FMRV | Chapter 48

The Imperial Army had its headquarters located in the capital city, surrounded by the Imperial Palace, with branches in four different regions. This system was established with the ideology that no corner of the vast Empire should be untouched by its powerful military force.

The basic method was to send commanders like Leo and Mile to each branch as managers. In other words, the four branches were military organizations under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, and it was also Theo’s responsibility to closely watch and oversee them.

Normally, each branch would undergo a regular inspection once a year, but sudden visits could be made at any time under the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief. Unlike the capital, where the influence of the Imperial Palace and prestigious families was most powerful, the further one traveled from the capital, the more corruption arose from powerful, anonymous individuals. Some of these were even within the military branches, with one former commander having colluded with local families to accept bribes and illegally sell monster corpses in the past.

“Sion, I’m planning to go on an inspection of the Western branch soon. I think it’d be a good idea to notify Kallon in advance.”

“Yes, understood.”

While sudden visits were a power created to catch such issues, the purpose of this particular visit wasn’t monitoring. Theo simply wanted to gather information on some mysterious mercenaries.

“By the way, what’s this?”

Theo stared intently at a box placed on his desk.

“Oh, this is a gift from the Imperial Palace. Apparently, it’s quite rare and only found in the Western continent.”

“This from the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes, it was a gift from the Wellharun delegation that arrived recently. They said the quantity was considerable, and His Majesty the Emperor wanted to share some with you, so I brought it.”

Wellharun, located in the West, was another great nation bordering the Hainern Empire and maintained a relatively friendly relationship with it.

Theo nodded. He made a mental note to send a thank-you to the Imperial Palace later and fiddled with the luxurious silver ribbon wrapping the box.

“Luke!”

A loud voice calling out for Luke came from outside the garden. When he stepped out, he saw Chess, the village chief, standing there.

“What brings you here?”

“It’s the Swendi flower. Do you think you can have it ready by the end of this week?”

Luke squinted, a look of suspicion crossing his face.

“Is it for your wife’s birthday? You’re rushing to prepare it, so I’m guessing you forgot, huh?”

“Young man, why are you so sharp?”

Village chief Chess looked startled and stared at Luke as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Please, you’re the only one who grows that rare kind of flower.”

The Swendi flower was an elegant pale purple flower whose petals resembled hearts, often exchanged by lovers or married couples in the past as a symbol of love.

However, unlike the past, growing it had become quite difficult. The Swendi flower only bloomed in very fertile and clean soil, but the land had become increasingly polluted due to monster magic and industrial development, making it almost extinct in Herba, or even in the Empire. That was, until Luke started his garden.

“It might be a bit hard to get it by this week… That particular one’s really picky.”

“Well, I’ll double the payment!”

Luke, however, was unimpressed and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“Alright, I’ll talk to the Merchant’s Guild and get your flowers exclusively for the upcoming festival at Conenium Square. How does that sound?”

“I’ll do my best to make sure your wife is satisfied.”

“Ah, you’re such a materialistic young man.”

Chess laughed heartily, raising his hands in a mock surrender. Despite his teasing, Luke had become quite a famous figure in the village. After about eight months since he’d arrived, people were still shocked by how he had revived the garden that had been left to ruin after the departure of the noble family.

On top of that, even though he sometimes acted cheeky or mischievous, Luke was known for being polite and always the first to lend a hand whenever the village needed help. It was hard to find anyone in the village who didn’t like him.

“Oh, and if you have time, visit Ruben. I heard the old man baked a bunch of bread for you again.”

“Sure, I’ll stop by.”

“But when did you get so close with that grumpy old man?”

Luke awkwardly smiled at the unexpected question. If he were to answer when they became close, it would be when he saved Ruben and his grandmother from a monster shortly after he moved in. The two considered him a lifesaver.

Thinking back on that time still made Luke shiver. If he had been a bit slower, the Imperial Army from the Western branch might have shown up, and he would have had to face them, being dragged in for all sorts of questioning. If one of them knew the news from the headquarters, he might’ve been recognized.

Not to mention, if he ran into Kallon, it would have been the end. But in that moment, it was lucky that he had something on his face. He didn’t expect to speak with Kallon directly after that.

“The soldiers are back again.”

At that moment, Chess murmured, gazing off into the distance. Following his gaze, Luke saw two soldiers in uniform questioning the villagers.

“Looks like they’re still investigating because of that mercenary rumor.”

Luke suddenly cleared his throat.

“Hmm? Got a cold or something?”

“No, just a little cough…”

“Well, make sure to take care of those flowers.”

“Got it.”

Chess waved his hand and disappeared into the distance. Luke continued to watch the soldiers, who had earlier appeared to be questioning the villagers but were now lying under a large old tree.

“Hmm, looks like they’re slacking off on duty now.”

Luke shook his head, making his way back into the garden. He needed to finish his work quickly, since he had an important guest coming later that day.

“Well, as long as they keep slacking off, I don’t mind. But if Theo catches them, he’s going to give them an earful about military discipline.”

Luke muttered to himself. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

“…”

Did he just say Theo’s name out loud? Luke, feeling awkward, messed up his hair out of nervous habit.

“C-Commander!”

At that moment, the same voice from earlier called out from where Chess had been. Startled, Luke turned around to see a familiar, yet somewhat pleasant face.

“Pale.”

He smiled brightly, bowing repeatedly.

“What are you doing here so early? I thought you weren’t arriving until the afternoon?”

“Oh, there was a faster ship, so I just hopped on that one.”

After settling into his new life, Luke had sent a short letter to Pale to let him know he was doing well, and in return, Pale had replied that he wanted to visit. Thus, today’s meeting was arranged.

“Good to see you made it. Let’s go inside.”

Luke led Pale into the mansion. Pale seemed nervous as he entered the luxurious living room and sat down.

“So, how’s work been?”

“Oh, I took a leave. A long vacation.”

“A long vacation?”

Luke raised his eyebrows, surprised.

“Yeah, actually… I got promoted to a higher rank in the administrative unit!”

Luke had been wondering what Pale was hesitating to say. But Pale, now with a flushed face, was excited to share the good news. It seemed Pale wasn’t suited for the combat unit after all.

“Congratulations. So, you took a long vacation as part of your promotion reward, huh? By the way, how’s your mom doing?”

“She’s doing much better now. My salary’s gone up, so the doctor comes by once a month.”

It was a relief to hear only good news from Pale after such a long time.

“As for you, Commander, how’s everything? By the way, I was shocked to hear about Kallon.”

“I’m doing fine. This is my hometown, after all.”

Pale nodded slowly. Though it was a short response, it was enough. More than anything, Luke’s relaxed face showed he was living a comfortable life, and that spoke volumes.

“It’s my first time out west, and it’s so different from the capital.”

Even though it had been eight months since their last meeting, Luke and Pale didn’t feel any awkwardness. They chatted casually over coffee, sharing their thoughts and catching up.

“By the way, I heard there’s an interesting rumor going around in the West lately?”

“Hmm?”

“I met a few soldiers on my way here, and they kept asking me about some faceless mercenary magician.”

Clink—

Luke visibly flinched at Pale’s words. A moment of silence fell in the living room. Pale’s eyes shifted as he slowly spoke again.

“His name… what was it? Sebastian?”

As Pale mentioned the name, Luke’s hand, holding his teacup, trembled ever so slightly. Pale, with his sharp intuition, immediately caught on to the awkwardness.

“…Is that you, sir? Are you Sebastian?”