— Excerpt of the Diary of Johnson Greyward —

 

Year 298 of the Imperial Calendar
Golden Suns' Day, Lifeweek, First Month of Fall
Emperor's Road near the Holy Capital Arkesta

I am a man of war. Where there is a battle, my comrades and I go. Where there is money, we will fight.
Death is a common occurrence for us, but the lord of war calls upon those who showed valour.
But not all of us die in battle nor is killing all we know.

I am no man of the written word, I am no scholar, no researcher, no priest, no mage. I am but a soldier without a country. A soldier for hire. A sellsword. Nothing more, nothing less.

But beneath all that, I am also still a human with a soul, capable of emotion, of guilt. I am writing these lines in the hope that our sin shall never be forgotten. We do not regret it, but we do grieve it. For this work, this job, allows us to live our life. It feeds us, who know nothing but swing the sword.

Listen well to our tale, and never make the same mistake.

For the witch shall plague our land.
For the witch shall afflict our comrades.
For the witch shall curse our friends.
For the witch shall disease our family.
For the witch shall blight our children, our wives, our brothers.
For the witch of calamity will devour all.

---

Year 284 of the Imperial Calendar
Silver Moon's Day, Faithweek, Third Month of Spring
 Borderlands of Krohmea, A nameless forest

Today's casualties:
Eleven lightly injured.
Two heavily injured.
No casualties.
Four missing.

"Haa..."
"Captain, you don't look well."
"For fuck's sake, do you want me to laugh like jester? This job was a catastrophe."
"Ahaha..."
"Haa..."

I put down the feather I was writing with and stretched my arms. My muscles felt all sore from sitting the entire day. We had just returned from a job and I had to write the reports. With a sigh, I forced myself to take up the feather once more and dipped it into the inkpot.

"Griess, the ink is running out."
"Captain, there's only one pot left so I'd appreciate it if you could use it sparingly."
"Only one left? Ugh, when did we last buy some?"
"It has been a while. If Captain wouldn't be so against a magical pencil, we wouldn't even need to buy it. And the price for ink is on the rise too."

Of course, I was against such a weird contraption. Writing without ink. And what if it broke down? Or if it exploded? Wendl was already exploding more than enough for my taste, I didn't need another weird contraption doing it.

"Either way, Captain. Don't you think you should take a break? You've been doing this for half the day already."
"And then who writes the fucking report, huh?"
"I think taking a short break would help more than forcing yourself."
"... You might be right."

I wrote until the feather pen was too dry to continue before I put it away.

"Do we have some Taras cigars?"
"I think there were some left. Ah, here."
"Thank you, Griess."

I received the cigar from the young man, then lit it up with a magical lighter. Taking a deep, long drag after half a day of working was literally bliss.

"The lighter is fine but the pen isn't... Anyway, Captain. At least go outside before you start smoking."
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I'll leave."

A grumpy Griess quickly chased me out of my own room. I was still his superior, so where was his respect?
After closing the door behind me, I was greeted with a wonderful, blue sky... and the blazing sun.

"Hot..."
"Ah, Captain! Are you done with work?"
"No, I'm not. What are you doing?"
"We're working out!"

A group of men, their muscular upper bodies bare, was doing exercises with their weapons. That they could do so in this heat was commendable. Then again, it would've been an issue if they couldn't do at least this much.

"Any news from the search squad?"
"No, Captain. They returned half an hour ago, but they didn't find anything."
"Nothing, huh. Hope those idiots weren't taken prisoner. God, that'll be a pain. I'll deduct the ransom from their pay."
"That sounds terrifying."

The man I was talking with smiled wryly, knowing full well I wouldn't actually do that. I was way too soft on them.

"Then, continue with your practice."
"""Yes, Captain!"""

The men roared, their sweat flying through the air.
Satisfied with their enthusiasm, I left. If I kept watching, they'd become nervous anyway. Instead, I walked over to a large, black tent.

