After everything that had happened, it felt odd to return to Orzo, especially for such a superficial reason as an interview. They had just finished building the test, though it was a bit unusual in many ways. It varied depending on the role each wanted to play, but Ruena decided that the game of tag would be a base requirement for everyone. It was unrealistic to have positions where no physical activity was needed at all.
Just to make sure everything was fair, each of them made sure they could find some way to pass it, whether by chasing it or trapping it. Janon had the hardest time, but they all succeeded in the end. Even all of Jazz’s cat friends passed the test, though a part of the test was a bit useless for them.
The thing they had to tag, or catch, was a living wardrobe. Inside the wardrobe was the prize, an Alodan Warrior uniform. Soral included a bonus prize of whatever he felt like cooking that day. All that running was sure to make them hungry.
That was exactly why they skipped the pretense of travel and arrived in Orzo via portal. Everyone had grown rather accustomed to Soral’s convenient travel methods. Once they arrived in Farfalle’s capital they were given some more details about what exactly the interview entailed.
First of all, the Alodan Warriors had been invited to this interview as the top scoring team of the Farfalle annual mercenary test. Secondly, although they were all invited to attend the interview it was expected that most of the questions would be directed at Ruena as the leader. With that in mind, they decided to only bring their core members and let the others relax. That was Ruena, Soral, and Rosalie. Janon considered it but did not want to bring too much attention to himself, considering his past.
“Are you sure they won’t be offended we didn’t bring everyone?” Soral asked, “If we get a bad reputation from this it will be a pain to shake off.”
“Why would they be offended? All of the most important positions are here. They have no way of knowing that the others had secrets they didn’t want to reveal,” Ruena replied.
“Our secrets are a bit more difficult to pry into,” Rosalie added, “Besides, I have a feeling I know what juicy news they are really after.”
Soral couldn’t help but hear the rest of her thought. His relationship with Ruena, huh? He still hadn’t told the others about his skill becoming a curse. Since he could not discuss the tower it would be difficult to explain what had happened. He wondered if it would be useful for the interview.
The interview venue was larger than they expected. There were also a couple more reporters than they had been informed about. It seemed that there had been a fight over who had the rights to this article and they had compromised like this. Once everyone was settled, the reporters began to take turns asking their questions.
The questions began rather simply. Such as; “Why did you decide to start your own mercenary team?”
Ruena kept her answers brief, but was not afraid to mention her father’s legacy and the revival of the Alodan Warriors. Just as they had suspected, all of the questions so far had been directed solely at Ruena. Then the questions they really wanted to ask began to come out.
“Do the Alodan Warriors support female mercenaries?” the reporter on the right asked with a sparkle in her eyes.
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“If you are asking whether or not women are allowed to join, of course they are,” Ruena confirmed.
“Is this a political stance as well? Even though you have left the family you are still the only heir to the Alodan name. Could this be your stance to prove you can stand your ground as the future Duchess?”
“I have no right to retain the title of heiress as things stand now,” Ruena refuted, “I have left home and abandoned all of my duties as a noble.”
Another reporter jumped in to try to dodge away from the sensitive topic, but not until after they all furiously scribbled their notes. Not that the new topic was much less sensitive.
“Have you been struggling since cutting all ties with Belleas? I did some research before this interview and the last I heard of you was your sudden disappearance from Evergreen in the kingdom of Elgrove.”
“Struggling?” Ruena asked back with a smirk, “Not at all. I simply decided it was time to reclaim the real base of the Alodan Warriors.”
“Do you really use cats as spies?” the third interjected, eager for this juicy and bizarre news.
Revealing the fact that cats were spies would put them at a disadvantage, but refusing to answer could do the same. Soral’s concerns vanished in an instant when he saw Ruena’s confident smile and heard her plotting in her thoughts.
“Cats? You mean Jazz? He is a bit of a special cat, if you know what I mean,” she told the reporters.
Each of the reporters came to a completely different misunderstanding, scribbling their notes away quickly. Everything from shapeshifters, to a magical species of cats called… Cats with a capital c. There was also one about an old tale about cats being a witch’s familiar. It seemed Ruena’s inability to use magic had not gotten out.
“Are the Alodan Warriors ready to take in new members?”
“We are, but I am afraid I have high standards,” Ruena answered.
“Could you let us in on what those standards would be?”
“First of all, they must like cats,” Ruena told them. Soral was probably the only one who knew she was coming up with these on the spot and he couldn’t help but smile. “Second, they have to be able to reach us on their own. If you really researched the Alodan Warriors, you would know where the original base lies.”
“Traniva, the forbidden forest of carnivorous trees,” one of them realized.
Soral was a bit surprised. Those trees and traniva were the same thing? That meant he had just moved into an endless supply of his special sleeping formula. Would they give him fresh leaves if he offered them meatloaf? It was worth a try.
“Correct,” Ruena confirmed. “After that, of course, they must pass the test.”
“You’ve finished the test already? What kind of test is it?”
Ruena smiled and placed a finger to her lips. “It’s a secret. I can’t be giving any new recruits an advantage.”
The lady reporter seemed pleased with the answer, but even more eager to ask her next question. “What is your relationship with Soral?”
For the first time, Ruena froze as her head snapped around to stare at him. She didn’t have an answer prepared for this. Luckily, because of Rosalie’s warning, Soral did. He leaned forward with complete confidence to answer a question that had not been directed at him.
“We are fated partners.”
There was a flurry of writing as Ruena’s perfectly poised expression slowly began to flush. Her thoughts were also louder than ever. ‘Soral! You can’t say things like that. Everyone will think we are in a relationship!’
He paused, as he took in her thoughts with a bit of confusion. “Aren’t we?” he asked out loud.
There were a few awkward seconds before the flustered Ruena realized she had no reason to refuse. “We are,” she agreed. Oddly enough, her answer filled Soral with relief and he beamed back at her.
==========
Velcorna Alodan threw the newspaper to the ground in frustration. What had the Belleas Company been thinking, spreading this kind of information across Altheador! She missed the days before that dratted company invented the thing. No, the real reason she was angry was the contents. It was the first she had seen or heard of her missing daughter in years. Not only was she doing well, she was still chasing foolish dreams left by her father’s ghost.
“Fine! You play your silly little game,” she spat at the unfortunate inanimate object on the floor, “Now that you have truly abandoned Alodan I have no more reason to hold back. One day you will learn that chasing love only leads to regret.”
She picked up the paper again to get a look at this so-called fated partner of hers. His grin was charming, but a bit goofy. Not only that, he was small and short like a mischievous little imp. He was exactly the kind of boy that would result in a broken heart. Perhaps if that happened, her long lost daughter would return to her. If not, she would make sure she did.