The rat drops dead in the cage, and its leg gives out its last twitch. Julius is gasping for air, staring at the dead rat with huge eyes and furrowed brows.

「I killed it…」

Julius quietly utters out with a cracking voice.

「Yeah, you did! Good job, buddy!」

Straf places his hand on the young soldier's shoulder, and cheerfully replies with a grin on his face.

「Now your girl is safe- Oh shit! That was the rat king! You killed their king, and now the ratkind wants revenge! Look! They're pissed the fuck off!」

Straf shouts, pointing his finger at the remaining rats in the line, gnawing angrily at their cage bars.

「Huh? Huh!?」

Julius clutches onto his spear, glancing at Straf's exaggeratedly panicked face as his shaky hand points at the second cage in line.

「They're pissed off! They're coming to get you and your girl, Julius! Diplomacy is out the window now, Julius! It's a war of annihilation! You have to do something!」

Straf grabs the young man's shoulders, and starts shaking him while frantically screaming at him.

「What!? What!?」

Shaken and frightened, Julius clings onto his spear for his dear life, staring at Straf's terrified face.

「They're going to kill us all, Julius! And it's your fault! You killed their king! You may have not known it then, but it does not matter now! They're going to eat you and your girl as a revenge! There's no way back now, Julius! Do something!」

Straf shouts in his face, and turns his eyes to the second cage.

「Look! It's biting through! It's going to kill us, Julius! They're going to kill all of humanity! Your actions will lead to the demise of humanity, Julius! They're going to make underground cities! What are you waiting for!?」

Straf nudges Julius towards the second cage, still screaming at him.

「But-! But-!」

「Juliuuusss! We can't let them build a civilization! Look! It's almost bitten through! We're going to die Julius! Humanity is dead, and it's your fault!」

Straf screams at the young soldier's back while he's hesitantly pointing his spear at the second rat.

「Kill them all, Julius! The whole line of 'em! Do it for humanity! Do it for your girl! Protect what you hold dear, Julius!-」

「AAAaaaaaahhhhh!」

He continues screaming at the young man, and with a pitiful battle cry, he thrusts at the caged rat. It drops dead instantly, and blood rapidly floods the cage.

「Another one, right there Julius! Kill it before it kills you!-」

「Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!」

Julius rushes up to the next cage, and kills another rat.

「They just keep coming! Kill them Julius! Push them back! Fight! You need to return to your girl alive!」

With a wide, smug grin on his face, Straf follows behind Julius while he's stabbing a rat after a rat, going down the line of cages along the plain. He stabs, and stabs, and stabs. With each powerful thrust, the rats drop dead after a pained squeak.

Julius stops his screaming, and instead stabs away with his teeth clenched and bared, grunting and gasping for air. He gets to the last cage in the line, and stabs again with a loud grunt. The pierced rat dies, bleeding like a punctured milk bag, or a furry water bottle.

「…I killed them… I killed them all…」

Julius says, breathing heavily while leaning onto his spear for support. His hands slide down the bloodied shaft, and he falls to his knees.

「Yup, they're dead. Good job, Julius. Humanity is safe, for now.」

Straf nods his head with a snide smile, and looks at the remaining, living rats beyond the line of the dead ones.

「Aaaaaa!… You lied to me!… I killed so many innocent creatures… They weren't going to bite through the bars! The cage is too tough!…」

Julius exclaims, his voice cracks as he begins sobbing and sniffling. Straf walks up to his side, places his fists on his hips, and sucks the air through his teeth.

「…The truth is the first casualty in a war, Julius.」

Straf sighs out, and looks down the line of the dead rats.

「…I killed people and innocent creatures now. How am I supposed to show myself to Rose? I'm a murderer…」

Julius asks, sniveling at the grass beneath.

「Women love the scent of blood, Julius. It's like a perfume, it drives them crazy.」

Straf shrugs, spreading his arms before returning his fists to his hips.

「I can't even slaughter the stock at the farm! Everyone laughs at me back home! Meanwhile, I'm responsible for their death! I killed them for no reason!」

Julius looks up at Straf, and exclaims with eyes full of tears as he points at the dead rats.

「Don't worry Julius, you were acting under my orders, I'll take full responsibility. And credit.」

Straf chuckles, grinning at Julius.

「I don't want to be a soldier! Wars are just death and suffering!」

The young soldier cries out, and sobs louder.

「And poker. And boredom.」

Straf shrugs his shoulders again, tilting his head a little.

「My hands are covered in their blood!…」

Julius exclaims through the sobs with his voice cracking.

「Your hands are dirty, so that the hands of your wife and children can stay clean, Julius. You spared your kiddo from having to fight rats with swords in the future. Aren't you glad?」

Thunk thunk thunk.

Straf squats down, and pats Julius on his armored back.

「I don't even have children! And I'm not married!」

Julius replies, sniveling, sniffling as tears roll down in his cheek.

「Your chances of fixing that are now pretty good, Julius.」

Thunk thunk thunk.

