Veni, Vidi, Edi 5 (1/2)

There was a sharp knock on the door to Silus Underwood’s office. The man himself had already been hard at work going through and organizing the information from the stack of reports on his desk, despite it barely even being dawn.

“Enter,” he called out while scribbling on the document in front of him.

The door swung open and the newly-appointed junior officer walked in while announcing her presence with a salute.

“Decanus Keira Morgana, reporting as instructed, sir!”

It was an all too-chipper voice that seemed to sweep away the stale atmosphere of the messy office and make it the slightest bit more jovial. Her upturned eyes, smiling lips and gently swaying tail gave off the impression of one that had obtained true happiness in the world. It was as if the sight of that frightened girl who didn’t want to admit to being sexually assaulted a few days ago was all but a lie.

“Ah yes, please have a seat, Decanus. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

The beastkin did as instructed and seated herself in the chair on the opposite end of the desk. Silus continued writing on the document - an estimate of the casualties should the Empire’s plans to siege Fort Yimin come to fruition - but his mind was elsewhere. He was stealthily appraising and observing the catgirl out of the corner of his eye.

Even though her behavior seemed odd and out of place at first glance, prior conversations with those close to her revealed it was actually the norm for her. Her mood supposedly swayed back and forth like a pendulum, to the point where one could call her volatile or unstable. Yet out in the field she displayed a surprisingly serious and reliable demeanor, as if she were a completely different person. Well, many adventurers were like that, but near-total lack of animosity in her was noteworthy.

In fact, the only time she showed any genuine hostility was whenever the topic of the Empire’s military came up. She seemed to hold some sort of grudge towards them, but it was important to note this was limited only to the soldiers themselves. She had no issue communicating or working with any of the human adventurers that sided with the Republic, which spoke favorably of her character in Underwood’s personal opinion. Indiscriminately hating the many because of the actions of the few was the sort of thing that fanned the flames of this damned war to begin with.

As for the girl’s character, Silus was able to reach the painfully obvious conclusion that she was too easy to read. She didn’t even try to hide her feelings and let her thoughts float onto her face without any hesitation. There was already somewhat of a rumor within the barracks how bad of a gambler she was because of that. Her bluffing skills were so bad that the other soldiers genuinely felt bad for indiscriminately winning her wages off her. It was at the point where it could easily be called bullying.

Long story short, her currently fluffy state of mind was most likely due to a very specific reason.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” said Silus after putting away the report he was working on.

“Hm? Ah! Yes, uhm, that is- I just got a letter from home, you see.”

“Good news, I trust?”

“Hehehe, that’s one way to put it!” she declared with a goofy grin.

The letter in question was from an individual called Rowana Slyth. It had actually arrived yesterday, but circumstances being what they were, Underwood used his authority to delay its delivery in order to read it for himself. The colorful language made it clear that she and Keira were more than just ‘roommates,’ and honestly made the elf more than a little uncomfortable. Digging into another’s personal life like that was a necessary evil in his line of work.

Still, the fact she was in a romantic relationship made it quite clear why she was so hesitant to speak of what transpired two nights ago. She was probably trying her best to purge the unpleasant memories from her mind. Well, that was possible in the literal sense with the help of a Psionic, but that was a rather extreme measure. Whether or not she actually visited those mental specialists Underwood mentioned during her debriefing was up to her. Even if he sympathized with her, however, he had more important things to worry about than her mental well-being.

“Now then, I must discuss a very sensitive matter with you. What I’m about to tell you is strictly on a need-to-know basis and is to remain a secret, understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

Keira’s giddy atmosphere was replaced with a more serious one as she saluted while puffing out her chest. The eye-catching Golden Crescent pinned to her uniform glinted in response to the slight movement. It was a relatively common award given out to distinguished individuals and was ultimately nothing more than a fancy trinket, but the fact she wore it with pride proved it was not a meaningless gesture.

“What do you make of this, Decanus?”

