Born From A Divine Gamble

Of course, he hoped he"d see everyone again at some point in the future but one never knew how things would pan out. That"s why he thought it would be for the better if he left them all with everything properly tied up. He did his best to see absolutely everyone in the days it took the others to prepare themselves.

Juniper was the first he went to see because she was the easiest to part with. It wasn"t because he didn"t care for her but because she knew his true ident.i.ty instead and had a joint business with him. Of everyone here aside from Mable, she was the one he was the most certain of meeting again. They wished each other good luck and she promised to send the money she owed him from the gla.s.s sales to Highsteel.

After her, he kept going around to speak to the rest one at a time, teachers and students alike.

He spoke to Frits and Rica who were happy to finally go back home. They were slightly nervous too because getting back home also meant that Frits father might finally agree to their union. In that case, they might be married the next time Emp would see them. He sincerely wished them good luck with that and Rica said she would like to meet with Calla again sometimes. Emp thought that Calla would probably like that, in particular, if she had to move around more n.o.bles in the future, she"d be happy to have someone like her nearby.

He met with all the guys who didn"t join up with him for the mission in Greenpeaks and shared a good meal with them before a few handshakes and some warm goodbyes.

Nicolas was the one who"d be in the most trouble from now on because he had to watch over the ever annoying Heida but Emp believed in his ability to survive this hards.h.i.+p.

Nicolas would go back to Windbow where his father would teach him all about their territory and how to care for it so Emp expected him to be more than fine.

Cyril was in high spirit since Aminui told him that he was welcome to pursue his training in Highsteel and spoke to Emp in a very eager tone.

George was almost invisible at first like he usually was but he looked very saddened to part with everyone none the less. In particular, him and Zoran where very emotional and it was obvious that it took all that they had to not show a single tear in front of the other. A few tears wouldn"t have changed anything at that point however because their faces were all scrunched up and their eyes red. He told everyone that he"d go to Grandbois where his family lived but he intended to visit the capital. Or maybe they lived in the capital already, Emp wasn"t sure.

After that, because he didn"t really know how to part properly with Mable, he started by going around the teachers before he went to see the rest of the girls.

The mage Heinrich just told him goodbye flatly as if his presence didn"t matter.

"I"m sorry to have caused you so much trouble for the time I was here." He told the teacher.

The mage turned his head from the paper he was studying and gave Emp a few more words.

"Don"t fret. Life is made up of a succession of trouble. You did make my life a bit difficult but you also provided me valuable information for my research. You were a decent student too so you can leave with my satisfaction. Just remember to keep studying properly or your magic will rust, so to speak. Farewell Emp."

Heinrich was often like that. Those living in this world didn"t seem to have much of an effect on him. Emp was just glad that he spared him enough attention to say some proper farewell.

After he left him, Emp went to see all the more physical teachers, Sieghard, Winfred, Sofenne and Hadley. Sieghard still felt that the way he used a bow was cheating but aside from that, the other teachers seemed to have a good opinion of him. They all said he had been a good student and believed that he would still go far after he left. They urged him to keep working hard and to help the empire strive from then on.

"Just try to control your strength alright? You always go overboard." Winfred the combat teacher told him with a parting handshake.

Sven the economy and management teacher also thought he did well and believed that he"d be fine managing a territory. Muraciers didn"t have a territory per say, only a large fortress, but the teacher didn"t know he was a Muracier and didn"t know Emp intended to take over the empire either. The student had the feeling that if he did, the teacher wouldn"t say he was good enough. Emp wasn"t bad at all in that subject but it was obvious to everyone that his focus stood elsewhere.

Gustave the strategy teacher on the other hand was extremely pleased with how much Emp learned from him. He said with pride that Emp would certainly impress his seniors in command of the armies once he"d join them later in Greenpeaks. Emp could say with certainty that he knew everything Gustave could have taught him now. The only thing remaining to be seen was whether he could apply that knowledge properly or not. Gustave was confident that he could and let Emp leave with a perfect military salute. If Emp was a successful great general, lord Gustave Halfoot would gain quite the fame and prestige as his strategy teacher.

