"That is an M-class mission! Why would I assign a strong soldier?" asked Reira angrily. Karen, who was not sitting in the guest chair, but looking at her older sister with his hands on the table replied, "Because we need a strong soldier for this mission my dear sister!"
Reira leaned back in her seat and said, "You're just going to carry some workers and their shelters, food."
Karen sighed once. Then, in a calmer tone said, "The problem is not the workers and the relocation! You do not understand. The workers and their accompany will travel for two days to get there. Those roads are full of bandits, and they will immediately target a caravan full of plenty of food."
Coordinator Reira Miler was arguing with her brother, who was requesting a mission. Normally, requests were reported to the foreign affairs coordinator in written form. After the task conditions and difficulty level were determined, they were transferred to the task request board by the internal affairs coordinator.
Reira was originally an internal affairs coordinator, but she was making such privileges to her brother from time to time. Besides, it was very natural to give privileges to the people the organization cared about most, and the mission Karen requested was mostly to help his initiatives for the benefit of humanity. For example, his current request was a few soldiers to accompany thirty construction workers and a month's worth of food and drink. These workers were going to carry water from a distant river to a few settlements belonging to Miler lands with water shortages. His sister started to soften as she thought such things.
"OK! But I cannot give more than one person under number 1000 for this mission." said Reira.
"So?" Karen nodded and asked. When Reira replied, "I'll assign two soldiers who newly got their numbers."
Karen said joyfully, "You are the best sister ever!" He was trying to get to the other side of the table, but Reira tried to stop him by pushing the table hard and grumbled, "Ah just knock it off!"
Karen easily overcame the obstacle and hugged her sister without hurting her, but to anyone watching them, one might think that a big man was smothering an incredibly thin woman.
Reira ordered the protocol soldier, who was in the room at that time, to get out with her glance. It would not be nice for anyone to see the Lord of the West buttering up his older sister.
She sighed once, freed herself from her brother's arms, and asked, "Let me begin the preparations immediately. When do you want the soldiers?"
Without hesitation, Karen replied, "Tomorrow at the latest." Reira sighed once more as she remembered that her brother was totally a workaholic and said, "It was my fault for asking."
Karen asked permission to leave, as he said that he had to leave immediately in the evening. Karen and Reira argued a bit more about the fact that he should visit his father, who was now at SOU and had time.
Karen was kicked out of the room, threatening that if he did not visit his father, he would not be given a soldier to company him during his journey. When he turned his back, they came face to face with the confused protocol soldiers waiting for him. It was not always possible to see a feudal lord who was expelled from somewhere.
"I'm asking you," Karen asked in a bored tone. "Why would a feudal lord visit your general freely?" Still, he headed towards the administration building. When he learned from the attendant on the ground floor of the building that his father was not in his room, and he would have to wait for an hour.
Of course, Karen left there giving "I have no time to spend" as an excuse and left there. The attendant would probably have announced his arrival, and Karen had done his best to see his father. Thus, he got rid of the grumbles of his mother and sister.
Lal appeared behind him as he was leaving the administration building. Having guessed where his assistant was all this time, Karen did not ask her anything. "We'll be on the train in an hour, but first, let's have a meal in the city." said Karen.
During the meal, they would be on their way after discussing the details of this mission one last time with Lal. Their destination was two days away, and their workers and supplies would arrive in three days.
The SOU campus was triangular. At the corners of the triangle, there were 15-meter-long observation towers. Its edges were formed by walls one meter thick and seven meters high. It had two gates. The formal gate was central. Soldiers, civilians, and food suppliers were using this gate and it was opened to 1st city.
The other gate was opening to the military post. The military post was like a town built in a circle at the northern corner of this triangle. It even had stores where you can shop, gyms, hairdressers, barbers, and cafes.
Each soldier could choose their own house or change its shape. While some houses could be in the form of apartments, there were also duplex or triplex detached houses too. At the center of the triangle, there was the administration building. At the back of the administration building, there were the military academy and training grounds, while the hospital on the right and the warehouse on the left.
The protocol soldier accompanying Karen wanted to offer him a vehicle he could use to the gate, but Karen chose to walk. As he approached the main gate, Lal, who was accompanying behind him, suddenly stopped. Karen turned to look at Lal and she said, "An order came to my sister. She wants us to wait."
Karen watched his assistant for a while and said, "When you two get close to each other, you must be confusing whose inner voice belongs to whom." Lal did not answer. She was a little embarrassed because his master's prediction was right.
