1 Episode 0

"Hmm… not bad," I hummed, taking a sip from a simple cup, handcrafted from clay.

"It's still weird," my sister complained.

The two of us sat comfortably on the ground across from each other, enjoying(?) the taste of a "tea" made from local herbs. It wasn't quite as great as any real tea I've had before, though granted I was spoiled by modern convenience. Not that I really cared for tea before…

"It's just bitter water… with leaves," she continued, a prominent frown on her face. "I don't get why you like it, Toya."

I ignored her comments, drinking the beverage as I contemplated other possible ideas. How do you make soda? Soda would be nice right now. I miss soda.

"What are you moping about now, Toya?" My sister asked with a frown.

"The loss of sweet pleasures, my dear sister," I sighed out, setting my cup down, and reaching for one of the fruits placed before me. I could bask in simple luxuries like a basket of fruit and a nice tea cup, but I still lacked the things I wanted.

"Don't be so selfish," Yenna admonished me. She seemed to be rather strict with me recently, despite being my sister—guess she's learned from her mother.

"I get to be a little spoiled, don't I? I am in charge here," I said with a slight chuckle.

The two of us sat comfortably within a carefully constructed tent, sat on our knees before a slightly elevated platform. Some thick layers of blankets in the corner acted as out mattresses. The accommodations were simple given we expected to be able to leave at a moment's notice, but with the plenty of space and yummy foods I rarely got to eat, I had no real complaints… well… the constant shuffle of human traffic just outside the thin tents has gotten on my nerves once or twice, but being amicable as I am, I've restrained myself.

… What's "amicable" again?

Whatever—I mean I'm nice.

"Hey Toya!" A newcomer announced their presence as they waltzed into my private tent. Just their youthful and familiar voice was enough to tell me who they were.

"Elden! Don't show disrespect towards Toya like that in front of others. Call him Lord Toyaru," she corrected. She seemed to have taken that Etiquette crash-course to heart, but maybe she shouldn't expect so much of a peasant child.

Oh wait. She's a peasant child too…

"Yeah yeah," Elden waved off my sister like nothing, before continuing. "Got some news," He informed, showing my three letters, two sealed and one was just an exposed sheet. "From Aniel, from some scouts, and from Lord Agreth," he said, handing me one letter at a time. I frowned for a second as I glanced down at Aniel's letter. Meanwhile Yenna seemed excited as she tried to contain a grin.

"Is Aire coming soon?" she asked.

"I doubt it," I muttered, breaking open the seal. Bad news first, I guess… "Reinforcements have been delayed. Politics are holding things up down south. Won't make it for at least a week or two," I summarized aloud their contents, and gave out a sigh.

"Fucking fantastic," I grumbled, watching Yenna's expression fall out of the corner of my eye.

"Ah, that's not good," Elden stated the obvious.

"Know something?" I asked my "childhood" friend.

"Check the lord's letter," He said with a look of unease. Oh great. They're ALL bad news…

Without delay, I took a look at the message from Lord Agreth. That bastard couldn't even be bothered to send one of his own messengers or come himself.

"Citizens have been expelled from Karinth?" I muttered. I was trying to make sense of this. Why would… "They're running out of food?" I concluded.

"Lord Agreth thinks so, yes."

"He wants to slaughter them," I read from the message. Elden nodded along grimly, as I scanned further about his reasoning. The long and short of it was that our supply line won't be able to support the peasantry if we take on refugees, and we have no idea when reinforcements might arrive—both for us and them.

I sighed out in annoyance as I began to rub my temples. "As much as I'd like to be rid of the situation, they're still citizens," I said. "I doubt the townspeople will accept being captured if we kill them now, and Aniel will probably punch me for making Aire cry once she finds out."

"Is it really that bad to just let 'em go?" Elden asked with wide eyes. Although he was clever and quick on his feet, he didn't understand the difficult conundrum here.

"If I let them go, Karinth will see this as us being lenient, and just let more of them go. Lord Agreth knows if we start killing them, the town will have a harder time setting loose their people without internal resistance."

"Those cowards!" the flaxen-haired boy shouted, gripping the axe at his side.

"Now now, you can't fault them. The Lord of Karinth has some difficult decisions to make too," I tried to ease the child's anger. I too often forget that I've surrounded myself in children to be my aides. Well, I was technically a child too, so it fit. I think.

"It's still cowardly," he insisted, turning to the ground.

"The only cowardly thing they've done is passed the job on to us," I once again sighed out.

Hmm…? Am I missing something?

"What if we put them on the front lines?" Yenna suggested.

A simple but cruel idea.

I liked it.

"The logistics won't work out, but… Elden, have them go cut some trees down and craft some simple boards for shields and shovels," I instructed.

"Shovels?" Elden looked at me with a perplexed look.

"The lord can't complain about keeping them around if we put them to work. I want them to dig beneath the city walls and undermine it. If we're lacking the brains for siege towers, we'll just use human power to take the city."

Hearing my plan seemed to brighten Elden's mood—he seemed uneasy about sacrificing a bunch of people caught between a war. With an alternative having presented himself, he excitedly nodded and ran off to deliver my instructions to the army and homeless peasants. It didn't seem he realized that my plan was basically forcing the city guard to kill their own citizenry, instead of doing it ourselves.

"That rude little…" Yenna began to mutter at how he left without being excused, but I could only chuckle.

"Ah, one more letter," I said happily, hoping for good news from the scouts.

"Enemy reinforcements approaching. At least four hundred strong and less than a week away. They march with a single banner bearing the image of a bear—the crest of Lein."

I groaned out for the nth time. Yenna, seeing my reaction came to her own understanding, nodded, and headed out of the tent to catch up with Elden. Enemies closing in and allies nowhere to be seen.

"This siege is one big headache after another," I muttered, as I began drinking from the simple tea in front of me. I frowned at the bitter taste, and thought…

… How did I end up here?