Marvin Ryder and Sandra Bright were Mercenaries, meaning they travelled the known world taking jobs from people with a certain price. And it just so happens that both Marvin and Sandra worked with Joshua and the Groom and thus one of the few people they can trust around their children.
While their fathers were reluctant, it was generally accepted that the Dirus-Archiman Alliance would entertain the notion of their children becoming Scout Rangers. Mark was surprised that they were fine with letting their children, and heirs mind you, pursue such a dangerous lifestyle.
"Why'd you let us follow through such a dangerous path father?" Mark asked as they watched Marvin and Sandra introduce themselves to Miriam meanwhile Mark can see Gray talking to an older woman with an Axe from the sides.
"To be honest, I'm against it, I can list a few reasons for me to tell you and your sister to pursue a less dangerous path," Joshua said as they sat by the steps of the entrance of the Mansion. "But for the most part, it's also my duty as a father to support what you and your sister want."
I can understand that feeling, Mark thought to himself. If one were to compare the job of a Mercenary and Scout Ranger, one might even say that they're no different from Adventurers the only difference is that Mercenaries are cheaper to hire while Scout Rangers are far more expensive to hire as from what Mark learned from his research via the Holo-Phone.
Another thing that separates Mercenaries from Scout Rangers is that Mercenaries have no sense of morality meaning they have no problem indulging in banditry or any other atrocity if it meant getting a quick cash grab. Scout Rangers meanwhile have a 'For the Greater Good' mindset and while this means they'd end up pulling the needs of the many over the needs of the few approach in times of crisis, they still have a heart. But at the same time, Mercenaries aren't bound by a set of honours or principles and will do whatever it meant getting the job done while Scout Rangers are held back by their principles.
For example, when presented with an option where a person or even a group of people need to die for thousands to live the Scout Rangers will end up finding a way to save both sides while Mercenaries would end up just outright killing the person or group.
By the end of the day it's only a matter of morality, Mark thought to himself as he watched the trio of adults talk to the would-be married couple and their parents. Gray on the other hand practically skipped as she sat next to him, in the last few weeks she had grown out her hair as per her grandmother's wishes. From what he had heard, if Gray were to become a Scout Ranger she must obey certain things that her grandmother must lay down. In this case, it would be to be a proper Noblewoman.
In other words, Princess training. Mark thought as Gray started talking about Leah Strauss, she was a tall woman skilled with an axe. She had short light blue hair that matches her eyes and she wore the same set of clothes that Marvin and Sandra were wearing implying that they were on the same group of mercenaries that their parents hired.
"I'm excited about this!" Gray said happily. "According to grandmother if we do our training well then they'll let us become mercenaries with them too at the age of Twelve!"
"With supervision I take it," Mark said with a smile. "Imagine all three of us exploring the world on our own though."
"That would be awesome!" Gray said excitedly. "But my grandmother told me that I'm only allowed for a few years to make sure that I can focus on my work as a Master."
"Which is why…when we're older can we—" Gray turned to Mark with a shy look on her face. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of both Sandra and Leah taking turns in beating up Marvin.
"Hitting on the bride is an absolute no you creep!" Sandra said angrily. "And not to mention you have a family back home," Leah added kicking him in the genitals.
Hell hath no fury than a scorned woman, Mark thought to himself with an amused smile on his face while Gray had a blank look on her face as though she was trying to find a way to continue the conversation.
"So what were you saying earlier."
"Nothing!" She quickly said running away leaving Mark somewhat baffled but he spotted Sandra walking towards him with a curious look on her face.
"So you'll be my ward?" She told him with a stern glare on her face.
"Wait if you'll be mentoring me, and Leah is mentoring Gray does that mean—"
"—Do not worry," She said in a reassuring tone, according to her despite Marvin being a blatant skirt chaser he's actually a kind and caring man and he even has a daughter the same age as they were so it was fine, especially when compared to Leah and Sandra who have yet to experience mentoring a child. It wasn't giving Mark any form of assurance as this implied that Sandra isn't very great at taking care of children which worries him.
Then again, Mark thought as they watched Miriam look at Marvin who was getting her to open up while Gray continued to talk all the while Leah just kept nodding mindlessly. Maybe they chose it based on our personalities.
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[The Second Advent]
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When learning about weddings within the Masterdom of Archiman it's fairly straightforward, it is comprised of two parts. The Contract and the Ceremony, the former is where they would sign a contract with the Master of whatever settlement they are on and the ceremony is where they would be exchanging vows before the Master of the Settlement and thus they are now officially declared as a married couple.
The Entire plaza had been redecorated to accommodate the entirety of the city of Ophel, as this was happening the Masters from the Settlements, all of whom earned their titles through hard work instead of through connections, started congratulating the married couple. Truth be told Mark expected these people to start talking about them behind their backs about how they're incompatible or how he's wasting his chance by marrying a 'woman with baggage' but to his surprise, they all support their relationship as though they had just seen the most ideal couple they've seen.
