. You have to know that no matter how much gratitude there is, it will fade with time. Instead of keeping this meaningless 'gift', it's better to use it to get another wave of favorability.
Lancer didn't know if he had achieved his goal, but he knew that his choice must be correct.
On the other hand, Lancer originally thought that joining the Imperial Guards would be more troublesome. After all, it was said that everyone in the Imperial Guards either was promoted from the lower ranks of the army or was a famous expert who was directly recruited. Someone like Lancer, who had no reputation and was directly parachuted in, would probably be disliked, but that was not the case.
The news of Lancer killing several Dangerous Beasts alone without using a 'Teigu' or 'Shingu' had already spread throughout the Imperial Guards through the mouths of the several Imperial Guard captains who were in charge of protecting the emperor. And there was no doubt that in the army, as long as you are not the kind of person with an annoying personality, strength will earn you respect.
So, when Lancer joined the 'Imperial Guards', he did not face any difficulties from anyone. It could be said to be extremely smooth.
Time passed, and it had been almost a month since Lancer joined the Imperial Guards. At this moment, Budo was standing outside the training ground, his hands crossed over his chest, looking at the people below with a serious expression. No one knew what he was thinking.
But his gaze would occasionally sweep over Lancer position, as Lancer was simply too 'ordinary' at this time.
That's right, just ordinary.
The standard equipment for the Imperial Guards was a lance, a sword and shield, or a bow and arrow. There was no doubt that Lancer had joined the lance squad, but during the initial drills, Lancer was simply too 'conspicuous'. In a neat formation, an discordant element always attracts everyone's attention.
It's not that Lancer strength was poor; it was just that he had never joined an 'army' and didn't understand military formations. This resulted in him being unable to cooperate with others. Even if Lancer movements were very standard, they gave off a sense of disharmony. For this, Budo had specifically sought out Lancer.
There was no doubt that Lancer strength was definitely not inferior to that of those squad leaders, or even company commanders, but if he hadn't gone through the rigorous training of the army, it was impossible for him to 'promote' the other party. This was his rule!
So he gave Lancer a requirement: as long as you can integrate into this army, I will allow you to be promoted.
After all, he also knew that it was a waste for Lancer to be a regular soldier, but he originally thought that Lancer would need to spend more time. But he didn't expect that in just half a month, he had gradually integrated into the Imperial Guards...
Why was this? It's simple. Because at first, Lancer had a sense of resistance toward the so-called 'Imperial Guards'. After all, who said 'Night Raid' was the protagonist?
But after a period of contact, Lancer discovered that the so-called Imperial Guards were just a group of ordinary people. They had no political leanings at all; they were just fanatical fans of General Budo.
That's right, just like General Budo crazy loyalty, the soldiers of the Imperial Guards also had a strange fanaticism for General Budo. In Lancer words, they were 'a group of people with no opinions of their own'.
Maybe in the 'future', they would become executioners, but at least for now, they were just a group of ordinary soldiers who maintained the peace of the empire. So, what was there to resist?
Once he got past that mental hurdle, with Lancer talent for the 'spear' as a weapon, it was still very simple to integrate into the basic spear formation.
In the end, Lancer was promoted to a squad leader of the Imperial Guards without a doubt.
Although the Imperial Guards were more strictly managed than other armies because of General Budo, Budo, despite being strict, was not without humanity. He was fair in his rewards and punishments for his subordinates and naturally understood the importance of balancing work and rest. So, the soldiers of the Imperial Guards had a long vacation. And Lancer and the other 'captains' could naturally leave their station under reasonable circumstances, such as going for a drink tonight to celebrate Lancer promotion.
Lancer had participated in many such 'social' banquets before in the CCG, and he naturally wouldn't refuse. No matter what, he had to blend in with the Imperial Guards for a while.
However, when the topic of 'what to do after drinking' came up, the group of people around Lancer suddenly showed strange expressions.
"I know a new place. There's a discount recently, and they have all new merchandise."
"Tsk~ What's the point of new merchandise? They don't know anything. What can you do besides wasting physical strength? You also have to be careful. Hmph!"
"Do you think everyone is like you? Never mind, go find your old flame."
"Lieutenant Lancer, what do you think?"
What do I think? I'll stand here and think! You're asking me, but how should I know?
If Lancer didn't understand at first, then as they continued talking, he knew what the group of middle-aged men around him, who were on average five or six years older than him, were talking about.
"Ahem, sorry, I don't really know much about that."
As soon as Lancer finished speaking, a person who was about the same age as Lancer eyes immediately lit up!
"I didn't expect Brother Lancer to still be a 'virgin'~ It's okay~ It's okay~ I'll treat you to celebrate!"
"Uh... that's not really appropriate, is it?"
As a good young man who grew up in the new century, Lancer naturally opposed such things, but as the saying goes, 'the mouth says no but the body is honest'. Although he said no, he didn't push away the hand that was on his shoulder.
The people around them naturally didn't call out Lancer 'tsundere' behavior. Instead, they all showed strange expressions as they looked at him, but even so, they still laughed and led Lancer out of the barracks and toward the slums...
However, during this time, there was a disagreement about which store to take Lancer to. The older captain thought he should take Lancer to the store he frequented. According to him, 'whether it's a man's or a woman's first time, it should be with an experienced person'. As for the other person's view, it was 'the girls in the store are all trained, so the difference won't be too big. A young man naturally needs to be enterprising and explore a world that belongs to himself!'
Although the latter's words seemed more provocative, Lancer always felt that the expression on this guy's face when he spoke was simply too lewd! And then, Lancer didn't know why, but he felt that what the other person said seemed to make a lot of sense?