"No—" A faint cry came from the open doors of the conference hall.
"Ah..."
William's brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes slightly narrowed as he let out a heavy sigh.
He had thought that, by now, he would no longer feel sympathy, but he was still human.
Assigning murderers and serious criminals as D-class personnel gave William the feeling that he was making use of the remaining value of scum.
But these were children.
If he put himself in their shoes...
He ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Alright, I'm here now. It won't hurt anymore~ Be good."
?
William, whose heart had been suffering, suddenly felt something soft against him.
He opened his eyes and lowered his head.
He found that Halsey had somehow come to stand in front of him, spreading her arms and hugging him tightly.
Halsey looked up to meet his eyes, blinked, and suggested in a soft voice:
"Boss, instead of regretting bringing them here, why not think about how to make it up to them?
"For example, after training, you could give them comics, models, or something like that as rewards.
"You could also organize some activities, like weekend movie nights or taking them on a trip around Africa.
"What do you think?"
"Mm..."
Hearing Halsey's words, William's heavy mood vanished.
She was right.
This woman...
"Alright." William gently patted Halsey on the top of her head and smiled. "Have you ever seen an employee comfort her boss? Let go of me. There's still work to do."
"Hehe~ Okay~"
Since the fourteen children had yet to adjust to the time difference and were suffering from unfamiliar surroundings, the training plan was temporarily put on hold.
While they waited, they would study indoors under the guidance of experienced teachers for each subject.
William led the group back to the military base in Kenya, then went to South Africa under the protection of Hunk and the Alpha team to make extensive purchases.
As for Halsey, she didn't come along. She chose to stay on Minos Island and carefully look after the children.
She explained abnormal phenomena to them and, at night, told them stories of Greek myths and legends.
Such as Heracles's twelve labors, and how he ascended to Olympus after death and became the god of strength.
She also told them how the Spartans, descendants of Heracles, had been led by King Leonidas and three hundred warriors in 480 BC to resist hundreds of thousands of Persian troops at Thermopylae.
She instilled in them the concept that they were Spartans and helped them understand what responsibility was.
With Halsey's patient companionship and communication, the little Spartans gradually opened up and were no longer as frightened as when they had first arrived on Minos Island.
However, once the children fell asleep, Halsey would inject them with the T-Virus she had personally adjusted.
At dawn, she would inject them with the vaccine as well.
She repeated this process to gradually strengthen the little Spartans' physiques and improve the success rate of their future augmentation surgeries.
The Hive's technical team arrived on Minos Island on February 26, 2007, taking charge of injecting the virus and vaccines and recording the Spartans' various changes.
The first training session also began that day. Major Kent assigned each child a number and forbade them from using their real names.
John was assigned the number 7.
The Spartans' initial training plan and daily schedule were generally as follows:
1. Wake up at 05:30.
2. Run five laps around the track without carrying any weight (1,000 meters per lap).
3. Rest for fifteen minutes, then eat.
4. Obstacle training at 07:30, such as crawling through a thirty-meter barbed-wire obstacle one hundred times.
5. Strength training at 10:00, such as bench presses and curls. The exercises varied each day.
6. Rest and lunch.
7. Begin heat-resistance and conditioning training at 13:30, holding firearms level and remaining still on the beach under the blazing sun.
8. Practice shooting or study Body Techniques at 15:00. The lessons varied each day.
9. Training ended at 17:00, followed by rest and a meal.
10. Study regular academic subjects.
? Free time.
? Bedtime.
The schedule above was followed from Monday through Thursday.
On Friday, they carried ten kilograms and conducted cross-country hiking training around Minos Island until five in the afternoon.
Saturday was reserved for swimming and diving training.
On Sunday, Major Kent explained tactical knowledge in the conference hall.
High-intensity loaded endurance training was conducted once every seven days.
Low-altitude sea-surface parachute training was conducted once every fifteen days.
Forest wilderness survival training was conducted once every thirty days.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Inside the conference hall of the Minos Island base complex;
The fourteen Spartans sat in the front row one after another. Their skin had darkened, and much of the childishness had faded from their faces.
They also sat ramrod straight, and their behavior had taken on a trace of military bearing.
The Spartans had been trained by Kent and the other USS and UBCS personnel for two full weeks. They were no longer the "little children" who had first arrived.
On the podium before them stood several large silver metal cases and several Alphas dressed in suits.
Behind the lectern stood William, whose skin had also darkened considerably.
William swept his gaze across every child present. When he saw John in the center, his eyes lingered on him for a moment.
Finally, he smiled and said:
"Spartans, I believe you've all adapted to this training life.
"Dr. Halsey has also explained the true meaning of the Spartan Force to you, as well as the enemies you'll face in the future.
"I know.
"No matter how noble I make it sound, you'll still resent me.
"After all, I'm the culprit who deprived you of the right to live freely and denied you a happy childhood. Isn't that right?"
The Spartans answered loudly, "No, Boss. It's only right that we contribute to humanity."
William naturally knew that this was thanks to Kent's instruction, which was why the Spartans treated him with such respect.
"Heh."
He chuckled and gestured to the side. "Alright, I know those were words you said against your will.
"I don't expect your forgiveness, either. That wouldn't be realistic.
"But..." He snapped his fingers.
The Alphas received the signal and opened the cases on the podium in unison.
Inside were all kinds of toys, models, comics, and other things children loved. There was even a complete outdoor movie projection setup.
The Spartans' attention was instantly drawn to the cases the moment they opened.
But the army's discipline had already been engraved into their minds.
They suppressed their desires to want, play, and watch, remaining perfectly still.
William gestured to the side and explained with a smile:
"I also grew up at your age, and I hated being forced to study and train.
"You're Spartans, but you're also children.
"So...
"You can choose whatever you want from these. You can play with them freely during your free time, and I'll bring you new things every so often."
!
Children were children, after all.
Hearing that they finally had toys and comics to pass the time, they all looked delighted, puffed out their chests, and shouted even more energetically:
"Yes, Boss!"
{Halsey's picture has been pinned in the comments. I wonder if it'll pass moderation?}
Before you continue