"Run! Run, your life depends on it!"
"Haaa... Haa... Have... Haaa... Mer... Haaa... Haaa... cy..."
"No slacking! Run! Go, go, go!"

I was dying. Most likely literally. My lungs hurt, my legs hurt, I was gasping for breath and felt like I'd fall over any second now and my vision was swimming.

"Yumi, you can do it!"
"Yumi! Yumi! Give it your best! Your best!"

Three little girls stood to the side, cheering for me. While enjoying a break.

Save me!
"Hey, no slowing down! Keep up the tempo!"
"Haaa... Haaa... Haaa..."
"For every gasp, you get one extra lap!"
Demon! A demon!

Running... I never knew... running could be this cruel... this torturous...

"Go, go, go! You nearly did it!"
"Haa... Haaa...."

The goal was in sight... Karen stood there, smiling. Heaven. It was the door to heaven. Ahh... I was coming!

"Whoops, caught you. Are you okay, Yumi?"
"Haa... Haaa... Haa... I... I... Haaa... Haa... Have... Haaa... Ascended... Haa... Haaa..."
"... What? Uhm... Are you sure you're alright? Yumi?"

Ahh... I have reached heave— Something was wrong. My stomach. My stomach feels...

"Eh? Yumi? Woah, there, there, do it there!"

Things I have learnt today: Extreme exhaustion might make you vomit.

---

"Do you feel better now?"
"Nn... Somehow..."

After I had... relieved my stomach... and caught my breath, I was lying down on a bench, my head resting in Karen's lap. She was gently stroking my head. In a way, I really had found heaven.

"Still, to think it was... that bad."
"Lily, she tried her best."
"Well, yes, that's kind of the problem, Karen..."

Hey, I hadn't been doing this on purpose! I didn't know my stamina was this bad either!

"Now, you two. It's not all that surprising. If you don't exercise that's the natural result."
"But... Merim... this bad?"
"Yes. It could've been worse, you know? If you don't exercise at all, a human would be out of breath after two minutes. But Yumi at least managed to finish her lap."

It had only taken me like... eight minutes or so? By the way, Lily had only taken two minutes to finish a lap, and Karen just over three... They hadn't even been out of breath either. Surely... If they wanted to, they could finish even faster...
But, at the very least... I wasn't the only one who had it bad!

"Uhhh... Why do I have to do this too?"
"Because it is healthy. Even if you don't fight, you still need some stamina for your everyday life."
"... It worked fine until now."

A sigh was heard.
Similar to me, someone was lying on the other bench and using Lily's lap as a pillow.
The person in question? Rina. Not to mention that she had just as bad stamina as I had... she couldn't even finish the lap. Alas, it was understandable in her case. She had been imprisoned for years, after all.

"Now, now. If you train a little you can do a lot more things than before, Rina. It's only good for you."
"Uhhh..."
"Either way, you two need to get some basic stamina training behind you. Especially you, Yumi. If you get out of breath just by carrying that flag for three metres, you're next to useless..."
"..."

I already knew I was next to useless, there was no need to drive more nails into my poor heart...

"In any case, I'll go report to the Captain, you four girls can take a break until dinner."
"Got it, until later."
"Until later, Mr Merim."

Lily and Karen say goodbye to him, as he waved and left.

"Still, until dinner?  That's quite a long break."

Karen gently stroke my cheek with her hand.

"Considering how worn out these two already are, that's going to be necessary, I guess."
"Nn... My legs... hurts..."

They hurt a ton, actually. My chest also hurt, but not as bad as my legs.

"Mh... That's troublesome, I planned to go into the city with you after training..."
"... That's impossible."

I felt a little sorry but... It really was. Impossible. Absolutely and utterly.

"Then, we'll have to go tomorrow..."
"I'm fairly sure we're going to train tomorrow morning again so..."
"Ah, right..."
"..."

Was I going to go through this hell every morning now? Really?
How in the blazes was this 'moderate' training that wouldn't scare of new recruits? It sure did a good job in scaring me away. On the first day, even!

