Chapter 10 - Trust

Everyone needs a break every now and then, especially those who suffer under the crushing stress typical of the mercenary profession. I need a break right now, and most importantly, to get the fuck away from the camp. The officer corps are after my throat and I need to tread carefully while planning my next move.

And so, I barge into the local bar of the merchant town that popped up a couple kilometers from the merc company's camp. I've dragged Paul along too. This place is clean, warm, well lighted and lively, unlike the camp or the rest of this entire region as far as I'm concerned. We sit at the bar counter.

"You were soooo eager to buy me a drink. Well, we're here. What are you waiting for?" I taunt him.

"Right. Two beers please." He signals to the bartender.

I pull on my hair and bury my face in my hands. I only have around two weeks left to put a hole in the walls of that stupid Sulostan town. Most of the ground work and intel gathering necessary is done, but no progress has been made with the strike group. Worst of all, everything will be at least ten times harder now because of the damned officers.

"Hey. Are you alright? You seem awfully tense." Paul asks.

He can be painfully perceptive sometimes.

"Nothing... It's just... I almost got killed again." I groan.

"I figured... What happened?"

I tell him that I don't really want to talk about it since the entire point of coming here is for me to relax and calm down. I need to be able to think straight.

Still, he forces me to at least give him a vague explanation of what happened. I do, although I skip some of the details. He listens carefully as I complain and whine.

And then I snap out of it and look him in the eye.

"Wait."

"What now?"

"Paul Crow. Are you trustworthy? Like, actually trustworthy?" I ask in a streak of paranoia.

He is taken back by the sudden question.

"Well, I helped you commit murder a couple days back... for some reason. If I wasn't, I would have ratted you out already.

"You haven't really answered my question, Crow."

"I am. Although you have no way of knowing, haha."

The bartender brings us our drinks and I take a long sip from mine. The beer tastes like absolute dog water as always, but the alcohol content makes up for it.

"What about you? Are you trustworthy?" He speaks.

"Me? Hell no. I'm a 'bad woman' and 'vile'... that's what people have called me most of my life. So, I guess not."

He seems puzzled.

"But the thing is that I owe you, Crow, so I would never do anything that could potentially cause you trouble or harm."

"Really? Like that time you attacked the Sulostan wall despite what I told you and I got wounded because of it?" He says with a lot of sarcasm and a bit of irritation.

"Shut up. You know what I mean. Besides, our partnership has been really beneficial so far..."

"Whatever you say..."

I stare at him as he drinks from his mug. Once again, I can't tell what he's thinking. It pisses me off.

I think for a moment. So far, Paul has saved me from near death situations two times out of mere chance. As I continue to stare at him, it hits me that the gods must have gone out of their way to put him in my life to aid me, as there's no way all of this was a mere coincidence. Have the gods finally favored me? Is Paul's presence a sign of good luck?

I don't know. But I do notice from all the staring that he's decently handsome, even though he can't be bothered to wipe the fucking mud from his equipment from time to time.

Anyhow, even if Paul represents divine intervention or not, it's probably a good idea to get on his good side to keep him around. I still don't get why he has been so kind towards me even though he doesn't really have a reason to do so, so I better start reciprocating that kindness somehow lest he gets sick of me. I don't want to have someone with stealth skills such as his as my enemy.

I call the bartender and order a slice of chocolate cake, which is extremely expensive. I then give it to Paul.

"Take this. Consider it a professional courtesy; a 'thank you' for helping me out all the time."

Paul is genuinely surprised by my gesture.

"Oh! Thank you!"

He hastily devours the cake.

"You know, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I first asked you out for drinks, but ehhh, it works."

"Sure, it does." I speak as I steal a bit of his cake for myself.

"Anyways... We should get to know each other better."

Not this again... Apparently, people strengthen their bonds and blah blah blah when they share things about themselves. This is a good thing, as it means that Paul actually sees me as a friend, but the gods know that I absolutely hate telling people more about myself. I'm just a miserable woman with a long track record of pissing off people because of my, according to them, 'questionable' actions. What is there to tell?

"Uhhh..."

