Chapter 39: Leo, the Mercenary (2)

Chapter 39: Leo, the Mercenary (2)

It was an hour past dawn yet the situation around the Royal Academy was electrified with tension.

A Field Trip, they say. Half of the Academy already knows what happened half a month ago and some of the students even gained a good grasp over the political situation happening on the big table.

Archduchess Eleanor is angry at the Crowns faction for ruining the chance to reconnect with Leon Dark, especially very angry with the Prince who was surrounded by girls since the morning. And the fact that Alice Godfrey, Eleanor's daughter, and allegedly Leon's fiance, have jumped up a year to be the youngest student in the first year was very clear.

Both mother and daughter seemed willing to oppose the fragile peace held between the Crowns and the Lords of the East but it is Alice herself who is in trouble now.

With Leon gone, the Crowns faction has no proper hostage to keep the East in check. Leon was a member of House Dark, his mother is from House Merlin, and his fiance is from House Godfrey. Basically, these are the three powers of the East and this weakling loser had them at his back combined.

If not for his father being a loyalist to the Crown, which is a dissent allegiance to most of House Dark, Leon wouldn't have become a hostage.

Everyone knows Leon's story. A few understood his purpose but he is this piece that is meant to be kept. As long as Duchess Annabelle Dark has her son a hostage, she will hold the East at bay.

So with Leon gone, the best proper hostage is Alice. She is a Godfrey, should be wed and become a Dark, and is very held in high esteem by the Merlins for her talent.

Not only so; for the past six years, the Archduchess had to keep her daughter away from their enemies and so she sent her around the Eastern Duchies and outside the Kingdom a lot to develop her talents. Aside from the Scholarships, Alice was said to have connections with the outside nations strong enough to overshadow a prince or a minister. The qualities which proved to be more threatening with the constant growth and the limitless talent. She even inherited the talents of her parents so the idea of making her the substitute for Leon was scary for the Eastern Lords and advantageous for the Crowns.

But that girl is a true Wild Card. The polar opposite of Leon altogether.

A Silver-haired blaze dancing and consuming the brazier that is meant to hold her were the only words to say about her. Aggressive to the extreme, bold beyond the limits of rudeness, and not an exemplary hostage by all means. On the first day in school, it is said that she walked to her cousin, Prince Edward and gave him a blue eye when he tried talking to her. She even confronted many of those faces who used to bother Leon and redefined the definition of a Bully for them.

In other words, this girl was starting to become the new bad guy of the show or as some people liked to call it, the Villainess.

"On my part, I would call my daughter something different a bit more accurate to say the least." Eleanor said while sipping tea.

"And that would be?" Erielle asked while sipping green tea.

"An Asshole!"

"Pffft!" nove(l)bi(n.)com

Erielle didn't hold it in at all as she laughed with the tea in her mouth causing a small spray before putting down her cup and using a hand towel to clean her mess.

"What? You don't believe me? Half of the tantrum she threw around that day was on me. You think I have sleep problems because I am worried or anything? That girl gives me a piece of her mind right on every meal." Eleanor kept complaining as her hands were waving violently, "I am the mother, I am the one supposed to be nagging my child, not the other way around."

"Stop it, Eli." She said in an attempt to comfort her friends, "And doesn't she remind you of someone?"

"Hm? Who? Anna?"

"What how can you even say that?" Erielle felt offended, "She was the nice one, you were the evil one."

"Excuse me?!" Eleanor felt wronged right away making it show on her face.

"It's only fair that a daughter follows the example of her mother." Erielle continued.

"Hah!" Eleanor snorted with dissatisfaction as she rejected the narrative of Erielle all together, "Speaking of fair, did you take care of the communications?"

"Changing the subject, are we?" Erielle asked but Eleanor didn't flench, "I managed to reach my son last night, he said Lance and Lara have departed from the Dark Duchy on their way to the capital."

"The two of them?" Eleanor reacted, "These two are not the best to put down fires. They may actually cause trouble."

"That's what they want. If they cause trouble here, this will give us a better chance to keep the other side in check and smuggle Leon out." Erielle explained.

"Right and the boy will be coming to the Hall this morning, right?"

"He should be. With his identity and face that may be exposed, going out on a large scale mission like this is his best way to leave the Capital without another murder spree. Vadim will be on the lookout for him and once you start moving with the students, the plan will start happening in order." Erielle said.

"Alright." Eleanor nodded, "I trust you to keep an eye on Leon. Be mindful and careful and don't let him get spooked. Make sure that he does not start escaping the capital the moments he sets his foot out and also don't let him come into contact with the students."

