After a long battle the sky had turned a soft vermilion red, cold air was blowing.

While making their way back to camp, Ran told the story of how he and Skald met.

Somewhat over twenty years ago Nivalis was at war with the country of Madow.

The Lord of Madow at the time was obsessed with expanding his territory.

At a certain time he had started attacking the border town of Barafu.

The then Lord of Nivalis was aware that such a thing might happen sooner or later, so he had multiple armies stationed near the border.

Ran was the general of one these armies.

Though only twenty-five at the time Ran was already a resounded general, with an astounding amount of achievements to his name.

The Lord of Nivalis had also taken quite a liking to Ran, which might have led to him being promoted that quickly.

But there was no person who would deny that Ran was a man worthy of such a title.

Deploying too much armies would leave the certain parts of the country unprotected, so a great deal of mercenaries were hired to assist the armies.

As it happened Andor’s sight was placed under Ran’s command.

Skald at this point was still a normal mercenary, but he was well known among every person in Andor’s sight.

So much so that rumors started spreading about him becoming their next leader.

For this reason Skald was chosen the lead them in the upcoming battle.

When Madow had crossed the border they were immediately with the Nivalis army commanded by Ran.

Ran was excellent at commanding his troops, but somehow was not able to gain the upper hand in battle.

Though the battle was of a grand scale he was able to notice a subtle change in Madow’s soldiers.

When he saw that this was caused by a simple mercenary group Ran was perplexed.

But at the same time he was overflown by joy, looking at the man commanding them he felt a special bond with him.

After the battle was over and they had repelled the Madow army, Ran made his way towards Andor’s sight’s camp.

It was at this moment that he first met Skald.

Ran hastily approached him.

‘’You are Skald of Andor’s sight are you not?’’

Skald turned around to see Ran to his surprise.

‘’That I am, what do you request of me general?’’

‘’Would you please join me and become one of my knights.’’

It came as a shock to get such an offer from a general in person.

‘’Sorry general, but this is the life that suits me most.’’

With a light smile on his face Ran backed down and smiled himself.

‘’I can see that there is nothing I can say to change your mind, even so I hope we will be able to have a good relation with one another.’’

‘’As do I general, now then, the name is Skald I am a mercenary of Andor’s sight.’’

‘’Ran general of Nivalis, and loving husband to the greatest woman on this continent.’’

The two of them shook hands, and Skald turned his head in slight confusion.

‘’Was that last part really necessary?’’

And they kept their promise to each other, over the years the relationship between the two grew closer and they became the best of friends.

After hearing Ran’s story everyone started to engage in small talk, until they arrived at their location.

Finding out where Skald was taken they headed for him.

Though when they did they had found him already out of bed, like nothing had happened.

‘’Father is it alright for you to be out of bed already, perhaps you should rest some more.’’

With his usual fearless smile Skald gave a thumbs up to signal that their job was done.

The only thing those present could do was smile back at the man they admired.

‘’Don’t worry about me, there is nothing better for me than getting some exercise.’’

Ran started walking towards him, seeing this Skald similarly walked towards Ran.

They lifted their fists towards each other and lightly bumped them.

‘’Now then it’s time to celebrate our victory. Also don’t forget our payment Lord Nivalis.’’

Ran scratched his head.

‘’Only at times like these you address me with Lord, I really would appreciate if you would address me as such more often.’’

As night time approached camp fires were lit and crock pots were filled.

People feasted on dried meats and alcohol, together with steamed potatoes and a vegetable soup.

The alcohol has been saved until they would finish their mission, saving it made it taste all the greater.

While most people were busy celebrating their victory, three young men were forced to get down on their knees.

In front of them a girl with a doll like appearance, golden hair that flowed down to her hips flowed graciously in the wind. And a braid in her hair that gave her a loveable childish appearance.

One of the youngsters inched closer to the dark blue haired one. He whispered as to not be heard by the young girl.

‘’Kaze isn’t she your maid, can’t you say something to calm her down.’’

The young girl noticed that he was whispering and glared daggers at him.

A cold sweat started flowing down each of their backs.

‘’Um, Setsuna, we really didn’t have any other choice but to follow through with the plan. Had we not used it Lord Nivalis would not have arrived in time.’’

Hearing Kaze try and talk his way out of this Setsuna glared even more menacingly.

To shock to the three young men.

The man standing near them started to chuckle, but they made sure to keep quiet less they also wanted this treatment.

‘’S-Setsuna were it not for Kaze and his quick grasp of the situation, there would be no telling what would have happened to us. Thanks to him attracting Lord Nivalis, Sir Skald’s life was saved, and with him all of Andor’s sight.’’

That’s Fubuki your you, he was a young man well thought in etiquettes and political debate. Given the right circumstances he would be able to alter anyone’s point of view.

‘’…From the beginning I knew that you would do it, no matter how much you had to put yourself in danger. But still I was afraid of what would have happened if you didn’t succeed.’’

So that was what this was all about, she wasn’t mad that they had used his plan. She was just scared of the possible consequences.

Kaze stood up and looked her straight in the eyes.

‘’We live the life of a mercenary, there is no telling when we might not return from the battlefield. Choosing to sacrifice yourself to save a greater amount of allies is one of our ways of living. When you joined us you were aware of these consequences.’’

Setsuna looked down sorrowfully.

‘’Though… as long as you are waiting for me I shall return, you have my word.’’

As if she looked into a strong light the young girls eyes started to tear up, as she started to nod the young man embraced her.

The two youngster still on the ground got up and put their hand on their friend his shoulders.

‘’No matter where we go I’ve got your back, after all if we keep making women cry what kind of man would we be.’’

‘’Quite there is no place for a man who can only make a women weep tears of sorrow.’’

