Chapter 3: The Choice

Still inside the tent Gael looked towards the smiling face of his Captain, the Captain sensed his gaze and looked back at Gael.

" what do you think about the crown prince's offer? " the captain asked.

" I don't know, sure being a Tamer is great but being tied to the royal family and having my freedom restricted does not suit my taste " Gael explained why he's having a hard time making a decision.

But his captain walked beside the crown prince instead of giving him a reply, his actions caught the attention of everyone and all eyes are currently on him.

*ahem *ahem

" Greetings, I am Marcus Black from the Black family" captain introduced himself in front of everyone, and the faces of those from the noble family, showed great surprise, they didn't expect that someone from the great Black family would be here.

Even Gael who is quite close with the captain is surprised to hear his full name it is the first time Gael heard the captain's name, even though fought side by side on multiple battlefields he and the others always refer to him as "captain".

' as expected he is not normal ' Gael thought to himself after he recovered from his shock.

The reason for the nobles' astonishment is not the same as Gael's they are quite shocked to see the next family head of the Black family fighting on a battlefield as a war dog.

" to inform everyone present I as the next head of the Black family supports the crown prince just like how my ancestors always supported the royal family, and I am here to assist the crown prince " Marcus declared his support towards the crown prince in front of everyone, this caused the son's and daughters of the nobles to whisper amongst themselves and discuss, while Gael is just staring at his captain.

"regarding the offer of being a Tamer and being the subordinate of the crown prince, it will be kept as a secret and only me the crown prince and the ones present here will know of your existence, I know that all of you are from noble families that remain neutral but remember that being a Tamer under the crown prince only affects you it does not include your whole family, your houses can still stay neutral " Marcus explained.

" and regarding your freedom, we will not restrict your movements, we will only require you to report your location and follow the orders that we will give you and if you accomplish the missions we assigned you will be rewarded, and other than that, we will also provide you with resources you need to improve your strength, plus after three years you can choose to leave or continue working with us " Marcus added, and the new information he said greatly changed everyone's opinion, the fact that they only need to do missions and be rewarded is enough to make most of them agree.

After saying the conditions Marcus looked at Gael, since the conditions he gave completely answered Gael's worries, it is as if the conditions are made to make Gael agree.

The eight people including Gael started to contemplate; they are moved by the conditions given by Marcus.

" we will give you a month to think it through, " Marcus said and after that, he took a step back to be beside the crown prince.

" I accept the offer " while everyone is talking with each other and discussing today's happenings, one voice stood out the most it is not loud but it is clear, there is conviction behind his voice.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, it came from Amon Vega, he is the next Family head of the Vega family, they have been neutral for almost two decades now.

" us too we will work with the crown prince, it is boring just stay at home " another voice sounded it came from Kali Oswald, while his twin brother is nodding beside him, from the very beginning the two of them are the most relaxed and easy-going amongst the group, so it is understandable that they are doing this for fun, but despite the reason, the crown prince's group will still accept them since they need every manpower they can have.

" me too"

" me too"

Balmor and Lily both accepted the offer as well.

While Gael and the remaining three are still undecided.

" great, you four can go with us immediately to the palace," the crown prince said in excitement, having four out of eight people is already great.

" since the other's still needs to decide we will wait for your answers at the palace back in the kingdom capital, and remember the things we talked about here stays in here if the news of the crown prince creating a secret squad of Tamers leaked out you know what will happen," Marcus said with a smile on his face, everyone shuddered when they heard Marcus' voice, though it sounds friendly and calm it is extremely scary paired with his bright smile.

Except for Gael he and the other squad members are already used to this side of their captain, it is also the reason why he was given the title Smiling Demon.

After Marcus' words they left the tent one by one, Gael is the last to leave the tent.

" Gael " Marcus called him out.

Gael turned around and saw Marcus walking up to him.

" think wisely, and decide quickly, I will be waiting for you at the capital, " Marcus said, he patted Gael's shoulder before he turned around and leave.

Gael didn't say anything and just watch Marcus' back disappear, he then walked out of the tent.

He is planning to visit his village and decide along the way.

The crown prince along with Marcus and their subordinates started to march towards the capital, following them is Commander Balmor, the other three who already accepted the Crown Prince's offer and the army, while the war dogs went their way since their job here is already done.

Some are looking forward to going home to their families while the others are on their way to look for another battlefield where their service can be employed, Gael is one of those who are planning to go home.

Gael went to the stables to take his horse, though he's just a commoner and a lowly war dog he can still afford to own a good horse that can be used for long-distance travel, he quickly rode his horse towards the east, it is the direction of his village it has been two years since he last visited his home, he has been continuously joining battle after battle in the last two years it greatly increased his fighting experience and his mastery of the sword, and those two years are not in vain other than earning a decent amount of money his strength greatly increased making his capable of killing a captain level enemy.

The wind brushed his face as he dashed through the road that leads to his village with great speed, his dark hair fluttered along with the winds, and his pitch-black eyes is focused on the road along with his serious expression, he estimated that with his current speed he will reach the village in three days, and in those three days he will make a decision whether to accept the Crown Prince's offer or not, being tangled in political conflict will bring him a lot of trouble but being a Tamer is such a great opportunity for him, this leaves him greatly torn and frustrated.

