As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: In Search of New Talent

If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that the key to strengthening my realm was to recruit as many capable subordinates as I could find. As such, the moment I had the chance I began devoting myself wholeheartedly to an aggressive search for new talent.

My Appraisal skill lets me see not only people’s current statistics, but also their latent potential and aptitudes for certain fields. In addition, the end of the war meant that I could distribute notices regarding my recruitment drive throughout the city of Canarre, as well as Lamberg, Torbequista, and Coumeire.

Before long, the day I would be conducting my first interviews arrived. I’d arranged for two sets of interviews, one today and the next three days afterward. I’d gone to great lengths in my previous recruitment drives, so I hadn’t been expecting all that many applicants to show up this time, but I was shocked by the turnout when it came time for me to meet with them. Somewhere around five hundred people had shown up in the hopes of entering my employ.

Apparently, my overwhelming victory in the war with Seitz had raised the reputations of me and my retainers in the eyes of the people. As a result, candidates had arrived not just from Canarre but also from the surrounding counties as well, all hoping to serve the up-and-coming count they’d heard so much about. A decent number of people had lost their jobs in the recent conflict, which accounted for at least part of the turnout.

In any case, more candidates was a very good thing in my eyes…except for the fact that I could only appraise so many people in a single day. Going through five hundred people in one day was beyond my capabilities, so out of necessity, I decided to narrow it down to around a hundred and fifty people, for the time being. I would’ve gone with a first come, first served system, but unfortunately, the fact that I hadn’t anticipated this much of a turnout meant that I hadn’t had anyone keep track of who had arrived first. I made a mental note to rectify that oversight and appraise the first hundred and fifty people who arrived in sequence, next time.

I had the jobseekers ushered into the castle and appraised them one after another. The last time I went looking for new retainers, Canarre had been in a precarious place economically and I’d been forced to be picky about who I hired. This time, however, we had a little surplus funding to work with. Couran had rewarded me generously for my service, and the end of the war had helped bolster the local economy as well, so our tax revenue was expected to rise.

We’d also been able to sell off the aqua magia we’d purchased for the war, as well as the stock of aqua magia we’d stolen from Seitz’s army during our previous engagement, gaining us another sizable quantity of gold. It seemed likely that we wouldn’t have to fight any battles any time soon, and I’d decided that using those resources to recruit and train talented individuals would pay off more in the long run than keeping them around for the next battle.

I would spend as much money as possible to help Canarre grow, in terms of both its population and its economy. In the long run, that would bolster our fighting force far more than making short-term investments in the moment ever could. It was, after all, only a matter of time before another war broke out, and I wanted to be ready for it. We’d managed to emerge victorious in the previous war despite our inferior numbers, but there was no guarantee we’d be so lucky next time.

As a side note, Rietz was the one who’d suggested selling our aqua magia reserves. My only real involvement had been signing off on his plan. We didn’t sell all of it, of course, but we’d kept only the bare minimum that we might need for emergencies, and I’d been surprised by just how much of the stuff we’d managed to steal. It secured us plenty of funding to hire the people I wanted to.

I was planning on employing anyone I found who had average maximum stats above 65, hoping to find at least one person with stats above 80, and figured I’d also consider anyone with lower scores but high Aptitudes. Generally speaking, I’d found that if someone had at least one A-ranked Aptitude, I’d be able to find a use for them. The exception to that was people with the Mage Aptitude─in those cases, a B-rank was enough for me to take them in.

My Appraisal skill gave me information about people’s place of origin and family, which meant it was easy for me to tell if anyone lied to me about either of those things. Anyone who lied to me was, in my book, suspicious enough to rule out hiring on the spot. My skill also told me about their opinions regarding their current lord, if they had one, and if they did, it seemed very likely that they were a spy, ruling them out as well. It would complicate matters if someone who had served a lord from Seitz or some other non-Missian duchy arrived, of course─I would have to have them captured and interrogated to see what they were after─but that was still just a hypothetical scenario at this point.

I set about appraising the first hundred and fifty candidates, one after another. Unsurprisingly, finding people who suited my requirements wasn’t that easy. I did, however, notice that a lot more women had shown up to be appraised this time. I had to wonder if the fact that I’d chosen to hire Musia had made its way into the rumor mill. “More women than last time” didn’t mean there was an equal sample of the sexes, of course─there were still far more men, overall.

Out of the first fifty candidates I appraised, three were impressive enough to make the cut, all of them men with high Valor stats. None of them were truly exceptional, but they were at least capable enough that I could expect great things from them on the field of battle. Appraising the remaining hundred candidates left me with another ten prospective hires, and while none of them were above and beyond either, I was still reassured to know that I was off to a solid start in bolstering our roster of personnel.

○

Three days later I did it all over again, this time operating on a first come, first served basis. The first candidate who arrived to be interviewed was a man with a medium build and rather narrow eyes.

“Good day to you! You must be the Count of Canarre, Lord Ars Louvent himself! It’s a wonder, honestly─to think a man could become a count at your age! Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Virge Sammado, fallen aristocrat hailing from the land of Paradille, at your service!”

Virge blathered on and on about his background, even though I hadn’t asked about it yet. He was quite the talker, it seemed.

Former nobility weren’t the most common candidates, but Virge also wasn’t the first I’d seen. In any case, I tried appraising him.

His Politics score caught my attention immediately, and everything my ability told me about his history lined up with what he’d already explained to me. He wasn’t lying, it seemed.

“I see you’re already familiar with my background, but for formality’s sake, allow me to introduce myself as well,” I said. “I am Ars Louvent, the Count of Canarre. To begin, I’d like to know why you wish to enter my service.”

“My own house fell to ruin on account of our debts,” explained Virge. “I was already searching for employment, and when word of the Count of Canarre’s achievements reached my ears, I knew in an instant that I belonged by your side! I’ve traveled all across Summerforth since my house’s collapse, visiting realms far afield in search of a master to serve─from Paradille to Scheutz, Seitz to Rofeille, and even the capital itself! Did you know that even in lands where you barely speak the same language, you can get by with gestures alone? But I digress─I’ve seen much and learned more throughout my travels, and I’m certain that knowledge will be a boon to you should you choose to employ me!”

He’d spun that answer into an extended self-endorsement. He really did have a way with words, as well─or rather, the way he spoke sort of reminded me of how professional entertainers talked. Maybe that was his excellent Politics score at work? A part of me thought he was talking a little too much, but I’d already been thinking that we could use more people capable of diplomacy, so taking a silver-tongued man like Virge into my service felt like it could be a solid move.

“So, then?! Will you hire me?!” Virge exclaimed, leaning forward eagerly.

I wanted to, but I’d made a policy to not give applicants their results on the spot. I told him he’d be informed of my decision at some point in the near future, then had the next applicant brought in for appraisal. It wasn’t a great day, all around─in the end, I found four people in total who I wanted to hire, Virge included.

○

“So you will hire me? I had a feeling you’d make the right decision! I’ve heard rumors that you have quite the discerning eye for subordinates, and it seems they weren’t exaggerated after all!”

I had just informed Virge that I’d decided to bring him aboard, much to his delight. It seemed he had self-confidence to spare.

“So, what will you have me do for you? Direct your troops on the front lines, perhaps? I’m not much for fighting, but I have wit and wisdom to spare! You might find me a surprisingly capable commander!”

“No, that’s not what I had in mind,” I replied. His current Leadership score was quite low, after all, and even his maximum score was unimpressive. Putting him in command of troops would have been a very poor decision.