To change the heavy mood the youngsters headed to the center of camp and joined everyone in partying.

On a small hill two men were looking over the camp.

They were Ran and Skald who were picking up for lost time.

‘’He had the same look in his eyes as you did when we first met. I can tell you have raised him well, he might even surpass you quiet soon.’’

‘’I would have been happy no matter what life he would have chosen. Though I guess it does make me feel proud to see him surrounded by people that trust him with their lives.’’

Putting their hands on their weapons the two men stand opposite of each other.

‘’Our current score is 36 to 35 in my favor, be ready for 37.’’

‘’Heh, has being locked up in that stuffy castle of yours made you senile I am the one with 36 wins.’’

As the night carried on the starry sky was replaced with by a clear blue one, and it was finally time to depart once again.

The destination was the capital of Nivalis, Alos.

After a journey of about a week they had finally arrived at their destination.

The city was surrounded by a great stone wall, no matter in which direction one looked the wall kept going on.

As they walked through the gate the soldiers were greeted by a loud roar.

The sides of the roads were covered with people cheering at their return.

‘’Lord Nivalis!’’

‘’Great Lord!’’

Men, women, people young and old all had come to catch a glimpse of their Lord.

Just the presence of this man was enough to send vibrations through the entire city.

With a face that plainly said admiration, Kaze was at a loss for words.

Ran looked gaudy yet humble, strong yet caring.

Is this what it means to be one of the lords… just being near him makes it hard to breath.

Making their way through the castle town one would notice certain aspects of the city.

Bakeries with freshly made bread, taverns filled with people telling their tall tales.

If one had to describe this city in one word it would by lively, a simple yet accurate way to describe it.

When they had arrived in the castle grounds most of the soldiers were dismissed. They would head into town to use their earnings to treat themselves.

Though a few people would remain behind for a special reason.

‘’Now then everyone, please allow me to present to you my humble abode.’’

Walking through the corridor were Skald, his retainers and Kaze with his friends, Fubuki, Rentaro and Setsuna.

Due to them playing a massive role in the bandit subjugation Kaze and his friends were allowed inside the castle.

A grace which is given to only a select few people.

And because Kaze was brought here of course it was his maid’s task to accompany him.

On the wall were oil paintings of people and landscapes alike.

Statues made from marble were put in plain sight.

And on the floor a tapestry which originated from the country of Izumu, with bright colors which seemed to flow in well with the decoration of the room.

After walking for a bit the party was halted by an elegant maid.

‘’Welcome back milord.’’

Gracefully bowing, her chestnut brown hair which came to her shoulders covered her ears.

After running her hand through her hair so to put it back she sported a slightly agitated expression.

‘’Sir Hatsu has also returned and had given his report. Such a task would have better been off left to him, were it anyone other than Earl Motan you were meeting it would have caused us trouble.’’

It seemed like the Great Lord had abandoned his original duty to come to their assistance.

‘’Hatsu has been by my side for a long time now, he is a valuable soldier and politician. There have been multiple occasions where he has taken care of such matters for me. Aristocrats know of him and respect him, even without me they would be overjoyed to do business with him instead.’’

‘’Even so sending aid to another army could be left over to him. There was no reason to put yourself into danger like that.’’

With a smug smile Ran answered.

‘’My best friend’s life was in danger, would you seriously ask me not to come to his aid myself?’’

After a deep sigh the elegant maid ceased her confrontation.

‘’Very well I shall concede this time.’’

‘’Thank you Cynthia.’’

With a light bow Ran expressed his thanks.

‘’Now that that’s out of the way allow me to introduce you all. This is Cynthia the head maid of my personal staff.’’

‘’Pleased to meet your acquaintance, and it is a relief to see you in good health sir Skald.’’

Holding the frills of her dress she slightly lifted it up.

‘’Thank you Cynthia, it does me well to see that you are fine as well. Although it seems that you still have that same effect on people.’’

Looking back to the men he had brought back they were each flustered gazing at her beauty.

All but Skald and Victor were able to act normal, Hiro and Renzo were slightly blushing.

While on the other hand the youngsters were entirely captivated by her beauty, even Setsuna could not avert her eyes.

Showing a captivating smile towards the youngsters made their hearts skip a beat.

While chuckling Ran started to walk towards the courtyard.

‘’Now then shall we continue, we are almost at the training grounds.’’

Picking themselves up the youngsters quickly hurried behind their superiors.

Multiple men were training, some were practicing their sword techniques while other were doing target practice.

Stepping outside the sight of their Lord made the soldiers halt their exercises.

The soldiers who were training rapidly made their ways towards Ran, though standing in their way would be a dangerous thing.

Kaze made sure to step out of the way less he wanted to be squished.

Regaining his posture Kaze saw a rustling in a set of bushes and a flow of something white.

Filled with curiosity Kaze decided to leave his party and approach the white sighting.

Standing in front of the bush a hand quickly grabbed into him and pulled him inside.

Not having time to think Kaze fell on the ground, he felt the cold earth on his back yet a strangely warm sensation on his chest.

Opening his eyes he saw that his face was mere inches away from a girl with ruby eyes and snow white hair.

The warm feeling came from the girl’s ample bosom pressing down on Kaze’s chest.

With his mind occupied he was unable to think straight, seeing him fluster the girl wryly smiled and opened her mouth.

‘’Looks like I’ve found an interesting guy, since you’ve found me I can’t just let you go. So you will accompany me for the rest of the day.’’

While Kaze was confused the young girl proudly stuck out her chest.

‘’This’ll be way more fun than being stuck in that stuffy castle with my father all day, now let’s go.’’

Father? That white hair, does she mean…

The cheerful young girl grabbed Kaze’s hand without so much as hearing his answer and the two of them left the castle grounds.