"Do you have something urgent to do in town?"
"Not quite... we wanted to get some cloth for clothes. And we wanted to buy a Savonette for Yumi."
"... Why are you buying cloth for clothes? Can you sew?"
"No. I wanted to let Wanda do that."
"Ha?"

Lily let out a stupefied sound.

"Karen. Why... are you buying the cloth? Isn't it Wanda's job to have cloth?"
"It's cheaper if we bring her cloth."
"... Haaaa, really? Kareeeeeeen."
"Eh? Wha— Stop it, Lily!"

Lily was stretching over the table and pulling Karen's cheeks.

"Listen, Karen. Money exists to be used. So, use it! How much would you save anyway? Some copper coins? We earn enough that you don't have to worry about those minor things!"
"They aren't minor! What if we suddenly need money?"
"If we suddenly need more money than we could cough up, something else has likely gone really wrong before that, you know? Anyway, depending on it, the Captain might help you out in covering it too. Will just get deducted from your wage, of course."

Lily pulled Karen's cheeks to a comical length, then squished them back together and pulled again.

"This is... quite fun."
"Wiwy,  wouwd yuu pwease sdob?"

Lily let go of her cheeks after Karen begged for it.

"You got some surprisingly squishy and stretchy cheeks, Karen. Are you sure you aren't Yumi's real long lost sister or so?"
"Uhhh... Unfortunately not... Ahh, now my cheeks hurt."
"Anyway, back to our topic. Just, go to Wanda and done. That little bit of money isn't worth the time you waste on it... You don't even know how much you'd save anyway, right?"
"... I don't."
"See, then just go to Wanda."
"But..."

Karen furrowed her brows, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of 'wasting' that money.

"Karen, why does money exist?"
"Eh? Uhm, to buy things?"
"Not that, why can we buy things with it?"
"That's... Because people decided on a value for the money and an appropriate value for other things so you can exchange them?"
"Ahh, no, not that. Not like that. I mean, you could technically also just barter with other things. You give me a shirt and I make you a shoe. But we don't. Why? Because it is inconvenient! Money exists to make it easier and more convenient. The same goes for the things we buy with it. We use money to make our lives comfortable!"

Karen froze, thinking for a second.

"Is... Is that how it works?"
"It is!"
"I... I see..."

She nodded as if she had found enlightenment.

"So, don't mind such minor expenses!"
"Mhh..."

I had the subtle feeling that we shouldn't let Lily handle money. Ever. It would be gone in a flash.

"Sis. You shouldn't think too hard about it. If it doesn't hurt our savings too much, then it should be fine to let it go sometimes. Especially if it's something bothersome and we barely save anything. Just... Don't waste it on every minor thing."
"So, this isn't a minor thing? Mh..."

She thought, going into town and looking all over for cloth, likely wasting an entire day in the process, wasn't minor?

"Well, uhm... Let's just say if it takes a long time to do then it's fine. We'd have to look all over for cloth right? That might take the entire day. Also, I am sure that Wanda knows better what kind of cloth is good and what isn't, unlike us."
"Ah... That's a good point..."

She paused for a second, then smiled at me.

"I understand. Then, let's leave it to Wanda."
"Nn."
"But for the Savonette we'll have to look for ourselves."

Well, the pocket watch wasn't that urgent. It was convenient, but you could get the approximate time by looking up at the sky.

"That reminds me. Savonettes are also made by magic craftsmen. The Captain was going to contact one, right? Because of your hair."
"Ah."

Right. Then, we could maybe ask that craftsman to make one, maybe? Having a pocket watch that was similar to Karen's would be nice.

"We'll have to talk with them anyway, I guess."
"Nn."
"I wonder what they are going to make out of your hair..."
"Nn..."

That was actually a good question. I remembered that Korwen was quite ecstatic about it but... Outside of making it possibly into armour, we never talked about it in detail... Or did we?

