In the audience chamber of Arnia Castle, King Arnia sat on his throne and looked down at the members of the mercenary group, Moon Blossom. It consisted of three women and two men, all of whom were dressed in black robes. According to his general's report, they'd accomplished some truly amazing military feats, to the point that it was impossible to believe they were a band of mages. Thus, he'd immediately summoned them before him.
"My oh my, if it isn't the young king himself. Whatever could you want from us?" The one who spoke was a young silver-haired girl with a faint smile. She was slender and appeared to be the youngest of the lot, but her face was unsettlingly pretty. In a decade's time, she'd be considered a woman of unparalleled beauty, and could likely even become a noble's bride. However, in King Arnia's opinion, she had a serious problem.
"How dare you?! You're standing before His Majesty the King!" the captain of King Arnia's private guard, clad in pure-white armor, exclaimed. "You must kneel first, and remain silent until he grants you the permission to speak!"
The girl's problem was her lack of manners in the face of nobility. She wasn't the only one. Every member of Moon Blossom stayed standing, not even lowering their faces.
"Why should I do that?" the silver-haired girl asked with extreme disgust. "He isn't our king. Besides, I hate kneeling and I hate taking orders. I have no interest in any rules aside from the ones in my group."
"Why, you little—! What kind of talk is that?! I'll strike you down where you stand!" The captain unsheathed his sword.
The girl's face suddenly grew blank and she stared at the captain with a terribly dark look. "You're sure about that?"
"Urk..." Intimidated, the captain stopped moving.
"Stoppin' was the smart choice there, pops," a blond boy said. "The boss ain't the sorta girl who shows mercy when trouble comes 'er way. That goes for Iina and me too."
The blond boy and the black-haired girl named Iina both held daggers in their right hands. It was clear that they had been preparing for a fight.
"Plus...Jyr...and I both...hate kneeling too," Iina piped up.
What an astoundingly audacious group! And what dark eyes all of its members possessed! At the very least, these three—the silver-haired girl they called their boss, Jyrki, and Iina—were all absolutely broken people.
"They do not need to kneel. I shall allow it. You, put your sword away." They were a dangerous lot, in King Arnia's opinion. He even felt that they'd seriously start a war against an entire country if the alternative was bending a knee. The captain sheathed his sword at the same time Jyrki and Ina put away their daggers.
"Lumia, Marx, if you two wanna kneel, you can go ahead," the silver-haired girl said. If the king remembered the reports correctly, she was Asura Lyona, the leader of Moon Blossom.
"Don't mind if I do then." With that, the captivatingly beautiful woman, Lumia, knelt before the king.
"You have my thanks, Boss. As a former knight, it feels awful not to kneel." The large red-haired man, Marx, also knelt with a quiet motion. His toned muscles were obvious even through the robes, and he was surely a warrior of terrifying skill. Right then, a realization hit King Arnia.
"Wait. You... Your name is Marx? Are you perhaps Marx Redford from the Knights of the Azure Skies?"
"There was a time in my life when that was my title, King Arnia. But now, I am simply Marx, a soldier-mage from the Moon Blossom mercenary group."
King Arnia ruminated over that answer for a while. Then he said, "Hmm, I see. That reminds me, what is a soldier-mage? A warrior who can also use magic?"
That was the main reason King Arnia had called upon them. He'd wanted to know more about Moon Blossom, and how this small group of only five had managed to destroy a battalion of about thirty men.
"Young king, I can answer that question," Asura said. "I was the one who invented the soldier-mage army branch."
"Army branch?"
"That's right. We're ultimately based on soldiers, not on warriors. It's true that all of us can use magic. However, magic is but one of our weapons, much like an AK-47 or an RPG."
"A-AK...?"
"Oh, sorry. Forget about that. I meant like a sword or a bow." Asura shrugged nonchalantly. "Let me continue. We can use magic at the same time as close-quarters combat, so of course, we also undergo physical training. A soldier-mage is one who can utilize magic effectively, can understand the 'fire and maneuver' strategy, and can fight without relying solely on their spells."
"'Fire and maneuver'?" King Arnia echoed, scrunching up his face in confusion.
"It's a way to move on the battlefield. You shoot and then you run. Or I guess, you cast a spell and then you run. Our specialty is guerrilla warfare in forest and urban environments. We don't face off against our enemies in an open field like most armies do."
King Arnia let out a breath, truly impressed. Not at the philosophy of the soldier-mages, but rather at how articulate Asura's explanation was. She was a very bright girl, and it was clear why she was able to lead the group as their boss.
"Your Majesty, allow me to add onto that," Lumia said. "We are a group that conceals ourselves, ambushes our targets, and then kills them using magic and physical weapons."
"Hmm, I see. So you're mages who operate like assassins, then?"
"In my past life, finding the enemy first to launch a preemptive strike was considered the normal strategy, so it doesn't really feel right to get called an 'assassin' for that," Asura murmured, tilting her head to the side. "But stealth kills are part of our repertoire, so I guess it's not a total misunderstanding..."
