The Girl Raised by the Death God Holds the Sword of Darkness in Her Arms - Volume 1 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter Two: The Strongest Piece on the Board

I

It had been three days since Olivia had received her special mission assignment. She and her platoon, charged with ousting the bandits who currently occupied Fort Lamburke, were currently en route to their destination. The fort was located in the forest to the southwest between Galia Fortress and Fort Caspar. Olivia’s squad was made up of twenty young men; a paltry number compared to the fifty to a hundred soldiers that made up the average platoon. On top of that, these were all new recruits, conscripted barely two months ago. They were all out of breath from trying to keep up with Olivia. Amongst them, propping himself up on his pike like it was a walking stick, was Ashton.

He’d heard that the rate of survival for new recruits in their first battle was about one in thirty, but Ashton wouldn’t be so lucky. This recapture mission had, after all, already failed countless times in the past, with less than one in ten soldiers making it back alive. He couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a single veteran soldier amongst them. Olivia was probably the only one with any proper combat experience.

As Ashton speculated, his eyes fell on Olivia, walking ahead of him.

No way. That is never, EVER happening.

Morris had told him about how Olivia had been made a warrant officer, but he still couldn’t fully believe it. The idea that those slender arms had the strength to slice off heads just sounded like a joke. Something itched at the back of his mind. He focused in on it, and then it occurred to him.

Huh. I haven’t seen Morris around lately, he thought, remembering Morris’s flippant smile. They hadn’t been all that close, but they’d at least been the targets of the same “guidance” during training. He couldn’t say this didn’t bother him at least a little.

“Hey, have you seen Morris lately?” he asked Gile, the black-haired boy walking next to him.

“What? Morris?” said Gile, looking up sullenly and sounding irritated. “...I guess I haven’t seen him, no.”

“You either, huh...? Do you think anyone else might know?” Ashton looked back, and Gile followed his gaze. The recruits behind them dragged their feet along like they might collapse at any moment, their eyes staring blankly ahead.

“No way. That lot won’t know anything. They got sent to the fortress even later than we did. They probably barely even know who he is,” Gile finished, then gave Ashton a long, hard stare.

“Wh-What?”

“Oh, I just envy you, having the energy left over to worry about other people in a place like this,” said Gile, shrugging.

“What, no! It’s not like that!” cried Ashton, raising his hands in protest. “I just wondered about Morris, that’s all. I’m barely hanging on too!”

“Well, whatever. We’re doomed anyway.”

A ragtag bunch of new recruits and that girl—goodness only knew what she was—as their leader. What their superiors had been thinking, Ashton couldn’t say, but he was pretty sure Gile’s words were right on target. No one wanted to say it out loud, but everyone knew this recapture mission would only end in failure. And that they wouldn’t make it out alive...

“Hey, Ashton? Ashton!”

Ashton realized that Olivia stood right in front of him, her cheeks puffed out sulkily. She was so close that he recoiled, at which she tilted her head in confusion. It didn’t mean anything, but he couldn’t help but find it charming.

“Y-You don’t have to yell. I can hear you. And what if a wild animal hears and attacks us?”

This wasn’t like the flatlands, packed with human towns and villages. All the beasts roamed freely here. If humans ruled down on the flatlands, beasts ruled the forests and mountains. There were more than a few that would kill and devour humans. Beasts didn’t distinguish soldiers with swords and armor from the common folk—they saw all humans as prey to fill their bellies with.

To Ashton’s reproval, Olivia replied calmly, “Well, then we just attack them back and eat them instead.” As if they had any chance of doing that! And the way she said it, with that bright smile, Ashton felt himself getting angry. Forgetting he was talking to a senior officer, Ashton clicked his tongue three times, loud and sarcastic.

“Wow, that’s a bird impression, right? Let me try too!”

“Why the hell would I be making bird noises?” Ashton retorted without thinking, but Olivia only cackled with laughter, clutching her stomach. The new recruits nearby had apparently heard the conversation, because he saw them smirking faintly at him.

“Oh, so guess what?” Olivia said. “I get to eat cake from the capital! Do you know what cake is? It’s a kind of sweet.”

