The Calm Before The Storm

The battle was won. The victory, secured. However, the aftermath was not the ideal, appealing sight. Medics assisted the wounded and those who had fallen on the blood-stained grassy battlefield. Who knows how many had fallen in their duty of common soldiers.

I might as well find out how many wounded soldiers we had, as well as those who were deceased.

3rd Category: Group Ranking, Initiate!

Units:

[Calvary] 210

[Archers] 290

[Swordsmen] 90

[Spearmen] 60

[Medics] 40

[Wounded] 120

[Dead] 40

Not exactly an outstanding number of those left dead, but a heavy statistic of wounded for such a short battle against a troublesome goblin raid, especially for the remaining medics. We were short on healer units. Naturally, it would take time for medics to assist all the wounded. They were doing the best they could. Plus, on a slim chance, if some of the medics were a high enough level, they could resurrect some of the dead. Although, that remained an exceedingly slim chance.

"Captain Vanguard!" Janshai galloped on a horse to where I was, standing in the midst of the battlefield as I retracted Group Ranking from my mind. "You're alright, Captain!"

"I am... alright," I looked around my body for any wounds I didn't notice. Sure, I felt tired, and my feet hurt. But besides that, not a scratch on me.

"Thank goodness!" Janshai sighed out of relief, "Our unharmed units are escorting the wounded to the Infirmary. In the meanwhile, Commander Spark wishes to speak to you at the Training grounds," Janshai saluted me, an arm uptight in the air.

"Alright... Thank you, Janshai. I'll check that out right now," I began to gallop back at the Fortress, dropping the horse off at the main gate and walking the rest of the way to the Training Grounds as I took one last look of the messy battlefield. Ugh. I hope that's the last of those troublesome goblins. It was starting to get personal!

As I arrived, Commander Spark awaited me in the distance, speaking to some of the soldiers and troops of the army. I caught up and he finished his conversation with the soldiers. He urged them to get back to work and he faced me.

"Well now, Captain Vanguard, seems quite a bit has occurred ever since you took the role of overall Commander of this battle," I nodded. Spark had a hearty smile regarding the victory over the Goblin raid, as well as glimmering eyes as if he was the one to lead the army into victory.

Now that I thought about it... I (surprisingly) didn't do as terrible as I expected. Given the number of men we had, and the amount of goblins we were up against... Of course, they were unintelligent goblins. It was easy to outmaneuver them. But still...

For a Peasant Farmer, with no military experience, I didn't do too shabby. Hey, that's something to be proud of... just a tad bit.

"Janshai said you had something to speak about, Commander Spark," I recalled Janshai's words. What did Spark have to talk about? As far as I know, I was left to lead the army into battle because Spark had some business with Mareii and Iomene.

"Ah, yes, Captain. It is about the state of the other neighboring Kingdoms, as well as the King's last official command,"

"Last official command?" I raised my finger to my chin and titled my head in confusion.

"It was his request to you, as Second in command, to investigate the other Kingdoms due to the infiltration by the Demon King's monsters. If you recall, they have overthrown all the Kingdoms, and many people are being held captive in each," Spark's expression turned grim serious, not a slimmer of happiness in his eyes as he discussed the serious topic.

Damn... I had almost forgot about that. It's like I almost wanted to forget about it but couldn't. The best way to describe it... it was like it was deep behind my mind, not wanting to think about it because I simply didn't want to deal with it.

Essentially, procrastination.

Now, it was brought up. And, how the hell was I supposed to do that!? I can't just go out alone, could I? Unless... I was meant to go with the Council. Even then, that was only a handful of people. And like he said, the rest of the Council was still unfound.

"Anyways, I discussed it with Mareii and Iomene. It'd be best if you three departed with a small grouping of units, in about two days from now. The other units should come back from their enlistments in about that span of time. However, I ask if this is alright with you, Captain."

That helps out a lot... Though, it doesn't change the fact that I had no idea how to run an army! Maybe Iomene could...

No... I refuse to let Iomene take charge! I might not be nearly as powerful as her, but that doesn't change the fact that I hate her guts and that I refuse to let her take control over this situation! I'll prove it to her... that I'm not useless. I'll work as hard as possible...!