That being said, I had to wonder─what would be the right task to entrust to him? A silver tongue was a talent that could be put to use in all sorts of fields, so making him a diplomat was far from my only option. He could assuage the concerns and complaints of dissatisfied citizens, for instance, or help out with the county’s business dealings. There were all softs of domestic tasks that he could prove useful for.

At the moment, Rietz was more or less in charge of managing Canarre on a domestic level. I handled all matters related to recruitment, of course, but since a lot of the intricacies of managing the territory were more or less beyond me, I’d delegated the better part of them to Rietz. He also had plenty of drills to lead for our military, so to be honest, he had too much on his plate. Braham and Zaht had started coming into their own recently, at least, which meant that he could entrust them with some small number of tasks, but his workload was still excessive.

In light of all that, part of me thought that assigning Virge to serve as Rietz’s assistant for the internal affairs side of his work might be a good call. I didn’t expect him to be genuinely helpful right from the word go, of course─he’d need time to study up and learn the ins and outs of the position first─which might mean I’d just be piling more work onto Rietz’s plate in the short term. Then again, if my Appraisal skill was to be believed, Virge was remarkably capable in the field of politics and would be helpful in the long run. In the end, I decided to go with my gut and make him Rietz’s assistant.

“For the time being, you’ll be assisting Rietz in his duties,” I explained.

“Rietz…that would be the Malkan man in your employ, wouldn’t it? Rumor has it he’s an absurdly capable warrior! You mean to say I’ll be training under his watchful eye?!” Virge exclaimed, excited by the prospect.

Does he want to be a warrior? Maybe he’s one of those people whose interests and talents just don’t match up.

“No, I didn’t mean that you’d be fighting,” I clarified. “Rietz is responsible for a variety of domestic affairs, and you’ll be helping him with that side of his work.”

“Oh, so I’ll be an administrator, not a warrior? I suppose it’s true that I might be more suited to that sort of field,” Virge admitted. “Very well, then! I must say, though, it seems that no matter where you go, the Malkan people are abused and enslaved. I’ve always felt for them, which makes it all the more impressive to me that Rietz is so staggeringly capable. It’s a marvel, truly!”

Apparently, Virge was the sort of person who pitied Malkans rather than embracing the popular prejudices most held toward them. I was starting to think that he might be a decent person deep down.

“Well then, no time to waste! I shall report to Rietz posthaste! Where can I find him?!” Virge asked. He was downright brimming with enthusiasm.

I called in one of the castle’s servants and had Virge escorted over to Rietz. He was clearly a man with a spirit of self-improvement, and I had high hopes that once he’d had some time to grow, he’d be very helpful for Rietz’s work.

I went on to interview the other individuals who I’d chosen, picking a task to assign to each of them. Almost everyone I’d found was suitable for roles in our military, Virge aside, and by the end of it I’d managed to find a solid number of new recruits. I’d also exhausted myself, and decided to take the next day off.

○

The next day, I was resolved to rest up and recuperate from my recruitment efforts. My siblings, however, had other plans and came running up to me right after we’d finished eating.

“Ars, Ars! Let’s practice sword fighting!” shouted Kreiz.

“Oh, no you don’t! He’s reading books with me today!” countered Wren.

The two of them were eight years old now, and had grown up quite a bit, but were still very much children at heart. Despite being twins their personalities could hardly have been more different, and they almost never saw eye to eye when it came to how they spent their time. The one thing they had in common was their tendency to go through this exact same argument every time I had a day to spend with them, which I couldn’t help but chuckle at. I’d always made a point of calming them down by accepting both of their invitations, but today, things played out a little differently.

“All right, then─how about the two of us read together?” Licia suggested with a smile. She happened to be right beside me, and was most likely aware of how draining playing with kids could be. This was her way of trying to share my burdens.

“Now that’s a great idea! Nice one!” yelped Kreiz. He’d taken quite the shine to Licia, and seemed to view her as something of an older sister figure. On the other hand…

“No!” Wren snapped as she turned her back to Licia. “I hate you!”

Wren hadn’t minced words with that one, and Licia’s expression froze solid.

Although Kreiz had warmed up to Licia following our marriage, Wren had gone in the opposite direction. For reasons I couldn’t understand, she’d developed an intense dislike for her. I was mystified. As far as I’d observed Licia hadn’t done anything to deserve that sort of distaste, and she was great at winning people over. I had to imagine it was rare for people to so plainly dislike her.

“H-Hey, stop that, Wren! You can’t just tell people you hate them!” I scolded.

“I hate what I hate, and there’s no changing that!” Wren snapped back.

I glanced over at Licia, and found she was still frozen stiff. Being disliked that openly must have come as quite the shock to her, but she soon shook it off, walked over to Wren, and crouched down to look her in the eye.

“Would you please explain what it is you hate about me, Wren dearest?” asked Licia. “I’m sad to hear you feel that way, so please tell me what I could do to change your mind.”

For a moment Wren hung her head in silence, but finally, she began to explain herself. “Well…you’re Ars’s wife, aren’t you? But I was supposed to marry him, not you,” she sulkily muttered.

I guess that explains things: she’s just jealous of Licia, plain and simple. She’s still a kid, so I guess it only stands to reason she’d feel that way.

“Oh? Well in that case, you needn’t worry at all!” said Licia. “Ars is a very open-minded man. I’m sure he’d be happy to take you as his bride as well, in the future!”

“Really?” asked Wren.

“Of course! Wouldn’t you, Ars?”

“Y-Yeah, sure,” I replied.

“Hurray!” Wren shouted, eyes sparkling with glee.

I knew that we were just trying to get her off Licia’s case, but even so, agreeing to marry my little sister felt pretty wrong. Then again, she was just a kid and it did ease the tension for the moment, so I was probably just overthinking it. I was confident she’ll have gotten over that particular desire by the time she grew up enough to get married, anyway.

“So, have you stopped hating me now?” asked Licia.

“Hmm… Dunno,” Wren replied, cocking her head as she pondered the question. It seemed she wasn’t going to get over her animosity that fast.

“That makes sense. We’ve barely even spoken, after all. Why don’t you tell me about your interests, Wren? What do you like?” asked Licia, doing her best to strike up a conversation.

This time, Wren played along and replied, “I like my brother, and books, and flowers too!” she said.

“What a coincidence! I also like Ars, books, and flowers,” said Licia. She’d been rather casual about throwing me onto her list, which set my heart aflutter a little…though of course, she said as much to me on a regular basis, particularly at night in our bedroom. “Do you grow your own flowers?” Licia continued.

“No, I just look at them,” said Wren. “I don’t know how to grow them.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I happen to be well-versed in botany. Would you like to try growing flowers with me?”

“You can do that?! That’s amazing! I wanna try!” Wren squealed with excitement. She and Licia had a surprising amount in common, it seemed. I had a feeling that they’d be fast friends before I knew it, and that I might not have to worry about their relationship after all.

“I guess we can go practice sword fighting, then,” I suggested to Kreiz.

“All right!” he replied.

The two of us headed outside and began our practice. A few hours later, I returned to the castle, feeling drained. Kreiz still hadn’t had enough for his taste, but I just didn’t have the stamina to keep up with him. I made a mental note to work on that, and maybe take up running─if I didn’t build up my endurance, there was a chance it could come back to bite me in the long run.

In the meantime, Licia and Wren seemed to have warmed up to each other. I found the two of them chatting away happily, and was relieved to see them getting along.

“All right, watch closely! When you want to charm a gentleman, making the right expression is key! You have to tilt your head and turn your gaze up toward him, like this…”

“Oooh, I see! Is this right?”

