11 — Clearing for Action

11 — Clearing for Action

I healed the dwarves’ wounds as promised, aside from the more severe...deficiencies.

“Thank you,” Rockwell said.

“I’ll be charging you extra, for the record,” I said. “Let’s get to the field. I expect your help as well, Your Highness.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, boy!”

“That does not mean you’re allowed to run off straight into enemy lines.”

After an unconvincing moment of hesitation, he replied, “I know.”

His subtle pout reminded me all too much of another certain someone. They would certainly make a dangerous combo.

“We should hurry,” I said, making for the door. “We need to do something about those ants. With proper breaks, of course.”

“You should lead the slaves. We can only command ourselves with any degree of efficiency.”

“Got it.”

My team, Grand, Rockwell, and his court headed for the slave quarters. The more fighters we had, the better our chances, although I’d need Ketty or Kefin to make sure they were safe to use. If some in their ranks had indeed been brainwashed, we couldn’t risk it spreading or compromising the operation.

“I’ll take charge of the slaves I healed,” I said.

“I take it that’s partly the reason for your late arrival?” the king asked.

“I’ve healed your men around the battlefield as well. Maybe if I hadn’t, Kefin wouldn’t have been put in danger.”

“You trust your slaves.”

“They’re only my slaves because they refuse to be anything else. They could be their own people if they weren’t so stubborn.”

“Why would you want to relinquish such valuable servants?”

“Because no one really wants to be a slave,” I stated. “Criminals are one thing, but I think treating people inhumanely because of a label is wrong. I don’t want them to hate the very thought of another day of life. That’s why I free those who work, who earnestly try. Call me egotistical, but that’s just how I do things.”

“Do all you humans think this way?”

“No. I’m definitely the exception. But that doesn’t mean I have to go out of my way to fit the mold.”

“I suppose not,” Rockwell said.

“Who is the slaves’ master?”

“Hell if I know. Who does? Speak,” he called out.

“I know,” Grios answered. “Aleslei owns most of them. A few are under my charge.”

His perfect timing struck me as a little odd. I regarded him, considering the deeper meaning behind his words, and said, “I can do what I want with them, right, Your Highness?”

“Whatever you see fit,” Rockwell replied.

“Okay. Everyone wait outside for a bit. Team, with me.”

“Make it quick.”

I entered the room where I’d healed the slaves some time earlier. Their tension ebbed upon seeing me. It felt nice to have a warm welcome for once.

“Listen up, everyone,” I announced. “You’re all about to be under my command, but I promise you three things: You will not be treated as fodder. You will receive proper healing. You will be afforded reasonable breaks.” The room stirred. Shadows of grief fell over some of their faces, realizing they were about to be sent back out into battle. “If you can swear to work to the best of your ability, I will temporarily annul your slave pacts.”

The slaves exchanged glances.

I continued, “Should you act against me, my companions, or King Rockwell, however, you will be taking a one-way suicide mission straight into the ants’ nest. You are allowed to prioritize your life and retreat as necessary, but runaways will not be tolerated. You’re free to refuse these terms, but those who agree, I can begin temporarily removing your bindings. What will you do?” I asked. “Will you give your oath and join me?”

The slaves hesitated. After some nervous dithering, a voice said, “I will.” A pale-faced woman staggered to her feet. She had been recovering from a case of magical enervation.

“I give my word,” another said. He was wearing a Church HQ robe.

“I have some things to talk to you lot about, but I guess we can do that later,” I replied.

I approached the two volunteers and cast Dispel, ridding them of their crests. I could have sworn I saw another light flash as the spell took effect, but upon witnessing the sight, the room swelled into a fervor of yet more volunteers.

“State your names, skills, and magical affinities to my companions here,” I instructed them. “We’ll divide you up into teams, so be truthful.”

Meanwhile, I woke up the remaining three healers and asked for their answers. Naturally, they agreed.

“All right, you five,” I addressed the healers. “I want to hear your stories later, but for now you’re on Area Barrier and first aid duty. As long as you don’t die, I can save you from anything, so be cautious and only do what you can. I know magical exhaustion can take a while to pass, so be careful.”

They nodded in reply. I had considered the possibility that they might not take kindly to me, but I was relieved to be proven wrong. Once everyone was done reporting in, I went around and cast Dispel. Many people emotionally broke down at receiving their precious, limited freedom.

Others, however, let it go to their heads.

