Spectre of the Sinner - Chapter 4 part 2: Military diplomacy at work-on a private level, at least
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- Chapter 4 part 2: Military diplomacy at work-on a private level, at least
POV: Carolyn von Wagner-Kukulins, quarta hora matutina, Mellanphalia Kingdom
Looking at the Eastern-looking warfighter’s conduct, one could say that he was well-educated in noble etiquette, sprouting more questions about the man’s origins. Alas, I could not afford to be surprised about his mien for too long, for a concerning piece of information was divulged by my dear younger half-sister: that an unprecedented brawl between a horde of [Goblyns] and a troop of [Ogres] had occurred not too far from here.
Deciding that we could not afford to upset the upper-ranked adventurers, I turned back and bellowed at the convoy of adventurers, most of whom were at least 5-starred or higher.
“To the braves that have heeded this Mistress’s call! While it is fortunate that the threat posed by the band of the much dreaded [Ravenous Ogre] and its ilk were extinguished by the efforts of this brave outlander and this brave chevalier [Frieda von Wagner], unfortunately, there are a horde of [Goblyns] and a band of marauding [Ogres] close to where we are now! To the brave adventurers of the fortress city of [Vest Schëld], it’s your time to shine now! And to the knights of the [Order of Kuckucknidum], we still have the sacred duty of bringing our comrades back to our home!”
My rallying cry elicited a positive reaction from the mob, relieving me from the possible repercussions of prematurely ending this rescue commission. As for my injured sister, I had my adjutant escort her back to our base to get the needed medical attention.
“Miss [von Wagner], I believe that you should take with you these.”
Suddenly, the man beckoned my dear [Freida], causing everyone, including me, to be surprised. Then he swiftly took off his large stiff-looking black sack and, after rummaging through its content for a short while, produced a small rock-colored satchel, which was decorated with a prominent red cross. Having read his intention, my half-sister urged my poor adjutant to receive the small bag with an understanding nod, which further surprised me.
“Please follow my instructions when you have to use them,” the foreign soldier expressed his honest gratitude as he put on his helmet, which then closed like a predator’s jaw closing, “take care, and stay safe.”
As I noticed the longing gaze in my dear sister’s eyes as she shyly fidgeted with the weirdly patterned piece of forest-green cloth, it occurred to me that the object of the stare was Mister [An] himself greatly surprised me. To think that her first love was the foreign savior, I could only sigh inwardly. At least the current situation was the perfect test to witness the martial prowess that my little sister had been expressing her admiration nonstop, which weirdly irked me for some reason.
Deciding to push aside the matter, I urged the knight company to mount their horses and signaled the rest of the convoy to continue. My adjutant hastened her beloved mount as well, carrying a lovestruck maiden to the city to get some medical treatment. Then I turned toward Mister [An] and called him.
“Mister [An], it seems that you must be tired after journeying on foot nonstop like this, especially when you expressed your goodwill by offering to escort us on our mission. This Mistress would like to invite our esteemed guest to take a rest by taking a seat on one of the carriages, I will let the adventurers know.”
“Thank you for your gracious offer, but I am afraid I must refuse your proposition, for my legs do not know tiredness, and I would like to make one, no, two selfish requests.”
Unconsciously tilted my head at the offer, the foreigner made his counter requests.
“One is that I would like to stow my rucksack onto one of the carriages, as I believe that it may hinder my movements when emergency calls, and conversely, my outdoor kits are all stored in it. The other is I would like to be this convoy’s point man, in other words, one who goes ahead of others to scout out danger. I believe that my experience will allow the group to traverse toward the objective safely.”
As I glanced around the knight troupe, everyone naturally hesitated to allow the foreigner to take on the job. Perhaps sensing our reluctance, the outlander grandly made a summoning gesture toward the sky, causing us to collectively tilted our heads in unison. Then from the sky, a small black bird-like contraption swooped down, causing an uproar amongst the ranks, thus, I instinctively understood the words of my sister.
