Building Reputation (1)
The executives of the Red Flame Mercenary Corps were gathered together, deep in conversation.
“Did something like that really happen?”
While discussing how to handle Gidin, who would be participating in tomorrow’s subjugation, I brought up the incident from earlier.
The story of how I had argued with Gidin because of Neir.
At that, Baran’s temper flared.
“I was starting to think Gidin was alright... but no. As expected of a noble young master...”
I laughed at Baran’s words.
“And what are you going to do about it if he isn’t?”
“An opportunity will come, Vice-Captain. Just wait and see.”
“Are you thinking of doing something on the battlefield—”
“—I don’t play games with lives, either. No matter how much I dislike someone.”
“...Anyway. Because of that, I think it’s better if Gidin stays separated from us.”
As we talked, I noticed Adam-hyung maintaining a strange silence.
“...Hyung?”
He had worn a grave expression the moment I mentioned my argument with Gidin. Having spent seven years watching each other’s backs, there were parts of him that reacted more sensitively than others.
He looked as if he were ready to go fight Gidin right then and there.
“...Still, Gidin was the one who apologized before he left.”
Since Gidin was the one who had apologized, I had no grounds to escalate it. Adam-hyung nodded at my words.
He sighed for a long moment, blinked, and changed the subject.
“...Right. If the matter is settled, there’s no need to dig it up. Let’s just summarize the plan one last time and dismiss.”
I nodded and looked out the window at the sky. The day was certainly coming to an end. The time to wrap up the afternoon meeting was approaching. It seemed better to head back and prepare for bed with Neir.
Adam-hyung spoke to the executives.
“There are four leaders. The first target is the ‘Draig’ found in the northwest forest.”
The Draig was one of the most massive entities among the leaders. It was a giant, four-legged monster. An ordinary Draig stood as tall as six adult men stacked in a row, and its weight was comparable to two hundred men piled together. It was sluggish, but the destructive power born of its sheer size was immense, and the damage it caused to the surrounding area was significant. However, the Draig residing in this Blackwood territory was far larger than the average specimen. It was the most dangerous leader in this subjugation operation, and thus, it became the primary target. We had to strike when the Red Flame’s losses would be at their lowest.
Adam-hyung continued.
“You’re all used to Draig subjugations, so that should be fine... but as you know, the size is the problem this time. There seem to be quite a few monsters that have been lured and eroded. It’s even more serious because it hasn’t been hunted for a long time. We need to clear out the monsters in the forest before we lure the leader to the plains.”
Everyone nodded.
“Krian. You need to do well. The more monsters you clear out, the easier it will be for Berg.”
Krian replied.
“Understood.”
“Once the leader is lured to the plains... from there, Berg and Baran will have to handle it. After that, we’ll move north through the Blackwood territory and take down the leaders we see one by one. The only problem this time is the Draig in the northwest, so let’s just be careful about that. If things go well, two days; if the Red Flame takes heavy damage, I’m thinking about three.”
Everyone looked at the map Adam-hyung was pointing to, committing the plan to memory.
“If there are any injured, find Theodore. Theodore will likely be on the west side of the battlefield. If he’s not there, everyone needs to judge the situation proactively.”
Everyone gave a disciplined response to Adam-hyung’s words. He pondered over the map for a moment before speaking.
“Actually, this should be enough for the important stuff, right?”
Adam-hyung clapped his hands to lighten the mood. He had already covered all the essential points. He then expressed his anticipation.
“I heard the Wolf-kin are skilled in medicine and sorcery, so I’ll have to look forward to that. After all, the Blackwoods have agreed to handle all the treatment for the injured this time.”
Baran followed Adam-hyung’s lead in lightening the mood. He dropped his serious expression and let out a big sigh.
“Our Vice-Captain won’t have to worry even if he gets hurt.”
I looked at Baran, wondering what he meant. A playful smile appeared on his face.
“You have your wife, sir. I heard recently that all Wolf-kin women learn medicine for their husbands. I’m envious.”
I clicked my tongue. Having heard comments like that all day, I no longer had the energy to retort. Light laughter erupted here and there.
“That’s enough, let’s head back.”
I said, trying to escape their teasing. But Adam-hyung was a master of this kind of banter.
“Look at this devoted husband. Already wanting to go back to his wife...”
“I didn’t know our Vice-Captain was this tender-hearted.”
I sighed and stood up from my seat. Baran and Adam-hyung started laughing together. As I approached the door, Adam-hyung said.
“Go on, Berg. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
“Get some good rest.”
I looked at the executives and said.
“You all rest well, too.”
Everyone except for Hyung answered in unison.
