"If you're that desperate to know, I'll tell you. Save the theatrics."
Lucia sighed, "I still stand by my word that you won't be able to change much… I suspect someone or some group is targeting my initial recruits in the tutorial phase."
Ashen felt a jolt in his heart, but outwardly he remained composed.
"Oh. Then that means…?"
"Yes," Lucia nodded, "They all died."
"And I'm the only one left alive among all the people you roped in?"
She silently nodded.
Ashen felt his expression turn grim in real time.
"It seems that you were also targeted, judging by your expression," Lucia stoically noted.
"Yeah… there was this guy who was trying to make me and two of my friends join his clique, but we refused since he was sketchy as hell."
He took a sip from his cup, "...Their group kept growing without signs of stopping throughout the duration of the tutorial, though…"
Lucia leaned forward and took a sip of her expression, indicating for him to continue.
She was positively curious about how Ashen survived after denying their invitation, since all her other recruits ended up dead.
"Halfway through, he changed his mind and tried to kill us off in one fell swoop with monster lure powder."
Ashen grimaced as he remembered the day he, Seraphine, and Braun almost lost their lives in that forest under the hooves of that Gorefiend.
"...And?" Lucia urged.
"We… survived, I guess." He said plainly.
She gave him a pointed look but didn't ask how.
"Why the grim face, then?"
"Haah…" Ashen ran a hand through his hair, "Well, long story short, I didn't take nicely to being plotted against, so we hired someone to look into it, and that clique leader's name came up…"
He drummed a finger on the table,
"I lured him to a secluded place using a prostitute… knifed him until he bled out… and burned the whole place down with his corpse afterward."
Lucia's lips parted slightly, forming a small "O" at the revelation
She wasn't surprised by the murder itself, but by the fallout.
"Now, you'll also be on their radar," she stated plainly.
"Yep. Since I'm the last one he targeted before kicking the bucket, it's pretty obvious who they'll be looking for." Ashen nodded.
"...Not to mention his clique dispersed quickly after his death, so you can also say I completely sabotaged their recruitment efforts."
"Hum~," Lucia hummed in agreement. "I'll do my best to keep you safe and watch for anything suspicious on my side. But you need to stay vigilant, too."
"Right…" Ashen began, then stopped. He straightened, fixing her with a curious look.
"So, why are they ganging up on you? What did you do this time?"
"Does it have to be me who did something wrong?" she asked, tilting her head with mock innocence.
Ashen sighed. "They had over thirty people in that clique before I burned their boss. If we assume five per recruiter, that's six recruiters banding together."
He gave her a pointed look. "Did you piss off every single one of them while acting all innocent?"
He just hoped she hadn't conned someone dangerous and dragged them into this mess.
"Ironically, you're not far off," Lucia replied without flinching. "I was just doing my job… too well. Before I realized it, I was outperforming everyone."
There wasn't even a trace of pride in her tone, just fact.
"A lot of people don't take kindly to being outperformed, especially when they aren't from my faction. That led to… this."
For the first time since he'd known her, Lucia's expression darkened, not at those who targeted her, but at herself.
"I should've seen it coming. But I was too absorbed in my work and neglected what was happening behind my back." Her voice dropped. "Even then, they moved too fast…"
Ashen went quiet, his thoughts heavy. Even with monsters lurking on all sides, humans still found time to screw each other over.
He shook the thought away and asked slowly,
"The competition for recruits seems intense. They must hold some real value for you, right?"
She nodded. "Pretty much. A soldier's record reflects partially on their recruiter. Our rankings, promotions, and resources depend on the quality and quantity of our recruits."
"What matters more, quality or quantity?" Ashen leaned forward.
"That depends on the situation, but if I had to choose… I'd bet on quality." She gave him a peculiar look, catching on to his implication.
"Good. Then bet on me." His grin was confident.
"...You want my rank to climb by performing well in the war, which in turn lets me protect you better with my newfound authority?" Her tone was even, but amusement danced in her eyes.
"Yeah. Pretty solid plan, right?"
She shook her head, a hint of disbelief in her expression. "Do you even know how much you'd need to outperform everyone else for it actually to count?"
"Well… how hard can it be?"
Lucia tapped her shin lightly with her index finger. "You'd need to be known as a war hero within the faction, at the very least. That's the threshold for quality to outweigh quantity."
"…Is that hard?" His head tilted slightly, casual on the surface, but inwardly, he knew it wasn't a question of possibility.
He had to do it. Not just because his life was in danger… Seraphine, Braun, and even his family could be at risk. He needed every advantage, every ally he could get.
"It is hard," Lucia confirmed, nodding firmly after a brief pause.
"So? Are you just going to let those rats run wild?" he pressed.
"Why don't you trust me for once? You saw what happened last time when you underestimated me, didn't you?"
She hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Alright." Extra effort, extra sincerity; it wouldn't cost her much, not with the contract already in place.
"Good. I won't let you down." Ashen smiled.
"Well then. Let's fix the mess with your family first. Otherwise, you won't be able to focus on the war… and might end up eaten by Wild Beasts instead, Mister Future War Hero."
Her words yanked him back to the present.
"Ah… you're right," he admitted, letting the weight of reality settle on him.
"But it's not that easy," he added after a pause.
"What? Cold feet already?" Lucia's tone sharpened, her eyes narrowing. "Where's that earlier courage, hmm~?"
Her stare told him he wouldn't be getting out of this without a real answer.
"I'd love nothing more than to make up with my family, stay with them, and bask in their love… trust me." He exhaled wearily. "But three days… now two… aren't nearly enough to fix everything."
He looked at her helplessly. "And after that, I have to disappear for another half a year… with no guarantee I'll even come back alive."
Lucia stayed quiet for a long moment before her expression softened. Sympathy flickered there, followed by something else, envy? But she masked it quickly.
Not quickly enough.
'Sympathy? From this viper? And envy? What could she possibly envy about my situation?'
He didn't get to dwell on it for long before she cut through his thoughts.
"Well, you should at least visit them once more. The last time didn't exactly end on a good note…"
"Yes, I should at least say goodbye." He agreed, though his expression stayed grim.
Lucia hesitated, then asked carefully, "How about I go with you this time? They might be more convinced if I'm there as proof you're actually working, and not just wasting time or doing anything unsavory."
Ashen almost rejected the idea on instinct. Bringing the viper home? That's a disaster waiting to happen. But he caught himself.
Lucia wasn't just some passing acquaintance anymore. She was an ally.
Not only that… She was also bound to him, literally, magically. This was just fear talking, left over from her first impression.
He narrowed his eyes. "Alright. Come with me. But no harmful lies, alright?"
Lucia nodded like it was obvious. "Of course."
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