Trinitas Mundus

Episode 76: Ashley's Decision

Ashley returned to the headquarters of the Mercenary Corps of Markat, her parents' home for the first time in a long time, but her expression was dark and no conclusion had yet been reached as to whether she would leave the mercenary corps with Ray.

(What am I supposed to do? Father is not clear-hearted to see this welcome gesture. You must be thinking about something about this responsibility... that help, no, you're going to need some heart support. Here, you will need me too......)

When the hindsight of Ray walking in front comes into sight, the thought is shaken as soon as possible.

(The only person I want to be with is Ray. But how do I...)

Breaking up with Ray and getting lost in things as he heads to his room, Valeria's voice hangs from behind him.

"You seem very troubled. No matter how long I waited, he wouldn't come to talk to me, so I let him speak from here."

"Sister Val......"

"Ray, you mean with you, right? What's causing this? It's easier to talk, so talk about it."

Ashley tells her about her troubles as she invites Valeria into her room.

When the conversation is over in about five minutes, Valeria starts talking with a frightened face.

"If you think about what's bothering you...... you've already come to a conclusion, haven't you?

"Conclusion?"

"That's right. Ray, you can't leave me. Then I'll have to go with you."

"But about your father..."

Valeria stares into Ashley's eyes and begins to speak in a strong tone.

"Ash, listen carefully. The captain has us. Both Brother Al and Mr. Gareth are guild leaders. It doesn't have to be you."

"But..."

"Ray, don't you need yourself? That can't be right. He's a great kid who can do anything, but his soul is weak. Without you, she could be broken."

"But with Stella..."

Valeria is stunned by Ashley's unsweetened attitude.

"You can really take care of him. Stella's strong. But that kid alone can't support you, Ray. I need you (...), Ray, for you!

"But I'm useless to Ray. The only proud arm of the sword, too, is no longer needed by Ray... I..."

Valeria stood up softly, grabbing her shoulder and raising her voice.

"Really! Be confident! Where did Ash go preaching to Hal! If you don't think you have enough strength, work hard!

And hold Ashley as she is.

"Ray, what you're asking for isn't your power. It's you. Be confident. If you don't come with me now, you'll regret it. I don't want to see your sorry face. So..."

Hugged, Ashley is suddenly surprised, but eventually starts whimpering as small as a toddler.

"Sister Val... Thank you... Sister Val..."

"Already. I'm back to my little Ash as a kid...... good luck. But come back anytime. Me and the captain will be here any minute."

Ashley's whimpering gets even bigger on that word.

"Since when have you become such a crybaby? Yeah, well, when you get back, you bring the kids. Show the captain his grandson's face. Ugh......"

Ashley turns red at once on the words.

"Hey, what are you talking about, kid... ma, grandson... sister Val, don't make fun of me..."

Valeria lets her go,

"Come on, go, Ray, come to you. And tell them exactly what you think. Just do what” Sister Val ”says, okay. Come on, come on."

She pushes Ashley's back and sends her off with a smile.

(Really, taking care of burning. But I'm glad that's it. If the captain found out Ash stayed for himself, he would have said the same thing... well, I need to get back to work too. Yeah, I told Ash. I have to work hard to rebuild the Red Arms before I do.)

She was slapping her cheeks with both hands to keep her tempered after dropping off Ashley running away.

Ashley, pushed back by Valeria, heads to Ray's room.

Unlike the sinking look of the past few days, it had turned into a sunny look full of confidence.

In front of his room, take a big, deep breath, then go inside.

"We need to talk. We're going on a journey."

Sitting in a chair and relaxing, Ray corrects his inability to stay and waits for her story.

"Please, I want to be with you and you. Take me with you."

Ashley bows her head and waits for his reaction.

"That's Ash's conclusion? Are you sure about this? No regrets?

"I don't regret it. No, I might regret it. But I'd rather go with you and regret it than regret it without going with you. It may not help you. On the contrary, it could be a foothold. So you may regret it, but still, I want to go with you..."