“...When did we start talking about that? Yes, obviously I know what cake is. I’ve eaten it. I did live in the capital before this.”

“You’ve tried it? That’s so cool!”

For a moment, he felt genuine concern that she’d been mocking him this whole time. But looking into Olivia’s eyes, he knew that wasn’t true. They were sparkling, as though she’d met someone she idolized. He realized if they kept talking, he was just going to get more worn out and irritated. So he ignored her gaze and kept moving forwards, pushing the undergrowth that covered their path roughly aside. Every time he did so, bugs he’d never seen before came flying out, adding to his irritation.

Human tracks dotted the edge of the forest there, and they hadn’t had to work too hard to keep walking. But deeper into the forest, great trees rose up haphazardly and the thick undergrowth relentlessly blocked their way. A sea of branches and leaves spread out and obscured the sky, blocking the sun’s fierce heat. Thanks to that, the forest floor stayed at a pleasant temperature. But the odd bird calls that could be heard from time to time made him freeze up. The other recruits seemed equally uncomfortable, glancing around with wide eyes.

Ashton took a deep breath and roughly wiped the sweat running down his brow. It was taking a lot out of him just to keep moving without a path to follow. Olivia, in contrast, walked like she was merely out for a stroll, her footfalls light. Every now and then she would spot a flower and pluck it, sucking up the nectar with delight. Ashton knew that the nectar of many of the flowers that grew in the forest contained poison—the Glamour Blossom being the most well-known example. Most did nothing more than produce a faint numbness, but others could cause high fevers and even death. Ashton wondered if Olivia knew that. To be sure, she hadn’t plucked any poisonous flowers. For Ashton, this was just another of the many things he’d studied, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t common knowledge. He supposed what she’d said about living in a forest must have been true.

Even then, how can she look so refreshed, walking in that heavy armor and carrying that sword?

Ashton and the other recruits wore leather armor made from animal hide. It might not offer much protection, but that also made it light. It still felt heavy to the recruits, though, still unused as they were to wearing armor. Olivia, on the other hand, was in full plate mail. Over a shirt of fine interlocking chain, plates of metal covered her shoulders, hands, thighs, and chest. The weight of it must have been incredible compared to mere leather armor, and yet she wasn’t even sweating.

“Warrant Officer Olivia, ser. May I ask a question?”

“Huh? Sure.”

“Do you feel tired at all? It’s just... Your armor is much heavier than ours, and you have that sword...”

“Tired? No, I’m totally fine. This armor isn’t that heavy.”

“I... I see. Sorry, ser.”

Olivia tilted her head at him, looking perplexed, but seemed to quickly lose interest, and turned to face forwards again.

I know she’s my superior, but it’s pretty pathetic that I can’t even keep up with a little girl. Oh well, we’re all going to get killed by bandits anyway, so no point worrying about that now, thought Ashton, gazing at Olivia walking happily along beside him.

The sun had just begun to dip to the west. Olivia’s team found a relatively open patch of ground to take a break. Olivia hadn’t ordered it. Rather, it had come about after Ashton had pointed out that if they tried to keep up with Olivia’s bottomless stores of energy, the whole team would die of exhaustion before they arrived at the fort. The other recruits had thanked him with tears in their eyes. Even Gile had come up to him spouting foolish things like, “You’re our savior!”

Ashton had just smiled nicely at all of them. He was pretty sure he’d just wanted a break more than any of the others, but he’d rather have died than admit it out loud. Feeling slightly guilty, he chose a spot at random and sat down. When he did so, Olivia came over and, as though this were perfectly normal, sat down beside him.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t tired at all, so I didn’t think. Good thing you’re here, Ashton,” she said, and clapped her hands.

“Aha ha ha. I know you aren’t. I did ask you whether you were tired before,” he replied, with a self-deprecating laugh. Olivia’s eyes widened, and her pale peach-colored lips began to tremble.

“Wait, did you... Did you ask before to try and help me, the leader, see that we needed a break? You were trying to get me to say it myself, but I didn’t work it out. And then you had no choice but to suggest it yourself! Well? Am I right?”