"Your past life?" King Arnia queried.
"Ah. You probably won't believe me anyway, but I was a mercenary in my past life as well. Ha ha, when I was forty, I ate a missile to the face from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and got sent off to the afterlife. Man, that sure was a fierce and fun battle." She spoke with such a happy expression on her face, but King Arnia couldn't understand even half of what she said.
"Asura, he thinks you're insane," Lumia sighed.
"Humph. I don't care," Asura snorted. "No one believes in my sanity anyway."
It was true that Asura's attitude and statements were not those of a stable person. But her bizarre way of thinking was the key to Arnia's victory. That was the premonition the king had, anyway.
"I would like to use your group at key strategic points going forward. How long will you be staying in our country?"
"Ha ha! What a foolish question. Young king, we're mercenaries, remember? Think of us as wandering ghosts in search of our next battleground. We'll be here until the war ends, so use us whenever you like. So long as you give us the proper pay, we'll do whatever you want."
Asura was grinning, but without any hint of adorable precociousness. Frankly, the king found her completely mental. If the Arnia Kingdom could properly utilize the Moon Blossom mercenary group and Asura Lyona, then they might be able to win against the Great Therbae Kingdom. However, should he mishandle the reins, those fangs might turn to bite their keeper...
***
"So," Lumia said wearily, "the first thing we do is go hog wild in a bar?"
"Oh, lighten up. We won, didn't we? We destroyed an entire battalion. I'd say that gives us the right to indulge in the alcoholic ambrosia of victory."
It was the night of their first job, which had ended with their first victory. Asura had booked an entire bar located in the slums of Arnia castle town, and they were going all out with their celebration. The tables were laden from end to end with extravagant platters of food, and each member of Moon Blossom had a courtesan attending them.
"Boss, you say 'alcoholic,' but that's tea you're drinking, isn't it?" Jyrki asked in a cheery tone as he stuffed bills down a courtesan's cleavage. His face was bright red thanks to the three beers he'd tossed back. With Asura (the boss) and Lumia (the vice captain), he spoke in a more proper manner than usual. He wasn't very good at it though.
"This body still can't handle any alcohol," Asura lamented. "If I drink, I'll throw up for sure."
"Is that...your weakness, Boss?" Iina was a little unsteady on her feet, so her courtesan was supporting her weight. Iina was a fifteen-year-old girl with short black hair. She had a nasty look in her eye, and one only needed to glance at her to know she was a bad person.
"The alcohol is forgivable, but calling for courtesans? Really?" Lumia said.
"It's better to have pretty ladies around to pour your liquor, right? Or should I have hired male prostitutes for you and Ina?"
"Stop that. I've sworn a vow of celibacy, and plan to uphold it until the day I get married."
"Oh, absolutely. I've also taken the same vow, so I'm fine with just the alcohol." Marx looked shy around the courtesans and he couldn't stop giving them small, grateful nods. He looked slightly drunk.
Lumia was twenty-eight and Marx was twenty-five, but both were completely serious about their vows of celibacy, so Asura wouldn't mock them for it.
"Well, I di'n't make that vow, so can I go get a room, Boss?" Jyrki was eighteen years old and the sometime leader of a bandit group. He had blond hair and a friendly air about him. Apparently, he was a somewhat good-looking fellow, but Asura wouldn't know, considering she had no interest in men's appearances.
"I won't tell you how to use your own money, Jyrki. Do whatever you want with it. I, too, have hired my fair share of courtesans back in my past life."
Asura had already evenly split the contingency fee with everyone. For this outing, they'd used the group's shared money, which was what they'd received up front. It was supposed to fund their supplies and weapons, but everyone had used their own for the job, so the cash became a bonus. The group had solely hired the courtesans to pour drinks, so if Jyrki wanted to sleep with one of them, he'd have to pay out of his own pocket.
"'Kay, I'll see y'all tomorrow." Jyrki wrapped his arm around the courtesan's waist, an unprecedentedly wide smile on his face, and left the table with her.
"Jyr's such a perv...a degenerate...an idiot... Go die," Iina murmured under her breath as she stared at Jyrki's retreating backside. Iina and Jyrki weren't siblings by blood, but she worshiped him like an older brother.
Asura grabbed a skewer of meat, but upon seeing a young courtesan staring at it with open desire, asked, "Do you want to eat this?"
"May I? May I really?" the girl replied, her eyes sparkling with delight.
"Of course. You girls can indulge yourselves as well," Asura said, smiling at the other courtesans.
"How kind of you," Lumia said, her expression softening.
"Nah. We ordered so much that there'd be leftovers anyway." Asura wasn't kidding. The amount of food before them was staggering.
"Oh, right. Asura, I want to have a serious talk with you. Watch out around the royal family."
"You mean because of lèse-majesté or whatever it's called?"
"That's right. King Arnia is a patient and forgiving king, but there are also many who lack those virtues."
"I hate buttering people up as much as I hate kneeling. If you pick a fight with me, I'll buy it. If you declare war on me, we'll fight to the death. That's all there is to it."