"Most likely armour and bags. It can probably replace most of the leather armours that are used here. I guess Korwen will want to make some bags too, most likely coin pouches."
"... I hope I won't go bald..."

Just the imagination of how much would be needed for that... worried me.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. If too much of it appears, people will grow curious. If I had to take a guess, at most a handful of armours and maybe two or three bags."
"I see... That's a bit of a relief."

The immediate danger of turning into a material farm was alleviated.

"Mmm..."
"Sis?"

Karen was furrowing her brows and groaning a little.

"I kind of don't like the thought that people will use Yumi's hair..."
"What are you saying this late... You should've thought about that earlier, Karen."
"I know... I know it's necessary and all... But I still don't like it."

She pouted. She was jealous.
She was jealous that people would use my hair.

"Ehehe."
"Yumi?"
"Sis, thank you."
"Mh?"

I wrapped my arms and my hair around Karen and squeezed her. I didn't know if she could even feel that I did it with my hair too, but that didn't matter to me right. I just wanted to hug her.

"Yumi? Ah, you're really spoiled, aren't you?"

Karen gently stroke the top of my head and my cheeks.

"... Do you two never feel embarrassed about flirting in public?" Lily asked in an exasperated tone.
I sure don't want to hear that from you, Lily. Karen might not see it but I can clearly see Rina rubbing her cheeks on your thighs and hugging your tail.

---

Two days ago we had returned to the capital and witnessed the literal death of the forest. In those two days, there had been quite a few incidents, mainly run-ins with the military, who wanted to know what had happened.
Overall, it had been a lot less of an issue than expected. People were occupied with the looming start of the war. Yesterday, they officially announced it to the public. Of course, most people didn't exactly rejoice at the news. Together with the quake from the forest that day, I doubted that they could keep calm and worry-free.

The ones actually interested in what had happened in the forest were people from the Academy and a few other people. One of which was currently sitting right in front of us.

"Hohoho, I see you two get along well just like before."

An older woman sat there. She had watched with a smile when we entered, hand in hand. Thankfully, my legs had recovered to the point that I could walk, otherwise, who knows what she might think...
She put a small cup to her lips and took a sip. When I took a closer look, it seemed to be tea. I only ever saw people here drinking water, ale or other alcoholic beverages, mostly from waterskins or large mugs, so seeing the small steaming cup was a little bit of a surprise.

"It's good to see the young generation getting along, isn't it, Mr Korwen?"
"It is, Lady Karker. But if I may ask, how come you know the two of them?"
"Hohoho, we had a small meeting at the festival."
"I see."

The older woman smiled. Korwen had told us about her before we came but I was still surprised: She was the kind stall owner who had given us our bracelets. There had been a small incident later, so I already suspected she was someone with quite a public standing but...

Lady Arias Karker, the current head of the Karker family. A family only second in authority to the King and the royal family. It sounded like something similar to a duke family or so, but apparently that was wrong. They weren't related by blood or anything to the royal family, in fact, they kept their families separated as much as possible. According to Korwen, it was more appropriate to call them a second 'royal family' with its own authority.
It was confusing as hell when Korwen tried to explain it to me, though. I still didn't get it...
The only thing I got was, that the Karker family was closer to a supervisor, making sure the royal family doesn't destroy the country and that no inappropriate person took the throne. In the worst case, they could even dethrone the King.

"Well, it's good if you already know each other. That makes things easier."
"Hoho? Does it make things easier, though?"
"... Please go easy on me, Lady Karker."
"We'll see, we'll see."

She giggled, but quickly returned to a serious look, her gaze piercing Korwen.

"Now, Mr Korwen, I am sure you know why I am here."
"... It's because of the incident with the forest and the Academy contract, I assume? I doubt you have come because of the war."
"Mh... You're not quite wrong but... The war is part of the reason I have come."

Korwen's eyes widened a little.

"Is this a job offer?"
"Not for participation, if that's what you expect, no. The military is full of egocentric idiots that wouldn't let any mercenaries fight for them."

