༺ Omen (2) ༻
“War! War!! It’s war!!!”
Knight Bayona, stabbing the table in front with his sword, shouted “war” three times in a show of great enthusiasm and vigor. The loud voice momentarily immersed the chaotic inn into an abnormal state of silence.
“War?”
“Did he just say war?”
Soon, an uneasy atmosphere permeated the surroundings as each person muttered hesitant words to each others. However, no one spoke loudly.
There was just a small buzzing and murmuring going on among the confused crowd.
Luna and I, as well as Marco, looked at each other’s faces, trying to confirm if what we just heard was some kind of joke.
“Hassan, he said it’s war.”
“That’s strange. I didn’t hear of any conflict starting in the surrounding areas.”
As someone who knew nothing about war, I just listened in silence. But someone among the chattering people couldn’t contain their curiosity and stood up from their seat to ask the knight.
“War? Who is fighting whom? Where is this war happening? Damn it, you should have told us first!”
At that remark, voices of agreement like “Yeah” or “That’s right” grew louder among the gathered crowd.
Since they were customers of a run-down inn that also acted as a tavern or bar of sorts, their rugged faces gave them a fearless demeanor even against the noble knights in front of us. Their unyielding stances were both reassuring and worrying.
The knights surely won’t get enraged and overturn everything here, right?
As I gazed at them with nervousness flashing in my eyes, Knight Bayona, the one who had stuck his sword into the table, calmly responded to the question.
“You asked who is fighting whom, right? Our adversaries are not just neighboring cities or enemies of the kingdom. This war is between the living and the dead! It’s a war between humans and monsters!”
“The living and the dead, you say? So, are you saying that this war is against the Pluto Cultists?”
“That’s right! The day after tomorrow, we will organize an eradication campaign in order to launch a surprise attack on their stronghold! From now on I will call out the name of the inductees, so unless you have a valid reason, all those who are called must stand up!”
The knight unrolled a scroll and began listing the writings on it aloud.
“First, those above the age limit! Men who are capable of wielding weapons! All stand-up!”
Age limit, does that mean those in their twenties? Men above the age of twenty? Unfortunately, that included me as well.
To be precise, it more or less included most of the men that had been drinking inside the inn.
Drag— Drag—
So, with discontented expressions, the men inside the inn reluctantly pushed their chairs back and stood up. Conscription, it was such a dreadful thing that I felt like vomiting already. Damn it—!
As people rose from their seats, the inn quickly became chaotic. The knight’s eyes, visible beneath the helmet, glanced through the tumultuous scene.
“Good, most of you have stood up. Now, I will select those who will have the honor of participating in this glorious expedition. Those who are called forth can remain seated! First, those without citizenship!”
Citizenship?
Are they referring to the citizenship of the city of Sodomora?
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If that were to be the case, then I didn’t fall into that category.
I, Hassan, was an undocumented resident who came from a place different from this Gaia continent. My status hadn’t been properly established yet. Damn it! I had been more or less living in this city as a migrant!
“It is great that you don’t have to go to war, Hassan!”
As I confidently sat back down on the chair, Luna reached out her hands towards me, then our palms collided in a firm clap.
However, Marco, who was still standing, somehow looked around with an uneasy expression on his face.
“Damn, I’m in big trouble.”
“Second, those who were a third-generation only son! Third, those who are the head of a family with eight or more dependents! Fourth—”
Thus, about fifteen disqualifying conditions for not being able to participate in the war were listed one after the other. Most of the inn’s patrons who were previously standing had now taken their seats, except for a few remaining ones.
But damn it! Marco was among those who remained standing till the end…
Therefore, the soldiers approached him.
“Name?”
“It’s Marco…”
“Eets Marco? Was there a name like that on the list?”
“No, it’s not ‘Eets Marco’, my name is Marco.”
“Ah, Marco… Let me see, somewhere around here… Marco. Here it is. Great, Marco. You are now participating in the glorious city defense operation! Everyone, applause!”
The people cheered and applauded the conscripted soldier— Marco from their seats. I also gave him a strong round of applause as my friend was being drafted into the military.
“Damn you, Marco, you’re in for a tough time.”
It was absolutely hilarious that a wandering bard like Marco was being dragged into the army. However, it seemed that even Marco himself couldn’t believe the fact and asked the soldiers again and again.
“Um, but sirs. I’ve never held a weapon before.”
“Well then, you’re lucky. You’ll get an experience of what real combat is like right from the first training!”
“Uh, it seems like this is not just an experience of ‘what a real combat is like’ but the actual real combat instead though.”
“Quiet down!”
