Character : Eric Axwell, Commoner's Perspective
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The war with the dark republic has begun, and the alliance has now started their move.
Four of the eight major settlements in Avenor have dived into the battles. The earth nation being the main firepower since their territory is right next to the dark republic. The water empire, Valkaria, who were the first to send their aid. Ellennoire city that has sent backup knights as well as assistance from the academy. And now, the greatest knight from Fiordall has arrived.
The dark knight, who is said to be one of the strongest figures in the whole Avenor, is now present to assist with the situation. She was the person who was said to own a unique origin because of her lineage, the unique origin that allows her to be such a powerful individual.
That unique origin, the dark flame origin, was birthed from two different origins that came from her parents. One is a fire origin, a basic type origin. And the other is a darkness origin, a special type origin. Together, they combined and created the unique type origin, the dark flame origin.
And I have more than every reason to find out how that combination happens. I have a lot of questions that I wanted to ask the dark knight, because her situation seemed oddly similar to mine.
And yet, she is so difficult to approach.
"Lady Felicia is currently having a private chat with the second princess of Valkaria. Please come back later." The two guards standing in front of the door said to me when I tried approaching her, and I had no choice but to just fall back.
They've been talking… for an hour. Are they just chatting maniacs or what!?
All I could do was simply mumble inside my head. Everyone else also seemed busy with their own things, so I can't really bother them.
Jonah and Nyssa are looking out for the prince, because apparently his ribs were actually broken when the dark knight stepped on his chest. The vice headmaster was the only person here that I'm familiar with, but she was busy greeting the royal family. She did invite me to join her earlier, but meeting royals is the last thing I want to do. Aside from that, Lily's sister, the crown princess Frisena, is nowhere to be seen.
I have nothing to do. Looks like I have no choice but to go around town.
I realized that I'm wearing my academy uniform which stood out a lot, so I put on my usual dirty black robe. This black robe has been with me for years, and even though it is dirty and old, I can never bring myself to throw it away. And now that I am well dressed for the walk, I left the castle area.
This is my first time going to the earth nation, so everything was new. But, I wasn't expecting 'Death and Destruction' to be a part of their charm. As I walked around the city, I noticed the amount of civilians that got killed from the sudden attacks wasn't small. There are still signs of corpses being covered with white cloth placed on the street, and even though the battle was over eight to ten hours ago, the corpses are still there.
I'm not entirely sure of the situation, but I guess there is only one place for me to find out. I asked around to the people roaming the streets, and they all led me to the place I wanted to go.
The mercenary guild. It's a place that's like home to me, but it could be a very different place here.
Arriving inside, I noticed just how empty it was. Granted, the city was just under attack, and the mercenaries are probably busy helping the people outside since the damage wasn't small. And as I arrived in front of the receptionist desk, the lady behind the glass noticed me.
"Welcome to the mercenary guild. How can I help you?" She asked with the same tone as every other mercenary guild lady would say, and I just handed a badge to the table.
Seeing the emerald in the middle and the snake tag under it, the desk lady turned shocked.
"Is the guild master present?" I asked her, and the desk lady awkwardly nodded.
"Y-Yes… I'll fetch him for you." She said before turning around, and she left the receptionist office before heading upstairs. I waited for a while as she called the guild master, and she returned after a minute.
"The guild leader invites you to his office."
To that answer, I headed upstairs and went straight for the room at the end of the hallway of the second floor. Guild masters always have their rooms at the end, so I'm quite used to that.
"Axel Cleric! A famous man from the White Venom group!" The guild master of the earth nation mercenary guild looks like a fat crook. He greeted me so cheerfully the moment I entered, and I know people like him don't usually greet others this way. "What's the leader of such a famous mercenary group from Poros doing all the way here in the earth nation?"
"That's a secret." I said to him, and he looked disappointed immediately. "But, just know that I'm willing to help out with the war against the dark republic."
Hearing my intentions, the guild leader formed a wide smirk. "In that case, you came to the right place!"
"What can you tell me about the attack this morning?" I said while sitting down, and the guild leader just chuckled.
"Every trade must come with a price, Mister Axel. I can't just--"
"Then, let's hear what you want to say first." I cut him off because he was too greedy, and the fat crook guild leader smirked even wider.
"All I want to know is very simple! What is the great Axel Cleric doing all the way in the earth nation? Surely, it can't be just because of the war." He said with such a curious tone, but I only shook my shoulder.
"Believe it or not, it's to fight in the war."
"In that case, what group--"
"Answer my question first. I answered yours." Once again, I cut him off to remind him from being too greedy, and he looked really annoyed.
"It's really different talking to an emerald ranked mercenary. You know all the trade secrets, it's no fun!"
"It's your fault for wanting to make this a business deal. If it's up to me, I'd be making this into a friendly favor kind of thing." I said while lifting my hands, and the guild leader turned really interested.
"In that case… you owe me a favor." He said with the same wide smirk, and I began to ask him a bunch of questions. Starting from the events that happened this morning, how the nation reacted, and why the civilians also got affected.
"Earlier in the morning, the first attack landed on the castle." The guild leader started explaining, and I already know that much. But, he continued explaining the things I can't find out from the castle.
"After that, the spies from the dark republic positioned all over the city started wreaking havoc. All of them were capable combatants, and random civilians can't really deal with them. Even though there were so many of them, no help came from the castle or the military whatsoever."
"Because everyone was too focused on the royalties?" I asked, and the guild leader nodded.
"That's the reality of our world. The rich get richer, and the ones already on top will be made a priority than the ones at the bottom. Even though hundreds of civilians are dying every hour of the attack, the military didn't even bat an eye to them." The guild leader continued, and a question formed inside my head.
"Why is that? Were they ordered?"
"You can imagine the terrified faces of those corrupt royalties and nobles, screaming at the military soldiers to protect them. And since they are much higher in position, the military can't do anything. Would you like to hear something huge that I managed to receive?" The guild leader asked, and I knew right away that the price to this information is going to be expensive.
"… Tell me."
"The Holy Knight died… because no backup was sent in time." The guild leader told me, and I opened my eyes wide.
"The second prince of Fiordall was talented and powerful, but he was the only one on the spot. Even though he did his best against two elite opponents, he can only do so much. But from what I've heard, their plan was supposed to have backup."
"But the backup never came."
"Indeed. And as a result, the holy knight died. Now, you can probably guess why that happened?"
Yeah… that must be really annoying for that prince.
"I can't imagine being the second prince in that situation! All his teammates were dying, and he was the only one fighting two elites without any help! If you ask me, it's a miracle he even survived." The guild leader said aloud, and I understand why he was so annoyed.
The holy knight was an important character to the earth nation. He was more famous than the royalties. This could also be a planned attack to kill the holy knight by the dark republic, and it could've been avoided had the military sent backup to them.
And that prince… he was fighting all by himself when all his teammates were dead. I was wondering why he looked so destroyed when we first saw him, but apparently it was because of that.
And the castle… never told us anything like that.