Emp also paid a visit to Glenda, the one who taught them letters and numbers and thanked her sincerely for her work. She had greatly helped him when he didn"t speak the common tongue at all. The old woman was surprised to receive such thanks as she was usually quickly forgotten by the students. In the five to ten years they spent here, they mostly only saw her for a few months and then left her behind as they went on to more substantial subjects. She was quite pleased that at least one student in a few hundred would come back to thank her for her services.

"This is exactly why I work here. What I teach is essential and I know that thanks to it, everyone that sat here went on to do great things afterwards. I just wish there would be more like you who"d come back at the end to express some grat.i.tude. It warms my heart to know that I could help, because I do have a heart despite what the students say when I"m not around." She told him.

Pleased to have satisfied the ego of the old lady, Emp went on to say goodbye to the other old lady of the school and met with Blackbull.

"And so we"re finally done. That"s what I"d like to say but I know that my work is never really done." The morals teacher said before taking a quick sip of her tea.

"What do you mean?" Emp asked in confusion.

"Well, isn"t that obvious? You leaving the school doesn"t mean that you cease existing and the problems you brought to me are far from fixed. Your relations.h.i.+p with young miss Mable will keep giving me many more headaches in the future. Lady Pierail even properly requested my help to ease the whole process. My work is far from done."

"Aglaya asked for your help? Does Mable dislike the Muraciers that much?"

"She does." The old woman answered simply, stating the evidence.

Seeing his troubled face, she sipped some more tea and gave him a few more words.

"Worry not young man, things change, always. I might be working in the dark because I don"t have a clue about what"s happening in Highsteel and Thronewoods but I can also tell that what"s between you and the young lady isn"t a fleeting thing. I can"t influence the big pieces on the board but I can try to move the small ones and sometimes, I can change the board itself. Lady Pierail and I will try our best to help."

"And what do you get in exchange?" Emp asked by curiosity.

She was after all the one who kept saying that everyone always worked for their own interest.

"Well I might be getting old but I do have a house under me and getting you and Mable in my pocket will be highly beneficial for them in the future I hope. Also, your grandfather said he"d send a few knights over in my territory for a thorough cleanup of all the undesirable creatures lying around. I hate teaching them but I love to negotiate with the Muracier, it"s always easy to come to an agreement."

She gave him a mischievous smile and poured herself some more tea to drink.

Emp could only laugh in an embarra.s.sed manner. At least, the old woman was on his side and maybe with her, a good portion of the court in Highsteel. Thanks to her age and reputation, she had a lot of reach even if she was on the lower end of the mid ranked n.o.bles.

As long as Emp didn"t do anything to upset her or the court as a whole, he"d face no strong opposition there. His problem was that he did intend to turn their world upside down at some point and then Blackbull might not smile so sincerely again.

"You"re hiding something, it"s written all over your face." She said with a sigh. "I wish you"d learn to control your face already."

"I don"t think it will happen, also, that"s what Mable likes about me."

The old woman chuckled and wished him luck in his campaign.

"Remember to stay dignified. Even in defeat, a true lord should look unfazed and confident. Only this way can you turn crus.h.i.+ng defeat into a glancing blow. This isn"t a military secret, that"s just how the heart of man goes."

In return, Emp wished for her to remain healthy and properly thanked her for all that she taught him and all the efforts she placed in him.

With that done, only a few girls in cla.s.s remained for him to see.

He first got Gervaise and Heida out of the way. They said goodbye and farewell respectively but their faces said "finally" and "good riddance" instead. They had been frustrated with how he treated Celtine for all those years and were glad to see him gone at last. Emp didn"t mind too much because he couldn"t stand them either and so left things at that.

He then went to say farewell to Josseline who was in a frenzied state. She had not found a husband for herself yet and seemed worried.

"I"m going to be old before I find anyone! This is terrible. Mable and Rica are so lucky to already know who they want, I wish I was like that too."

"What do I have to do with all of that?"

Emp simply didn"t understand why she was telling him all that.