Silus reached into a desk drawer and took out the invoice that had been delivered to him several hours before the catgirl’s triumphant return. He passed it onto her, and she began reading it immediately. Her expression went from surprised, to curious, to grim, then downright shocked as she scanned it top-to-bottom.

“This… Uhm… Is this a prank?” she asked with an incredulous voice.

“I said this was a serious matter, did I not?”

“Ah, yes sir! Sorry, sir!”

Well, her first reaction was more or less the same as everyone else who saw that ridiculous scrap of paper, so Silus couldn’t really fault her for those words.

“But still, a prank? What makes you say that?”

“Well, even if you ask me that… I don’t even know where to start!”

“Then start at the first thing that caught your attention.”

“Yes, sir. Uhm, it feels weird for the Sandman to ask for money. Isn’t he an ally of justice?”

“You know that would technically make him our enemy, right?”

“Eh?”

“The Empire claims Teresa herself is on their side, you know.”

“Oh, right.”

Even if Teresa’s devoted most certainly took part in the war, whether the Goddess of truth, justice and retribution personally supported it was another question entirely. Mere mortals could not hope to comprehend the wills of the Gods. Besides, the concept of ‘justice’ was entirely reliant on one’s perceptions and preconceptions. Silus was not a man who could trust in something vague and fallible like that.

“To be frank, I’d be far more relaxed if this invoice was the real deal,” he admitted. “A motivation of wanting to make money is something I find easier to believe in than altruism.”

Of course one needed to be wary of loyalty that had been bought with coin. That wasn’t to say mercenaries and sellswords were untrustworthy, though. It all depended on how professional they were, and whether or not they abandoned their contracts whenever it suited them. This was also the kind of logic that the pragmatic Boxxy was expecting the elves’ higher-ups to display. However, Keira was supposed to be a young, idealistic girl. Therefore, it made sure to show a troubled and uncomfortable expression at the elf’s words.

“So then… this is the assignment you mentioned, sir?”

“That’s right. Although I do wonder why he singled you out.”

The reason the Mimic named itself as the courier was so that it would know in advance what sort of funny business the elves would try to pull during the hand-off. It was also a question of whether they would pay up willingly, but then it would just take what it was ‘owed’ through brute force, and the stingy elves would only have themselves to blame. Besides, even if they were short on military personnel, it wasn’t like the Republic’s coffers were light. It was quite sure they’d be able to dredge up the funds even with the short notice. As for the officer’s question-

“Maybe he feels I won’t betray him?” offered Keira.

“And what makes you say that?”

“I do owe him my life, sir. Twice, actually.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

It was also not really a question as to how or why she caught the Sandman’s eye. Not only did the two meet practically face-to-face, but it also went without saying that she stood out entirely too much. She was the only beastkin in the 3rd Legion, and her fiery-red hair, ears and tail practically demanded one’s attention. Even the opposing force had no trouble singling her out after her capture. Her ability and potential were also outstanding, as evidenced not only by her results, but by how Faehorn himself gave her special, almost preferential treatment. And the last few days had more or less convinced Underwood her motivations to fend off the Empire’s invasion was no less genuine than his own.

It was her loyalty to the Republic itself that was still in question.

“What if I were to order you to betray him, though?”

“...”

Her face once again became deeply troubled, showing she was unsure as to what to answer. As expected, she was conflicted. Although Silus was curious whether her gratitude towards her savior or her duty towards her country was stronger, this was not the time for such pointless tests.

“Well, in the end I won’t be doing that. No offense, but it’s not like I expect an adventurer like you to follow a troublesome order like that so easily.”

“Err, thank you?”

“In any event, get your gear and get ready to depart within the hour.”

“So we’re actually going to hand over this much money? Just like that?!”

8,715 GP was quite literally a fortune. It was the sort of lump sum that could potentially set one up for life, or at the very least allow them to retire.