"Priest Maiden, you there?"
"Ah, Captain? One moment, please."

A high-pitched voice echoed out of the tent. A few seconds later, a young woman left the tent. Despite her appearance, she was probably by far the oldest among us. Small horns decorated her head, curved towards the front.

"Captain, are you smoking again? I told you, it's not good for your health."
"I can do with my health what I want to. Nevermind that, how are they?"
"Pretty good, considering the circumstances. Kiras will recover without a problem. Marim... I honestly don't know. The wound didn't inflame but he lost a lot of blood. He might make a recovery, he might not."
"I see. It must be really bad if you say that."

This woman saved nearly everyone's life here at least once already. And nearly never did she say that she didn't know if someone could make a recovery. He really was on the border of life and death, then.

"But it still means there's hope for him, right?"
"Yes. But moving him is an absolute no-go. He won't survive that."
"Mh..."

So we'd have to wait at least until he was well enough again. That was complicating things a little.

"I don't really want to stay here long if I can help it... Mhh... Then, we'll stay as long as we can. Going to have the men construct a simple barricade."
"That's great to hear, thank you."
"I'm the one who should thank you, Priest Maiden."
"That's... It's fine. Anyway, Captain, please stop calling me that. I am no longer serving as a priest. Please call me by name."
"I'll think about it."

I turned around and left her alone. She was a good woman. Gentle and kind, loyal, devoted, quick-witted and good with children... But that was exactly why I couldn't humour her request. I knew how she felt about me. But she had to find a better man than me. That's why I was keeping my distance.
I took another drag from the cigar, the sharp taste unique to these cigars burning my tongue. It hurt, but that was what made it good. It made me feel alive. That I wasn't in a dream. Griess and the Priest Maiden kept annoying me, telling me to stop smoking, albeit for different motives.

At that moment, I spotted a small group at the corner of my eyes, rushing towards the camp. Their pure black clothing allowed me to easily spot them even from afar.

They are back again? I thought they only returned half an hour ago? Wait, they look panicked.
"Captain! Captain! It's them! They are coming!"
"Shit!"

With the worst timing.

---

"Captain, should we chase them?"
"Don't. They want us to go into the woods. They'll have the advantage there."
"Understood."
"Take the injured to the Priest Maiden. Everyone else, we're going to build a barricade. Immediately, got it?!"
"""Yes, Captain!"""

After an initial short clash, our enemies withdrew into the forest.  We had to make the most out of this time. A simple barricade could be erected quickly. And even just a bunch of spikes could make an enormous difference in a battle.

"Captain."
"Wendl, huh? Good work."
"Thank you, Captain. I'd like to report on something."
"Report? From you? That's rare."

I raised my brow. This oddball was never doing a report, even when I wanted him to. So him coming by himself was... disconcerting, to say the least.

"There was some weird... flow of mana in the forest. It appeared right before they withdrew."
"Right before? Do you think it was a signal?"
"No. It was too rough for that. I think it's likely that they are after it."
"Their objective? Interesting. It'd be great if they would withdraw after getting it."

Those beasts were a pain to deal with. A single one was easy to deal with, but they never came alone. Like a swarm of insects they never seemed to thin out. What did they say again? Kill a fly and two will come to the funeral.

"Good job, reporting that, Wendl. Get some rest."
"Understood, Captain."

He saluted and left.

"A weird flow of mana, huh..."

I couldn't see mana, so I had no idea what worried Wendl so much.

"Now, what to do..."

The options were limited. To the point that I couldn't act, in fact. We had to get that barricade up. Our own lives took priority.

"Zaro."
"Eh? Ah, yes, Captain?!"
"Where is the search party?"
"They are bringing the injured to Ms Priest Maiden."
"I see. Continue."
"Yes, Captain!"

They might know something. It'd be nice if they knew something of value, but life rarely went that well. But, just maybe, today fortune might smile down upon us.