"Zoran said he"d keep me informed of who got their first blood and who was worth marrying. He"s even going to tell me all about the soldiers and the commanders but he isn"t... resilient. So you have to keep him safe alright? I trust Zoran with being my eyes but not to stay safe by himself."

Emp almost laughed but managed to hold back and promised to keep an eye on the meek Zoran. Knowing her, she would ask the same of everyone and then once they"d come back she"d call them all her heroes for protecting Zoran properly.

Things were always like that with her, one could never know after who she running.

Emp soon left her to go say goodbye to Penny instead. That one looked more saddened to loose her source of income than to say goodbye to Emp himself.

Over the last few years, Emp had bought a whole lot of magical instruments and tools made by her because he wanted to have a good reserve of them for later. Because of that, he ended up financing all of her research and work all this time. He bought absolutely everything she made that wasn"t for herself.

This arrangement was beneficial to the both of them but after Emp left, she would have to find a new way to make some money.

"What will you do after school then?" Emp asked her by curiosity.

"I"d like to stay the full ten years to get the most out of Heinrich and then go to Thronewoods and try to get into the elder circle as soon as possible. That way I"ll be able to focus on my studies"

He should have expected this. He wished her good luck in her studies and goals before leaving to see the next person.

He only had four left to see. He wanted to keep Mable for last and he expected Nessa and Aglaya to be with her so he looked for Brenia first. He found her training in the yard just as usual, swinging her ma.s.sive axe around to spend her energy and practising the techniques Aminui showed her.

He walked up to her but she ignored him and kept swinging her weapon. He waited for a moment but since she didn"t look like she would acknowledge his presence any time soon, he decided to speak first.

"Are you angry?"

"Angry? Why would I be angry?" She answered sharply.

Even he could tell that she clearly was. He rephrased his question.

"You sound angry. Just tell me why."

She pushed out a loud frustrated sigh and then rammed her axe into the ground to lean on it and rest her elbows on top.

"Look Emp, I get that you"re really dense but it should be obvious why I"m upset. Do I really have to spell it out for you? If you can"t even figure that out then there"s no point to even talk with you. Just say your farewells and get it over with."

Emp furrowed his brows trying to figure out what she meant. Wasn"t she the one who threatened to beat them all up if they forgot to say goodbye? Why didn"t she want to talk now?

He might have gotten a lot better at understanding emotions and others over the last few years but sometimes, there were still things escaping him. He would have preferred if she just told him what was wrong straight instead of having him guess it.

"You"re angry because we"re all going to Greenpeaks instead of going hunting with you." That much he could understand but what he couldn"t figure out was why it made her so angry.

"Yes but you clearly still don"t get it." She said with a frown.

"You"re right, I don"t. We"re not doing it to upset you, we just don"t have the time to go hunting."

"You would if you didn"t go waste your time in Greenpeaks following the orders of some guy you"ve never met."

"We"re not wasting our time, Greenpeaks needs out help."

"What they need is food! All you"ll end up doing is escorting supplies along roads and watch the gra.s.s grow for years! What a thrilling work." She said with disdain.

"Well, someone still needs to do it. It"s not because its not as impressive as killing a woodland horror that its not as valuable. If everyone thought like you, that whole kingdom would starve."

"But its already starving! Don"t you get it? You"re being blinded! This isn"t about Greenpeaks, clearly there aren"t any n.o.bles that care about that. They can"t really help and they know it so they"re just content to watch it all collapse from outside.

This isn"t about Greenpeaks at all, this is about the internal struggle in the Muracier house. You"re all being used for something that has nothing to do with you at all. The guy just wants to tussle with his uncle but he"s too weak to fight him head on so he decided to hide in Greenpeaks."

That felt like a hard blow to him but not for the reasons Brenia thought. He just got called weak and got told he didn"t really care for Greenpeaks at all. She was wrong but he couldn"t defend himself properly without revealing his name. Seeing it was effective, she pressed on in her offensive.