He could hardly come back with No, you’re totally wrong. He looked away from Olivia’s piercing eyes, and saw that the other recruits were watching them as they ate. They were probably eavesdropping on the conversation too. Internally, he clicked his tongue at the unnecessary questions. If he revealed the truth here, all the other recruits would hate him. That meant there was only one thing for it. He gulped, then slowly nodded his head.

“Hah hah hah, you got me! I’m very sorry, ser. I overstepped.” Ashton’s tone was artificial, but Olivia looked pleased, nodding.

“I’m finally getting the hang of how humans think.” It was unclear exactly what she meant, but Ashton allowed himself to believe it was best to let her interpret things as she wanted.

He let out a breath, and looked over again at the other recruits. They grinned at him, and saluted.

“R-Right. Shall we have lunch then?”

Feeling sweat running unpleasantly down his back, Ashton reached into his pack and pulled out his rations: brown bread and dried meat, and a single bottle of homemade mustard. Watching Olivia out of the corner of his eye and noticing how she observed him with great interest, he cut the bread in half and sandwiched the dried meat in it, then squirted in some of the mustard and immediately took a bite, savoring the mustard and its well-balanced bite and tang.

“Mmm, that’s good. Bringing this mustard from home was the right call,” Ashton mumbled to himself. Olivia’s stare bore into him. It looked like she might start drooling. After a while, when she still didn’t move to open her bag, he grew uneasy.

“Aren’t you going to eat, ser?” he asked.

“No, I already ate all the rations they gave us. I think I’ll go hunting and catch a bird or something.” Ashton stared at her, his jaw hanging open. Between the fact that she’d already eaten five days of rations and that she was casually chatting about hunting birds, it was all too much. She also didn’t look at all like she was about to get up and go hunting. Her eyes were fixed on Ashton’s hands. Even after he’d finished eating, she didn’t look away.

Oh, all right then, he thought with a sigh. Through his exasperation, he put together another sandwich like the one he’d just made, and held it out to her.

“Oh! Are you sure?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be offering. Besides, we can’t have you skipping off trying to hunt and getting savaged by some ravenous beast.”

“I mean, beasts are no problem... But thanks for worrying about me. You really are a good human,” Olivia said, and took a bite out of the bread. A moment later, her eyes shimmering, she said, “This is amazing.”

I wonder how many more meals we’ll get... thought Ashton, watching Olivia’s joyful expression. Just then, there was a scream from behind them.

“Wh-What’s going on?!” Ashton spun around frantically, and saw it. An enormous, four-legged beast, covered in golden fur with a single white horn sprouting from its forehead—a unicorn.

Ashton felt all the hairs on his body stand up in shock. It was well known that unicorns were extremely vicious. They were adept at using their long horns to take down their prey. They were also omnivores, which meant they ate anything. Humans were no exception.

The unicorn was huge, but it moved with uncanny speed, charging at the closest recruits. They fell over themselves as they panicked, trying to escape.

“O-Officer Olivia! A unicorn! A unicorn just—!”

“Hm? Oh, wow, it really is. It probably wants to play with the humans,” said Olivia cheerfully, the shimmer still in her eyes. The recruit beside them, his eyes bloodshot, screamed.

“What the hell are you talking about?! Look at it! It’s attacking us!” The recruit’s yelling seemed to bring her around to the severity of the situation. Olivia narrowed her eyes, and took stock of the unicorn. For a moment, just one fleeting moment, Ashton thought she scared him more than the unicorn. But it probably was just his imagination.

“Ohh, that. I guess we have to take what we can get, but those don’t taste great...”

“Taste?” shrieked Ashton. “Taste?! Are you seeing this? We need to get out of here, right now!” He seized her arm and tried to run away. But his knees were shaking hard, and he couldn’t even manage to take a single step. It was like the soles of his feet were rooted to the ground.

No, no, no, this isn’t happening! He silently screamed at his feet to move, but they didn’t obey him. The unicorn seemed to notice him, and swung its sharp horn around to point at him. It bellowed, spraying spit, then charged at him.

