Campaign 14

What Malachi wanted to build was a large training complex hundreds of meters large. It would not be far from it being called a small underground military base. The training complex was complete with living quarters, a mock-up urban landscape, fields of varying environments, a dedicated armory, a dedicated research wing and depot, a firing range for each weapon type, a ballistics chamber, a courtyard, and a small farm—a farm! Included with the proposal were blueprints for a large electrocite generator, a large pyrocite generator, electrical wiring, glacite cooling systems, and even plumbing.

It was as if Malachi wanted to build a small city inside a mountain. Naturally, Eleazar had a headache at the magnitude of the request.

“Let’s see, Malachi should only be fifteen this year,” groaned Eleazar, “How in the world can he provide so much detail?”

Axton and Clara were curious and took a look at the proposals. After a few pages, the two of them had the same disbelief as Eleazar and replaced the papers on the desk. Remi, however, was just sitting on a nearby chair waiting for Eleazar’s decision. It was obvious that she expected this kind of reaction from the adults in the room.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” commented Axton, “I never expected that the child from before could think of things such as these. Wait, now that I think about it, the exercises they were doing were out of the norm unlike how we do things in the Royal Army.”

“But, you have to consider how young they were back then,” added Clara, “The exercises seemed strenuous, but it was enough considering their constitution.”

“That’s the thing, Clara,” said Axton, “I can expect at least someone from the military to guide them how to prepare their bodies, but to the extent of not using any of our standard drills and having done new kinds of exercises cannot just be attributed to a child’s imagination. Even the guards I posted to them were in awe with how effective their exercises were when they joined. While I noticed that Arlianne’s style of combat has similarities with Phoenix Perez, Malachi’s techniques are not our own.”

“Is it possible that he has an acquaintance outside the kingdom?” wondered Remi, “You did see the blueprints for his tank destroyer, right? None of those adhere to our philosophies, and the use of electrocite was new even for me.”

Eleazar looked at Clara for an answer, but she shook her head.

“None of my shadows reported anything strange happenings around him,” she said, “Even from earliest we’ve heard about him, there wasn’t any change in his daily life.”

“Then, how about the other Eskurs?” asked Axton, “Surely, even after the war, there are some who are capable of creating these?”

Eleazar also shook his head.

“Out of all the Eskurs, only three clans are militaristic,” he said, “One is Clan Skali way over at the other side of the world. Another is Clan Skuma that was completely obliterated in the Taijun Empire. The last one is the well-known Clan Skaria, and Bashia and Malachi are its last remaining clansmen. I doubt Bashia has enough knowledge about warfare to teach Malachi.”

Clara agreed.

“That’s true,” she said, “Every time I see Bashia and Malachi together, they look like a normal mother and son. Honestly, I get a little envious seeing him with such a loving mother. With Malachi’s mischievousness and Bashia scolding him, they look so cute together and… and…”

The other three in the room looked at Clara weirdly.

“Clara, I understand that I tasked you to watch over him,” said Eleazar, “But not to the extent of stalking the poor child. What would he do if he found out that you were looking at him like that?”

Clara became flustered.

“No, Your Highness!” she cried, “I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just, seeing how he was back then and how he is now… it was so contrasting that I thought everything back then was just a dream…”

Eleazar nodded in understanding.

“That is true,” he agreed, “It’s as if whatever hold Bashia had on him had been released and he revealed his true self.”

Not really. Malachi had been without a mother in his past life. In this life, though, he finally experienced what it was like to have a mother—a loving one, especially. Therefore, he wanted to enjoy every chance he got being with Bashia so he followed all of her rules—usually out of fear on not knowing what to do. Of course, there was that promise that he kept with her until the time he was to enroll at the academy.

“And Arlianne?” wondered Axton, “We know that she was an orphan, anything about her background?”

Clara still shook her head.

“She’s clean,” she said, “Not as clean as our foreigner, but clean enough that her true parents died in a fire before she was sent to an orphanage. Hmm, Lord Grigorio was the one who trained her while Malachi was out of action, right? She was so cute and bubbly back then, now she’s so… stoic… even when she still follows Malachi around.”

“She may be stoic, but she still gets flustered when it comes to Malachi,” commented Eleazar, “Every time Malachi would come to harm, have you seen how fearful she becomes? That stoicism might just be a farce to let others not mess with either of them but, as I could see, Malachi is her weakness.”

“Arlianne is a few years older than Malachi, right?” wondered Remi, “Then why does it feel like that Malachi is the older one between the two? Shouldn’t Arlianne be the one who takes care of Malachi, and not the other way around?”

Eleazar sighed.

