Reiji Kurozuma took a moment before responding. "Seems like everyone here has high expectations. And if you could call me Reiji or just Kurozuma that'd be great as well."
"Alright, Kurozuma, you were chosen by a person who's a specialist in magic artifacts. He read your mind, and despite you being a criminal, he let you go as if you were innocent. That means you're strong and mentally well."
"Thanks, but I'll be doing this only for a stable life. I hate nobles, but you, for one, seem likeable."
"Why thank you, Kurozuma. You may call me Lord Fujioka."
"I think I'd rather call you oldy."
The room fell silent. Reiji and Fujioka stared at each other for a tense moment before Fujioka started laughing.
"What's so funny?" "Your humor, obviously."
A servant suddenly walked in, all the attention turning to them. They walked to Lord Fujioka's side and started speaking.
"Your food will come shortly." "Thank you." Reiji responded.
The servant bowed and left. Reiji turned to look at Haruto. "Next time, say thank you, Haruto." "Mhm!"
"So, tell me about yourself, Kurozuma." "I thought you said you wouldn't ask questions."
"Oh, the personal stuff. I want to know what is going on inside the mind of a special criminal."
Reiji stared for a moment. He then looked away, leaned back in his chair, and tapped the table with a finger on his left hand. He sighed and began.
"Was born into a serf family. We weren't crazy poor or struggling much. I had a loving mother with a pretty bad temper. A father that wasn't too hard on me, but he did get mad sometimes. I also had an older brother by eight years. Most families had a lot of children, but my parents decided two was enough."
Fujioka stared at him for a moment. "By all means, keep going."
"I was always different and not in a good way. I had and still do experience very intense feelings. I had a good family but…
Reiji stopped talking. He shook his head slowly while looking down at the plate in front of him. "But…?"
"But I could feel it. I heard it a lot of times, actually. Always talking behind my back, saying I lived in a world of my own. Their version of saying I was a dumbass, and they were kind of right. Of course, I don't know if I was just slow or if my family had some special communication skills, but all they had to say was one sentence to each other that made no sense to me but it did to them. Because I was slower, they would yell at me, a lot. Even for not knowing information that I had no way of getting."
"By them, you mean…?"
"Mom, dad and dear old brother. I was always the black sheep, but I wasn't special, I was weird. I was stupid, slow, useless even. My flaring emotions didn't help either. One day I was the happiest brat alive, and the other I wanted to hang myself. I decided I wanted to numb and it felt like I became just that. For an unknown reason, I woke up one day and felt alive again."
Silence filled the room. Haruto was listening intently and so was Lord Fujioka. Reiji started speaking again.
"It's funny. You wish you were numb, but you're miserable when you are, and then you start living again and feel like you're floating only to hate the mood swing and wish to be numb again. I realized that I was always going to be miserable."
After a moment Reiji kept talking. "I hated my family even though I owed everything to them. Their love turned into duty, and if it wasn't such a bother, they'd replace me with a random punk off the street that had talent for cooking."
"I see, anything else you want to share?"
"Mom and dad died when I was seventeen and my brother left. I didn't feel a thing. I stared at their corpses that passed away from sickness. Actually, no, I felt liberated. Of course, I walked the streets, forests and later on stumbled upon the village Haruto lived in. I swore to protect it and I failed even that. The first time it was in danger and I failed to protect it. What a joke."
Lord Fujioka listened intently and then spoke. "Ah, yes. The worst kind of mistake is the one that hurts not only you but the people you care about."
The doors swung open and two servants came in with plates in their hands. Both had beef and fine white bread. The servant placed them down in front of Reiji and Haruto.
Haruto dug in while Reiji put his hands together, thanking God before eating.
Reiji ate all of his food and Haruto's leftovers. He stacked the plates and put the cutlery on the top one. He then handed it to a servant. "Thank you." he told them. "Thank you!" Haruto said.
Reiji turned to Haruto and after seeing that everything was fine he turned to look at Lord Fujioka.
"So, what happens next?"
"I'll get a report on you. You'll undergo training that will last a month. There will be at least twenty special criminals including you in total, well, we hope so. You'll start tomorrow, and while you're training, Haruto will be under supervision."
"What kind of training?"
"The first week will be basic strength training. You'll be doing bodyweight exercises and lifting weights. The second week will be more practical exercises like swinging a sword and basic swordplay. The third and fourth week will be brutal training to get the most out of our short time span."
Reiji thought for a moment before speaking. "Why only a month? I'm no expert, but I think even three months would be a tight schedule."
"Actually, it takes years to make a professional swordsman."
Reiji deadpanned. Lord Fujioka could almost sense Reiji's thoughts. Thoughts that were probably about how stupid he was.
"Wait, that's the case and you give us one month? What kind of training is it anyway?"
"Well…we've encountered hazards that…could cost someone their life."
"Tell me something I don't know, oldy."
Lord Fujioka sighed. "That nickname is sticking to me, isn't it?"
…
The next day Reiji walked out onto the training field. There were many structures, all part of obstacle courses. It was a field that stretched for a long distance. Everything was covered in snow.
He spotted a similar-looking person, the general. She had a wicked grin on her. "Welcome, trainee!"
Reiji didn't respond nor straighten his posture. The general saw this and a few veins were instantly visible on her face.
"Well, aren't you a brat? I'll teach you respect through unimaginable pain, peasant! Drop down, for today you'll be doing pushups all day!"
Reiji dropped down and started. People who trained a lot could do even one hundred in one go, but Reiji, with his inhuman strength, could do at least two thousand.
He did one hundred and didn't even break a sweat. "0,98…0,99…1! Do you think this is a joke?! You did only one pushup so far. Let me remind you, the only joke here is your life and ego!"
"It's not a surprise you don't have a husband. Your voice is too annoying to bear."
He got a sharp kick from her to the stomach. The kick actually hurt. "When did I allow you to speak, peasant?!"
Every pushup he did was followed by a kick to the stomach. After doing his max of two thousand he collapsed onto the ground.
The general herself was surprised, but she hid it well. "Twenty is all you've got? Pathetic. You'll get thirty minutes of rest before going again."
She walked off, leaving him lying in the snow. Just what kind of monster is that guy? Is every special criminal going to be as much of a freak as him?
She couldn't deny she was impressed even if it didn't show.