When Octavia returned, she simply said ‘I’m sorry for being a burden’ then returned to how she normally was. Frankly, I was hoping that she would find the motivation to leave for good. Because I am certain that having me around will only bring pain to her life.

Well, whatever, when she grows up, she’ll move on from this. I am sure of it. Until then I’ll have to find a way to do as little harm to her as possible.

I became a tier 4 adventurer a year and a half ago at the age of 11 years old. My real age is significantly older than this, but for body development purposes I will call myself 12 years old.

Tier 4 monsters are very difficult to overcome. However, I have only needed to fight two of them so far, there are very few of them in this region. Speaking of the region, my popularity among the people hasn’t declined at all.

Livius made no changes to how the region was being run at all. I have also become more and more popular in the military for my work as an adventurer and my success in killing Toutous. There were a lot of doubts that I was the one to actually kill him, but that Ozias guy shut them down immediately for some reason. I don’t understand that guy whatsoever.

I planned to use my knowledge of economics to improve the region while Cassius was still alive. This idea was thrown out the window long ago, I don’t care about the people of this region anymore. If they suffered, I would lose no sleep, they are Livius’ problem now.

My magic has gotten much more potent and is now a viable option from the medium range. I have also gotten significantly stronger with my daggers. Before I was only using daggers to defend myself from attack while I tried to land the killing blow from short-range magic, but now I stand a serious chance against enemies with my blades.

This is something Aquila warned me about, a trap that magic swordsmen and magic warriors fall into. Becoming simply above average at both of them is quite easy to do. Mastering two things that require a lifetime of effort is impossible for most. I intend to do this though.

I have thought of abandoning one of them and focusing purely on the other, but that won’t be good enough. That guy killed Marcus and Claudia with both magic and physical techniques, if I fall behind him at either of them, he will exploit the advantage to the fullest.

Therefore, I am going to have to put in twice the effort of most others at the peak of their craft to reach it. It kind of pisses me off to think about how that man put in the same effort just to kill people. Though, I am doing the same thing as well… no I am different from that man. I know I am.

While I was eating the breakfast that Octavia prepared this morning Fabiana brought me a letter that was sealed by the king. She used to act very warmly around me in her own professional way, but that has changed. She has come to look at me with both cold and pitying eyes. Well, whatever, what she thinks of me doesn’t matter.

I broke the seal on the letter and examined the contents. It read,

“Cassius Scipio,

I, King Cleon of the Aeneas Kingdom order you to raise 100 skilled soldiers from your territory. Or you may provide the equivalent in capabilities.

The Aeneas Kingdom has concluded the time for the following treaties is over. The people of the kingdom hold high expectations for you in the future. The Arc-Knight of the kingdom, Marcus Scipio was a great man, and you are expected to follow in his footsteps.

If you are incapable or uninterested in fulfilling the duties of raising troops, then Livius Carbo shall do it for you. He is the temporary ruler of the region, but you hold the truest authority to perform this task.

Your soldiers are expected within three months, to arrive at the fort 2 days north of Ravenna.

King Gaius Rex Cleon”

I see, as the one who holds the title of this region’s administrator, it is my duty to raise these soldiers. And… there is nothing more that I could have asked for.

I finished eating and approached Aquila with the letter. She read it carefully and then looked at me with a wide and creepy grin. I’m glad she was thinking the same thing as me. She also realized this was evidence the war was starting, and she knew what I was going to do.

“So, you are going off to war huh? I am certainly going to miss playing with you, Cassius.”

“I won’t miss you.”

“You will eventually.”

“I hope not.”

I intend to leave as soon as possible. Aquila’s pretty much said already that she has no intention of going with me. That’s fine, I didn’t really want her to anyway. I’ve learned everything I can from her, all of her techniques and combat skills.

Raising soldiers is something I already have a plan for. All that’s left is soothing things over here. For that, I will write two letters. The first one is pretty simple, just officially handing over the right to rule the region while I am absent.

The second one is a necessary letter. I officially can’t lie to Octavia anymore. She deserves to finally hear the truth behind everything.

There isn’t much left for me to do here. All I need for the trip is my bag, money, daggers, cloak, and clothes.

I am going to war, huh? I’ve been expecting to leave at some point in the near future to fight the men of the Spider unit, but this is rather sudden. Yet it is convenient, with this I not only gain the legal justification to hunt them but also support from the government.

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I would be lying to say I am not scared. From what I have heard war is hell. But I don’t fear it, I have already experienced hell before.

I don’t think I’m ready yet to take that man on. But I can get stronger as I fight in the war. I will be able to constantly test my capabilities and move forward as a warrior. I will be able to survive no matter what, I am sure of it.

This life as a young noble, the servants, the money, the comfort, and the friendship with Octavia. I will be leaving behind everything I have known so far for my goal. But this is the path that has been chosen for me. All I am doing is fulfilling the universe’s role for me.

My preparations take less than a day. By the next morning, I left the estate. Leaving behind just one letter.

…

The roads are far calmer than normal. The reason why is the prevalence of soldiers. There seem to be many soldiers taking the road to the north. This is mobilization to the truest extent, and the republic is not going to ignore this. The question now is simply “Who will take the first shot?” Either way, the result is the same.

I was not really treated like the other soldiers in the towns that I stopped by. This didn’t make much of a difference. Some places treated me with more care because of this, others paid less attention to me. People have different viewpoints on the role of soldiers in the world and whether they are welcome.

