No idea what to do with the rest of my day.

  What happened with Ethan kinda made it clear that I shouldn't go about interrupting the training.

  That's even quite far from my usual behavior.

  I mean, talking to Ethan was pretty important to me, but I certainly didn't want to bother anyone.

  However, it's still too early to get to sleep, and given that I tend to have nightmares recently, I'm not too keen to go to bed all that soon.

  I'm not even sure how much sleep I require.

  Could I even die from exhaustion?

  My chest itches again at the thought.

  Never mind, I probably shouldn’t think like this, so best I refocus.

  I mean, I'm here, in the second ring.

  And I'm an officer, off duty.

  So I'm basically free to look around.

  Not everyone would consider watching soldiers exercise to be a fun pastime, but hey, I'm not everyone.

  The training is a bit like with a sports festival.

  Akaras even got a lot of those.

  Several times a year, they open the inner circle for public events.

  Partially, to get a spirit of athleticism around the local populace, which may provide a portion of the next generation of soldiers, but also to show off how great the soldiers are doing, who usually end up winning most competitions.

  This certainly is part of the reason why Akaras was never short on recruits nor had to draft regular folks in.

  But back to the present.

  So I can watch the soldiers exercising.

  It's a bit awkward to walk about with this many guards, but I'll make the best out of it.

  Next to the usual fitness stuff, what one cannot watch that regularly would be the formation routines.

  I cannot press hard enough how important these are.

  They are the pinnacle of military greatness.

  Strategy and disciplined formations are what a good army is built upon.

  They are what has allowed the Rakisean army to repel the orcs for centuries.

  The average orc may tower over the common human, but our troop formations are what grant us the necessary advantage.

  Even a strong fighter like Relia may struggle by herself against the muscled mountain of an orc.

  Well, maybe not Relia, but in general, this holds true.

  Yet if you've got a tight formation, this advantage becomes trivial.

  Even an orc can be felled if a tight wall of spears pierces him at several places, while archers rain arrows on them from afar, and shielders protect the first line.

  Meanwhile, commanders guide their troops in the most efficient way possible.

  But of course, this wouldn't be possible without knowing anything about the battlefield.

  Which brings us to the backbone of any good army.

  The scouts.

  The scouts, who also serve as messengers during battles, are those who keep the commanders informed.

  Be it general strategy or immediate orders, those are all based on what a commander receives from their scouts.

  Due to their role, scouts often serve outside of Akaras and train in the terrain they need to know.

  But of course, they also have their own training fields right here, in the second ring.

  As scouts are to avoid direct combat, since getting into a melee with an orc would be detrimental for the safe delivery of the message, they usually train with a bow.

  Recently, I've heard they also get those modern crossbows delivered, but personally, I'm not that much of a fan.

  They take forever to get ready, and an orc isn't felled by a single bolt.

  Till you get ready for the second shot, the orc has already got you decapitated three times over, and is by now about to pick your bones clean.

  A bow at least allows for a faster frequency of shots, and almost everyone is capable of pulling the string.

  That is, if your arms ain't too short, such as mine.

  But I should get away from that thought as well and think about the situation at hand.

  So, there are the scouts now in front of me.

  Some of them are shooting at targets that are moved by some mechanism.

  Others are running through a track field with very difficult footing.

  All stones and ledges, barely any even spot.

  Meanwhile, others are climbing a wall.

  But then I gain sight of the royal discipline that any scout requires.

  Horse-riding.

  Yes, no matter how fast you are, you can't outrun an orc.

  Simply not possible.

  They are bigger, have stronger legs, and nearly endless stamina.

  So you need horses if you've got a message to deliver and can't afford to die in a fight.

  Yet to complement their role, many scouts learn to shoot from horseback.

  Basically, one of the few, at least somewhat safe, ways for them to engage such an opponent.

  But yes, otherwise they'd simply be helpless.

  No one can outrun an orc.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  That is... if you aren't that guy...

  Yep, that one could do it.

  Damn, he's so fast, striding from one side to the other, and mid-jump, he still manages to hit the target with his bow.

  I'm impressed.

  "Good job, Lauro. Take a short break." (officer)

  Wow.

  He's got such an impressive stature.

  He's not only tall, but so broad, not just at the shoulders, and at the same time still elegant, the way he moves.

