"Now then, Axel, it looks like the tables have completely and utterly turned on you. You were enjoying hurting an adorable little girl such as myself, and now I'm the one who'll be having fun at your expense. Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll start liking it once we get started," Asura sneered.
"I really like it when you smile, Boss," Reko said.
"You have such shit taste, Reko," complained Jyrki, but with a smirk. "That ain't a 'smile.' That's a 'spine-chilling sadistic grin.' I don't care who you crush on, but seriously, don't fall for the boss."
"He's right, Reko. Do not fall for her," Lumia said. "Besides, I was technically the one who saved you and took revenge for your parents, you know? Why was Asura the one you warmed up to?"
Moon Blossom was enjoying an ordinary conversation while still maintaining their usual murderous intent. In Asura's opinion, they were just as crazy as she was. Axel held his left arm close to his body to try and stem the bleeding as much as possible, but he wouldn't last much longer.
"Let's talk business." As soon as Asura said that, the members of Moon Blossom fell silent. "It's simple, Axel. There exists a line, vague as it is, that I won't cross. Though I wouldn't mind killing you right here, that line is quite important to me. So I'm going to give you a choice."
What was important to Asura wasn't crossing the line, but having to bid farewell to Lumia if she did. This time, at least, the first person who suggested killing Axel was Lumia herself. Asura glanced in her direction and Lumia scrunched up her face apologetically. So that's how much she loves me? Asura thought. Even if it means killing a Great Hero, she wanted to protect me.
"First," Asura continued, "we can continue to converse like this and have you die from blood loss. It would be sort of a foolish end for a Great Hero such as yourself, but I wouldn't mind that."
"That's not...gonna happen..." Axel hissed.
"Hmm, I figured. Second, you can die as the result of battle. This is what you want, isn't it? We would never underestimate the power of a Great Hero. Even in your current state and in this current situation, you would be able to kill one of us if you focused on them. Actually, you might be able to down two of us. Whatever. In any case, I suppose you'd aim for me first. However, I recommend that you pick the third option."
"Out with it..." Axel was crouching, his right hand steadying himself on the ground.
"Apologize. Once you do that, I'll let you leave here alive. Heck, I'll even throw in a bonus. I'll have Marx stop your bleeding with his magic. Unfortunately, his healing magic won't be enough to return your hand to normal, since he specializes in antidotes. But he can sanitize, clean, and close up the wound, and increase your natural healing speed a little bit."
"I...still believe that you lot are the culprits. None of you have any sense of morals. It's more than clear to me now that not only are you all capable of killing a hero, but you'd do it gleefully too."
"I guess you proved that yourself."
"However, at the same time, I also don't believe it was you..."
"Ha ha! Have you lost so much blood that you can't even think straight anymore?! It's us, yet it's not us?! Axel, make up your mind!"
"Shut up... I'm also confused... If you guys killed Matias, then you would've broadcast it for sure... But the fact that you didn't..."
"Means we didn't kill him. I have no interest in taking credit for someone else's good work."
"Good work...you say? Killing a hero...killing a Great Hero candidate like Matias was...good work?" Axel's right fist clenched tightly.
"Of course. I'd love to invite the true culprit to Moon Blossom if I ever find them. So then, what do you plan on doing, Axel? If you kiss my boots, then I'll even donate money for your artificial arm."
"Even if Moon Blossom didn't do it...your existence is too dangerous... None of us expected people like you..."
"So now you're going to rewrite the rules, aren't you? Do whatever you want. We have no interest in rules beyond breaking them. What I want to know is which option you're going to choose. At the rate it's going, your death from blood loss seems to be the way it'll play out, though."
"Speaking of...even if this all ends with my apology...do you think the other heroes will...stay quiet at the fact you did this to me? To a Great Hero?"
"Then you make them stay quiet. It's not like we killed you or anything, so there shouldn't be an issue. None of you made it illegal to blow off a hero's hand, right? If you really want to, just add 'Dear citizens, we heroes are very fragile so pwease don't hurt us' to your new rules," Asura giggled.
"What'd you say, you little...?"
"I'm saying this for your own good," Asura sighed with a light shrug. "In any case, if our conflict doesn't end here, then war will be what's next. I don't care either way. The choice lies in your hands."
Axel grimaced bitterly, clicked his tongue, and then said, "I got it. At the end of the day, my injury was due to my own carelessness... I'll tell the other heroes to not make a fuss and embarrass me..."
"That would be ideal."
"But the existence of Moon Blossom...has the danger of overwriting many things in this world... So I'm going to keep an eye on you...and what you do..."