"I've heard somewhere that you were once trained by the Jan Noble House paramilitary academy. Is that true?"

"Y-yeah."

"That's amazing. How did you end up working as a merc then? I figured that life in the noble paramilitary would be a lot better..."

"..."

Paul senses that I'm uncomfortable.

"Uhh... Sorry. Do you not want to talk about that?"

I'm about to tell him to drop the subject, but after a bit of grappling with myself, I decide not to. Paul won't trust me if I don't reveal at least some details about myself... so I make an exception this time.

"No, it's fine... But don't tell anyone or I'll make sure you regret it!"

"Okay, okay! Geez!" He speaks.

I sigh deeply. It's the first time I've told anyone in years.

"Yes, I was in the Jan academy. They took me in because I have exceptional push and hold forces and they wanted people like me to become artillery mages to serve the Jan House... I was only a child, and my parents kept saying that it was a great opportunity for me to receive a prestigious education and learn magic that is unheard of for most of the population... but deep down I knew that they sold me to the Jan House for money. A lot of money."

"But wasn't it? I've heard that most mages from the noble academies have a nice livelihood, a shit ton of prestige and so on.

"Yeah, they do. The Academy itself wasn't bad at all. The thing is that I wasn't able to reap such benefits because I got fucking kicked out."

"...Why?" He asks, intrigued.

I stare at him in the eye.

"No comment."

After that, there's a deafening silence that lasts way too much time for my comfort.

"Well, after that, my parents disowned me and the Jan House imposed a massive debt on them. I've been alone since then."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

I sigh.

"Don't be sorry. I don't need your pity... Well, I wandered around for a bit, but I guess I've been saving money to repay my parent's debt... maybe that way they'll reinstate me into the family. Also, it would be nice to buy a house where I can piss off and die peacefully. It's a cozy little pipe dream I have."

"Mmmm." Paul doesn't know what to say, but he seems empathetic.

"Well... What about you? I hate being the one doing all the talking!"

Paul explains to me that all his family members have died in the war. His father and uncle were mercenaries too, and they perished on the frontlines shortly after the war started. His cousins and siblings did too; some of them joined the Stracian National Army and while others tried to set up their own business and stay away from the war, they were killed when Sulostan warships bombarded his town. His mother and grandparents starved during the siege of Wind Harbor, a small city located in southern Stracia.

"I'm the only remaining member of the Crow family." He says.

I reflect for a moment. It baffles me that Paul is able to tell me all of this without becoming upset because it's nothing short of a tragedy. In Stracian society, family is everything. It must have been extremely tough for him going from having a big, healthy family to being the sole remaining member of his kin.

Now that I think about it, in a way, neither of us have a family.

"Shit. You must have suffered a lot..."

"I'm fine now." He says with a faint smile.

We continue chatting for a bit about ourselves and other mundane stuff. It's actually pretty nice. I don't order more beers even though I would like to because I could be ambushed at any moment, and I need to be alert.

An hour or so passes, and the subject matter of our conversation eventually shifts back to work and the mission

"Hey... Earlier today, you said that you were looking for me. What for?"

"I found a lead that might be useful. Apparently, there have been rumors of the existence of a hidden tunnel that allows the enemy town to resupply using furtive convoys..."

Ah. So that's why the bastards have not starved yet.

"That's interesting. What do you suggest?"

"We should try to find the entrance of the tunnel and ambush the enemy resupply convoy. Maybe to get some practice before the main operation... It'll also put more pressure on the town. We would kill two birds with one stone."

I smash the bar counter with my hands. He is startled.

"That is a GREAT idea." I say as I point my finger at him.

"T-Thanks?"

"We need to hurry up and get the strike group together so we can move out as soon as possible ... I don't want to stick around the camp much longer..."

"Yeah."

I stand up and head to the exit of the bar.

"Ok, come on, let's go!"

"We're doing this right now?!"

"Of course, dumbass! We always do! We don't have much time left."

Paul struggles to catch up with me as I walk.

"But how are we going to actually recruit men for the strike group?! No offense, but you aren't exactly the most charismatic person in Stracia."

"Don't worry, I know a friend that can help us with that... But first, I want to get some new weapons."