  And he's also agile, and dexterous, and skillful, as his hooves stomp the ground.

  Yes, this one is...

  "Is there a reason for you to keep on staring at me?" (Lauro)

  I did stare, didn't I?

  But I was fascinated!

  "You are a centaur! A real-life centaur! In the army!" (Y)

  They are rather difficult to mistake for anything else!

  Equine ears standing tall above a human face, albeit with nose and mouth bearing some resemblance to a horse, yet with fangs just long enough to be visible as he talks.

  His black unkempt hair looks wavy and silky, and he overall seems pretty youthful, with a slight tan all over him, which weaves fine into the brown coat of his lower half.

  As there would be obvious difficulties with putting on the full outfit, he’s only wearing the upper portion of the scout uniform, the back hem modified slightly to allow his black mane to blow free.

  He looks down at his lower horse half with a bit of scrutiny in his hazel eyes.

  Then he responds in a flat tone:

  "Oh, wow. Never noticed this. Thanks for pointing it out." (L)

  Right, centaurs are like this.

  His way of speaking is even particularly refined, given what I'm used to from Mr. Kalros.

  "Ehm, sorry. A centaur in the army is just so impressive. And how you jumped and still managed to shoot the arrow so steadily while being mid-air!" (Y)

  "That's an old technique of my people, you know? The jump actually makes it easier to shoot straight, as the shaking at full gallop will throw your aim off." (L)

  Is that so?

  Well, I can see how the impacts while running may pose an issue.

  "That's very interesting. Thank you for telling me." (Y)

  I take a step closer, feeling that this talk allows me not to have to be as distant.

  "No bother. Not like this is very applicable knowledge. But you... Whoah, damn! What the heck!?" (L)

  What's going on!?

  He suddenly stepped back.

  "I-is something the matter?" (Y)

  "You could definitely say this. Something, something feels very wrong with you!" (L)

  Wrong?

  Can he feel that something is off with me?

  "Ehm, sorry. I, I didn't intend to disturb you." (Y)

  "Seriously, my instincts are screaming at me! But you... No, you didn't do anything. It's just that- Hey, wait a moment! Aren't you the girl that kills horses?" (L)

  Wait!

  Oh no!

  I offended him, didn't I?

  I'm a goddamn horse murderer!

  The next closest relatives of a centaur, and I kill them!

  "I, I, I had to! They forced me to it! I-I'm sorry! Really sorry!" (Y)

  My outburst draws all the attention from the surrounding personnel.

  Mostly the scouts, with their keen senses.

  "Hey, calm down. I was only messing with ya. No biggie! You have no idea how many horses I’ve already seen die. It happens. I just hope you were humane about it." (L)

  Was I?

  "I, I think so. It was maybe freaked out, but it shouldn't have been painful or violent." (Y)

  That's at least how it looked.

  "Damn, you are something else. To think you got your own weird method of killing." (L)

  "Sorry... But I also resurrected one. Although, then it was killed next." (Y)

  "Resurrected? And you find a centaur in the army strange?" (L)

  "Eh, I can't even really control this. It often just happens. But I’m doing my best not to hurt anyone! And I’m getting better!" (Y)

  "Damn, you're strange. But that's not too bad." (L)

  That's... not as much of a reaction as I expected.

  "Uh, thanks? Eh, and thank you for not freaking out." (Y)

  "You know, I guess I can relate to being seen as a monster without giving much cause for this. So I'd wait with my assessment of you, until you actually do something to deserve the scrutiny." (L)

  "Th-thank you." (Y)

  That's pretty decent of him.

  "Lauro! Get back on track!" (officer)

  "You heard him. Time to get back to duty." (L)

  And so he goes back to training, reaching for his bow on his back.

  Haha!

  It’s not impossible!

  I just had a positive discussion with someone!

  And even someone so cool!

  When the training completes, I head back into the inner fortress.

  There, I find a nice spot from where I can look over the wall and see the whole landscape.

  I sit down on the bench placed here and take in my surroundings.

  Despite the late hour, people are still out.

  As I'm still within the inner ring, there are almost no ordinary soldiers.

  Rather, here are mostly officers and administrative personnel milling around.

  In the far distance, the sun slowly descends.

  I need to say, it's beautiful.

  I wouldn't want to miss this.

  Maybe still being around isn't all that bad.