…Just what on earth is she teaching her? I wondered. Wren’s maximum Intelligence and Politics scores were both exceptional, and a friendship with Licia could lead to growth in both of those areas. Watching the two of them talk gave me the distinct feeling that Wren might turn out to be an incredibly capable woman in the future.

○

The next day, I got right back to work again. First up on the itinerary: meeting with Mireille, who had arrived at Castle Canarre to visit. She barely ever stopped by unless we had a meeting scheduled, so I had to assume she wasn’t just coming to say hi. I had her shown into the parlor, where the two of us could chat in private.

“Hey there, kiddo,” said Mireille as I stepped into the room. “So, how’s the newlywed life working out for you?”

“Well enough, I suppose,” I replied, a little surprised that she’d jumped straight into small talk.

“That girl─Licia, right? She seemed like a pretty tough one. Bet she’s gonna have you whipped in no time, eh?” Mireille asked with a sneering grin. I’d thought the same myself on a number of occasions, so I couldn’t argue with her.

“So, did you come here for something specific today?” I asked, steering the conversation back on track.

“Yup,” said Mireille. “Remember how I told you I wanted to talk with my brother Thomas? I wanted to ask if you’d reach out to Couran about that whole deal.”

“I had a feeling that’s what this was about,” I replied.

Mireille’s younger brother, Thomas, had sided with Vasmarque in the recent civil war. Thomas was an exceptionally capable man, and after Vasmarque’s defeat, Couran had repeatedly attempted to convince Thomas to work for him instead. Thomas, however, remained loyal to his late lord, and had stubbornly refused to renounce that loyalty.

Mireille, however, seemed confident that she could win her brother over. I hadn’t been able to think of any other matters she would want to discuss with me, so I’d sort of figured this was what she’d be asking about, and had been proven correct.

“All right, then,” I said. “I’ll send a letter to Couran at once. When his reply arrives, I’ll get in touch and─”

“Sounds like a waste of time to me,” said Mireille. “How ’bout I deliver the letter, and take care of business right after Couran reads it?”

“That…would be more efficient if he says yes, I guess, but if he doesn’t agree to let you see Thomas, you’d have wasted your time.”

“Sure, but that’s wasted time I can make up for. Figure I’ll just do some sightseeing in Arcantez, if it comes to that.”

“You do know you’re supposed to be taking care of Lamberg, right…?”

“Oh, the place isn’t gonna fall to pieces if its baron goes on vacation for a little while! And hey, if something does go wrong, you can just send Rietz to handle it,” Mireille replied dismissively.

I hate to say it, but Rietz is overworked as is! Then again, I managed Lamberg for long enough that if worse comes to worst, I know I could step in and settle things myself. I might have to ask Licia and Rosell for a little help, but I can’t see things getting bad enough that I’d have to call Rietz in.

“All right. I’ll write that letter now,” I said, then set about doing just that.

It seemed clear that Mireille had a plan in mind to talk Thomas onto our side, so I started by requesting that she be allowed to meet with him, face to face. After that, I explained that we thought there was a chance he would agree to work for us as long as he was working under his sister in particular, and requested for Thomas to be made into Mireille’s retainer if it turned out that way. I knew that Couran wanted to keep Thomas on a tight leash, so there was every possibility he would turn that last request down, but on the other hand, Couran surely knew how hard it would be to bring Thomas around. With that fact in mind, I had high hopes he would see reason and accept our terms.

I finished the letter and handed it over to Mireille. “Thanks,” she said. “All right! I’m off to drag my brainless little brother back with me whether he likes it or not, so look forward to that.”

And just like that, she was off. She’d seemed confident in her ability to get through to Thomas, but personally, I had plenty of doubts. From what I’d been able to tell, her brother wasn’t fond of her to begin with. She’d told me to look forward to her success, but I decided to keep my expectations low and accept whatever result I got when the time arrived.

○

Some time later, Mireille arrived in Arcantez, the capital of Missian, bearing Ars’s letter. She made the trip accompanied by two guards, which was fairly light as far as a typical baron’s escort went. Mireille was a capable enough warrior to protect herself under most circumstances, so she could feel safe traveling in a small group.

“Question is, will Couran grant me an audience?” Mireille said to herself.

Couran was the current Duke of Missian. That was a position that kept people busy in the best of times, and with the civil war having only just ended, it was all but certain he barely had a moment to spare. Mireille also hadn’t sent any advance word of her arrival, so whether or not she’d be able to see him was very much in doubt. That being said, she had one advantage that made her believe she had a good chance of getting an audience: Ars’s letter. Couran had taken quite a liking to the young count, after all.

Mireille made her way toward Castle Arcantez. A guard stopped her at the front gate, but when she whipped out her letter, which bore the seal of House Louvent, he changed his tune. The guard told her to wait for just a moment, then went over to give orders to another guard who was stationed nearby─likely his subordinate. That second guard ran off, and before long, Couran’s right-hand man Robinson arrived.

“Oh, if it isn’t Mireille,” said Robinson. “What brings you to Arcantez?”

“The kiddo─” Mireille began, then paused to correct herself. “His Lordship Ars Louvent has entrusted me with a letter that I’m to personally deliver to Cou…to Lord Couran,” she explained.

“Personally, you say?” asked Robinson.

“Right, and if at all possible, I’d like for him to read it and give me his reply immediately. Can he spare some time? It’s not a long letter, so it should only take a moment.”

“As it so happens, His Lordship is unoccupied at this very moment. I shall inquire with him at once,” Robinson said, then headed back into the castle, leaving Mireille to grumble under her breath about how if Couran wasn’t busy Robinson could’ve just taken her right to him.

A few minutes later, Robinson returned.

“His Lordship the Duke will see you. Right this way, please.”

Mireille followed Robinson’s lead and headed into the castle.

○

Robinson led Mireille to the duke’s chambers, where she found Couran seated in a lavish chair. He looked over as she entered the room, his expression stern.

“Mireille…” said Couran. “What business do you have with me? Has Ars decided to relieve you of your position? I’m afraid to say that I have no intention of taking you into my service if he has.”

“He sure as hell─most certainly has not,” said Mireille, remembering at the last second to mind her manners around the man who now ruled Missian.

“It is a pleasure to see you, Lord Couran. I’ve come today to deliver a message from my master Ars,” she continued in a register so polite, she barely even sounded like herself anymore.

Couran scowled. “Enough of that tone. It’s unsettling, coming from you.”

“Oh, that so? Yeah, I’ve never been a fan of all that stuffy garbage,” said Mireille.

“On second thought, you’d do well to act slightly less eager to abandon formality,” Couran sighed. “So, a message from Ars, you say…? Why would he send you to deliver it?”

“It’ll make sense once you’ve read it,” Mireille said as she handed the letter over.

Couran opened it up and scanned its contents.

“He wants you to recruit Thomas for him…? Does that stand any chance of working?”

“Sure does,” Mireille said with a nod.

“I’m sure you’re aware that he despises me, and I have the distinct impression that he doesn’t think highly of you either,” said Couran.

“He’s still my little brother at the end of the day. As long as I can talk to him, I’ll be able to work something out─though that’s only if I can make him my personal retainer. He’s definitely not gonna accept anything else, so I’m hoping to bring him back to Canarre with me.”

“Yes, the letter said as much,” said Couran. “But of course, Ars’s people are my people by extension, and our only prominent enemy at the moment, Seitz, lies directly across the border from Ars’s county. There’s a pressing need to bolster Canarre’s defenses, so I have no objections to sending him additional personnel. In other words, if you truly believe you have a chance to convince Thomas, you’re welcome to try. Keeping talent like his locked up would be a waste.”

