First War council and a Vow

As I was told, I woke up the next morning with a package already waiting for me in my room.
It came in a large cardboard box with the Kingdom's emblem and, quite frankly, I thought it felt a little cheap compared to the lavish bedroom and the castle's furnitures in general. Even the fruits they served me yesterday in the dining room left more of an impression in their pretty wicker basket.

"Woah this actually looks like cosplay."

Then again it is a fantasy world if you stick to the definition from earth, so having this kind of getup for someone of importance should not make me feel out of place around here. That being said, of all the people I have seen so far, this garb strikes me as the most otherwordly. 

Lets see, there is a white buttoned top with puffed-up shoulders and golden embroidery on the collar and cuffs, dark-brown pants that stick to the skin and calf-high boots matching colours with the pants. 

All in all, with the golden parts working in kind with my hair and the rest already working well together, at the very least it shouldn't feel ridiculous once put together. 

It really isn't aimed at being worn on the battlefield though that's for sure. Which means there shouldn't be any funny business the likes of coercing me into joining the front in an emergency after they have provided me with armor and weapon. Actually, I kind of wish I had been given a sword though, or a staff at least..

Then as if it had been staged, I heard a few knocks at my door. It was Shimka.

"Hyouma-sama I have come with breakfast, may I enter ?"

"You may."

Trying to act and sound confident in this unfamiliar getup in order not to be disrespectful of their customs as well as, as a way to make sure I wouldn't die from embarassment, I let her in.

I thought I'd try to play the part of the Hero they expect me to be if only for as long as I'll be allowed to work with their officials, that way they should be satisfied and be more lenient towards me and my wish to go back home. However...

"I see you have opened the box delievered this morning. Do you feel any discomfort or need of adjusting anything ?"

"Huh..No- I mean, it fits me to a T. And it seems breathable and sturdy." Almost alarmingly so when I think about it. I mean, when did they even take my measurements ?

"I see, this is good to hear."

Look, I know this is commonplace in this world but you could try to sound a little more.. I don't know, hyped ? I wear this for the good of this world, you know ?

"..."

I never would have thought that wearing something like a costume could be this unnerving.

                                                                   __________________

Once we were done with breakfast, I made my way to the king's office at the time specified the day before.

Once inside, I found that only the king and Vradio were present. The king sat behind his desk in the back of the room while Vradio stood behind the seat he had occupied at the large table the day before.

"Oh sir Hero ! I see that you have indeed received our modest gift. How does it feel moving around in it ? Any discomfort ?"

"Good morning your Majesty. I feel no discomfort whatsoever, you can rest assured. But to be completely honest I will admit that I am not used to wear this kind of fabric and I fear that with a wrong movement I might tear it somewhere."

"I am honored of your consideration sir Hero, but you need not fret over this matter, for our esteemed tailor used magically reinforced fabric for this set's confection. The worst that could happen would be the golden embroidery on your cuffs coming undone with usage or from a scratch, but Shimka should be able to mend it. "

"I see, that is a relief."

Of all the things they have provided me with since my arrival, if I were to ruin this I would lose sleep over the lingering guilt.


After around an hour of waiting around doing small talk with Vradio, asking about how the war progressed, how was the lay of the land, the number of soldiers available and so on, at long last a small group of people in armor joined us.

Among them or rather leading them, stood the man I met the previous day. Tokesa Ispron. With his dashing yet battle-worn silver armor, black cape and the sword –a rapier– at his waist, he truly gave the impression of a leader. 

The day prior, while he had been wearing that same light silver armor, the cape as well as his sword had been missing.

We might have to decide his next deployment in today's meeting then. Talk about added pressure.

In the flow of armored people and servants entering or exiting the room, someone suddenly caught my attention. A woman. There was a single woman in a matching, tattered silver armor. Her cape was a dark green which I figured must have had a significance, as for her weapon, instead of a rapier like that of Tokesa she wore a decently large double handed sword on her back.

Between the armor and this blade, she must be stacked underneath. Though I guess sinewy would be more fitting considering she's a woman and that her armor is thinner than the Prince's. 

