As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Braham's Growth

A few weeks had passed since I’d hired the Bangle Mercenaries, and I’d already started receiving reports about their success in the ongoing conflict with the Seitzan bandits. I’d also continued my recruitment efforts over that span of time, and happily enough had found ten individuals with notable magical abilities, two of whom also had high Cavalry aptitudes. I was still quite a ways off from forming the mounted mage unit I was hoping to build, but that objective was drawing closer, step by step.

I found a dozen capable close-combat fighters, as well, who I assigned to Braham’s elite unit of soldiers. Considering Braham’s long-term potential, I knew that someday, his team could be the most capable fighting force in all of Missian. That being said, their commanding officer still had a long way to go before that potential could be realized.

As far as the short term went, I’d brought a capable squad of mercenaries into my service and found quite a few individuals to hire as well, so I decided to call my recruitment effort to a close for the time being. Overextending could put our finances in jeopardy, and I had to train up everyone who I’d already found, which would be harder and less efficient the more of them there were. I was still far from satisfied with our total numbers, but I figured that this would be a good time to pause the effort for a month or two and reassess things after my break.

The one problem with that plan was that when there wasn’t any appraising for me to handle, there wasn’t all that much else left on my plate. I’d delegated most of the actual management of the county to my retainers, and if I tried to jump in and help out on that end of things, I knew I’d just hold them back. I couldn’t just sit back and relax, though, and after spending some time pondering my options I decided to return to an old habit of mine: studying up on the world I’d been reincarnated into.

I’d done quite a lot of independent research when I was younger, but lately, I’d slipped out of the routine. Many of my retainers were seemingly inexhaustible wellsprings of knowledge, and there may not have been much of a point to cramming more trivia into my own brain, but on the other hand it just seemed wrong for a count to be as ignorant as I currently was.

In the past, Rietz had been responsible for teaching my lessons. He was way too busy for that now, though, and Rosell was likewise busy with his own studies and research. I couldn’t ask either of them to spare time for me. I considered studying on my own─I knew I’d make better progress if I had someone to teach me, I just couldn’t think of any options that would make that happen. In the end, I decided to go at it alone and shut myself up in the study to hit the books.

○

“If I recall, you’ll be taking today off appraisals and studying instead, yes?” asked Licia the next morning as we were preparing for the day.

“Yes, that’s right,” I confirmed. “I have to do something productive with my time, after all─a count can’t be seen slacking off.”

“In that case, I’d like to join you, if you wouldn’t mind! As the wife of a count, there’s plenty that I need to learn as well,” said Licia. She was brimming with motivation.

Studying with her sounded great to me, and I didn’t have any particular reason to refuse, so I gave her a nod. “All right, then. I’d be glad to have you accompanying me.”

The two of us made our way to the castle’s library together. Partway there, however, I heard a familiar voice call out to me.

“Ah, Lord Ars! Good morning!” shouted the ever-loquacious Virge. “Lovely day out, isn’t it? Beautiful weather like this makes me want to drop everything, run outside, and exercise my heart out, but alas, today I must coop myself up indoors and process paperwork! A shame, such a shame!”

“O-Oh, is that so? Good luck with that,” I replied.

“Come to think of it, I’ve heard you won’t be performing any appraisals today? What will the two of you be doing instead?” Virge asked.

“We’re planning on spending the day studying in the library,” I replied.

“Oh, truly? How very industrious of you! Oh, I know─if you’re going to study, I recommend you visit the lecture hall! Thomas has been teaching lessons there, it seems, and I’m sure he’d be happy to see you come listen to him. As a matter of fact, I believe he’s running one right now!”

“Thomas is? Really?”

“Quite! Knowledge and skill go hand in hand, after all─it’s a vital component of any soldier’s training! Though of course, not everyone can participate. I understand that only a small number of individuals who lead their own brigades are in attendance. I can’t imagine he’d turn you down, though, Your Lordship!”

This was all news to me, but it was true that being a capable leader required as much knowledge as it did martial skill. I didn’t know what subjects Thomas was teaching, but considering how smart he was, I felt confident that he could cover all sorts of fields. In any case, I didn’t see the harm in checking it out for myself. I glanced at Licia, who met my gaze and gave me a nod, signaling that she was interested as well.

“Thank you for telling me about this,” I said to Virge. “I’ll go give it a look right away.”

○

We arrived in Castle Canarre’s lecture hall to find that Virge had been correct, and Thomas’s lesson was just about to begin.

“I don’t mind if you want to sit in…but it could make things a little difficult,” Thomas said when I asked if I could attend as well. It sounded like I had his approval, at least, if not his wholehearted welcome.

The lecture hall was quite large, with enough space for at least a hundred people or so to sit in, but there were only ten gathered up for the lesson at the moment. I took a seat, and Licia sat down to my right. She seemed rather excited, and I had a feeling she was quite motivated to learn. I didn’t know if the subject Thomas would be teaching would be relevant to our duties, but I decided to learn from her example and apply myself as well.

Braham occupied the seat in front of me. He led a strike force of elite troops, but he was also still far from the brightest bulb in the box, so studying was of particular importance for him. Or at least, it was from my perspective─he seemed much more interested in getting back to his training.

“So, hey, does any of this stuff even matter? Can’t we get back out into the field already?” Braham moaned at Thomas.

“Keep griping like that, and you’ll be getting a different sort of lecture before you know it,” Zaht quickly scolded from the seat next to Braham’s. He’d been assigned to serve as Braham’s second-in-command, and it seemed that position had caused him no small amount of stress.

“Canarre is home to a large number of individuals with great potential, but the one thing it lacks is individuals with an advanced education,” said Thomas, who didn’t bat an eyelash at Braham’s grumbling. “It’s only natural for those who lead to apply themselves to their studies. In other words: shut your mouth and listen.”

I couldn’t argue with that assessment. As a natural consequence of my willingness to hire anyone, irrespective of social standing, I had an unusual number of commoners in my employ. Talented as they were, they hadn’t had the access to the sort of education that nobles were given. I knew that they’d pick it up quickly as long as they had someone to teach them, though.

“Yeah, Braham does need to hit the books more,” said Charlotte, who was sitting to my left.

Look who’s talking! I snapped internally. Charlotte hadn’t been planning on attending the lecture at first. She’d only shown up because she’d learned that Licia and I would be going, and had decided on the spot that she’d tag along as well. I was no closer to getting a read on what drove her than I’d been the day we met. Musia was sitting on Charlotte’s other side, by the way, though she was serious enough about her studies that she’d been planning on participating from the start.

“Braham and you both need to study up,” Thomas snapped back, his face twitching with irritation.

“Wh-What, me? What are you talking about? I’ll have you know I know all sortsa stuff,” said Charlotte.

“Oh, really? Then how about you list all the counties in Missian, aside from Canarre.”

A lengthy pause ensued.

“Uhhh,” said Charlotte, “there’s the one by the ocean…S-Semplan? And then there’s, uhhh… Ar… Ar… Arcantara?”

“Semplar and Arcantez,” sighed Thomas. “You don’t even know the name of your own duchy’s capital?”

“I don’t need to know that junk to win battles!” Charlotte confidently declared.

For a moment, Thomas’s words seemed to stick in his throat. He’d had a very up close and personal experience with Charlotte’s capabilities during the battle of Velshdt, and couldn’t come up with a counterargument. Rather, it looked to me like he was lamenting the fact that he’d lost to a dullard like her.

“I promise you that if you don’t do something to correct your lack of knowledge, it’ll come back to bite you in the long run,” Thomas finally said. “Let’s try another question: you know all the magical aspects, right?”

“Of course I do!” said Charlotte with a smug grin. “There’s the one that makes fire and the one that makes water, to start! Then there’s the one that makes light, and, uhhh, the one that blows stuff up! There’s one that lets you do stuff with dirt too…oh, and one that makes big noises! Hmm… Think that’s all of ’em, probably?”

“That’s not even close to all of them, you imbecile!” shouted Thomas.

“What, seriously?!”

“Conventional knowledge states that there are twenty aspects in total,” Thomas sighed before listing them out one by one.

Apparently, the known magical aspects were sound, flame, water, shadow, explosion, steel, force, lightning, darkness, earth, light, healing, ice, wind, profane, time, illusion, spirit, wood, and knowledge. I’d studied them myself, and had thought that I’d memorized the list, but that was a long time ago and it seemed quite a few of them had slipped my mind.

“That many? For real? I’ve only used five, or something,” Charlotte commented incredulously.

“It goes without saying that not all aspects are available in Missian,” said Thomas. “Casting magic requires aqua magia, and creating aqua magia requires an ore known as magistones. Particular sorts of magistone, meanwhile, can only be found in certain duchies. Missian has deposits of explosion-aspected magistones, for instance, and when a duchy has the only deposits of a certain aspect to be found, they’re prone to monopolizing it, strictly regulating the degree to which they’re sold to other duchies. As a side note, while I claimed there were twenty aspects, those are just the known ones. It’s said that there are more aspects that have yet to enter the realm of public knowledge, their very existence kept a tightly-guarded secret by those who are in the know.”

I’d never heard anyone talk about secret aspects of magic before. I had to wonder if there were aspects that only the Duke of Missian’s house knew about, but ruled the idea out just as quickly. After all, if that were the case then either Couran or Vasmarque would have used it during the civil war. Unless the aspect in question wasn’t particularly powerful, of course, but if that were the case, then what need would there be to hide it?

