"I'm still pretty busy with this."
Instead of Grace, who left behind, Lexie took them out of the tent.
"Follow me."
He and the girl, who had just been named Aldis and Luchel, respectively, chased Lexie, who was walking quickly by himself.
"We have about 300 members now.I think the mercenary regiment is quite large, but there is an upper level.As the Commander just explained, we'll be camping here training until the next job starts.Those over there are the bigots of the old stocks, the new Americans who are still in the gang and the women are hardened around the tent where they were just now.The commander is mostly with members of the old stock, so you can ask him if you need anything. "
From time to time, Lexie looks back and confirms that Aldis and the others follow him, and guides him as he walks.
Of course, even though it is a guide, it is a campsite lined with temporary tents.
Or rather, it's meant to show the mercenaries the faces of Aldis.
"Ah, here we go, Victor!"
Lexie took the Ardis to the end of the camp.
The fact that several mercenaries were weaponizing each other suggested that they were in the middle of training.
I found Victor inside and Lexie called out.
What is it?
Victor nodded his hair in wheat and looked back.
Victor himself must have trained like the other mercenaries.
The forehead was stuck with sweat.
Even if you're sweating, it's obviously different from other mercenaries.
It never floats, but it doesn't blend in.
Ardis had such an impression.
"Oh, my God."
"Work, hey...."
Viktor glanced at Ardis and Lexie, who spoke in a chaotic tone, showing an unexpected expression.
"I can imagine the content, but let's go over it for a moment."
The commander said, "Hand these boys the sword."
"Why am I in such trouble....."
After all, Victor showed a hard color with that face.
"Then why don't you go away with the commander?Viktor will be delighted if he comes to the meeting. "
"I hate it. I'm sorry to give orders to live and die while others are alive.I'm doing everything I can for myself. "
"I forgive the selfishness of not wanting to attend the meeting, so stop being a newcomer."
"It's crazy to ask me to join the meeting in the first place."
"It's only natural for smart people to participate, right?"
"If only his will were there."
"That's a disagreement. I'm sorry."
Lexie shrugs her shoulders as she opens her hands to the left and right.
I suppose they always interact in a similar way.
Victor did not show any further resistance and agreed to puff with a clear sigh.
"I can't help it... Both of you?"
"Luchel will take care of it, so Victor will take care of the boy."
"Luchel?"
"Oh, I see. The commander named them.They both don't seem to know their names. "
"Hmm. Don't you see... I don't mind."
"This girl is Luchel.The boy's name is Aldis. "
"Luchel and Aldis.... Ah, I see. The commander is also a romantic."
"Romantic?"
Lexie, questioning Victor's tweets, leaned her neck.
"Oh, Luchel is the name of a jewel that comes out of a fairy tale."
"Gems?"
"It is a slightly purple deep blue gem that is the incarnation of a spirit that leads the main character's traveler soul home.Of course, it's a fantasy story, so it's not real.Well, it's not a bad name for a woman. "
"Ah... where's Ardis?"
"It will also appear in the same fairy tale.A special stone that never breaks, whether you hit it or not.Moreover, the stronger you tap, the stronger it is, the name of the ore that is used to smelt as an armor.Isn't it perfect for him? "
Curly and Victor laughed.
Even the smile turned into a painting.
I don't think the name given to them has that origin, and Aldis only revisits the commander for a moment, who had a slight impression.
"Blue gems... together..."
Then a girl named Luchel snapped.
The voice was so small that it probably could not reach anyone but Aldis.
Ardis listened to it because it didn't seem like she had been spoken to separately, and Luchel herself had accidentally spilled out of her mouth.
"I see. That's not the case with a man of learning."
It sounds ironic on the verbal side only, but Lexie's voice and expression don't feel such bad feelings.It seemed purely impressive.
"It just so happens that when I was a kid, I had more chances of touching things like that than you did."
"That's why I want you to come to the meeting, isn't it, Captain?"
Whoa, was that a snake?
"Anyway, take good care of the boy.I don't have much time. "
I understand.
The girl who was listening to those two conversations, Luchel, opened her scared mouth.
"Ah, you know... I'm a swordsman, too...?"
"Yes, or you wouldn't have bothered to bring me here."
Luchel blushes at Lexie's answer that she said anything natural.
"Wow, I... war is impossible..."
Scared voices were overshadowed by the voices of trained mercenaries, and even Ardis could finally hear the last word.
"She can't fight.I'll fight for that. "
Aldis knows a little about her after a few days on the run.
Too poor to walk in the mountains, no less knowledgeable than Aldis, no scratches on his white hand, and his rough skin at the water job.