That man struck Marco’s head with a club-like object in his hand. With a short cry of “eek,” Marco fell to the ground, motionless.
Soon after, several soldiers started dragging his body away. Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, we were all in a state of confusion, wondering if we should draw our weapons and be on high alert against these knights who had attacked Marco.
“Now, if anyone else wants to be dragged away, ask any questions you may have.”
Knight Bayona set the tone of this conscription process with his heavy voice. After witnessing Marco being ruthlessly dragged away by force, none of us could even dare to open our mouths.
“Alright, it seems that this place has quieted down a bit now. In addition to the conscripted citizens, we are also accepting volunteers as support— basically, those who would willingly fight in this war with us.”
At that moment, the innkeeper, who had been observing the commotion with folded arms at a corner of the inn, spoke up.
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“Are there any benefits to supporting the war?”
“The very fact that you can participate in the glorious duty of sharing the fate of the city is a privilege in itself. Her Excellency has also prepared rewards for the participants.”
Rewards?
The restrained atmosphere in the inn seemed to have loosened when rewards were mentioned. This knight Bayona seemed to be good at manipulating people.
“As for the rewards, first and foremost, citizenship will be granted to the participants! Furthermore, if there are any prior offenses committed before the enlistment, pardons will be granted for them!”
“Damn, count me in!”
“Damn, me too!”
All the men suddenly raised their hands from various places in the inn in response to the knight’s words. It was an unimaginable sight to see everyone voluntarily wanting to join the military to fight in the war.
However, among those raised hands, there was Luna’s as well.
“Citizenship! A-And expungement of records!”
Something seemed to have sparked inside Luna at the mention of citizenship and expungement of records. As Luna was also from outside this continent, coming from the islands of Ideope. it was not surprising that she would be interested in gaining citizenship.
But why was she also showing interest in the expungement of records? Did Luna have a criminal record or something? Holy fuck! It was a completely unexpected turn of events, enough to make my head spin in circles.
Anyway, the inn quickly became noisy again with people chattering all around.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Mr. Hassan, Miss Luna. I think I’ll take my leave from here for now. It’s too hot… I need some rest. So, I should also get a room quickly—”
As we stepped out onto the streets, soldiers could be seen still roaming around and recruiting inductees and volunteers, even though it was late.
The atmosphere of the city clearly indicated that a war was about to transpire really soon.
Because of that, we decided to end the celebration early and go back to our respective homes. After all, what’s the point of drinking when Marco was being dragged into the military?
“In the end, I didn’t make the cut for the volunteer support.”
Luna clucked her tongue as if disappointed that she couldn’t go to the battlefield herself.
People, regardless of gender or social status, were being accepted by the soldiers as volunteers, but the soldiers who found Luna’s name on the list were hesitant about enlisting her.
I was not really sure why they objected though. Maybe it was because she had a lot of land in her hometown and they rejected her enlistment for that reason…
“I wanted to obtain citizenship.”
I asked Luna, who was muttering to herself with a despondent expression on her face.
“What are the benefits of obtaining citizenship?”
“The benefits are significant! You can even open a bank account! You can also join the guild’s insurance policy, which makes medical expenses far cheaper. Anyway, the benefits are tremendous!”
The benefits were similar to what I knew about citizenship back in my country. Once we gained proper status, the benefits increased further. Of course, along with that, there were obligations like paying taxes or serving in the military and whatnot.
However, as we saw earlier from the crazy amount of volunteers, citizenship was an important qualification that everyone wanted to obtain.
“You can also acquire eligibility by donating a certain amount of money to the city. I’ve heard that you have to donate more than ten golds just to be barely recognized as a citizen.”
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“So, can we consider obtaining citizenship itself as a reward worth about ten golds?”
Luna nodded in response to my question. Then, she clucked her tongue once again in disappointment. Earning ten pieces of gold in a single military campaign. It really sounded like a lucrative opportunity to earn money, wasn’t it?
With a thick, unruly beard and numerous scars on their bodies— it could be considered a great opportunity for the guys with a rough look to earn citizenship. There was also the radical privilege of expunging past criminal records.
Expunging records…
“Hey, Luna. Do you happen to have any past criminal records?”
I remembered Luna’s strong reaction to the mention of expunging records. Of course, I knew very well that Luna was not capable of committing any major crimes, but I was still curious. How could Luna be a person with a criminal record?
“A-A criminal record?”
Luna trembled and cautiously glanced at me in response to my question.
“…Why are you asking about that?”
“Oh, well, just a bit curious. But judging by your reaction, it seems like you actually have one. What crime did you commit?”
“It’s nothing. Just… it’s just something!”