“Which duchies hold a monopoly over which types of magistones, in specific?” asked Licia.

“Missian controls the explosive magistone supply, and Seitz has a monopoly over steel,” said Thomas. “I’m to understand that Seitz didn’t make use of that advantage in the recent conflict. Steel-aspected magic tends to be used for defensive purposes, so I suppose they don’t make a point of working it into their offensive tactics. The healing magistone supply is controlled by Paradille, time and spirit by Ansel, and profane by Scheutz. Finally, Rofeille controls illusion and force while Canshiep controls ice and knowledge.”

“Should I take that to mean that the remaining ten aspects aren’t monopolized by any duchy in particular?” Licia followed up.

“Right,” Thomas confirmed. “That doesn’t mean you can dig them up just anywhere, though. Some regions don’t have access to the more common magistones. Lightning and wood-aspect magistones are a lost cause in Missian, for instance.”

Licia was engaging with Thomas’s lecture on a deep level. I was very impressed by her studious nature─almost as much as I was unimpressed with Charlotte’s. She was the one who needed to know about the minutiae of magic more than anyone, and yet somewhere along the way she’d slumped over onto her desk and fallen asleep. If anyone needed to take a leaf out of Licia’s book, it was her.

It wasn’t long before Thomas noticed his unconscious pupil and let out a sigh that struck me as more tired than angry. “I suppose forcing her to learn anything past the bare minimum would be counterproductive anyway,” he muttered. “You─the one next to her! Musia, was it?”

“Hyee─Y-Yes?!” squealed Musia, who had been listening intently this whole time. Thomas seemed to be staring right through her, and Musia seemed to be so nervous, she was petrified.

“Your job’s to learn as much as you possibly can and support Charlotte,” said Thomas. “Consider yourself the second-in-command of our mage division.”

“Oh…huh? The second-in-command?!”

“Why are you acting like this is a surprise?”

“B-Because it is! I’m still a novice! There’s no way I could manage a job like that!”

“You’re second only to Charlotte in terms of ability, aren’t you?” said Thomas. “And even if you don’t think that’s true now, it will be before long. You need to study up while you can.”

“Wh-Whaaat?!” Musia wailed.

Her promotion had taken her by surprise, but frankly, it had only been a matter of time before she ended up in that position. She had the talent, and while her current skills were already nothing to scoff at, they were also growing at a rapid pace. To top it all off she was studious and diligent, making her the perfect complement to her captain Charlotte’s lackadaisical attitude. Charlotte, in turn, seemed to have taken quite a liking to Musia, and was very unlikely to protest her promotion.

Rietz was in charge of our military assignments. I had the ultimate right of veto, but I’d never had any cause to oppose his decisions, so for all intents and purposes Musia’s rank was up to him. He seemed to have a high opinion of her, so I had a feeling that he would have put her in a position of command as she gained more experience anyway.

With that, our lesson on magic came to an end. Musia was left in a state of despair, muttering about how she now had to buckle down and study even though she was already busy with her magic practice.

Thomas wasn’t finished, though─he still had lessons on tactics and battle formations to teach. Those were areas that I generally left up to my retainers to handle, but it felt important for me to have at least a basic understanding of what to do in battle, so I listened with rapt attention. It was a given that I’d be taking those lessons seriously, but what I hadn’t expected was for Licia to be just as attentive.

“I see! You can use sound magic to issue orders,” Licia muttered.

“Umm… Do you really think you’re ever going to need to know how to command a battle?” I asked.

“Hm…? What sort of question is that?!” Licia snapped. “I’m the wife of a count! It’s possible that I’ll be called upon to lead your troops, and I have to be prepared when the time arrives!”

What sort of time would that even be? I wondered, but I had a feeling she’d just get more upset if I asked her that, so I kept the question to myself.

“O-Oh, okay then,” I said instead. “I’m glad to see you acting so studious.”

“Hee hee! Oh, you flatter me,” said Licia with a slight blush and the cutest smile in the world. “I was never taught any of these subjects back home, so this is all very enlightening! Let’s study together again some time, shall we?”

“Certainly,” I agreed.

Before long, Thomas’s lesson came to a close.

“All right! Finally finished,” Charlotte mumbled as she sat up and stretched. She’d barely listened to any of the lessons at all, yet for some reason, she was acting like she’d accomplished something.

Meanwhile, on Charlotte’s other side, Musia, who’d been studying for all she was worth, looked exhausted. I had a feeling that she was going to go through a lot of hardship thanks to her captain, but considering Charlotte showed no interest in shaping up, somebody had to fill the role of supporting her. Musia had just drawn the short straw.

“All right, let’s hit up the training ground,” said Braham as he hauled himself to his feet.

“Understood,” said Zaht, who also looked rather drained as he followed along.

Zaht had silently listened to the whole lecture, but Braham had slacked off to the bitter end. Being seated behind him had made it very easy to notice how distracted he’d been. To be clear, it didn’t seem like Thomas was fooled either. He knew that Braham wasn’t paying attention to him, but had given up on him.

I checked on Braham’s Intelligence score, for reference, and found that it was slightly higher than before, but still sitting at an unimpressive 31. His Leadership had gone up slightly as well, bringing it to a total of 59, but that still wasn’t the sort of score I’d want for someone I could give control of a large army. His Valor was as high as ever, at least, and I knew that some studying could improve his current failings, but whether or not that would happen was another question entirely.

Charlotte was just as disinterested in studying as Braham, but her overwhelming magical capabilities gave her the ability to swing the course of a battle in our favor, regardless of her personal Intelligence score. Plus, she had a remarkable sort of charisma that helped her when it came to taking command─the other mages in her division all followed her orders to the letter. Braham had no such advantage, so unless he hit the books and learned some tactics, his theoretical strongest score, his Leadership, would never reach its full potential.

If Braham himself couldn’t find some motivation, there wouldn’t be any improvement in his situation. I couldn’t force him to study, after all─that ran the risk of angering him so much, he’d defect to another county. I couldn’t afford to let a man with talent like his go, no matter what, which meant my only choice was to watch over him and hope for the best.

As Licia and I passed by Thomas on our way out of the lecture hall, Licia briefly turned to him. “Today’s lesson was very informative! Thank you, and I look forward to the next one,” she said.

“You’re coming again, huh…? Have it your way, I guess,” replied Thomas. He seemed a little surprised that she intended to keep participating.

“Is us being here a problem?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” Thomas muttered. “It makes things a bit harder, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. And seeing as you got Charlotte to show up, it’s not without its upsides.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I replied. The fact that Charlotte had attended didn’t change the fact that she hadn’t paid any attention, but I supposed it was still better than her not showing up, period.

“Oh, and while we’re at it, I have a question,” said Thomas. “How did Braham end up in Canarre?”

“Oh, Braham?” I said. “He was one of the captive soldiers that I appraised after we won the battle of Velshdt. He had exceptional talent, so I recommended that Lord Couran try to recruit him, but in the end he requested to be sent to Canarre instead.”

“Exceptional talent? Really…?” Thomas muttered skeptically. “He knows how to fight, I’ll give him that much, but I heard nothing but bad rumors about him back when we were both in Velshdt.”

“Oh! So, you knew him before you came here?”

“Yeah,” said Thomas with a nod.

I was a little surprised. Considering how unimportant of a mission Braham had been entrusted with in Velshdt, I hadn’t imagined he was well-known among its defenders.

“He was pretty famous in Velshdt, in the worst sense of the word. He was a hell of a fighter, but also a hell of an idiot─the sort of man who has no idea what to do the minute an actual battle breaks out. He managed to achieve something every once in a while, though, which earned him a fair share of admirers. That’s how he ended up leading a squad in spite of everything.”

“I see,” I said. “It sounds like he was rather notorious, in a sense.”

“I’ll admit he’s not as much of an idiot as I thought back then, but talented…? Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely. Someday, Braham will be one of the most esteemed generals in the whole Summerforth Empire.”

Braham’s maximum Leadership score was 102─higher even than Rietz and Mireille’s. I’d appraised more people than I could count in my search for subordinates, and I’d still never met anyone with a Leadership score higher than his. With the right training and encouragement, I knew he could become the greatest general the continent had ever seen.

“A great general? Him…? That’s hard to believe, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out,” Thomas said incredulously. Considering how much of an idiot Braham came across as, asking Thomas to believe he had that sort of potential may have been asking the impossible. Not even I could say with total certainty he’d reach his potential, considering how many difficulties he was having at the moment.

“We’ll be on our way, then,” I said. Licia and I bade Thomas farewell, then returned to our room together.

○

After Thomas’s lesson wrapped up, Braham headed for the training grounds along with Zaht, his second-in-command. Braham had always loved working out and made a point to train whenever he had a moment to spare. Zaht, meanwhile, made a point of accompanying him.

“Hmm,” Braham murmured as they walked along. He seemed to be pondering something.

Zaht looked rather puzzled. Generally speaking, Braham wasn’t the sort of person to worry─or, for that matter, think─about much of anything. He was a man who lived by his instincts, and it was a shock to see him contemplating something, particularly considering they’d only just finished their lesson for the day.

“Hey, Zaht,” said Braham, “do you think there’s any point to studying all that tactics junk? Because I’m pretty sure the best way to get stronger’s to keep training, personally!”

Zaht paused to roll his eyes before answering Braham’s question.

“Yes, I do think there’s a point,” he said. “The more you understand tactics, the easier it becomes to win battles. It’s necessary.”