And so Mark was sitting here with a slice of Cake watching all of this unfold all the while Gray was next to him with a slice of Cake as well with a happy look on her face.
"Go on, talk to your parents." Mark nudged her as she smiled at him and skipped happily towards her parents as he finished his cake and left it on the table. The mood was very festive that Mark couldn't help but join in the mood as well, eventually, the married couple began to perform a slow dance in the centre of the plaza and it was followed by many others who followed many other couples alike as the orchestra hired started playing a soft song.
Night had already fallen and the decorations started to light up illuminating the entire scenery before Mark, who just smiled as he enjoyed the sight of various couples enjoying each other's company within the scene he spotted his parents and Owen and Aina, even his sister with Gaige, waltzing as they enjoyed the music.
This is an oddly addictive sensation. Mark thought to himself as he felt someone tug his sleeve to find Gray with her face bright red.
"Can we, can we dance?" She stammered trying to carefully compose herself.
That look, the flustered look of young love. Mark noted he had always noticed that Gray had been interested in him but he shrugged it off as nothing more than puppy love. He experienced it once, with a fellow street urchin girl just like him who helped him learn how to survive, but she grew addicted to substance abuse and the last time he had seen his first love was in a mass grave meant for urchins and vagrants who have succumbed to substances.
Well, she'll grow out of this little crush, I'll just entertain her. First love is considered sacred after all.
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"Sure, but raise your head high," Mark said taking her hand and he placed his hand on her waist as they slowly danced. "The Heir of the Archimans must be a confident woman."
Gray smiled and straightened her posture but the blush on her face remained as the two continued to dance, that moment alone made it feel like it was just the two of them alone that evening unaware of the teasing looks they got from their families or the envious stares of boys who wanted to be on her good side.
This feeling, Mark thought referring to this strange pleasant feeling in his chest as he danced with Gray. It's not so bad.
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[The Second Advent]
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Another thing that Mark had learned also is the existence of Trick Weapons; they are weapons that have at least two forms or another often having one range mode and a melee mode, they are also noted to be very expensive and hard to master in combat. In the case of the trio of mercenaries, that were revealed to be close friends of their fathers, they too were armed with Trick Weapons each one matching their combat preference.
Marvin Ryder is armed with a pair of pistols that turn into a battle rifle with a bayonet attached to them. This is even notable because he prefers long-range combat with the occasional hit-and-run tactic. In combat, Miriam had started to learn firearms despite Marvin insisting she starts with something safer like a bow but to their surprise, she's a good shot with a pistol.
Leah Strauss is armed with an axe that turns into a halberd that she uses in combat, despite the size and length of the polearm she relies on acrobatic moves in fighting as though she is a pole vaulter in terms of ability. Gray is the complete opposite of that fighting style, seemingly focusing more on direct attack rather than dancing around the enemy as Leah does. Leah commented that she got her father's combat style.
Sandra Bright is armed with a heavy two-handed sword that splits into a trio of weapons, a pair of short swords and a small pistol, she spends most of the time fighting in her two-handed sword mode and only busing the pistol for range combat. Due to the size of the sword, Mark is forced to use a smaller sword in training instead but Mark swears that he plans to wield a similarly sized sword in his later years once he's big enough to carry it.
Mark stood before his mentor with his sword in hand, she was just casually leaning on her sword using its size as a sort of pole for her to lean on. Mark took a deep breath and sprinted towards her and swung his wooden sword to the side however he made a flaw in his attack, Sandra took a step to the side and grabbed her sword with one hand and slapped the wooden sword out of his hands but Mark took a step to the side to grab the sword but once more Sandra is faster than him as she quickly chased after him.
The objective of their daily training is for him to land a hit on her, if he can do just that then he can pass the test. It was a simple task in idea but difficult in practice, this is because Sandra is a skilled warrior and such a simple hit would be difficult to land from an inexperienced child such as Mark. Even if he has memories of a thousand similar battles.
Mark tried to make a run towards Sandra once more but he found himself staring down the blunt end of her two-handed sword with the woman smiling in amusement as she was visibly amused. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a stopwatch and pressed a button on the side with an impressed look on her face.
"You're getting better on your reflexes I'll give you that," She said showing him that he had made a new record on his sparring sessions with her. It showed that he had lasted a minute when previous sparring sessions he would only last a few seconds at best. "We should take a break."
"I can't do a few more rounds," Mark insisted. "You're still a child Mark, take it easy." She said running her hand through his head.
"I know I just want to become stronger that's all," Mark said as they made their way through the courtyard to find Miriam with Marvin who was visibly impressed that she had managed to pull off nothing but headshots and all at the age of seven. "And you will, this I am certain," Sandra said as the two sat down by the steps of the entrance of the Mansion.
Years have passed.