"Well, Commander Spark... It's a deal!" I grinned, baring my teeth open and sticking my hand out for a handshake.

"Hahaha! That's the spirit, Captain!" He shook my hand and smiled back, a sense of comradery emerging from our agreement. "One more thing, I already have the rooms arranged, and there is a set of gear you can help yourself to in the Storage warehouse. Besides that, enjoy yourself here!"

With that, I thanked Spark and departed from the training grounds and into the Storage warehouse. Inside, numerous wooden crates were stored, picking up more dust by the second. I sneezed. A lot of dust...

Oddly enough, the inside of the warehouse reminded me of a barn. Maybe it was the design of the wooden beams atop the ceiling, or the high-up windows carved in the wall. Or, I was just slowly losing it.

Despite all that... there were too many crates to individually open them and check for armor, gear, weapons, all that sort of stuff. The easiest way to sort through them was to...

I activated yet another category of my power. Category 4: Item Rank. This made it much easier to sort through the higher level items, instead of all the junk.

Searching for high level items... Scan... complete!

[Level 17 Flaming Broadsword]

[Level 9 Dagger]

[Level 11 Smoke Bomb] x14

[Level 7 Defense Bracelet]

Woah. That broadsword seemed cool, and the most useful out of all the high-level items. I made my way towards it first as it was highlighted in my sight due to Item Rank.

I climbed the wooden crates and opened one, searching for the sword. I looked... aha! Got it. I grabbed the sword and left behind my other broadsword. The flaming broadsword had a slight red glow to its edge because of its enhancement and could shoot out small fireballs with a slight tap of the tip, moving it like a wand. I sheathed it across my hip and dusted my white Vrusta Soldier uniform.

Then, I collected the other items bit by bit. There wasn't anything special about the Dagger, and the smoke bombs were useful in a picky situation. The defense bracelet only added a few points to my defense and a slight bit to my strength stats.

Just as I had finished collecting all the items, a slender finger tapped on my shoulder. Startled, I jumped. The atmosphere was creepy enough as it already was. I turned to face the direction of the tap. Of course, it was Mareii. I was expecting it to be her.

"Ahaha, Captain! Did I scare you?" Mareii asked with a playful, innocent smile of a little kid. Dammit... I wanted to be mad at her, but that teasing smile caught me off guard. It looked... cute.

"A bit," Defeatedly, I looked down at her. She did scare me. I just didn't want to admit it.

"Awww, c'mon Captain! You looked pretty scared, eheheh," Mareii read right through me as she giggled. I felt myself turn red.

"Mareii... let's just get out of here, okay? I still have to check out my room," I glanced at the exit. She knew she had won.

"Alrighttt," Mareii kept her gleeful smile, "But aren't you going to join us at the party, Captain?"

"Party?"

"Yeah! In celebration of the victory today, as well as your arrival, Captain!" Nighttime had fallen outside. As it turns out, most of the day was spent wasting away at goblins. And now, a party.

"Well... I haven't heard about it, but I guess I'll go," I told Mareii as I started walking outside. She followed, and outside the Fortress was illuminated by outside torches and the radiance of the moonlight. Instantly, we made our way to the training grounds. Spark walked up to Mareii and I when he saw us.

"Ah, there you two are. I was just about to look for you two," Spark held a torch in his hand. Outside the training ground, soldiers had all gathered up around and talked cheerfully to one another.

"So, what's this about a party?"

"What else would it be about? You, of course! Under your command, we suffered minimal casualties, and with Mareii's skill, we were able to heal all of the wounded and revive the dead!" Commander Spark stared at the both of us in bewilderment. That meant that in actuality, we suffered 0 casualties in total. I gasped in realization. Mareii managed to revive all 40 of those who died?

Mareii laughed. "Aw, it's no big deal, Commander Sparkie!" Mareii cheered out as she called the Commander by his nickname that she had given him, Sparkie. Sparkie- I mean Spark, turned red at the nickname as he glanced up and down at Mareii.

Something about that made me feel... angry inside.

"A-ahem... Anyways, this is cheers to you, Captain," Spark climbed onto a platform and stared out into training camp, alerting the attention of the soldiers with a stomp.