Straf pats Julius on the back a few more times.

「I hate myself! I want a peaceful life! I just want to farm! What was this all foooor!?」

He lets out a dejected cry, looking at Straf with teary eyes.

「The peace of self-righteous pacifists is built upon the bones of their enemies, and the violence of men more capable than them, Julius. Aaaaand…」

Straf says as he stands up, and focuses his eyes on the pitiful soldier.

Julius Ratar

[|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||] Lv. 8

Strength: 10 Perception: 10

Agility: 12 Endurance: 14

Dexterity: 12 Willpower: 13

Luck: 17 Intelligence: 9

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Charisma: 12 Wisdom: 10

「…It was for two levels! Nice! So this is viable, after all!」

Straf snaps his fingers, and points at Julius while he cries into the grass.

「Why is the world so cruel!? Why do we need to kill!?」

Julius shouts into the grassy ground, hammering the dirt with his fist.

「To satisfy our basal craving for violence, and the urge to rise to the top. Or were you asking philosophically? There's only one number one, Julius. Remember that.」

Straf shrugs, and returns to William and the officer standing beside him, both staring slack-jawed at Straf and Julius.

「Hey, officer guy…」

Straf calls out as he approaches them with his hands in his pockets.

「…Yes, sir?」

The officer asks, staring in disbelief with William at Straf.

「You're going to get this guy here to do the same thing as the kid over there…」

Straf points his thumb over his shoulder at Julius sobbing on the grass near the last cage in the line.

「…And whoever I pick out from this band of chumps. You'll do this every time you get new rats. Got it?」

Straf asks, poking the officer in the chest with his finger.

「…Yes, sir.」

The mustached man nods, still staring at him. Straf nods back, and pats the officer's shoulder as he walks towards the formation of the gathered soldiers. William and the officer glance at each other, as they watch Straf approach the rest of the men.

「What in Mercia's fuckin' tits?…」

The officer utters out, slack-jawed and still mentally processing what happened.

「…I don't think you're allowed to say things like that, sir.」

William chimes in, glancing at the officer.

「I know.」

The officer replies, staring wide-eyed back at William. They both turn their gazes to Straf, who is now talking to the men in formation.

「Alright, listen up! Everyone I tell to step forward, you step forward! Everyone I insult in their face, step back! And if you feel strongly about being insulted, you can take a step forward, and we'll solve the matter right away!」

Straf exclaims, looking over the men standing at attention in a line in front of him. With his hands in his pockets, he walks to one end of the line, and looks at the first soldier.

「You're shit, next.」

He declares, and walks in front of the next soldier. The soldier's face shifts into a shocked look of indignation, and his jaw drops, but he complies and takes a step back, glaring at Straf.

「You're shit.」

Straf bluntly declares in another soldier's face, receiving a similar reaction.

「Shit. Shit. You're trash. Garbage. Shit. Worthless…」

He quickly walks down the line, hurling insults in the soldiers' faces. They snarl, click their tongues, or glare at him, but ultimately comply and step back.

「Oh. Nice. Step forward.」

Straf abruptly stops, and commands one of the very unassuming men in the line. The soldier himself is surprised, and he points his finger at his own armored chest, silently asking a question with his furrowed brows if Straf really meant him.

With his lips pressed together tight into a wide-mouthed grimace, Straf nods his head, looking at the soldier with his bored eyes. The soldier glances side to side at his comrades-in-arms, and steps forward. Straf continues onward down the line.

「Trash. Shit. Garbage. Fuckin' worthless. Trash. Trash. Trash… Step forward. Shit…」

He carries on, casually hurling insults at the frustrated soldiers, rarely telling one to step forward. He stops in front of one them, and his eyes look at something ever-so-slightly above the soldier's head.

「Hmm… Meh.」

He shrugs his shoulders, and takes a step down the line. He abruptly stops, and looks over his shoulder.

「That means step back.」

Straf clarifies, and the man steps back. He appears greatly perplexed, blinking at the ground with furrowed brows. His face then shifts into a unique expression of indignation, glaring at Straf's back.

「Trash. Step forward. Trash. Literal garbage, wow… Worthless. Step forward. Worthless. Worthless. Pure shit-」

He carries on, picking out men seemingly at random. He insults another one, and the man takes a rapid step forward.

「What did you fuckin' call me!?-」

The man shouts at Straf, rushing to get in his face.

Slap!

Straf's arm blurs, and the irate soldier flies back through the air with a loud, telltale slapping noise resounding across the plains.

Ca-clunk!

He lands on his armored back, and slides a few paces along the grass. He groans, looking at the sky with dazed eyes, and a bleeding nose. The soldiers' eyes jump between him, and Straf, who's now standing with his palm out towards the empty spot in the line. He snaps his fingers.

「I like your style, but I'm not wasting rats on shit like you.」

Straf declares, momentarily pointing his finger at the dazed man, and places his hand back in his pocket. He continues down the line, with some men stepping back, and some forward.

