We walked leisurely towards our destination, watching the still ongoing eruption of the volcano out of the corner of our eyes. Although Igni didn't show it in her expression, feelings of sadness and worry were taking up the majority of her emotions.
Ember, the emotionally sharp girl, quickly noticed her feelings without me telling her. She patted Igni's back gently.
"Your father is a sharp man who noticed Master's charm in a glance. No matter what happens to them, they'll be fine."
Hearing her words, which can't be determined if they were praising me or Igni's father, she gave a wry smile.
"When it comes to love matters, my father is quite sharp. But for management, he can't hold a candle to my mom."
"Your mom... She..."
Ember stuttered to ask, but Igni just laughed at her reaction.
"No, mom is fine. She's working as the secretary of the Virgil Family, so she's not here now."
Hearing her surprising words, I remembered the horned beauty who was with Max. Looking closely, Igni does resemble her a bit. Especially the chest... Her eyes... Her chest... Yeah, they're surely mother and daughter.
"We met your mother a short while ago; she's scary as hell."
Fang, who was listening to their talk while surveying the surroundings, chirped in.
"Oh, I get what you mean. When mom's in work mode, even father wouldn't dare to cross her."
Igni laughed heartily, probably remembering some happy scenes from the past. Little by little, the three of them were strengthening their bonds.
As the three continued chatting, we finally reached the top of the mountain. It was high noon, but the sun was blocked by the dark clouds emitted from the volcano. The surrounding area was dim, making the flashes of light that could be glimpsed near the horizon much grander.
"So that's the frontline..."
I muttered with excitement.
It was an extremely dangerous place where death was as common as pebbles on the road. However, where there is danger, there is opportunity.
I faced the three who had warmed up with each other.
"From here on, all of us will be wearing masks."
I said this as I nodded toward Ember. Noticing my intention, she quickly used one of her clones to create four masks. The design was animal-based, where I had a lion, Fang with a fox, Ember with an owl, and Igni with a snake.
After creating the masks, Ember voluntarily cut off the clone's connection to her. Although doing this would take her a longer time to recover, the separated slime maintains the last form it had before getting disconnected.
Each of us took a mask and immediately wore it. The material was similar to plastic but tougher; it was lightweight. Since it has hooks to hang over the ears, it was easy to put on and easy to remove. Breathing holes were available near the nose part, making it not stuffy and easy to breathe.
"Perfect. While wearing this, we'll call ourselves the [Masked Brigade] and work as mercenaries for the frontline."
"Masked brigade... Can we change the name? It sounds lame."
Fang muttered in dissatisfaction. Well, I know it sounds lame, as even I thought that myself.
"It's fine as is. We wouldn't be using it for long anyway."
Although she didn't look convinced, she still went along with it.
After that, we decided on our codenames based on our animal masks. I'm Leon, Fang is Fox, Ember is Owl, and Igni is Viper. With this in place, we could protect our identities much better.
On the frontlines, all the tamers at the 5th to 7th level are required to stay. Of course, it wasn't without a break, as each time they were assigned to the frontlines for a month, they would get two months of rest. Most of them stay for four months straight and then take a break for the rest of the year.
On the other hand, tamers at the 8th level and above can just leave the majority of their tamed monsters on the frontlines unattended. That's because usually, those who have around the 8th level of power have equivalently important work to do.
With this strategy in place, it would usually leave the frontlines almost defenseless most of the time. This is where mercenaries come in.
Mercenaries are those who choose to fight against the demons outside of their required time. Instead, they earn money or goods in exchange for their service. A large majority of tamers who don't have a side hustle become mercenaries in the end.
"Masked Brigade? Weird name, but ok. Welcome to the frontlines."
The marshal who did the screening of mercenaries quickly let us pass. Even if we only have 3rd stage strength, since we have Igni, who's at 5th level, we were allowed in easily.
"I guess we should give credit to Viper's contribution. Give her a round of applause, everyone!"
I said as I clapped energetically, only to have no one follow through with my words. Well, I expected it, though, since we were roleplaying as mercenaries right now.
I'm Leon, the cheery guy who gets ignored by his tamed monsters. Fang, now called Fox, is a seductive beauty but is uninterested in others. Ember, now Owl, was a smart girl who loved tinkering with machines but was antisocial. While Igni, now Viper, was taciturn, she spouts vicious words when she opens her mouth.
Although I think we added too much character to our disguises, it's better than getting discovered in the end.
After we left the marshal's tent, we quickly headed to the first barracks. There, we can take military-issued equipment and other supplies to aid in our work for free.
I took the armor, sword, and some necessities like smoke bombs and such. After logging the items, we were allowed to take them out of the storage. After we finished equipping ourselves, we were immediately called towards the 35th battalion.
There, about 24 tamers, each around 5th to 6th level, were lining up with their tamed beasts and monsters gathered at the back. At the front, an old man with short, spiky white hair shouted in anger.
"You're late, newbie! As punishment, you'll receive a 10% deduction for this battle's share!"
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