"A weak guy like that isn"t worth following, it"s obvious he"s already lost and you"re better than that. You"re being the hero again instead of the warrior, fighting against something you can"t defeat. Don"t waste your time with that and do something truly helpful instead."

Now Emp was getting a bit upset too.

"Something more helpful? How is hunting random monsters helpful in any way? Now you"re the one that"s not getting it. You"re free to do as you please but that doesn"t mean we"re all the same. If you paid a bit more attention in cla.s.s you"d understand that most of us n.o.bles can"t just ditch everything to go hunting. Our houses expect for us to do things.

Do you really think Ivar and Zoran want to join the army and move all the way to the other side of the empire? They don"t have a choice but now, instead of getting scattered everywhere, they get to stay in a team to fight. Most of them don"t even have their first kills yet, they aren"t even considered adults but everyone is acting as if they already were.

Greenpeaks is exactly what they need. A place calm enough to let them get proper experience safely while providing actual help and satisfying all their families. I have responsibilities too you know? I"d like to go hunting around with you but I don"t have the time, I have my own goals too. I"m always getting scolded for not understand the teachings of Blackbull but you"ve clearly not been paying attention either.

I"m not getting tricked like you think I am, I don"t care one bit about Graube either. You know nothing of my motivations and yet you want me to throw it all away just to go hunt some beasts? I can"t. I"ll fight all those that get in my way and I"ll enjoy doing it, true, but I don"t have the time to go out of my way to find them."

"Your motivations? What"s your goal then? Can you tell me? Whatever it is, going to Greenpeaks looks like a giant waste of time to me."

"It"s not a waste of time if it can bring back Celtine"s wings."

That one sentence shocked her mute. She clearly had not expected something like that to come out. All her anger got erased right away to be replaced with utter confusion. She even stopped leaning on her axe and straightened her back to think properly.

Emp decided to wait for her to regain her speech before saying anything else. The point of this whole thing was to part on good terms, not dizzy her and leave her fast.

"How does going there help her restore her wings in any way?" She finally asked after turning his words in her heads many time over.

"The G.o.ddess Life resides there, I only need to find her to fix the wings."

She looked even more confused than before.

"What? But that"s ridiculous. Do you really think you can just walk there and find it like that? If it was that easy, there would be way more blessing holders around."

"Trust me, I have a way to find it. Also, I do have a blessing already, you should know I can do it."

"But then, you don"t really need to join the soldiers to do that. Won"t they be in your way? You can"t just walk off in the middle of a military operation, can you? We could just go hunting that way instead. You"d not be limited by the army and we"d be able to hunt the river s.n.a.t.c.hers on the way like Mable asked you to." She argued, putting the low chances of him finding the place aside.

Emp shook his head in denial again.

"Still can"t, I"ll hunt those crabs after I"m done with Greenpeaks. I have other reasons for going there this way but I can"t tell you. Well, I could but then Mable would end up hearing about it and I can"t have that."

"You plan to wed her but you"re already keeping secrets from her?"

"It"s just that I decided I would tell her my name only when she was ready to tell me her own and she doesn"t seem to be. It wouldn"t be catastrophic for her to know. I would just like it to be fair both ways."

"You sure say some strange things from time to time." She answered with a sigh. "So there"s no way to make you change your mind, is there? Its frustrating, I still feel like you"re all getting used."

"I"d promise you we aren"t but you wouldn"t believe me. Anyway, we"re not going forever, I don"t have all my life to waste in Greenpeaks. We get there, do what we can, get some practice in and then get out."

"You think they"ll let you go just like that?"

"I think so yes."

It wouldn"t go the way she thought it would at least.

"And if you want to see me, you just have to go to Highsteel, they"ll know exactly where I am there."

Even if he had not been the Muracier heir himself, they would have known where he and his troops went so he"d have been easy to find.

Brenia answered with a snort.

"Fhu! Why would I want to see you?"

"For a spar maybe? You better improve while I"m there or next time we see each other I"ll be way too strong for you.��

"Ha! As if! You"ll see then who"s too strong for who!"

The both of them laughed and Emp added another possibility.