“Tactics, huh? I dunno…aren’t those all just cowardly tricks to get an edge on your enemy, in the end? What’s the point of winning if you’ve gotta cheat to do it? The way I see it, real men fight head on, fair and square!”

Zaht sighed.

“Think of it this way, if you go into a winnable fight and lose because you didn’t have any sort of tactical plan, then none of that fair play stuff matters anymore.”

“So you just win instead!” declared Braham.

“If only it were that easy,” Zaht muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean? When have I ever lost?”

“You told me yourself that Rietz beat you, didn’t you?”

“Ugh!” Braham winced. “W-Well, yeah, he did…but that was a duel! I’m talking about big battles!”

“I’ll grant you that you haven’t been with House Louvent for long enough to have engaged in many battles yet, and you haven’t lost as a result…but didn’t you end up joining House Louvent in the first place because they recruited you after you lost to them?”

“Agh,” Braham moaned. He couldn’t argue against a verifiable fact.

Braham thought back to one of the battles he’d fought at Velshdt, before he joined House Louvent. The first image that came to mind was that of himself performing glorious, valorous deeds on the battlefield, charging straight into a force twice the size of his own and claiming the enemy leader’s head in an instant. The enemy army had collapsed, and he’d even been rewarded for his service.

A grin spread across Braham’s face as he basked in the memory, while Zaht cringed off to the side. It wasn’t the only one, either─Braham remembered all sorts of battles in which he’d achieved great things.

“Yup, no doubt about it! I’ve never lost! I’ve turned the tide of battle over and over, and losing against Couran’s army wasn’t my fault at all!” Braham declared.

“Do you forget everything that doesn’t match up with the ideal little world you think you live in?” sighed Zaht. “I have a feeling you’ve failed at least as much as you’ve succeeded.”

“Rude! N-No way that could be true!” Braham shouted.

The old Braham would have stopped there, content to believe in his idealized memories of his achievements. The new Braham, however─the Braham who had ever so slightly matured since he arrived in Canarre─had the presence of mind to think it through just a little longer, and realize that he had committed a few minor blunders. More than a few, in fact. Remembering one had opened the floodgates, and mistake after mistake soon came back to him in rapid succession.

There was the time he’d led the vanguard in a charge only to fall into an enemy trap, ultimately causing his force to lose the battle, for instance. Then there was the time he’d disregarded his orders, broken ranks to go on the attack, and caused his army’s formation to collapse. Braham had caused all sorts of trouble during his time in Velshdt, and only now was that fact sinking in.

“Ugh,” Braham groaned, the color draining from his face as a terrible possibility struck him. “Hey, Zaht. I think I’m just jumping to conclusions here, but…can I ask you something?”

“Feel free,” said Zaht.

“Did everyone back in Velshdt treat me like garbage…because they thought I was stupid?” asked Braham.

“Yes, most likely,” Zaht replied instantly, with a look on his face that said Why are you asking the obvious?

Braham’s jaw dropped.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Wrong. I don’t know much about what happened in Velshdt, but that’s the only reasonable explanation I can think of.”

Braham fell silent. A bead of sweat dripped down his brow as he brooded furiously.

“Hey, Zaht…?” Braham finally said. “You know all that stuff we just learned? Think you could, uhh, help me review it?”

“Certainly,” said Zaht, his expression shifting to one that shouted Thank the gods, he’s finally figured it out.

○

Licia and I decided to attend Thomas’s next lesson as well, which was once again focused on military tactics. I could tell why Thomas had been Vasmarque’s most trusted advisor: he was incredibly well-versed in the subject, and taught us all sorts of practical tactics that you’d never find in written treatises.

Of course, I say practical in the sense that they could be used in the real world─whether or not I ever would was much more in doubt. I’d been into battle before and almost certainly would again, though, so I figured there was no harm in learning what I could, and doing my best not to forget it. Thomas apparently taught lessons not related to war sometimes as well, which I imagined were a little more applicable to my purposes. I had a feeling he’d know all sorts of interesting tidbits that I wouldn’t be able to learn from anyone else.

In any case, the lesson proceeded along, but Braham quickly caught my attention. He hadn’t taken the first lesson I’d attended seriously at all─in fact, he’d barely even listened to it─but this time, he was paying careful attention. He seemed to be hanging on Thomas’s every word, and was even asking questions to make sure he understood the lesson’s content.

It was such a dramatic about-face in attitude that even Thomas seemed bewildered. I had a feeling he’d never seen Braham act so diligent before. Not that it was a bad thing, of course! Braham had Valor to spare, but was lacking in Intelligence, so if he’d gotten it into his head to take his studies seriously, I could only see it as a positive development. Still, I had to wonder: where had this sudden change come from?

“Did you say something to Braham?” Thomas asked, finding an opportunity to whisper to me.

“No, nothing at all,” I replied.

“Really? Then why’s he acting so serious all of a sudden? I can’t figure out what makes him tick. Is he putting on a show to make it look like he’s a decent student in front of you?”

That didn’t seem right, considering he’d made no such effort the first time I attended a lesson. He’d had a change of heart since then, but what had prompted it was a mystery.

“Seeing him act like that’s creeping me out, but I guess it’s not a bad thing. He’s better at picking things up than I expected,” said Thomas.

That proved something I’d already suspected: as long as Braham listened, he wasn’t bad at understanding what people told him at all. His maximum Intelligence score was reasonable enough that I’d always figured he wasn’t inherently stupid.

“He’s one hell of a fighter, too. If I can just drill what being on a battlefield actually means into his head, then who knows? Maybe he’s got the potential to lead a unit after all. He’s still worlds away from being the greatest general in all of Summerforth, though! Hah hah hah!” Thomas chuckled as he went along on his way.

A few weeks came and went, over the course of which I attended several more of Thomas’s lessons. I didn’t go every day, of course. It almost felt like I’d returned to my school days when I did, and I’d come to enjoy it quite a bit, but I couldn’t put off resuming my appraisals and finding new people to hire forever, so I knew I’d have to call it quits before too long.

Braham was still taking his lessons seriously. Part of me had expected his shift in attitude to last for a day, at most, and I was rather impressed he’d kept it up for so long. He really had had a change of heart, it seemed, which led me to try appraising him.

His newfound diligence had already borne fruit, it seemed. Braham’s Intelligence score was a lot higher than it had been before. 45 still wasn’t an incredible score, to be sure, but it was something. His Leadership, however, was only at 68. It had gone up by much less than I’d anticipated, though upon further consideration, it struck me that Leadership was the sort of stat that improved through real-world experience leading troops on the battlefield. Just studying wasn’t enough for it to improve by leaps and bounds, and the slight gains he’d achieved were impressive enough as-is.

68 was a low enough score that I was still too scared to give him control of a large army, but at the very least, it reaffirmed the potential I’d seen in him. I was starting to think that the next time a battle broke out, having him take charge of a larger squad might be for the best. His growth was encouraging, in any case, but there was just one small factor that had me worried.

“Ugggh,” Braham sighed listlessly. He was usually so energetic that it was sort of a problem, but ever since he’d started taking his studies seriously, he’d seemed rather down in the dumps. I had to wonder if those facts were related, somehow. The change had been so sudden it wasn’t hard to imagine something had happened to prompt it, after all…but since it had turned him into such a good student, I decided to just sit back and let it play out for the time being.

○

In a training ground in Canarre, Zaht Brouzdo was taking on his immediate superior, Braham Joe, in a five-versus-five mock battle. Magic was off the table for this engagement─they would battle with traditional weaponry alone. Zaht and Braham had each taken charge as the leaders of their five-man divisions, and commanded their soldiers with the goal of disabling the enemy leader.

“Grr,” Zaht grunted with irritation. It had been a tough fight so far. Braham was all but unbeatable in single combat, and Zaht had only won a small number of one-on-one matches against him, but team bouts were supposed to be a different matter.

In the past, Braham had never bothered to give more than the simplest of orders and had spearheaded his unit’s charges, in spite of the fact that his defeat would mean the end of the match. All that Zaht typically had to do was arrange for Braham to end up facing off against several troops at once, and they could handle him. He’d still managed to claim a victory or two thanks to his exceptional level of skill, but the balance of victories still leaned in Zaht’s favor when compared to their one-on-one record.

Recently, however, things had changed. Braham had become much better at keeping his cool in battle, and had stopped charging in without a plan. Moreover, he’d started being much more proactive and specific with his orders. He still made plenty of tactical blunders, but Zaht found himself hard pressed to claim a solid victory.

“All right, flank ’em!”

“Gah!”

Much to Zaht’s chagrin, he realized too late that he’d left Braham’s men the perfect chance to slip around behind him─a chance that Braham was quick to take advantage of. By the time Braham had given the order, it was already too late to stop it. Zaht’s group was flanked, disarmed, and defeated.

“Letting the enemy get behind you puts you in a tough spot! Better be careful about that from now on!” Braham pointed out.

“Well aware, thank you,” grumbled Zaht.

Braham’s attitude about his victories had shifted as well. In the past, he would frolic like an ecstatic child whenever he won a match, but recently, he’d learned to keep his cool. Even now Braham had furrowed his brow, sinking into thought. As best as Zaht could tell, he was reviewing the mock battle he’d just fought.

