Chapter 61: 61.Between Breakfast and Battle Plans
He sat down, and Glacielle sat to his left, as if water were finding its level. Marshal sat to his right, as if something were finding its place.
Octavia sat down across from him and watched the three of them with the look of someone who was pleased to see a system come into alignment.
There was a lot of unspoken tension in the air, but their arrangement gave them a strange sense of comfort. It seemed like each person was playing a role, and as the conversation picked up, the dynamics changed in small ways, showing how deeply they were connected.
"Ara ara... it seems I’m the only one here who feels left out," Octavia giggled, resting her cheek on her palm.
Her voice was so playful that it broke the tension, and Glacielle couldn’t help but smile at her. "You’re always welcome to join in," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she pointed to the empty space next to her.
Octavia’s eyes lit up with excitement at the invitation, and she moved closer, interested.
"Oh, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!" she said, and her laughter sounded like a musical chime as she got ready for whatever fun they were going to have.
Thereafter, the food came, and that’s when things got funny in a way that no one had planned.
Glacielle was already reaching for the protein part of his tray because she was so focused on anything that had to do with his health. "Master needs to eat well before the war council."
"The protein is over here, and the healing herbs are over there."
From the other side, Marshal reached out. "To be effective in combat, you need a lot of calories. The bread comes first."
"The bread is good, but the herbs—"
"The herbs are extra."
Lucian looked at his plate, which now had two hands on different parts of it, and then he looked at Octavia.
"Ara? Don’t look at me," Octavia said in a nice way. "I’m just going to add the vegetables."
She reached over and put some roasted roots on the edge of his tray, as if she had already made up her mind that this was going to happen. "Can’t let our Master get scurvy in the middle of a war."
"You know, you three..." Lucian said, "I can serve myself."
They all kept doing what they were doing.
He ate the food placed in front of him and decided that this was his new life now. He didn’t regret it at all, especially after experiencing the worst vision he had ever had back then.
The attention of the rest of the hall didn’t go away, but it changed as a group of five young male adventurers got ready to approach the table. Lucian saw this coming and couldn’t stop it.
They came in with the energy of people who had been daring each other to do this for the last few minutes. Their laughter echoed through the hall, and Lucian got ready for their boldness. As they got closer, he could feel the tension rise, a mix of fear and excitement in the air.
The one in front raised his cup and said, "Respect, brother."
His badge showed he was a B-rank, and his face indiciated that he was very impressed and maybe a little drunk, which was probably understandable given what had just happened. "How does a guy get three SSS warriors?"
"Seriously, what’s the secret to being so lucky!?"
"Probably luck," Lucian said, because it was the easiest answer that was also true. "And praying for some good luck."
"Eh, not really," said the leader, sounding like someone who had thought about it. "The way they look at you, that’s no mere luck, man."
"That’s something you earned." He seemed to mean it, and the people behind him were nodding in a way that was more respectful than mocking. "Just wanted to say, what you did at the south gate yesterday was something."
Glacielle’s focus had shifted from Lucian’s food to the adventurers, and the temperature around them had dropped by about two degrees. Lucian put his hand on her arm gently, and she calmed down.
"Thanks," Lucian said. "How are your people doing? Your party."
The leader blinked, as if he didn’t expect to be asked something in return. "Uh, we’re fine."
"We lost one two days ago on the eastern approach." His voice got quieter. "Mago... he was a good fighter."
"I’m sorry," Lucian said, and he meant it.
The leader nodded. They left without any more fuss, which was probably the best thing that could have happened.
A different person came to the table a few minutes later. They didn’t have the same energy or sense of uncertainty that the last group did.
This one moved with the calm confidence of someone who had been doing the same thing for so long that she no longer thought about whether or not to do it.
She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and her collar had a fire mage insignia on it. The battle wear on her gear made it clear that it was real.
It was difficult to see her A-rank badge because it was covered by other gear. It was as if she had stopped needing to show it off to people who mattered.
She said, "Lucian Luxfall."
"Yes," he said. "That’s me."
"Seraphina Thornweave." She looked at him like people do when they are trying to decide how useful something is. "I’ll be at the war council today."
"We might have to work together."
"I thought there would be other A-ranks there."
"There will be." She looked at each of his warriors in a way that was professional and not intrusive.
It was the kind of assessment that had nothing to do with how they looked and everything to do with how good they were in battle. She looked at Marshal for half a second longer.
"I know who you are," she told Marshal.
"I know yours," Marshal replied, in a tone that was not unfriendly but contained exactly the amount of warmth that had been earned and no additional warmth. "Seraphina Thornweave. Fire specialist."
"Third campaign in the southern leagues. Four dungeon clears at S-tier difficulty. Arrogant, yet effective."
Seraphina took in the word "arrogant" like someone who had heard it before and thought it was probably true. "What matters is being effective."
She turned back to Lucian.
"Don’t let me down," she said, and then she left before he could say anything.
Octavia said, "I like her," as she walked away.
"Of course you would," Marshal said.
The council chamber was made of the same gray stone as everything else in the military quarter of the capital. There was a long map table in the middle and iron brackets along the walls that held torches that had been burning long enough to leave soot marks on the ceiling.
Lucian stopped counting after twenty-three A-rank adventurers. There was also a group of military officers in full dress armor and a man at the head of the table who looked like the physical embodiment of long and hard wars.
General Fredfort Ironheart’s face was so old that it was hard to believe it had ever been anything other than what it was now: heavily lined, uneven from old scars, with one real eye and one glass eye that both looked straight at what they were looking at without flinching.
His hair was white, like something that had been other colors before. He moved like someone who had been hurt so many times that his body had learned to deal with pain instead of trying to avoid it.
Captain Helena was in charge of organizing the room, just like she had been in charge of the outer defense line. She started the briefing before everyone was completely comfortable in their seats.
"The Harvester is definitely destroyed." She said, "The Southern front is stable."
"Defending forces on the eastern and western approaches have rallied following last night’s news." She moved pieces on the map. "However, we still have two confirmed Mythic-class entities active: the Devourer on the western approach and the Corruptor on the southern outer ring."
While the briefing went on, Lucian looked around the table. Seraphina was two seats down from him, arms crossed, and listening with the focus of someone who had already done her own research and was now comparing it to the official account.
The man next to her was quiet and small, and his A-rank badge showed that he was Kaelen Shadowstrike, according to the reconnaissance notes that Helena had sent out. Brother Aldric, a broad-shouldered man in white and gold with a healer’s staff leaning against his chair, sat across from Glacielle.
Next to him, a young woman in ice-element armor who had to be the Yuki Frostwind that Helena had mentioned in her briefing notes was watching Glacielle with the open competitive assessment of someone who had just found a possible rival.
"I can’t believe that I could meet a lot of strong people this fast..."