It didn't take me long to spot the four men from the search squad. They were indeed helping the Priest Maiden, carrying the injured to the tent. I wait for a moment until they carried the man into the tent and came back out.

"Rolan."
"Captain! How can I help?!"

The middle-aged squad leader saluted upon seeing me.

"I want a quick report on everything you found in the forest. Everything, but keep it brief."
"Ehhh..."
"Your response?"
"Yes, Captain!"

I knew it was an unreasonable demand, but it was necessary. Time was finite, and it was bothersome if they started to talk about unimportant parts. Nobody needed to know about the times they took a toilet break.

"Most of the forest is untouched. We have only found three spots that seemed to have hints of people. Remains of clothes, most likely children's clothes. There were no other noticeable signs to be found, Captain."
"Nothing? That's all?"
"That's all, Captain!"

That was beyond scarce.

"Did someone erase the tracks?"
"That is likely the case, Captain."
"Damn..."

My men weren't rangers or from a forest tribe. Some of them knew their way around a forest, but only to the degree of an apprentice hunter. Any seasoned ranger or hunter could erase their tracks and we wouldn't know any better.

"And absolutely no signs of our men, either?"
"None, Captain!"
"I see. Take your squad and help with the barricade once you are done here. If they are alive they'll survive in the forest for a while."
"... Understood, Captain."

And if they weren't, we'd be just wasting our time. Of course, I still prayed they were alive. As the captain of the Black Guards and as their comrade, I prayed they were.

---

"Over here, get that thing over here!"
"Raves, moves your goddamn ass, we don't have all day."
"If you got time to complain, then help me, dumbass."
"Haa? Who's a dumbass, limpdick?"
"Limpdick? Wasn't it you who couldn't get it up at the brothel last time?"
"IF YOU TWO GOT TIME TO ARGUE THEN YOU GOT TIME TO MOVE THOSE LOGS! NOW! IT'S HEAVY FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

Half an hour later, the barricade already saw some progress. Not as much as I would have liked though. Felling a tree was the simple part. Getting the logs ready, wasn't.

"Raves, Brohms, if you two continue I'll cut your salary."
""We're sorry, Captain!""
"Haa..."

The two bickering men rushed off to the next best log and started getting rid of the branches. Sometimes, I wondered if these mercenaries were grown men or just children in the skin of grown men. Well, I couldn't quite say I wasn't like that, either. But there was a time and place for such shenanigans.

"Captain!"
"Yes?"
"We cut down a few dozen trees with the Chief Mage's help. We're currently preparing them for use, but there are probably not enough logs. Should we continue setting up the first parts of the barricade?"
"Even a half-finished barricade is better than nothing, so do that first."

We could still get more trees with part of the barricade set up anyway.

"Understood! Also, a few men reported that they saw suspicious figures in the woods."
"Scouts?"
"No... They were apparently too small for that."
"Too small? Are you sure they weren't keeping low?"
"They claimed to be the size of children. And I believe a scout wouldn't be found that easily."
"True."

The size of children? Maybe fairies? Fairies would be troublesome. Hopefully none of the mischievous kind. Maybe they were angry that we were cutting down the trees...

"... Mh... I got your report. Continue."
"Yes, Captain!"
Now, where is the Priest Maiden? She's my best bet if it comes to fairies...

Returning once more to her tent, I found her inside. She was currently administering something to Marim, our heavily injured comrade. He was in pain, sweating and it seemed that he was having fever dreams. He was flailing, but contrary to the Priest Maiden's dainty figure, she had no troubles holding the giant twice her size down. Sometimes I wondered what would have become of her if she had taken up a weapon with that monstrous strength.

"Priest Maiden. How is he?"
"A little better."
"This is better?"
"Oh, yes, it is. He was screaming in pain until just earlier. Had to stuff his mouth."
"..."

That explained why there had been no agonised screams.