It is easy to imagine that Luchel has lived a life free from strife until now.
There was so much rudeness in her attempting to fight with a sword.
So you can fight for her, Aldis complains.
"That's not how it works.It's been explained that we are mercenaries, right? "
Victor continued to nod silently to Ardis.
"We don't always live in a safe town.Instead, they are less likely to be in a safe place.The mercenary regiment's job is war, and that means we have to put ourselves on the battlefield of exchanging lives.The Commander will certainly protect you.But that doesn't mean you can protect them unconditionally.If we go to war, of course, it's our job to fight, not to protect you. "
Lexie's supplement was interrupted from the side.
"Of course, neither the Commander nor the others are going to throw it into the middle of the battlefield.But, no matter how far back you wait, your enemies will come.The odds of surviving with no resistance or weapons are completely different. "
"Everyone here, from cooks to porters, has mastered the art of fighting.Everyone needs to protect themselves when it's not their job to fight.That's the Mercenary Corps.You will also be part of the Westeria Mercenary Corps, so you must know the minimum way to fight. "
"To protect yourself...?"
"Yes," Lexie replied to Luchel asking.
"Even if they were to leave our regiment and go to some town, it would be after the next job, at least.I'm sure the Commander's gonna keep you as safe as possible, but there's nowhere to go where there's no danger on the battlefield. "
For Ardis, who doesn't have the proper knowledge, it's impossible to judge whether Victor or Lexie's words are true.
Still, I didn't feel the smell of lies in what they were saying.
Was Luchel thinking the same thing?
Eventually he turned his back on Lexie after he had lost his way.
"... okay, if it's self-defense."
Lexie nodded satisfactorily and turned to Ardis.
"So, where's your boy?"
"I meant to."
Whether we stay with this mercenary regiment or we go out with Luchel, we needed the technology to fight.
There is no reason to refuse if you try Aldis.
Bring her somewhere safe, and then think about the future.
Anyway, there is no place to go and no one to wait. On the contrary, I doubt whether I am human or not. I have been thrown away from Ardis' thoughts.
"Yes, I did, Victor.Luchel, come here. "
Lexie takes a little distance with Luchel when she says so.
Victor called out to Aldis, who was watching.
"I don't want to go any further, but would you like to start here?This is just the right training sword... oh, that's good. "
Picking up a tiny sword from a stack of swords nearby, Victor handed it to Aldis.
"Have you ever held a sword?"
"... maybe not"
"Maybe...."
The only weapon that Aldis has used since he regained consciousness in that building is a small knife that only extends from the fingertip to the wrist.
Ardis doesn't know if he ever held a sword before.
The sword that you probably would have held for the first time had a sense of weight in addition to your thoughts.
But now that Aldis has recovered his strength, he will be able to handle it.
"Well, that's fine. Let's see how much you can move first. [M]I only do defenses and dodges, so try attacking as you like first. "
"... are you sure? This blade isn't crushed."
What Aldis has in his hands is serious, even though it's falling apart.
The blade was not crushed for training.
"Fufu, don't tell me you think I'm going to be caught in an amateur slash?"
It's a little different than provocation.
Viktor just says that in a tone that doesn't just say the truth.
"... then you're seriously going to slash me?"
Of course, I know that Victor is strong for Aldis.
How many times have they been assembled by a useless Victor trying to get out while he was being held back by a tent?
"I don't mind. If you don't do it, it's pointless."
I see!
He stepped into Victor's face and waved his sword without a clue.
The distance to Victor was originally close, and Ardis stepped one step closer to the sword.
Grasp the sword with both hands and swing it down with momentum.
The tip of the sword curved after Victor's body.
But just before it hits, it loses its target and cuts the sky.
"Keep slashing me."
Viktor was behind Aldis when he noticed.
Yikes!
Aldis held his sword as he turned around, but Viktor was already three steps back.
You step in and slash it even harder, but it's still refreshed.
I knew it.
Aldis has also fought beast-like enemies and humans in vain memories.
But it was just a feeling like someone else who couldn't reach his will.
I can't remember holding a real weapon like the sword I have now.
The opponent is an active mercenary who easily assembles Ardis without help.
Age, physical condition and experience are all superior.
It will be difficult to capture by slashing from the front.
But how?
"It's important to think, but in real battlefields, enemies don't wait forever.I'm free to wait, too. "
It was Aldis who could figure out how to strike, but Viktor came closer to being defenseless.
Kh!
Though he tries to add sword fire over and over again without thinking, he just swings his sword.
I can't figure out how much to swing around. It never arrives.
On that day, Aldis continued attacking Victor until his arms could no longer be raised, but he was unable to scratch the tip of his sword until the end.