Kaarlo Häkli found himself incapable of closing his mouth as he watched the mercenaries fight in dumbfounded silence.
"Hey, was Marx always that strong?"
"Isn't his opponent a hero?"
"Yeah, she's a hero, but that's Craven, isn't she? Didn't she just become a hero not so long ago?"
"So she's the weakest one of them?"
"Even so, I don't think it's normal for a hero to lose."
Even the Knights of the Azure Skies couldn't stop their impressed murmurs.
"Wait, remember that Marx was one of the potential candidates for the next commander, on top of being a hero candidate."
"Don't you think that blond guy is also ridiculously strong? His movements were fluid like water."
Whether it came down to how fast they moved, how quick they made their snap judgments in the thick of battle, or how well they worked together, Kaarlo had never seen an offense as beautiful and coordinated as Jyrki and Marx's attack just now.
"Marx Redford and Jyrki Kuusela..." Kaarlo had already finished exchanging introductions with the members of Moon Blossom. "And those children..."
He glanced at Salume and Reko, who were practicing their martial arts in the corner of the field. It looked like they were going through their katas, but they were as serious as if it was a real fight. They were covered in wounds despite it being only practice. It looked to Kaarlo that they could even be stronger than the average adult, despite the fact that they were only children.
"More importantly..." He swallowed. That young silver-haired girl, who'd called herself the leader of Moon Blossom, was incredible when it came to her combat technique. Iina moved quickly and lightly, working in coordination with Asura. Lumia continued to fend them off with nothing more than a sword. "Aren't they all...stronger than the Knights of the Azure Skies?"
***
This is tough! Lumia was close to her limit. Her lungs screamed at her. All she wanted at the moment was the chance to catch her breath. Even a second to suck in some air would be fine. Iina's attacks were a little simplistic and because of that, they were easy to block. The distance between the two of them was also a bit too far for her daggers.
However, Asura mixed in minute changes in her attacks, forcing Lumia to stay on guard. If this was a real battle with real weapons, then Lumia would be covered in wounds. If she had to guess, then Iina's attacks were intentionally basic so that Lumia's actions would become predictable in her attempts to block them. In the meantime, Asura would find an opening and land a deciding blow. From the corner of her eye, she could see Jyrki running towards them.
"Tsk." Asura clicked her tongue and as soon as she heard that, Lumia relaxed.
This meant Asura's plan had failed. She hadn't been able to defeat Lumia while Iris distracted Jyrki and Marx. She could finally take the opportunity to catch her breath. The thought only lasted a second—barely even a second, in fact—when she felt a sharp pain in her right side.
"Wha...?"
What happened? Lumia couldn't immediately figure it out. She'd dodged Asura's attack. As for Iina's predictable attacks, she'd used her wooden sword and... Wait, she hadn't blocked it?!
Iina had changed up her move at the last second. Instead of twirling at Lumia with her blades, she'd thrust, driving them straight into Lumia's side. If this was a real battle, then the dagger would have stabbed right into Lumia's body. They'd taken advantage of that one brief second when Lumia had let her guard down.
As soon as she realized that, Asura's real aim became clear. She had planned everything up to this very moment. Even the frustrated click of her tongue had been an act. From the very beginning, their goal had been to pressure Lumia until she was at her limit and then attack in the minuscule second when her guard was down.
That was why Iina had maintained a simple and predictable rhythm of attack. It was all so that at the very end, she could change the path of her daggers. It was all so that until the very end, Lumia would only focus her attention on Asura. Iina had always been intended to deliver the final blow in Asura's script.
Ahh, but, Asura, a stab wound to the side won't be enough to kill me.
Lumia kicked Iina away to get herself some distance. There was little strength behind the kick, as it was a move solely intended to create the perfect range for her sword. As soon as Lumia regained her balance, she swung at Iina from an angle. At the same time, Asura slashed sideways with her sword and slammed the blade of it against Lumia's left side.
"Gah...!"
Asura had put both her entire weight and genuine killing intent behind the strike. Lumia's body, folded in half, was thrown into the air for a moment before she crashed to the ground. Even breathing was too painful for her, and she curled up to protect the site of the blow. Iina was on the ground next to her, suffering from Lumia's hit.
"Vice Captain... You look so cute when you're in pain..." Iina offered her a small smile, her entire face softening.
"You too..." Though Lumia wanted to laugh after she said that, the sheer amount of pain she was in prevented her from doing so.
***
"You're as nimble on your feet as ever! Aren't men usually a bit too muscular for this kind of speed?"