"I...just don't want you to end up like me."
"Yeah, I bet. I guess you'll just have to pray that all the monarchs in this world are tolerant people."
Lumia heaved a sigh but she didn't say another word, drowning them with a sip of wine.
"U-Um..." the young courtesan said.
"That reminds me, I don't believe we ever got your name." Asura gave her a smile. "My name is Asura Lyona. I'm the leader of the mercenary group, Moon Blossom."
"Oh, er, I'm Salume. Um...th-thank you so much for the food."
"It's fine. Eat as much as you like."
"M-Miss Asura, you look like you're younger than me. Yet you're a mercenary?"
"That's what I said. How old are you, Salume?"
"I'm fourteen."
Salume had shoulder-length brown hair and her body was still immature. It was hard to find anything to compliment about her face, but she wasn't particularly hideous either. In Asura's opinion, she was the type of girl who would be a better girlfriend than the typical bombshell babe. But Asura's lover was, first and foremost, the battleground.
"Wow, you're so young," Asura said. "You're still a year older than me though."
She felt bad for Salume, but only a little. The girl might have been sold as collateral for a family member's debt, or perhaps she'd had no choice but to become a courtesan in order to survive on the streets. In Asura's past life, it would be a crime for Salume to work in this establishment, but her story was a pretty common one in this world.
"Is being a mercenary...something that I could do too?" Salume asked.
"Oh?" Asura huffed a small laugh. "If you want to be one, then I can let you into my group."
"Really?!" There was a mix of excitement and anxiety in Salume's voice.
"Yes, of course! If you enjoy dying while being shot at by arrows, penetrated by spears, slashed by swords, and trampled under enemy feet, all as you writhe about in your own blood, then you're more than welcome. Getting raped multiple times before you die is certainly in the cards for you if you're unlucky. It's a dream job if you're into the idea of going to hell while thinking about how blissful your life was before you became a mercenary."
Salume fell silent at Asura's words. It might have been a bit too exciting for her.
"Before that happens...there's training...so tough that your body stops working..." Ina said irritably. "You never told me...that you would do such terrible things to me..."
"You mean the torture training, don't you?" Marx's face grew pale at the memories. "I seriously considered returning to the knights while going through that."
"But you all persevered," Asura said bracingly. "All of you had different reasons for becoming a mercenary, but with your strong conviction, you got through my basic training regime. Now all that's left is to take on contracts whenever you please, get practical experience, and die as you live on the battlefield. What an amazing life! Besides, aren't defeat, capture, and torture all part of what makes war fun?"
Asura was the only person who looked like she was enjoying herself.
"You've got to be kidding," Lumia sighed, placing her face in her palm. "We don't need that sort of amusement. I never want to experience torture, or your torture training ever again, Asura."
"Really? I quite enjoy getting messed up like that. Every time I think back to what I did to you all during torture training, shivers run down my spine. I wonder if there's someone out there strong enough to turn me into pulp?" Asura punctuated her last words with a laugh and the air in the bar froze.
"Y-You've...truly lost it, Boss." Marx's expression was pinched.
"Boss...you're too scary..." Iina dropped her fork.
"Oh, Lord... I pray that Asura will regain even a single drop of her sanity..." Lumia clasped her hands before her and started to offer a fervent prayer.
"Before I forget, Salume, do you want to join?" Asura asked with the smile of a normal girl. In reply, Salume's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. "Well, we'll be staying in Arnia for a while, so take your time and ponder on it. After our next victory, we'll hire you again. Ah, by the way, how much do I need to pay if I want to buy Salume from this place?"
That question was directed at the courtesan attending to Lumia. She looked to be the leader of the group. "Salume costs seventy thousand dora," she said. "She's got quite the debt."
Dora was the universal coinage of this world and was similar to American dollars in terms of value. The contingency fee from this job was a hundred thousand dora, so split into five shares, each person got twenty thousand.
"It seems I don't have enough," Asura sighed. "Wait a little longer. After I finish a few more jobs, I'll be able to pay a meager price like seventy thousand dora."
That was when three soldiers suddenly burst into the bar. "Is Asura Lyona here?!"
Asura raised her hand. "I'm right here."
"I have a commission for you from His Majesty King Arnia! The enemy has taken control of an intermediate-tier monster and is pushing back our lines. Is your group capable of exterminating monsters?!"
"Monsters? It would be my first time hunting as part of Moon Blossom, but I see no issue. It's still a battle in the end. We accept the job."
"You have my thanks! Please head to Mullux Village first thing in the morning! You'll receive more details on the situation later!" Without any further words, the soldiers raced out of the bar.
"And look at that, money just came flying into my pocket. I'm blessed, aren't I?" Asura said with a cheery smile. Marx was deep in thought with a serious expression on his face and Iina looked a little nervous. "'Blessed? How so?' Ha ha, I wonder that myself," Asura continued, finishing the conversation on her own since no one else was considerate enough to oblige. "Maybe my blessings come from the goddess of war herself."
(3k word count)