Chapter 10: A Step In The Right Direction
Coming out of his stupor before his wife while his daughter seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep, Amarant tore his eyes from the breathtaking sight to look at the armoured soldier floating to his side.
"If there were any doubts before, I can say for sure that they've all but vanished." He said in a calm tone of voice.
Sam turned to look at the King, staying silent, deciding to merely nod in response to Amarants statement.
Seeing the lack of response, Amarant decided not to mind it; instead chose to move forward to the most pressing question on his mind.
"So what do you plan to do now? Where do you plan to go?"
Hearing the question on the intercom, Queen Eleanora began to pay attention to the conversation while Dr. Halloway was preparing herself to respond; however, she stopped herself as she wanted to see what Sam would say. Solace had informed her of the conversation she had with Sam; thus, she wanted to see if there had been any improvement.
Thinking through his answer, Sam finally opened his mouth to say,
"My orders are to protect Dr. Halloway by any means necessary… The safest way to do so would be to escort her back to AHSC command. However, I neither have the means nor the know-how in order to achieve that goal. With that in mind, such tasks should be left in the capable hands of the Dr., while I focus on securing her safety on this planet so she can find a solution to the first problem."
"I see…" Amarant replied.
"And how do you plan to ensure her safety, if you don't mind me asking." Queen Eleanora asked.
Sam stayed silent, wondering if he should reveal such information. Sam's instincts told him that the safest option would be to keep their whereabouts and actions as hidden from outside forces as possible in the present situation. However, remembering his conversation with Solace, Sam decided to put some trust in the Monarchs. For now, at least.
"As Magic is largely an unknown subject to us, I do not have adequate knowledge on how to counter such things. Thus, the first order of business would be to secure an ally or allies. If such a thing can be achieved, I will gain two things from such an endeavour. Firstly, a secure location in which the Dr. can perform her research to find a method of returning to AHSC command, and secondly, a means to teach me about Magic in order for me to develop my skills with it, or at least develop countermeasures against it. So far, those are my top priorities."
As Sam finished his explanation, he turned his head to look directly at the Monarchs.
Hearing what Sam had to say, as well as seeing him turn to look their way, Amarant and Eleanora understood what Sam was implying.
If they played their cards right, Sam would look to their kingdom as his first ally, a location in which he could secure his charge as well as learn Magic.
After witnessing the state of the Espion Agents, it was clear to Amarant and Eleanora that Sam was an extremely powerful warrior, especially since, from what his words implied, he had defeated the entire squad without using an ounce of Magic.
Such a thing was utterly absurd from the common sense of this world. Even if one didn't have a large mana pool and had yet to learn techniques to increase the amount they had, Martial Artists had long discovered how to supplement their techniques with reinforcement magic and other buffs that required minimal mana consumption. So all combatants used mana and Magic, just at differing degrees of intensity.
Someone like Sam, who did not even know how to use mana, being capable of defeating trained Espion Agents, sounded like a fairy tale or the ramblings of a drunkard boasting about past glories. But the truth was right before their eyes, with the Espion Agents left secured in the clearing back on the Planet below protected by some sort of glowing yellow barrier known as a 'bubble shield' as Sam had called it.
While he didn't know how or why Sam was so powerful, if given proper training in the use of mana, Amarant could easily picture Sam becoming a monster among monsters.
Eleanora understood this as well. Thus, with his mind racing at the possible ways to benefit from this, Amarant came up with many different scenarios in which having a warrior of Sam's calibre would benefit the Arcadian Kingdom greatly. Then, with a plan brewing in his mind, Amarant nodded before speaking.
"The Arcadian Kingdom would like to welcome you with open arms. If you would have us as your ally, I can personally ensure that a secure location for Dr. Halloway's research will be provided. As for lessons in Magic itself, that can be provided; however, a few prior conditions and agreements must be made before I agree."
Hearing the King's words, Sam was internally satisfied that he had at least secured a location for Dr. Halloway. However, listening to the second half, Sam stayed silent and awaited the King's conditions for him.
Seeing Sam staying silent, Amarant continued.
"In our kingdom, despite the freedoms afforded to the general public, any magics beyond the beginner tier are strictly regulated. Intermediate tier magic and above are reserved purely for military personnel; thus, while you would be considered our ally, you would still need to accumulate military commendations and merits in order to progress through your lessons."
Hearing this, Sam stiffened ever so slightly, hardly noticeable to any average person, but to professionals as perceptive as Amarant and Eleanora, it was obvious like the sun shining in the sky.
Sensing Sam's discomfort, Amarant realised that his words were interpreted as consigning Sam directly into Arcadia's military; thus, he quickly opened his mouth to rectify the misunderstanding, but his wife beat him to it.
