As expected, Kasto sat behind his desk with Cal standing beside him. In the chair before the desk sat a young girl with flowing light blue hair. Her small, yet cute nose pointed slightly upwards as she looked behind her. Her big eyes pierced right through Lucas' mask. Even Lucas felt surprised by who sat here.
The young girl gave him a knowing smile before turning back to face Kasto. "It's fine sir Kasto, please handle their business first. I assume these were the proud warriors you saw so much promise in?"
"My apologies Your Highness, I've told them many a times to be polite."
The princess chuckled slightly as she waved it off. "Don't mind me, I assume they didn't barge in here for no reason?"
Kasto felt some relief seeing the princess smile, seemingly not bothered by the current situation. "You guys really need to learn some manners!", Kasto couldn't just move on right away even if he had the approval from her, reprimanding them slightly, despite fully knowing it would have no effect.
"Either way, did you succeed in your grand plan? Or did you finally realize that taking on every camp around the border of the prince's forces is an impossible task to accomplish."
"Not exactly," Asta pranced forward, standing next to the princess as he put all the slips of paper on his desk. "All were accomplished. Besides that, I also wanted to bring this in."
Pulling out a huge sack fulled to the brim with tiny gems, Kasto felt a headache coming while Cal was already counting the cores. Seeing him start the count, Kasto took the slips of paper and knew he didn't have to validate him. As they destroyed the camps, the intel reached his office not long after. He was just surprised they fulfilled their goal seemingly easily.
"You two," Kasto wanted to reprimand them. He truly desired to do so. His inability to do so was only because of the results displayed in front of him. The amount of cores in that bag rivaled a small army. There was no way for just two simple mages to cause that much destruction, yet the cores were legitimate. There were even cores that rivaled his own level.
Thinking about the fact that the two in front of him, while lower in Rank and position, held the power to defeat him disturbed him.
"Commander, I've finished my count."
Kasto nodded as if to say the results out loud. "There are 543 Rank 1 cores, 172 Rank 2 cores and 8 Rank 3 cores in total. Rank 1 cores are worth half a point, the Rank 2's are 2 points and the Rank 3 cores, 50. In total this is 1015.5 points. Combining this with the rewards from the missions, you two have amassed over 1747.5 points."
As Cal spoke, he felt a certain sense of dread. Not being able to put it into words, the impression he had of these two troublemakers shot up through the roof. He saw them as mercenaries, capable, but nothing special in the end. Yet here they brought back the head of a dragon.
"Hahaha!", laughing out loud, Kasto slapped his table. Cal wasn't sure if he had gone crazy or was genuinely happy. His sudden joy came as it went, instantly replaced by a serious look, he was barely holding in his aura.
"You two truly are monsters."
"I suppose that's a compliment, thank you. We would like to instantly turn our points in for a reward."
"I know, sadly, there's been an announcement some time ago. The prices of the items in the shop have changed," Kasto knew full well that this was a dirty tactic, but he just couldn't let something so valuable land in the hands of these two. The moment they had it, they would leave them.
Asta and Lucas clenched their hands as they instantly thought of an alternative. They had completed some random missions as well, but the points were worthless in the whole scheme of things. They were mostly to circumvent possible schemes from Kasto, but they underestimated him.
"What is it they wanted to purchase exactly?", the princess voiced an open question to the commander.
Kasto relaxed in his chair, forcing down the urge to take a cigar from his secret stash. "I don't have proof, but I believe they both want to buy a Silver Saliva Pill from a certain magical beast. We had it available at around 850 points. Sadly, due to the rarity of this item and the fact that we needed to stabilize our internal economy with the shop, the price had to rise to 1000 points."
The wide smile on Kasto's face made Lucas release part of his aura. The room turned red for an instant before Kasto pushed it back. "Don't you dare Lucas! Stop this instant, or I'll see it as an attack on a royal!", the commander was more than serious, but Asta wasn't impressed.
"While difficult, I think we can force it," he spoke openly, without bothering to hide his intentions. Kasto felt his heart drop as his own aura didn't seem to affect the two that much. They still stood strong and talked as if he wasn't even there. 'No wonder these guys got so many Rank 3 cores, they're practically already at that level!'
Cal felt nervous as he knew the people in front of him weren't joking around. The implications from Asta's words spoke volumes. Not knowing whether to conjure up defenses or attack them outright, Cal looked to Kasto for safety.