Now that I think about it, none of the women I met so far gave the impression of the precious and sheltered type of ladies typical of high society.
Shimka is quite tall for the average woman and she has enough strength in her arms to lift me from below with apparent ease. Nelly the cook didn't need a lot of investigation, but most surprisingly the wives of nobles I pass by in the corridors on occasion all have sturdy-looking legs and sharp looks in their eyes.

But they show maybe a bit too much leg with their dresses, and it's honestly wearing down my sanity a little...
Having been far from home for a whole month has truly taken its toll on me. I was never so conscious of this sort of stuff before.
Yeah I really must be tired, I can feel that my spirit has grown weak and my brain needy. Terrifying stuff, honestly.


After everyone was accounted for, the king got up from his seat and gestured for everyone present to help themselves at the large table.

And to my surprise it wasn't Vradio who sat down in the chair he had hovered around, it was Tokesa Ispron. Now I knew he was his butler, but considering how he had taken part in the discussion the day prior, I expected his opinion to be valuable enough that he would be given a spot on the day of. 

So he's more of an advisor to the Prince then.

"Now without further ado, let the first war council of spring commence!"

One again at the prodding of the king, the meeting started. Without his involvement.

And after a while...

"If you permit your Highness, I think we would do best to send you away from the frontlines. You may be the commander of the first platoon, but we simply cannot afford to risk losing you at this stage. So I will ask you, how about Fort Vinki ? We received reports of its re-capture by a small platoon under sir Avery. Surely they would welcome a fresh batch of strong reinforcement at this very moment, wouldn't you agree ?"

It was the treasurer in charge of war expenses speaking.

"Of course I undersand your standpoint. However we also need to stop the bleeding on Fort Brighton, and I would not dream of sending our newly appointed fourth platoon leader Xenia to handle such a dangerous issue as her first deployment. Because I simply cannot imagine our enemies to give up such a golden spot for their archers' unit so easily."

I hear that sir Avery's units are being used as reinforcement on multiple fronts already, and it seems the second platoon's commander is the one currently holding the frontline together. So that would obviously leave reinforcing Fort Brighton and Fort Vinki to Tokesa or ser Xenia.

"But then who will we send to mend the breach in Fort Vinki ? Thankfully we have sir Richard keeping them on their toes on the front for now, but what will happen if word gets out that the Prince and first platoon leader was located in the opposite direction! "

As he spread his arms with a look of distress on his wrinkled face, a tall and imposing man languidly got up and moved around the table to stand next to him. It was sir Richard, commander of the second order of knights.

He waited for everyone's chatting to come to a halt and crossed his arms. He looked fierce and had a prideful smirk plastered on his face when he finally opened his mouth.

"Then I will escort her myself."

"!?"

"W-where to ? S-sir." The secretary stuttered.

"To Fort Brighton. It is the closest to my position and they might think we are launching an all out attack in retaliation after they got Prakia. In the meantime, we simply send your Highness to Fort Vinki with a little delay, this way they will have to make a choice. To strengthen their pushing units on Fort Brighton and give up Fort Vinki, or to give up their advance and assault Fort Vinki again."

"This is reckless. Do you think they will not take notice of your absence on the front, Richard ?"

"Oh they will, surely. But that is when our esteemed commander will strike them."

"What do you mean ?"

"Escort your men to Fort Vinki to assess the situation and immédiately head to the front yourself. This covers all bases. If Avery sends a little more support to the front in the meantime there should be no issue to speak of. Wouldn't you say ?"

I have to admit, I feel the same way as the Prince. This is reckless and is only based on confidence and experience. Which are valuable assets in this case don't get me wrong, but it only works within the scope of a single deployment, not in a strategic meeting involving four different platoon of soldiers. We are talking about moving thousands of individuals here. And to their actual death if we are not careful. Heck even if we are careful.

"This is the textbook definition of high risk, high reward. How much time do you believe it would take for you to come back from Fort Brighton if everything goes as you plan ?"

"Two days at most."