"Like you're one to talk! What kinda woman swings a claymore around, eh?!"
"This wooden sword isn't that big!"
"I know! I'm talkin' about how you normally act, you brat!"
Jyrki darted before Asura's eyes and swung out with his daggers. Asura had slammed all her strength into Lumia, meaning she had slightly let down her guard. Jyrki was simply taking advantage of the opening. His speed rivaled Iina's, and Asura tossed her wooden sword aside and pulled out her own daggers, one in each hand. Since Jyrki had already closed the distance, a wooden sword wouldn't provide the speed and dexterity she needed to defend herself.
"What's wrong, Jyrki? You're not gonna pretend to show me respect?"
"Ha! As if I can focus on that in battle!"
The two of them clashed daggers. Though both wanted to use their legs and kick out at their opponent, each had a strong understanding of the other's fighting style, so there was a high chance that they'd get countered, thus creating an opening.
"How impudent! I'll send you rolling on the ground like always soon enough!"
"Boss, why don't you try takin' a nap once in a while?!"
In terms of strength and technique, they were even. Normally, Asura would emerge victorious, but she'd used up so much stamina against Lumia that it was difficult for her to gain the upper hand.
"Do you plan on jumping me after you knock me unconscious?!"
"As if! I prefer mature ladies with a lot more meat on their bones!"
Jyrki was faster, and he had a lot more energy even after dealing with Iris. Asura managed to keep up through a combination of technique and experience. She'd wanted to preserve some stamina for this fight, but if she had, then she would've never been able to defeat Lumia. Slowly but steadily, Asura felt herself losing ground.
"Guh... To think that I'd be on the losing end against you!"
"Ha ha! Boss, lemme tell ya something: your only weakness is that Marx and I can beat you when it comes to physical strength and stamina!"
He wasn't lying. Asura was having a fairly hard time right now. If her focus wavered for even a second, she would lose. She racked her brain for a way to defeat Jyrki. However, she couldn't use magic, nor did she have enough energy left. There wasn't anything within the training ground she could use to her advantage.
Wait, there is.
Asura leaped to the left. It was a bold move that created an opening, and Jyrki was not one to let the opportunity slip by. At the same time Asura moved, Jyrki drove his dagger into Asura's right arm. If this was a real battle, then Asura's right arm would've been permanently put out of commission.
At the same time Asura's feet touched the ground, she dashed forward. Jyrki followed her. Before Asura was Iina, who was still lying down and murmuring, "Ahh...it hurts..." Asura mercilessly stepped on her as she continued on her way, causing Iina to screech.
"GURK!"
Asura didn't stop and this time, she stepped on Lumia.
"Wait... KYAH!"
While still on top of Lumia, Asura spun around. In order to avoid Iina, Jyrki had to slow down and go around her. In other words, he'd left himself open. As soon as Jyrki's feet touched the ground, Asura threw the dagger in her left hand.
"Whoa!"
Though Jyrki managed to dodge the weapon, he lost his balance. Before he could recover, Asura charged at him and slammed her right shoulder into Jyrki, knocking him to the ground.
"Wah..." Iina rolled away to avoid getting crushed under the tussle.
Under normal circumstances, a corpse shouldn't move, but it was fine. As Asura and Jyrki both fell to the ground as one, Asura grabbed Jyrki's wrist and twisted, disarming him and claiming his dagger for herself. She only used her left hand for the task. As soon as she had a proper grip around the hilt, she reached down and slashed at Jyrki's throat. At the same time, Jyrki's other dagger stabbed into Asura's thigh. Since it was a wooden knife, it didn't actually embed itself into Asura's body. However, if it had been real, it would've been buried deep into her flesh.
"I win, even if it's at the cost of my arm and my thigh."
"That's...crazy!" Jyrki's cheeks twitched. "What kinda person would step on Iina and the vice cap'n?"
"They're just corpses, so who cares? You're surprisingly kind, so I figured that you would avoid them. Even if this was a real battle, I assume you would've taken the time to dodge Iina's body," Asura said with a bright smile.
"Well, of course... Iina and I practically grew up as siblings. Even if it's her corpse, I'd feel bad steppin' on her."
"Cruel... Boss...you're so cruel... You stepped on me so you could win..." Iina sniffled, pretending to cry.
"That's better than what she did to me. Not only did she roll all over my back, but she also used me as a launching pad to lunge at Jyrki." Lumia's voice sounded like she couldn't decide if she wanted to be angry or weary. "Now that I think about it, did you have to step on me? Is this your idea of a prank?"