Couran gave Mireille the go ahead, then instructed one of his men to lead her to Thomas’s cell. That said, he wasn’t being kept in Castle Arcantez’s dungeon. The dungeons were a far cry from a comfortable environment, and since Couran had always hoped to bring Thomas around eventually, he had decided to keep him locked up in a rather large room in the castle proper instead, with two armed guards stationed outside of his door at all times to ensure he wouldn’t escape.

“We will accompany you during your meeting with the prisoner,” one of the guards explained.

“I’d rather talk to him alone,” said Mireille.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that. Our orders were clear.”

Unfortunately for Mireille, the sort of soldiers who would casually defy their instructions didn’t tend to end up guarding a duke’s castle. She concluded that they weren’t going to let her talk them into giving her one-on-one time with Thomas, and gave in, allowing the guards to follow her inside.

The guards opened the door, and Mireille stepped into the chamber. Sitting within was Thomas Grunzeon, looking rather haggard compared to when they’d last met.

“Hey there, Thomas,” said Mireille. “You look like you’ve been having a run of bad days, huh?”

Thomas shot his sister a sharp glare.

“What do you want?” he growled, his tone low and full of barely-disguised fury.

“Is that any way to thank your big sister for coming to visit you?” said Mireille. “I was expecting tears of joy!”

“Hmph. The only tears of joy I’ll shed for you will be when I get word someone’s done you in,” Thomas snapped.

“So harsh! Honestly, who do you even take after? Your parents must’ve been real pieces of work!”

Thomas stared at Mireille in stony silence.

“Come on, that’s the part where you’re supposed to go ‘they’re your parents too,’ or something! Keep up, will you?”

“Really─what are you here for?” Thomas sighed.

“To talk some sense into you,” said Mireille. “How long are you planning on staying locked up in this dingy cell? Get over it and come with me. We’re getting out of here.”

“No,” Thomas flatly and immediately replied.

“Why not? Don’t tell me you like this place?”

“Like hell I do. I wouldn’t be caught dead serving the man who killed Lord Vasmarque, and that means I’m not moving an inch.”

“Well, good news, then: you don’t have to. You’ll be serving my lord, Ars Louvent. No need to follow Couran’s orders.”

“But this ‘Ars’ is Couran’s vassal, isn’t he? In other words, I’d be serving him in all but name.”

“Can’t deny that, I guess, but I have a feeling you and Ars would hit it off if you gave him a chance. Plus, he’s got a real eye for people’s talents. More and more capable folks are going to be gathering under his banner from now on, mark my words.”

“Then they can be his retainers instead of me. Good luck to him.”

Mireille let out an exasperated sigh at her brother’s stubborn attitude.

“Why are you so fixated on Vasmarque, anyway?” she asked. “Why swear eternal fealty to a man who got beat?”

Thomas’s scowl grew fiercer still.

“Don’t you ever mock Lord Vasmarque in front of me again. I owe him a debt, and I’ll never forget it.”

“Hah! A debt?” scoffed Mireille. “Maybe you do, sure, but have you forgotten everything you owe me, too?”

Thomas flinched. Mireille had hit him where it hurt with that argument.

“Just how many times did I pull your sorry hide out of the fire when we were kids? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? You can’t think that you earned your way into Vasmarque’s service by your own talent alone, right? You’ve never been able to accomplish anything unless you’re following someone else’s orders. You’re a bit bigger these days than you were back then, sure, but otherwise, you haven’t changed a bit.”

Thomas fell into silence. A moment later, Mireille leaned forward and whispered into his ear. His eyes widened.

“Can’t make any guarantees, of course,” Mireille said as she pulled away again. “You should meet with Ars, though, at the very least.”

For a moment, Thomas remained silent. “I’ll give it some thought,” he finally replied.

○

While Mireille was off in Arcantez, I worked my way through several more crops of potential new recruits. At the moment, I was seated in my office, running through a stack of papers on which I’d recorded the ability scores of all the candidates I’d appraised.

“Did you find anyone capable enough to satisfy your standards this time, Lord Ars?” asked Rietz, who was in the room as well.

I shook my head. “Not this time, I’m afraid,” I sighed. “Being able to appraise them helps, for sure, but when all’s said and done whether or not anyone worth hiring comes to me is all a matter of luck. I’ll just have to stay patient and keep at it.”

“I suppose so,” said Rietz. “We can only hope that Mireille’s efforts to recruit her brother will be a success. His presence could make a massive difference.”

“Honestly? I don’t have my hopes up. He’s her brother, sure, but I don’t think that recruitment is ever going to be Mireille’s strong suit.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” said Rietz.

“Oh, by the way─you know the man I sent to work under you, Virge? How’s he been doing so far? Do you think he’ll be useful?” I asked.

“I do,” said Rietz. “He’s a rather clever man, and sensible as well, which has been a blessing. He talks a little too much, perhaps, but in a certain sense he’s turned that into one of his strong points as well. For the moment, I’ve put him in charge of responding to the townsfolk’s grievances and dealing with merchants from afar.”

I was somewhat relieved to hear that Virge had already proven his worth. I’d been worried that he and Rietz wouldn’t see eye to eye, and that in the worst case he might have held Rietz back.

“Though I must admit, I feel somewhat adrift now that my own workload has been reduced,” Rietz added.

Not having too much work makes him feel lost? You’re such a workaholic it’s going to be the death of you one of these days, Rietz.

“Permission to enter, Lord Ars?” a voice called out from the other side of my office’s door. I recognized it as one of my servants’ voices, and gave them permission to enter. “Lady Mireille has returned from her excursion,” the servant said as they stepped inside. “Do you have time to meet with her, Your Lordship?”

It seemed Mireille was back from Arcantez. I just had to hope that she’d brought Thomas with her.

“Now is fine, yes,” I said. “Please bring her here.”

“At once, Your Lordship.”

A few minutes later, Mireille arrived at my office.

“Heyo! I’m back!” she said cheerfully as she stepped inside.

“How did it go?” I asked, hoping that her good mood was a sign she’d found success.

“Hm? Oh, right─Yeah, I brought him with me. Get in here!”

At Mireille’s urging, a giant of a man stepped into my office behind her. There was no mistaking him. I’d only seen Thomas once before, when he was captured and brought to Castle Staatz, but his appearance was distinct enough to be unforgettable. I appraised him as well, just to be safe, and was greeted with the same high-spec status screen I’d seen the last time we met.

“Thank you for coming to meet with me,” I said. “I am Ars Louvent, the Count of Canarre.”

“Oh, I get it now… You’re the kid from back then,” Thomas muttered as he laid eyes upon me. I couldn’t remember him having taken a specific note of me the first time we’d met, but apparently, he’d been aware of my presence, at the very least.

“May I take your presence here as a sign that you’ve decided to enter into my service?” I asked. Thomas, however, shook his head.

Huh? Wait, then what is he here for?

“I won’t be swearing fealty to you. I can’t─at least, not yet,” said Thomas. “That said, I’m willing to spend some time working for you and your domain. It won’t take me long to figure out if you’re a lord worth serving. And of course, if you decide that I’m not worth employing, you’re free to lop my head off any time you feel like it.”

In other words, Thomas was asking for something akin to a trial period. I had a feeling that Mireille had already explained about my appraisal skill to him, but from his perspective, I was still nothing more than a child. There was no telling whether he’d come to approve of me, but at the very least, this represented a step forward.

“Understood,” I said. “I will strive to prove to you that I’m a man worthy of your loyalty.”

