The New Vice-Captain of the 3rd Unit – 1
The next day, I casually called out to my squadmates:
"I'm heading out!"
Their lighthearted responses came back just as quickly.
"Oh, okay. See you at training later."
"Jin, don't be late for outer arts practice."
"Seonu Gongja, you're leaving now? You'd better bring back a gift when you return!"
"…Yeah, that's not happening."
I was on my way to move into the 3rd Unit's quarters.
Calling it "moving" was almost laughable—my entire luggage amounted to a single pack with a sword and a few sets of clothes. I looked more like I was stepping out for a stroll than relocating.
But my mood wasn't nearly so light.
In both of my previous lives, my quarters on the front lines had always been with the 7th Unit.
So this was the very first time I'd ever moved to another place.
A strange restlessness stirred inside me.
Still, the squad's easy, casual farewells warmed me.
Thanks to them, my mood eased, as though I really were just stepping out for a short trip and would be right back soon.
Chuckling at the thought, I stepped outside—only to find someone unexpected waiting.
"Lady Tang?"
It was Dang Yeoun, captain of the 3rd Unit, standing outside the 7th Unit's quarters.
She must have been waiting for me.
I'd sensed someone outside, but I never would've guessed it was her.
She gave me a shy smile.
"I thought you might need help… but then…"
Her eyes landed on my tiny pack and single sword, and her expression grew sheepish.
With so little luggage, there was nothing to help with.
I hurried to reassure her.
"Still, thank you for coming, Lady Tang."
"N-no, it's only right…"
And then, silence. We both stood there, eyes shifting awkwardly, unable to find words.
At last, I forced something out.
"Shall we go, then?"
"Ah, y-yes, let's."
And so we walked together in silence.
The air between us was… stiflingly awkward.
I felt I ought to say something, but my mind was utterly blank.
Strange. I can talk easily even in front of Lady Na now—so why am I tongue-tied again?
Just then, Lady Tang spoke first, carefully.
"I… I'm sorry."
"Hm? For what?"
What could she possibly need to apologize to me for?
When I gave her a puzzled look, she lowered her head, unable to meet my eyes.
"For making the request to bring you in as vice-captain of the 3rd Unit without asking for your opinion first…"
"Ahh."
Now I understood.
It really had been rather abrupt.
I nodded knowingly, but she rushed on.
"It was just—Captain Jeo Wonyoung suddenly blurted out that you and Lady Hae Cheongyeon were already at the Absolute Peak. The moment that was said, people started suggesting you be sent as a captain to another division. So I had no choice but to make the request right then… I was going to explain it to you afterward, but then I was sent out on patrol, and when I returned, you were already gone…"
She rambled nervously, still unable to look me in the eye.
Listening, I understood perfectly how the situation had played out. It wasn't really her fault.
And somehow, the way she hunched apologetically before me struck me as… cute.
Everyone else knew her only as cold and aloof. But this side of her—was it really something only I knew? The thought pleased me strangely.
I smiled.
"There's no need to apologize. I know you had no time to explain. And really, if you think about it—you prevented me from being sent off to some other Dragon Battalion altogether. Shouldn't I be thanking you instead?"
At that, her tense expression softened into a small, shy smile.
Clearly, it had been weighing on her.
She was both beautiful and endearing.
Relaxed now, she brought up another topic.
"Oh, and I heard you defeated the Iron Ghosts at Naga-jang?"
"Ah, that? Yes, I ran into two of them."
"What?! Two at once?! How did you—?"
"Well, at that time I—"
And so, chatting more easily, we made our way to the 3rd Unit's quarters.
When we arrived, all nine squad members were gathered outside, clearly waiting for us.
Seven men and two women—it seemed they intended to hold a kind of welcome ceremony.
I walked forward with Lady Tang, keeping my face calm.
Among them, I noticed one familiar face—Song Yeongyeong, who had been following me around for some time. She gave me an energetic wave.
Hmph. At least one person's happy to see me.
But as I swept my gaze over the others, I realized—none of the rest are.
Though they'd all come out for the welcome, the only one truly smiling was Lady Song.
The others—especially the men—wore expressions as sharp as blades, glaring at me as if they meant to devour me whole.
Then Lady Tang turned to address them, her expression now completely different—cold, like carved ice.
"You all know already, but starting today, Seonu Jin, formerly of the 7th Unit, will serve as vice-captain of our 3rd Unit. Give him your welcome."
The 3rd Unit members clapped.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The most perfunctory applause imaginable.
But my attention wasn't on their glares or their mock applause.
It was on Lady Tang.
The warmth I had seen earlier was gone—replaced by a frigid, aloof beauty that radiated pure chill.
The change was so extreme it felt like transformation.
It was… fascinating.
Then she turned to me.
"Vice-Captain Seonu Jin, please say a few words to the squad."
I chuckled softly at her icy tone and spoke lightly.
"I'm Seonu Jin, your new vice-captain. I still lack in many ways, but I hope that with everyone's—"
A mutter interrupted me.
"Well, at least he admits he's lacking."
It came from the man on the far left.
Spoken loudly enough for all to hear.
When I looked at him, another man sneered and added:
"Lacking? That's just an act. If he truly thought he was lacking, would he dare come here?"
I stared at them in disbelief.
But it wasn't just those two—the rest of the men chuckled meanly, clearly enjoying it.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
I hadn't expected a warm welcome, but this was blatant hostility beyond what I imagined.
I was about to step forward myself when—
Lady Tang erupted with a surge of killing intent.
Whoooosh!
With an icy glare that could freeze the air itself, she snapped:
"Kang Gongja. Mok Gongja. Just what do you think you're doing?"
