Aeron rembers the first day he t the little girl standing in front of him.
Upon hearing that a horde of monsters was attacking, he rushed to assist, only to find the city already in chaos.
Canaria was one of the survivors of that city.
‘This child will definitely grow up to be great.’
Garid said while looking down at the girl asleep in his arms. Despite facing overwhelming odds, she had shown courage, cold judgnt, and an unyielding spirit—qualities one wouldn’t expect from a girl who seed to be only five or six years old.
Aeron, recalling how she had fought against the monsters, agreed with Garid.
‘So… what are you going to do? Should we look for her family?’
Even though Aeron knew it was futile, he asked the question anyway.
Her clothes were torn and tattered, her face and body filthy. While her face was cute enough to mistake her for a noble’s daughter, her ragged appearance told a different story. Her parents were either gone or had not survived the chaos.
‘Let’s search for them first, and if we can’t find them…’
‘…And if we can’t?’
‘I’ll make her my daughter.’
‘…Excuse ? All of a sudden?’
Aeron had often seen Garid show compassion toward children who had lost their parents or lived in poor conditions, but this was the first ti he had seen him go this far.
Unable to hide his surprise, Aeron asked, and Garid smiled back.
‘I like her.’
The girl, having accepted the offer of adoption, beca Garid’s daughter.
Since Aeron wasn’t just a colleague but a close friend of Garid’s, he frequently visited Garid’s ho and often looked after Canaria in his stead. Despite using formal language, Canaria was as dear to Aeron as if she were his own child.
“You haven’t changed, Captain.”
“…What do you an by that?”
“What do I an? Of course, I’m talking about your height. I told you back when you were young to stop eating just at and eat your vegetables, but neither you nor Garid listened—”
“Aah, ahh—Not listening!”
Canaria covered her ears, shaking her head, looking exactly like a child who didn’t want to hear any more scolding.
Aeron, dissatisfied, stopped his scolding, and only then did Canaria stop shaking her head.
“You know it wasn’t because of my diet. If it weren’t for that perverted lizard, I’d be twice as tall as I am now.”
“…I’m sure no one else refers to Grasis as a ‘perverted lizard,’ Captain. And where did you get ‘twice as tall’ from?”
Moreover, Canaria was probably the only person who could say such things without getting into trouble.
“Calling a pervert a pervert—what else would you call him?”
“…Forget it. Let’s move on. So, where have you been all this ti? You disappeared right after the war ended, and no one could find you.”
Aeron asked, though he had a rough idea of where she had been.
“Garid’s grave.”
“I thought so.”
Canaria’s answer matched Aeron’s expectations.
“…You already knew?”
“You never made any friends, nor would you throw yourself into the Empire’s arms, so where else would you be?”
“Eric didn’t have a clue, though.”
“Did you et Eric too? What’s he been up to?”
“He’s been working as the captain of the Ordo City Guard.”
“…Captain of the Guard? Him? I can’t picture that at all…”
“He’s getting older too.”
“…?”
How old was Canaria now, anyway?
Aeron did a rough calculation. She had been six when he first t her, and a little over ten years had passed since then.
‘She must be around seventeen now.’
A young brat, not even twenty, talking down to soone much older than himself.
On top of that, Kana looked younger than her actual age, which made Aaron find her words even more amusing.
“So, you suspected as much but didn’t co to visit? Garid will be disappointed.”
“Sotis, one needs ti alone.”
“…What?”
Kana seed confused, but Aaron rely smiled softly.
“Since the captain ca all the way here, I’ll have to pay him a visit later.”
“Sure. Oh, but not when I’m not around. The snake set up a barrier.”
“…Snake? You an, that guy?”
“Are there any other snakes you know of?”
“…What in the world happened? Is it related to why you’re outside?”
“It’s not entirely unrelated. Thanks to that snake, I got curious about sothing, which gave a reason to co out.”
Kana pulled up a chair ant for guests and sat down. Despite her small fra, her presence seed to shrink even more behind the large desk, with only her head barely visible from Aaron’s point of view.
“I’ve gotten curious about the Apostles.”
“Apostles…”
“Do you know anything about them?”
“No, just—”
Aaron sighed deeply.
“Lately, Libery’s been having a hard ti dealing with the Apostles.”
Brought to Ardina through Edel’s guidance, these newcors, while helpful, were causing more than a few problems. Aaron, as the Head Instructor, focused primarily on educational matters and didn’t involve himself deeply in administration, but he was well aware of the current atmosphere in Libery.
Most welcod Edel’s people with open arms, but…
“There are definitely so complaints.”
Existing rcenaries had spent years building up their skills and records, only to finally pass through rigorous evaluations and earn higher ranks. But the Apostles were different. Their evaluation process was far simpler—practically just needing a minimal record, which was much less than what was previously required.
Many rcenaries felt the stark preferential treatnt was unfair.
“People are saying things like, ‘Does Edel’s favor give them a free pass?’ and ‘Shouldn’t the evaluations be fair, no matter what?’”
“Can’t they just follow the sa rules?”
