The sun has risen. I supervise the knights around the camp as they prepare to be sent to the front. Since I'll also be in the frontlines, I'll join them after all preparations are done.

"Captain."

I looked behind my shoulder as someone called out to me. One of the knights approached me, holding a list.

"What is it?"

"Some of the villagers in the village of Tria expressed concerns to a group of knights who were passing there on the way here."

"Concerns?"

I turned around and faced the knight.

"Yes, they believe that they might be attacked by enemies coming from Lake Hinder. So they requested for some knights to be stationed there."

"Haven't we already sent some knights to guard there?"

"Yes, but it would seem the village elder forgot to inform the villagers of this."

"Then everything is sorted now, correct?"

"Yes, Captain. I thought I should report, just in case."

"I see, are there any other reports?"

"Yes, the preparations are almost ready, the frontliners will be ready to be sent to the front camps in under 10 minutes."

"Good, all is in order. You may leave."

"Yes Captain!"

The knight saluted and left.

Now, all I need to do is wait for the preparation to finish and head to the front camps with the rest.

Of course, I can't forget the order I was given.

 

"All you need to do is to make sure the kid stays in the battlefield."

"For how long?"

"Haha, not a single question as to why I'm ordering you to do this?"

"That is not necessary my lord."

"Hmm... Very well. According to the letter from that noble, I don't remember his name. Basically, he wanted the kid to stay in the battlefield to distract the Setus commander from fully focusing on the battle. That would mean keeping him there as long as possible. This also aligns with our interest, so please complete this mission with the utmost care."

"I shall fulfill the orders, my lord."

"I expect great things from you, Captain. I will consider promoting you to a higher rank if the task is done perfectly."

"I shall strive to do my best."

"Good, you may leave."

 

One of my missions as the Captain of the Ortensian military is not to ask questions. I have trained myself to not even grow curious at any orders. I will fulfill it no matter what.

Even if the order is to send a child to war.

After this is over, I might request to the higher ups to have me assigned as the kid's escort back to Setus. That's the least I could do for him, and it might increase my credit as well.

"Hey, Lis! I'm finally here!"

Another voice shouted from afar, no one else here today would dream of addressing me so casually. All knew better than to arouse my displeasure through disregard of rank and title. All but one, it seems. I turned my eyes towards it and saw a girl with short wavy black hair and bright green eyes, it's a face that I'm too familiar with, Citri. She approached me with a big smile.

"Address me formally, Sergeant Citri. How many times do I need to tell you this?"

She reached my side after a short run.

"So Lis! Have you heard?"

She doesn't listen to me.

"Hah... What?"

"I've heard we're supposed to send a kid into war! What's up with that?!"

"...Yes, I have heard..."

"Isn't that crazy?! It seems like the nobles will take any bribes now, huh?"

Of course, she haven't heard of the orders until now.

Citri leads the new [Animal Tamer] squad, and she's got quite the experience with the Talent herself, so they made her captain on the spot. Her crew was getting ready separately last night, that's why she didn't get the order till just now. Must've heard it from the other knights when she got here.

"Citri, I suggest you keep your mouth shut about such matter."

"What? About corrupt nobles? Or about people only caring about money? Wait, those two are the same, aren't they~?"

She stared at me with a slight smug.

"...I'm not even gonna answer that."

"Haha, sure~"

She's aware that I'm already in the know of the order, and her actions were merely a playful tease. A habit I want to break, but have so far failed.

Citri blabs her mouth too much, that's for sure. But she's a skilled knight, even if reckless. I'll have to keep her on a tighter leash from now on. As my friend from the knight academy, she believes it entitles her to address me informally. However, my attempts to create some distance between us have been unsuccessful, and I find myself constantly teased by her.

"Jokes aside, are you really sure you want to take this order?"

"...It is an order, I will fulfill it."

"Jeez, relax your shoulders a bit, won't you?"

Citri raised her arms and rested it behind her head. She shifted a bit closer to me, her voice reduced to a whisper.

"So... the child... Where is he?"

"In my tent, why do you ask?"

Citri raised her voice in an acted shock.

"I-In your tent?! Don't tell me-"

"Don't even think of saying that!"