"That's a lot of work for one person, you know?" Erielle complained.

"I am sure you are capable enough. If not, Vadim will always support you or whatever he does."

The last words were said by Eleanor with a bit of dejectedness. Erielle could easily tell from them that since the last exchange between Vadim and Eleanor, the two won't be talking for at least a while as they always do.

"You will have a window of a few minutes to take Alice away from the sight of those predators." Erielle nodded as she stood up to leave, "Deliver Alice my love."

"Yeah, yeah, you two Assholes mix really well."

***

He was as buff as Titus and around his 40s, he even wore exactly as a mercenary would do and had more extra armors on the side with a long shield standing out between his gear.

Fantasy shattered!

Leon took a while to absorb the fact that those skinny guys with small physique and cloth armors from every fantasy he grew up to see are by now ways as cool as this fellow. Like this guy can be mistaken for a tank and he's a Mage. It makes sense why a mage would train his physique as well to be more effective in combat and wear some serious armor for actual protection.

"A Mage?" Rather than a rude dumb face, Leon put on a smile, "I have an affinity to Earth but I found no proper teacher at all."

"Affinity to Earth?" Almost the rest of the group were surprised.

"That's great news." Edrick replied, "I am an Earth Caster myself. What can you do with Earth?"

"Make sand fly into my opponent's eyes, make them trip by sinking their feet, disguise traps, and I can launch an attack if given enough time to prepare." Leon said.

He didn't reveal his ability for two reasons. First, to be able to freely use it; second, by undermining his ability, he can't get more than his share of the work.

"That's Roguish." One of the two other two men said.

"Impressive nonetheless. I'll advise you along the way but if you need actual training, show me something that clinks and shines." Edrick said.

"Noted."

"For the end of the introduction, this boy here is Huxley, a flank fighter and our pair of eyes." Titus pointed at the youngest of the group who seemed still older than Leon. The two greeted the other with a nod.

"And the one who brought you here is Cenric, Edrick's brother and the other flank man. He's the one who knows the stuff about cooking and surviving in the woods." Titus pointed at the one behind Leon.

Titus, a Spear and Shield Sentinel rearguard with the best armor and the defense. He takes the role of the leader.

Edrick, an Earth Mage vanguard with a large shield, spear, sword, and most certainly a magic trick or two. He takes the role of the main offense and frontals defense as well as the navigator.

Cenric, a left flank Spear Warrior with a large build carrying the heaviest load yet still the most perfect flank armed with not only a spear but a heavy crossbow with a fast-loading mechanism.

Huxley, a right flank Spear Warrior and Leon's partner in this flank being the lightest of the group and a user of a short bow as well as the scout and the runner.

Finally, Leon; a right flanker Spear Rogue with a short sword as a sidearm and a short bow with the potential to lay traps and fight dirty even with something as common as Earth Magic.

"The last call out for company management spells, any company that is not linked won't find another chance after this."

And that call was heard from the direction of the Mercenary Hall building.

Leon furrowed his brows but Titus patted his shoulder signaling him to follow. A few Hall Clerks stood on the side stairway taking request forms from the Mercenaries and leading them to a series of Mages standing on the top of the stairs.

As Leon presented the paper of him being an F-Rank, he was to a mage wearing a dark leather coat and an old round hat.

"A Silver." The Mage said.

"Alrig" Leon was about to fish out a coin but a tall shadow covered him and from the direction of the east.

"Take a break, Sigeberht." And a voice spoke.

Looking towards it, Leon was surprised to see this beautiful woman approach and smile towards him.

As a Hardcore Virgin, he followed the ultimate rule of never falling for a woman's smile as 200% of the time, she has something up her mind and nothing scares him more than losing his good old virginity.

She was that Elven lady from the day he registered in the guild, Erielle was her name.

"A Soul Link spell I assume?"

She said as a flare of arcane energy lit on her hand.

"Yes, Madam. Between me and the boy, please." Titus said while patting Leon's back.

Meanwhile, both Leon and Erielle suddenly reacted to something else. Both of them looked at each other in the eye all of a sudden.

It was not a look of realization but rather as if they scared one another right away.

With "Read", Leon understood that the spell which she evoked just now was [Mysticism Magic - Soul Mark], the same spell which was put on him that day.

On the other hand, Erielle didn't know how but it was as if Leon had invaded her Magic with his senses and caused a very uncomfortable feeling when her spell was fully seen through.

Both of them realized one thing about the other that day.