He really has changed, thought Zaht. At first I wondered why I’d been assigned to work for an idiot kid like him, but these days, I’m starting to change my mind…

Zaht had traveled all over the continent of Summerforth, and through his many experiences had become a rather worldly man. He fought his first battle in his early teens, having chosen to go to war because living out his days as a common peasant struck him as boring. Eventually, however, the commanding officer who led his squad chose to break away from the army and take his men with him. Zaht was living like a bandit before he knew it, and he’d realized that a situation like that could only end poorly.

After that ill-fated venture, Zaht took a stab at bounty hunting and spent some time as a mercenary as well. He tried out all sorts of careers, living through his fair share of battlefield massacres in the process. The number of men he’d killed had passed the point where he could count them on his fingers a long time ago, and he’d seen plenty of friends and allies meet violent ends as well.

Finally, he found himself drifting into the service of House Louvent, where he was assigned to serve as the second-in-command of an elite squad of soldiers. Compared to everything he’d been through up to that point it was a pretty cushy job, but the caveat that it involved working under Braham’s command was a bitter pill to swallow. That being said, Zaht was the sort of man who found motivation in adversity. He believed that Braham’s ineptitude would be exposed one day, and that when it happened, it would be the perfect chance for him to take over as the squad’s new leader.

I’ve heard the count has some sort of power that lets him see people’s talents. Never thought much of that, but maybe there’s some truth to it after all, Zaht reflected. His skepticism about Ars’s ability was beginning to fade. But then again, if his power is real and he decided to assign me to work under Braham, then that would mean I’m less talented than he is, right? And that would mean that there’s no chance I’ll ever get to take over as captain… Though on the other hand, if Braham does turn out to have some sort of outrageous talent, then working under him might not be such a bad deal after all. As long as we can achieve enough, I might be able to move up in House Louvent’s ranks, even as the second-in-command.

Zaht was a very ambitious man, but his end goal wasn’t to stand at the very pinnacle of his chosen hierarchy. As long as he could climb to a somewhat high station, he could be satisfied with it.

Is Braham really that talented, though? Zaht wondered once more. He was opening up to the idea that his superior wasn’t completely worthless, but he wasn’t sold yet.

“Hey, Zaht…do you think I’m learning?” Braham suddenly asked.

“I’d say so,” Zaht answered honestly.

“Really? Then how do you think I stack up to Rietz and Thomas these days?”

“Huh?” Zaht blinked. “Uh, well, I’d say you still have a long ways to go before you’re on their level.”

“I knew it,” Braham muttered with a frustrated grimace. “Fighting’s all I know, so I thought I could at least be the best at it…but I guess I’ve still gotta put more effort in,” he continued, his frown taking on an edge of resolve.

The best, huh? thought Zaht. He felt a twinge of something close to envy as he watched Braham unflinchingly declare his desire to surpass all others. Zaht had been through too much to not know his own limits, and as such, those were words that he could never bring himself to speak.

“All right, let’s go another round!” shouted Braham.

“Another…?” Zaht sighed. They had already fought five bouts that day alone, with barely any time to rest in between, and Zaht was exhausted. One would think that Braham would have been just as tired, but by all appearances he was still raring to go. He was truly a man whose stamina knew no bounds.

“All right, then. Let’s get to it,” said Zaht. Many more matches would happen before Braham was finally satisfied.

○

One day, my retainers and I gathered up in Castle Canarre for one of our regular meetings.

“I’ve been thinking it’s about time for me to get back to looking for more people to recruit. Does anyone have any objections?” I asked, kicking the discussion off.

“None. I believe that would be for the best,” Rietz agreed immediately. “We have the financial leeway to bring more people aboard, and as Canarre’s population rises, so too does the workload involved in managing the county. Frankly, we could use the help.”

“Think you could send a few people my way, this time? Lamberg’s population’s been on the rise too, and I’ve had a lot more problems to deal with,” chimed in Mireille.

“Haven’t you already delegated the better part of your responsibilities as the baron?” I asked.

“Nah,” she replied. “That’s the thing─there’ve been so many issues that I’ve had to handle a ton of the petty stuff myself. If you can get me someone who has what it takes to handle all that junk lickety-split for me, that’d be great.”

Come to think of it, I guess Mireille has been paying a lot fewer visits to Castle Canarre as of late. Maybe that’s why?

“I suppose sending a few people your way wouldn’t be an issue,” I began, only for Rietz to jump in and cut me off.

“You mustn’t, Lord Ars. Mireille’s goal is to reduce her own workload as far as she can manage. If she wishes to remain the Baron of Lamberg, then it’s only natural for her to deal with the bulk of the barony’s concerns. If there’s any problem with the current state of Lamberg, it’s that she hasn’t been carrying out that sort of duty up until now. If she finds herself doing everything she can and still fails to address all of the barony’s concerns, then you should consider granting her new personnel,” said Rietz. He had a point, and everyone knew it.

“O-Okay, but if the workload keeps growing at the rate it has been, it’s only a matter of time before it’s too much! Might as well plan ahead, right…?” Mireille interjected hopefully.

“If the workload becomes too much for you, feel free to raise the issue in a future meeting,” said Rietz.

“Y-You know, when you put it that way, it might be getting to that point already…? I can’t handle all the work on my plate alone, so if you could send just one or two─”

“If you’re going to lie to us, at least put effort into your deception,” Rietz snapped. Mireille’s desperation was honestly kind of hard to watch, so I appreciated him shutting her down.

“C-Come on, kiddo, cut me a break! How’s a girl supposed to drink her evenings away when she has so much work to do?!” Mireille shouted, turning to me and giving up on trickery entirely.

Needless to say, the fact that she was telling the truth now didn’t make me feel any more inclined to humor her than I had been before.

“We’ll shelve Mireille’s request for support for the time being, then,” I said.

The shock on Mireille’s face was palpable.

“Hmph! Fine, then. Guess I’ll just have to run the people I already have through the grinder until they can deal with it all on their own,” she grumbled to herself.

“Just don’t go too crazy on them, okay?” I cautioned. I had a bad feeling how things would shape up if I left her to her own devices. “So then, moving along, does anyone have anything else to report?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” said Rietz. “We’ve received reports of a group of bandits that have made their way into the County of Canarre. A number of raids have been reported already. I believe that we should address the issue with all due haste.”

“Bandits?” I repeated.

“Indeed,” said Rietz. “It seems the bulk of their numbers are made up of former Seitzan soldiers. In other words, they’re experienced fighters and are much more dangerous than your typical brigands on an individual basis. Moreover, their numbers are nothing to scoff at. It seems likely that taking half-hearted measures against them would cost us dearly, so I propose that we dispatch a large, capable band of troops to eliminate them.”

The standard practice when bandits started making trouble within the county’s borders was to send the army to take care of them. The fact that Rietz was raising the matter as a proposal in a meeting rather than handling it as a matter of course told me that when he said the bandits’ numbers were considerable, he wasn’t kidding. That told me, in turn, that whoever was leading them was quite capable. Rietz was right─this didn’t sound like an enemy we could afford to underestimate, and we couldn’t let a group that dangerous run rampant for long. We’d have to take care of them quickly.

I considered sending Mireille or Rietz, since they were such capable commanders. Giving them a relatively large force to lead would solve the issue in no time, surely…but then my gaze fell upon Braham, who was also in attendance. Something was different about him this meeting. Normally, he would’ve been the first person to throw his hand into the air and volunteer for the job, but this time he was just sitting there, listening to the exchange.

Thanks to Braham’s recent diligence when it came to his studies, he had matured. That said, he still had a ways to go. His Intelligence had grown by leaps and bounds, but his Leadership was still stalled out. I had a feeling that no amount of book learning would help it, either─he had to get out there and get some real-world experience in order to improve further. It seemed to me that he’d found himself in something of a growth spurt, which meant that giving him some battlefield experience might be for the best. His squad of elite troops had grown recently, as well, and I wanted to get some perspective on just how capable they were.

“I would like to entrust the extermination of the bandits to Braham. Does anyone object?” I said.

“Huh?” Grunted all of my retainers in unison. Even Braham’s eyes were wide with shock.

“Umm… Might I ask for your rationale in choosing him, Lord Ars?” asked Rietz, apprehension written all over his face.

“Braham’s skills have improved dramatically, and although these bandits may be a difficult foe to deal with, I’m confident he has what it takes to win,” I explained. “I’d also like to give his unit a test and see if they’re as elite as we hope they are.”

“But, nevertheless… Doesn’t this task call for someone like me or Mireille, who─”

“You’re already busy, aren’t you? And Mireille was just complaining about her workload a moment ago.”

“Right?! Quit trying to dump even more work on my head, you!” Mireille cut in, quick to shut down any attempt to entrust her with the job. “And, I mean, why not give it to him? The kiddo sure seems to think Braham’s up to snuff, so might as well let him take a shot at it.”

“You have a point, I suppose,” Rietz conceded. His trust in my eye for talent convinced him to drop the argument.

“Wait a moment! Do you really mean you want me to do this?!” Braham shouted just as I was about to declare the matter settled. His tone was as aggressive as ever, but I noted that his word choice, at least, seemed just a little more polite than usual.

“Do you not want the job?” I asked.

“No, I didn’t say that…but, well,” Braham replied, then hesitated for a moment.

It was an odd reaction, coming from a man who tended to have an excess of confidence in his own capabilities. His attitude really did seem to have gone through a major shift.

A few seconds of silence later, he seemed to make up his mind. “Understood. Please leave the elimination of the bandits to me!” Braham declared.