“Valid questions,” he said, “Which is why we are discussing this in the first place, why in the world does Malachi know so much for his age? He is so experienced despite being just a 15-year old boy. When Clara and I were at the library with Malachi, he spotted where Clara hid her knife just from looking at her, saying that he found her movements strange. What sort of person has ungodly sharp observational skills at that age? Can you tell me? At this point, even if he says that he needs to learn more than his age cohort because of his status, looking at this evidence before me, that sort of answer wouldn’t have much merit.”

The room became deathly silent. Everyone became solemn at Eleazar’s doubts and confusion. Eleazar leaned back on his seat and sighed.

“Remi, tell Malachi this,” he said, “If he succeeds in the upcoming mission, he gets two choices: either he learns of his ancestry, or his proposal comes to fruition. He can only have one or the other, and not both. What will not get chosen will be delayed until further notice.”

Remi got off her seat and saluted Eleazar.

“At once, Your Highness.”

●

Remi was going down the stairwell after leaving Eleazar’s office. At the foot of the stairs, however, she came for a surprise.

“So, Remi, how did it go?”

“Eek!?” cried Remi, “Malachi?! Don’t scare me!”

Malachi suddenly popped his head out of the corridor into the stairwell. Remi nearly fell backwards if she was not holding onto the railings.

“Hey, at least I didn’t call out to you too loud,” he commented, “So? How did it go with Gramps?”

Remi stared at Malachi for a while.

‘His mischief is befitting for his age,’ she thought, ‘but his knowledge is a whole other matter. Even His Highness had a headache at his mismatching personality.’

Malachi was still waiting for her answer, so she finally spoke.

“The Headmaster has a condition,” she said, “If you succeed in the upcoming mission, you will get two choices: your ancestry, or your training complex. He wants to see how you will sort your priorities since the training complex will take some time to build.”

Malachi made a surprised expression.

“That’s all?” he commented, “I knew that my proposal bordered on the impossible so I expected a catch, but if it’s just that, I can learn about my ancestry anytime. I’ll just go for a visit to tell him my decision.”

Remi suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Are you sure you don’t mind putting off learning about your Eskur ancestry?” she asked, “You might never get another chance after this.”

Malachi turned back to Remi.

“Then, I ask you this,” he said, “Which is more important, this kingdom or my ignorant self?”

It didn’t take Remi time to answer.

“This kingdom,” she said, “You are just one man, even if you are the prince, compared to the millions of people who live here.”

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Malachi smiled.

“There you have it,” he said, “The kingdom comes first before my desire to know about my family history. While I think knowing more about my family is important, there are many more others like me in, probably, the same situation. What makes me special that I should be taken care of before the rest? I’ll share to you a belief from a travelling merchant I met, ‘All are equal in the eyes of death,’ just because this is my status, I shouldn’t put the majority aside just for my sake. Besides, all these will ultimately be for my sake as well.”

Malachi turned around to go up the stairs. Remi, however, unconsciously voiced her thoughts.

“What are you hiding, Malachi?” she said before she realized what she did and covered her mouth.

Malachi continued going up the stairs, as if he hadn’t heard her. That was until he disappeared to the next floor.

“I just don’t want to die a meaningless death, Remi.”

After that, his footsteps faded and Remi was alone in confusion.

“Death?” she repeated, “What in all Hells do you mean by ‘a meaningless death’ when you’re living right now?”

She would never be able to understand that this was Malachi’s second chance at life. This was, after all, the only secret he has that only a small handful know about—his immediate family.

Moments later, he arrived at Eleazar’s office and gave his decision. Voiding his chance to learn about his ancestry, Malachi’s proposal was approved even before succeeding in his mission. The academy would surely be in turmoil due to the magnitude of the construction that will be done in the coming weeks.

●

It was the next day when Malachi went to his class. The entirety of Class 13 was in their classroom, and they were confused why they were not doing exercises. Malachi only had a few things to say as he stood before them.

“We only have one day left before the mission deadline,” he announced, “Therefore, today will be free time for all. Do whatever the hell you want. If you want to train, go ahead. If you want to study, go ahead. If you want to sleep, go ahead. You have the entire day to spend at your leisure. If anybody asks, point them towards me. As long as you don’t violate any rules and regulations, I will take responsibility for everything you do today.”

With that, he left the class with Arlianne. Suddenly, Malachi turned to her.

“That includes you, Arlianne,” he said, “Have some time to relax and catch up on the things you’d like to do. I will just be in the armory training our engineers about tank operations.”

Arlianne shook her head.

“We’ve been separated for quite a lot of time since we came here,” she said, “Should I not accompany you this time?”

Despite her expression, the tone of her voice gave her away. Malachi could only smile and hold her hand.