"Do whatever you want. So long as they don't interfere with our work, we won't attack your little spies."
After Asura said that, Axel took a deep breath and then slowly let it out. "Sorry about that, little missy. You guys are the culprits, yet at the same time not. I'm sorry. Next time, I'll find some more conclusive evidence and then come back with the other heroes for your head."
"Good. I forgive you. Your blown-up left hand makes us even. Marx, stop his bleeding."
"Yes, Boss."
Marx immediately used the water healing spell, Bandage. A somewhat viscous mass of water enveloped the stump of Axel's missing left hand. Incidentally, Asura was the one who'd come up with the spell's name, since the water reminded her of a bandage.
"Make sure you get some proper treatment," Marx said. "With your hero's privileges, you can receive the best medical attention from any institution for free, right? The water will disappear in thirty minutes, so get to a doctor before then."
As soon as Marx finished talking, the Moon Blossom members surrounding Axel backed up three steps and gave him some space.
"Truthfully," Axel said as he stood up, "I don't want to see any of you ever again."
"We hear that a lot. Enjoy the rest of your day, and make sure you buy a good artificial limb," Asura said, waving her hand.
Axel walked out of the audience chamber and closed the door behind him. As soon as he did so, almost everyone in the room collapsed weakly to the ground. King Arnia was practically slipping off his throne as he gasped for breath.
"All of you are pathetic," Asura said upon seeing them. "Isn't that right, you guys?"
"I was scared stiff too!" Jyrki exclaimed as he crouched down, knees shaking.
"I'm...also exhausted..." Iina sighed as she fell face down onto the floor.
"I admit, I didn't expect a Great Hero to come all this way. It was a shock," Marx sighed heavily as he slowly sat down.
"Humph. My people are just as useless. Salume and Reko have way more backbone. Isn't that right, Lumia?"
"I...almost killed a Great Hero... I threatened him too..." Lumia placed her hands on Jyrki's shoulders, using him to support herself even though he was sitting down on the ground.
"Salume, if you're tired, I can take your place as the boss's chair."
"I'm fine, Reko."
"Hmm? I said I can take your place."
"And I said I'm fine. Please don't worry about me. I'm still not much use in combat, so at the very least, let me be a chair."
"There's no need for that," Asura said as she stood up. "Let's go home. We'll have a nice long break today, and from tomorrow, we'll focus on training for a bit. After that, we'll go to our next battlefield."
"Didn't we train yesterday and the day before? You told me to hurry up and evolve my magic to a Fixed Element and had me cast spells until I emptied my...uh, MP!" Jyrki complained.
MP recovered while resting, and every time it recuperated, the maximum amount of MP one could store increased. That was how one improved their MP.
"I practiced shooting an arrow...until it felt like my arms would fall off..."
"All I did was coach Reko and Salume on their strength training, so I'm not particularly tired."
"Coaching wasn't all you did. We spent some time training together, remember? To be honest, my muscles started getting fatigued the day after a workout..."
"To tell the truth, my entire body hurts," Reko said.
"Mine too," Salume agreed.
"Didn't I say that practical training would continue until you die?" Asura said in response to Moon Blossom's complaints. After that, she approached King Arnia.
"Ohh, Asura. Are you all right? My apologies, I never expected the Great Hero to do that."
"It's fine, boy king. My entire body is wracked by pain and I'd love to rest as soon as possible, but this was all within the realm of expectations. Sit up."
"Hmm?"
"I'm telling you to sit up straight. How much longer do you plan on exposing this pathetic display?" Upon hearing that, King Arnia quickly sat up properly in his throne and Asura settled herself in his lap. Then, she grabbed his face with both hands and tugged it towards herself. "One day, I'm going to return here with plenty of requests for you," she whispered into his ear. "One day, I'm going to add more members to my group and create something like a mercenary nation. When that time comes, I want to borrow your strength. So keep your crown. Promise me that you won't fall to disease or injury or rebellion. Got it?"
"Yes. I understand."
"G-Get away from the king!" the captain of the guard commanded in a high-pitched voice. It was impressive of him to say that to Asura after seeing what she'd done to Axel.
"Stop trembling. Continue to protect your monarch." With that, Asura got down from King Arnia's lap and returned to Moon Blossom.
"Didya give 'im a kiss goodbye?" Jyrki asked sincerely.
"Poor King Arnia... To think that he'd catch the boss's eye..." Marx shook his head.
"Asura, no. I won't allow you to date anyone unless I acknowledge them," Lumia said.
"What kind of impression do you have of me? I have no interest in men. All I did was talk to him." Asura gestured with her right hand and ordered her mercenaries to stand. "Now, let's go back."
