“Sometimes a sapling might need a hand to grow properly. As the one who planted it, it’s your responsibility to lend that hand, should it be needed.” - Old folk saying.

In the end, the challenge incident resolved peacefully and in a way that benefited the Free Lances as a Company. Sure, a few of the trainees quit – not that those types were likely to last much longer either way – as they were disheartened by the disparity between then and the mercenaries who was brought over to test them, a point further punctuated by how most of those mercenaries were either their age or younger.

For the most part however, the trainees received both a much-needed humbling that allowed them to better assess their capabilities, as well as a solid dose of motivation to keep up with their training. While monetary incentives – only full members of the Company get paid that salary they signed up for, though trainees received free meals and housing at the least – were one thing, seeing other, younger kids do better than them incensed their pride and made them strive all the harder in their subsequent training.

Nor was the challenge the only one. A few other trainees – much fewer in number, only around a dozen or so – tried the same not a week later, as they had missed out on the first one and were confident enough in their capabilities despite the display they had seen. Erycea happened to be in the mood for punching some bags that day and took care of all of them on her lonesome, though, which further punctuated the point.

As for Skuljd, she received her commendation and promised bonus from her step-uncle.

She, her brother, and her cousin were there to train in order to join the Company themselves, that part was no lie whatsoever. Since they were already more familiar though, Reinhardt had also tasked them to help spread the news of other avenues available to the trainees once some discontent had brewed up amongst them over the monotonous training.

It was not a lie that she spread. The Company explicitly allowed such a challenge in case their early filtering had missed people whose capabilities were already above and beyond their compatriots, and at the same time, such an act would also show the trainees where they stood in relation to full members of the company, which was hoped to be a motivation for them to strive even harder.

Reinhardt having a few trusted members amongst the trainees helped spread the word and simply made sure that the option did not remain unknown, as a little bit of competition and rivalry never really hurt the young. Similarly, Erycea’s group was picked to administer the test so that their youthful ages further highlighted the difference more starkly.

As a result, the solidarity amongst the young trainees improved, and they took to the training more seriously, doubly so when later in the winter many of them were “graduated” from the first part of their training – with newer trainees who joined later on to take over their menial tasks that was part of their daily training – and moved on to training that involved more of weapons practice and small-unit tactics instead.

Their first year was meant to build character, to make certain that the trainees were unafraid of hardship and to not see any duties as “beneath” them. That the boring menial tasks also weeded out those who lacked the mentality that Reinhardt felt was needed for his Company was an added bonus, to be fair, as was the usage of the trainees as free labor.

That said, as winter grew deeper and spring loomed over the horizon, Reinhardt found himself rather troubled over a different matter. Namely the lack of contracts that suited the conditions he wanted. Since they were camped at Zephirous for that year – something the city had not minded at all since the mercenaries directly caused a large influx of money streaming into the local economy and behaved themselves to boot – they received many offers from the nearby former Imperial territories.

Yet the majority of those offers were in search of additional fodder to pad out their armies in poorly thought-out conquests mostly fueled by greed.

Reinhardt had enough experience to read between the lines. While many of the contracts offered riches and rewards that were far above what was normally offered, there lay many risks and traps behind them. For one, many of the offered contracts counted their chickens before they hatched. The offer of riches to be paid on victory.

It was utter folly to think that victory could be guaranteed like that, so Reinhardt avoided those kinds of offers like the plague, with the agreement of his lieutenants as well.

As such, his main worry was a lack of suitable contracts for the Free Lances to undertake. His own self-imposed deadline of summer was approaching, and while he had shortlisted a few contracts as possibles, none of them were truly ideal, or that good, for that matter. In fact, the best option on Reinhardt’s table at the moment was to return to Posuin to undertake some garrison duties.

Such a contract would be relatively safe, gave them plenty of time to train their trainees, as well as provide the seniors with a chance to rest a bit more, but what Reinhardt wanted was a contract that was all those, along with chances to whet the blades of their younger members under reasonable conditions, and ideally higher pay too.

Some might consider that sort of contract as wishful thinking, given the current state of the nations around them, and while the Free Lances had overflowing coffers at the moment, to remain idle for too long would not be good for the company’s morale either. It was one reason why Reinhardt was slightly troubled as the year changed and the warmth of spring started to replace the cold of winter.

It was around the middle of spring the next year that a change in the situation arrived in an unexpected manner.