The meeting was over, but I was preparing for the situations that would follow. Today, I had ended up protecting Neir. I had stepped in because I thought it was the right thing to do at the time... but in truth, it was an action that didn’t consider Neir’s position. I had confronted her brothers, and because of that, Neir’s position might have become even more difficult. Perhaps it would have been better to resolve the situation with words and lead Neir out gently.
I always feel regret after things have passed.
I sighed. Standing in front of the room I shared with Neir, I hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do.
“...Um...”
At that moment, a beautiful voice rang out from behind me. I turned around to see Neir standing there.
“....Neir?”
Neir flinched at the call. I felt the awkwardness only after I had spoken. It was the first time I had ever called her by her name. A strange sensation. But I couldn’t take back what I had already said.
I asked.
“Weren’t you inside?”
Neir shook her head.
“...Then?”
“...”
Neir didn’t speak about that. Instead, she changed the subject.
“...Have you... eaten?”
Her voice was trembling slightly. But it was definitely much better than the day before. Yesterday, she couldn’t even meet my eyes. But now, she was looking at me. She had spoken to me. She had asked if I had eaten.
It seemed that taking her side earlier that day and watching the waterfall together had helped.
“...”
For some reason, a smile formed on my face. I had certainly made an effort, and I had asked her to act, but... I hadn’t expected her to change this quickly. Rather than smiling, Neir turned her head slightly away. I answered her.
“I haven’t.”
“...”
She closed her mouth at that answer. This time, it was my turn to ask.
“Did you eat?”
She shook her head as well.
“We... it’s not our mealtime yet.”
“When do the Blackwoods eat dinner?”
Darkness flickered in Neir’s eyes for a moment. She remained silent for a while before speaking.
“...The family will soon...”
I frowned at that strange answer.
“The family?”
“I... after that...”
“...”
I was left speechless by her follow-up. My expression darkened little by little.
“...Has it always been like that?”
“...”
Her silence served as an affirmation. Did this mean she had been eating alone all this time? I knew she was hated by her family, but was it to this extent? At those distant words, I couldn’t even fathom how lonely a time she must have spent. As a noble lady with beautiful features, I had assumed she had been raised more preciously than anyone else. But perhaps she carried a past more painful than anyone else’s.
I couldn’t keep my expression in check. After struggling for a long time, I asked only one question.
“...Are you not on good terms with your siblings?”
I already knew, but I felt like I had to hear it from her once. Neir nodded, her face growing even darker, as if she were ashamed. It wasn’t her fault, yet she carried herself like a sinner.
“...Even so, isn’t that too much?”
I couldn’t help but ask. But Neir shook her head again.
“Ah, that... I... I chose this.”
“...”
“I’m the one who avoids my sisters and brothers...”
Every time she opened her mouth, her life was painted a little more clearly. There must have been bullying to the point where she had no choice but to avoid them. If she had been bullied at every mealtime like she was this morning, naturally, she wouldn’t want to eat with them. I didn’t have the heart to pry into her past, but I couldn’t suppress the questions rising from my own discomfort.
“...What about your father?”
Leaving the other siblings aside, the fact that even Gibson was like that doubled the shock. Wasn’t he her father? But as if to say this part was my misunderstanding, Neir shook her head vigorously.
“Ah, Father... he ate with me sometimes. He didn’t say much, but...”
“...”
“It was rare, but he mediated for me... and recently, again...”
Neir recalled something, then closed her mouth. I watched her quietly.
“...Hoo.”
The more I got to know her, the more I understood the resistance she had shown me. Having lived so lonely, how would she feel if she were sold off to someone she didn’t even love? To someone who wasn’t even the same race, at that. But in the end, there was nothing I could do. If I thought that Gidin’s fight today might have caused trouble for Neir, I couldn’t afford to have a worse relationship with her other siblings. Therefore, it seemed like a better choice to stop caring about the other siblings and treat Neir, who was right in front of me, well.
There was certainly pity, but if I, her husband... didn’t take care of her, who would?
“...Let’s go out.”
I said.
“Yes?”
A question mark appeared on Neir’s face. I didn’t want Neir to have to eat here. I didn’t want to feed her in this mansion where she had only ever been hurt and had always been alone. Once again, I grabbed her wrist. It might have been a bit rough, but this would be better for her.
Neir looked down at her wrist. It was the wrist Berg had grabbed firmly just a moment ago. After hearing her circumstances, he hadn’t even asked for her opinion before leading her to the Red Flame’s campsite. And now, sitting in a tent at that camp in front of a board that served as a table, she was waiting for the food Berg had ordered for his subordinates.