***
Asura and the others left Arnia Castle, and were on their way back to their lodgings when Salume opened her mouth apologetically. "Um..."
"What is it? I apologize if you've become addicted to being my chair. But I won't judge you for your interests. Everyone in this group has their own brand of insanity, so don't worry about it," Asura said from Marx's back.
Asura hadn't asked Salume to be her chair because she wanted to bully the girl. She really had been seriously injured from Axel's punches. Even so, she'd walked around on her own two legs until Moon Blossom exited the audience chamber.
"Er, no, it's not about the chair..."
"I was just joking, Salume. Now I feel sad because you didn't play along. Being able to joke around is a necessary trait in a mercenary, you know?"
"So what, we're a comedic mercenary troupe?" Jyrki sighed, spreading his arms out in exasperation.
"Er...um... Boss, you didn't really kill the hero, did you?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Huh?"
"Like I said, I did. It was like..." While still on Marx's back, Asura mimed aiming with a bow. "It was like, zoom."
"Y-You killed him...?"
"Is that so strange? If I recall, I said I would." Asura couldn't understand why Salume was raising a fuss about it after the fact.
"I was completely under the impression that you were being wrongfully accused... No one said anything at all..."
"They're amazing actors, aren't they?"
"Huh? Actors?"
"No, perhaps 'swindlers' is more apt? They're disgusting little liars, don't you agree? But in any case, this conversation is over, Salume. Never bring it up again. No one's monitoring our movements yet, but it's only a matter of time."
"Ah, right." Salume still looked a little uncomfortable.
"I'm happy that you've now figured out the boss's true nature," Lumia said. "We were all forced into a position where we had no choice but to lie. The only swindler here is her."
"She was so cool," Reko sighed.
The group of them continued walking for about twenty seconds. Then, several members of the military police swarmed before them and blocked their path.
"What do you want?" Lumia asked the police after everyone stopped.
There were seventeen military police officers in front of them. Even with all of Moon Blossom present, that was still a large number. One of them stepped forward and asked, "Are you the mercenary group, Moon Blossom?"
She was a woman around thirty years old with dark blue hair reminiscent of the ocean. The color of her uniform differed from that of the other military police. All of the others wore blue while she alone wore white. It was doubtful that hers was different just to avoid clashing with her hair color. What really made her stand out, however, was a certain accessory on her face.
"You're wearing glasses, aren't you? Fairly expensive ones at that," Asura observed.
Magnifying technology existed in this world, as did corrective lenses. However, they were still considered luxuries.
"Yes, I am. I get paid very well, Miss Asura Lyona."
"Hey now, if you know who I am, why did you ask if we're Moon Blossom?"
"It was just to stand on ceremony," the woman replied with a light shrug. "More importantly, could I request that you come with me?"
"So you completely ignored the fact that I asked what you wanted?" Lumia sighed, looking a little put out.
"I apologize, Miss Lumia Canarre. You're the vice captain of Moon Blossom, aren't you? Obviously, I know who all of you are. It was because of your accomplishments that we Arnians were able to push back the Therbaens. I thank you for that."
"Ahh, I see," Asura laughed. "'But'? 'However'? 'Except'? I assume you're going to use one of those words to continue that thought, right?"
"That's exactly correct, Miss Asura Lyona. But... However, what we are here for has nothing to do with that victory. The military police do not have much to do with war."
"I'm hardly surprised. You're an investigative organization, if I recall. Your job mainly focuses on arresting criminals. If you're here about the hero, we didn't kill him. We were on our way back from proving it."
"Then how about the murder of Uno Hassinen? May I request that you accompany us in regards to that?"
Salume twitched backwards at Uno's name. With that reaction, she basically admitted that she knew who he was. Asura had no intention of blaming her for that, though. As she was right now, Salume was hardly any different from a random girl off the street.
"You're Miss Salume Tikka, aren't you? You were sold as a courtesan when you were thirteen. But according to our records, Uno bought you very recently. So why is it that you're with Moon Blossom right now?" the lady of the military police asked with a bright smile.
"What should we do, Boss?" Jyrki hissed. "Should we attack? I've never liked the military police, y'know."
"Me too... I hate military police... Kill them all?"
Both Jyrki and Iina looked ready to pounce, but neither of them had drawn their weapons yet.
"No, don't. I don't want to burn any bridges on our way out of Arnia. I shall accompany you, but only on the condition that you heal me."
"I understand. If that would make all of you come peacefully, then I have every reason to accept that condition." The lady of the military police gave them yet another big smile.
This is just a guess, Asura thought, but someone like her is probably what they mean by "a truly good person."
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