...This is it, then. Not even a death in battle. I’m going to die being eaten by a unicorn. It wouldn’t even make a good story, he lamented, but even as his hands shook, he still clung tight to his spear. He took a deep breath, and brought it up to face the unicorn. He was well aware that this was pointless. With certain death bearing down upon him, there was nothing a mere human could do to fight it off. This was his final act of resistance.

Ashton gave himself over to despair, but then, something unbelievable happened. He wondered if he’d gone mad with fear. Olivia, who had been standing beside him, was walking serenely towards the unicorn.

“No! Get out of here! It’ll eat you too!”

She just laughed. “You say the funniest things, Ashton.”

“Why are you laughing?! Hurry up and run!”

“There’s nothing to worry about.” A smile played about her lips as Olivia drew her sword—and vanished. To be perfectly accurate, she had just run towards the unicorn, but as far as Ashton’s eyes could tell, it was as though she’d suddenly disappeared.

The unicorn bared its teeth and brandished its horn at her as she closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Olivia parried the horn with the flat of the blade, then struck back, driving her sword up through its chin and out the top of its skull. The unicorn screamed in pain, then crumpled to the ground with an earthshaking thud.

No one could speak. It had all happened too fast. They just stared blankly at Olivia, who stood at the center of it all. She turned around, and jogged over to Ashton. A black mist coiled around the ebony blade she held in her right hand. Ashton realized he’d fallen down on his backside.

“I told you beasts weren’t a problem, didn’t I?” she said matter-of-factly, standing in front of him.

“Y-Yes, ser! O-Of c-course! You’re absolutely right...” was all Ashton could manage to say.

It had been three days since the special platoon under command of Warrant Officer Olivia left Galia Fortress.

“Captain Olivia, are you hungry? I’d be honored to give you some of my jerky,” said one of the recruits cheerfully, holding it out to her. A chorus of, Me too! and, And me! followed as the recruits gathered around her, offering up their bread, candied sweet potatoes, and the like. Olivia took all of it with a grin.

“Thank you, thank you!” she said.

This had been happening every day. The recruits were like believers making offerings to a statue of the goddess Strecia, all because Olivia killed the unicorn. They’d all seen that she was no ordinary girl, but a warrior of fearful strength. Gile had dubbed her the “Silver-Haired Valkyrie” and started worshipping her like she was some sort of deity. This behavior spread amongst the other recruits like wildfire, giving their morale a massive boost, and they all tagged along after Olivia in high spirits.

As all this went on, Ashton couldn’t help but think about Olivia’s sword and the black mist that had shrouded it. He might not have been the most knowledgeable about weapons, but even he could tell that that was no common blade.

“Hey, you seem down. Are you hungry?” said Olivia, taking a piece of bread out of her full-to-bursting pack. An offering from one of her believers, he thought bitterly, shaking his head.

“I’m not hungry, ser. But if you’ll allow me, there was something I wanted to ask you about.”

“Sure, but um... All that ‘ser’ and politeness stuff? Could we not do that? It’s complicated and I’m no good at it.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, ser,” said Ashton curtly. Olivia pouted, apparently displeased by his reply.

“Why, though? You talked to me normally when we met back in the mess hall.”

“I didn’t realize that you were my superior officer at the time, ser. I can’t just go back to talking like we’re equals...”

“Ugh, the army is such a pain... Oh! I’ve got an idea!” Olivia clapped her hands together. “This is an order from your superior officer! Ashton, you are forbidden from calling me ‘ser’! That goes for everyone else too,” she said. The recruits looked bewildered.

Only Gile knelt on one knee like an idiot and declared, “As my Silver-Haired Valkyrie commands!” Olivia, of course, did not look happy about this.

Ashton was privately grateful for the order. It hadn’t been that long since he‘d first encountered Olivia in the mess hall. He was sure he only felt so uncomfortable now because they’d had that one normal conversation. If disregarding formalities with a superior officer was done so only under direct order, it shouldn’t bother him. He forced himself to believe that.

“Well, if you say so. I was wondering, what’s with that black mist that came out of your sword? I wasn’t imagining it, right?”

“You want to know about my sword? Well, actually—”

“Captain Olivia! It’s a fort!”

