act9d0

Several months later...

4:28 P.M. \ Cloudy

Military buffer zone between Kazdel's east/west battlegrounds

A small ambush.

Looks like you were right. A lot of people do seem to be after my head. What a pain.

Not too many of them. They must be trying to cut off the head of the snake in a hit-and-run.

We only have half a squad left. What a perfect time to try and take me out.

...Too bad for them it's a little too perfect. Just as planned.

All right, I'll catch up with you later. The Messenger for Kazdel should be back in a minute.

...What are you looking for?

That corpse... that's the assassin?

...Yeah.

I knew he'd have it on him.

A note...?

Actually, wait, did you know this guy?

Of course.

We've worked together before. Went through hell together. Just a few months ago, we were at the Scar Market, toasting to a job well done.

He even said he wanted his daughter to marry me.

That's dumb. You're mercenaries. Sooner or later...

Hold on, you didn't really—

Of course not. I turned him down.

...For other reasons, of course.

So, what does it say?

Useful stuff. Some intel from the Market. Gossip. Things worth looking into.

...And what about this?

They're all names... No, all pseudonyms or code names. And there's... candy drawn on the back of this? What's all this supposed to mean?

The more pieces of candy, the higher the payout. It's a system only a piece of shit like him could come up with. Whoever gets the most candies is the most dangerous mercenary.

Creeps like that really leave a bad taste in your mouth.

...But then again, this adds up to a fat stack. Who's footing the bill?

Every time we complete a contract, someone will usually put up an additional sum to get rid of us. Like whoever hired us, for example.

The more powerful the mercenary, the bigger the bounty. The bigger the bounty, the greater the risk. The greater the risk, the more they need to kill off the merc. And the mercs who live through all this... they become the strongest.

This war has driven us to the brink of death, but it's also left room for us to survive.

I guess that all works.

It's the rules of the game.

... 'Hoederer, Mercenary, 10 candies. Tough squad, 15 candies. We're acquainted, 20 candies.'

Can't fault his accounting.

'W, the old one, taken care of. The new one is a problem. 10 candies, maybe more, situational.'

Sounds like you earned your candies too.

Might have something to do with those arms dealers I buried alive in the woods last month.

Hah... So, am I supposed to be happy about this?

Arms dealers, huh... Why am I learning about this just now?

I was just in the neighborhood.

When you guys raid the Laterano caravans, do you bother reporting each and every one?

No.

Right? It's the same idea.

Since this isn't technically a part of the job, it's not like us mercenaries have to share every little detail.

Hmm... But lemme get this straight. I'm stronger than that old 'W,' huh?

Strong or weak doesn't tell me shit about a soldier's actual capabilities. For me, it's all about whether or not they can follow orders.

Fine, fine. I'll be more thorough next time. Does that work for you?

By the way, I've been wondering, what kind of person was that old 'W?'

That guy... was a strange one.

He was with us for a long time. Hardest worker you ever met, a real good egg.

He fought hard to become our team leader, racked up kills and commendations, just so we'd celebrate his birthday.

...A Sarkaz? With a birthday?

Of course it wasn't his real birthday... He wasn't that far gone.

He once killed a Laterano and took his gun. I guess they had some history between them, so he decided that day was his birthday.

Mhm... A merc who killed Lateranos for sport, huh? Sounds like we could've been friends.

There's a lot to unpack in there.

But, 'for sport?'

Hey, gotta live in the moment.

Good answer.

'W' was one of our biggest characters.

He always had that devil-may-care laugh, but whenever he spoke, you could tell that there was something more lurking underneath.

But he was quicker to trust than pretty much anyone else.

Why's that?

Because he had an 'obsession.' Obsessed people, good or bad, are always falling into traps.

...All right. Just sounds like a dumbass to me.

I figured you'd get it..

Because you're the same type of person. Good at putting on airs, good at living in the moment.

I am?

...Hah.

What makes you so confident you can guess what I'm thinking? Or, do you have some weird Arts like Ines?

You...

You could've decided to kill us both that day. I thought you understood that?

*Sigh*... You're not going to let that go, are you? Reminds me of Ines...

Let's head back and see how our Messenger's doing.

It's about to rain.

That's the first time I saw her smile. The same smile as W's.

Giving her a thinly-veiled excuse was at least better than having her continue this numbingly dull busywork.

What I needed was a mercenary who could cleave a path forward, not just another puppet. Puppets are a dime a dozen..

That was the day W became W.

...But Ines was right.

Ridiculous.

Ines, you should head back to the tent. No use staring blankly at a campfire.

Hmph. Can't imagine we got good news from Kazdel.

Nail on the head.

I could feel the Messenger's anxiety after he came back. He tried not to show it, but he was scared out of his mind.

...Not to mention your expression. Your poker face couldn't fool a toddler.

So, what's the bad news?

So, I'm still alive, but... our agent died in Kazdel's industrial area.

His corpse got thrown into a furnace. His head got melted off, but those gaudy red pants are somehow still fine.

Who did it?

Nobody knows when it happened. First person to find the body was one of the boiler workers.

But, whoever did it was quick. You have a fight on metal and it's gonna show for a while—

They used a knife. And they were damned good with it.

Whatever. It's not like we'll ever catch them.

He wanted to hang out in Kazdel and didn't like to take orders. And this is what happens. Kinda funny, huh?

But now who's gonna pay us? I'm not laughing.

And the next part is even less funny.

When our Messenger was leaving Kazdel after confirming the report, he ran into some friends...