"Here," I called out while dropping the two platters weighing my hands down with how full of food they were. "The drinks will arrive shortly," I added before taking a seat at the table and reaching out for one of the servings.
The food at the relay station was simple. I could only taste a distant hint of meat in the thick, vegetable-heavy creme that I happily gobbled up with a piece of hard bread.
'Eating after a long journey really hits differently,' I thought, amazed by the simple yet filling taste of the soup.
There was maybe a single chunk of meat used for an entire pot of this stew… But whoever cooked it, somehow pulled out every bit of flavor from what little meat he had, making a far better meal than what I expected to be served an entire day of forced run from the nearest city!
"Haaa…" I exhaled a long sigh, finally allowing myself to relax as the warm food fell down my throat.
The metabolism of my host was something else. The very moment I felt the food fill my stomach, it felt as if the long-forgotten world of energy and motivation invited me.
A single sip of the stew and bite of the stew-soaked bread felt better than the healing spell a saintess cast upon me after the tournament!
I took another bite before heaving another sigh.
As great as the food was when stacked against my expectations, we weren't dining in the empty openness of the main hall of the local barn just to fill ourselves.
No, these few moments before we would head off to sleep were a precious opportunity to finally tackle several matters that I've ignored so far.
"First thing first, let's introduce ourselves," I initiated after giving the three of us some time to satiate the first hunger.
And to be honest, after an entire day of snacking on nothing more than dried jerky that filled the pockets of our luggage, it took quite some time before we managed to move from devouring our servings to properly enjoying the food.
"I'm Theo, this is a kid," I properly introduced myself and nodded my head to the girl before pointing with my open hand at the only other survivor of my mercenary company.
"Hey!" the youngest regained some of his energy after getting some food, making him extremely jumpy right now. "I know that's how everyone referred to me back then, but can you seriously stop?!"
My eyebrows shoot up my face.
'The young one is showing his fangs,' I thought, more amused by the outburst than alerted or surprised by it.
The very reason why I never bothered to remember the kid's name was because of a belief that in every mercenary company, the youngest of the members would periodically die.
It stemmed from how those lacking experience would be much more exposed to injury and accidents, making their life all the more fragile.
That's why, save for those who, like my host, joined the company with baggage of serious experience, mercenaries would gain their right only after overcoming their rite of passage.
For some, it would be their first time wasted in public under the drunken stares of their companions. For others, it would mean coming out alive from their first major battle after scoring at least one kill.
The rites of passage were of many sorts and kinds, making the bar for approving one's name quite low and highly likely to occur along one's path as a mercenary.
But what I was sure off, the kid didn't go through it yet.
"You have yet to earn the right for that," I pointed out while nodding at the server who finally arrived with our drinks. My hand grabbed at the cup before bringing it to my lips and filling my mouth with the uncannily sweet gulp of ale.
"Didn't I survive that tournament? Didn't I kill that damn noble?!" the young one quickly started to fire up. "Are you going to tell me this isn't fucking enough?!"
My eyebrows moved even further up my face than before.
In all honesty, I didn't expect the kid to snap so hard, to the point of jumping up the table and slamming his hands against it with his last shout.
Still, this outburst warped from amusing to an infuriating one the second the kid raised his voice.
"You merely finished him off," I corrected the kid's mistake. "And you survived only because that bastard designated you as the lamb to spare to show his mercy."
There were way too many things in my head for me to bother with the self-worth problem of this kid.
The only reason why I kept him around was to prevent sowing any seeds of disaster by taking the reward for myself.
I knew not how long I would have to spend in this world to find a way back, so creating enemies out of unnecessary greed was a counterproductive behavior I didn't endorse.
Still, the second he raised his voice…
"Shout again and you will never make a sound again," I warned while leaning back in my chair and resting my hand on the handle of my saber. "I didn't waste at least fifty royals to get us out of that damn city only for you to announce to the entire world where to look for us," I hissed, feeling how anger and frustration filled my veins.
Faced with my furious expression, the kid simply swallowed before sitting back down and lowering his head.