Olivia was cut off mid-sentence by Gile, who was waving frantically back at them from the front of the group.

“I think it’s the one we’re looking for,” said another recruit from beside him, pointing at his map. They saw a stone tower covered in vines that was in an obvious state of disrepair, even from this distance. Clearly a long time had passed since it had been abandoned.

“We’re here? Finally!” said Olivia. She raised her fist in the air and cried, “Right, team, off we go!” Then she set off running towards the fort without even a hint of caution.

No straight answer on the sword, in the end... thought Ashton. Oh well. I guess I’ll have time later.

The other recruits scrambled to follow her, and Ashton, watching them all from behind, started running.

“Hey! Hey, Olivia!” he yelled. “Are you seriously just going to run in there?”

“Captain Olivia, ser!” Gile called out too. “This is reckless! Far too reckless! Please, ser, come back!”

Olivia only giggled at the boys’ pleas for caution.

“This’ll be no problem! Let’s go!”

She strode out right in front of the fort, leaving Ashton and the others no choice but to follow her, watching their surroundings nervously.

“Wow, what a mess.”

Now that they were up close to the fort, its miserable state was brought into sharp relief. The walls had crumbled, leaving massive chunks of stone scattered around the fort’s base. Even the relatively intact parts looked like they might collapse, given a good push. Ashton couldn’t help but feel skeptical that this ruin would be of any help in the war.

“It’s oddly quiet for a bandit stronghold, don’t you think?” said Gile as he peered anxiously at the fort entrance. Ashton agreed with him. Olivia ignored the question; instead, she turned to the recruit next to her and said, “I’m just going to borrow this,” before she snatched his spear right out of his hands.

“Hey!” protested the bewildered recruit, but Olivia was already done with him. She held the spear ready, then hurled it at a patch of bushes across from them. The spear rumbled like a roaring beast as it crashed into the bushes.

“Nghhh!”

They heard a noise like a frog being trod on. It was a human voice. Ashton and Gile glanced at each other.

“...Did you just hear that?”

“You too, Gile? It wasn’t my imagination then.”

With a nod to one another, they and the other recruits tiptoed over to the bush where the voice had come from. Pushing aside the undergrowth revealed a man lying on his back, his face in utter ruin. Brain matter and blood the man had vomited up was splattered across the ground, and the spear’s blade was embedded deep in the trunk of a tree behind him.

No one needed any help imagining how he’d died.

“Hah, bull’s-eye!” cheered Olivia, appearing beside them and looking pleased as she examined the man on the ground.

“O-Olivia... Is that...?”

“Hmmm, yeah. I wonder. He kept poking his head out to spy on us, so he’s probably a bandit, right? Looks more like a rat to me, though,” Olivia laughed. For a moment, the pale-faced recruits just looked at each other, before they scrambled to raise their spears. Ashton and Gile followed suit, casting their eyes around. Just then, a man wielding a pike stepped out of the shadow of the fort.

“Well, well, I’m impressed. Which one of you spotted him?” he said, an appraising look in his eyes. Then he saw Olivia, and stopped.

“I suppose it was you, then. You don’t carry yourself like your friends here. You’re in charge of this little band, girl?”

“That’s right!” she said, waving cheerily. “Nice to meet you, I’m Olivia.” The man’s mouth twisted in a smile, and he waved back.

“Such charming manners! I’m much obliged. The name’s Wolfe. Now just so we’re on the same page, you mind telling me what your business is here?”

Wolfe clicked his fingers casually, and in answer bandits began to pour from the entrance to the fort. There were around forty in total, and they smirked over at the recruits, holding their weapons with practiced ease. None of them looked like they’d think twice about killing a man. The recruits were trembling so badly their teeth audibly chattered, but Olivia stood perfectly still and replied,

“We’re here to take the fort back. I know it’s a bit weird, seeing as we abandoned it. But that’s work for you, I guess!”

“Not a girl to mince words, are you? Well, in that case, I don’t suppose you’d mind turning around and skipping on home? I don’t fancy cleaning up that many bodies,” Wolfe said with a shrug.