After we determined that Braham would be handling the bandit problem, the rest of the meeting moved on without a hitch. We weren’t facing any other major issues at the moment, it seemed, so it wasn’t long before we wrapped up and I began to head back to my room to take a break. As I walked along, though, a voice rang out behind me.

“Why did you pick me to take care of the bandits?”

I turned around to find Braham standing behind me.

“Because I thought you could handle it,” I replied.

“But that doesn’t make sense!” said Braham. “I’ve been doing a lot of studying lately, and it’s made me realize that I’ve been fighting like a total lunatic my whole life. I could probably deal with a few small-time bandits, no problem, but this is supposed to be a dangerous band, right? I don’t know if I can handle them…”

With that, I understood what had prompted the change in Braham’s attitude. All it had taken was a little studying to make him realize how inexperienced he was. Doing so had dealt a fatal blow to his confidence.

And yet, he had agreed to take on the task. Clearly he’d realized that he’d grown, on some level─I just had to find the right thing to say to him to give him the encouragement he needed. I considered my words carefully, then spoke up once more.

“The fact that you’ve learned to reflect on your mistakes is proof that you’ve grown,” I said. “I’ll admit that up until recently, I had too many apprehensions to assign you to a task like this. As you are now, however, I’m confident you can handle it.”

“But─”

“You’ve been applying yourself to your tactical studies, haven’t you?”

“I’ve been studying, yeah, and I memorized a bunch of stuff, but I’ve never used any of it for real…”

“But you can. You have the talent and ability to put everything you’ve learned about leadership into practice. I guarantee it.”

Braham fell silent.

“Your second-in-command, Zaht, is a capable man as well,” I added. “If you end up not knowing what to do, you can just ask him for help and it’ll turn out just fine. I think you already know this, but the troops I’ve assigned to you are Canarre’s finest.”

For a few moments longer, Braham didn’t say a word. Finally, he looked me in the eye.

“Understood! I’ll give it a try!”

The look on his face told me that he’d gotten over his hesitation. Braham sprinted out of the castle at top speed, and I felt safe knowing that I wouldn’t have to worry about him this time.

○

After receiving his orders to deal with the bandits, Braham wasted no time in gathering up his troops.

“Orders from the count!” he said. “We’re heading out to mop up some bandits! Get ready, men─we’re giving this mission everything we have, and then some!”

“Bandits?” one of the soldiers scoffed.

“Sounds like a walk in the park,” commented another.

None of Braham’s soldiers seemed concerned about their task. This was far from the first time they’d been ordered to take care of brigands that had been causing trouble in the county, and usually, they’d found themselves stronger and better-armed than the foes they faced. They had yet to meet bandits that posed a real challenge.

“It won’t be so easy this time!” Braham shouted. “We’re not dealing with just any bandits─these are former Seitzan soldiers, and there are a lot of them! Brace yourselves for a real fight, because that’s what we’re gonna get!”

That declaration gave Braham’s soldiers at least a little pause. He waited for just a moment, then continued. “The enemy’s holed up in northwestern Canarre. They’ve taken control of an abandoned fort, and are using it as their headquarters.”

“A fort?” said one of Braham’s soldiers. “Abandoned or not, that means they’ll be in a solid defensive position─and there are a lot of them, on top of it? This might be rough.”

“Right,” said Braham. “First things first…we’ll need information on the enemy, so we’ll send out scouts to get a lay of the land.”

A look of surprise came across the faces of every one of Braham’s men. Gathering information was the most basic of tactical common sense…and was also something that Braham hadn’t bothered to do at all for as long as they had known him. Typically, his tactic of choice had been to charge first and ask questions never. His soldiers were aware that he’d taken a studious turn, but they had all been under the impression that he wouldn’t change so quickly. This came as quite the surprise to them.

Braham chose several soldiers to serve as scouts, and sent them off to survey the bandits’ fort.

○

A few days later, the scouts returned to report on the bandits’ stronghold. It seemed that the former Seitzan soldiers had been hard at work, and had restored the fort’s defensive capabilities to some extent. Worse still, there were even more of them than initial reports had suggested. They weren’t just a band of ex-soldiers anymore─they’d taken in some of Canarre’s homegrown brigands as well, along with a number of has-been mercenary bands. Their force was growing stronger by the day.

In terms of weaponry, the former soldiers were reasonably well-equipped, but the bandits that had joined them later on didn’t have much in the way of fine arms and armor. In addition, the scouts hadn’t sighted a single mage among the enemy’s number. If they had the capacity to use magic then Braham’s squad would have very little hope of dealing with them alone─they would have had no choice but to call in reinforcements.

“Good work, men!” said Braham after his scouts concluded their report. “There sure are a lot of them, though, aren’t there…?”

“Maybe we should ask for some support?” suggested Zaht.

“Hmm…”

Braham lapsed into thought. If the enemy’s numbers were too great for his men to deal with, then requesting backup was his only choice. Braham, however, didn’t think that things had reached that point─they were formidable, yes, but not unbeatable.

“The enemy’s tougher than we anticipated, but not so tough that we can’t take ’em,” Braham finally said. “Not like they’ll be pelting us with spells or anything, right? The count gave me this mission personally, too, so we can’t crawl back to him and ask for another troop to lend us a hand.”

“Isn’t this also an important enough mission that we can’t risk failing?” noted Zaht.

“Yeah, but think about it─bringing in reinforcements means spending more money and using up more provisions to get the task done. It’d take time to get the other troops ready, too, which means we wouldn’t be able to chase them as quickly. We can’t let an operation of this scale stick around for any longer than we have to.”

“That’s true, I suppose,” Zaht conceded, still sounding rather worried.

“If I thought we couldn’t take ’em no matter what, I’d give in and say that we should ask for help…but I doubt it’s that far out of hand yet. You wouldn’t want to betray the count’s expectations by running back to him, whining about how we can’t beat that many bandits, and asking for backup, would you?”

Zaht found himself unable to dispute Braham’s logic. He was just as invested in maintaining their squad’s elite reputation as Braham was, and knew that in the worst case, failing to show results could get him removed from his position as second-in-command, shutting off his path up the ranks.

“Understood. Guess I was being too cautious,” Zaht said, throwing his weight behind Braham’s plan. “I have to say, though─you’re using your brain a lot more today than usual.”

“H-Hey, are you calling me an idiot?! I’m over that, and you know it!” Braham shouted. Zaht’s casual jab had touched a nerve. “We’re not charging in without a plan this time, if I have anything to say about it! We’re working out some tactics, and following them to the letter!”

“Tactics?” repeated Zaht. “Feel like cluing us in on the specifics?”

“I, uh,” Braham began, then faltered. “We’ll figure that out right now, as a team!”

“Guess I shouldn’t have expected you to mature that much overnight,” Zaht sighed, though internally, he admitted to himself that Braham not wanting to charge in without a plan was a sign that he’d grown quite a bit already. “These bandits are building up their numbers, right? Seems they’ve done it rather quickly, too, so I’m guessing they’re taking in anyone and everyone who comes their way.”

“I’d say so, yeah,” Braham agreed. “They wouldn’t have been able to recruit that many people that fast otherwise.”

“Well, the way I see it, that means they aren’t putting much effort into checking the backgrounds of the people they recruit─and that means that it wouldn’t be hard for us to slip an infiltrator into their ranks.”

Braham blinked.

“Oh…oh! I get it! We can send in spies to turn the battle in our favor when it breaks out! Let’s do it!” he shouted, latching onto Zaht’s proposal without a second thought.

“Huh? No, wait,” said Zaht. “I know I’m the one who came up with the idea, but a mission like that would be dangerous, not to mention difficult. Shouldn’t we give this a little more thought before we settle on it?”

“Hmph… Right, fair enough,” said Braham. “Infiltrating the enemy’s ranks would be dangerous, yeah. Maybe we should send in someone who’s tough enough to make a break for it and survive if things go south…? All right, I’ve got it! I’ll infiltrate the enemy’s fort!”

“You’ll what?!” Zaht shouted in horror.

“I’m the best fighter in our whole squad, so if things get dangerous, I’m the one who’s most likely to make it out alive!” Braham explained.

“You’re also our captain!” shouted Zaht. “This isn’t the sort of mission you can send a commanding officer on! And while I’ll admit that you have the highest odds of surviving if the mission goes wrong, we should be sending whoever has the highest odds of making the mission go right!”

“What, are you saying I wouldn’t be able to pull it off?” asked Braham.

“Yes,” Zaht flatly replied. “You’re the last person I’d trust to make it into the enemy camp without raising any alarms.”

“Ugh!” Braham grunted, unable to deny it.

“I should be the infiltrator,” said Zaht.

“Huh? No, wait, you’re my second-in-command! You can’t just─”

“You were prepared to send yourself─the captain─just a moment ago, so I don’t want to hear it. I’m sure you’ll be able to manage without your second-in-command around, and I may not let it show, but I’ve run with some pretty tough outfits in the past. Sneaking into a bandit camp’s a task I’m well-suited for.”

“But it’ll be dangerous!”

“I know it will, but I give myself decent odds of making it out if worse comes to worst and I have to run. Plus, pulling off a task like this could convince the count to give me a personal reward, when all’s said and done.”

“I-Is that seriously what you’re aiming for…?” asked Braham.

“Yes,” replied Zaht with the slightest of smirks.

“All right, have it your way. The job’s yours,” said Braham.

“Consider it done,” replied Zaht. “That said, this will be hard to pull off if I’m going it alone. May I select a few other troops to infiltrate the fort with me?”