"You didn't kill that noble. You merely gave him the strike of mercy," I concluded the debacle before taking another sip of the ale.
Regardless of how sickeningly sweet it was, I could feel the relaxing effect of the alcohol slowly filling my muscles.
"That kill was not yours, meaning, you still don't have an achievement to back your name."
I shook my head before taking a deep breath to calm myself down and only then moved my attention back to the girl.
During the entire altercation, she continued to silently nibble at her food.
Contrary to me and the kid, she didn't exert much of her strength over the day's worth of rushed ride. And as someone who ate regularly until recently, she had no need to wolf out on the food like the two of us initially did.
"Back to the topic, while I've been introduced to your name, I have yet to hear it from your mouth," I initiated the topic back before resting my fingers on the table and gently bowing my head down. "I'm Theo Karkuz, younger brother of the mercenary clan of Karkuz, of fifth provisional blessing," I introduced myself again, this time going with the full extent of my status.
Quite notably, though, I've not listed any of my achievements related to surviving the tournament. As prestigious of a title as I could now use, doing so would only make tracking my movements all that simpler.
The girl looked at me with her deep, golden-brown eyes.
Even though it was well over a whole day since we met, we have yet to exchange a single word. In fact, I don't think I've heard her speak a single word at all!
"And you are?" I then asked, sensing that the girl was only interested in staring me up and down.
The girl squinted her eyes before cupping her hands over the desk and leaning forward to rest her chin on her hands. For a few more moments, she continued to stare right at my face.
And while I managed to ignore all the sights her skimpy outfit provided me with every look, when the girl added a sensual smile while staring right into my eyes…
I gulped my saliva down right as the girl pulled herself back before straightening her back.
"My name is Nay. I'm an imperial slave of thirteenth rank, of Ballan clan and Balean school," she gracefully rose up from her chair and bowed down, minding not how stretching her suit any further only served to accent the features of the shape of her body.
'She has a nice voice,' I thought, looking for anything I could use to distract myself from the show before my eyes.
"I'm an expert of combat, accounting, pathfinding, and foraging," she introduced the total of four qualities that she brought to the extreme, "but I'm also well-versed in any other work you might find it fitting to make me do."
Nay finished her introductions before bowing again and sitting back at her spot.
'As if,' I thought.
Then, I took a deep breath.
"I understand that you might've been looking forward to the comfortable life under the noble that was supposed to receive you," I started. "I also understand that you have your own agenda and your own ideas on how to proceed."
I once again took a deep breath, sorting out the last few doubts that still lingered in my mind.
Then, I raised my eyes and looked the girl directly in the eyes.
"Still, I would appreciate it if you didn't try to make things any harder for us, at least for the next few days," I requested.
In theory, her status enforced her obedience. Despite the massive difference in our ranks, her slave class made it possible for me to suppress her power.
But I only had a provisional status. In other words, I lacked the imperial blessing gifted only to those of rank sixth and above.
Or, in other words, I was unable to establish a proper contract with this girl, always leaving her just enough room to wiggle her way out of my orders.
And that, besides my general dislike of the idea of people owning people, contributed to the decision I came to.
"Fear not, though," I added, relaxing back in my chair. "As soon as we leave the empire and everyone's sights, I will cancel your contract so you will be able to go wherever and do whatever."
For the first time, my words managed to get a reaction out of this strange girl. Her face froze, and her eyes turned wide.
"Cancel the contract?" she then asked, her voice trembling with some sort of emotion boiling under the girl's fair skin.
"That's right," I confirmed with a nod of my head. "After all," I then spread my arms out before shaking my entire body in a shrug. "What use do I have for a slave that actually seeks to do me dirty?"
The image of the massacred corpses stacked into a neat pile at the dark end of the corridor in the city's inn was still quite vivid in my mind.
And only the rush of the moment stopped me from addressing it back then. But now? With more than enough nighttime for us to keep talking while still getting enough rest?
Now was just the right moment to bring that topic up.
"And to be fair," I leaned over the table, somehow forcing the girl to do the same as she leaned in to listen to my conspirational whisper, "I've never subscribed to the idea of slavery in the first place."