The NPC's way (part 5)

"An unfortunate misunderstanding and mistake that ended up escalating until the grown-ups had to intervene. I am a rather intense kind of person when the push comes to shove, you see... No matter how much I regretted what happened, the deed was done, and since I am the son of a madame and Tee's mom is an ordinary prostitute, he was the one forced to leave the picture."

Medea explained with a somewhat melancholic smile while he looked into the distance, reminiscent of the past.

"I know that finding Tee's whereabouts will not make him forgive me, but I hope it will be a start on my road to redemption."

"...!"

The black-haired boy declared passionately, managing to move the hazel-haired girl to the core, perfectly resonating with her emotional state.

"As soon as there is an announcement of the Rotteloss family hiring a servant, I will leave for Daakvillan to take the spot."

He added with conviction.

"...well, I hope it will happen soon... things might get really troublesome. After all, in the original story, the foul reaper and bovine epidemy devastated the entire continent, so there were no wars as countries were barely able to continue existing within their own borders. But as things are... during my last meeting with Noah, he mentioned something about unrest at the southern border..."

"..."

Ava furrowed her brows and breathed out – beginning to speak nonsense again...

...or rather, it would seem like that to Medea if not for the fact that the sealed secret document that the black-haired boy managed to get his hands on stated the exact same thing that the girl had said...

About the war, not the original story and whatnot.

"It should be alright – even if they announce the mass conscription, I will be fine as long as I will be in the position of a servant of the Rotteloss family."

Medea furrowed his brows, becoming serious and thinking of the date that the sealed document predicted the conflict to start.

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... unfortunately for him, in the world of the game, the actual story had to start in a pinch and the world was about to fall into ruin, facing a dire predicament – even though plagues were prevented, the cataclysm was coming one way or another...

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"B-boss...! Boss!"

A copper-haired man entered Medea's room.

"...?"

The black-haired boy woke up immediately - he grimaced and glared at Gerard with a rather severe expression, but whatever brought the man there was too important for him to back off.

"Boss...! Captain Hector came to see you...!"

"...!"

Gerard explained, making Medea's eyes widen.

The boy didn't waste any time and jumped out of his bed, hurriedly changing into his usual clothes and hurrying towards the door.

...there he was, the young captain of the unit stationing in the renovated mansion where Ava and her uncle were allowed to reside, right at the house's doorstep...

"Young Medea, sorry to bother you at such an early time. Mind if we have a talk? You, me, and mister Gerard?"

The light-brown-haired man greeted the black-haired boy with a smile and a short nod before properly entering the building.

"Of course. Please."

Medea moved aside, letting the man in, and seriously considered stabbing him in the back – but that thought evaporated from his mind the moment that he caught a glimpse of the outside.

...the whole squad of soldiers, ready to move out, was waiting in front of Gerard's house despite the fact that it was still good two hours before dawn...

|What the hell...?|

The black-haired boy felt his throat dry up as a terrible feeling pierced his stomach.

"I will go straight to the point."

As Medea, Gerard, and Hecotr gathered in the kitchen, the young captain declared, straightening his back and looking between the potion master and his apprentice.

"An armed conflict with the Battllorran kingdom is at hand, and the mass conscription will be announced any day now. Even my unit and I have been called back and will be deployed to the border for the training drills. I know it was presumptuous of me, but I personally recommended young Medea to be conscripted and enlisted under my command as a promising recruit on an officer program."

"WHAT?!"

"..."

Hector revealed, causing Gerard to let out a panicked shout while Medea raised his head with a serious expression that walled off all emotions he was feeling on the inside.

"As I said, it was presumptuous of me, but I believe that someone so capable has a bright future ahead of him. He only needs to step on the right track and will sprint his way toward greatness on his own. I want to put him on that track... but the final decision belongs to you. I was the one to selfishly put forth a direct recommendation, and I promise that you will face no consequences if you choose to reject it, young Medea..."

Hector added, speaking to the black-haired boy directly.

"That's...! That's complete nonsense! You can't just take B...! This boy is away! He is my apprentice! He wants to make potions – not be a soldier!"

Gerard gasped, clenching his fists and raising his voice, getting so defensive he ended up coming off as aggressive.

"With someone as talented in the art of making healing potions as young Miss Ava, being a potion maker is a far less promising career path. I have known young Medea for four years already and can guarantee that he will climb the ranks as fast as I did – although I have quite a good hunch that he will accomplish it even faster."

"I...! He is capable, of course, he is – more than anyone I ever knew! But that's precisely why he can't just...!"

Hector pointed out with conviction which sparked Gerard to step forward and retort – until he glanced at the black-haired boy, and the words got stuck in his throat.

"Master. I know you care for me, but the final decision is mine."

"...!"

Medea said with... a friendly smile that instantly sent chills down the copper-haired man's spine.

"Mister Hector. I wholeheartedly thank you for this opportunity. Please, give me a few minutes to pack my belongings and write a letter that Master Gerard will send to my mother."

"?!?!"

The black-haired boy bowed his head towards the light-brown-haired man and walked back towards the staircase, leaving the flabbergasted copper-haired man behind.

"Don't hold it against me, mister Gerard. That boy is far too capable to just stay in a small town like this."

Hector faced Gerard and said with an apologetic smile.

"I only hope you want to help and not use him..."

|...because otherwise, it would be like a sardine trying to swallow a whale whole; you will end up choking on your first bite...|

The copper-haired man responded with a grim expression, holding the latter part back in his head.

"Of course! We will rake in some achievements and return home heroes! That's the best-case scenario, of course – but it's not an impossible one."

Hector smiled and even chuckled playfully.

Fifteen minutes later, Medea came down with a bundle of his belongings and a rather thick envelope containing a letter.

"Here."

The black-haired boy said, trying to pass the envelope to the young captain.

"Hmm?"

"I thought you would want to make sure that I didn't write something potentially problematic, sir."

Hector raised his brow in confusion and glanced between the boy and the letter, which prompted Medea to explain his motives.

"Pfft! No, no. It's not necessary. If I didn't have this much trust in you, I would not offer you a personal recommendation."

The light-brown-haired man snorted and shook his head with a bright smile, putting one hand on the black-haired boy's shoulder while pointing toward the copper-haired man with his other one.

"Okay. Master Gerard, thank you for everything until now. I'm counting on you with this one."

Medea nodded at Hector cheerfully before turning towards Gerard and handing him the letter...

...as his expression turned completely serious, making the copper-haired man understand what he really meant...

Gerard saw both Medea and Hector off and waved them goodbye as they rejoined the soldiers outside and marched on toward their new destination.

As he lost sight of them, he hurriedly got back inside and opened the envelope...

"!!!"

And was shocked at the amount of finely written sheets of parchment that Medea managed to write and stuff into the envelope.

Everything was there – instructions on how to uphold the gang, the possible plans that could and should happen, and the possible ways of contacting him during his time in the military.

It was impressive that the black-haired boy managed to not only think all of that in such a short amount of time but also write it down too!

"...Boss will kill me if I fail to meet his expectations, won't he...?"

Gerard gulped down his saliva and whimpered, covered in a cold sweat, while reading through all the notes...