“Idiot!” a man spat, reaching out to take me hostage. “You think some promise is gonna keep me from— What?! What the hell’s happening to me?!”

The man’s body glowed red, and he shot out of the room.

“I did warn you all,” I said. “Don’t take an oath before the divines lightly or you’ll be joining him down in the ants’ nest. I’d think long and hard before you try to copy him.”

“Wh-What if we run out of magic?” someone asked.

“You can leave the front line and take a break. If you’re hurt, I can heal you. I’m your acting commander, so my orders are the only ones you have to follow.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“Your fate is in your own hands. I won’t force anyone to do anything.”

Minus the five healers, fifteen of the twenty-five slaves joined our ranks.

“Okay, everyone under contract, follow me,” I said.

I noticed one of them looking extremely pale, but there were more important things to focus on. I stowed the image away in a corner of my mind.

“I’m borrowing these people,” I reported to Rockwell. “The other slaves and dwarves are yours to defend the kingdom with. I only need you and Grand to come with me to the front line.”

The king nodded. “Understood.”

The dwarves of his court started to argue but quieted down again when I stated, “If you want to go, be my guest, but be prepared to protect yourselves.”

A tiny sigh from His Majesty didn’t escape my ears.

We exited the temple-like building and made for where the fighting seemed worst.

“Ketty, Kefin, lead on,” I said. They sounded their agreement and I turned back to Rockwell. “What do you fight with?”

“With my body, of course!” he answered.

I noticed special gauntlets adorning his arms. “I assume you mean those?”

“Made of adamantite and diamond. My trusty weapons.”

“Can you pull off a charge with something like that?”

“Long-range attacks may give me some trouble, but that’s why I compensate with other techniques, like the stone wall you saw earlier.”

“Could you even combine with a golem?”

“I tried something similar as a boy,” he said, “but my control of magic was never enough to make practical use of it. I don’t test fate anymore.”

“But you can fight the ants, right?”

“With ease, so long as they don’t get the better of me.”

Perhaps he and Grand could work together to expand the ants’ burrows to give us more room to fight in.

We headed straight for where Lionel had been fighting before. The soldiers began to cheer their king’s name when they saw us approaching. We needed some time to explain the situation, so I asked Lionel to handle the ants on his own for a while, and he happily agreed.

King Rockwell took his place before the frontline fighters. “Today, we will protect our kingdom and gut our enemy at the source,” he called out. “We have been given a chance. Do not waste it. The S-rank healer Luciel has returned the slaves to citizens, so no one is to order them around. Assist them however you can. I will be facing the enemy on the front line while Luciel takes command here. Obey him as you would me.”

Their king rushed to join Lionel on the field as the soldier heaved his giant greatsword. The battle-crazed lunatic duo began to crush the ants with overwhelming force, and the soldiers looked on with wide eyes full of shock. I stepped out in front and clapped my hands once. All eyes turned to me.

“Allow me to explain what we’ll be doing,” I said. “We will be divided into teams. One will lead the offensive, one will prioritize defense of the kingdom, one will focus on navigation, another will be first aid, and the last will handle food. Those two fighting over there will lead the defense. My subordinate, Ketty, will lead the offense and enter the tunnels directly, joined by Kefin, who will head navigation. Their goal is to ascertain more about the ants.”

An intense wave of confusion washed over the dwarves. I suppose I had kind of just waltzed up and started spouting orders in place of their king.

“I will lead first aid and food,” I continued. “I’d like anyone not skilled in combat to help me. The rest of you should continue defending against any ants that crawl out of their holes. It’s possible this entire attack is just a diversion, so you need to protect your kingdom with your lives. Don’t take that too literally, though. I’ll heal any and all injuries. King Rockwell and I have reached an agreement, so don’t be shy.”

The former slaves raised their voices, but the dwarves were silent.

“What is it you want to protect?” Grand asked them. “Your pride? Or your country? Hell, maybe just your family. Luciel’s here ’cause I asked ’im to be. What’s his race matter? Soldiers o’ the earth, fight for peace in our kingdom! And for the ale of victory!”

The dwarves cheered. I really couldn’t be mad that Grand was more popular, but I could still be a little sad. Which I was, but whatever worked was fine with me.

As the curtain rose on our battle, I felt a shudder. Of fear or of excitement, I couldn’t say. The one thing I was certain of was that I would not let anyone die here.