"Attention, Soldiers!" Instantly, the soldiers stood up. "As we all know, Captain Vanguard has bravely led out our forces against the approaching Goblin Hoard. Because of his and Mareii's skill, we have managed to avoid a single casualty, the first in the history of Vrusta Kingdom! We offer this celebration to the both of them!"

Hurrahh! The soldiers roared and cheered as the atmosphere became lively and exciting.

"Now... we feast in honor of these two! Give them food and drinks for their duty!" Spark stepped off the wooden platform and the celebration was in session.

"Go on you two! Have a drink and some food," Upon hearing the word f-o-o-d, my stomach r-u-m-b-l-e-d. I had gotten used to not eating, that I forgot I actually needed the damn food for energy.

I sprung out into the crowd of Soldiers, as did Mareii and we were both handed a bottle of highly potent alcohol. I only took a sip before I set it down. It was too strong for my liking, and I didn't really feel like drinking anyways. I was too... hungry.

The soldiers passed around food. Mainly bread and cooked meat such as turkey. Without hesitating, I grabbed the entire cooked turkey and began eating it, as well as a loaf of bread. Some soldiers laughed, others were mildly impressed by how much I ate. It almost turned into an eating contest, as other soldiers joined in and passed more food around. I didn't care, though. I was just happy to be eating food.

Hell, I was even enjoying myself and having a fun time laughing at my absurd hunger. Everyone was in lively spirits. This environment... it was enjoyable and interesting, to say the very least.

After however long, the celebration began to wind down. It was short-lived, but overall fun. Not much to say besides eating, celebrating, and cheering. Some soldiers sung songs together and played like carefree children.

Although, I didn't see Mareii... at all. I used Power Ranking, category 1 to pinpoint her location. I made my way towards her after I found her location.

I arrived on the spot, on an empty grass field. Mareii laid, sprawled out on the grass and holding the alcohol bottle in her hand. She had a dazed expression as she covered and rubbed her eyes with her fingertips.

I picked up the bottle to check if anything was left. There wasn't.

"V-Vanguard... Mi-mister.... H-hahh~ What're you gonna do to me?" Mareii reeked of alcohol, and she spoke half consciously, with a shaky voice.

In other words, Mareii was drunk. This girl continues to surprise me. I didn't expect her to be like this at all... I guess looks truly can be deceiving.

"Hey Mareii... can you walk?"

"N-no... Ma-master Vanguard... pi-ck me up pleash," Mareii hiccuped as she covered her forehead with her hand. This idiot. I didn't want to leave Mareii out here alone... but I also didn't want to carry her.

Our eyes exchanged. She pleaded me to carry her with her eyes alone, and convinced me. She was completely red from all the drinking she had done, and sweating. I grabbed her by the waist and carefully lifted her up onto my shoulder.

"Wheee! Th-thank you!" She sounded so happy and carefree. Luckily, we were right next to the main building with our rooms. In some ways, she really was like a child.

I walked in, past the receptionist and upstairs. By now, the lights in the hallway were closed, so I had a difficult time navigating. Eventually, I seemed to have found an isolated room which I could only, at best, assume it was hers.

Mareii had stayed mostly silent, except for the occasional hiccups that disrupted her half-awake state. I walked around in the darkness of the room, shutting the door behind us and searching for her bed.

I found it and placed her there. Moonlight shone through the window, and I could barely make out Mareii's face. She looked so... ugh. I can't fight it anymore. She was cute to me. As she laid down on the comfort of her bed, I stared at her face. Her tulip blue hair strands covered her forehead and ran down to her shoulders. I thought she had fallen asleep, until she broke the silence by the shifting of her clothes.

"Va-Vanguard~ I-it's so hot in here... le-let me take off my clothes," Mareii tried to take off her shirt, but I stopped her by pinning her arms to the bed, limiting her movement. My entire body shifted above her on the bed, my face inches apart from her pink lips. She giggled.

Her black eyes were fully opened. She leaned forward and kissed my lips. I gasped and got off the bed, immediately heading for the door. Just as I left, I heard the last of her words before I slept.

"M-mister... I love you~"

I headed to my room and plopped on the bed. I fell asleep.

Goodnight... Mareii.