Overall, the travel has been easy. I stopped by an inn about 3 days into my journey. I decided to get some food and rest there for the night. Some soldiers in their mid-20s sat in in the middle of the dining area. Across from them was another group of soldiers wearing slightly different clothes, presumably from another region or village.

I sat in the back corner with the hood of my cloak covering the top of my face. I didn’t want to attract attention. When the waitress came, I asked for whatever food and non-alcoholic drink they recommended.

I was waiting for the food to get here when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the soldiers grab the young waitresses behind. She flinched and looked scared, but just went about her day. After all, defying a male soldier in this time period would just bring about more trouble from her perspective.

I didn’t care to get involved. If she didn’t want this, she would wear a less revealing uniform than that barmaid dress she had on. Or she would get a man who can protect her. Imagining it was Octavia I probably would be pissed... maybe I should step in. Ah fuck that, why am I feeling bad for this woman? A soldier at the other table spoke up,

“Hey, that woman is mine! I planned to take her tonight so keep your hands off her!”

“The fuck you say to me?” the first soldier responded.

After this, the two men stood up. It was clear there would probably be a fight. Worst case scenario someone will die here. It looked increasingly like the soldiers in their units were going to get involved in the fight as well.

The barmaid was terrified to the point of trembling at this point. Whoever wins this fight will feel completely entitled to her. No matter how this ends, she will suffer. I’m getting kind of annoyed with this cliched confrontation at this point. At this rate, I’ll never get my food, so I decided to get involved.

“Why don’t you two morons sit the fuck down before someone gets killed? Just give up and chase some other ass, there is more than one fish in the sea. If you look hard enough, you might find someone who will tolerate your ugly faces willingly.”

While insulting them and causing them to fight me wasn’t initially part of my plan. They deserved it at this point, who do they think they are to disturb everyone else’s dinner like this?

“You talk like I won’t kill you punk.” The first soldier responded as he began to draw his sword.

I put an end to this charade immediately. He was by no means weak, but I’ve gotten pretty strong at this point. I move at him before he can react and grab his elbow, shattering it in my hand.

He falls to the ground in agony. The other men all around me get put on guard, but none of them move when I gaze over them.

“He’s just a kid?” one of the soldiers points out. It would seem that my hood fell down at some point during the confrontation.

The soldier whose elbow I shattered ran off to a church with his unit joining them, the other unit stayed silent as they ate their food and then left to stay at another inn. I ended up getting my food and was allowed to eat in peace. The barmaid offered it for free, but I paid anyway. I don’t want free shit.

“T-thank you. You saved me.” The woman started talking to me.

“I didn’t do it for you.”

“You are just a kid, right? How are you so strong?”

“I’m not some kid I’m a soldier. Don’t mistake that.”

“You are going to war at your age…”

“I’m strong, don’t pity me.”

“It’s kind of hard not to.”

“Then deal with it.”

The atmosphere got pretty awkward after this. She didn’t know how to talk to me, and I didn’t want to talk to her. I ate my food and then went to the room I paid for. After resting for a while to let the food settle, I went outside and trained my daggers behind the inn.

Halfway through the workout that barmaid emerged again. She had a wooden cup full of water in her hands. I drank the water after it was offered to me.

“It’s getting dark.” She spoke.

“Then go to sleep.”

“I will eventually… do you always train like this?”

“Yeah, why?”

“It looks painful to push yourself so hard.”

“I can handle it.”

“Why do you need to? Why do you need to do this? Why do you need to go to war?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“I see… get some rest tonight, ok?”

“Sure.”

I finished my workout and then washed myself off at the well outside. The cold water sent chills down my spine. The moons and the ring and the stars in the sky were enchanting. The warm spring air smelt good. Big cities smell bad, and villages like this are a nice change of pace.

I felt like I was being watched. I turn around and a crystal wolf leaps at me. When I first came to this world this monster would be a threat. It isn’t anymore. I kill it and my body is slathered in blood.

The wolf was alone. I wash myself again to get the blood off. Once I’m dry, I return to my room and sleep in my bug-ridden bed. Without Octavia around I slept well into the morning. Of course, the sleep was interrupted by nightmares.

I departed without saying a word to that barmaid. And continue my way to that fort. Nothing interesting happens during the rest of the trip.

The fort was widely spread out with multiple layers of trenches around it. The entire forest around it was cleared as well. This is what I expected it to look like. With magic existing dense forts would be illogical. But you still want some type of obstacle around it so the defenders have an advantage.

There is a clear path laid out for those entering, though it is heavily guarded. When I presented a letter with the king’s seal, they let me right through and brought me to the leader of the fort.

I wasn’t too shocked to see who was in the center of the leader’s tent, but it wasn’t who I was expecting. A familiar man with a familiar indifferent look on his face. He had black hair and brown eyes. A muscular build with a black tunic and black pants under his plate armor. The features on his face appeared old, yet he was handsome and carried an air of dignity. There was no weapon at his waist, but he looked as if he could kill.

On the wall of his quarters, there was beautiful art on the walls. His desk looked hand-crafted, and expensive-looking wine sat on his desk. Everything looked out of a museum from my world.

The man was named Ozias, I met him before.

“Ah, Cassius Scipio, you came.”