Lal and Zal were maternal twins who were dedicated to the Miler Family when they were little children. Their family had dedicated their daughter to them as a servant in return for a great favor done to them by the Miler Family. The two siblings were given to assist the Miler Family's children, who were only two at that time.
That was almost 270 years ago. Both sisters have been assisting Karen Miler and Reira Miler ever since. When Karen left the organization when he was young and took over the family fortune, Lal went with him, Zal stayed in the organization and became the servant of Reira who was pursuing her career in the organization.
A few minutes later, Zal appeared from among the gardens around the main gate. It was obvious that she took shortcuts to hurry for not to keep them waiting too long. She bowed respectfully to Karen and handed him the wireless phone she was holding.
Karen picked up the phone without question and said, "Yes, Reira?" There was no sound from Reira for a while. It was clear that she was talking to someone else. Then she turned to the phone and asked, "Karen, do you mind if I assign you the soldiers you want tomorrow or the next day?" Karen asked her why.
According to her sister's explanation, there was only one soldier available today under number 1000. After a moment of silence, she said, "The soldier's name is Sam." Karen grimaced. "Sam Who Cuts Something..." he muttered. "Cuts the Water..." her sister corrected. "Oh, it can't be..." Karen said.
Karen knew this soldier. He was a man he thought was not responsible. Moreover, Sam would mess things up or refuse to comply with some of the feudal lords' demands because he thought that the feudal system was damaging the SOU.
Karen said, "Anyways..." If necessary, he would leave his current job and bring the workers and their materials himself. In fact, he knew that Louis was not on a mission at the moment. He would do it if he asked, but he did not want to make a military request to his friends. He considered calling Jame. Maybe he would help.
As the voice on the phone said, "Karen!" he pulled himself together from his thoughts. Reira sighed once, realizing she was able to wake mused Karen, "Louis would be mad at you for not calling him when you needed him." she said. Karen replied, "You're right."
Reira gave Karen a few moments to think. She said she would try to find another soldier and hung up the phone. Karen thought for a while as he spun the phone in his hand. He was feeling down.
It would always be like this. When he started something, a little glitch in the progress of it would bother him very much. He would even regret starting what he did. Then he would go so far as to think he couldn't do the job and start hating himself.
He started walking fast as he continued to spin the phone in his hand. Lal, who knew her master very well, was following him slowly, knowing that she should not mess with him now. Zal and her companions were following him too.
Asking Louis, waiting for a suitable soldier to be found for two more days, delaying the work that he had to do in the next 24 hours, and accompanying the workers... He had to choose between these three.
He speeded up his steps as he thought more and more and widened the gap to those behind him. He passed the academy, and he followed the stone path leading from academy to military post.
On both sides of this road, there were training grounds and small forestland. The fields started from the road and went downhill. The whole wide field was visible from the road as it was quite high compared to the road surroundings. It was good for him to look at the open space. He realized that his steps were taking him to the military post site, in other words to Louis.
Several groups of apprentices from the side of the field close to the academy were training with their masters. Their voices faded as Karen moved away, and the surroundings began to calm down. Then Karen was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a metallic sound.
It was strange. He would bet that this was the sound of a sword. In this era, which master would train with his apprentice using a sword? He turned his gaze to where the voice came from. About two hundred meters from where he was, two people were training. As he guessed, with a sword! One of them looked familiar with hair, height, and posture.
As he was surprised, Karen slowed down and stopped. Concentrating on that side, he began to watch their training. Lal was surprised by the sudden stop of her master and came to his side quickly. She asked what was happening timidly.
"We live in a world where many people no longer need guns or swords and where most people are banned to use them." Karen said. "It was very interesting to me that a training was done with a sword." he explained.
Lal guessed, "Maybe the soldiers are primar."
"No. Not as far as I know." he replied.
He looked at the wireless phone in his hand. He did not know the number of Reira's office. Then he saw the 'recall' button and pressed it. When Reira opened the phone, he told his sister that he might found the soldier he needed. Then he told her to hand over the mission to the claim board in half an hour. A voice inside him said that the soldier would accept this job.
He hung up without waiting for his sister's answer. He told Lal to wait for him at the central gate with the protocol soldiers. He handed Zal the phone and said that her duty was over, and she could go.
When they all went, Karen continued to watch the training from where he was. He was planning to go and say hi when they took a break.