“Whoa. Slower. Slower!” My voice echoed through the morning forest. “Stop already!”

“Your handling got a lot better. You must have worked hard.” Rhoslyn’s cheerful laughter undermined her encouraging words. “To display a graceful posture even though Attila is such a hot-headed mount.”

I’m sorry. But as you see, this poor guy sucks at riding a horse. I really wanted to throw those words back at her. The commander of a fortress could barely hold on to his reins. Furthermore, Attila’s pace resembled a donkey’s, much more than a warhorse’s. In short, I was a total laughingstock.

“Oh! I didn’t mean any offense.” The sword maiden waved her arms in front of her. “When I learned to ride on Attila’s back, my form looked much worse.”

Did my mood show on my face? Or was she that sensitive towards interpersonal relationships? It didn’t matter which but her words filled my chest with a soothing warmth.

I displayed a grateful smile.

“So even you had problems like this?”

“Of course. Everyone does. The first steps are always the hardest.” A reminiscing sigh escaped her lips. The eyes focused on something far away. “Back then, I would scream and kick all the time. The servants never knew what to do and left me alone. Only my father went through the hassle to teach my five years old self. Compared to me, you cut a way better figure.”

I didn’t need to watch at her shaking chest, working hard to contain the laughter inside, to know she was making fun of me. So much for the soothing warmth.

“Any news from Gladford?” I changed the topic to prevent further teasing.

“The Freiherr lords it over us all, the merchants lie and cheat for a handful of cheap coins, the barmaids open their legs for the drunks, and the nobles try to backstab the respected. In short, everything is fine.”

Another laughter.

I had only seen her a handful of times in Gladford, but her current behavior was completely different.

She had laughed more in the last few hours than all the other times combined. As if Gladford was a pitch-black shadow that would smother her natural smile.

Maybe taking my silence as an answer, she continued. “The Freiherr left Gladford and won’t be back until late fall. Some of the minor nobles also left the city for Haithabu. Something is going on, hidden from me.”

“Are they trying to get rid of you?” I remembered the game’s art. The sword maiden, all on her own. Was this the beginning?

“I wish.” Rhoslyn’s answer negated my thoughts. “There are a lot of grim futures. But all of them include myself serving the Freiherr.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah. So don’t think too much. And don’t do anything stupid.”

“Stupid?”

“It’s okay if you run off and achieve victory. But desert your task and fail, and that’s the end for you. Don’t do anything rash. Sometimes, it’s better to take your time and wait for the right moment. Even if it takes years to do so.” A melancholic smile flashed across her face, but was immediately covered by a wider one. “That merchant of yours. Fabien? He also sent a message to you. The treasure you want is scarce. But he’ll get it if the money you pay is enough.”

The treasure? Was he talking about the map? So even a man with this many contacts still struggled with this.

“Everything has a price, indeed.” I sighed. There was no question Fabien would make me pay for all his inconveniences.

“Something valuable?” Rhoslyn’s eyes gleamed with interest. “I didn’t take you for a treasure hunter.”

“It’s nothing like that. It’s information I seek.”

“I would rather search for an actual treasure.” Pity filled her voice. “The inner land’s situation is rather delicate. Those nobles keep their cards close to their chests and haunt those who trade in information. Right now, it’s really too easy to become a traitor for those who talk too much.”

“Um. Will you be okay telling me all of this?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“That. I mean. Aren’t you their commander?”

“What are you talking about?” She was stunned, motionless for a second. Afterwards, clear disgust flooded her voice and face. “I would never become a commander of the moon alliance. My loyalty only lies with the white horse. I don’t know who told you those tales, but you better watch out and make sure he never steps in front me.”

Her reaction was unexpected. Or rather, completely unbelievable.

In the game, Rhoslyn had always been the moon alliance’s commander, who died fighting against innumerable hordes of enemies. But the girl in front of me showed clear hatred towards the nobles.

Did the moon alliance not exist in this world? Or did the nobles alter her story after she died on the battlefield? But why would she fight alongside them in the first place? Her hatred was too pure and spontaneous to be fake. Only a Hollywood actor might fake such an outburst.

Then what was the truth?