“Go right ahead,” said Braham.

Zaht picked out a number of soldiers to accompany him, then set off on his mission without delay.

○

The northwest regions of Canarre were once host to a large mine. Near that mine was a town in which its workers had lived. Given the mine’s importance to the county, a fort and walls had even been raised to protect the town. When the deposits of ore ran dry, however, the mine lost its significance and the fort was abandoned. It remained that way for many years, all but forgotten…but now, it was as bustling as it had ever been. The fort had been occupied by bandits, who had turned it into their personal citadel.

Zaht approached the fort with four soldiers he’d chosen accompanying him. They were all clad in the sort of worn and ragged clothing you’d expect from bandits, and Zaht had gone out of his way to choose men with surly, intimidating appearances. You’d never think they were anything other than a gang of brigands.

A pair of guards stood before the fort’s front gate. Zaht approached them without hesitation, and it wasn’t long before the guards noticed him and his crew.

“Who the hell’re you people?!” shouted one of the guards, doing his best to intimidate Zaht and his men.

“This is Lord Vigo’s domain!” added the other.

“Yeah, well I’ve got business with Lord Vigo,” replied Zaht. This was the first time he’d heard of the man, but he did his best to make it sound like he was in the know.

“What sorta business?” asked one of the guards.

“Me and my crew were running in the mountains ’round Paradille until their army raided our hideout. We lost most of our gang and the hideout along with ’em, and we’ve been on the run ever since, till we heard about this place,” said Zaht, going far out of his way to sound much gruffer than he would ever speak under normal circumstances.

“What, so you wanna join us?” asked a guard.

“Right,” Zaht confirmed.

“Well sorry, pal, but we’re full up. Lord Vigo’s decided that we’re not takin’ in anyone else, unless they’ve got some real major skills to offer. Go find some other crew to take your sorry hides in.”

That wasn’t the reaction that Zaht had expected, but he didn’t so much as flinch. “Doesn’t sound like that’s gonna be necessary,” he said. “You want skills, we’ve got ’em. If you need men who can swing a sword like the best of ’em, then you need us.”

“Oh, well aren’t you a big talker,” said one of the guards.

“Yeah, and I’ll bet you he’s all talk,” the other said with a sneer. The two of them burst into laughter.

“All right, have it your way. We’ll prove it,” said Zaht.

“Prove it how?”

“I’ll take on the both of you. Two on one. You can feel free to come at me like you mean to kill me, but I don’t wanna go making any enemies here, so I’ll be sure to leave you alive. If I live, then you know we’re your men. That work for you?”

“The hell’re you talking about, pal?”

“Not good enough? In that case, we’ll say that I only pass if I can take the both of you out within ten seconds. How about that?”

At that, the guards’ brows furrowed with anger.

“Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be? Think you can make fun of us?” spat one of the guards.

“You’ll be a corpse ten seconds from now!” shouted the other.

The two guards drew the short swords they carried at their waists. Zaht was carrying a blade as well, but he didn’t bother to reach for it.

“What’re you waiting for?! Draw!” shouted one of the guards.

“I said I wasn’t going to kill you, didn’t I? Why would I use a sword?” said Zaht. “Don’t worry─I can handle you two just fine without one.”

“You’ve got one hell of a death wish, moron!”

By that point, the guards were frothing mad. They leaped at Zaht simultaneously, but their movements were sluggish and uncoordinated. Zaht could see through their attacks with ease, and dodged them without wasting a single movement before delivering a heavy elbow strike to one of the guards’ jaws. The guard slumped to the ground, his brain addled by the blow.

The other guard was taken aback for just long enough for Zaht to slip in a jab to his face, knocking him off balance. He took that chance to send a kick at the guard’s sword arm, nailing him in the elbow. The guard’s grip went slack, and his sword fell to the ground, only for Zaht to scoop it up and press its blade to the disarmed bandit’s throat.

“I’d call this my win, huh?” said Zaht.

“Ugh,” the guard groaned, then clicked his tongue. “Fine! We’ll take you to Lord Vigo.”

To the guards’ credit, they acknowledged their defeat and let Zaht’s band into the fort. As they passed inside Zaht noted that the bandits had put some work into restoring the place. Although they hadn’t managed to bring it anywhere close to the standards of a newer structure, it was still better than one would expect from a typical bandit hideout. Ordinarily, bandits lived in ramshackle hovels that they built themselves or impromptu lodgings set up in caves. It was very rare for any to be found living in proper structures like this.

As the guards led Zaht to Vigo, he mulled over the details of his mission. His first task was to make his way into the fort and convince the bandits to accept him and his men into their numbers. Then, when night fell, they would make their way to the fort’s front gate and watchtower, take out all the bandits on guard duty, then wait in the watchtower until the rest of Braham’s force arrived, at which point they would open the gate. The final result: a surprise attack in the dead of night. The bandits would be caught asleep and unprepared.

For a normal band of brigands, that would be all it would take to deal with the issue once and for all. These, however, were former Seitzan soldiers. Even if caught off guard and asleep, the odds were good they would still put up some amount of resistance. As such, Zaht’s other objective was to assassinate their leader, Vigo, if the opportunity arose. Without a leader to command them, the bandits would be unable to coordinate a defense against the surprise attack, fall into confusion, and put up very little resistance.

There were plenty of dangers involved in carrying out an assassination, so Zaht would only make an attempt if the perfect opportunity presented itself. Even if he couldn’t take out their leader, the surprise attack would put Braham’s force at an advantage. However experienced and capable of coordinating a defense Vigo was, the odds would still be in Braham and Zaht’s favor. If attempting an assassination would run a substantial risk of blowing Zaht’s cover, then it just wasn’t worth it.

Around the time Zaht finished mulling over the plan, Vigo came into sight. He was a large, muscular man with an unkempt beard and messy hair to match. He also wore equipment that had come from the Seitzan army, meaning he was likely a former soldier.

“Who’re they?” asked Vigo.

“New blood. They say they wanna work for you,” said one of the guards.

“Huh?” Vigo grunted. “Thought I told you that we already have enough people. Or, what, are you saying these ones would be useful?”

“Seems like. We came at one of them two on one, and he did us both in… It looks like they’ve got what it takes.”

“That so?” said Vigo, sizing up Zaht and his men with a look of interest. “You─what’re you called?” he asked Zaht.

“Rubius,” said Zaht. His real name hadn’t spread far and wide across the county, but considering he was dealing with former Seitzan soldiers there was a small but real possibility they’d heard of him. Using a false name would prevent that from being a problem.

“So you’re tough, Rubius,” said Vigo. “Well then, why bother working for me? Don’t tell me you’re planning on bumping me off and taking my place?”

“Hate to say it, but I’m not that much of a risk-taker,” said Zaht. “Judging by the rumors I’ve heard, I figure that working for you will keep things nice and stable for me, at least for now. With a fort like this to hole up in, even if the army of Canarre sets its sights on you, they won’t be able to run you out of the county that easily.”

“Hmph,” Vigo snorted derisively. “You’re pretty boring for a tough guy, huh? Gotta hand it to you, though─if that’s what you’re after, you’ve picked the right place. If you don’t have anywhere else to go, then suit yourself. You’re free to stick around here for now.”

Zaht had earned Vigo’s approval so easily, it was almost disappointing. That, perhaps, explained why his force had grown so large in such a short amount of time─he was apparently a very accepting person.

“We owe you one. If anyone decides to pick a fight, you can count on us defending you on the front lines,” Zaht lied.

“But seriously, though─why come to us, of all places?” asked Vigo. “If you’re that tough, why not give up on the outlaw life, join an army somewhere, and move up in the world?”

“If I could find an army that’d take in a bandit like me, I’d do it in a heartbeat,” Zaht replied.

“Oh? Well, I was in Seitz’s army up until just a few months back, and I was a raider right up until I joined them. Climbed pretty high up in the ranks before I jumped ship, too. Look in the right places, and you’ll find a legit outfit that’ll take you in,” said Vigo.

“If you were climbing the ranks, then how’d you end up going back to banditry?” asked Zaht.

“Stuff happened,” said Vigo. “The noble I was working for lost a battle, and most of his money along with it. Folks like me who’d been brought in from outside were the first to be let go, and that left me without any other options. He was nice enough to tell me about this fort, at least, so I’ve gotta give the guy some credit.”

“Oh? That explains a lot,” Zaht muttered to himself.

The fact that a Seitzan leader had told Vigo about the fort struck him as significant. Maybe it was an act of compassion on Vigo’s former commander’s part…or maybe he had less benevolent intentions. Sending a group of former soldiers to live in an abandoned fort in Canarre seemed like a surefire way to sow chaos in the fort’s vicinity. Maybe it had been an attempt at getting payback for Seitz’s defeat, or maybe it had been an attempt to weaken the county in preparation for another, more successful invasion.

One way or another, I’ll have to tell Rietz about this as soon as I get the chance, thought Zaht. The thought that bringing back important strategic information would raise his standing with his superiors almost brought a smile to Zaht’s face, but he held it back.

“Yeah, can’t say I like the thought of putting my life on the line, then getting cut loose the second the coffers run dry. I think I’m more suited for the bandit life,” said Zaht.

“Heh! Suit yourself,” Vigo scoffed.

Zaht and his men were given a tour through the fort. They hadn’t roused any suspicion, and had blended in with the rest of the bandits in no time at all.