"Do not misunderstand, Sam. We are not trying to get you to loyally serve as a soldier in our military. It is more along the lines of hiring you as a mercenary for specific missions. Better yet, it is similar to hiring you as an adventurer through the Adventurer's Guild, for example."
Hearing the Queen's words, Sam relaxed slightly, especially after making the connection between Eleanora's words and the novels he'd previously read, mainly pertaining to Adventurer's and the Adventurer's Guild. Of course, he understood that Adventurers were merely glorified mercenaries, but it did settle his discomfort somewhat.
Sam then turned his head towards the Albatross floating behind them, catching Dr. Halloway staring at him from the cockpit.
Seeing Sam look at her, Dr. Halloway giggled in her mind while outwardly portraying a calm expression.
Watching Sam step out of his comfort zone and actually negotiate with someone, instead of merely asking her for orders, actually satisfied her more than she'd like to admit.
While she did care for all the Einherjar subjects, Sam had always been closer to her than the rest; thus, her expectations for him differed somewhat from what she expected of the others.
While the AHSC, and herself, expected the Einherjar to be the pinnacle of soldiers performing their tasks with machine-like precision, Sam was different for Dr. Halloway.
She wanted him to evolve further than the rest did.
While the other Einherjar were like machines, Dr. Halloway saw merit in having some semblance of human emotion and normalcy when performing their tasks; thus, with the aid of Solace, they strove to break Sam out of his shell, getting him to learn to make decisions for himself that didn't require prior orders, even if a superior officer was present to give such orders.
"I'll leave the decision to you, Sam."
Hearing the Doctor's words, Sam nodded his head, answering,
"Understood." Before turning back to face The Monarchs.
"According to AHSC regulations, Einherjar assets are prohibited from performing missions that have not been approved by High Command. In addition, actions such as providing Einherjar assets for non-AHSC use, for example, mercenary work, or Einherjar assets being absent without leave, are liable to be punished by court-martialing and in extreme cases, high treason."
Hearing Sam's words, both Amarant and Dr. Halloway frowned while Eleanora sighed; however, Sam continued.
"However, Designation, Echo 004 of the AHSC Spirit of Discovery, is currently performing a mission to escort a High Priority asset and secure said asset's safety. In order to complete said mission, Echo 004 has deemed it necessary to secure both allies as well as knowledge on a new threat, designated as Magic. Thus, it has been deemed within reason that Echo 004 be allowed to operate beyond the scope of AHSC regulations in order to complete the current mission."
When Sam finished speaking, both Amarant and Regina had broad smiles on their faces for two different reasons, while the Queen just smiled gently with plans brewing within her mind, some of which involved her errant son and brother-in-law.
"So I take it, you agree with the conditions?" Amarant asked.
With Sam nodding in confirmation, Amarant felt jubilant on the inside at obtaining such a powerful card to play.
Dr. Halloway and Solace were grinning from ear to ear, sneaking a glance at each other, confirming each other's thoughts.
This was the first time either of them had witnessed Sam thinking for himself about his current mission instead of merely operating within the guidelines in order to complete said mission.
The way he had skillfully found a loophole within the AHSC regulations to fulfil his goals was seen as a big step in the right direction to moulding Sam into the most versatile and adaptive Soldier the AHSC had ever seen.
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With how late into the night it was, Ariana couldn't stop herself from succumbing to the peacefulness that floating in zero-G granted her, dozing off in her mother's arms despite the beautiful view before them, missing the entire conversation involving future plans.
Seeing this, Sam led everyone back into the Albatross before reentering the Planet's atmosphere, arriving back at the same clearing in which they'd first landed in.
Coming out of the cockpit, Sam escorted the Royal Family out into the open before the Monarch's and Shirogane activated their flight spells on themselves and the still unconscious Espion Agents and made their way back to the castle with Ariana still fast asleep.
Now alone, Sam made his way back into the Albatross, only to find Dr. Halloway waiting for him in the passenger bay.
"You handled yourself well back there, Sam. I half expected you to deny the King's conditions and either look for a different country to ally with or simply acquire the knowledge through more covert means."
Sam remained silent when he heard Regina's words but finally said,
"In an unknown situation such as this, the likelihood of finding another opportunity such as this without knowing other variables is almost certainly zero. Therefore, it was the most logical choice at that point in time. If your safety can be secured, thereby guaranteeing this mission's success, by temporarily disregarding regulations, I believe that my actions will be deemed justifiable when giving my report."
"Sigh… I suppose that makes sense. Good work, Soldier."
With that, Sam proceeded to salute before turning around and making his way back outside to continue securing the area.
Regina watched as Sam left, sighing to herself once more, before returning to the cockpit to get some sleep. Thanks to Sam's negotiations, tomorrow was going to be a busy day, so she wanted to get as much sleep as she could.
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