“It’s not that easy. If we simplify the evaluation process for current rcenaries, it will likely increase the number of deaths.”
Apostles didn’t need to be perfect in skill; after all, they could always revive, thanks to Edel’s blessing. But the people of the Ardina continent had no such luxury. Lowering the evaluation difficulty could lead to rcenaries taking on jobs beyond their capabilities, risking their lives.
Libery aid to nurture rcenaries, not send them out to die.
“Then do the opposite.”
“…If that were possible, we would have done it already.”
It sounded simple, but the problem lay in how fast Apostles grew stronger compared to the pace at which they accumulated achievents. Even if they were slightly less skilled, their physical power and mana levels were on par with veteran rcenaries.
But the real issue was sothing else entirely.
“How can we go against what Edel has personally declared? It was a divine revelation, no less.”
“…Edel did?”
“We’re stuck. Can’t do this, can’t do that. It’s maddening.”
There was no place on the Ardina continent, not even the mighty Lo Arka Empire, that could ignore Edel’s divine will. Even they, with all their influence, bowed before Edel and the Sedeth Kingdom.
“Not only did he bring people over from across the sea, but now he’s telling us how to handle them… What could he possibly be thinking?”
“Who knows.”
As Kana listened to Edel’s complaints, she fell into thought for a mont.
“Across the sea to the continent…”
“Do you know sothing about it?”
“…No.”
Kana shook her head.
“That’s why I’m going to the Holy Kingdom.”
To ask Edel.
***
“Are you really going to ask Edel?”
Aeron rubbed his ears as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Besides, the oracle that was issued this ti is said to have occurred only once in hundreds of years. Do you really think that’s possible?”
“If it can’t be done, then it can’t be. But trying is still an option.”
Aeron showed a rather negative reaction, looking sulky.
“I’m saying that it seems like you won’t even get the chance to try. I can imagine you saying, ‘I want to talk to Edel,’ but do you think Edel is just a childhood friend living next door? If you say that, do you really think she’ll respond with, ‘Oh, I see! Co right in!’?”
“…I wasn’t thinking that—”
“Of course you weren’t! How long have I known you, Captain? You’re just trying to fool soone who’s already been fooled.”
“…”
I couldn’t deny Aeron’s words. I, too, felt I would have acted the sa way as he said.
Pouting my lips timidly, Aeron softened his tone and said,
“Well, it might not be completely impossible.”
“…You just said it was impossible.”
“According to the gods, Edel hears all the prayers made in the prayer room. So if you offer your prayer sincerely, she might give you an answer.”
“But I’m not a believer.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to believe in Edel this ti.”
“…”
I had no intention of suddenly becoming religious, so that advice wasn’t very helpful.
“I’ll think about it after I go.”
“Do as you wish. When have you ever listened to what I said?”
“I didn’t ignore everything.”
“That’s why you’re so desperately avoiding vegetables.”
“…Are we back to that topic again?”
The conversation had sohow looped back to my picky eating habits.
Having heard the sa thing for ages, I shivered and changed the subject.
“Enough with the ridiculous vegetable talk. Why are you working here?”
Aeron, who had a lot to say, eventually swallowed his words and sighed deeply.
“This is what I learned. How could I do sothing else? I didn’t want to go to the Empire, but when they offered a position as the educational officer in Liberi, I accepted it to finally escape my eternal vice-captain status.”
Eternal vice-captain.
That was one of the jokes we used to tease Aeron.
He was the vice-captain when Garid was the captain, and when I took the vice-captain position, he briefly returned to being a regular mber.
After Garid died and I beca captain, he returned as the vice-captain again.
So, strictly speaking, he wasn’t a ‘forever’ vice-captain, but it was a teasing remark to imply he’d never be a captain.
I had a vague mory of a similar expression in my previous life related to a pro gar, but unfortunately, I couldn’t recall it.
“Should I get a job here too? Like you, as the education officer.”
“Please, spare .”
I shrugged my shoulders.
I hadn’t ant it seriously; it was just a joke to tease the eternal vice-captain.
As I was about to say it was just a prank, Aeron beat to it.
“Isn’t it sad for the rcenaries?”
“…?”
…Was that the problem?
“Why are the rcenaries sad?”
“…Do you really not know?”
“Yes.”
Not knowing, he was asking. If I knew, I wouldn’t bother asking, right?
He slapped his forehead in frustration.
“Enough. In any case, please try to refrain from teaching anyone.”
Because it would be sad for the person learning from the captain.
At his additional comnt, I blinked in silence.
I kept blinking without replying for a long ti.
Maybe sensing sothing, Aeron lowered his hand from his forehead and carefully asked.
“…You don’t an what I think you an, do you?”
“…”
“Oh dear, Kana…”
It had been so long since he called by my na that I involuntarily flinched.
Aeron clasped his hands together.
“What kind of sin did that person commit in their past life to et you… I hope they go to a good place.”
“…Don’t treat the person as if they’re dead.”
After all, they wouldn’t die since they are an apostle.
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