"Enough with the show of bravery. Considering the time you will use to rest, how much do you expect the trip to take ?"

Richard shrugged with a sigh and crossed his arms again, contemplative.

"Five days."

"Then we abandon your plan. This would be one thing if I was the only one to move between the fronts, but none of you has that same luxury, so this course of action will simply not work I am afraid."

"Why not let me borrow your steed then. Surely you can still manage to make it to the front in time, if it's you ?"

Catching my questioning look, Vradio turned to me and explained.

"I believe you have yet to hear about this sir Hero. My master's speciality is taming wild beasts. But he cannot tame monsters unless he forms a contract with one, meaning the creature in question ought to have a considerable level of intelligence too. That being said, among such creatures Master Tokesa was able to form a contract with a Dragon. As such, sir Richard is asking your Highness to lend him said dragon and to tame a wild beast near Fort Vinki to take him to the front."

Hence why nobody questioned his ability to reach the front in time as opposed to Richard's. Also if I recall correctly monsters, while sometimes resembling wild beast species, they are fundamentally different from the latter because they, the monsters, have mana making them a lot stronger. So the Prince can only tame wild beasts, the equivalent of wild animals back on earth. This is a great ability, I wonder if it's also done with magic ?

"Oh ho, so this is our esteemed invité I assume. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance oh Hero from afar."

With a show of fake courtesy, the burly man casually insulted me and my getup before fixing me with a playful yet defiant look in his eyes. By the way, his cape was a dark red which I found fitting for his image.

 "I, Richard of the second order of knights, humbly apologize for taking so long to introduce myself. I mistook you for an entertainer you see."

I guess I do look ridiculous in this costume after all..No wait. It's not my clothes he's looking at, he's assessing my build. The bastard, I know I'm not built like a mountain the way you are, but I still exercise I'll have you know!

As I was clenching my fists and cursing him under my breath, Tokesa returned the conversation to the topic at hand.

"Richard."

"..."

"I will not allow you to disrespect our precious guest any further. Meet me in my office after we are back from this wave. Please forgive his rudeness sir Hero, I will make sure it won't happen again."

I guess expecting this muscle-brain idiot to do it himself would be futile and he knows this. Must be rough being the head of such prideful individuals. Then again this old man is not entirely wrong, maybe I should do something about my condition while I'm here.

"I forgive it your Highness. And while I did indeed think it was rude especially on a first meeting, I have to admit that as I am now, it is true that I simply cannot vouch for my own value as a man, much less as a soldier or warrior. So I would rather use this opportunity to declare to all of you that I make the vow to tackle this issue seriously. I will train and make sure no one will ever think of me as a buffoon again."

"Sir, you need not go to such lengt-" The prince started, but he was quickly interupted by the loud snorting of the prideful warrior in front of him.

"Hah ! Now these are the words of a man. And I, Richard, swear on my name that if you stay true to your word, sir Hero, I swear to get down on my knees and to apologize to you. How does that sound ?"

"Richard ! Now you have stepped way beyo-" This time it was me who cut the prince short.

"I will remember it, sir Richard."

"Ahhh..." The prince seemed to be at his wit's end, but as far as I was concerned, a new fire had just be lit under me, and I was ready to make that man eat his words and keep his own vow.

                                                                    ______________

After a few hours and a lot of back and forth, the issue of the deployments on Fort Vinki and Fort Brighton had finally been decided.
Ser Xenia would handle bringing men and supplies to Fort Vinki, escorted by sir Avery, while Tokesa took the front and Richard, Fort Brighton.

So it was now past dinner time and as I was relaxing in the bath, I started considering how to go about the promise I made.

I guess I could ask mr.Prakia to teach me about magic, but for swordsmanship who can I request ? Maybe they have teachers for hire, I'll ask Shimka about it later.

But suddenly the doors to the bath opened loudly and a voice roared.

"Sir Hero, Hyouma-sama ! I heard you would be here around this hour ! "

"Lady Xenia, ser, you cannot enter the men's bath with just a towel around the waist, or even at all ! Please reconsider, I'm begging you !"