"So, Captain? How can I help you?"
"I need your opinion. Some men earlier saw figures the size of children. Could those be fairies?"
"Fairies? I doubt that. This forest doesn't have the vibrant energy of a fairy forest. And the only fairies that are as large as children would be elfen tribes."
"Elves, huh. Yeah, that's unlikely then."

But if those weren't fairies, then just what...

"That reminds me... Rolan said they found children's clothes... It couldn't be actual children, could it?"
"That I do not know."
"... I'll come back."
"Understood. I'll prepare some candy."

I very much doubted that would be necessary. Who knew if it really were children. But, if they were, it might come in handy.

"Rolan! I need your squad!"

I shouted at the busy mercenaries. It didn't take long until Rolan and his three men stood in front of me, each of them saluting.

"Rolan, some men have spotted silhouettes, probably children. Find them. But be careful, it might be a trick."
""""Understood, Captain!""""

I watched the four men marching back into the forest. Nodding to myself, I returned to my own tent. The sudden assault made me lose quite some time. I could only wonder when I had time to take a rest.

"Well then, time to finish that stupid report."

There were plenty of things left to do. But unfortunately, I had to get the report ready first. The faster my employer knew what had happened, the better. I scanned the inside of the tent, making sure nobody else was inside. Then I sat down at my desk and...

"Shit! If only we hadn't taken this job. It's an easy job my ass. Half the band is injured and four are even missing. Fuck!"

Slamming my fist onto the table and cursing to myself was something I could do only now, alone. I had to show a calm front to my men. Even if I was frustrated, even if I was in despair, I had to look calm. The moment I didn't would be our end.

"Goddamn it, I'll gut that fat arse and mix him into the waroxen's feed."

I took up the feather pen I had left earlier, opened the inkpot once more and dipped the tip of the pen in. No matter how much I cursed, I still had to get this shit done. What was done was done. The job had been a disaster. The convoy broken up and pillaged. The escorts scattered or dead. I didn't even want to know what became of the prisoners.

"Maybe I should ask for reinforcements or something. Pah, as if that gluttonous slime would care... That's why I hate working for nobles."
"Captain!"
"What?"

I had barely sat down and taken up the pen, being disturbed now was very far from amusing. One of my men had stormed in and was saluting at the entrance of the tent.

"The Priest Maiden and Leader Rolan are calling for you!"
"Rolan? I just sent him out, though."

It had barely been a few minutes since he left.

"Don't tell me he caught them already?"
"That's... In a sense... Yes..."
"I'll come."

I put down the still wet feather pen and closed the inkpot. Judging from his expression, something was wrong. Hopefully nothing troublesome.

---

"Don't touch me! Grrrrr!"
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
"Liar!"

What the heck was this?

"Ah, Captain!"
"Rolan... Please explain what is going on."
"Yes! Someone had been watching the camp so we dragged them out!"
"Okay, and who are these... kids?"

There were two children right in front of me, at most six or seven years old, both of them. One was a beastkin girl with long, dark hair, flowing straight down to her waist. It was close to a dark blue but also had an odd sheen, reminiscent of a rainbow. It would surely be some pretty hair if it wasn't so dirty. Her ears and her tail had the same colour. It was quite eye-catching. But not as eye-catching as the other girl. From the looks of it she was a human, but with a soft, bright pink for her hair. It was also abnormally long, going way past her waist.

Both of them are manakin, huh... Wonder why they were in the forest. Exiled?
"We don't know, Captain. They refuse to talk..."
"I see... Let's have the Priest Maiden handle it for now."

She was pretty good with children, after all.
The two kids were standing a little away, like frightened animals. Or at least one of them. The human girl was calm and only watched the other girl's reactions, apparently. In the meantime, the Priest Maiden was trying to approach them. But with every step she took, the children backed two steps away.

Is she sure that is going to work? The distance is just increasing...

After a few more steps, the Priest Maiden suddenly stopped. Then, she took something out of the waist pouch.

"Look here."

She held something out to them. It was something I knew quite well. Candy.
Candy was a pretty rare commodity. It wasn't something impossible to purchase but still quite a luxury.
The beastkin girl froze, staring at the candy.