She shook her head with visible exasperation.

"But that is neither here nor there, no, I have a little request, rather than a job offer."
"A... request?"
"Yes. If I recall correctly, you employ several women as mercenaries, right?"
"... We do."

She took a sip from her tea, before continuing.

"I'd like to hire them. There are currently some... squabbles between a few noble families. My second daughter fears that something might happen, just like it did ten years ago."
"... So you want to increase your guards? But... shouldn't you hire actual knights for that?"
"Mh, we do, of course, hire them. And I am certain they are more than enough to protect my granddaughter. But the person I want you to take care of is not actually part of our family. Well, not yet."

Lady Karker turned around, facing the two girls behind her.

"You two, you should introduce yourself."
"Ah, yes!"
"Y, yes!"

The two girls stepped forward shyly.

"I, I am Elma, Elma Karker. Fifteen years old!"
"I'm... Nela... Fifteen... Nice to meet you..."

The smaller one, Elma, had black, long hair, and fluffy ears and a tail. She reminded me a lot of Lily, even the type of ears and her tail were the same. But her hair hadn't had that rainbow sheen on it. It was just plain black.
The taller one, Nela, had short, brown hair. She looked... quite plain. It was a cute plain, but there was nothing really outstanding. She seemed to be human? Probably.

"Mh? No family name? Then..."
"Yes, she's a commoner. And also the girlfriend of my cute granddaughter."

The two girls in question stared at the ground, hearing those words. Their faces were bright red.

"Hohoho, adorable, right? Precious youth."
"Lady Karker... Isn't it in bad taste to tease them?"
"Mr Korwen, you don't understand. It's the privilege of the elderly to poke fun at the young."
"Haa..."

A laugh escaped her. She really enjoyed this, didn't she?

"Now, now. But as you can surely surmise now, I want you to take care of little Nela. Only until the squabbles have calmed down. I actually wanted to ask if they could even stay here and commute to the Academy from here but..."

She looked at Korwen for a short while, before continuing.

"Mr Korwen, if I may be so rude, why are the Black Guards with you?"
"... The Black Guards have recently come under us."
"I see... I see..."
"Is there a problem? They are good people."
"Ah, no, no. I don't doubt that. I know them myself. It's a personal matter, so to speak."

She shook her head.

"I have a little history with little Greyward, you could say. But it might be troublesome, to involve the children with it. So, let's refrain from that."
"... I see. If that's the case then it can't be helped. Then, I will send Fenna's squad along as an escort. But, Lady Karker, knowing you, you surely asked the Flower Brigade as well, haven't you?"
"I have and they agreed to the job. It was them actually who recommended to ask you as well, Mr Korwen. The Flower Brigade is a small group and to make sure nothing happens, they said some support might be helpful."
"... That surprises me a little."
"Hohoho."

The Flower Brigade and Fenna's squad, huh. If the Flower Brigade was really as capable as I heard, then, together with Fenna and her companions, that would make for quite the escort.

"... Are you two girls also part of that squad?"
"Eh?"

Mrs Karker suddenly turned to us.

"These two are still in training, so they aren't. And Yumi works as my secretary currently anyway."
"That's unfortunate. It would've been a relief if they were part. But considering how open they are about it, I assume the women you will send don't have an issue with it."
"... I cannot speak for everyone, but I haven't heard of any notable issues that they have with it. If anything does happen, please do inform me immediately."
"Mm, I will. Then, should we talk about compensation?"

She pulled out a bag... and opened it.

"I assume this will be enough for now?"

I had to make sure my jaw didn't drop suddenly. A small mountain of gold coins was revealed.

"These are... Mh, around a month's pay."
"I do not think it will take longer than a month. You can keep the rest in that case. If it takes longer, I will come back."
"Understood. Then, Lady Karker, we will accept this job."
"I am pleased to hear that."

Korwen stuck out his hand and she took it, exchanging a firm handshake.

