CHAPTER 3 - III -

 

The city of Stadtsberg was a city-state without defensive walls.  Its main town proper was stretched as far as my eyes could see, and the only marker of its border was a dried-up moat.

 

The Prince of Stadtsberg told us it was filled with water in times of war.  Since we endeavor to hide our activities from the Imperials, it wasn’t done just yet.  I think it would only happen once we began hostilities.

 

The surrounding countryside of Stadtsberg could only be described in one word:  breathtaking.  Mountains surround the area, as it was part of the alliance of city-states known as the League of the Valley Cities.  It was in the center of north Chersea, flanked by the kingdom of Nerfes to the north-east, Amaranth to the south, and the Desolate North to its direct north.  The lush, green valley that the city was a part of contrasted Amaranth in that, while Amaranth was a wide, grassy plain, the land of the Valley Cities was like the green pastures of the Swiss Alps.

 

I guess the only thing that was lacking was the herd of cows, and someone doing a yodel somewhere along those white mountain peaks.

 

I wonder, did someone scale them already?  Anyway, as the responsibility of looking for a good mercenary group fell on me, I went out to the streets of Stadtsberg to gather information on where I should look for my target.

 

“…”

 

Since the Saint’s Peace, the number of mercenary groups in Chersea dwindled, as those who could not find another work were dead from hunger, or their band left the realm of humans to look for someone who would hire them elsewhere.

 

That was, according to that mercenary leader I worked with once.  If I remember correctly, his name was Griffyth (with the ‘y’ to ‘avoid legal issues’), and coincidentally, he looked like that famous NTR man from the manga I read before.

 

Yep, just like that man who passed by me.

 

“…”

 

Wait, I think that’s him!

 

I turned around to follow that guy who looked like Griffyth.  As the streets of Stadtsberg were made of cobblestone, I took great care not to trip while running after him.  I was trying to call his attention, but then a pair of passing carriages temporarily blocked my way.

 

And then he was gone.

 

Disappointed, I tried to look around for the man’s whereabouts, or some trace of where he went.  I was in a busy intersection with people walking around, so it’s pretty hard to go after him.  But then…

 

“!!!”

 

“I wouldn’t do something weird if I were you.  And please keep quiet.”  

 

It was a female voice.  And her intimidating tone was supported by something sharp that was poking at my back.

 

“Yes, it’s a dagger, and I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you in this busy street if you didn’t cooperate with me.” the speaker threatened, “For now, come with me, peacefully.”

 

Well, I guess for now, I had to do what she is saying, huh?

 

 

The woman who was threatening me brought me to a tavern, partially hidden from the main intersection by a narrow alley full of the city’s…well, I guess it’s Stadtsberg’s underbelly.

 

“Go inside,” she ordered me.

 

It was a rather rundown tavern.  I could see that its doors were old, and there were stains of paint remaining on its walls.  The inside was rather noisy, for it was around the time close to the Chersean ‘long sleep’ (only a few places in this realm had already converted to the new time-reckoning system of Maddie just yet…), and so the men whom I saw were settling in for the ‘day’ with dinner, ale, and rowdy songs.

 

“…”

 

However, that became an awkward silence when they saw me enter.

 

I had no choice but to stare back at them.  I had no weapon with me, and if ever I had one, I doubt I could even use it when fighting these overwhelming numbers…and the woman behind me as well.

 

“!!!”

 

But I didn’t have to worry about that.

 

“It’s the Fist of the North Lands!”

 

“Isn’t that Kuro?”

 

Well, I expected a really rough welcome from these people, and received it, though not the way I expected.  They were rough to receive me, but it was rather a ‘happy’ rough treatment.  The men slapped my back, my shoulder, and lightly punched my chest as they greeted me.

 

“Hey, careful!  Kuro’s got a weak body.”

 

“Still didn’t change that much, huh?”

 

Yeah, I knew these guys.  One was Gats, Griffyth’s second-in-command, and the other was the magician, Tarasca.  Heh, I kind of missed these fellows…

 

Others remained in their seats, watching those who knew me to come and greet me.  But the air of tension vanished altogether with the girl who pointed her dagger to me earlier.

 

“Oh!  So, it’s you, Kuro!” a familiar voice echoed from the entire tavern, “I told you you’ll be mine!”

 

“Stop with those words, Griff!” I laughed, “I’m already possessed by another person.”

 

From the second floor of the tavern, the man in question emerged.  He had this confident smile on his face as he went down the stairs to talk to me.

 

“Hey, how’s business?” I asked him.  If I recall, when we won the Tri-Skill Tourney, his ‘Band of the Oak’ became a hot item for those who were looking to hire mercenary groups.  I hope they really did well back then…

 

“Well, it’s booming, actually.” Griffyth answered, “That’s why we’re here, right now.”