"Aside from that, I don"t know, maybe you"ll win our bet? They never caught Ninoslav in the end so maybe you"ll run across by chance. We said that the one who killed him first would be able to have the other do any "one" thing for them."

Remembrance illuminated her face then.

"Oh yeah, that"s right. I forgot we had that bet running. I remembered he was an a.s.s-hole I wanted dead and I clearly remember why too but not that price we made up."

"You"re the one who made it up and you forgot?" He told her on an amused tone.

"I was busy trying to not fall off those annoying shoes! Now that you"ve reminded me though, I definitely will get you to spit out that price once I get him."

"That"s not going to happen because I"ll be the one to win. Here take that."

Emp threw out a simple iron ring her way.

"Is it what I think it is?" She asked after catching it in midair.

She didn"t look all that pleased to receive that. She wasn"t at all in jewellery.

"It"s one of my magic rings. Put it on so that when I beat that guy up, I"ll be able to find you easy. Else, I"ll have to wait for you to find me and its going to take ages."

"Well, I won"t deny that its probably true."

They both knew that unless she had a very good reason to do it, Brenia wasn"t the sort of person to visit someone else. Without that ring, Emp might not find her ever again.

"Take that ring as a promise we"ll meet again please. Don"t think you can get rid of your sparring partner just like that. I"d be annoyed to loose the occasion to fight you again just because you didn"t accept a tiny ring."

"Right... That"s not a forever goodbye. I"ll keep it if you insist then."

"Good, then we"ll meet again for sure. Just don"t get yourself killed while I"m gone. Don"t do anything stupid." He said with teasing smile.

"That"s my line! You"re the one who always gets in trouble. Live and fight me again."

They both grinned and shared a strong arm shake. Brenia liked that much more than a handshake or a lady"s farewell.

Emp was glad that this situation was resolved quickly. She was probably still upset that no one joined her on her mindless hunting but at least now she wasn"t angry at the people themselves.

He was eager to meet her again later at some other place. Next time they did, either she"d have found out his name or he would tell her then. In the meantime, he"d get much stronger and see if she could still keep up the pace.

"I"ll miss you." He told her as he was leaving.

"Well maybe I"ll miss some of your mugs too but I"ll miss the spars more I think."

They parted on that last banter.

With that, only Mable and her two friends remained.

On the morning he was supposed to leave, he stopped at her room first. He took a deep breath and knocked exactly four times on her door.

It didn"t take long for the people inside to allow him in. As expected, Nessa and Aglaya were with Mable who didn"t seem to be in a good mood at all. That was to be expected too, after all, it was no secret that him and the others were all leaving.

"Hi." They both said at the same time.

Everyone knew why he was there but neither he nor Mable knew how to approach the subject.

As usual, she wore a pretty and colorful dress but more importantly, he could see that his big sun was tied into her hair to hold it all up extravagantly. It made him smile brightly and gave him the courage to speak some more.

"It"s time for me to leave. I won"t be able to see you for a while."

She answered with a saddened face.

"For a while huh... Aglaya keep telling me it won"t be so long but I"m still sad. All my friends are going away and even you are leaving. I understand why you have to but I can"t help it"

Emp could understand, he too felt saddened to let so many of his friends part with him.

"I do feel sad as well. I wish everyone could come along."

"Right?" Mable showed a weak smile.

"I"m sad but I know that letting them do what they must now will make them happier latter. I think I feel both pleased and saddened by it at the same time. Does it make sense?"

She nodded approvingly.

"Yes, that"s exactly it. It makes me feel better to know I"m not the only one."

"I"m sure that we"re not the only ones." Emp answered convincingly.

"Probably not but the boys are too proud to admit it and the girls don"t want to look enamoured. Its probably better if you both don"t bring this up with the rest." Aglaya said.

"Still, I"m going to miss you three, and Brenia too. I think you"re probably among the best friends I"ve ever had and you"ve all helped me more than I could ever possibly thank you for." Nessa added with a melancholic face.

"I sort of feel bad letting you go up north alone but..."

