After a brief stop at the local Guildhall, Leonce and Loup managed to turn in the wolf pelts and get the payday they were promised via the request. While it was for the town of Oakenhart, the Guild still rewarded those who completed contracts, provided they had the evidence to show they did the job. With coin in hand, the brothers stepped out, and there they saw Aelizabeth rifling through her bag.

“Lost something?” Leonce asked as he came up behind her.

She paused a moment to glance back at them, “No, more… misplaced than lost,” she replied.

As she continued her search, Leonce shrugged and looked to Loup, who still seemed uncomfortable being in the city, “Well, I don’t want to rush you or anything, but I don’t suppose we could stop off at the armourer to pick me up some proper clothes? As you know, I can’t very well protect you and myself if I’m struggling to move in… what was it you called this again? Ancient armour?” He smiled, prompting her to groan at his sarcasm.

But despite the distraction, she did manage to find what she was looking for, “Ah! Found it,” Turning around, she leapt off the back of the cart and examined a series of letters, each with a unique signite wax seal on them.

Leonce looked a bit confused and was still focused on the fact that he needed new armour, “And what does that have to do with my current issue?”

“Nothing and everything,” She replied with a playful grin, “Here in my hands is the ticket to one of the best jobs you’ll ever do, and one in which you’ll be able to gain all the necessary experience needed to become renown adventurers~”

Loup frowned, “Huh? How’s a bunch of fancy letters supposed to help with that? All that says to me is you’re trying to sell us something we don’t need.”

Aelizabeth wanted to come up with a retort to that but chose to ignore it and reply instead with, “Trust me, it’s not like you’re doing anything dangerous. It’s just a year or two job that’ll give you more than enough pay to buy a house in the capital…” she paused, looking at the two, “If you listen to me throughout the entire ordeal that is.”

“Ordeal? Already, I’m afraid and excited… go on,” Leonce said jokingly.

Loup meanwhile scowled. He didn’t like how it seemed as though she was trying to screw them over in some way. While it was true that she’d helped get them this far and helped his older brother sort out some issues back in the goblin cave, she was still a new face, and he didn’t trust anyone outside the family who didn’t earn it. Either way, he didn’t want to vocalise his disagreement after seeing how his older brother was all for the idea. He wasn’t sold on it, and nor would he be until it came with the benefits Aelizabeth seemed to be promising.

She ignored Loup’s scowl as she handed them both a form for them to sign, though she knew both could read, so she waited for them to do so.

Leonce gently grabbed the form offered to him, and began to scan the contents, and paused upon seeing what the job entailed, “Huh… this job you’re offering us. It’s – well, it’s joining the military?”

“Fuck that,” Loup chimed in, after reading through his own.

Aelizabeth urged both to calm down, “Guys! It’s fine, it’s only two years! Tops! Plus, you’re not going in as privates. Read further, and you’ll see what I mean.”

Both did as instructed and saw that both would be signing up under the ‘Commoner Commissioned Officer Program’ or CCOP. It seemed the Empire had some program in place to allow non-nobles to hold an officer's rank. Though, such wasn’t too shocking given the stuff they’d heard even in Oakenhart. Some travellers had shared such stories and experiences, noting how Empire was trying to make up for the lack of nobles in the country due to past wars. With so many officers killed in a war that took place some twenty or so years ago, many of those nobles that survived feared for their heirs and families, which prompted the King to change the rules, allowing for commoners to receive an officer commission. However, there was a trade-off, as commoners were only permitted to rise to the rank of Major to avoid any nobles being ordered around by a commoner, which was why most nobles today bought the rank of Major or higher to avoid serving under their servants.

Either way, the brothers didn’t like the idea of serving in the military. Although it was initially one of their options, both agreed not to join. This is why they became adventurers.

“I… don’t think this would be a wise idea,” Leonce noted as he finished reading the form, “We left Oakenhart to become Adventurers, not soldiers. We can’t just give up something we just became. Wouldn’t make much sense.”

Loup nodded in agreement, “Agreed.”

Aelizabeth had to fight back the urge to frown, “I get your feelings, both of you, but you’d be foolish to turn this down! Commoners like yourselves don’t get this type of chance. Were you to enlist the way others would, you’d never rise to the rank of officer, and in that case, yes, I’d agree with you. But, you’re not going in as enlisted soldiers or NCOs. You’re becoming officers, both of you. You’ll make more money, have less trouble dealing with the nobles, and you’ll only have to serve two years, not five. Think about it! If you both took this offer up, you’d get all the training necessary to become successful adventurers and not be stuck doing fetch quests or… hunting small game like goblins and wolves,” She explained, trying to highlight the difference between what they had in mind and what she did, “I know you’ve only known me for a couple of days, but I ask you both to trust me… this one time, and I swear I’ll pay you both back tenfold if you do this for me!”

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Leonce groaned, “Ooh… fuck, I don’t know…”

“No. Simply no. Besides, why should we trust you? You’re basically selling us off to the military like servants! What about you?! What’s your role in all this, huh?” Loup demanded.

Aelizabeth grinned, “I’m joining in with you. Here, see,” she replied, handing Loup the same form as hers but signed at the bottom.

Loup was actually caught by surprise by this and didn’t know how to respond until Leonce did so for both of them as he signed the bottom line, shocking Loup.