The New Vice-Captain of the 3rd Unit – 2
At Lady Tang's surge of overwhelming aura, the members of the 3rd Unit immediately dropped their smirks and stood rigid at attention.
Even the two who had mocked me earlier froze in place.
But Lady Tang clearly had no intention of stopping there.
Her voice cracked like frost-laden thunder.
"Kang So-cheol! Mok Gyeong-jin! Did you not hear me?!"
At her sharp rebuke, the two stiffened and stammered out responses.
"Y-yes, Captain!"
"Y-yes! W-we were only—!"
But she cut off their excuses cold, stepping forward and raising her voice.
"Seonu Gongja was talent enough to be considered for captaincy in another Dragon Battalion! And yet, by my request, he agreed to come here as our vice-captain! And you dare greet him with such insolence at first meeting?! Do you mean to disgrace me before my new vice-captain?!"
At her icy words and crushing presence, both men turned pale.
They shouted hastily:
"N-no, Captain! That was not our intent!"
"That's right! We never meant such a thing!"
She glared at them a moment longer before lowering her voice again.
"Not your intent? Then what was your intent? What foolish thought possessed you to act in such disgraceful fashion?"
Her voice was quieter now, and she had switched back to honorific speech—but coupled with her frigid aura, it felt like a cutting winter gale.
Even I, only watching from the side, felt its sting. How much worse must it have been for those two men standing under its weight?
They trembled, then shouted loudly:
"We apologize, Captain!"
"It will never happen again, Captain!"
But Lady Tang shook her head.
"Apologies should not be directed at me, but at the one you wronged. Isn't that so?"
The two ground their teeth, then turned toward me.
"Forgive us, Vice-Captain!"
"We beg pardon for our insolence!"
Inside, I whistled in admiration.
Wheeeew! Impressive.
Her aura and command over them were nothing short of formidable.
The smiling young woman who had blushed earlier was nowhere to be seen; it was hard to believe the two sides belonged to the same person.
I couldn't help thinking:
Even if I went around telling people she's actually a wounded, shy young woman inside, who'd ever believe me after seeing this? She looks like a completely different person.
At that moment, someone was approaching rapidly from the forest.
Sensing the presence before anyone else, I turned—and soon a man came leaping into view along the branches.
I recognized him instantly.
"Captain Jeo Wonyoung?"
It was the newly appointed captain of the 4th Unit, the Sword-Treading Hero Jeo Wonyoung.
He landed beside us with a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! What's this? A little initiation ceremony for Brother Seonu 's vice-captaincy?"
After clasping my hand in greeting, he turned to Lady Tang, whose expression was still cold.
"You look even icier than usual today. Best not to spoil the mood, so I'll be quick—Deputy Commander asked me to tell you to report to headquarters. Seems an urgent letter arrived from your clan."
Her eyes flickered.
"From my clan? For what reason?"
Her clan… the Sichuan Tang Clan.
"No idea. I was only told to deliver the message. Anyway, message delivered."
With a grin at me, he leapt away again, vanishing into the trees as energetically as he'd arrived.
He always seemed so cheerful—watching him, I couldn't help but think: If he ages, will he become like Sword Saint Elder someday?
Glancing at Lady Tang, I saw her brow furrowed in thought. Clearly, a summons from her clan wasn't something that happened often.
I smiled lightly and told her:
"Lady Tang, you should go. The introductions here are more than enough."
"But…"
"I'll be fine. It sounds urgent—you should hurry."
At my insistence, she finally sighed, then turned back to the squad.
"Let me be clear one last time—insulting the vice-captain is the same as insulting me. I will not tolerate it again."
"Yes, Captain!"
With that, she leapt into the air and sped off toward the 13th Battalion headquarters.
When she was gone far enough, I grinned and turned to the squad.
"Well then, shall we have a little time just between men?"
The male squad members, who had been about to disperse, stared at me like I'd just spoken nonsense.
"What did you say?"
I flashed them a broad smile.
"We're warriors, aren't we? What's the point of a welcome if it's all words? I'm bored out of my mind just talking. Aren't you? Or is it… you're too scared to do anything else?"
At my taunt, their eyes grew sharp and dangerous.
The one who'd mocked me first bared his teeth.
"You'll regret that."
I chuckled.
"Will I? Then again, maybe I shouldn't go too hard on you your first day. After all, what can you expect from cowards who are too afraid to even step forward and fight?"
That did it—their eyes flared with fury, and they began to advance on me.
"You bastard!"
"We'll make you eat those words!"
"You'll soon learn why you were stuck in the 7th Unit while we're the 3rd!"
Exactly the reaction I wanted.
I smiled in satisfaction and beckoned them closer with a finger.
"Good. Come on, then. Just be ready—it's going to hurt."
In my past life, Captain Seolpung had tried to embrace all his men in the 7th Unit, enduring much and showing endless patience.
But he had failed.
Because one man, Joo Taegyeong, was no man at all.
Humans deserve to be treated as such—but for those who behave less than human, kindness is wasted. Captain hadn't realized that until it was too late.
Only after Na Se-jeo died did he finally snap and crush Joo Taegyeong with brute force.
And then the unbelievable happened.
The man who had tormented us relentlessly turned into the meekest of lambs, suddenly compliant and obedient.
It had been absurd beyond words.
All the endless troublemaking, wiped away by one beating.
The memory still left a hollow taste in me.
If only he'd been like that sooner, Na Se-jeo might still…
Anyway, the conclusion I drew back then was this:
Violence should be avoided when possible, yes. But sometimes, flexibility is needed. Sometimes, a clear settling of hierarchy works better than words.
Especially for men who know no fear of consequence.
I grinned fiercely at the 3rd Unit men and growled:
"Come. Just know—you'll pay for it in pain."
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