“Fine,” he said, “Maybe I could even teach you how to operate a tank, haha!”

Malachi held her hands all the way from their classroom to the armory. Though, a distance from their classroom was a pair of eyes that were gazing at their hands. The pair of eyes continued to watch the two until the others of Class 13 came out of the classroom filled with confusion.

●

At the armory, Malachi was working with Class 13’s engineers over the tank destroyer. As he worked, Arlianne was watching from the side, satisfied just from being able to see him enjoying his work.

Beside her was Asher, the only Eskur engineer in the armory.

“So, you are my lord’s betrothed?” he asked, “I can somehow see why he chose you.”

Arlianne only smiled at Asher.

“Even though you don’t show much, I can see that he values you greatly,” he commented, “Take care of my lord, especially if we Eskurs are nowhere in sight.”

“Do not worry,” she said, “I have been taking care of Malachi since I was hired as their maid. From there, I became his adoptive sister, and then it became us.”

Asher was nodding as he listened, but he froze when he heard the end.

“I’m sorry, but, did I hear that correctly?” he asked.

“I was hired as his caretaker, I was nine years old back then,” she shared, “Along the way, Lady Bashia became my adoptive mother, and Malachi as my adoptive brother. This is why I carry the name of Skaria now. After the Fire Ant incident, it just escalated into becoming us.”

She thought back during the time when Malachi did that in front of so many people that a light shade of red appeared on her face. Asher looked back and forth between Malachi and Arlianne that she nearly regretted sharing that.

“Oh, oh dear,” said Asher, “Oh deary me. I never thought that milord was actually so bold. Oh my, is it just me or is it getting a bit too hot in here? So, how did it feel? Did it hurt? I heard that it hurts.”

Arlianne cocked her head.

“Hurts? No,” she said, “It didn’t hurt, it was just surprising. That’s… all…”

Of course it was surprising. That was a sneak attack that Malachi had done to end the spar after pinning her down, after all. Since they were not allowed to harm one another, Malachi had to resort to a psychological attack.

Asher went wide-eyed.

“Oh my,” he gasped, “You are such a strong girl! How many times have you done it since then?”

Arlianne was confused. She could not understand why Asher wanted to know more about her relationship with Malachi.

“Well, after that one, we hadn’t had another one,” she said, “He hadn’t shown much aggression after that. Well, apart from going stupid with flattery and praise in front of so many other people.”

Asher suddenly held both of Arlianne’s shoulders.

“That must not be!” he cried, “If he won’t approach you, then you must approach him. Even if you feel satisfied with the way things are now, just because you’ve done it once, doesn’t mean you can't do it again! Now, listen here, try to get the mood right before going into the offensive.”

Asher suddenly began explaining this and that to an increasingly confused Arlianne. He kept on going until Arlianne asked him to stop.

“Wait, why are you even telling me all this?” she wondered, “I couldn’t even understand half of what you said.”

Asher looked at her in surprise.

“Why? To birth an heir to Clan Skaria, of course.” He answered, “Just doing it once won’t guarantee a conception of a child, especially at your age. You two need to be more energetic than that.”

Arlianne’s mind stopped momentarily, trying to process what Asher said. Little by little, color drained from her face then her expressions changed sporadically, and a bright red color flushed her face in embarrassment.

“No!” she screamed, “I didn’t mean that!”

Her cries were heard by the others in Class 13’s armory. Malachi and the rest turned to their direction. Arlianne was flustered in front of a confused Asher.

“W-w-we hadn’t done what you think at all!” she explained, “I m-m-mean, w-w-we, h-h-he j-just…”

Malachi approached the two of them.

“Did something happen between the two of you?” he asked, “Asher, what in all Hells did you do to her?”

“Ah, milord, it is nothing you need to know about,” explained Asher, “Just an innocent conversation between two maiden hearts.”

“Two maiden hearts?” repeated Malachi, “Wait, you’re… oh, I see, girl-talk. I’ll get out of the way now.”

When Malachi understood what Asher was and what was meant, he immediately returned to the other engineers and diverted their attention to the task at hand. Meanwhile, Arlianne still hadn’t recovered from Asher’s shocking misunderstanding between her and Malachi.

“W-we just kissed,” she finally explained, “And in front of so many people, t-too.”

“No wonder it became a fond memory for you,” commented Asher with a soft smile, “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”

Arlianne looked down in embarrassment.

“N-no need,” she replied, “It was my fault for not explaining properly.”

Silence developed between the two until nighttime came. Afterwards, she and Malachi left the armory to have their dinner. Along the way, Arlianne was still silent, and Malachi was wondering what was going on as they walked along the path.

