A Dangerous Comrade

Keita had made up his mind. He was going to join the troops with these rookies.

"I know, it doesn't matter who I team up with. After the army reaches the desert, I will slip out and head for the estate." he whispered to himself, as he made his way through the town. "Don't worry. No matter what, I will not let anyone know about you. I will keep you safe. If it comes to that, I will use them as meat shields." he continued.

Keita couldn't help but look back on his conversation with the Militia rookies.

Not only they haven't been in a battle, none of them have completed a quest yet.

"I've fought against two goblins that came to steal our chickens once." Isse has proudly proclaimed.

"Fighting and war are two different things." Hyugo objected.

They were going to join the invasion after all. It was important to know where they stood, at least. If it was someone else, they might have stopped them or at least trained them enough to be ready for battle. But Keita wasn't so kind.

"I mean, we are all rookies right? We'll just learn as we go. Besides you talk like you know everything but aren't you a Bronze rank greenhorn like the rest of us?" Isse had said.

"I've been a member of the militia for almost a year now." Keita replied coldly. Being stuck on the Bronze rank for such a long time was not something he wanted to admit so openly.

The atmosphere became uncomfortable after this. In the end, Keita agreed to join them but he could see their hesitation after learning just how long he's been a Bronze ranked soldier.

* * *

After Keita left the headquarters, the three rookies started discussing among themselves.

"Isn't Bronze rank just a stepping stone for Silver? I thought being promoted was a matter of two or three quests." Isse asked.

"It is." Hyugo answered simply as always.

Hyugo came from a military family. His late father was a Militia soldier and so was his grandfather who was taking care of him until now. Now that he became an adult, his grandfather helped him pick some cheap second hand equipment and send him on his way. When it came to the inner workings of the militia, he was more knowledgeable than the other two.

"I heard that the ones who don't get a promotion are usually causing problems." Yuna said. Now that she was with familiar people around her, she found it easier to talk.

Hyugo nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I heard about that too. They say that teams with Demi-humans like Half-Elves are usually stuck in Bronze Rank forever." Isse said with excitement.

"The Bronze rank is supposed to take care of the weeds. That's why we didn't get an insignia, the symbol of the Aerch militia right away. If he is still on Bronze rank after all this time it might spell

trouble for us." Hyugo further explained.

"What do you mean?" Isse asked.

"I can only think of a few possibilities. One is that he sucks. Simple as that. He just doesn't have the skills to get a promotion. If he has been doing quests and somehow survived this long, he either got lucky or he is good at running away. As much as I wish that was the case, it doesn't seem likely though. You can feel it too can't you? Just look how the others treat him and you'll see it's not the case."

"I didn't notice anything..." Yuna put a finger on her chin, thinking.

Isse looked around him and noticed a few curious gazes. Reading the atmosphere and keeping quite wasn't something he understood though.

"I'll go ask." he said to his friends and stood from the table.

He approached some Silver rank soldiers who have been watching since the beginning.

"Do you guys know something about the person we were talking?" he asked the soldiers, abruptly.

None of them said anything for a while, until a middle-aged soldier broke the silence.

"You kids are rookies so I can't blame you for not knowing. That boy is dangerous. You should stay away." he said, rubbing his cup of ale.

"What do you mean exactly?" Isse asked and sat on a chair. He had a talent for being quickly accepted in other groups, even if he himself didn't know about it.

"I don't know who came up with it, but we've all started calling him the Crimson Flash." the middle aged man answered. "He is fast as lighting, I'll give him that. No idea what Skill he uses but all you can see is a white flash trailing behind him in battle. That and what he leaves behind."

"Look kid, we don't want to to say anything bad in case he's your friend." a female soldier interjected.

"I just met him today." Isse said in a serious tone. No matter what they thought of it, he needed to hear the truth. "Please tell me what you know."

"That kid hasn't joined any other parties or groups since he appeared. None of us even know his name. He has a bad reputation since it seems he can't tell allies from enemies when he is charging." the soldier said.

Isse thought about her words for a while.

"If his Skill is as fast as you say couldn't it mean-" he started to ask but the middle aged soldier interrupted him.

"Look it's not just that." he said, raising his voice. "I've seen a lot of Militia soldiers in my time. Some come for the glory, others to be Heroes and others for money. Once in a while, you see people like him. He's just here for the violence. You can tell by his eyes, see?" he pointed to his eyes. "The only reason he is here is because he is able to legally kill. I'm telling you, that little bastard is bad news. Stay away from him."

Isse was beginning to from his own opinion about Keita while the Silver ranked soldiers talked.

"Has he killed any Humans?" he asked.

"Well, no but a lot of people have gotten hurt because of him."

Isse wasn't one to pay attention to rumors. He believed what his eyes showed him. It was his worst flaw and his best quality. In his mind Keita was just misunderstood. As a Sword-Mage with a possessed sword, it was easy for him to dismiss the veteran's words as jealousy.

'To begin with, doesn't this all mean he is too strong for a regular battlefield? I mean he could hold back and match the strength of the rest but that would defeat the purpose. If he can charge into battle and take the head of an enemy commander doesn't that make him an invaluable member of the Aerch Militia?' the more he heard, the more the thought of having Keita in his party became more appealing.

His misunderstanding of Keita, was the biggest mistake he was going to make in his short life.

* * *

Meanwhile, Keita was walking through Merls looking for detailed maps of the desert. The Aerch Militia wasn't so kind as provide one. The soldiers of the Militia were always expected buy their own equipment. While walking, he noticed he ended up in front of the Arcione church.

'Haven't been here in a while...' he thought, as he recalled his last visit. His ears became red with embarrassment.

"Stop saying that. It's not like that." he whispered.

'Should I pay a visit to say goodbye? I won't be returning here after going North...' he thought, as Chisa's face came to mind.

"I'm telling you it's not like that." he once again whispered to no one.

'No, it doesn't matter...' he thought and turned from the church.

Just when he was passing the stairs, he noticed a beggar in grey rags, sitting by the stairs with a metal cup in front of her.

'I guess it makes sense. Doesn't Arcione's followers preach about giving to the poor or something?' he thought, still looking at the direction of the beggar.

Just as he was about to pass her though, he noticed he knew this person. Her short red hair slipping through the rags were as beautiful as he first seen them. The bottom of her almost childish round face was dirty but it wasn't unmistakably her.

"Chisa?"