"With that out of the way, do you mind if we take a small rest here? There aren't many places where I am not hounded by those pesky fat nobles."
"Lady Karker, that's... a troublesome choice of words."
"Hohoho, but it's true isn't it?"

She took another sip and then turned to Karen and me.

"Also, I'd like to talk with these two a little."
"With... us?" Karen asked, hesitant.
"No need to be scared. You helped me out quite a bit at the festival. I just want to hear a little about you. Call it an old woman's indulgence. And it shan't be your loss either."

She took out another small bag and opened it.

"How about it? Want to join me a little?"
"Then, I will excuse myself. Lady Karker, if you need anything, just call for me."
"I will, thank you, Mr Korwen."

Korwen left, without saying another word.

"Now then, how about it?"

I stared at the contents of the bag. Inside was something familiar, very familiar.

"I made them myself, so I am quite confident about the taste. Also, Elma, Nela, come and sit down too. No need to stand at attention anymore."

The two girls, still a little reluctant, sat down next to Mrs Karker.

"Go ahead and try one. No need to hold back."

She urged us on... Karen was clearly bewildered and had no idea what to do. Most likely, she didn't even know what it was that lie in front of her.

"... Nn, then... I'll take you up on it."

I mustered my courage and took one. And after taking a good look, I took a bite.

"... Sweet."
"Hohoho, they are, right? They're called cookies. They're like a little cake, aren't they?"
"... Nn."

Small, light brown cookies were in the bag. They were even still a little warm, so they likely were made today.

"... Are they good, Yumi?"
"Nn, you should try one, Sis."
"Then, if you don't mind..."

Karen also took a cookie and...

"Sweet. They really are sweet..."
"Hohoho, you like them, I assume?"
"Nn. They're delicious."
"They really are."
"Is that so. Is that so. That makes me happy. Then, let's enjoy them, shall we?"

With a smile, she set down yet another bag with cookies on the table.

---

"I see, you've had it hard too. Mh, to think that boy Korwen would actually do something good for once."
"Uhm... Is... Is it that hard to live... in the slums?"
"It is... I never knew when I could get my hands on food and most of the food... was pretty bad too."
"Mh, this city has something like a district for the poor too, but it is not even comparable to the slums in Arkesta, Elma. Here, you can still get work and food rather reliably."

An hour or two later, we still sat around the table, talking with Mrs Karker, Elma and Nela. The cookies were long gone, of course. They were really delicious.
Karen had told them about her life in the slums, the things that happened and how we ended up with the mercenaries. None of them judged her for having come from the slums. Rather, it was the opposite. They were impressed that she managed to survive in such conditions. Not to mention Mrs Karker, but Elma and Nela also seemed to be good girls at heart.

"Mrs Karker, have you been in Arkesta before?"
"I have. Not like I enjoy remembering it. That was before the war and before the current emperor took the throne. The nobles of that country were slimy bastards, showering you with compliments while rubbing their hands in greed. The emperor at the time, the father of the current one, was nothing more than a puppet too. The country was completely under control of the nobles and they extorted everyone as much as they could."
"The nobles? Not the emperor?"
"Yes, the nobles. With the current emperor, things changed and the nobles lost a lot of their power but... in a way, it has only become worse, since the new emperor is a power-hungry warmonger. From one terrible pair of hands into the other."

Mrs Karker took a sip from her tea. It was a mystery when she was even getting her refills...

"But believe me, while the Akkian Empire is bad, it is not the worst this world has to offer. If you travel with the mercenaries, you will likely encounter many incomprehensible and cruel things."
"..."
"Let's talk of something a little more happier. Rather than that, tell me more about how you two have met."
"Ah, yes."

And like that, Karen continued telling them. She told them everything that we didn't mind them knowing. How Karen and I met in the slums, how we met Wanda, Lily and the mercenaries and how we rescued Rina. Karen also told them a little about what had happened at the fort and the forest, but she kept it vague, not knowing how much would be okay to say.
Mrs Karker and the two girls listened, without interrupting or complaining that she withheld some things. It was a little hard for Karen to tell her about the confession though... And our nights together were completely left out, of course. I had been a little worried that Karen might get too much into it and that I would have to stop her.