"Oh, come on, where's the harm? You're just a pair of corpses, so you shouldn't be complaining."
"Ahh, my neck is killin' me," Jyrki sighed. "Also, don't you think it's about time to get off me?"
"Hmm? Does it look like I'm riding you and it's getting you too excited?"
"It's 'cause you're heavy." Jyrki said it with such a straight face that Asura heaved a deep sigh.
"I'm not that heavy." Even so, she slowly climbed off of Jyrki's body. "Ahh, nope. It looks like I'm at my limits too." With that, she fell to the ground.
"I was watching from the side. Boss, your plan was impressive," Marx said as he walked up to them.
"It was a cheap trick... Like, do people normally step on their friends' bodies?" Iris asked with a small smile.
"Who cares what people do to a corpse? 'Dead men tell no tales,' as they say. It's not as if they can complain to us."
"Don't you have any respect for the dead, Asura?" Iris asked as she tilted her head to the side. "I mean, this is just training so it's not like they're actually dead or anything."
"Nope. On the battlefield, corpses are there to be stepped on. That's the world we live in, Iris. Do you know what kind of soldier goes out of their way to avoid corpses? They're the ones that'll be lying on the ground next, like Jyrki here."
"Fine, fine. All I'm good for is being a bad example." Jyrki sat up and crossed his legs.
"Hey, Moon Blossom!" Kaarlo ran up to them. "When can you leave?"
"Humph. Are we good enough to be your guards?" Asura asked, pushing herself up and settling down on the ground.
"Of course! You're so much stronger than the Knights of the Azure Skies! Please be my bodyguards!" Kaarlo exclaimed, sounding terribly excited.
"And where's the magic word?" Asura asked, staring up at him.
"Ah, yes! Please! I'm sorry for my rudeness earlier! I was in the wrong!"
"Kaarlo, you're a nice, straightforward guy. No matter what happens, we'll make sure you're able to return from the forest without a single scratch on your body. However, as you can see, we're exhausted. We'd like to take a day off to recuperate, so how does the day after tomorrow sound?"
"That's perfectly fine! I'll make some preparations, but could you bring your own sleeping bags and provisions?!"
"We'll do that tomorrow."
"Then, come by in the morning the day after! We'll be going into uncharted territory, so it should take around five days in total. Make sure you pack enough supplies for that time! Thank you, oh tiny but strong leader!" As Kaarlo spoke, he roughly ran his hand through Asura's hair, messing up the silver strands.
"You're a nice and straightforward person, but don't you think you're getting a bit too excited?" Asura asked, a slightly weary expression on her face.
It looked like Kaarlo wasn't the type who could maintain his cool. It was hardly a surprise though. There was no way that someone willing to risk their life to explore could be the type of person to remain calm.
***
The Blessed Child, Tina, had dropped by the Felmafia's drug fields. The field had been planted in the expansive space between mountains, and eighty percent of the drugs the Felmafia sold came from here. They were growing a plant known as cannabis, and processed it here as well. The majority of the leaves were dried and packaged into rolls. They were easy to smoke, which made them easy to sell.
As soon as the guard in front of the gate saw Tina's face, he moved aside and let her through. Tina stepped onto the property with a sigh. There were plenty of people working the fields. Some of them were from criminal organizations that the Felmafia had assimilated into their ranks. Others were slaves they'd purchased through trafficking. Tina headed straight for the administrative office and walked in.
"Tania, there's something I wish to discuss with you."
The administrative office was a fairly small wooden hut. This was because the office was only to maintain sales and worker records. The workers' dormitories, as well as the processing plant, were a lot more spacious.
"Oh, my. I wondered who would drop by my humble office, but if it isn't the Blessed Child herself."
Tania had been lounging about on the long sofa, but she sat up when Tina walked in. She was in her late thirties, and she kept her dark green hair in a short bob. Her entire body was toned, and it was clear even from a glance that she was well trained.
"My name is Tina."
"Everyone calls you the Blessed Child, so why don't you own it? We're all jealous of you for the love that Mistress Jeanne showers upon you."
"It's because we're sisters," Tina said calmly. "More importantly, were you slacking off?"
"Oh no. My job is to supervise, and that means I get to hurt people who are slacking off. If no one is, then I don't have any work. So I was just taking a break." Tania grinned after she said that.
"I see. That's fine. We received reports that production rates have fallen, so I've come to ask you about that."