 

“Oh…”  That didn’t sound right.  What did he mean by that?  Did Griffyth know that something is happening?

 

“Hmm…you sound like you knew something, Kuro.” Griffyth laughed, “We’ll get to it later.  But before that, I’d like you to meet my enlarged crew.”

 

“Whoa…these men, are all under your command?”

 

“Yep.  All 500 of them.” he smirked as he gave me a mug of ale, “The others were still outside, see.  This is the new ‘Band of the Cloak’.”

 

“Shut up Griffyth!” Gats countered him, “We’re not changing our name, ‘Band of the Oak’.”

 

“Yes.” Tarasca was quick to back Gats, “Cloak is lame, see?”

 

“You guys always keep on holding at that old name!” Griffyth muttered, “We should change it already, you know.”

 

“Fuck off.”  Tarasca and Gats dismissed his suggestion.

 

“Heh.  Anyway, Kuro…this is my enlarged crew.  And that woman who was following you while you followed me, she’s our flower here.  Meet Kashca.”

 

What?  Kashca?  isn’t that C*sca from the manga?  is this world playing jokes on me again?  Good heavens!  I bet someday we’d be facing litigation with these names…

 

I turned around and saw the girl who threatened me earlier once again, standing by the doorway, and wearing a cloak.  She had an indifferent expression on her face, as she neither looked up nor down on me.  Kashca just stared straight, playing with the dagger in her hand.

 

“She can’t say anything.” Griffyth added, “I guess she’s mute.”

 

“Riigggghhhttt…”  You didn’t do that…ahem, ‘NTR’ thing to her like in the manga, weren’t you, Griff?

 

“But yes, she could dice and mince anyone with her dagger, see?”

 

“Thank you!  However, I don’t think I’d like a demonstration.” I told him.  And then, I continued with a question, “By the way, Griff, why are you telling these things to me?”

 

“Well, aren’t you looking to hire a mercenary band, Kuro?” he asked.

 

I guess that caused my heart to stop beating for a moment.

 

 

“Ahahahaha!!!” Griffyth laughed as he repeatedly slapped my back.  By then, we were already sitting down at a table, with food and drinks being served, courtesy of Griffyth himself, “I asked that because I think you wouldn’t follow me if you had no intention of hiring us!  I never thought that you would actually piss yourself from nervousness!”

 

“Almost.  I said I was almost pissed.” I stubbornly countered him, “You say the weirdest things, you know, you damned mercenary!”

 

“Well, we’re damned alright.” Griffyth admitted, “But then, let’s get to specifics.  So, you really knew something, Kuro, am I right?”

 

I guess I should let him in our secret then, “How d’you know?”

 

“News finally reached us that the Imperials invaded Amaranth, so we hurried back from Cherflammen to here so we could be hired.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“You were expecting something else?”

 

“Nope.” I took a sip of the ale that was served.  I was careful not to get drunk, even though I knew I could take several punishments for alcohol.  It’s better that some secrets of mine were safe, even from someone like Griffyth.  In fact, I guess he really ordered the beer to loosen my tongue.

 

“So, what do you offer, Kuro?” he asked.

 

“Gold, and the chance to fight under the banner of Our Holiness.”

 

“Oohh…I’m intrigued by that ‘fight under the banner of Our Holiness’.  Did you mean that Her Holiness, the Great Saint Madelaine Ann Rubinforth had finally allowed war once again?”

 

“Nope.” I countered, “On the contrary, she wanted to end it.”

 

“Ahh…as usual.  But, Her Holiness is waging war to end wars?” Griffyth couldn’t hide his amusement, “Isn’t that ironic?”

 

“Well, we have to face the reality.  You can’t keep the peace without beating those who wouldn’t follow you, to submission.”

 

“I like that idea.  So, who are the enemies?”

 

“Those Imperials that caused you to come back from Cherflammen.”

 

“Right, the good stuff.  I always wanted to test my men’s mettle against the bastards.  When do we do it?”

 

“Well, about that, we got a new system of time-reckoning.  And we’re following that.  I’ll explain those to you later.  But, it would be soon; the moment our group would get more men would be your cue.”

 

“If you’re looking for additional men, I could always contact Winters, Stephan, and Kevin, you know, those guys who fought with us in the tourney before?”

 

“How many men would they add?”

 

“Winters’ Band of Brothers and Sisters got 1,000 people, I think?”

 

“So, they added the ‘Sisters’ now?”

 

“Yeah, apparently they’re now accepting female mercenaries too.”

 

“How about Stephan and Kevin?”