○

Trial period or not, Thomas was now, for all intents and purposes, my retainer. That, needless to say, meant that I had to find a job to give him. Considering his capabilities, part of me wanted to give him a position of importance, but on the other hand, handing off a vital job to him the moment he signed on felt like it could cause more problems than it solved.

My best idea was to put him under Mireille’s direct command and have him help with the management of Lamberg. When I proposed the plan, however, Thomas was unequivocal in his opinion of it.

“I refuse to follow her orders,” Thomas said with a disgusted scowl.

“Oh, simmer down, you little brat,” said Mireille. “But honestly, compared to Canarre there’s just not much that needs doing over in Lamberg. I have managing the place under control, so I’d actually agree that he’d be better off doing something else.”

In the end, I asked Rietz and the others for their opinions, and wound up tasking Thomas with training Canarre’s army. The troops he’d commanded back during the battle of Velshdt had been the cream of the crop, which proved that he was a man who could be trusted to bring out our soldiers’ full potential. Rietz had been handling the task when he could up until then, so putting Thomas in charge of it would lighten Rietz’s workload even further. It seemed like an ideal setup to me.

With that, Thomas’s position among my workforce was settled. I knew I could trust him to do a good job, so the only question was whether I’d be able to demonstrate to him that I was a lord worth serving. I didn’t have any specific ideas about how I could make a show of my abilities, so instead, I decided that I’d be better off just carrying out my business like I always did and hoping for the best.

○

The next day arrived, and I got right back to work. Although having Thomas working for me was a big step forward, I still couldn’t afford to stop searching for new talent to bolster my personnel pool.

Our tax revenue had been on an upswing, thanks possibly to a recent warming of the local economy. I’d lowered taxes slightly in the hopes of earning the general public’s favor, and the fact that our net income had increased in spite of that looked like a sign of just how much business was booming. I made a point of walking around outside of the castle every once in a while, and the atmosphere in town alone seemed a lot livelier than they’d been before.

Greater tax revenue, of course, meant that I could afford to hire even more people, so my search for new talent was still far from over. I went right back to conducting interviews, as usual, but almost a full day of searching later I hadn’t come across anyone who truly suited my standards. The best I’d found were a man with a B-ranked Mage Aptitude, and another man with a B-ranked Cavalry Aptitude, both of whom I’d decided to hire. Their Valor scores were reasonable enough, though all of the rest of their stats were unimpressive. They hadn’t met my usual cutoff in terms of their overall stats, in fact, but judging by their aptitudes they would be able to do good work as a mage and a horseman in the long term.

Finally, I reached the last candidate of the day. I still hadn’t found anyone aside from the two men before, at that point.

The interviewee was a woman. She had oddly long bangs, lengthy enough to mostly cover her eyes, and as far as I could tell she was in her late teens or early twenties. Her build was just about average, and she was wearing a rather plain set of dull gray clothing. Her gaze was glued to the floor, as well─I got the sense she was nervous.

“Welcome to Castle Canarre,” I said. “I am the count, Ars Louvent.”

The woman didn’t reply. Or rather, I couldn’t hear her reply, though I could see that her lips were moving. It seemed she’d just spoken incredibly quietly. I was already getting the sense that she was a rather gloomy person, and I was starting to wonder whether she was even interested in working for me. Maybe someone had forced her to apply against her will? For the moment, I decided to appraise her.

Her current stats were remarkably low…but some of their maximum values were rather high. Moreover, she had an S-ranked Weaponry Aptitude, which was as high as it could go. With the right training, I knew she could be a huge asset. I had a feeling that she could speed up the progress of Shin’s airship project, and could even help develop new forms of magical weaponry.

My skill informed me that she was from Missian, her parents were alive, and she had two brothers. Nothing about her background stood out as suspicious to me, so I immediately concluded that I wanted to bring her on board…but when I tried to speak with her, a problem arose─that being the fact that I tried to speak with her, but mostly failed.

Enan’s voice was just so quiet, I couldn’t hear her at all. We couldn’t communicate, and when I asked her to speak up she just blushed and stared an even deeper hole in the floor. She was as unsociable as a person could get, and if it weren’t for my appraisal skill, I would have decided that she wasn’t worth hiring. In fact, even with the knowledge of how remarkable her latent capabilities were, I had my doubts about whether or not I’d be able to draw them out to their fullest.

Then again, finding people with latent talents that wouldn’t otherwise come to light is exactly what makes my skill so useful. I might as well give her a chance, I decided. And so, the day’s interviews ended with Enan as my final hire.

○

A few days later, I called everyone who I’d decided to bring into my service back to the castle for a second interview.

The two men, a potential mage and horseman, didn’t ring any alarm bells in the personality department. They had never cast a spell or ridden a horse, respectively, but I knew their talents would bloom with a little training and told them as much.

The problems began with my final hire, Enan. Once again, she couldn’t bring herself to speak loud enough for us to have a real conversation. I was starting to suspect that something was wrong with her vocal cords and she was physically incapable of speaking at an audible volume. That would make conversation a long-term impossibility, so I ended up giving up and asking her to try communicating through the written word instead.

Enan looked a little abashed about the suggestion, but began answering right away. It wasn’t uncommon for uneducated people in this world to be illiterate, and I was worried that if that was the case for her all hope would be lost, but thankfully, she seemed capable of reading and writing─and for that matter, her handwriting was quite clean.

“My apologies. It has been a very long time since I’ve had the chance to speak with anyone, and I find myself unable to raise my voice,” she wrote, her hand trembling all the while.

That, it seemed, implied her quiet tone wasn’t the fault of an illness after all. I had to wonder what sort of environment she’d been living in to not talk with anyone for that long, but at the very least, this meant that she might learn to speak up again as she got used to being around people.

“My name is Enan Lugez. I am sorry for being unable to so much as introduce myself to you,” Enan wrote, looking more apologetic than ever. Apparently, her inability to even say her own name was bothering her as well.

“No need for apologies. If you can’t speak, then so be it,” I said, hoping to make her feel a little better about the situation, but judging by her expression it didn’t seem to have done much to cheer her up. She started writing again just a moment later.

“Have I truly passed your interview? I thought that such a thing would be impossible, and I can still hardly believe it.”

She had a point. Normally, no one would dream of employing a person who couldn’t even introduce herself, and it seemed she was a little suspicious of the fact that I planned to do so.

“I have something called an Appraisal Skill,” I explained. “It allows me to perceive people’s latent talents, and I’ve decided to hire you on account of yours.”

“I have a talent?” Enan wrote, looking more confused than ever. It seemed she would take a little more convincing. Her gaze dropped to the floor once more as she sunk into thought, until finally, she jerked her head back up again with a start. She was blushing, for some reason, and her hand trembled as she began to write again. “I’m terribly sorry for not realizing your intent sooner. I understand now. I could not possibly refuse your advances, so please, feel free to use my body however you see fit.”

“Well, now we’re on completely different wavelengths,” I sighed. It seemed I’d accidentally convinced her that I was only hiring her for her body, though how she’d found her way to that particular misapprehension was beyond me. I explained that she had the wrong idea, and Enan blushed brighter than ever and flew into a panic.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Enan said as she gave me a deep bow of apology.

I…actually heard her that time! Her voice had still been quiet, but it had reached my ears for once. Her panic had, unexpectedly, led to a breakthrough and helped her remember how to speak out loud.

“I… I spoke,” Enan whispered. She still looked embarrassed, but I thought I could hear a hint of joy in her tone. I, for one, was glad to see her get over the issue so quickly, considering I’d already been wondering how she’d get by if she never managed to recover her voice.

“I’m glad to see you’ve found your voice again,” I said. “I just want to make it very clear, for the record, that I am in no way hiring you for your body. As a matter of fact, I’m married.”