"There's nothing useless about it. Well, I don't know what to do... I don't have common sense. At least there's common sense in this world. I'm not asking you to come with me because it helps. I want to be with you, I don't want to leave you, I want you to come with me."

Ashley approaches him silently. And hold him tight.

"I will never let you go. I will always... always..."

Ray is a little surprised that he was suddenly hugged, but quickly hugs him back hard.

"I don't know how far we can go, but we'll both look around the world. Sometimes I'm going to come back to Fonce."

Ashley, remembering Stella, held him in his arms and said, "Two? What are we gonna do about Stella?" I ask.

He laughed bitterly,

"Right. I forgot. Stella is with me. That's good."

"Oh, I don't mind. But I'm your” best ”. I won't give this away to anyone. I'm more jealous than I think I am. Be prepared. Hehe..."

"It's okay. I want to be Ash's” best ”too. I'll be at Mr. Hamish's later, but what do we do? You want to come with me?

She nods small and mouths him.

"Let me go with you. You have to talk to your father properly from me."

They talked happily about their plans for the future.

Hamish Markat was discussing with Duke Selzam, a mercenary guild and guild leader, the rewards for the prostitutes and the recruitment of additional prostitutes.

"The reward is 50 C (krona) per day for Grade V (= equivalent to 50,000 yen). The sixth grade was thirty and the seventh grade twenty. Ray's measures forced him to release money from the commercial guild, but now more money is being collected than that. If we're just gonna put it out on you guys, we're not gonna have a problem doubling it."

"A lot of guys lost their gear this time. I just want you to let me out as much as you can... but after this, you're going to recruit extra prostitutes. Then you'll need the money to turn it around."

"Right. However, there are rumors that the Royal Palace will give money for the extra. So far, we'll have enough people on the same terms as before. If possible, I'm going to turn it around to the advance team."

"I appreciate that, but are we really going to get together?

"Oh, thanks to your work. Here in Fonce, the mercenaries who joined the Demonic Crusades are a kind of hero. A lot of people think it's foiled. I don't want to send those guys out. Well, this time we'll join the well-known mercenary regiment. If His Excellency the Commander were to take direct command, there would be no great harm."

Thereafter, the discussions between the two proceed, and on the reward, the guild chief's leave descends.

As for the prostitutes who fought in Millis Valley, the reward for the twenty-two days between departure and return was decided to be doubled, and furthermore the Demonic Crystal Stone of Oak - equivalent to about one thousand 20,000 C recovered by the Third Battalion - was to be equally divided among them.

A total of one hundred and thirty-five advance troops survived the Battle of Millis Valley, of which one hundred and seven were prostitutes. The breakdown was seventy-one for the Markat mercenary regiment - except three for Ray, Ashley and Stella - and thirty-six for the other mercenaries.

To 100 C and 2 thousand 2 hundred C per day for mercenaries equivalent to the fifth degree, the Demonic Crystal Stone portion of the oak, 180 C, was added.

Hamish also asks the Alliance to compensate the survivors of the war, and Duke acknowledges that.

"I'll screw you into the Knights. Because of the Knights' chombo this time. It's troublesome to treat missing persons, but I'll take care of the area."

Hamish completes all administrative procedures and returns to his own home, mercenary regiment headquarters.

The remaining Duke, looking behind him,

(Looks like you've enjoyed it a lot. I didn't know that Hamish would look tired... well, even the Knights have to put a "drop" on him. We can use mercenaries as shields. That's what I do. But we can't just let ourselves get away with keeping the decent guy in command)

Hamish scratched many who remained outside the guild and returned to mercenary regiment headquarters.

When he returns, his men greet him and he finally gets a horrible look on his face as well.

"You did a great job this time. We're off for ten days from tomorrow!

Mercenaries cheer on the words.

