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Seeing the young man's astonished look, Mengdie slammed the table and leaned forward, "Do—you—have—a—problem—with—that?!" A faint fragrance wafted from Mengdie’s hair, and her pretty face at close range made the young man's heart race. He quickly lowered his gaze, but still calculated Mengdie's birth year based on her claimed age of 16 years and filled it in the form.
Mengdie gave the rest of the information, which the young man wrote down. Most of it was simply glossed over as Mengdie didn’t want to explain her background, using amnesia to summarize most details. The completed registration form ended up having only her name and age filled in. For the gender field, Mengdie insisted on “male,” but the young man, after much deliberation, wrote “female.”
With the registration completed, the young man looked at the almost empty form and then called over a magician. The magician took out a crystal-like stone, held it up to Mengdie, and let its light shine on her face for a while. Then he directed the crystal towards a space on the form meant for a photograph. Mengdie’s image gradually appeared on the paper, even clearer than a high-definition camera on Earth could capture.
"The registration is complete. As per the rules, Mengdie... I need to inform you of your status and mission," the young man said, tucking the form into his jacket instead of placing it with the other mercenaries' forms. Mengdie, of course, was unaware of this action.
"My name is Edward. Edward Lansidemur. I am the leader of this punitive expedition."
Mengdie, confused, looked up, trying to remember the young man's name. She could barely pronounce "Edward," but the long surname was very difficult to say. She shook her head impatiently, "Edward, right? You're my leader, I get it. Anything else?"
Mengdie's words once again surprised everyone around! Even Edward couldn't believe that she remained so nonchalant after hearing his surname and looked at her indifferently.
"You... know who I am?" Edward pointed to his nose, in disbelief.
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Mengdie snorted, looking a bit sullen, "No idea. And I don’t really want to know. While I will follow your lead for the sake of the money, if you think you can use your name to pressure me, think again! That clerk is your example!"
Everyone around thought Mengdie genuinely didn’t know who Edward was. By now, everyone was convinced of Mengdie's apparent cluelessness. Anyone with a bit of common sense would probably know who the man with the silver moon emblem on his sword was. Still, she remained ignorant...
Edward's mouth twitched awkwardly. Seeing Mengdie’s serious gaze, he relaxed and smiled, "Ah, it’s fine if you don’t know. Just consider me as a leader. Alright, let me continue."
"I am Edward, the leader of this expedition. And you, Mengdie, are one of the mercenaries under my command. Our mission is to head to the Bloody Valley, a three-day journey from here, and exterminate a bandit group known as Black Flame Snake before the Prince's ball begins next month."
"Our main force consists of a thousand soldiers, an absolute advantage over the bandits' three hundred. But the Bloody Valley is vast, and finding three hundred people there is very difficult. If we alert them, they might escape. So, your task as mercenaries is to scout the area before the main army arrives, gather all the correct locations, potential ambush sites, and possible escape routes of the enemy. This is a dangerous job, likely requiring you to infiltrate the enemy's territory. Do you understand?"
Mengdie nodded, crossing her arms with a slight smile, "So, I'm a scout, right? Understood. How many are in the scouting team?"
"Including you, there are 67 registered mercenaries. You caught the last batch, as we're leaving in an hour when the sun is fully up. The main force will leave a day later. I will lead you in this vanguard battle."
After Edward finished, Mengdie casually nodded. Suddenly, the mercenaries behind her burst into surprised murmurs! Mengdie turned around curiously, only to see everyone staring at Edward, obviously incredulous at what he had just said.
"You... Sir! You... You're really leading the mercenaries?! Although this was the Steward's suggestion, there's no need for someone of your stature to take such a risk!" Edward's attendant, too, was shocked and tried to dissuade him.
Edward shook his head, gripping his sword, "The Steward is right; I lack real battle experience and prestige. I'll handle this bandit operation myself. I can't let those who trust me feel they're just being used by the army or that we're merely bound by a monetary contract. We're comrades, sharing life and death, advancing and retreating together."
With that, Edward drew his sword, gazing at the blade shimmering in the rising sun, and issued his first order—
"Mercenary Corps, move out!"
The small 67-member mercenary corps set off lightly. Riding swiftly on horses, they were indeed qualified for reconnaissance. As the mercenaries departed, Mengdie noticed that the group included many women, not just men.
The continuous gallop and lunch on horseback with dry rations distributed... Edward occasionally took out a compass and pocket watch, discussing the direction with his soldiers. Mengdie observed all this but didn’t take it to heart.
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