After travelling the whole day he decided to set up camp at a small hill, he chose this place because it is an optimal place where no obstacle will block his vision if someone tried to attack him and since it is a relatively high ground it is easier for him to gain an advantage when someone dares to harm him, he made a bonfire to provide some heat for the night, just took out some leftover ration from his small bag as his dinner, after eating his fill he lied down on the grassy ground and used one of his arms as a pillow as he stared at the starry dark sky.

' a Tamer huh? What do you think mom should I grab this opportunity? ' he fell into deep thought as he stare at the night sky, he suddenly remembers his mother.

' ahh! I will think about it tomorrow ' Gael fell asleep, since this is the first time in two years that he is not sleeping on the battlefield, his mind is clear of the burden of thinking about surviving tomorrow.

The sun rose as well as Gael he put out the fire and picked up his bag then he rode on his horse to continue travelling, he stopped at a small village along the way but this is not his home village he only stop here to buy some food since the ration he ate last night is his last one, he entered a small restaurant and a little girl with a ponytail run up to him.

" Can I take your order big brother? " the little girl asked Gael, she seemed to be five years old, her ponytail made her look extremely cute, she has a cute round face and her cheeks were pinkish, with big and pure eyes it is hard not to adore her, she must be the owner's daughter since she's too young to work.

" I would like to order some meat and bread and a cup of tea please " Gael smiled at the little girl after giving her his order, the cute little one then started to scribble on the piece of paper she was holding.

While the little girl is "writing" Gael's order the door that leads to the kitchen suddenly opens and a beautiful woman came out running.

" Mary what are you doing over there? " the beautiful woman asked as she hurriedly walks towards the little girl named Mary.

When the little girl heard her name she turned around to look at the source of the voice.

" I am taking big brother's order mom " it seems that the beautiful woman is the mother of the cute little girl.

" what do you mean taking an order?" the mother asked.

" look" Mary proudly showed what she wrote on the piece of paper to her mother.

When the mother arrived next to her child she picked her up and apologized to Gael.

" I am so sorry about my daughter"

"there's no need for apologies, your daughter is really cute, and energetic, " Gael said he smiled at the little girl, and the little girl smiled back at him, her smile warmed Gael's heart, he thought that his five years of experience in the battlefield, had already steeled his heart but he's wrong.

After a few exchanges of words with Mary's mother, she took Gael's order and went back to the kitchen to prepare it, after a few minutes of waiting his order was sent to his table.

He quickly finished his food and then walked out of the small restaurant, riding his horse he was about to leave when he suddenly heard a small cute voice call out to him.

" big brother! Goodbye! Take care!" he turned around and saw a little girl waving her small hands.

Gael smiled and waved back at Mary.

Then he left after their quick farewell.

Gael was smiling along the way the little girl improved his mood, he sped up even more and left the dust as he disappeared from the horizon.

Two days have already passed and Gael arrived at his village when he saw his home emotions swelled up in his heart, he smiled brightly and entered the village, but if there are other people with him they will be confused by his actions because the so-called village is just ruins of houses, there are no other people here, the whole place is quiet and empty, Gael continued on his way he then arrived at a small hill where there are rows of stone carved with names of different people.

The rows of stone engraved with names are the gravestones of the now-deceased villagers when Gael was fifteen the village was attacked by soldiers from a neighbouring kingdom that managed to sneak in from the borders, they caused chaos by killing and pillaging various small villages, this caused a lot of headache for the kingdom, they are surprised by the sudden invasion, though they managed to subdue the enemy it caused a lot of casualties, and it includes Gael's village and whole family, his parents and little sister died by the hands of enemy soldiers, Gael only managed to survive because of his parents' sacrifice he was about to escape with his little sister but the enemies caught them they took his little sister from his arms and brutally killed her in front of him when he saw his sister die Gael almost lost his mind, he started screaming and crying, he started to drool like a rabid dog.

The unpleasant and painful memory filled Gael's mind as he stood in front of his family's grave.

" why! Why! Why are you doing this?! His bloodshot eyes pierced the enemy soldiers they unconsciously took a step back but they immediately got back to their senses, one of the soldiers was about to slash Gael's head with his sword but an arrow suddenly hit the solders neck killing him.

The kingdom's soldiers arrived before and killed all the enemies while the kingdom's soldiers were fighting against the invading forces Gael is still kneeling on the ground motionlessly he was just staring at his little sister's body, after a couple of minutes, he slowly approached his sister's body and hugged her corpse.

" I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" Gael repeatedly apologized while crying.

The unpleasant and painful memory filled Gael's mind as he stood in front of his family's grave.

After a few minutes he came back to his senses, he placed a bunch of flowers he collected along the way on top of his family's grave, and he then smiled.

" I miss you guy's so much I can't wait to be with you "

After the tragedy that has fallen on Gael's village and family he started to think of ways to die to join them, he thought about killing himself multiple times but he doesn't dare to do it himself so he started to join wars and battles as a war dog, he's been on the verge of death a lot of times during his days as a war dog but his comrades save him every time, Marcus is also one of those who saved him before, he is also the person who convinced Gael to stop his attempt to kill himself in the battlefield, that is how Gael and Marcus formed their friendship.

" But I will have to ask you guys to wait a little bit more"