Luna avoided the question, as if not wanting to answer. My curiosity and suspicion grew even stronger by her behavior. It seemed like something wrong was going on here.
What kind of life was Luna leading before forming a party with me?
I thought we already had a lot of conversation between us, but I kept finding out more and more things that I didn’t know about her; as if her past was like a deep abyss. Was it really okay to ask about it?
If it was an unimaginably big crime, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue treating Luna the same way as usual.
“Hassan, you’re wrinkling your forehead again. Y-You’re thinking of something weird, aren’t you?!!” “
“No, well, um, what… What crime did you commit, exactly?”
“D-Do you really want to know? Hassan, you might end up hating me. But if you really want to know, I’ll tell you…”
Luna had a desperate look on her face, that look was enough for me to feel like all blood had been drained from my body. There were two choices in front of me.
To listen to her or choose not to.
But even if I chose not to listen, I was sure that I would live the rest of my life wallowing in doubt.
“What happened? Tell me. I won’t hate you even after I hear it.”
So I chose to bravely listen to her. Then, after exhaling a long sigh, Luna hesitated somewhat, as if wondering what to do next, before finally recounting her story to me while fidgeting around.
“T-This happened when I first arrived on this continent. I was so, so hungry… so much so that I… I ate a rabbit—”
“You ate a rabbit?”
I had already heard that Luna had to struggle for her survival, even going as far as resorting to eating tree bark and roots.
But I couldn’t help but wonder if eating a rabbit could be considered a crime. After all, rabbits were commonly hunted and eaten by adventurers in the forest. Their fur could also be used to make hats or arm warmers, which was quite useful in the winter.
“…Because it was a rabbit that was raised at the temple. A playful rabbit in the temple garden… no matter how hungry I was, how dare I end up eating a rabbit that was being raised at the temple? I-It’s a sacrilegious crime. Hassan, I have committed a sacrilegious crime—”
Luna’s voice trembled the more she spoke. She sounded like someone deeply remorseful for committing a grave sin like no other.
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“Is it really such a grave sin?”
“I… ate the rabbit! Hassan, it’s an incredibly grave sin!”
“Well, is that so? Alright, I understand, so please calm down.”
Since Luna started screaming, attracting glances from here and there, I had no choice but to calm her down. As I gently patted her back, Luna began to regain her composure and started breathing evenly once more.
“…But it was so delicious that I still think about it sometimes.”
“Oh, really? Let’s go eat some rabbit meat sometimes.”
“Yes! By the way, I’m just curious, why didn’t Hassan volunteer to participate in the war and provide support?”
I wasn’t accustomed to Luna’s rapidly shifting moods. It seemed like I wouldn’t get used to it in the future either.
Anyway, in response to Luna’s sudden question, I recalled the reason I didn’t volunteer to participate in the war despite the numerous provided benefits.
To be honest, I hadn’t given it much thought.
“It’s because I don’t want to join the military.”
Still, I had no desire to join the military again. It was not just about going to the military either; it was a real war.
If I were to go to a place where people struggle in fights to the death in muddy pits, then there was a real chance of dying!
As a commoner, like me and Luna, simply preparing to open a small shop in the tiny cabin and going about our respective quests and daily lives was already overwhelming enough.
For most low-level adventurers in the slums, who scrape by day by day, earning enough to eat and survive was already a big concern. So, having no work for tomorrow was scarier and more important than facing the cultists for us.
“What’s this? Something is attached to the door.”
When we entered the house together to rest, Luna discovered a small note-like thing attached to the door. She then slowly began reading it.
“Official document. Hassan of Samaria. You have been appointed as an honored defender of our faith and are called to participate in the upcoming conquest mission. Mission? What’s this? The letter seems strange. The eradication campaign of the cultists is both a natural right and a duty of the citizens of Sodomora.“
I felt odd as Luna slowly read the letter. Why was my name mentioned there? Why wasn’t the note addressed to Luna?
“What’s this? What are you reading?”
“Well, it seems to be a draft notice… I’m not really sure what it’s saying either. The writing is very difficult to decipher; it’s all twisted and convoluted…”
A draft notice? What the hell?! What could that be? Damn! It couldn’t be true, could it!?
Trembling, I took the paper from Luna’s hand and quickly read the contents.
Indeed, as Luna had mentioned, the hastily scribbled handwriting made it difficult to make out the words.
I could only recognize a few words in the very last paragraph of the note.
“Oh, holy shit!!!”
“Holy shit? What’s written in there? Is it good news? Since the Margrave’s name is mentioned here… Did they mention a reward for you?”
“They want me to enlist…”
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