In truth, Tina already knew the reason. It was because they were understaffed. If you stopped working for even a second, Tania would put you through hellish torment, thus making a large number of the workforce unusable.
"What? Is Mistress Jeanne angry?"
"She's not angry yet." Tina lowered her gaze as she thought, Besides, even if she gets mad, the only person who'll get their bum spanked is me. It was because Tina didn't want that to happen that she was doing her best to quickly resolve any problems that came up in the Felmafia's operations.
"Then could you send me some new slaves? We don't have enough people."
"I understand. But could I request that you refrain from breaking them? Slaves are an important resource, after all."
"If they were hard workers, then I wouldn't break them. But, if they're slacking off...well, I have to make an example out of them, don't I?"
"You're not even bothering to hide it anymore. Could you not torture people for the slightest infraction?"
"Huh? You don't like the way I run this ship?" Tania's expression twisted. "And here I thought I got promoted to this position because of my skill."
"You did. It was because of your stellar reputation and ability that we left you in charge." Tania sighed. "However, you have been going overboard lately. You torture the slaves more than necessary, and you engage in lewd behavior with both men and women alike when you have time to spare. On top of that, you've been using our products without permission, haven't you?"
"Ha! As if a little pet like you can understand anything about real work!"
"A...pet?"
"Aren't you? With that cute body and pretty face of yours, I bet your job has been to warm Mistress Jeanne's bed! Those slutty clothes of yours that show off your belly, and your skirt being so short that I can practically see your underwear... Everything about you is Mistress Jeanne's type, right? We all know! Ha! If only the rest of us could strut around like you do, thinking you're so much better than us just because you sleep with Mistress Jeanne!"
Tania's horrible words made Tina's blood boil. She grabbed Tania by the neck with her left hand and held her aloft in the air.
"Summon Lightning." The spell was a manifestation magic that utilized her Fixed Element, Lightning. Tina gathered electricity in the palm of her hand.
"GAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
She'd created it in the same hand wrapped around Tania's neck, and jolts of high-voltage electricity shot through her body. Of course, Tina had gone out of her way to adjust the output so that she didn't accidentally murder the woman.
"Tania Cafaro, I humbly request that you take those words back. I don't enjoy fighting, nor do I enjoy needlessly tormenting my enemies. So this is not something I would normally do. However, that doesn't mean that you get to call me a pet." With that, Tina released Tania's neck.
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Tania fell to the ground and coughed. She was genuinely sobbing from the pain.
"I humbly request that you take those words back," Tina said again.
Tina and Jeanne were sisters. Though they weren't connected by blood, they loved each other as much as real family. She wasn't Jeanne's pet. There was simply no way. Jeanne didn't hesitate to hit Tina, and when she did, she never held back. On occasion, she'd slapped Tina in front of other people and for the slightest of provocations.
Tina knew that Jeanne was using this violence to maintain her own sanity. She also knew that Jeanne enjoyed inflicting pain upon her. But more than that, she knew that Jeanne did it from a place of love. Tina, too, loved Jeanne. She wasn't her pet.
"I...take it back... You're not...her pet... Please...Mistress Tina...please forgive..."
They were relying on each other. That was how they'd lived for the past ten years. However, slowly but surely, Jeanne was falling apart. The burden on Tina's shoulders grew heavier and heavier. All she'd ever wanted to do was protect and save Jeanne...
Jeanne hit Tina. Again and again and again and again... Tina was at the end of her rope. Soon, she would reach her own limit. And once she did, she and Jeanne would both end up breaking.
"Lumia..." She gazed up at the ceiling.
If it was Jeanne's real sister, perhaps Jeanne could be saved from herself? Jeanne wanted to seek out Lumia, but at the same time, she was scared to see her. So all she did was keep an eye on what Lumia was doing, and she hadn't gone to face her yet.
I must convince her to find Lumia. Tina was no longer capable of supporting Jeanne all by herself. She loved her, and wanted to be loved by her, but she no longer had confidence in weathering this storm.
"Please help me, Lumia Canarre... No, I should say, the former..."
She trailed off, murmuring the words softly to herself so that Tania couldn't hear her. However, Lumia had started her own life as a vice captain of the mercenary group, Moon Blossom. That was what Lumia was now.
"I suppose...I'll have to use some forceful tactics to recruit her..."
Moon Blossom also needed Lumia. In the worst-case scenario, war would break out between the two factions. However, Tina needed her as well. And Jeanne was the one who needed her the most.
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