“O-Oh, I see,” said Enan. “I’m terribly sorry. People have always told me that my looks are the only thing I have going for me, so I just assumed…”

I was starting to get the feeling that Enan had been raised in a less than ideal environment. As a side note, her bangs were hiding her face so effectively that I couldn’t comment on her looks at all. Maybe she would have been cute if she cleaned them up a little?

“So, I have a talent…? What is it?” asked Enan.

“I can guarantee that you have a talent for crafting and building,” I replied.

“D-Do I…? A talent for crafting…?” Enan repeated, puzzled by the claim. That wasn’t too surprising, considering her current stats were so low. Hopefully with a little practice, her capabilities would become apparent to her.

For the time being, I decided to introduce Enan to Shin. I headed off to find him, with her accompanying me.

“Is this really the right place…?” Enan muttered as we arrived at Shin’s workshop. She seemed bewildered by what she was seeing. “What are they even doing here?” she asked as she looked around. Considering the answer was “researching airship technology,” I couldn’t blame her for her confusion. This was probably the only workshop of its kind.

“This is the workshop of a man named Shin,” I explained. “At the moment, he’s working on building an airship.”

“What in the world is an airship?”

“It’s a type of vehicle that uses magic to fly. They haven’t built a functioning vessel yet, but a recent test flight was a success.”

“I-Is that truly possible?” Enan said, eyes wide with astonishment. It seemed she’d already taken an interest. “B-But…huh? Wait, wait─does that mean that you brought me here to help him make these ‘airships’?” she continued, realizing what I was expecting of her.

“Yes,” I replied.

“N-N-N-N-No way, I can’t! How could I make something that incredible?! I don’t even know the first thing about magic!” Enan shouted so loudly that I could hardly believe she’d been unable to speak earlier that very same day.

“Yes, I’m sure that asking you to jump straight in and produce results would be a bridge too far,” I admitted. “That said, you have a talent for this sort of work, and if you study here under Shin’s guidance, you may find that talent will begin to blossom before you know it.”

“My talent…might blossom?”

Enan sunk into thought. A short while later, she began to mutter.

“To be honest, it’s difficult for me to believe everything you’re saying… I’ve never found a skill that I’m average at, much less talented in… But on the other hand, I hate the thought of living without ever accomplishing anything at all…so I’d like to give this a try, if you’ll allow me.”

It wasn’t the most optimistic of declarations I’d ever heard, but she was somewhat motivated, at the very least. That motivation was key─without it, there was a very real chance that her talent would never come to the forefront. This felt like a good start.

Enan and I proceeded into the workshop. It seemed they were busy manufacturing something, at the moment. My best guess was that they were assembling another airship, and if I was right, then it seemed it would end up being a little larger than the last one I’d seen Shin test. His work, it seemed, was making steady progress.

“Huh? Oh, hey, if it ain’t Lord Ars! What brings you here today?” asked Shin, who’d been supervising the construction and shouting out orders until he noticed us. “Oh, and who’s the dame?” he added.

“I’ve just taken her into my service. My intent is to have her help with your work,” I explained, jumping straight to the crux of the matter.

Shin looked a little skeptical. “You want her to help out in the workshop? Just so you know, this work takes a lotta brawn! It’s gonna be pretty tough for a girl like her. Unless she’s got some wild muscles hidden under that shawl?”

“I’m afraid not,” I replied, “but I’ve appraised her, and found that she has an incredible talent for crafting. She’s a complete amateur at the moment, and her knowledge in the field is lacking, but in the long term I’m certain she’ll be an asset for your airship development.”

“Hmm… So basically, you’re saying it’s up to me to train her up? And if she’s a total amateur, that means I’ll be starting from a total blank slate? Teachin’ her from square one?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“The airship’s already keepin’ me busy, y’know? I don’t have a ton of time to spare,” Shin sighed. “But then again, good help’s hard to come by and I was just hoping to get another hand or two on deck… I may be a genius, but doing it all on my own ain’t all fun and games. Maybe you’ve got a point. If she’s got potential, she could be worth training! That’s a big ol’ if, though,” he added with a probing glance in my direction.

“She has talent, don’t worry. I personally guarantee it,” I replied without hesitation. I wasn’t about to start doubting my skill’s capabilities now, after everything I’d been through.

“All right, then, she’s in,” said Shin. “You saw through my talent too, so I’ll go ’head and trust in your judgment.”

With that, the matter was settled for now. How it worked out in the long term would be up to Enan and Shin. Of course, considering I’d just given him my guarantee it would work out, I would be in a bit of a fix if her talent remained dormant forever.

“Okay, new blood,” said Shin, “what am I supposed to call you?”

“Um…ah!” squeaked Enan. “M-My name is Enan… And, umm,” she added, turning to me, “I take it this small individual would be Shin?”

“Who the hell are you callin’ small?!” Shin bellowed, his face flushed red with fury. Apparently, his height was something of a sore subject.

“Oh, I-I’m so terribly sorry!” said Enan. “I just assumed that the head of a workshop would be, well, big and muscular, so I was surprised to find myself working for such an adorable individual instead.”

“A-Adorable?!” Shin spluttered, his face growing redder than ever.

It seemed that Enan was the sort of person whose mouth moved faster than her mind could keep up with. Maybe avoiding the trouble that caused, I reflected, was what had led her to be so quiet in the first place.

“Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Shin.

“Probably,” I replied after a moment of hesitation.

“Oh, well ain’t that just perfect… But, whatever. I’ll look after her for now, anyway, and if I decide she ain’t cut out for this I’ll send her packing right back up to the castle.”

○

“Worthless, the lot of you! Pick up the pace, or you’ll be losing battles that should be effortless, you miserable slugs!”

Thomas’s voice reverberated through the barracks. It was set up in the immediate vicinity of Castle Canarre, and was a large facility where our troops both lived and trained for the battles that were sure to come. Ever since Thomas had been assigned to oversee Canarre’s soldiers’ practice, he’d been living with them as he carried out his instruction duties.

Thomas’s training regimen was brutal, to say the least. Rietz had never been lax with discipline to begin with, but Thomas kicked it up to a new, relentless level. The fact that he was a big, burly, and exceptionally tall man just made him all the more intimidating, and the soldiers soon found themselves terrified of him. That was intentional on his part, of course. The last thing a drill sergeant needs is for his men to look down on him.

Canarre’s soldiers are quite skilled, aren’t they? Thomas reflected. In spite of the jeers and abuse he threw at them, he held his men in rather high esteem. Supposedly, a Malkan called Rietz oversaw their training until I arrived. I’m impressed he brought them up to such a high standard.

Just by watching his soldiers practice, Thomas had come to admire Rietz, the man who had trained them.

As Canarre’s soldiers worked through their drills, the sound of a massive explosion shook the barracks. That was hardly a rare occurrence, on account of the fact that a facility for Canarre’s mages to train in had been set up right next to it. The jobs of the army’s mages and more ordinary foot soldiers were different, so typically, they carried out their practice separately, coming together a few times a month for joint training sessions.

“That has to have been Lady Charlotte,” whispered one of the soldiers. “Her magic’s a cut above…”

“You never know─it might’ve been that newcomer Musia,” commented another. “She’s been getting better and better ever since we drove Seitz back from the border.”

“You two! Less talking, more training!” barked Thomas.

“Y-Yes, sir!” the pair of soldiers squealed, then went back to their practice.