"Hohoho, I see, so that's how you two met. What a cute story."

Mrs Karker smiled gently when Karen finished and nodded to herself. Elma and Nela were staring at us, sparkles in their eyes.

"Thank you, for telling us about it. It was a nice story to hear."
"Ah, no, I am glad that you enjoyed."
"Nn."

It had been a very comfortable time. We had also heard a little about how Elma and Nela met at the Academy, so it was only fair to tell them about us as well. Admittedly, their story was quite plain. They had simply met at the Academy and Elma had approached Nela, who was intimidated by all the noble and rich children around her. They had gotten along and at some point fell in love. But even if it was plain, it was cute and heartwarming. They barely faced any problems and I hoped for them, that it would stay like that.

"Excuse me, Yumi, Karen, are you here?"
"Nn?"

Someone interrupted us, opening the door to the wagon we sat in.

"Oh! Lady Karker, I apologise. I wasn't aware you were still here!"
"Hohoho, it seems we've stayed for quite some time."

Fenna stood at the door and saluted, the second she saw Mrs Karker still sitting here.

"Hoo? Are you maybe Fenna?"
"Ah, yes! It is an honour that you know my name!"
"No need to be so stiff, girl. Relax a little. Mh, I heard from Tonna about you. I am looking forward to your work."

Mrs Karker stowed away her bags and... her tea set mysteriously vanished as well... I hadn't even seen her putting it away.

"Then, Elma, Nela, let's take our leave."
"Yes, grandma."
"Understood."
"Then, it was a nice time. Until next time."

She led the two girls out of the wagon after saying her goodbye.
Seeing them gone, Fenna suddenly collapsed on the floor.

"Fe, Fenna? Are you okay?"
"I... How could I be okay? How can you two be so lax about it? That was Lady Arias Karker!"
"Well, uhm..."

Even if she said that... She was more like... Mh...

"That... doesn't really feel real, though. It's more like... she's a kind grandmother?"
"Nn, she even told us before to call her grandmother as well, but..."
"That's a little much..."

Even during our little talk just now, she told us a few times to drop the 'Mrs Karker' and just call her grandmother.

"... Seriously, you two are amazing that you can stay so relaxed around her... Don't you know? She's the most powerful person in this country after the King!"
"We do know..."

But as we said, it didn't feel all that real. She even baked her own cookies.

"I don't get it... Ahh... I get all nervous when I think about that job..."
"Ahaha..."

Poor Fenna was overwhelmed by anxiety, it seemed.

"Uhm, why were you calling us?" Karen asked, trying to change the topic.
"Ah, right! We're making dinner so I was looking for you to help out. Some idiots got their hands on tons of boar meat, so we're going to make a big barbecue."
"... Why are they idiots? Isn't that a good thing?"
"It would be good if they had thought in advance on how to store it, yes. Well, even so, it was apparently quite a bargain so it doesn't matter really. And we haven't had a celebration yet after the matter with the fort, so now is as good a time as any."

Was it that problematic to store the meat, though?

"Miss Fenna, how much meat are we talking about?"
"Enough to fill a few wagons up to the ceiling and still have some leftover."

Okay, yes, with such an amount I sure could see it being a problem...

"Where... did they even get that much?"
"Some merchants are getting rid of their stock so they can flee. Not everyone is looking positively at the coming war. Still, whoever stocked up on so much boar meat... I don't know... It's even fresh boar meat... Anyway, the Captain is leading a group to collect the meat and bring it over, while some others buy other ingredients, can't have only meat. We have to prepare the fire and everything else."
"Okay, we'll help."
"Great."

A large celebration, huh. With barbecue. With barbecue!
How did boar taste anyway? Hopefully good.
Oh, that was something to look forward to.