“We’re the ones who clean them up,” protested one of the bandits beside him. As the bandits continued this morbid exchange, Olivia turned to the recruits.

“Wait, you know I don’t clean up either, right? I hate cleaning. You guys don’t mind doing it, right?” she said. The recruits looked slightly ill, but they all nodded, Ashton and Gile included.

The smile vanished from Wolfe’s face, and a dangerous glint came into his eyes.

“Just for my own peace of mind, you wouldn’t happen to be talking about cleaning us up, would you?”

“I mean, yeah, wasn’t that obvious? Are my words not getting through?” said Olivia, in what anyone would have understood as an obvious provocation. The bandits immediately pointed their weapons at her, their eyes flashing, but Wolfe raised a hand to keep them back. He began to twirl his pike in one hand, effortlessly but with enough speed to make the air pulse and blow the grass over in a rush of the breeze.

“Are you brave or just plain stupid, girl?” he asked. “No one who talked to me like that ever lived to tell the tale, you know.”

“I guess I’ll be the first!” said Olivia, but the words had barely left her mouth when Wolfe surged forward to attack. Ashton was sure the fierce assault had caught her unawares. But just before the tip of the pike reached her heart, Olivia twisted ever so slightly and evaded, then, keeping the pike under her arm, slid down its length until she was nose to nose with Wolfe.

“Th-The hell are—!” cried Wolfe. He tried to extricate the pike from Olivia’s arm, but it didn’t budge.

“Pikes are handy for keeping your opponent at a distance, but you can’t do much at this close a range. A sword really is the best choice,” said Olivia, drawing the tip of her blade flush against Wolfe’s throat. The man’s spirit seemed to crumple, and he dropped the pike.

“O-Okay! Okay! We surrender! We’ll leave!”

“No can do, sorry. Colonel Otto doesn’t want your heads, but we’ve still got orders to kill you all,” said Olivia and, ignoring Wolfe’s pleas for mercy, she thrust the ebony blade up through the man’s skull. Blood spurted out, painting the ground in a swathe of deep crimson, and Wolfe’s body spasmed as the life faded from his eyes. It was over so quickly, it practically felt anticlimactic.

Olivia shoved Wolfe aside like a toy she’d lost interest in and turned to the other bandits, who stared at her in slack-jawed amazement. Her sword glinted bright in the sunlight.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!!! Why?! How could this happen?!” the man howled, pounding his fist on the ground. The screams and bellows from before had stopped, and now all he could hear was his own ragged breathing.

When he’d heard from his comrades that the royal army was advancing on the fort, he’d actually jumped for joy. Here was the chance he’d been waiting for to try out the edge on his new sword! He’d taken a peek, and they’d been nothing like the last force that had come to attack them. They all looked like they’d sing a pretty tune at the end of his blade.

“Damn it all! This wasn’t... We were supposed to...” He’d imagined himself, strong and manly, cutting down the pathetic royal soldiers, then drinking and laughing with his comrades before a mound of corpses.

That was how today was supposed to have gone. And yet—

“Are you done playing hide-and-seek?” said the girl, splashing through the blood that pooled on the ground as she walked towards him. A sinister, jet-black mist enveloped the bloodstained blade she wielded.

“N-No! Please!” he panted. “Don’t kill me! No, don’t!” His desperate pleas rang out as he yelled as loud as he could. He had no energy left to flee. He was going to meet his end, helpless and pathetic, slumped against a tree. His sword had been bent out of shape and would no longer do him any good. The cloying stench of blood didn’t even bother him anymore.

Are all the others...? He looked around him, but none of his comrades had survived, every last one reduced to silent corpses strewn across the ground. The one who had done it, the silver-haired girl, was like death given human form. She was a god of death.

For the first time in his life, the man found himself praying to Strecia.

Please, I don’t need money! I won’t rape anyone anymore, o-or murder them! So please, please save me from that god of death!

Her voice cut through his fervent entreaties like a death knell.

“But won’t you be lonely all by yourself?”

“Not in the slightest! I’ll do my best to live for all of my comrades!”