Mark and Miriam are now Eleven years old and thus close to becoming Mercenaries by this world's standards. From what he had learned about the trio of Mercenaries is that anyone can be a mercenary so long as they fill out a form that provides them with an identification card for it. This makes Mark wonder whether or not Mercenaries are also Jacks of all Trades that take mundane jobs like babysitting and such given how extremely low the requirements required.
"You're spacing out again," He turned to find Miriam, who had grown into a beautiful young woman with her hair growing out to reach her shoulders allowing people the difference between him and her now, alongside the fact that she developed pretty early as a pre-teen.
"Been thinking about when are we going to get our weapons," Mark replied with a shrug as he took a rest on a bench as they were relaxing in the middle of the Plaza.
"You gotta admit I'm pretty excited." The twins turned to Gray, who had greatly matured as well much to Miriam's envy, and while she retained her boyishly short hair, she does however manage to grow into a beautiful young woman. She's so beautiful that she had become a distraction towards Mark, something that he blames his young pubescent hormones for forcing him to succumb to it.
"What weapon are you planning on getting?" Mark asked her trying his best not to stare too much at her beauty. "I'm thinking of getting an axe," Gray said as she pretended to hold an axe and swing it.
"Guess you can say you'll be axe-ing the questions." Miriam gave them a teasing smile.
"No." Mark and Gray said in sync.
"You guys are getting weapons soon?" They all turned to find Gaige walking towards them with a smile on his face. He had grown from a frail and sickly boy to a good-looking boy with him growing out his black hair in the process. When Gaige had been informed of their plans of becoming mercenaries, he decided to join in as well and not only did his family agree, which confused Mark since he used to be very bedridden in the past but decided not to question as this meant more the merrier.
"Yeah, while these two are going for something Primitive I'm getting my hands on something 'elegant' instead," Miriam said making a gun gesture with her hands this earned an eye roll from everyone present as everyone knows that Miriam is a hell of a shot with firearms and she knows and often acts conceited about it.
"There they go again," One of the Kids in a group said walking towards them with a conceited smirk on their face. "You'd think being fellow elite you'd be repulsed at the idea of being a Mercenary."
"Oh it's you again," Mark commented as his green eyes met the offending child. He had dark skin and brown hair that he let down his shoulders. "Liam."
Liam Cole, the son of a wealthy merchant from Fenrir and a self-proclaimed rival of Mark. He had a far larger clique of 'friends' and had no problems flaunting how much of a 'winner' he was in life. If only he knew that Miriam and I are heirs to the Greater Settlement he was born into. Mark thought to himself as he started making a speech on how he's the best and how Gray, Miriam and Gaige, all three of which are his classmates in school, would be better off with him.
"Fuck off Liam, we didn't ask for your opinion," Miriam said crossing her arms while Mark gave her a surprised look. It was the first time he had heard her swear like that.
"How unsightly, just like your twin," Liam said walking away mockingly. Gaige just silently grabbed a rock and threw it in his general direction much to Gray's amusement.
"That's quite the mouth you got there Miriam," Gray said with a rather disapproving tone while Miriam just gave them a cheeky smile.
"I've been spending too much time with the other Mercs," Miriam said with a sheepish look on her face.
"Don't ever let mother and father hear you say that," Mark said as he felt this wave of disappointment enter him as he stared at his sister.
"Guys come one!" The four of them turned to their Mercenary Mentors waving at them at the front of a weapons store where they would be meeting up and selecting their weapons.
While they were too young to be handling trick weapons they were instead told to focus more on handling basic weapons instead. According to their mentors, when they've reached the age of fifteen only then they can handle trick weapons.
The four of them have a look of awe on their faces as they all stared at the weapons that were hung across various shelves. But what caught Mark's eye was a pair of trick weapons which is hung across the wall; the first is a stout battle rifle that had a blade attached at the top where the sights are meant to be found and it was followed by a heavy automatic pistol that contains a folding blade, and when both weapons are combined it becomes a heavy two-handed sword.
"Sorry Mark," Sandra told him with a sympathetic smile on her face. "You're too young to be handling a trick weapon just yet."
"I know but someday." Mark said with a nod as he turned around towards a series of shelves that are simply described as 'basic weapons' for those who are either unskilled to use or, in Mark's case, too young to be wielding.
He looked around and found that the others have already started picking out their weapons. Miriam started with a handgun with a noise canceler known as a suppressor that comes with it, Gray picked up a hatchet that started practising her swings with it, while Gaige picked up a scythe making him the largest among the four of them.
Guess that leaves me in choosing a good weapon. Mark thought as he made his way towards a series of two-handed swords. In his past life, he was a master of all the known weapons, a jack of all trades if you will, but the problem is that he knows all of them but he had mastered none of them. Which is why in this world he had decided to focus on a single weapon or two.
"I'm taking this one," Mark said grabbing a heavy one-handed sword but due to his build, said weapon can be a two-handed weapon.
"Good choice, it's a bit heavy and pretty balanced," Sandra told him with a proud pat on the back.