“Then I shall appoint you as this convoy’s point man. I shall entrust our safety to you.”
“Then I shan’t disappoint you,” the man relaunched his device up the sky after lightly bowing his head, “so let’s get going, shall we?”
After Mister [An] stowed his black rucksack onto the leading carriage, the convoy started to move in earnest. One of the members of the knight group, chevalier [Ron] rode his steed up to me and carefully whispered into my ears.
“Officer [von Wagner-Kukulins], permission to speak.”
“Permission granted. But before you express your grievances, let me guess first: is it about the foreign soldier?”
“Yes Madame, I am afraid that the man is an enemy’s agent and…”
“I see, and that this is his ploy to weaken our kingdom’s power right?”
Seeing the young knight silently nod, I understood where he came from.
“Suppose that the [Holy Empire] has somehow managed to create such weapons as recounted by my sister, then by now, we would have already been destroyed a long time ago. Besides, unless the guy is an utter fool, then the chance of him being a spy is low. Now I ask you, my fellow knight, what’s the most fascinating thing about our foreigner?”
Suddenly asked such a meaningful question, the knight stammered a bit before answering.
“I would guess that… maybe his armor set?”
Interested in the answer, I urged him to continue.
“Its basic shape looks similar to ours, yet many key differences exist. One example is the front is adorned with rows of pouches, which seemed to function as on-hand storages for the combat provisions.”
Impressed by the young knight’s keen observation, I nodded in assent before urging him to keep on spilling the bean.
“Another example is that little bird-like device. If I recall Miss [von Wagner]’s words right, it’s connected to his mind through non-magic means, allowing him to survey the area ahead,” the fledging knight swallowed his spit before continuing his conjectures, “supposedly that her words are true, then it seems that the civilization level of his homeland far outstrip ours.”
Further impressed by his inferences, I could not help but want to compliment the young man for his keen sense of observation. Just as I was about to extend my hand to offer him a head pat, suddenly another voice sternly interjected.
“Please refrain from doing that, Mistress [von Wagner-Kukulins],” the adopted daughter of the [von Kukulins] family, [Dilma Fogadott von Kukulins], voiced her opinions, “such actions in the public are not appropriate at all. As much as I respect [Dupont’s] keen observations, this is neither the time nor the place for such casualness. Please remember your public station, Mistress [von Wagner-Kukulins].”
Desperately holding myself back from pouting my lips at her remarks, I decided to be a little bit cheeky.
“Then what are your observations regarding the foreign soldier, Miss [von Kukulins]?”
After briefly musing over it, my sister-in-law nodded a bit before spinning her words out of her eye-catching plump lips.
“According to Miss [von Wagner]’s testimonies, the outsider’s weaponry consisted of what he called [Guns], weapons that operate based on fire and smoke principle, as such there is no need for string-based mechanisms,” the knight took a nip from her waterskin before continuing to elaborate on her thoughts, “yet somethings are missing.”
Intrigued by her words, I pressed her to resume her stream of thoughts, earning an exasperated sigh from her beautiful lips.
“Miss [von Wagner] said that there was a trail of faint smoke coming from the man’s direction shortly before an explosion hit the menacing [Ravenous Ogre], suggesting the existence of another armament that Mister [An] had discarded beforehand,” she briefly glared at me once she noticed my gaze, forcing me to avert my eyes.
“Multiple signatures detected three kilometers west,” with an inhuman tone, the point man announced the presence of the monsters, cutting us off from our conversation, “the [Goblyns] have been neutralized. The [Ogres] have 4 dead, 5 critically wounded, 9 lightly wounded, and 12 healthy.”
Then the warfighter kneeled and motioned his right hand to the caravan to halt, prompting me to turn around and shush the agitated adventurers. Thanks to my dear sister’s prior experience, I had the knights summon the participating parties’ leaders to discuss the action plan. Hearing the somewhat agitated chatters coming from the summoned adventurers, I could only pray that there wouldn’t be any fighting amongst us before the confrontation against those monsters.