"No it"s fine, I understand and you"ve done plenty already Emp. That armor and those swords are already a great support. It"s better if you don"t stand there in fact or they"ll get the wrong idea." She answered his worry with a wry smile.

Some where bound to pin her achievements on the man with her instead of herself if he was there. That made sense but he still felt like he wanted to do more.

"At least, take this last advice. Remember to kill something on the way there."

"Kill something?"

Nessa was far from an idiot but she couldn"t see how killing something helped her further her goals in any way.

"Your hunting card is empty, even if you show up in armor and can showcase your sword dance, knights won"t feel that good with a novice that doesn"t have even a single kill. In their eyes, you"ll be no better than your brother. I think that"s what lord Halfoot would say."

"Got it, it"s a good advice. I should show up with actual merits before claiming anything." Nessa nodded resolutely.

"Speaking of merits, how do you think this whole thing in Greepeaks will pan out for you?" Aglaya asked.

"Right, I need you to impress my father with your achievement so don"t be lazy." Mable warned him seriously.

Emp didn"t think he really had to impress anyone but he didn"t contradict her and just expressed his thoughts on the whole operation.

"There shouldn"t be any real dangers for us. We"ll have plenty of troops and our only opponents should be desperate bandits and wild beasts. There"s nothing to worry about really, it"s just an exercise.

It"s going to take some time to go around the whole kingdom to provide help but aside from time, the costs to us should be minimal. The imperial family should pay for most of the supplies delivered to Greenpeaks.

The achievements won"t be all that great but the people will be thankful and the guys from the cla.s.s should all get a few kills and experience. It will gain us all a foothold in the army even if we don"t do anything remarkable."

"That"s no good! I need you to impress everyone!" Mable complained.

"You can"t have both safe and impressive Mable. Shouldn"t you be glad he won"t be in too much danger?" Aglaya teased her friend.

"Well, yes but... Mwu, I don"t know how to express myself."

The two other girls giggled while Emp intervened.

"It"ll be fine, I"ll go there quick and then move back to Grandbois to hunt the river s.n.a.t.c.hers you"ve asked me to. I"ll get enough of them to make it impressive."

The corners of her mouth rose slightly.

"I"ll trust you then. Here, let me give you this."

She got up from her seat and stepped closer to him as she waved at one of her servants to bring her something.

"I"m not really tied to you yet so I didn"t know if I really should but, I made you a charm to keep you safe."

The servant brought it to her and after taking it, she presented it to him with both her hands. It was a small rectangular piece of wood like a tiny plank. It had been cut to give it a more interesting shape and had a few holes dug into it to let a few strings and ribbons through. A long orange ribbon flew from the bottom of it while another extended up in order to be tied properly. A few words were painted in black on the surface of the charm. u003cKeep him safe for me pleaseu003e was the simple message.

Emp held on to her hands to bring it a bit closer for him to see properly. It was handmade by her so it wasn"t the most impressive work of art ever but it felt like her.

"Can I put it on your armor or is it too much?" She asked him nervously.

Marcy once told him that this sort of charms was made by wives to keep their husband safe. That was why Mable hesitated to show it to him. Emp didn"t mind that sort of details however.

"Of course you can put it on my armor. I"m grateful for it. Here, let me change real quick."

Emp released her hands and used the bag to switch his clothes for his armor almost instantly. It made her smile brightly again.

Emp never really had the ancestors on his side before but hopefully, they"d listen to Mable"s wish. Even if he, for some reason, didn"t earn their protection, Mable deserved it, of that he was certain.

Mable got closer still and tied it to his chest. Her face was just in front of his own but she didn"t seem to notice because she was too busy trying to tie it properly.

"Aren"t you taller than usual?" He commented.

Usually, she was just a bit shorter than him but right now, she had the same height as him.

"I don"t see what you"re talking about." She answered with an embarra.s.sed look.

Aglaya quickly revealed her secret to tease her.

"She"s wearing heels right now in order to be at eye level with you without getting on her tiptoes."

"Laya!" She protested while Emp held up a chuckle.