At first, she had been inwardly afraid that he had led her here without a word... but as she watched him order food and sit her down without saying anything else, her heart eased. Neir was gradually learning that this could be Berg’s own way of showing consideration. He didn’t offer comfort with words, but with actions. It was the same with the waterfall, and it was the same now. As soon as he heard that she didn’t usually eat with her family, Berg had taken her out to his own space. It felt as if he were telling her not to stay in a place like that anymore.
Neir looked down at her wrist again. The wrist that his warm, calloused hand had gripped so roughly. Yet, she couldn’t understand why she hadn’t hated the moment he had forced her to follow him.
“Theodore. Krian. Stop staring and get going.”
Neir watched as Berg sighed and spoke. Neir carefully raised her head and looked around. Through the gaps in the tent, she could see numerous members, and at the table right next to them sat a man called Theodore and a man called Krian. But despite Berg’s words, Theodore just rested his chin on his hand and didn’t move. She had heard that Berg was a man feared even by his own side, but his comrades looked so comfortable by his side.
Remembering Berg’s request from the day before, Neir tried to ensure her expression didn’t look gloomy.
“...The Vice-Captain is already being so good to a woman.”
“Get lost. Stop spouting nonsense.”
How did Berg usually treat women for them to keep saying things like that? Neir didn’t know how to take that fact. She was unsure if she should be afraid that he wasn’t acting like his usual self, or if she should be grateful that he was treating her specially.
“I can’t believe it, no matter how many times I see it.”
As Theodore, the executive, sighed and muttered, Neir’s eyes turned toward him. Feeling Neir’s gaze, Theodore smiled and continued his explanation.
“The Vice-Captain really hated women. No one could even touch him with a finger—”
Krian, who was next to Theodore, popped out from behind and hit Theodore on the head.
-Thwack!
“—Hey, you stupid bastard, how can you say it like that!”
“Krian. You go too. Don’t make her uncomfortable.”
Berg said. Krian seemed to have some intention of being considerate so that misunderstandings wouldn’t pile up, but for Neir, his violence was even more surprising. With the sound that came from Theodore’s head, Neir had flinched and jumped in her seat for a moment. And at the sight of her being so startled, Berg smiled faintly.
It became harder for Neir to look at him every time he smiled. Someone else’s smile wasn’t yet familiar to Neir. Krian looked back at Neir and said.
“The Vice-Captain didn’t hate women... well, he had integrity. When everyone else was playing around with women, the Vice-Captain was the only one who said he didn’t want to. Until he met you, Neir.”
Berg stood up from his seat.
“Ah! Vice-Captain!”
“Wait a second! We’re going!”
Theodore and Krian scrambled to their feet in fear. The members standing outside burst into laughter at the sight. Berg soon chased away the remaining executives, leaving only himself and Neir in the tent. But Neir was chewing over the story she had just heard from the man called Krian.
Was it true? The claim that he had kept women at a distance until she appeared. If so, in truth, Berg didn’t hate women... he just didn’t enjoy female company, right? Was she the first woman Berg had ever treated with such tenderness?
...For some reason, it wasn’t a bad feeling.
Neir looked up at Berg again. Berg accepted her gaze and asked her lightly.
“Do you like meat?”
“Yes?”
“I told my subordinates to go grill some meat... I was just wondering if that was okay.”
Neir liked meat, too. It was her favorite thing after pie. So, she nodded slightly.
“...Yes. I like meat.”
At that, Berg nodded as if relieved. Neir soon realized that Berg intended to maintain his silence again. But Neir still had words left to say. Words she should have said much earlier.
“...Berg?”
She called his name for the first time. His name, flowing over her lips, felt unfamiliar. At those words, Berg turned his head and poured his attention toward her. If she just uttered this short word ‘Berg’ from now on, would he look at her like this? Swallowing those idle thoughts, Neir said.
“...Thank... you.”
It was a word containing complex gratitude. For Gidin’s matter, for the evening, for not forcing comfort on her, for not asking about anything. Neir felt heat rising to her face. But Berg, the person in question, just nodded shortly, as if it were nothing.
“...We’re a married couple.”
“...”
Neir’s heart fluttered strangely again at his answer. It was the same emotion she had felt at the waterfall.
“...And you can drop the formalities.”
“...”
A strange situation where a commoner tells a noble to speak comfortably. After that, silence returned. But Neir didn’t find that silence strangely awkward. Perhaps it was because she had said everything she wanted to say.
‘...I shouldn’t feel this way...’
Neir thought. The quiet atmosphere with him already felt far too comfortable.