“Blood spilled together is thicker than water of the womb.” - Old folk saying.

“So, brief me while we’re on the way, Sal. What should we expect from… your father?” asked Reinhardt as the four of them – Grünhildr having joined them just as they exited the tent as she had apparently followed Salicia – walked towards the city. “Any political leanings and habits we should be aware of? Anything of value in consideration of the offer?”

“I’m afraid whatever I can tell you would be greatly out of date, Boss. I last saw my father over two decades ago,” admitted Salicia. “We didn’t part on bad terms, mind you, he just wanted the family to spread out as contingencies in case the political tension of the time back then blew up. As you know, Maglos getting his noggin’ chopped off triggered the civil war in the Empire soon after that.”

“Yeah, everyone’s familiar with that by now,” replied Reinhardt. The death of Maglos the Tyrant – by the hands of the infamous Bounty Hunter – a couple years before the founding of Paradise was an event that shook the continent, and resulted in the Clangeddin Empire, the greatest power in Alcidea, falling into civil war as every region it encompassed started fighting for its own benefits.

“Pops was the sort that tried to remain neutral at all costs. It’s a family tradition, almost, so I was rather surprised to hear that he’s here representing another power at all,” continued Salicia as they walked. “Our old territory was small, but was right next to Levain, to its east. We’re mostly sandwiched between Levain to the west, Podovniy to the east, and Anduillas to the north. Trade and mining’s pretty much our main incomes back then.”

“Mining? Anything valuable in your lands?” asked Reinhardt with curiosity.

“Nothing that valuable. One onyx mine and a small silver mine on our western side, a few iron mines as well. We make good steel and are known for our blacksmiths,” replied Salicia as she explained. “I guess if the three regions around us fell into hostility, they would want our supply of weapons for themselves, so that might be why pops aligned himself with Levain.”

“And does that indicate anything?” asked Elfriede in turn.

“Only that Levain likely offered him either the best conditions or asked the most politely,” replied Grünhildr in Salicia’s stead. “The lord was one of those whom you could plead with but not threaten. Threatening him would just make him resist all the more stubbornly.”

“Grün put it aptly. Him representing Levain is a sign that it’s probably a better employer than the other two would be,” added Salicia as she nodded to Grünhildr’s words. “Mind you, Boss, that all this depends on him not having changed over the decades since I last saw him.”

“Understandable worry, and you’ve told me plenty to go with, so thanks,” replied Reinhardt with a nod. “You two want to come along? Your being there might give us a little bit more edge in the negotiations.”

“That’s an offer I’ll take, thanks, Boss.”

“Where she goes, I go.”

“Good, now let’s meet this father of yours, shall we?”

******************************

The four mercenaries reached the inn where Salicia’s father stayed in the city not thirty minutes later. The inn was situated directly across the street from the mercenary’s guild of Zephirous, which was a strategic location, and made sense as a place to stay for people looking to hire mercenaries. A boy from the inn went upstairs to inform Salicia’s father of their arrival soon after as the innkeeper instructed him to do so.

As for the guild itself, it was effectively an unofficial body that helped arrange for mercenaries to meet with employers, while receiving a small sum for their services. Their services had become so ubiquitous these days that they had enough power to the point that any employer or Company that was blacklisted by the guild would have a hellish time finding either employees or employment ever again.

While the guild’s various branches – practically every major city has one – communicated often through mail, the location still determined the sort of contracts that flowed towards them. The guild in Zephirous for example, primarily handled contracts from northern Knallzog and the remnants of the Clangeddin empire, which it was situated right next to.

Any contract offer sent towards Knallzog from the former Empire would reach Zephirous first due to its proximity, which was why Reinhardt chose to rest the Company there over the past year as well.

Before five minutes had passed, Reinhardt noticed the nobleman who could only be Salicia’s father – they had the same deep shade of dark blue hair, and there were enough similarities between their facial features despite the gender differences for him to be certain – walk down the stairs quickly, yet not hurriedly.

One glance at Bernd Adenauer showed that he was a fit and healthy man for his age and status. Typically nobles, much less ones in their sixties like him, were less than physically fit, but the man’s slim, athletic build showed that he took efforts to keep himself in shape despite his age. In a way, he almost looked like an older, male version of his daughter at a glance.

The way he dressed himself – in simple but good quality travel clothes, lacking in the typical ostentatious displays often favored by nobility – also made Reinhardt up his assessment of the man by another notch. The man clearly didn’t show off his status, but instead it was evident from his posture and the way he held himself that he was a man of high standing.

He also had to hold in his amusement when the man reached the last set of stairs and noticed them waiting for him, his eyes widening almost comically as he noticed Salicia amongst them. His surprised look was so genuine that Reinhardt believe he really had no idea that his own daughter was part of the Company he came to hire.

“Salicia!?” asked the nobleman with some incredulity. “What are you doing here?”

“Hi, pops,” replied Salicia all too relaxedly from beside Reinhardt. “I’m part of the Company you’re trying to hire? You didn’t know?”