We lost the battle of Velshdt in part because I underestimated the power of Couran’s mages. The mage named Charlotte in particular─her abilities are a threat beyond all others, Thomas reflected, remembering his inglorious defeat at the hands of Couran’s army. Rietz and Charlotte… You could search the whole of Missian─no, the whole of Summerforth─and only find a handful of individuals as capable as they are. And that’s not even mentioning that Rosell child. He’s still young and inexperienced, but his mind is already astonishing. Canarre has amassed a collection of retainers far more capable than I’d ever expect from a remote border county of its nature.

Thomas knew better than most just how hard it could be to find capable subordinates, which made the state of things in Canarre all the more mystifying to him. He thought back to the words that Mireille had whispered to him back in his cell in Arcantez.

“The kid I work for’s an interesting one, y’know? Way I see it, it might be only a matter of time before Missian─no, before the whole empire’s under his thumb. In other words, it’s only a matter of time before he brings down Couran, the man you’ve got such a grudge against. Seems like a guy worth meeting, don’t you think?”

At the time, Thomas hadn’t taken her seriously. His impression hadn’t changed much upon his first meeting with Ars, either. He hadn’t struck Thomas as a remarkable person at a glance.

But if he’s the reason why all of these people have gathered under the same banner, then maybe she wasn’t bluffing after all, Thomas thought. His opinion of Ars was beginning to shift. Could he have been the wild card that turned the battle against me? If so, then he bears just as much responsibility for Lord Vasmarque’s death as anyone…

No sooner had the thought crossed Thomas’s mind than he shook his head.

No, that’s not right. Ars may have contributed to Couran’s victory, but at the end of the day, he was only acting under Couran’s orders. If I’m going to avenge Lord Vasmarque, then there’s only one man I need to kill: the one who ordered my lord’s execution. Plus…the biggest reason why I could never serve Couran is that Lord Vasmarque told me he wasn’t fit to be the duke. I could never serve a man who occupies a seat he’s unworthy of.

Thomas had absolute faith in the late Lord Vasmarque. No matter what, he would never question his judgment.

But if Ars is worthy…then maybe he will come to blows with Couran someday. Ars doesn’t seem like the overly ambitious sort, so he won’t be the one to turn traitor…but the minute Couran decides that Ars’s power is getting out of hand, it’ll all come crashing down. If that happens, then my loyalty will lie with Ars, no question about it, thought Thomas. He felt he had a pretty good idea now of what direction he and Ars’s future was heading in. ’Course, that’s all just hypothetical. No telling whether it’ll turn out that way or not. For now, all I can do is train these soldiers up to be as fighting fit as I can make them.

○

“Good morning, Ars,” Licia whispered into my ear mere moments after I woke up.

“Good morning, Licia,” I muttered back to her. We were married, so it goes without saying that we shared a bed, but I still hadn’t gotten used to waking up to her face every single morning. She was so beautiful that my heart skipped a beat every time, even though I knew it was high time I acclimated to my new lifestyle.

The two of us got up and chatted as we ate breakfast together.

“It seems like Canarre has livened up recently,” commented Licia.

“It has,” I agreed. “You wouldn’t believe how much it’s changed since I first visited this place.”

I had an up close and personal vantage point over the city, and so it was easy for me to tell how much it had been changing on a day to day basis. There was an energy to the city now, and it wasn’t just thanks to the war being over. Things had been improving on a domestic level as well.

According to Rietz, one of my newest hires, Virge, had been doing very solid work so far. He had a natural-born silver tongue, and had been both quelling the concerns of the populace as well as making it easier for them to start up new business ventures. Rietz and Rosell had been the ones to come up with policies that would encourage Canarre’s economic growth, really, and all that was left to do was put them into practice, but Malkans still weren’t trusted by the general populace, and Rosell just wasn’t good enough at selling his ideas yet. Virge had been just the man they needed to compensate for those shortcomings and implement their plans.

After Licia and I finished breakfast, I perused a variety of reports as I headed over to my office. There was very little in the way of bad news─mostly just notes telling me that the population was increasing, the economy was booming, and Shin’s research was proceeding steadily. One report, however, caught my attention.

“Suspicious movements from Seitz, huh…?” I muttered to myself as I scanned the note.

That particular report had been Pham’s work. Seitz had attempted to invade Canarre, and although we’d diminished their numbers when we drove their army back, it hadn’t been such a total victory that we could afford to let our guards down. That’s why I’d decided to deploy the Shadows, asking them to report everything they could learn about Seitz down to the most minute details.

According to this latest report, Seitz had started stepping up their production of weaponry, purchasing aqua magia from other duchies, and bolstering their army’s numbers. They’d only just suffered a major defeat, though─would they really be so eager as to charge right in again for another round? The other possibility that sprang to mind was that now that Missian had united, they expected us to invade them and were preparing for the eventuality. The second explanation seemed a lot more likely to me, but I couldn’t be certain I wasn’t missing something.

Canarre’s own army had remained unchanged after the war ended. Seitz didn’t seem likely to pose a threat for the immediate future, so I’d decided to invest most of our money into the economy and the development of airships. It seemed, however, that it was about time for Seitz to come back onto our radar, which meant bolstering our military’s numbers would be a good idea.

Just as I was thinking I’d have to discuss the matter with Rietz, Rietz himself happened to step into my office to deliver a report. “Good morning, Lord Ars! I’ve received word that I wanted to pass on to you as soon as possible,” he said. He sounded just a little flustered, so I decided asking for his advice could wait until after I’d heard what he had to say, and gestured for him to go on. “It seems a band of mercenaries has arrived in Canarre, and are seeking a contract with House Louvent.”

“Mercenaries…?” I muttered. “I’m guessing these ones aren’t specialized like the Shadows, right? They’re the sort of mercenaries who’d be fighting alongside our army for money?”

“That’s correct,” said Rietz. “The band in question is of middling size, with around two hundred members. They don’t have much of a reputation, and I’m unaware of how capable they may be, but I’m certain that judging their abilities will be the simplest of tasks for you, of course.”

I’d just been thinking about bolstering our troops’ numbers when lo and behold, a band of mercenaries arrived on my doorstep. I could hardly have asked for more convenient timing.

“Have you already read the Shadows’ report, by the way?” asked Rietz.

“Yes,” I replied. “It looks like Seitz is making some suspicious moves.”

“So it seems,” Rietz agreed. “That’s not a guarantee that they’ll be attacking in the near future, but it would do us well to be prepared for such an eventuality, just in case. Canarre’s population has risen of late, and we’ve been bolstering out troops in proportion to that growth, but I can’t guarantee we’ll be prepared should worse come to worst.”

It seemed that Rietz had already been thinking along the exact lines I’d been planning to question him on. “I agree─bulking up our army seems like a necessary step. First things first, I suppose I should meet with those mercenaries and decide whether or not I want to take them in.”

I arranged for the leader of the mercenary band to be brought to me at once. Rietz set out to lead him to the castle, and he returned before long with a brawny man who looked to be somewhere in his thirties. He was unshaven, and his face struck me as rather rugged as well. He looked capable at a glance, but of course there was no way of telling whether that impression was correct or not without appraising him.

“I’m the leader of the Grandeur Band, Ulberht Seon. Thanks for your time,” said the mercenary, his face stuck in a complete deadpan. I returned the greeting, and Ulberht went on to explain the history and accomplishments of his mercenary band to me. He listed off the battles they’d been involved in, and explained what they’d achieved in the process.

Most prospective employers would have judged the band’s worth by Ulberht’s explanation, but my appraisal skill made that step unnecessary for me. Taking a look at Ulberht’s abilities would allow me to figure out how capable his band would be, at least to some extent. Even if his soldiers were exceptional as individuals, they wouldn’t be worth much as a group if their commander wasn’t up to snuff.