○

Meanwhile, Braham and his men lurked in a forest near the fort where they’d set up camp, careful not to let the bandits discover them.

“It looks like Zaht’s crew’s made it in!” reported a scout who’d been sent out to watch over the fort.

“Great! Now we just have to wait for night to fall, keep an eye on the fort, and rush in the moment we see them take out the people on watch,” said Braham.

“Yes, sir! I’ll head back to keep lookout on the fort right away!”

Once the guards had been eliminated, Zaht and his infiltrators would send a signal to Braham’s unit. They were under strict orders to flee if the bandits caught on and the mission was compromised─after all, they could always come back with a new plan of attack in the event this one failed.

A few hours passed by, and the sun sank below the horizon. Braham’s unit prepared themselves for battle, knowing the order to move out could come at any time.

Eventually, the scout that had been sent out returned once more. “They’ve sent the signal!” he reported to Braham.

“All right! Let’s move out, men!” Braham ordered.

At that command, Braham’s elite unit began to depart. They crept through the forest, silently but swiftly making their way toward the fort.

It wasn’t long before they’d made it to the fort’s immediate vicinity. As they drew closer, the front gate creaked open.

“Let’s do this! Charge!” Braham said, then led his troops into the fort.

○

After taking down the bandits’ lookouts with ease, Zaht and his men settled in to wait for Braham and the others to arrive. In the meantime, Zaht considered his options.

These bandits are less prepared than I expected. I guess having a defensible base of operations made them let their guards down? Still, it’s hard to believe they let total outsiders have free rein of the place the very same day they showed up.

It seemed that the bandits had never even considered the possibility that anyone would try to infiltrate their fort.

If they’re this open to attack, then maybe assassinating Vigo would be worth the risk after all. I’m sure we’ll win one way or another, if the surprise attack works out, but if he manages to rally a defense we might suffer more casualties than we have to. It seemed like he knew what he’s doing, but if I can catch him asleep in bed, he won’t stand a chance.

Zaht informed the rest of his crew that he was going to attempt the assassination they’d planned, then set out without delay, descending the watchtower and making his way into the fort proper. Vigo, he knew, would be sleeping in the chamber where they’d first met him.

Zaht crept along silently, and made his way to Vigo’s chamber without being spotted. The room had a door, but that door wasn’t locked. Zaht pushed the door open and slipped into the chamber. He stepped toward the bed, where he was expecting to find Vigo…and was surprised to instead find it empty.

An instant later, Zaht realized that he wasn’t alone in the room. He spun about to look behind him, and backstepped just in time to dodge the axe that had swung down at him from overhead. It had happened so quickly that it left Zaht shaken, his heart pounding like a drum, but he kept himself under control and didn’t lose his composure. He’d been through enough battles to collect himself in a fraction of a second.

“Oh? Nice reflexes. Didn’t think you’d dodge that one,” said the man with the axe: none other than the bandits’ leader, Vigo himself. “Lemme guess, someone put a price on my head and you’re hoping to collect, right? You smell like a bounty hunter, and I’ve got a good instinct about these things!”

Relief washed over Zaht. This was not, it seemed, the worst-case scenario. If Vigo thought he was a bounty hunter, then he hadn’t figured out that he was with the army of Canarre, and the mission hadn’t been compromised after all. Braham’s sneak attack would still come as a total surprise.

“If you knew all along, then why’d you let me in your fort?” growled Zaht, playing along with Vigo’s misapprehension.

“Easier to act like my guard’s down and take you out when you have a go at me than play the long game,” said Vigo. “Missed my chance to finish you in one attack, but still beats having you stalking me for days on end. If you let bounty hunters hang around for too long, they have a way of making you regret it. Speaking of, looks like your flunkies aren’t joining us. They on lookout duty, or something?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Zaht said with a glare. The truth, of course, was that his allies were still up in the watchtower, waiting for the rest of Braham’s squad to arrive.

“Suit yourself,” said Vigo. “You’re the leader, I can tell that much, so once you’re dead it’ll be easy enough to mop up your bounty hunter friends. Hear that, boys? Come out and say hello!”

At Vigo’s prompting, a cluster of bandits emerged from a variety of hiding places in the room. Zaht’s eyes darted back and forth as he assessed the situation. He counted five bandits that had been waiting for the signal─six foes in total, including Vigo.

“You’re a pretty tough guy,” said Vigo, “but I bet you’re not tough enough to bring down a half dozen of us, eh?”

Zaht silently drew his sword.

I’ve been backed into a corner plenty of times, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in this bad of a predicament before, he thought to himself. In spite of the knowledge that he could be dead in a matter of seconds, his mind was clear. The ability to keep calm when worse came to worst was part of how he had survived for as long as he had.

I can’t win this on my own…but I can buy time. If I can just hold out until the captain shows up, he’ll mop up whatever’s left of them for me. Can’t say I like the idea of having him bail me out…but then again, this isn’t the old captain we’re talking about. The way he’s been acting these days, I can put up with it.

Firm in his belief that Braham would save him, Zaht threw himself into battle with the bandits.

○

“By the way, where’s Zaht?” Braham asked after meeting up with the soldiers that had accompanied Zaht in his infiltration.

“He went off to take out the bandits’ leader, Vigo,” the soldier replied.

“He did? How long ago was that?”

“Right after we dealt with the lookouts, so it’s been a pretty long while now.”

“I have a bad feeling about this… All right! We’re heading for wherever this Vigo person’s likely to be first!” Braham ordered.

The soldiers who’d infiltrated the fort knew where Vigo’s chamber was, so Braham got a detailed description of the path there, then headed into his fort with the rest of his men. That many soldiers tromping through the fort was impossible to conceal, of course, and one of the bandits woke up due to the noise and came out to investigate…only to run face-first into Braham’s whole troop. The bandit’s eyes widened, and he spun about to flee. Clearly he’d realized in an instant that he couldn’t take on that many invaders on his own, and was hoping to alert his leader that they were under attack.

“He’s getting away! Bring him down!” Braham ordered one of his nearby men, who was carrying a bow. His force was composed not only of skilled swordsmen and spearmen, but expert archers as well.

The soldier Braham had singled out loosed an arrow that flew true, piercing the bandit straight through the back of his head and killing him.

“Nice work!” said Braham.

He and his men made their way deeper into the fort, dealing with any bandits who noticed them as quickly as possible to ensure the element of surprise wouldn’t be compromised yet. Thankfully, Braham’s archers were in peak condition and didn’t let a single bandit escape them. Progress was steady, and before long, Braham and his men found themselves before the door to Vigo’s chamber.

Braham immediately noticed a voice from inside the room.

“You’re one persistent son of a bitch, you know that?! Tell you what─throw down your sword, and I promise I’ll make your death quick and painless! You’re only making this harder for all of us by drawing it out!”

The clash of metal on metal rang out a moment later. It seemed someone was fighting inside. Vigo had been so preoccupied by his battle with Zaht that Braham’s incursion had gone unnoticed.

Braham burst through the door without a moment’s delay. Within the chamber he found Zaht, wounded but still standing, as well as the bandits who had engaged him. The bandits, meanwhile, took immediate notice of Braham and of the soldiers behind him a second later. Looks of dazed incomprehension came across their faces─apparently, they couldn’t keep up with the sudden development.

“Graaah!” Braham shouted as he charged into the room and thrust his spear toward Vigo’s chest. It had happened so quickly that Vigo had no time to react. He didn’t even try to dodge, and the spear pierced straight through his heart.

“What─ugh,” Vigo grunted, then coughed up blood and collapsed to the floor. He’d been struck down before he could even figure out what had happened to him. Braham’s men streamed in behind him and made short work of the remaining bandits as well.

“Zaht! You okay?!” Braham shouted as he rushed to Zaht’s side.

“I’m fine. Just scratches,” said Zaht, who seemed unbothered by the wounds he was covered in.

Upon a second inspection, Braham realized that it was true─each of the cuts was shallow and superficial. Zaht had skillfully fended off the bandits, dodging the bulk of their attacks without sustaining any severe injuries. However, enough scratches still added up. He’d lost quite a bit of blood, and was hardly in great condition.

“What were you thinking?! You nearly got yourself killed!” shouted Braham.

“I wouldn’t die that easily,” grunted Zaht. “And more importantly, the guy you just killed was the bandits’ leader, Vigo. With him out of the picture, we have this in the bag. Chasing them down’s going to be a hassle, though, so let’s get this battle underway before they have the chance to make a break for it.”

“Yeah, you sure made taking care of this guy easy enough─thanks for keeping him occupied!” said Braham. “Okay, men! Let’s mop up the rest of these bandit scumbags!”

At Braham’s order, the fight to reclaim the fort and eliminate the bandits that remained within began. Though, it was hardly a fight at all. Without Vigo to command them, the bandits proved incapable of coping with Braham’s surprise attack. He and his soldiers swept through the fort with ease, encountering almost nothing in the way of serious resistance.

“You’ve already lost! Give up now, and we’ll spare your lives!” Braham declared as the battle reached its final stages.

The bandits’ numbers had thinned dramatically, and those who remained had no hope of turning the tide. The desperation that came over them when they realized there was nowhere to run led to them putting up more of a fight than expected. Braham saw that his force was suffering losses, and decided to offer the bandits the chance to surrender in an effort to bring the fighting to an end before his casualties started piling up.