The skills, the levels, the enemy behavior. This world’s rules were a perfect copy of the system’s behavior. But I was in the middle of nowhere, listened to stories about far-away places I never saw in the game, and everything linked to the sword maiden was off.

Where was the line? Was this world’s history different from the game’s? Was the sword maiden’s story altered after her death? Or would I fall in battle because this world’s rules only resembled the game?

I needed more information. And fast.

“Ahem. Anyway.” Now it was Rhoslyn’s turn to change the topic with an awkward transition. “Did my men listen to you? Any problems?”

“No. Your letter helped me a lot.” I put a lot of positive energy into my voice. “They allowed me to train with them, they follow the new camp rules, and they even scout the surroundings whenever I ask them. Honestly, I would like to exchange a few of my men for yours. What do you say?”

“As long as you provide adequate compensation and my men agree to it. Why not?”

“Isn’t that already a rejection?” A theatrical display of frustration followed my words. “I’m the best horseman in the fortress. But even I can’t compare to your men. Dear old me, how should I defend the southern villages with no men?”

“You are weird. Completely different from all the nobles and their henchmen.” An honest smile had replaced her forced one. “Try to impress my commanders. If all of this is over, I might have a position for you.”

“R-Really?”

“I’m already helping you, aren’t I? Do you think my men train just anybody?” She stopped her horse and took a minute to look into my eyes. “The men that hunter picked are talented. In a few weeks, you’ll not only have a small fortress, but also your group of scouts. So show me what you can do when your actions aren’t just rash reactions.”

Nodding at me, she picked up her pace and left me behind.

Her words had stumped me.

Wasn’t this what I had hoped for all this time?

I suppressed the urge to scream with laughter and followed behind her. Although Attila’s and my display was a lot worse.

It was early afternoon when we arrived at the fortress and split up.

Rhoslyn returned to her men, each one greeting her with a show of respect.

In comparison, my return was a lot colder, and only Thea’s repetitive nagging greeted me.

The men were discontent, this. They wanted to fight, that. Everybody had something to complain about. Congratulations. You guys destroyed my mood with three sentences and your moody faces.

“Is it the builders again?” I sighed before Thea couldn’t even open her mouths. “Please tell me it isn’t about them.”

“They complained.” Thea sent an apologetic smile my way. “But I resolved it. This time, it’s about the ditches.”

“The ditches? What about them?”

“There are too many.” Thea gestured towards a wide meadow filled with occasional markers. “They don’t understand why we would need so much space. Some of the older recruits say it’s a punishment.”

“It’s not for them. It’s for those who take refuge. There won’t be enough time once the leprechauns return. Didn’t we already explain that?”

“We did. But they disagree. They say it’s better to fight them head-on.”

“Are they that stupid?” I felt an overwhelming urge to hit my head against a rock. “Most of them can’t even win against a tree.”

“I know. It’s just, um, we’ve won in the village. We defeated so many leprechauns already. So we started talking.”

“You started talking?”

“That you favor the mercenaries.”

“What?!” My answer became an angry bark. “And you think so, too?”

“I. Um. I mean.” Thea shifted her body for a while. “Yes. They look down on us. We aren’t allowed to accompany them during their scouting trips. And they don’t help with the ditches. We become dirty and they’ll get the glory.”

“That’s it? I mean. That. Is. All? They aren’t my men. In fact, we should be down on our knees for any help they give us.”

“That. Maybe that is so. But.” She steeled herself and added another sentence, filled with reproach. “But they also say that you’ll betray us and go with Rhoslyn.”

“Betray? Is that so? Well, great. It seems like the problem isn’t the complaints, but the utter lack of any sensible human.”

“But today, you also-”

“Let me make this clear.” I interrupted any further nonsense. “I won’t betray you because I never gave you my loyalty. In fact, I’m here because I was forced to do so after I saved your village. The only reason I’m doing this is because I fear the leprechauns will return. I don’t want to see more violence or ask myself ‘What if’ questions afterward. But what I do, or what I don’t do, once this threat is over, has nothing to do with the villagers or you. Even if I’ll follow Rhoslyn.”

Leaving those words behind, I made my way towards my ditch.