It was the fourth commander's maid who valiantly tried to keep her mistress from barging half naked into the men's bath.

To no avail however..

"I was raised by two men and surrounded by more ever since, and none of them ever showed disgust or indignation at the sight of this body so I doubt a fellow man, even from far away, would cower before or feel disrespected by my figure. And if that ends up being the case I'll simply have to beg for their pardon."

"This is not how it woooorks.. Waahhhh. Don't say I haven't warned yooouu !"

The maid up and left, in tears, leaving behind her unconcerned mistress who kept on boldly advancing towards the large open area filled with water that was the bath only I had access to. Supposedly.

Xenia, Xenia... Oh yeah the one with the large sword ! Wait, surely she doesn't intend to enter the bath while I'm using it, right ?

"Pardon the intrusion."

So she does..

"S-so, how may I help you ?"

"Yes, so I heard you were looking for an instructor in swordsmanship, correct ?"

Did Shimka ask her ? No but she shouldn't know about what I said at the meeting.

"Yes well, after making such a declaration it wouldn't do for my image not to act. Even if it's all temporary."

"I agree, especially considering who it is you are up against, it could even become dangerious if you didn't keep your word. I mean on the battlefield, away from the prying eye, accidents do tend to happen, and I do not wish for you to-- Wait, "temporary" ?"

Hugh, I have goosbumps now, yikes. What is up with this guy, doesn't he get that I was basically forced to be here and that I am at the very least a good thirty years younger than him to boot ?

"Yes, for now I still do not intend to fulfill the role expected of me actually. Being a Hero I mean. The truth is I have both people and a profession to go back to in my world, and I am also quite terrified to risk my life in a real  battle to be honest."

"Well that makes sense. If I were in your shoes, I'm not even sure I would be able to leave my room at all for a while, much less seriously considering the demands of some unknown people and their peers." I also have a hometown that's precious to me after all, she added in a near whisper.

After that silence fell upon us for a while.

It truly felt relaxing. I had been gazing intuitively at the back of the room since I heard who was barging unanounced into the bathroom, so by now my nerves were gone and my pulse stable. But that's exactly how I realised the abnormality of the situation.

A man and a women left alone in a bathtub, well rather a gigantic bath, without so much as a hint of akwardness.

Is this heaven ?

"Then maybe you don't need an instructor then."

Xenia got out of the water and shot a last friendly look my way asking for confirmation with her gaze.

Wait isn't it bad that I look at her in this state ? I can totally see your chest you know ?

"Oh there is no need to worry about me, I have no interest in men so be it their looks or their words it doesn't matter to me. You can stare all you like I won't hold it against you."

T-then don't mind if I do..

But all matter of joking aside (I need to keep a cool head), maybe I should take her up on her offer. I don't know why she was the one sent my way, but her physique tells me she would have a lot to teach me. In swordsmanship. And I would rather not live in a constant state of alarm in light of Richard's evident dangerosity.

Ok it's decided, let's do it.

"No, I still think I should train after all. Besides the potential threat of sir Richard, I believe that as a person I should work to keep my vows. And well, some stimulation should help me keep a clearer head and offer my brain some respite, so all the more reasons."

My answer must have pleased her because Xenia put on a fearless smile before responding.

"This is a nice attitude to have, you have my respect sir Hero. Then allow me to make a promise of my own. I, Xenia, commander of the fourth knight division and head instructor for new trainees, will train you to be able to hold your own against sir Richard with a sword. How does that sound ?"

So that's why she is here, it seems I was right to stand my ground after all.

"Then from now on and for as long as I remain in this world, I will be in your care ser Xenia, no, Master Xenia."

"That settles it !"


And so, after performing a firm handshake as a way to fix our vows, I felt our destinies were now tied together.
It might end up being just seven months, a year, more, I didn't know. But this was the first time I truly felt a connection here in this faraway world, and I was not about to let it go.


Or at least at that point I certainly wouldn't have been able to guess just how long it would be before we'd choose to go our separate ways. Much less in what circumstances.