A few minutes later, he returns to the officer, William, and Julius who managed to get over himself, and join them.

「Alright. These two, and everyone else standing in front of the rest, you're going to make them kill the rats. Every time you get a new batch, you kill rats with them. Got it?」

Straf says, pointing his thumb at the line of men behind him over his shoulder as he instructs the officer.

「Yes, sir…」

The officer nods, trying to maintain a stone face fit for an officer. Straf nods back, and takes a few steps back towards the city.

「Good- Oh, by the way, everyone I picked is now the 1st Rat Slayers unit. Tell the marshal I said that.」

He abruptly stops, and looks at the officer over his shoulder with a slanted mouth.

「Yes sir-」

「But why the rats?」

William asks, pointing his hand at the cages with a greatly perplexed expression. With his hands casually in his pockets, Straf walks up into his face, glaring at him.

「…Are you questioning my authority?」

He growls, and William nervously gulps in response.

「No sir…」

William shakes his helmeted head, and Straf scoffs in his face, turning back and departing towards the city gate…

…

Just before evening bell, in the bank…

Straf is precariously sitting in Niklaus's chair, heavily leaning back with his boots on his desk and his arms crossed.

「Hey, Straf, do you have any favorite foods?」

Nona asks, smiling at him from her chair beside the desk, leaning on her hammer's handle.

「Yeah, I like tasty stuff.」

Straf returns a non-committal reply, and sighs.

「Why can't you just give me a normal answer?」

Nona asks with an upset pout, blinking her amber eyes at Straf.

「Because you're asking me a million trivia questions about me ever since I came back.」

Straf shrugs as he replies with a slanted mouth.

「That's because I want to know more about you!」

Nona plops down on the desk on front of Straf, resting her head on her forearms.

「I thought I told you not to let go of the-」

「I have my foot on it.」

Straf reprimands Nona, but she gracefully dodges, grinning at Straf. He turns his eyes away from her back to the exit.

「Tsk… I guess you're off the hook for now.」

Straf clicks his tongue, and sighs. A brief silence begins.

「…Sure has been a while since the last one, huh?」

Nona remarks, turning her head towards the open exit door as well.

「Yeah- Don't you have work to do?」

Straf asks, and the two look at each other again.

「Nope! Slow day!」

She grins, and props her head up on her hands, looking Straf in the eyes. He sighs, and looks back at the exit.

「Yup… Too slow. My mind is rotting from boredom. I know there's no internet here, but does everything have to be so slow? Fuck.」

Straf grumbles, and lets out a large, heavy sigh.

「What's an internet?」

Nona asks with a wide smile, blinking innocently at Straf.

「It's a tool to look at cats, Nona.」

Straf declares, without as much as glancing at her.

「That sounds cool. I like cats.」

She replies, and lays her head down on her arms like a pillow, maintaining one-sided eye contact.

「Yeah, everyone does, that's why it's so popular.」

Straf scoffs, smirking a little, as if he just heard a mildly risible, embarrassing joke.

Donnnnngggg… Gonnnnnnnnggggggg… Donnnnnnggggg… Gonnnggggg…

「Welp, there it is. I'm going to ask Lia if she knows what's up with the Academy yet, and head to bed I guess.」

Straf announces, dropping his boots back onto the ground and standing up from his chair. He places his hands back in his pockets, and walks past Nona's chair.

「…Will you be back tomorrow?」

Nona quietly asks, resting her chin on her hands on top of the hammer's handle, sounding almost sullen. Straf looks at her over his shoulder, then glances away at the ceiling as he thinks.

「…Yeah, I guess. I'll be here the whole day, in fact. I need to hand the uniforms to the losers that forgot to show up, and then make the IDs for the rest of them. And then track down the losers that need their IDs because they didn't show up today. What a pain in the ass…」

Straf shrugs his shoulders as he sighfully replies, grumbling a little.

「Yay! So we'll get to spend the whole day together?」

Nona's head perks up, and she regains her happy grin.

「Yeaaaaah, I guess. You can make yourself useful and help me put the IDs together, at least.」

Straf shrugs with his hands, and places them back into his pockets. He takes one step towards the exit, and Niklaus stumbles in, breathing heavily.

「Look what the horndog dragged in.」

Straf scoffs with a grin, watching the exhausted man shamble to his chair, almost tripping on Nona.

「Ah! Boss! Busy day?」

She asks, shooting up from her chair.

「Nona… Haaah… Gah… You have… Work…」

Niklaus just barely utters out, and drops his face into his forearms on the desk.

「Got it, boss!」

She salutes with a grin, and with some effort, lifts the heavy hammer onto her shoulder. She walks up behind Straf with a smile, and they exit the building together.

「Um… My job is the other way, so…」

Nona points her finger down the other side of the road, when Straf turns the opposite way.

「Yeah, see you tomorrow, Nona.」

Straf nods with a bored expression, and heads in the direction of the palace. Nona sighs, kicks the dust on the street, and heads to the dungeon while her eyes watch her feet…