"Ouch~"

I flicked her forehead with full force in an attempt to shut her mouth before an unnecessary rumor spreads. She took my full powered flick with a smile.

In addition to the [Animal Tamer] Talent, she also has two other Talents. Three in total, the average amount of Talents one can have. One of her other Talents is [Enhanced Endurance], which makes her quite sturdy.

"The things that come out of your mouth are repulsive."

"Haha~ Sorry!"

After flicking her head, our topic shifted back to the kid.

"What do you think about the order?"

"It is not my job to ponder that question, I am only allowed to follow it."

"Hah... You can be a bit too serious with this whole 'Captain' thing. Where's the fun happy-go-lucky Lis that I knew back in the academy?"

"Sorry, but I don't recall ever being 'happy-go-lucky'."

"Oh, you're right. You've always been grumpy, what a bummer of a person you are."

Citri stretched her back and then rested both of her hands on her hips.

"Seriously though, the nobles really think they can do anything they want and get away with it. I wonder if the Queen knows of this."

"..."

I remained silent after Citri's statement. It is not my duty to ponder about orders, I am to follow them, that is all.

Citri looked at me from the side.

"You know, I'm really worried for you," she said with concern in her eyes.

"If you were given some 'unsavory' orders, will you still follow them? My mind says that you would, but I really don't want to see you do bad things, you know?"

"And what privilege do you have to tell me what I should or shouldn't do?"

"I'm your friend! That's good enough of a reason, right?"

"..."

"Staying silent again, are we?"

I refuse to either agree or disagree with her claims. I know her mouth will cause more trouble than it will solve.

"...Fine, let's talk about something else then."

"...Let's."

Citri looks up to the sky, thinking on what to say next. Then she turned towards me.

"That kid, is he okay?"

"Well, judging from our earlier conversation, he seems like he knows there is no escape. Even so, he didn't break down into tears."

I commend him, he has a strong heart and knows the situation he is in.

"Haha, if that was me, I would be drying out my eyes with all the tears I'd cry."

"Heh, I can imagine that."

"R-Really?"

Citri cried a lot back in the academy. When she first joined, she was timid and quiet, a large contrast to her current self. I was a year ahead of her, so I never attended the same class as her. But even so, she caught my interest.

I fight bare-handed. Which means I need to fight up close. I was in a big disadvantage whenever the enemy is far away. Which is why I seek sparring partners who are skilled in medium range weapons. As for bows and magic, I can only avoid them so I only need to train my reflexes.

Citri is quite skilled in spears, better than even some of my classmates. But from what I can observe, her shy behavior sometimes made her hesitate to hit someone full-force. And, she would even cry pathetically if she lost, contrasting her great skill. I approached her as a sparring partner hoping to break her out of that shell, but now, I kinda regret ever doing that.

After having her as my sparring partner, we were constantly together in the academy outside of classes. During those times, I saw Citri cry over the smallest of things, such as dropping her lunch or forgetting about an assignment that was due in hours. However, now, when she cries, it's mostly an act, to tease me more often than not.

"I should get ready."

I straightened my posture as I headed back to my tent. Done with reminiscing about the past, I was now ready to start the mission.

"Oh, leaving already?" Citri asked.

"Yes, I need to grab my helmet. The ones being sent to the frontline camps are about ready to depart,"

"Helmet, huh?"

Citri grinned at me.

"To be honest, you look way cooler without it,"

"...You want me to die from a stray arrow?"

"Yeah right, you'll just catch them like you always did in training," Citri chuckled as she said that.

"Hmm, I guess you're right. But I'll wear the helmet anyway,"

"That's a shame~"

I left the pouting Citri behind and headed to my tent.

"Oh yeah! Forgot to mention something!" Citri shouted, I turned my head towards her.

"What is it?"

"When you meet the kid again, don't be too 'Lisenda-ish'."

"The hel-"

Before I could question her line, Citri cut me off.

"I meant, don't be too rude. He's only a kid right? I'm sure stuff must be hard for him right now."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

"Good! Well, see ya soon!"

"Sure."

I walked back towards my tent. Then, I bumped onto Feyt, running frantically around a corner.