The dwarves scattered to wherever there was a fight to be had. Evidently, that place wasn’t here, as only Rockwell’s court remained.

“Ketty, Kefin, pull back as soon as it gets dangerous,” I said. “We’ll rework our strategy if need be.”

“Yes, sir,” they replied.

I handed them some lights. “Slaves, obey their instructions if you don’t want to be fodder for the ants.”

“H-Hey, when do we get weapons?” one of them asked.

“You’re not sending us out there empty-handed, are you?” another added.

“What are your names?” I responded.

“Mappulo.”

“Jabrone.”

I checked the list but didn’t see any notes about them knowing how to wield any weapons. Only magic.

“You don’t need weapons to cast spells,” I said. “And you’re underestimating those two. Don’t do anything stupid and they’ll get you home.”

“Let’s get a move on,” Ketty urged them.

“Stop wasting Mister Luciel’s time,” Kefin cautioned.

The pair started walking, and behind them, the slaves dragged their feet.

“Don’t forget you’ve got a lot riding on the reports they give me,” I called out, putting a little more pep in their step as I passed by where Lionel and Rockwell were. “You guys are on standby for now.”

The two warriors stared longingly after Ketty and Kefin as the duo entered the tunnel before returning to slaughtering the insectoid monsters. The rest of us set up a base camp.

“Okay, are there any citizens who can do work other than fight?” I asked the king’s retainers.

“They’re in His Majesty’s palace,” one replied.

“What kind of work?” another challenged me with a nasty glare.

“Filling stomachs,” I said with a smile. “People are going to get hungry at some point.”

Grand stepped in to smooth things over yet again. “Luciel’s a swell lad, just a bit touchy about folks who get under his skin these days. He won’t do ’em no harm.”

“If you insist,” the other dwarf sighed.

Several of them departed for the king’s quarters, giving me the opportunity to chat with Grand.

“You’ve really been playing it up lately,” I commented, smiling at him in thanks.

“Who, me?” he asked, awkwardly looking away. “I ain’t tryin’ to throw my weight around ’cause you had bad experiences with the dwarves or nothin’.”

“I always knew you had authority, but I never learned what you wrote in that letter. And after everything that happened back there, and how Rockwell acted, I can’t help but feel like this whole thing was planned.”

“I knew His Majesty had sons, aye, but I never knew he was that far gone.”

It seemed like he’d genuinely had no idea. Still, the dwarves could have used a little attitude improvement.

“You know if Kefin had drawn his sword, everyone in that room would have been dead. Not that I think he would have.”

Grand said nothing for a moment. “You trust ’im.” He shut his eyes. His conflicted expression pained me a little, so I decided to be honest.

“It’s not like I think there’s absolutely no chance they’ll double-cross me at some point, Lionel, Ketty, and Kefin included. But I owe them my life and vice versa. We’ve all done a little give and a little take.”

“That so.” He opened his eyes. “But any slave I’ve met’d give anything to be free. Why don’t they want it?”

“I think I can make a guess, but I won’t ask them. I doubt I ever will.”

“Don’t wanna know?”

“Not particularly. I’ll ask the important questions, worry about the important things, but nothing more.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because questions they can’t give answers to are questions they probably can’t answer themselves yet. When they want to talk, I’m here. When they want to be freed, I’ll oblige.” I grinned. “As long as it doesn’t kill me somehow.”

“Sure ya won’t regret anything?” he asked with an expression that was difficult to read.

“Sure I will. But struggle’s part and parcel of life. Nothing comes easy, and I’m only human. Even Lord Reinstar left a few regrets behind.”

Grand narrowed his eyes and gave a firm nod. “Ya went and got awful strong in the last few years.”

Hearing that made me happy. No matter what sort of cheat-level, overpowered abilities one was born with, people made mistakes. But when it came to overcoming obstacles, were climbing over it or giving up really the only two options? I didn’t think so. Who said you couldn’t destroy walls entirely? Or step to the side?

Adaptability. When going up against big conglomerates, if you were losing in startup or operating costs, it never did any good to simply try to outprice your competitor. It was always better to investigate demands for other products. Research, understanding the consumer, and adaptability. That was how you came out ahead in the business world. Of course, things didn’t always go perfectly, but they’d never have the chance to if you simply gave up.

“Regret can take years to get over,” I said. “And those are years you’ll never get back. So I’m just going to do what I can while I can.”