 

“Well, Stephan was now the sole captain of the Golden Territory Warriors’ 1,500 men.” Griffyth explained, “And Kevin split with him to find another mercenary group, the Oaklyn Bets.”

 

“You know what, I’m getting the feeling that we’ll soon be facing legal charges with those names.”

 

“You bet I do as well.”

 

“Anyway, so how many men were in the Oaklyn Bets of Kevin?”

 

“I think it’s around 340 men?  It’s still pretty small, but with time, I guess it would expand as well.  Kevin’s pretty famous within the mercenary circles as one of the four captains who won the tourney with a commoner commander, see?”

 

“We don’t have that much time to wait for it to grow.” I told him, “Can you contact them as soon as possible?”

 

“Well, of course, I do…” Griffyth then raised the point, “…if you can give the right price.”

 

“So, would you want to serve Her Holiness for 80 gold coins?”

 

“Hmm…for once, I and my men would have the chance to get holy while earning a living.” Griffyth pondered on his options for a bit, but then… “Alright, Kuro, you got yourself a deal.  But I’d like to give it at 100 gold.  Is that okay with you?”

 

“How about we get it at 90, plus you have the 80% rights to the loot?”

 

Griffyth smiled big, and reached out for my hand, “Then it’s sealed.  Welcome back to the ‘Band of the Oak’, old pal!”

 

And with that, I got our coalition another 3,340 men.  A little far from what we need, but a definite boost for our cause.  All of them were veteran soldiers with the ability to use a wide range of weaponry as well…

 

 

***Kersea, the capital of the Empire of Chersea***

 

A bespectacled man entered the private chambers of the emperor of Chersea, Jean Durres III, of the House of Henrici.  With him was a bunch of papers containing the reports on the progress of the Imperial Expeditionary Forces in Amaranth.

 

“…”

 

The Emperor was sitting on his reclining chair when the man came to him, complete with a glass and bottle of wine.  He was reading the previous reports, and when the news-bearer appeared, the emperor gestured for him to put the new ones on the little table beside him.  Once the man put the papers in there, however, he remained inside the room.

 

“Your Imperial Majesty, I guess you would like to hear this.  Our spy reports that came in just now show that the massive gathering of men in the city of Stadtsberg was gradually dispersed into the farms and villages owned by the Prince of Stadtsberg.”

 

The emperor stopped in reading the old intelligence papers and faced the man, “And what about the men who departed for the kingdom of Colveente, Sir Milne?”

 

“I guess we’re mistaken as well, Your Imperial Majesty.” Sir Milne replied, “According to our spies, those men were workers for the Duchess of Henristone’s planned palace, after her debut and official separation from her former house.”

 

“Hmm…”  The emperor then took his glass of wine and took a sip, “In these times, I wish I still had the service of Umberto.  His knowledge about the culture of these northern barbarians could be put to better use in espionage, rather than in generalship.  Makes me wonder why the Saint of the Flame insisted that he command the expedition.”

 

“We’ll never know how they think, Your Imperial Majesty.”

 

“Yes…and these people, though given god-powers, were driving this world into further destruction by their petty quarrels.”

 

“Sire?”

 

“Oh, don’t mind me, Milne.  I must be getting drunk.”

 

“So, Your Imperial Highness, what would be our course of action?”

 

“Honestly, I’m having doubts about your spies, Milne, but then, what do you recommend?  It’s been long since we landed in Amaranth, and apart from the angry demand letter of Her Holiness the Saint Madelaine Rubinforth, nothing has happened.”

 

“Indeed, Your Imperial Majesty, the silence of the northern kingdoms is quite perplexing.” Sir Milne admitted, “I really expected that the north Chersean kings wouldn’t take our presence there lightly.  The Prince of Stadtsberg and the parents of the Duchess of Henristone are friends.  Maybe the spies are correct in their assessment of the situation, but then, we can never let our guards down.”

 

“In that case, double your espionage efforts, especially on those two.” the emperor ordered, “And, don’t forget about the Human Saint.”

 

“You mean, we’re spying on her, Sire?  It would be difficult without the Saint of the Flame’s help.  She could read minds, remember?”

 

“No, I mean, those people around the Saint, like the Iron Princess.”

 

“Oh, right…my apologies, Sire!  It will be done right away.”

 

“Also, prepare ten more legions.  Make haste and don’t delay.”

 

“So, we’re reinforcing the Amaranthine garrison now, Your Imperial Majesty?”

 

“No, we’re not.” the emperor smirked, “I’m planning to surprise some old ‘friends’, so I’m coming back to north Chersea myself.  And to do that, I’ll be needing some ‘escorts’.”