"It's delicious."

The Priest Maiden slowly closed in, managing to get pretty close. Only once she was within a few steps did the girls back away again.

"This candy can be yours, you know?"
"..."
"If you don't want it, that's fine too. More for me."
"Ah."

The Priest Maiden backed away on her own.

"If you want it, you just need to come here."
"... Liar."

The beastkin girl suddenly backed away again, looking angry.

"I'm not lying. I'll really give it to you."
"..."

The girl wasn't reacting, only silently staring at the candy.

"Mh... Then, how about we make a trade?"
"... Trade?"
"In the forest are some bad people. Did you meet them? They have green skin, pretty hairy, are muscular and attack everyone."
"... The orcs?"

The Priest Maiden nodded with a small smile. Meanwhile, I was a little surprised such a young child knew about orcs.

"Right. So, if you tell us where you saw them, you can have this candy. Deal?"
"..."

The beastkin girl fell silent again, staring at the candy. She was apparently thinking about the trade.

Still, that other girl... She's only smiling, not saying anything... What's up with her? Is she mute? Or deaf even?

The other girl didn't intervene, she didn't even say anything, only warmly smiling at the beastkin girl, just like a mother would. As if she was pretending that she wasn't even present. It was, truth be told, a little creepy. A girl around seven years old shouldn't behave like that.

"Oh, Captain..."
"Mh?"

Rolan brought me back to reality and I focused on the beastkin girl again for now. She had stepped forward, slowly approaching the Priest Maiden.

"If... If I tell you... I can have it?"

Smiling at the question, the Priest Maiden stretched out her empty hand to the girl.

"Yes, but only if you properly tell us, okay?"
"Mhm."

The girl nodded and, after a little bit of hesitation, took her hand.

"Then, come and let's get that out of the way, yes? The faster we are done the sooner you can have the candy."
"... Mhm."
"Oh right, mind telling me your name?"
"... Lily."
"Lily, huh. That's a cute name. I'm Rea."

The Priest Maiden gently shook hands with the girl, Lily. Then she turned her attention to the other, pink-haired girl.

"What about you? Do you want candy too?"
"No, I do not," the girl answered bluntly.
"You don't have to hold back."
"I only accompanied this child for a little. Please do not mind me."
"Eh?"

'This child'? She was very clearly a child as well. Even the Priest Maiden was bewildered at this response.

"Eh... Then... Could you tell me your name?"
"Yumias la Freyr."
"... Pardon?"
"Yumias la Freyr. Well, that's the name I'm known by, here. There are other names if you want a different one."
"N—, No... That's... fine..."

The little girl suddenly introduced herself with a rather unbelievable name. The men watching the spectacle all started whispering among themselves.

To think I'd ever see someone with the guts to use the name of the witch. Well, she's just a child, but still. Did nobody ever teach her?

"Ehh... Yumi... as? Do you mind coming along, then?"
"I don't mind."
"That's... good..."

The Priest Maiden thankfully found her composure again. She led the two children towards one of the nearby tents.

"Rolan, get the others back to work. I'll join the Priest Maiden."
"Understood, Captain!"

It was time to see what was up with these kids...

---

"So, you saw them running back deep into the forest?"
"Mhm."
"And they didn't have any humans among them? As... prisoners, or so."
"Mhm."
"I see. Thank you."

After having led them into the tent and sitting down on some chairs, the Priest Maiden questioned the beastkin girl, Lily.
Having answered all her questions, she patted Lily's head. Her hair became even more ruffled, making her already slightly dirty appearance only worse.

"Then, as promised, the candy."
"... Waaahhh."

The girl received the candy, staring at it with a happy expression, bright as the sun. She held it up to look at it from all kinds of angles. After half a minute of staring at the candy, she cautiously popped it into her mouth. Her already big smile grew even wider and she kicked her legs into the air. Even her tail was swooshing left and right.

