Contract; Goodbyes

"Here you are, Kira. The contract of an Auxilia for the Corps of the Beast. Read it over well, and give me your answer soon. We plan to depart before the sun reaches its zenith."

Placing a few sheets of paper down in front of me, the Animus Warden nodded and walked away, joining their comrades and leaving me on my own inside the Supply Depot, quartered off for my privacy even though both Paci and Alessia were waiting at one of the tables, doing some maintenance on their gear.

I took a glance at them before picking up the papers, admiring the thick parchments and gilded borders that signified the official, important documents that would have a large impact on my life going forwards, which made me take a deep breath and focus entirely on the words in front of me as I began to read them over.

The first page was simply going over my job and what was expected of me going forwards if I did accept; an Auxilia of the Ordo Visus was expected to go in and scout certain areas and formulate reports, be it the wilderness or a city.

On top of scouting, I was expected to join with some of the other Ordo's and work alongside them - not beneath them, but specifically alongside them, it made a clear point about that - to help quell rebellions, join in on battles against monsters and people alike, and also to provide guidance for the group I was with and take them from one place to another.

My rate of pay was at a fixed 20 gold on the 15th and 30th of each month, 40 gold total, but that too was specifically mentioned to be my BASE rate of pay, if I did nothing else except train; missions were going to be how I really made any sort of money at all, and that was mentioned within the contract.

I was going to be heading up to a city called Verdanburg where I would find myself joining the headquarters of the Ordo Visus to receive training as well as room and board; a single room for one that had a kitchen, bathroom, living area and a bedroom.

Quite the steal in that regard, since they also mentioned free access to the mess hall where you were given breakfast, lunch, dinner, and access to a bunch of fruits, breads and other goodies as snacks, so I was taken care of for my sleeping area and for my food.

With good pay on top of that, promises of extra pay if I take on contracts, tutoring beneath retired veterans of the Ordo, room and board... additionally, on the last page, I was told that leaving the Ordo was a simple process of handing in any gear they loaned me, paying a small fine, and swearing an oath to not divulge secrets about the Ordo, it seemed like a really good deal.

No fine print anywhere, no unfair rules, no ambiguous language... I was surprised, but considering the guarantee of swearing on a God here, it made sense that there was less legal loopholes and the like floating around; why bother when you can guarantee satisfaction from both parties with a simple oath that bound them?

Of course there was a chance this could be naive of me - likely very naive if the Ordo turned out to be a terrible organization - but after rereading the papers for the fourth time and going over the contents in my mind, I would like to believe that I was relatively 'safe' with this contract, and it was one of mutual benefits.

They got my service, I get their protection, pay, and the ability to hone my skills further; it was a win win for us both, and after going over it one more time - and also dredging up the lore about the Corps of the Beast from the previous game - I found this idea even more agreeable than before and started to sign the contract, finalizing it with a stamp of my bloody thumbprint and making the contract come 'alive'.

The paper shone briefly before returning to its normal state, and I took a deep breath again as I looked down at its surface, praying that this would be the right move; lose a little bit of 'freedom' in that I can't just keep moving around, but instead gain a bunch of benefits in both the short term and long term, so long as I played my cards right.

I wasn't the greatest card player, but I could recognize a good hand when I saw one, and I knew that I currently had a damn good hand; just needed to make sure each of those cards were properly used.

"Well... that was decisive. No additional questions or anything..."

The Animus Warden looked down at me, their armored visage slightly unsettling as they loomed over me, radiating that latent power that I yearned to have for myself.

"There was no need. Everything was straightforwards and self explainable. Besides, whilst it sounds like a lot right now - 200 Gold - to leave the Ordo, it really isn't that much so long as I manage my funds the right way. So there's no need to worry about random what ifs..."

"Very well. We'll be heading out at noon, Kira, for Verdanburg. Gather your things, say your goodbyes... who knows when you'll return to Qingrad."

Taking the papers from me, the Animus Warden returned to their table and looked them over, leaving me by myself again as I stared at the table for a few moments, gathering my thoughts and making sure I was ready... before I got up and walked towards Alessia and Paci, the two Dogkin looking at me with small smiles.

"So you decided to go, huh? Good luck, Kira. Better woman than me; would hate being stuck with menial work like that~!"

Paci got up and gave me a hug, before stepping back and allowing Alessia to hug me too, albeit with some more... intimacy as she placed a kiss on my lips.

"Good luck, Kira. I think you made the right decision. I'll miss you though... but like we said, this never would have been anything more than a fling."

It still hurt to hear, but I nodded and gave Alessia a kiss in return, before whispering "I'll miss you as well, Alessia... Thank you, for everything. Really..."