“Fine, we agree, but... that reward better be good. Don’t think we're doing this for free. I may like you, Aelizabeth, but I’m with my brother here in saying that I don’t fully trust you yet… painful as it is to hear I’m sure. But – but it needs to be said. We’ve only known you for a couple of days, so we’re not exactly past the honeymoon stage in our new friendship after all,” Leonce said, prompting Loup to look even more visibly shocked at his normally aloof brother.

“Uh, what..?” Loup grabbed his brother by the arm and dragged him to the back of the cart. “Leo, what are you doing!?” Loup stressed as his grip on his brother’s arm tightened, nails digging through Léonce’s upper sleeve.

Léonce looked askance at his brother then he jerked his arm out of his brother's distressing grip to his arm. “When did your nails grow so sharp Lou? You might have ripped into my shirt!” Léonce joked, rubbing his arm. He looked down and saw spots of blood then frowned at Loup.

“Don't change the subject Leo! We barely know this woman and you just sign the bottom line!?” Loup looked at Léonce with barely disguised anger.

Léonce put his hands on Loups's shoulders, “Loup, this isn't for her! It's for us! Like she said, this is a huge opportunity for us, we could get access to higher education and training we just wouldn’t get as normal adventurers. By the end of this we could go anywhere with our access. Think about it, noble libraries, filled with knowledge. Then the training, i know how talented we are Lou, we could learn from the best this Empire has to offer!” By the end of his speech Léonce was practically giddy with excitement.

Loup widened his eyes, his anger vanishing to be replaced with excitement. Looking at his brother he could see the same smile on his face Reflecting in Léonce's eyes. “Fine, but I still don't trust Aelizabeth.” Loup brushes Léonce's hands off him then puts on his standard poker face.

Loup walks over to the front of the wagon, Léonce following a step behind. Grabbing the recruitment paper he signs his name, only hesitating at the end. Loup and Léonce hand their forms over to Aelizabeth.

She smiled, grabbing both forms. Stowing them in her back, she made a mental note to get those forms in before the end of the week so she could finally start her plan. But for now, the rest of the day would be spent trying to help Leonce find the armour he sought. He still looked a bit out of sorts, and she wasn’t a fan of how his good looks weren’t on full display by how silly he looked dressed in such ill-fitting armour falling apart at the seams. So, not wanting to waste any more of their time, and as thanks for putting their trust in her for this one thing, she took them to the armourer she had heard about during a previous visit to the city. It didn’t take them long before they found the place, and to Loup’s surprise, there was some nice stuff for sale, and not just the usual one-size-fits-all type of thing. Leonce didn’t care much; he just wanted something that looked good, felt good, and made him look good.

So, after looking through the different armours on display, they eventually found a cuirass with a red and blue fabric interior lining that ended under the area where the arms exited. While simple, its style and make were perfect for Leonce’s form of fighting.

“Yup! This is it! It’s perfect," he announced to the others as he emerged from a dressing room, donning the cuirass and a pair of new clothes he had purchased alongside it.

A militaristic uniform with a tunic of similar style to a Empire’s Hussar. The style of the Hussars has grown in popularity ever since they achieved a victory over a horde of bandits that had been plaguing the roads around the Empire, which prompted many to join the army in the hopes of becoming one. Others sought out the style, hoping to match the same flare as the famous regiments. In Leonce’s case, he wore it simply because it felt good and fit his style, and Aelizabeth had agreed. Loup was just happy to see his brother wearing something he could move in and wasn’t obstructed in like the old doublet. Either way, with his new clothing and armour bought, the trio left the store and made for the inn, only for Aelizabeth to break off later saying she had to deliver the forms to the administration building, leaving Loup and Leonce to have dinner by themselves.

Before long, Aelizabeth had returned, carrying with her three letters, each detailing out where the trio were to report and when they were supposed to go there. A quick read through the documents told them that they were to head immediately to Cuirassier Square, which served as the city’s primary military headquarters. It seemed simple enough, though the two brothers still weren’t comfortable with the idea of military service. But, Aelizabeth at least made sure neither of the two would be going in as ordinary soldiers. However, the one question both had was how and when she got the necessary forms to complete the requests. It was a little weird to say the least. Loup had already begun to theorise that she had meant to recruit the members of Iron Shield and had a number of the damn forms stuffed away in her bag, but since it was only them. There was no name on the documents, merely a letter stating the crown approved the application provided those who sign agree to the terms of service.

Either way, neither Leonce nor Loup would likely get the truth from Aelizabeth yet, likely because they already knew the truth so she wouldn’t bother to say anything more on the subject. With that in mind, the two chose to drop the matter entirely, not wanting to dig up the subject, and instead focus on other matters, namely eating dinner, getting some rest, then preparing to move onto their assigned area now that the trio were part of the Empire’s army. The thought was still extremely scary, more so for Loup who feared him and his brother wouldn’t be part of the same unit, as he had some knowledge regarding the military, he had looked into the subject some time ago when he was trying to figure out a way for him and Leonce to leave Oakenhart. They often had an aptitude test of sorts to see where they would put the different applicants after basic training and drill. Knowing Leonce, he’d likely either find himself in the Logistics Corps or a Cavalry regiment while he himself would likely find himself in a Light Infantry regiment given his own skill set.

“Hah… this is gonna suck…” Loup sighed.