Chapter 142 - Awkward (1/2)

Blaise didn't know what he was supposed to do about Abby. She was by far the most interesting person he had ever come across. Who else would decide to take home a wild animal with her even after being warned without so much as batting an eyelid?

She wasn't even aware of the effect she had on him. She was sleeping peacefully less than a foot away as he kept watch. Since there were only two of them now, they had to take turns making sure nothing attacked in the night or tried to steal their rations.

He had always found her amusing but hadn't wanted to offend her by laughing. Used to hiding his emotions from others because it was easier not to express his opinion, he managed to hold back every time right up until the lynx incident.

All of the laughter he had been suppressing since they were back in Shibatsu finally exploded out of him. He could tell she was put out by it, which had been exactly why he didn't ever let it out before.

Things became a bit awkward between them after that. It was becoming impossible to bear, especially now that they were alone.

Blaise wanted to properly explain himself but wasn't sure how to. Part of him thought it wouldn't even matter since they only had a few days left together. The other part thought he had to fix things before he left because he did want to see her again.

He had been doing a lot of thinking while on the road about the state of the Kanta military. They didn't have one. Right now there were a few small outposts of knights from Annalaias surrounding their borders in order to enforce the peace treaty between King Franz and Clan Leader Alamar.

Who knew how long that would be in effect? They were an independent nation and couldn't depend on others forever. Especially further down the line when other people were in charge of both countries.

All that time when Abby had been asking questions about the Kanta to the merchants who had been to their settlements Blaise had been listening intently. They had made a lot of advancements in the past few years but protecting their way of life wouldn't be possible forever without a formal military.

The Kanta weren't warriors. Until the purge, they were a small self-sufficient society of miners, bakers, cobblers, and so on made up of a few scattered villages that they would trade between.

Even now when they had expanded their influence by working with outsiders they still didn't have any guards or scouts. All they had were hunters unused to real combat.

Blaise had wondered how to fix this problem. Almost everyone who lived in the Kanta region at this point was a second, third, or even fourth generation refugee. There had to be some of the younger generations who would be willing to be trained as protectors after living in less restrictive societies most of their lives.

The real trick was finding someone able to teach and lead these youngsters so the military could keep growing over time and eventually take over from the borrowed Annalaias knights. He had wondered if it would be possible to create a system similar to the one in Shibatsu.

Of course, that would require more knowledgeable Warriors than him. And far greater numbers to help them get started.