Sora and I began talking, though it quickly became clear that neither of us was eager to share too much about our personal lives. The conversation remained professional, the kind of guarded exchange you'd have with someone you don’t fully trust. Silvana and the other recruits who attended the funeral met with Sora too, but it wasn’t much of a conversation—it felt more like an interrogation. Sora peppered us with questions about the previous assignments we’d taken on, evaluating our abilities and our successes.

After a while, she asked Silvana and the others if they could leave the two of us alone. "I may have a contract for your group, Nova," she said, her voice calm but holding a certain weight.

The others didn’t hesitate to leave me alone with her, trusting that I could handle whatever Sora had in mind. Once they were gone, the atmosphere around us changed. Standing near the ashes of Mannes, the man who built our group from nothing, the conversation shifted from personal matters to a new task she had in mind for the very group that Mannes had created.

Sora's tone was strange, almost distant. "What’s your objective?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.

Her question caught me off guard. What was Nova's objective? I remembered my talks with Mannes. His voice rang in my ears as if he were standing beside me, reminding me of his ideals. “They kill, they enslave, they take whatever they want without a second thought.” He had wanted our group to be different. He was a man with strong principles, perhaps too good for this world. But I still wondered—how did someone like him develop such a rigid ideology after being betrayed by his closest friend? Had he been right, or was he just too idealistic?

I was lost in thought, but Sora brought me back to reality. “I was expecting an easy answer," she said. "Gold, fame, women… aren’t those things you’re after?”

Her words were sharp, but I could see she wasn’t entirely serious. I gave her a measured response, explaining Mannes’ vision and how I had come to help him build Nova. But then she interrupted me again, a slight smirk on her lips.

“Now that Mannes is gone, do you plan to follow in his footsteps, or will you carve your path?”

I paused, thinking about her words. Before I could respond, she continued, “It’s up to you. But I have a proposal, one that might interest you.”

She leaned in slightly, her voice lowering as if she were about to share a secret. “It’s simple,” she said. “Get rid of a bandit group for me. There are only ten of them, but they’re well-equipped and veterans of looting and pillaging. Luckily for you, they’re understrength. They’ve lost men recently, so numbers are on your side.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I nodded, listening intently as she laid out the task.

“The good news,” she continued, “is that you have more than just numbers on your side. You have me. I may look like this, but I’m a noble. I have connections and resources that can be of use to you and your men. If you succeed, not only will you gain fame and fortune, but I’ll personally train you and your army. I can help you with equipment, tactics, everything. It’s a deal you can’t refuse.”

Killing bandits wasn’t against Mannes’ principles, but I still felt a twinge of caution. This offer sounded almost too good to be true. “What are the finer details of the contract?” I asked, trying to gauge if there were any traps hidden beneath her offer.

Sora explained the terms in more detail. The bandits were all wanted criminals, each with a bounty of 1,000 denars on their heads. If we succeeded, the bounty alone would bring in 10,000 denars. On top of that, Sora promised to personally pay me 8,000 denars and provide training for my men. The benefits outweighed the risks. It wasn’t the most complicated contract we’d taken on, so I accepted it on behalf of Nova.

After the deal was struck, we were granted entrance to the city. Sora arranged for us to stay in a large house—a luxury compared to the inns and camps we were used to. The house had eight rooms, each brightly lit by wide windows that allowed the sun to flood in. The scent of fresh herbs and lavender hung in the air, a welcome change from the staleness of the outdoors. The wooden floors creaked beneath our feet, but they were polished to a shine, reflecting the afternoon light.

The house was leagues better than anything I’d stayed in before. The rooms were spacious, with plush beds covered in fine linen. Each room had a small basin for washing, and the furniture looked like something fit for a minor noble. A far cry from the rough camp tents we’d been sleeping in. After we’d settled in, the recruits were already lounging in their rooms, marveling at the luxury.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, Sora appeared at the doorstep with a letter, a few books, and a couple of garrison troops by her side. The letter was a formal decree, permitting us to train with the garrison at their camp.

I was eager to train with the city’s soldiers, but Sora seemed to have different plans. “While the others are off training, you and I will have a bit of fun,” she said with a wink, holding up one of the books she’d brought.

Her words left me dumbfounded. I wasn’t sure what to make of her. Silvana and the other recruits didn’t notice Sora’s gesture—they were already preparing to head off to the training grounds with the garrison. I waved them off, still trying to process Sora’s strange behavior. “This has to be the weirdest client I’ve ever had,” I thought.

Before they left, I remembered the party screen I had explored earlier. I quickly jotted down the potential of each recruit on a piece of paper and handed it to Sora.

“Here,” I said. “This should help you instruct the trainers on how to focus their efforts.”

She glanced at the paper, scanning it briefly before handing it over to a garrison soldier while smiling at me she said “Let’s see if you’re any good at judging a man’s worth,” she teased. Then, with a playful smirk, she grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the house.

The door shut behind us, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was about to step into yet another strange chapter in this increasingly bizarre tale.