Silence Vassals

Natsuo glanced at Richard.

“Tell us about this mission.”

Richard nodded at Alice and she cleared her throat.

“Since you said you don’t know anything, I’ll start from the beginning.” She got up and approached a map hanging on a wall. “This is a map of Roselond. As you can see, the kingdom is divided into four regions: the Duchy of Blueweald, the Duchy of Floridburg, the Duchy of Eldertoun and the region of Blossomhyl, that is where we’re now. Four types of silent monsters exist: white, red, black and ghost type. Every region is mainly attacked by only one type of monster. The reason behind it is because silent monsters have no will of their own, but they’re bound to superior entities: the Vassals of Silence. Silent monsters are just a way to spread the disease, the core of everything are the Vassals. If we defeat the Vassals of Silence, the silent monsters bound to them will vanish and never come back.” Alice paused. “Vassals don’t attack an area influenced by another Vassal, so every region of Roselond deals with different types of silent monsters.”

“If defeating these Vassals will free Roselond from Silence, why don’t you take them down?” asked Natsuo.

“Because they hide in the heart of infected areas, we can’t reach them. We would die after a few days of marching.”

“Oh… So I’m the only person who can reach them, basically” reflected Natsuo.

At the moment, he was the only person in Roselond that was able to purify infected areas, so his help was essential. He thought about all those soldiers that dedicated their lives to fight Silence even if they knew they could do very little. He clenched his fists: he couldn’t stay twiddling his thumbs while people died in front of his eyes, especially knowing that he could make a difference.

Also, imagine how many fans they would have if they saved the world; entire stadiums would go sold out for them. He grinned satisfied just at the idea.

“We would like to ask your help to defeat the Vassal of Silence near this area” said Richard.

“Sure, I’ll help you” replied Natsuo. “I can’t bear the thought of just watching without doing anything.”

Alice slightly smiled. She knew he would have accepted, he was a good person, after all.

“Perfect, we’re honoured to collaborate with you once again, Himura Natsuo. Now I have to go, Alice will explain to you the details” said Richard.

He got up and got out of the room with a cunning smile depicted on his face.

Natsuo, Gregory and Olive turned to Alice, waiting for her to continue the explanation. She sat down on a chair again.

“I already told you that the Vassals of Silence are four. Each one of them has different characteristics. The one that attacks Blossomhyl’s region is called Plague. It happened that some soldiers saw them, but rarely. From what we know, Plague rides a white horse and has a crown on his head, as a sign of conquest. If you noticed, all white silent monsters, that are the ones bound to him, have stings; precisely because they’re followers of Plague and are born to spread the Silence plague” Alice explained.

“I understand, so we have to defeat Plague and the region of Blossomhyl will be freed by Silence” said Natsuo.

Alice nodded. “Probably you won’t be alone, Captain Richard will give you an escort.” She glanced at Natsuo. “I… Well, I hope to be there with you” she looked away, embarrassed.

She wasn’t used to expressing her wishes.

Natsuo rested his head on one hand and smiled amusedly.

“Really? I hope so too.”

Olive wrinkled her nose and glared at Natsuo. She didn’t know why, but she was disturbed by his behaviour.

“Actually, I would like to spend more time with Olive. I don’t have many opportunities to talk with other girls” Alice specified.

Olive’s lips arched into a big smile.

“I can’t wait! I’m sure we’ll become good friends!”

Alice hinted a smile, a bit embarrassed.

Natsuo’s eyes were about to close from tiredness.

“Yeah, yeah, amazing, but can we go to rest now?” he asked, impatient.

Using his system so much in a single day had tired him out a lot. At the moment, he just wanted to find a place where he could rest and sleep until the next day.

“Yes, of course. We’ll send someone to call you when everything’s ready” replied Alice.

“Thank you.” Natsuo got up, followed by the other two. “See you soon, then.”

The three of them got out of the room and headed toward the exit. Gregory and Olive were excitedly talking about the bag of golden coins given by Richard More.

“Natsuo!” someone called.

Natsuo turned to his back and saw Alice running in his direction.

“Yeah?” He invited her to talk.

“I wanted to sincerely thank you. Thanks to your help, we’ll be able to save Blossomhyl and all of Roselond. It’s something that I always thought was just a dream, but your existence makes it possible.” She looked up and smiled. “I don’t have words to explain how grateful I am.”

Natsuo frowned, surprised to see Alice smiling heartedly. His lips curled into a smile.

“It was my duty, I couldn’t step aside. If my music can help people, then I’ll play until the day I die. That’s what a rockstar does.”

Natsuo turned his back and walked away, waving his hand.

Alice watched his figure get further away, impressed by his words, her eyes sparkling with admiration. Natsuo was determined to give his all, she couldn’t be outdone by him.

Natsuo reached Gregory and Olive, who were waiting for him.

“What did you say to each other?” asked Olive.

“Nothing special” Natsuo replied.

Olive pouted. She wasn’t satisfied with his reply.

“Really?”

“Yeah, why should I lie?”

Olive thought about it and smiled, reassured.

“Guys, why don’t we have a drink tonight?” suggested Gregory.

Natsuo glanced at him with a living dead expression.

“Drink? I’ll pass, I just want to sleep.”