“Hmm. There’s nothing I can do about it, though. Colonel Otto did say to kill all the bandits. And look, this human’s saying he’s lonely—he’s crying.”

The girl impaled a nearby head on the tip of her blade, before tossing it over to the man. It flew in a graceful arc to land right in front of him. He recoiled. It belonged to his friend Dennis. Even in death, Dennis’ eyes were full of fear, blood and tears streaking down his cheeks. The man gibbered in horror.

“See? So that’s why,” said the girl. She smiled, and slowly raised her ebony blade. The man blinked, wondering if fear had made him hallucinate. Instead of a sword, he thought he saw a great scythe—

Olivia sent one of the recruits back to report that they’d secured the fort, then moved on to her platoon’s next assignment. They had to hold the fort until the new garrison arrived. It was only a formality, though. In reality, there wasn’t anything for them to do. With all the bandits dead, there was no chance of an attack coming in the near future. At most, they just needed to bury the bandits’ bodies so that no wild beasts came sniffing around. Olivia, true to her word, didn’t lift a finger to help.

With this sudden surplus of free time, Olivia started taking the recruits out hunting and fishing, leaving at dawn and returning as it got dark. She also ran training drills with them. Those carefree days were, for all of them, an all-too-fleeting spell of peace.

Under a clear sky full of stars, the recruits sat gathered around a fire, talking animatedly about Olivia.

“She’s like, too powerful, don’t you think?”

“Right? I mean stabbing a unicorn to death was one thing, but then killing forty bandits all by herself? No one can do that.”

“No one back at Galia Fortress will ever believe this...”

All the recruits nodded in agreement.

“Us, on the other hand...”

“Oi! We said we wouldn’t talk about that... It’ll just be depressing.”

They all slumped. Forget providing backup—while Olivia had cut down bandit after bandit, the recruits had been unable to do anything but watch and tremble with fear. A few of them had even wet themselves, they’d been so terrified. No one had laughed at them, though. They knew all too well that they could have easily done the same. It had taken a real toll on their masculine pride.

The fire gave a loud crackle in the dark of the night, and like this had been a signal, a morose-looking recruit said, “It’s depressing, no mistake. But that’s why we asked the captain to train us up, right? So that we can fight properly next time.”

“Right. Right, yeah. Next time we’ll be ready,” said another, raising a clenched fist in determination. But several of the other recruits seemed less sure.

“Do you really think the captain’s training will help, though?” said one.

“I dunno...” said another. “Honestly, I thought we’d be learning how to use swords and spears, not...”

“I can’t see the point of any of the stuff we’re doing at all,” added a third.

All the recruits looked troubled.

Olivia’s training routine was extremely straightforward. They broke up into pairs, with one person as attacker and one as defender. The attacker had a wooden sword and was only allowed to attack, while the defender staved them off with a wooden shield. When time was up, they swapped roles, and repeated. Unlike back at Galia, she didn’t teach them how to hold their weapons, or have them swing their swords and spears at straw training dummies. Their current training might have looked good on paper, but practically speaking it was little different to children playing at being storybook heroes.

“What was it she said? About closely observing your opponent. Like, is that really going to make us better fighters? Not that I’m doubting! It’s just... You know?”

Olivia’s advice to the recruits usually went something like, “Look, see, observe!” or “Points to lines! Lines to circles!” The recruits never had any idea what she was talking about. They’d asked her for simpler explanations, but all she’d said was that the most important thing was to observe your opponent.

“I guess it’s too early to say for sure, but I can’t see it,” one of the recruits said after a bit of consideration.

“We just have to believe in her, though, right? If that’s what Captain Olivia—if that’s what our valkyrie says.”

The recruits all looked over at the valkyrie in question. She was happily tearing into a whole roast bird, while Gile frantically plucked another beside her. Ashton had yet another, smearing some kind of sauce onto it.

“...You’re right. The captain saved our lives. Besides, we’re the ones who asked her to teach us. It’d be disrespectful of us to doubt her.”

“Yeah, any other captain and we’d have been toast.”

“Uh-huh. Okay then! A toast to our captain—to the valkyrie!”

“To the valkyrie!” the recruits echoed, raising their cups and grinning.