“Maybe it’s time we dwarves do a little movin’ on ourselves,” Grand murmured.

I saw the five healers standing on their own, trembling. The gloom of the cavernous kingdom certainly played a role in their trepidation, and I sympathized with them. This place, with monsters crawling everywhere, was no place for a healer. Of that I was painfully aware. Their shaking bodies reminded me of myself back during my training with Brod, and it made me want to pat myself on the back for my bravery. Still, I’d do it all again if I ever had the chance to redo this life.

“Maybe introductions are in order,” I said to them, recovering from my trip down memory lane. “Starting with me, I suppose. I’m Luciel, formerly with the Yenice branch, now returned to my duties with HQ.”

No one even blinked. Doubtless my preamble hadn’t been necessary.

“Merido, healer. I once served the Prasta branch in Luburk,” one said.

“I’m Hanz, sir. Also from Prasta.”

“Naratt. I’m from D’elesuid. Illumasian.”

“My name is Norman, and I hail from Illumasia as well.”

“I’m Lihzalea. I’m from Ebiza in Shurule.”

“We’re in an emergency, so I’m going to be short,” I said. “Can you all use Area Barrier?”

Most of them responded in the affirmative, but Lihzalea said, “I can’t.”

“Then you four split into groups of two and start casting Area Barrier around the dwarves,” I instructed them. “Come back when your mana starts getting low.”

“Should we not prioritize healing?” one asked.

“Normally we would, but your levels are probably too low to sustain it. You need to level up a little more.”

“And this will do that?” The four I was addressing gave me a confused look.

“It should. I speak from experience. And take this seriously, because this is to better your magic.”

The four sounded off, formed pairs with those from their same branches, and set off.

“How long have you been a healer, Lihzalea?” I asked.

“I’m a spirit mage,” she replied.

“A spirit mage?”

“Yes. I don’t know about the others, but my class would appear to be arcanist.”

“And that means...you use spirit magic?”

She giggled. “That’s right. There are eight affinities arcanists can use: light, fire, water, earth, wind, darkness, thunder, and poison. We conduct magic through the spirits by offering up our mana to them.”

So, like, the spirit version of a spellsword? Sort of? If her powers were similar to what Lord Reinstar had, she could have been exceptionally strong...although, considering everyone on the Valkyries, Ketty, and Nalia could have whooped my butt, who was I to assume otherwise?

“What can you do?” I asked.

“A bit of magic of the recovery, support, and offensive varieties,” she replied. “And I know my way around a greatsword or two. Or just a regular sword if you don’t have one.”

Now here was the perfect example of how appearances could be deceiving when it came to the existence of numbered attributes and levels. I would never have believed someone so petite could swing around a greatsword otherwise.

“How did you become a slave?”

“Well, I was out shopping, then stopped for some eats, and then I was in the back of a carriage.”

Yeah, that didn’t sound very legal. What restaurant went around spiking its clientele? And wait, “stopped for some eats”?

“You stopped where?”

“Um, at a food place,” she said.

“So, uh, a restaurant.” I was surely jumping to conclusions. She couldn’t have been one of the reincarnated, but I still had to choose my words carefully. “How well can you fight?”

“Better than the others. I think?”

“Noted.” I pulled out Lionel’s old greatsword and held it out to her. “I need you to swear to the divines that you won’t use this against me, my companions, or the dwarves.”

“I swear.”

The contract was made, for whatever good it would do seeing as the spirits could nullify them.

“I want you to act as my bodyguard for now,” I said.

“We’re not looking for the ants’ nest?”

“We’d just be getting in the way and could get hurt if we charged straight in. It’s better to secure a place for everyone to rest and eat first.”

I noticed that she averted her gaze as I considered what to have her do in the meantime. She probably could have managed well enough using Lil Shiny to wash vegetables. But then the dwarves returned with the women and children who couldn’t fight, as well as food and pots and such.

“Thank you for your help,” I told them. “I know there’s a lot of fighting happening nearby, but I’ll do everything in my power to keep you all safe. For starters, I’ll set up my barrier magic just in case.”

I cast Area Barrier to ease their concerns. They seemed confused for a moment, but then broke into excited chatter when they realized they could knock each other around without a twinge of pain.

“I’m glad to see you all in good spirits, but you’ve dishes to prepare,” King Rockwell scolded them, sending them off to do their work.

I joined them for the time being as I waited for Ketty and Kefin’s return.