Part 10: Orc Subjugation (4)
At first, Aiden thought Victor had gotten into a fight with the soldiers from the estate.

But that wasn’t it.

Later, he heard the whole story.

The lord had issued a civilian mobilization order for the second orc subjugation. Each household in the town had to provide at least one person for conscription.

“I used to be part of the regular forces, remember? So I made a special request to exclude the tavern staff.”

Victor shrugged his shoulders.

“It was an unreasonable request from the start. How could soldiers ignore an order from the lord?”

Carl shook his head.

“If you were still the Twenty Insignia, it would’ve worked.”

“Forget it. What’s done is done.”

“I can just go, can’t I?”

Aiden joined in the conversation.

When he registered for his resident card, he had used Carl’s tavern as his address.

So Carl, Lyra, Lucy, and Aiden were grouped together.

“Oh, that’s how it works?”

“Sorry to drag you into this.”

“It’s fine. This is more convenient for me.”

Compared to the kinds of people Aiden had assassinated, orcs were nothing more than dust.

Carl knew that Aiden had assassinated the black sorcerer Jack, so he didn’t try to stop him any further.

“Victor, were you drafted too?”

“Of course. It’s perfect, actually. I’ll finally get to show those green pigs a taste of pain.”

Victor ground his teeth.

He had lost his right arm during the first orc subjugation. His eyes were already gleaming with killing intent.

“What exactly happened during the first subjugation?”

Carl changed the subject.

Victor explained in a furious voice.

The orcs had become more aggressive.

Even when their comrades died, they didn’t flinch and charged in wildly.

Their numbers had doubled compared to before.

And on top of that…

He said there had been orc shamans and an orc king mixed in with them.

Carl just listened and nodded.

But Aiden caught the scent of something suspicious.

For orcs to breed so rapidly and even produce mutated variants meant something had seriously threatened their survival.

What could have caused it?

Aiden left for his room in the middle of the conversation.

The truth would reveal itself soon enough.

He cast a Silence Spell in his room and strummed his lute.

Ting~

The piece was Father’s Old Clock.

Ever since visiting Kevin’s father’s grave,

his playing had subtly changed.

Aiden traced his father’s memory through the strings.

His touch had grown softer.

Between each note, spaces and lingering emotions formed.

As he followed the melody, the hazy past gradually became clearer. He could hear his father’s voice, buried among the crowd.

‘Aiden, you’re the most precious thing in the world to me.’

His father’s voice revived through music was warm and gentle.

Aiden realized that he hadn’t been completely abandoned by the world.

He realized that once, he too had been loved deeply by his parents.

When the piece ended, he started again.

Over and over.

It was a blessing to have memories he could recall endlessly without growing tired of them.

Within the embrace of the melody,

Aiden felt the love he had long been deprived of.

* * *

The next morning.

Aiden headed to the lord’s castle with Victor.

Residents who received the mobilization order were required to undergo three days of tactical training.

As they moved, more and more townspeople joined the group.

Most were able-bodied men.

Perhaps because of the notorious reputation of the first orc subjugation,

everyone wore tense, fearful expressions.

“Victor, aren’t you afraid?”

Aiden asked him.

“Me? Why?”

“A lost battle tends to leave trauma.”

“Maybe if this guy wasn’t with me. But he is. This time, we’re going to wipe out those orcs completely.”

Victor swung his right arm around energetically.

He had been trying out his newly transplanted prosthetic arm whenever he could, and he said it worked perfectly.

It was harder than most swords.

His strength and agility had increased.

And he could freely use Class 2 fire magic with it.

“At least I don’t have to worry about you.”

“Of course not. But just how strong are you anyway?”

Victor’s eyes gleamed.

A former assassin.

A man who could casually hand over five gold bars.

Victor knew Aiden was no ordinary person, but the truth was still shrouded in fog.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

“Slippery as an eel. Well, everyone’s got their secrets.”

Their conversation ended, and Aiden looked up at the sky.

A raven was flying above the group.

Do we really need to put on this whole show? If you stepped in yourself, it wouldn’t even take a minute.

Mugin’s soul telepathy echoed in his head.

There are a few things I want to check first.

Check? What things?

The situation seems more tangled than I thought. This is also a good chance to get a read on what kind of man the lord is.

Suit yourself. I’m off.

Mugin veered east and disappeared.

The lord’s castle was located on the western edge of the territory. Defensive walls surrounded both the town and the castle.

Six soldiers stood at the entrance in two lines.

The conscripted residents lined up in six rows as well.

Each resident showed their ID card and stated their household.

“Here’s the ink. Stamp your thumbprint.”

The soldiers handed them a list.

The residents pressed their thumbs into the ink and left their prints on the list.

It was the conscription verification process.

“Shouldn’t Carl be here? Are you sure about this?”

The soldier in charge of Aiden asked with concern.

His name was Rowen.

He was one of the tavern regulars.

“It would have been better for Carl to join, given his mercenary experience. This looks too dangerous for you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re really not fine. I didn’t take Carl for this kind of guy. Tsk tsk.”

Aiden smiled at Rowen’s concern.

It had been a long time since anyone worried about him.

And over orcs, no less.

“Carl didn’t push me into this. I volunteered.”

“You volunteered?”

“Yes. You’ll see why soon.”

