“The worth of a person is probably one matter that is most subjective of all, and the answer you get would entirely depend on the nature and upbringing of the person answering the question. Some preachers and philosophers love to preach that all lives are supposed to be equal, but anyone with actual life experience would know just how false such a statement is.
Try dangling the loved ones of someone who preaches that all lives are equal along with some strangers off a cliff and you will see the hypocrisy behind the pleasant words.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting to see you in person, Captain Edelstein,” said Nestor with some visible surprise when Reinhardt came over to the command tent of the main base the next morning. Other than Nestor, Duke Orsla Banitu of Kolischei and Griselda were also present, while the day’s fighting had yet to start, with the troops from both sides still enjoying their breakfast. “Did something unexpected happen yesterday? Or are the captives you got that important to warrant you coming in person?”
“It’s the latter, Your Grace, and to correct you, just the one captive in particular,” said Reinhardt as he reached back and dragged Kang Hua-Li over by the shoulder, bringing the young woman into the tent. With Reinhardt standing directly behind her and one of his meaty paws perched on her shoulder, she looked particularly small in stature, like a cat dragging over a nervous mouse to show to its owner in a way.
She had been roused really early in the morning earlier that day, then made to wash herself in a stream near the mercenary camp, guarded by some of the mercenaries all the while. Then she had been given fresh, clean clothes to wear and a filling breakfast before she was brought to the main camp along with the other captives by the mercenaries.
The girl had been an officer’s adjutant in the Imperial army, and with a single glance she could tell that the people gathered in the tent Reinhardt brought her to had to be important people, one and all. Not that she could do anything about it though. Her hands were tightly bound together at the wrist, and even if that wasn’t the case, she highly doubted that she could get out from under Reinhardt’s grasp to begin with.
“This girl speaks common,” stated Reinhardt simply, which naturally garnered the attention of everyone present in the tent. From Hua-Li’s features it was obvious that she was one of the foreign invaders, notwithstanding the fact that Reinhardt brought her in as a captive. The language barrier had been causing headaches for the commander of the coalition forces so finding a breakthrough in the matter was something they all placed great value on. “We have also promised her good treatment as long as she remains cooperative, and so far, she has been cooperative.”
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“Oh, she does?” asked Nestor with obvious interest as he walked closer. “How fluent is she? Can she understand me right now?” he asked, switching to common in the second sentence instead of the more flowing tongue Posuin typically used. “Or am I talking too fast for her?”
“Uh… It is… a little difficult if Milord speaks too fast,” said Hua-Li somewhat haltingly, her tone demure and submissive as she caught enough to understand that she was standing before people well above her in rank, or at least its equivalent. “I can understand quite a bit, but what I have learned might be a bit… limited in some areas, since it is only what our family and other merchant families passed down the line.”
“Good enough, good enough,” praised Nestor with a bright look on his face when he heard Hua-Li reply in common. “I will reaffirm what Captain Edelstein has offered to you. If you cooperate with us, you will not be treated badly, understand?”
“Understood, Milord. I am willing to cooperate but I must also inform you that anything I know would be little more than public knowledge amongst the soldiers,” said Hua-Li more tentatively. She had thought about it over the night before she decided to be upfront about the matter. It was not like she was betraying her country by telling the enemy things that were public knowledge anyway, and she didn’t know any confidential information even if she wanted to pass them on. “I am not high in rank and am unfamiliar with things that only the high ranked people might be aware of.”
“Not unexpected,” commented old Duke Banitu as he also approached closer, his left hand absent-mindedly caressing his scruffy beard. “Either way, your being able to understand us alone is enough to warrant you special treatment as long as you cooperate with us. I doubt your people did not face similar issues with the language barrier in the regions you have conquered so far.”
“That does indeed happen, Milord,” stated Hua-Li openly as she nodded. “This first wave of our army has many people who serve as interpreters for that reason, mostly people similarly descended from merchants that had dealt with your land in the past,” she added. “There’s not many who joined the military like me, so they’re mostly in the safety of our back lines.”
“Makes sense, makes sense. It’d be hard to impose order in their conquered territories if they can’t even communicate with the civilians there,” said Nestor as he nodded as well. “Also explains why none of the soldiers speak our language if such people are already rare to begin with. You got a really good catch this time, Captain. I owe you a hefty bonus once all this fighting is done.”
“It’s what we’re supposed to do, Your Grace,” replied Reinhardt with a slight bow and a grin. He had felt that the captive girl would be an appreciated breakthrough in intelligence that warranted him coming in person to present her, and his guess had been validated by the calculative smiles on the faces of the Dukes present.