With her being so close and acting so cutely, he felt the need to kiss her rise into his mind. He kept control of himself using his reason and didn"t do it. It would have been incredibly indecent to do so.

Soon, the charm was tied properly and a servant brought a candle she held over the knot to seal it in wax on the armor.

"Careful not to burn yourself with it." Emp warned her.

"Don"t start or I"ll tell you to be careful to not cut yourself with your sword every time you get it out." She bit back with a playful smile. "Or don"t stub your toes with that big hammer. Here, I"ll leave that side of your armor for Calla this time. Its the side of your heart." She explained while letting the wax fall in place.

Her smile quickly turned back to gloom once she was done tying the charm though. She handed the candle back to the servant but didn"t step back at all, she was holding on to his armor too.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I don"t really want to let you go..."

She looked so sad, it made it painful for him too. He removed his armor again and took her in his arms. Mable ended up crying on his shoulder and he gave her plenty of time to hug him and let her tears run freely.

He was sad to part with her for a while too but seeing her cry was a lot harder on him than that. He ended up crying too even though he knew he wouldn"t be away for too long.

He held her head against him for a long time still. He didn"t want her to see him cry too after all, Harriett said that it wouldn"t be good. He calmed himself more quickly than her but only released her after she was done crying herself.

"Mable, look at what you"ve done. You"ve been crying like a spoiled little girl and now your eyes are all red and your makeup is all messed up." Aglaya scolded her halfheartedly.

Seeing her friend cry so much made it hard for her to not cry as well so even though she was saying that, she was sniffling as well.

Emp pretended to not see anything since Aglaya pretended to not see his own tears and gave proper goodbyes to everyone here. From what they told him, Mable and Aglaya would stay for a short time more to finish the cla.s.ses Mable still needed to master and then they"d go home as well. The young woman wanted to hurry with this because she didn"t see any fun in staying after all her friends were gone.

He didn"t worry much for Mable because Aglaya would be there to watch over her but it still felt strange to be t.i.tled her lord protector when he was so far away. He wondered if he should renounce the t.i.tle but they all told him not to. Even if he wasn"t there now, he"d be the lord protector again once he came back so he had to keep it.

Thankfully, with all the guards still here and Ninoslav gone for so long, she shouldn"t be in any danger. He was also told that they"d be properly escorted home after they were done so it was relieving for him.

He put his armor back on and everyone made its way down to the school gate. Emp joined up with the guys that were leaving and all their servants while the girls joined with those that had not left yet.

On his way out, he didn"t forget to say goodbye to Wren Esther the receptionist. She had been of great help over the years he stayed so he took the time to thank her properly too.

Finally, the knights on duty opened the gates for the large group. With the school still on lockdown, once they stepped out, they wouldn"t be able to get back in but Emp didn"t think he"d need to any time soon. Twenty-four person were leaving, eight students and their sixteen servants.

Horses and wagons were prepared to let them move their things along with the supplies for the road and the students rode their own horses. Emp never had a horse before but Aminui found and bought a large warhorse for him.

He didn"t think he"d need it much however because he was faster on foot. The only advantage of the horse was that it made him taller and so improved his field of view. Even if he wanted to use the horse he"d have to remove some sections of his armor because the weight of that combined with the weapon was too much for the poor animal.

He didn"t like to remove part of his armor so he hid all his weapons in the bag instead while they were in town. Anyway, he didn"t need the horse to charge, he"d just get down from it for that.

All of the students wore their best clothes and equipment and many had fancy dressing for their horses too. Emp had no such thing, he wasn"t really a horse guy to begin with and couldn"t even show the colors of his house for now.

The rest of the students, or at least the majority that came to see them off, waved and cheered them on as they left. Mable was crying again, Emp saw, but Aglaya was doing her best to discreetly keep her face clean with a handkerchief.

There were also the two old men standing on a balcony far up in a school tower overseeing their departure. Emp didn"t forget to raise his hand to them as well.

His grandfather hadn"t been very vocal when he came to say goodbye but he did express that he knew he"d do fine and come back so he had no reason to say anything. He said he"d prepare the terrain for his return but Emp wasn"t sure what exactly this entailed.