"Do you like the candy?"
"Mm!"

It was such a precious sight, that it made even me smile a little.

"That's great."

She patted the girl's head even more. I was pretty sure she was trying to prevent herself from hugging the girl. I could relate a little.

"Then, Lily, do you want to stay here tonight?"
"Mmh?"
"There's a warm blanket and even a delicious dinner.
"..."

Lily's gaze instantly turned sharp again. She was still suspicious, huh.

"So you don't want a blanket and a delicious dinner? You rather sleep outside? In the cold? On the hard ground?"
"Uhhh..."
"Why not take her up on it? They seem nice."

For the first time, the other girl said something on her own.

"... Mm. I got it. Then... I'll take you up... on that..."
"Is that so, is that so? Hehehe, then, come! Let's get you two clean!"
"Eh? Wah? Wai—

The Priest Maiden jumped out of her chair and lifted Lily up. The girl flailed around midair in an attempt to return to the ground.

"You too! Come!"

Carrying Lily with one arm, she grabbed Yumias hand with the other and dragged both of them away. We didn't have a proper bath, so she was most likely going to get the washbasin ready. The sounds of the three could be heard all the way to where I was sitting.

Lively, aren't we?

With a wry smile, I turned to the notes in front of me. I had written down all the important parts of what the girl told us.

"This might become troublesome..."

She hadn't told us anything really unexpected. But just having confirmation about some things was... troublesome on its own.

Let's see how far they've gotten with the barricade.

I stood up from the chair and walked out of the tent. The sun was still going strong, it'd still be a good while until evening.

"Captain!" a nearby mercenary called out to me.
"Is everything going well?"
"Yes, Captain! The barricade is making good progress and we'll be done by the evening at the current pace."
"Good. Continue."
"Yes, Captain!"

Good progress, huh. Hopefully, it was good enough.

---

"So, Priest Maiden, why are you here?"
"No need to glare, Captain."
"I think I have all the rights to glare when I enter my tent and see my bed occupied by children."

Two small bulges could be seen through the blanket, accompanied by a calm sleeper's breath.

"It's the best bed around, Captain."
"That's why it's my bed."
"So you want the children to sleep on the ground with only a blanket, yes?"
"... I never said that."
"Ehehe."

A chuckle escaped her. This woman was also troublesome in her own way.

"So? Is there something else?"
"Ah, yes. Captain, you're going to finish the documents right? Mind taking care of these two?"
"... I'm not a babysitter. Isn't that your job?"
"My job is making sure certain people don't die suddenly. And it'd be bad to take children along for that."

Couldn't argue with that, as much as I wanted to.

"Still, there's something I'd like to talk about first, Captain."
"Go ahead."
"These children. They're a little odd. Yumias, of course, but also Lily. Yumias barely talked, only saying something when I addressed her directly. And in an oddly mature way too. Honestly, she scares me a little..."
"I see... And the other one?"
"Lily... I don't think that's her actual name, probably a nickname. When I tried to pry she got quite defensive. She's a little feisty but those clothes, or rather what remains of them, they are pretty expensive."

Expensive clothes on a brat?

"A runaway noble? Or exiled?"
"Maybe. Or she got discarded. I don't know. Apparently, she can read and write, though. So she definitely has a good background."
"That so. That might be troublesome on its own."
"Ehehe... Still, they are good children, Captain."

Good children. They did seem like that. Both of them were peacefully sleeping on my bed.

"Ehehe, as I thought, Captain, don't you want to settle down?"
"I'm a mercenary. I won't settle down."
"Are you sure? You had quite the smile earlier, watching them. Don't you want to have children of your own?"
"... That's enough. Go and do your job."
"Ehehe, I understand. Good luck, Captain."

The Priest Maiden stood up and left the tent.

"Seriously..."

I took another glance at the two girls in my bed.

"Can't be helped."

Time to get back to work. Sleeping one day on the ground with a blanket wasn't that much of a problem.