In a battle with soldiers who fought to protect their lord or their homes, you could be all but certain your foes would fight to the death. Bandits, however, held no such scruples and valued their lives above all else. The moment surrender was offered as an option, they threw down their weapons without hesitation.

And so, in the span of a single night, the fort was stormed and the bandit gang that had settled within it was annihilated.

○

Braham and his squad soon found themselves on the road to Castle Canarre, apprehended bandits in tow.

“Thanks for bailing me out, Captain. I wouldn’t have made it if you’d arrived even a minute later,” said Zaht. He’d been given first-aid on the spot, and had bandages wrapped around him. You’d think he would have been in extraordinary pain, but he seemed nonplussed by his situation.

“What kinda captain wouldn’t come running when one of his men’s in a tight spot? Anyway, I’m just glad this went as well as it did!” Braham replied.

“The question is, will I receive a bonus for my work this time…?” Zaht muttered to himself.

“Who knows?” Braham said, then paused. “Wait. Is that why you ran off to take out Vigo on your own?”

“I can’t believe you’d even imply such a thing. I did it to take pressure off the rest of the squad and minimize our casualties, of course. Any reward would just be a fringe benefit.”

“Oh, really…?”

“Yes, really,” Zaht insisted in a complete deadpan.

Braham seemed less than convinced. “Well, you did make a huge difference this time, I guess,” he sighed. “Don’t worry─I’ll be sure to tell Rietz and the count about all of it.”

“Thank you for that,” Zaht said, still unperturbed. “Oh, that reminds me. I have a piece of potentially concerning information for you to pass on to Rietz, while you’re at it.”

“What’s that?”

“Vigo used to be a Seitzan soldier, as you know, but it seems things run a little deeper than we thought. Apparently, the noble who dismissed him from the army also informed him of the abandoned fort. That’s how he found it and took it over.”

“Huuuh,” said Braham. “So he was looking out for his men, even when he had to let ’em go? Sounds like a nice guy.”

“I, umm,” Zaht stammered. “I guess that’s an optimistic way to look at it, sure…but you do remember that we just fought a war with Seitz, right? Doesn’t something about them sending ex-soldiers into our territory feel a little malicious to you?”

“Hm? So, wait… You’re saying some Seitzan noble told Vigo about the fort so he’d move into Canarre, build up a whole bandit crew, and start wreaking havoc? They wanted all that to happen?”

“I’m saying it’s a possibility.”

“I get it now,” said Braham. “Feels like we might be overthinking this…but if that is true, then wouldn’t it mean that Seitz is chomping at the bit to invade us all over again?”

“Exactly,” said Zaht. “I’m not sure what Rietz will make of it, but it feels like something he should be informed of.”

“Agreed. I’ll let him know,” said Braham.

Before long, Braham and his squad arrived at Canarre. The bandits they’d taken captive were shut up in the local jail, for the time being. In the long term, they would be judged and punished based on the local laws regarding banditry. Considering they had surrendered, the odds that they would be executed were rather low. More than likely, they would be required to perform manual labor and work off their sentence.

Braham, meanwhile, headed straight for the castle’s offices, where he reported the success of his mission to Rietz.

“So, you eliminated the threat with virtually no casualties on your part?” said Rietz as he raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I have to admit that I had my worries when Lord Ars recommended you for this task, but it seems you have grown by leaps and bounds. I’m impressed.”

“Th-Thank you!” said Braham.

Rietz had a reputation for being quite harsh with anyone other than Ars. He wasn’t the sort of person who would deliver offhanded compliments, and yet this time, he’d openly praised Braham. Braham knew what a big deal that was, and found himself grinning as the fact sank in.

“I will discuss your reward for this accomplishment with Lord Ars at a later date. In any case, well done,” said Rietz.

“Understood! Just doing my best, like always!” Braham excitedly declared, then left the room.

○

A few days had passed since I’d given Braham his mission to deal with our bandit problem, and I had yet to hear back about how it had turned out for him. To be honest, I was starting to get a little worried. Had it really been a good idea to put a task like that on his shoulders?

Yes, Braham needed real-world experience in order to grow further, but “putting the cart before the horse” would be an understatement if I sent him out too soon and got him killed in the process. I was starting to think that I should have started by putting him up against a weaker, safer opponent. It was too late to reconsider my choice, though, so all I could do was accept things as they were and keep faith in him. Still, I just couldn’t help but feel pessimistic about the whole affair.

Just then, one of Castle Canarre’s servants arrived. “Lord Ars? Rietz says he has a report for you. Is now a good time?”

Oh! Maybe this is about the bandit mission?

I wasn’t doing anything particularly important at the time, so I decided to head down to the office where Rietz was waiting.

“Lord Ars! My apologies for making you come all the way here,” Rietz said as I stepped inside. He was waiting for me with Braham at his side.

“That’s perfectly fine,” I said. “More importantly, you’ve returned, Braham!”

“That’s right! We stormed the fort that the bandits were holed up in, took out their leader, and shut down the whole operation! A few of my men were wounded, but we didn’t suffer any losses─all of us made it back alive!” Braham reported.

“Excellent work!” I said. My praise came from the bottom of my heart─I couldn’t overstate the relief and joy that I felt upon hearing that all of my worries were misplaced and he’d won the day after all.

While I was at it, I took the opportunity to appraise Braham and check his stats. His Leadership score had risen all the way to 77, from a score of 68 the last time I’d checked it. I was shocked to think that a single bandit extermination mission could result in such a dramatic improvement. On the other hand, he’d been up against former Seitzan soldiers who’d occupied a fortified position, so for all intents and purposes it hadn’t been much different from a full-blown battle. Perhaps that explained his exceptional growth?

He still had plenty of room to grow, even with the leap he’d just taken. I was starting to think that his Leadership might break into the eighties before I knew it, which would put him on par with genuine top-class generals. Sending Braham into live combat clearly hadn’t been a mistake after all.

I went on to have Braham describe the details of how the mission had gone. It seemed that the MVP of the battle had been his second-in-command, Zaht. A chill ran down my spine when Braham described how close to death Zaht had come─he was a truly capable man who I definitely didn’t want to lose. His Leadership score wasn’t impressive, so he wasn’t suitable for a position of command, but since the rest of his stats were all high he made for a remarkable advisor. In fact, he’d been the one to come up with the plan that won the day. As I’d anticipated, Braham and Zaht seemed to make an excellent team. I decided to give both of them a special reward for their achievements this time.

“You’ve both met and exceeded my expectations, Braham,” I said. “You can look forward to some extra gold coins for both you and Zaht as reward for your services.”

“Huh?! Me too? Are you sure?” asked Braham.

“Very,” I replied. “You’ve done an exemplary job leading your squad, and you deserve credit for ensuring that Zaht made it out alive as well.”

“Th-Thank you very much!” Braham shouted, sounding almost moved. He gave me a deep bow of gratitude. “And, umm…ah, right! I almost forgot! There’s something else I have to report to you!” he continued, shooting back upright a moment later.

According to Braham, the leader of the bandit gang he’d wiped out─whose name, apparently, had been Vigo─had taken over the fort after being dismissed from the Seitzan army by the noble that had recruited him. Furthermore, that noble was the one who had told him about the fort in the first place.

“Hmm… Yes, this does seem to have been part of a Seitzan plot,” Rietz said thoughtfully after Braham finished his explanation.

“You think so too?” I asked.

“I can’t say with complete certainty, but it strikes me as probable,” said Rietz.

I’d reached the same conclusion. It just seemed too convenient for Seitz to have been anything other than deliberate. There was always the slight chance that teaching Vigo about the fort had been nothing more than an act of mercy on his former lord’s part, but if that had been the case, it would have made much more sense to give him a formal endorsement and help him get a more respectable job within Seitz itself. By all rights, there was no need to send him all the way into Canarre, much less to teach him about a fort he could take over.

“Do you think this means that Seitz is planning another invasion?” I asked Rietz.

“It’s possible,” said Rietz. “Still, the fact that they chose such roundabout tactics also serves as proof that they’re aware they stand at a disadvantage. The ambiguous nature of this incident makes it difficult to justify a counterattack on Missian’s part─after all, we have no clear evidence that Seitz was at fault─so it’s likely they believed it would let them chip away at our defenses without risking a counterattack. It’s clear that they have no intention of making peace with us, so I see this as a means of harassment in anticipation of another invasion in the long term.”

“I see,” I said. “So we don’t have to worry about Seitz knocking on our door anytime soon. On the other hand, this surely won’t be the last time they try to test our defenses like this.”

“Correct. I believe that an extra dose of vigilance is in order,” said Rietz.

We’d managed to resolve the issue before any major harm could be done, this time, but if we’d been slower about handling the bandits they could’ve inflicted some serious damage. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how Seitz would hassle us next, but one way or another, we needed to be prepared for it.

“Thank you. This was very important and useful information, and I hope you’ll convey my gratitude to Zaht as well,” I said to Braham.

“Will do! And whatever the enemy’s plotting, you can count on me to take care of ’em!”

“Braham,” Rietz sighed. “Try not to let this victory go to your head, okay?”

“Ah! R-Right, of course. Sorry, Rietz.”

The moment Braham’s ego started to inflate, Rietz stepped in to chide him. Much as Braham had changed, it was clear that on a basic level, he was still the same person as ever. That said, he’d carried us through a crisis and grown by leaps and bounds in the process, so I was ready to call this a victory worth celebrating. I just had to hope he’d keep that pace up and, eventually, turn into a general even more capable than Rietz and Mireille.