The group rode out of the school and began making their way down the crowd of the upper city of Bêtéclair. Emp kept his head turned for a long time to watch the school disappearing behind the many other towers of the city. That place had been his home for five years, even though he had so much to do elsewhere, he would miss it dearly.

It didn"t take long for things to get animated with discussions, overall, they were all glad to finally step out of the school boundaries after so long. Now Zoran could post his letter addressed to his father, Kenneth could stop by the place selling that honeyed meat he liked and everyone could take a good look at the city again.

"When we get to fight something, you"ll all witness my valiance after so long of showing me those disbelieving faces. I"ll defeat every opponent that comes my way easily." Odilon told the rest with conviction, as usual.

Already, Emp worried about his att.i.tude.

"Have you ever seen someone die Odilon?"

"No but I can picture it." He answered easily.

"You can"t." Denied Ivar. "I"ve seen people die already and I understand what Emp means. I agree with him, it"s hard, that"s why I didn"t want to join the army. Whether they"re friend or foe doesn"t matter. When people are dying right at your side, its difficult to keep your head straight. I think the others don"t know what they"re getting into but you"re worse, you"re a liability."

Ivar might have been a bit harsh in the way he said it but that was true. Emp remembered how shaken he was to kill a man for the first time and he didn"t even have a good hold on his own emotion. He couldn"t guess how the others would react if they ended up having to fight other people but Odilon was the most worrying one because he was too energetic about this. He might end up making a complete turnaround in the middle of a fight.

Despite being seen as a weakling in general, Zoran was the least worrying for that matter. The idea of death in Zoran"s head was probably much closer to the truth than what the others had in mind.

"I can"t believe you guys are still on my back."

"Hey Emp, you had the strategy course right? Where would you place Odilon?" Oliver asked.

"I"d put him in charge of supplies." Emp answered.

That was the least likely place for him to mess things up, at least until he saw an actual fight with his own eyes.

"Come on, no way! That"s no good at all! How can I prove my heroism if I don"t see any combat."

"But it"s an important task too Odilon, someone must do it." Kenneth said.

"Hopefully, there won"t be any heroism to be had either." Ivar added.

"You guys are underestimating me too much. Good thing its not Emp that will be placing me but the young lord Muracier instead!"

Well, the two were the same but Odilon didn"t need to know that for now. While the others were laughing off his words, a woman dressed in armor stepped in the path of their procession with an arm raised to get their attentions.

"Excuse me good-sirs, did I hear you speak of the young lord Muracier correctly or did I mishear it?"

"I did speak of him, we"re joining him for a campaign." Odilon spilled the information right away.

Everyone else groaned at how careless he was. What if she was some hidden enemy, a spy or anything dangerous. What was the big idea of revealing any information to a stranger like that.

Meanwhile, the woman gave them all a smile and asked further.

"In that case, might you allow me to join you all on the journey?"

"I guess it depends on who you are and what you want with us." Emp told her with a frown.

"Oh, pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Vinnia Porter, I"m a knight here in Bêtéclair. I have a problem with the young lord Muracier."

Vinnia Porter? It took him barely an instant to understand who she was. She was the cousin of Erin and Leo! Her face did look similar, if barely.

"What sort of problem do you have with the lord?" Oran asked in confusion.

"He said he didn"t need my services to attend to his wife because he already had two Porters with him!" She loudly exclaimed as if this was a very big problem. "There is no other knights named Porter in the kingdom or the empire as a whole. I wanted to tell him so in a letter but I never got words back!"

She must have sent it to Highsteel but obviously, he never stepped there and his grandfather was here in Bâtéclair too.

"I decided to go find him in person to speak and discover the bottom of this injustice. I was leaving when I overheard your conversation."

"I see..." The others seemed to think it was a pretty strange story but since the woman seemed quick tempered, they didn"t want to say anything about it.

Maybe if he cleared this up now they"d be left in peace?

"He does have two Porter with him though, Erin Porter and Leonni Porter." He told her.

"What! Those two!"

Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut instead.