I more or less tuned out Ulberht’s explanation and focused on appraising him instead. His current Leadership was at 65, his Valor was 71, his Intelligence was 55, and his Politics 45, with all of those scores sitting close to their maximum values and none of his Aptitudes standing out as particularly excellent. He wasn’t incapable, by any means, but he didn’t strike me as the sort of man who would excel as a leader either. There was a chance that some of his subordinates would be more impressive, of course, but it wasn’t like I could have one of them take his place as leader unilaterally, meaning I had no choice but to conclude that he and his men wouldn’t be an exceptional fighting force all around.

That being said, the fact that they wouldn’t be above and beyond didn’t mean they weren’t worth my time. The quality of our soldiers made a huge difference, of course, but at the end of the day quantity reigned supreme. It’d be a big problem if they were so incapable that they held the rest of our troops back, but their leader’s stats struck me as acceptable enough to make that unlikely, and I could see hiring them being a worthwhile move…though of course, that all depended on how much they were asking for. If Ulberht named a figure that was out of my budget, I was prepared to see him out the door.

“How much are you hoping to be paid for your services?” I asked.

“Our standard rate’s fifteen gold a month,” said Ulberht. “And that’s in addition to room and board, which we’d be expecting you to provide.”

“Fifteen gold…” I repeated to myself. Considering the increase in tax revenue brought about by the economic upswing, it wasn’t an unaffordable rate, and fifteen gold for the services of two hundred soldiers didn’t seem like a bad deal in and of itself…but when I factored in the costs of feeding and housing all those men as well, it started to feel like a much less reasonable sum.

“May I have a word, Lord Ars?” Rietz asked, then leaned in to whisper in my ear. “How would you rate his abilities?”

“He’s not incapable, but not exceptional either,” I whispered back.

“I see… In that case, I believe it would be best for you to turn him down.”

“You think so? Weren’t you just saying that we needed more men?”

“We would do well to bolster our forces, but there’s no need for us to jump on the first mercenary company who happens to come our way.”

“You think there’ll be more of them?”

“I do. I believe that Canarre is a very attractive target for mercenaries looking for work, at this particular moment. Not only is the improvement of our economy a sign that we have money to spare, we also stand across the border from Seitz, an enemy of Missian, meaning that the chances of a conflict breaking out are high. Considering those two factors, I would not be at all surprised if more mercenary companies came to offer their services in the near future.”

“That makes sense,” I muttered. I recalled that Rietz had been a member of a mercenary band himself, at one point. Presumably, he would be very familiar with the circumstances of their trade. I decided that this was a moment to trust in his judgment─if more mercenaries were bound to show up, then it made no sense to jump the gun and hire the first group to reach our doorstep.

“My apologies, but I’m afraid we will not be contracting your services at this time,” I replied.

“Understood,” said Ulberht after a slight pause, looking a little disappointed. “We’re planning on sticking around in town for the next week or so, so feel free to get in contact if you change your mind. I’ll be staying at an inn called the Rahbek if you need to find me.”

I bid Ulberht goodbye, and had him shown out of the castle. I consulted with a few of my other retainers over the course of the day, and concluded that it had been a good idea to turn him down for the time being.

○

A few days later, Rietz was proven correct when more mercenaries arrived to call on me. It wasn’t just one band this time, either─three groups all arrived at almost the same time. Rietz had been right on the money, though that wasn’t much of a surprise.

In terms of scale all three groups were smaller than the Grandeur Band, with each of them offering around fifty men a piece. That, of course, meant that I would have to pay less to both hire and house them.

I interviewed the captains of the first two bands, appraising each of them, and found their abilities to be decent enough, but not impressive. I was starting to get the impression that truly capable mercenaries would be able to sell themselves on name recognition alone. There likely weren’t all that many bands out there that hadn’t earned a decent amount of fame yet despite being exceptional.

Around the time I was coming to that conclusion, I called in the third band’s leader for appraisal.

“I’m the leader of the Bangle Mercenaries, Locke Cidre,” said the man who arrived to represent the third group. He was rather handsome, with slicked-back hair and a youthful appearance all around. I gave him an appraisal at once.

His stats were quite solid, though the fact that he’d told me a different surname than my skill identified had me a little curious. His first name was the same, at least, so it seemed possible there was a mundane explanation for the inconsistency─surnames could change depending on one’s family circumstances, for example. That was nothing compared to the Shadows, most of whom had declared completely different names than my skill displayed for them.

Judging by Locke’s ability scores, it seemed safe to say that he was competent. His maximum Leadership of 85 was particularly noteworthy─it wasn’t every day I came across someone with a score like that. Troops led by a commander with a high Leadership score would, of course, grow stronger as well. He only had around fifty men, making his force a somewhat small one, but I could still see quite a bit of potential in him.

I took the time to glance at the profile my skill displayed for Locke as well. He was from the duchy of Ansel, it seemed, which was where the capital of the empire was located. He hailed from a county called Bangle in the duchy’s northwest, and had presumably named his mercenary band after his homeland.

Nothing else about his profile stood out to me, with the exception of his abundance of siblings. Apparently, he had five older brothers, one younger brother, two older sisters, and three younger sisters─twelve siblings in total, counting Locke himself. Two of the older brothers and one of the younger sisters had already passed away. Clearly, he’d been born into a rather unusual family. Maybe that had something to do with why he’d given me a last name my skill didn’t pick up on? It could be that he’d been given up for adoption on account of his parents just having too many kids, for instance.

In any case, nothing about Locke’s profile made him stand out as a potential problem to me. That meant all that was left was to ask him about his desired wages, and when I did, he named a quite reasonable price of five gold a month. That meant that hiring him was well within my means, and I wasn’t about to let talent like his pass me by.

“Understood,” I said. “Five gold a month is an acceptable rate, and as such, I would be happy to form a contract with you and your men.”

“You…would? Really?” said Locke. He seemed more bewildered than happy to hear the news. “Oh, that is…pardon me,” he added a moment later. “It’s just that me and my men have yet to rack up much in the way of achievements. We’ve been turned down by one lord after another, to tell the truth. If you’re really willing to hire us, well, I couldn’t be happier.”

Oh, so they’re inexperienced? Locke’s abilities seemed high, considering. I had to wonder if he’d formed his band recently.

“So long as our contract remains in effect, I solemnly swear to wield my blade for the glory of House Louvent,” Locke declared with a deep bow. His demeanor didn’t strike me as very mercenary-like, but then again, it wasn’t unheard of for former nobles to take up the sellsword lifestyle, so that was probably just an unfounded bias on my part.

“I’ll be counting on you,” I replied.

And so I formed a contract with the Bangle Mercenaries.

○

Several other bands of mercenaries arrived after I brought the Bangle Mercenaries aboard, but none of them were remarkable enough for me to offer them any real consideration. In the end, the Bangles were the only group I decided to hire. I stationed them on the western side of Canarre, near the border with Seitz. The neighboring duchy was still biding its time, for the moment, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before they decided to prod our defenses again, and I wanted the border to be locked down when that time came.

The fact that public order had started deteriorating in the vicinity played a factor, as well. Seitz’s defeat in the recent war had dealt a serious blow to their soldiers’ morale, and a fair number of deserters had begun to crop up. Some of those former soldiers turned to banditry, and the sheer size of Seitz’s army meant that before long there were quite a few deserters-turned-brigands to deal with, many of whom crossed over the border into Canarre. Placing the Bangles in the west meant that they could keep the peace and watch the border all at once, which couldn’t have suited me better. I had high hopes that they would prove their worth in no time flat.