"Go to the Alliance and you'll get your rewards! He's got a pretty good forehead, but give me the guy who broke his gear. Headquarters will compensate you for the repairs. Take your time off today, dissolve!

In his words, the mercenaries begin to move in pieces, heading for the liquor store or back to their respective rooms.

In the meantime, Ray and Ashley follow Hamish into the captain's office.

"Mr. Hamish, I need to talk to you, are you okay now?

"I don't mind. What are you talking about?

When Hamish recommends the chair in the reception room to them, he sits on the couch with Docka himself.

Ray tells Hamish that he is not suitable for mercenaries, and that he will embark on a journey.

"I don't think you're suitable for mercenaries. You can be a first-rate mercenary, no, a first-rate military man. You have a choice to join the Knights. Lord Victor likes you, too. Lord Gladstone must be buying you too."

"I think His Excellency the Knights Commander is a good one. But I don't think it suits the nobility of this country. Not a very good prediction, but I wonder if there will be confusion in the upper echelons of this country ahead. That time, when I'm here, it's a pain in the ass. And to the Mercenaries (here)..."

"If you say so, I guess something will happen. But we don't care if the great men of this country stare at us. So you don't have to worry about that."

"Yes, but..."

"Well, if that's what you decided, it's not what I'd say anyway. It would be nice to make a journey. But this is your house. You can come back whenever you want."

Ray gets his chest hot on Hamish's words.

When the conversation breaks, Ashley rises and bows her head deeply.

"Father, I'm going on a journey about Ray, too. May I ask your forgiveness?

Ray panicked, too, and imitating it, Hamish laughed bitterly,

"Ash, you're a good year too. You'll be able to decide for yourself. So live as you please. Don't worry about me. Ray, I asked for Ash."

Ashley was stuck in words and just groaned, "Father..."

Ray placed his hand on Ashley's shoulder,

"Okay. I'm going to rely more on it. [M] Always, she will protect you."

"Well, don't feel so bad. Enjoy the journey. Ash, come back once in a while. This is your home whenever you want. You got it."

"Yes......"

"By the way, what's Stella gonna do? You're taking me?

"I'm going to. Stella said she wanted to come with me."

"Well... the three of you are officially part of our Mercenary Corps of Mercenaries (Red Arms) today. If you need anything, call me. I'm gonna help you to the end of the world."

Ray and Ashley got hot in the chest and couldn't talk any more.

Hamish broke the silence and said, "When are you going to leave?," he asked.

"As soon as possible. Perhaps His Majesty will be back soon. I don't know what the story will be, but there should be some sort of dispute between the Duke and His Majesty Kilgaroho. I want to get out of Lax as soon as possible so I don't get caught up in it."

"Right... right. That would be nice."

He sees his beloved daughter's face with a slightly lonely face.

"I'll come back to you when the day of departure is set"

That's what you two say. After the captain's office. The remaining Hamish are:

(Will you still travel... I knew, but you're lonely. I'm going to be busy. Maybe that would be the salvation......)

He was looking at the magic crystal stone, the shape of his late wife, thinking of his daughter's future.

Ray and Ashley were on their way to Stella's room after leaving Hamish's room.

"I need to talk to Stella. All right?

When he says so, Stella nods small.

"I told you before, we're going to talk about this, and me and Ash decided to go on a journey"

Stella stands up and bows her head.

"Please take me. Me and I would like to be with you. It will always help. I won't disturb you two. So..."

"I got it. Stella was always helpful. But that's why you're not going with me. That's what you decided, so you're coming with me. So it's not a duty or anything. Anytime, you can go your own way. I want you to know that."

"Yes... no, I don't know, if I can let you stay beside Ray's..."

He takes Stella's hand and "keep it up," he grips hard.

Ashley holds hands in the same way as "keep it up, please".

Stella looked like she was in trouble, but soon she smiled, said, "Nice to meet you," and was holding her hand back.