“Believe it or not, his rates are actually very generous. Waging war is rather expensive, you know,” said Silus with a dry chuckle. “Besides, it is my personal and official opinion we want to establish good relations with this entity, which is why we’ll even be giving him a little gift.”

“Understood, sir. Still, I feel uneasy carrying that much money by myself…”

“Who said you’re going by yourself?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing in the invoice said you had to go out there alone, right? That’s why I’m sending you along with an armed escort, as well as one of the High Elves as insurance. Just in case this is some scam or trap.”

Boxxy mentally cursed its lack of foresight. This would complicate things, but it wasn’t like it would be impossible to deceive them.

“Understood, sir.”

“Very good. Now, do you have any questions?”

“Just one. What is this boxing tax supposed to be? Is this a thing that exists?”

Of course the Mimic knew the answer. While the ‘reasonable rates’ were something it discussed with Snack, the ‘boxing tax’ was something Kora suggested. Although she probably meant it as a bad joke, Boxxy liked the sound of it and added it anyway. However, it would be un-Keira-like if it didn’t ask about things like this. Besides, it was genuinely curious as to how the elves would interpret it.

“I suppose that’s the shipping and handling charge,” said Underwood with a humorless smile.

“Shipping and handling, sir?”

“The invoice was delivered in a wooden box, you know. Along with the enemy commander’s head.”

“I see…”

It would seem Claws did something unnecessary when she was dropping it off. Where and how did she even find a box in the first place?

“Anything else?”

“No, sir.”

“Good. Then you have your orders. Dismissed, Decanus.”

“Yes, sir!”

Keira stood up with a salute and exited the office while Underwood went back to his duties. Half an hour later she was fully geared up and went to meet up with her armed escort - a platoon made up of 50 of the garrison’s professional soldiers. One could easily tell them apart from the conscripted adventurers due to their gear. Although each individual wore something befitting their Job - light chainmail and padded armor for the scouts, thick cloaks and robes for the magic users and metal-plated armor for the vanguards - they all had a uniform feel to it. Mostly due to the predominantly silver-like color of their equipment and the eagle-wing-themed decorations and engravings along their shoulders and headgear.

And among them was the High Elf that Underwood mentioned - someone that had reached Level 100 of her Job and Ranked Up from a regular elf into a higher variant. She was an old elf, much like the various guild instructors, except that her face was still beautiful, elegant and smooth with very few wrinkles. She had pure white skin that contrasted with her long, raven-black hair and eyes, as well as her luxurious black robe. Strictly speaking, her garment seemed more like an evening gown than an adventurer’s attire. It looked as if someone had cut out diamond-shaped holes out of the fabric, exposing her navel, collarbone, shoulders, the sides of her thighs and her upper back to the world. Well, it was a high-class magic item without a doubt, but it was obvious this woman put too much stock into appearances.

“Greetings, child,” she said with a flourish of her arms. “Know that you are in the presence of Imiryl of the Maleficium! Fret not, for I shall guard your fragile existence without fail! All who seek to stand in my way shall be trampled under my heel!”

Her tone and attitude were condescending, to say the least. It was obvious she was looking down on the beastkin as a lesser creature - a burden she was forced to carry around. The soldiers around her rolled her eyes, suggesting they were already familiar with her prideful behavior.

“Hi! I’m Keira! I’ll be in your care!”

“...”

The woman called Imiryl was stunned silent by the catgirl’s excited-yet-casual tone.

“Wow, so you’re a High Elf like mister Faehorn, huh? I had no idea you’d be this pretty!”

“...”

The elf just stared unblinkingly at Keira, almost as if she was doubting whether she was seeing an illusion or not. What sort of behavior was this? Was this whelp before her unable to grasp greatness when she saw it?

“I mean, between you and me, he’s getting on in years a little, you know? I think his friend Lichter looks much better. Not that he’s my type or anything, but he’s quite handsome, isn’t he?”

“...”

“So I heard you were like, a super famous Wizard, right? Say, can you shoot lightning? I always wanted to see someone shoot lightning!”

“...”