Once the formalities were done, Aiden and Victor headed to the eastern training grounds.

The lord was already standing on the platform.

His name was Jared.

He was a middle-aged man with a round belly.

A knight in full plate armor stood a short distance behind him.

Judging by his aura, he was probably at the Sword Expert level.

Given the size of the territory, he was likely the strongest knight here.

Once the conscripted residents were assembled, the lord began his speech.

“I know many of you are worried. We suffered a crushing defeat during the first subjugation.”

“……”

“But if we don’t defeat the orcs, our land has no future. I hope you understand that my heart was not at ease when I summoned you here.”

“……”

“This second orc subjugation will be completely different from the first. The generous Count Kai’s House has sent reinforcements.”

“……”

“Young Master Brian and Sword Master Osward have joined us.”

The moment Jared mentioned Osward, the citizens’ faces lit up.

They were overjoyed, as if the orcs had already been defeated.

Cheers erupted from all directions.

The only one who didn’t get swept up in the mood was Aiden.

No one realized it.

The fact that a Sword Master was being mobilized for an orc subjugation was the most suspicious thing of all.

* * *

Training began in earnest at the grounds.

Each citizen received a real sword.

The soldiers taught basic sword stances one by one, and the citizens copied them.

As expected,

their skills were terrible.

They all had day jobs and had been conscripted against their will.

Aiden swung his sword along with everyone else, blending in.

He was well-versed in swordsmanship. Assassins had to be proficient with all weapons above a certain level.

In that sense,

this sword training was like learning to walk again for Aiden.

Still, he wasn’t bored.

It was his first time learning something alongside so many people.

Awkward yet sincere gazes.

Shouts of spirit echoing from all directions.

The refreshing gust created by swinging swords.

Until now, Aiden’s world had been limited to Carl’s tavern.

But now, training with others in the barracks made it feel like that world had expanded to the entire town.

“Hey, you.”

A soldier approached Aiden, frowning.

“What is it?”

“Your form’s good, but your shout is too weak.”

“My shout?”

“Yeah, your kiai. Power comes from spirit. Try swinging while letting out a loud shout.”

“Haaah!”

Aiden swung his sword with a shout as instructed.

“That’s it. Your sword’s packed with power now. Remember that feeling.”

The soldier grinned and walked away.

Aiden smiled as he watched him go.

His swordsmanship hadn’t actually changed at all. Only his voice had gotten louder.

Aiden looked up at the sky and murmured,

“Master, this is how I’m living these days. But it’s not so bad.”

* * *

“Phew… I lost. Totally lost.”

Victor raised both arms in surrender.

Thirty minutes earlier, basic sword training had ended and sparring had begun.

Victor paired up with Aiden for a match.

He had been curious about Aiden’s skills anyway, so it worked out perfectly.

He was wearing his prosthetic arm too.

Part of him had hoped he might actually beat Aiden.

That hope was crushed spectacularly.

Even as an assassin, Aiden handled the sword masterfully.

It was as if he could read Victor’s mind.

He saw through every sword path.

His footwork was nimble.

His swings were perfect.

His sword lines shifted between aggressive and stable with fluid ease.

Victor quickly realized.

Aiden was using the sparring to teach him.

And that there was an unbridgeable wall of skill between them.

“Did you use swords for assassination?”

“No. I mostly used daggers. I don’t really like swords.”

“Why not?”

“They’re inefficient.”

“I’ve never heard anyone say a sword is less efficient than a dagger.”

“If you reach my level, you’ll understand.”

It sounded arrogant, but Victor couldn’t argue.

It also made him curious how strong Aiden would be if he used a dagger.

“What do you think of my skills?”

“Right now, you could match a low-level Sword Expert. Mostly thanks to your prosthetic arm though.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll have no trouble killing some green pigs.”

“Right.”

When their spar ended, they were given a break.

Aiden and Victor walked over to a tree on the eastern side of the grounds.

“What kind of person is the lord?”

“He’s got a decent reputation. He’s not the type to squeeze people with taxes or torment the residents. If I had to pick a flaw…”

“A flaw?”

“He’s too trusting. He believes people too easily. He even invested in a merchant group he knew once and lost everything.”

“He has no advisors?”

“In a place like Centum? No way. He just does whatever he feels like.”

Victor snorted.

If Aiden’s hunch was right, the lord’s trust would be betrayed this time too.

Living with Carl had taught him the importance of trust, but trust was a double-edged sword.

The key was who you trusted.

“Wow. That must be Lady Marie. She’s as beautiful as they say.”

“Talk about eye candy.”

“I think she’s coming this way.”

The residents grew noisy.

When Aiden turned his head, he saw a woman and a man approaching.

The woman was surely the lord’s daughter, Marie.

Judging by his clothes, the man was a noble’s son.

It had to be Brian, the youngest son of Count Kai’s House.

“Thank you all for your hard work in this heat. I’m grateful for your efforts to protect the land.”

Marie expressed her thanks and made eye contact with the soldiers.

Then her gaze collided with Aiden’s.

“……”

“……”

Her eyes widened.

Her lips parted slightly.

Her body stiffened.

Aiden recognized the reaction all too well.

She fell for me.

The lord’s daughter, though… that’s going to be a problem.
 

To be continued