“Several signs common to people who have spent much of their life on the battlefields are very noticeable. For example, these people are almost always capable of falling asleep anytime, anywhere, practically on demand. They also tend to live life vigorously and precariously, often with little thought for the longer term. After all, in a battlefield one might lose their life at any moment, so they learned to enjoy their lives while they still could.” - Labraz el Cavirse, Royal Tutor to the Imperial Family of Elmaiya, scholar and former general, circa 109 FP.

“It’s weird,” complained Kev while drinking in a tavern in the city of Levain. Alycea’s platoon happened to have their break that night, so he along with some friends he made from training went out to drink and enjoy themselves. “Been nearly nearly half a year now since I’ve become a mercenary and I’ve never fought any actual battle in that time. Had expected it’d be more… exciting, y’know?”

“Well, I for one ain’t complaining about being paid well for light and easy work,” said Boris. He was the large tiger-like therian boy from the challenge back then, and had also made his way to Alycea’s platoon. Kev and his friends had quickly bonded with the large but rather soft-spoken boy during their training. “Still better pay than most jobs out there, even.”

“Boris there got a point, Kev-boy,” added Skuljd as she quaffed down an entire tankard of ale in one go. “Money’s money, and getting paid for doing easy stuff’s always better than the alternative,” she pointed out. “Besides, given the political climate around this region, I bet you’ll get your excitement sooner or later. Shouldn’t be long, either way.”

Probably because the Southern Coalition army directly collapsed from the conflagration Reinhardt had set up to welcome them, the forces of Podovniy March had made no incursions into the Free City’s territory, despite the supposed alliance between the two. Maybe if the Free City’s army was occupied by the invasion from the south, they would have made a move, but the swift resolution of the invasion quashed their plans, at least temporarily.

Even so, it was unlikely that the Podovniy March would remain silent for too much longer, as the loss of the forces from Kolain the year before was already an insult to them. If not for the drought and internal instability, it was likely that they would have launched a larger-scale assault towards Levain, but things hadn’t played out the way they expected it to.

“Definitely rookie words there, kiddo,” said Rubor, who happened to be at the same bar with Kari. The two seemed to have gotten into a closer relationship over the past few months, and they happened to have the day off as well. As for why they were at the same tavern, it was mostly because the place had the best ale in the city, so it became a favorite hangout for the mercenaries on their off days. “Once you’ve been in a few battles, you’ll be appreciating downtimes like these much more, trust me.”

“It’s a bit on the boring side to just train, spar, and help others with their training though,” interjected Larissa from Kev’s table. The tall mixed breed girl remained part of the circle of friends through their training and beyond. “I guess we just want to get a little bit of excitement in our lives while we’re still young.”

“Oh, there’s definitely excitement to be found in battles,” noted Kari with an approving nod. “Most of those who actively sought it out tend to be either daredevils or a little off in the head though, like just about everyone in Lady Boss’s platoon for example, myself included,” she added. “There’s definitely thrill in toeing that line between life and death, but it’s not for everyone.”

What Kari said made Rubor guffaw loudly, and at the same time also made the youngsters somewhat pale at the implications. They were all familiar with Kari and mostly knew about her history. She and her brother Alva had joined the Free Lances during the Theodinaz campaign a decade and a half ago, and had gone through many battles since then.

“What kids like you should think about is to acclimatize yourself to this lifestyle and to improve your skills. Did you know that nearly a third of all rookie mercenaries died in their first battle?” added Kari after she took a sip from the small cup of hard liquor in her hand. “I guess for the four of you, you got lucky in that our opponent made a fatal mistake during your first battle and allowed themselves to be roasted to a crisp, but you can’t expect that to happen all the time.”

Kev, Boris, Skuljd, and Larissa nodded at Kari’s reminder. The previous disappointment the four of them felt at the loss of a chance to prove themselves faded at her words, though being young kids, they were still eager to do so. Of course, since the mercenary company was working in a region still in the throes of civil war, they would get their wish anyway sooner or later.

“Peaceful times like these are to be cherished,” noted Rubor with a gentler voice than what one would have expected from someone of his stature. “When I was working for the Southern Coalition, we had slave drivers for employers, and many people I knew or got acquainted with lost their lives in the many battles they fought. It’s one thing to go to war often, but finishing a battle just to head straight into another skirmish the next day isn’t a proper way of living, I tell you.”

“Got to have some fun times to make the hard times seem worthwhile,” added Kari in support of Rubor’s words. “Us being mercenaries are but means to an end, be it retiring with enough money to live in luxury for the rest of our lives, or maybe just making life better for your family… Everyone has their own goals,” she noted. “There’s few who are in it for the thrill of the fighting, and others who went into this line of work because fighting’s the only thing they were good at, but if possible, you kids should try to have a better goal for yourselves.”