“I won’t ask anything if you don’t want to talk about it,” he said, “I can see that what you were talking about with Asher was serious enough to be carried with you even after we’ve left. Just know that, if it is something I can help you with, don’t hesitate in asking for my help.”

Arlianne suddenly stopped walking, and Malachi noticed that as he stopped as well.

“Malachi,” she said, “Do you… I mean, are you really certain in… having me by your side…?”

Malachi did not turn to face her nor did he answer her question. He just stood there and listened to her.

“It’s just, even though we’ve been together for eight years, it only felt like because I was your family,” she continued, “I am starting to doubt myself if I should even be allowed to be with you after all this time. I mean, not just as a Skaria, but you are also a Perlas. The gap between your status and mine is just too vast. I may have been adopted into your family, but I am still an outsider. Even if you’ve told me your secrets, even though you’ve voiced your trust in me…”

Before she could even finish, Malachi turned around to face her. His red eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

“Is that all?” he asked, “You let doubt cloud your heart, and become unsure of my own decisions?”

Arlianne could only look down.

“But, when I heard what Asher and your other kinsmen hoped for,” she said, “Only then did I realize how heavy the responsibility to be with you is. I just don’t know if I deserve such a thi—“

Again, Malachi interrupted her, except, he was suddenly right in front of her and he lifted her face up to meet his.

“Do you believe in fate, Arlianne?” he said, “I believe in it. Even if you were an orphan, hired as a maid, we were fated to meet. Even if mama and pops decided to adopt you, we were fated to be together. Even after that incident at the capital, you never left me, and you were fated to be the first person I saw when I woke up. Eight years, Arlianne, from the time I regained my memories to the time right now, we’ve been together. How can you doubt this fate of ours?”

Arlianne was still silent, but had tears form on her eyes. Malachi sighed.

“In that case, let this act of mine dispel all of your doubts.”

Malachi held the back of Arlianne’s head as he brought each of their lips to a close. With interlocked lips, the two were alone under the moonlit sky. Alone in their immediate vicinity, but there was still a few pairs of eyes watching their every move.

Some pairs of eyes diverted their gazes to respect their privacy, one pair of eyes did not care, but the last pair of eyes was in shock. The owner of the last pair of eyes slowly stepped backwards before turning around to run away from the area. Her exit was noted by the other eyes, and the first few gave chase. The other pair merely ignored the others before leaving as well.

Malachi finally released Arlianne, and the girl was in a daze.

“Do you still doubt me now?” he asked, “I could do it deeper, if you want, especially since we are totally alone now.”

Arlianne stared at him for an explanation.

“We were being watched,” he explained, “I was wondering what for. I suppose Gramps had something to do with it, but now they’ve left us alone.”

Suddenly, Arlianne became red again.

“Y-you did it in front of so many people, again?!” she cried in shame, “I-I-I cannot believe you!”

“Haha! That’s my favorite Arlianne,” he laughed, “You’re so cute when you’re lively and flustered like that. Want to do it aga—buh?!”

Malachi held both of Arlianne’s shoulders and went in for the kill. However, due to the earlier embarrassment, Arlianne became too emotional and punched—punched, not slapped—him in the face.

“Go kiss yourself!” she roared, “I’m going on ahead!”

Arlianne stomped away leaving Malachi sprawled on the ground.

“Is this what a kuudere is?” he wondered, “Never thought I’d get to experience it in real life.”

Malachi sat upright and gestured someone on his left to come closer. A while after, a large beast appeared and laid down next to him. It was Shyama.

“Hey, how about you?” he asked it, “Do you get lonely without your mate?”

Shyama growled a bit, and nuzzled her head on Malachi’s leg.

“Hmm, you move on pretty quick,” he commented, “Well, let’s have dinner, shall we?”

Malachi walked with Shyama to the canteen.

●

In a dark room, there was a girl lying on her bed and tightly hugging a pillow. Before her was the pair of broken goggles laid on the floor. In the middle of silence, her muffled cries could be heard, and the companion in her room appeared behind her.

Her companion, a man with a prosthetic leg, sat down next to her.

“So, my little princess,” said her companion, “What do you hope to do?”

Her companion was a man, and his tone of voice had a brotherly feel to it. Taking a closer look upon his prosthetic leg, his metallic limb extended from his knee. As he waited for the girl’s answer, he looked at the shining moon outside.

“I already had a hunch,” said the girl, “But I never thought they were already that far. Was the past all a lie to them? It was natural that they wouldn’t be able to recognize me since I’ve hidden my identity from them for so long.”

The sobbing of the girl stilled as she spoke.

“What about you,” she continued, “What would you do in my place, Lakeng?”