The three stared at each other for a moment before a hand raised in the sky, the princess brought a temporary peace between them. "Then I'll pay for the remaining points," she spoke with a light voice, as if this was entertaining to her. Her innocent smile proved just that.
"What? But! Your Highness, you must understand, we can't just give something so valuable away for no reason," Kasto tried to reason with her, but it seemed like she wasn't to be persuaded.
"No, no, I won't hear it. I've decided to help them out," her soft smile confused Kasto to no end. "What? Why? Your Highness, these men are powerful, but they are rogues. The moment they get their hands on what they want, they'll leave us behind."
"I know."
"Huh?"
"I'm just trying to repay a debt that has been outstanding for far too long. Isn't that right, Conrad?", she spoke to him while facing the commander, not being capable of seeing Asta, who had conjured up a knife that threatened to pierce her throat at any second. Cal and Kasto froze in place as they stared at the knife that was so close to ending her life.
Yet the person in question only smiled. "It's fine Asta. I wasn't expecting to hide it, especially with your eyes, but still, to call me out like that."
Removing his mask, Lucas faced her for the first time in quite a while. "It's been some time, Freya."
"Indeed, I'm a bit sad to hear your name has changed, I really liked Conrad," the princess pouted slightly, and Lucas didn't know how to react. As he stood there frozen, Asta dispelled his blade and stared at his friend.
"Since when did you know the princess?"
"Before I ever even met you."
"You had the princess in your pocket, and you never told me about it?", Asta felt a bit flabbergasted. There were plenty of things they could use her for, but Kasto and Cal felt even more confused.
"You knew her all this time? And you!", pointing towards Asta, "Were you going to kill her just now?"
"What? Do you believe her to be special in some manner? She's only in this position because of her family."
Asta and Kasto started to argue with one another, clearly their views clashed on more than a single point as Lucas and Freya stared at each other.
"So you succeeded in gathering a pretty big group, huh?"
"Yeah, thanks to your advice, I started to use my own powers more and more. I gathered anyone I saw as a safe bet. There were some bumps on the road, but we're slowly growing."
"I'm not in a position to say this, but I'm impressed. You have so much land under your grasp when you started with almost nothing."
"I didn't achieve all of this on my own, you know. I've been relying on plenty of people. Even now, I'm relying on your achievements on the front to gain some of the land," while they were happily talking to each other, the commander had to disregard his argument with Asta and disrupt the princess.
"Your Highness, you can't think about taking in more land. We don't have the troops. We're barely holding our own."
"Hmm? Ah, yes. You see, while I'm not versed in many fields, I've learned to trust my eyes more."
The statement didn't really clarify anything. So the commander waited for her to continue. "I visited my dear brother and sister's place and talked to the people I deemed trustworthy."
"You did what? Did the advisor agree to this?", to walk into enemy territory was the last thing she needed to do.
"Not exactly, but he was glad I returned unharmed," smiling so innocently didn't fit the situation in the slightest, "and because of that, we now have two Rank 4 mages on our side."
Everyone in the room suddenly fell silent as even Lucas was shocked at that result. "I may not have power like you commander, but I'm great at convincing the right people."
The silence continued for a bit as gears started to turn in Cal's head as he calculated the possibilities on the front. Even Kasto felt like the path forward had suddenly been cleared of all bumps in the road, hell, they wouldn't have to crawl, but ride a carriage at this point.
"What happened? Why is everyone so quiet?", the princess asked a bit timidly.
Kasto started to laugh out loud again in response. Asta, crossed his arms as he stared at the man while posing a question to his friend. "Does he always do this when he's lost his mind?"
"Hahaha, my great Princess! This is perfect! We can finally push the border again!"
"Commander, we should be thinking about the fortification of the border more than regaining the land. If we do have to take land, let's leave the border to the Holy Kingdom alone."
As the two were going on about their plans, the princess eventually got up and left with the two mercenaries. Walking to a nearby room they were served some snacks and drinks. The Princess ordered two Silver Saliva Pill to be brought to them. Apparently, the saliva was meant to come from a certain Pteropodidae.
"Now that we've left behind the rough ones, let's talk. I want to hear your stories, from both of you."
She pointed towards the two, but her focus was more on Asta than Lucas. "I know Conrad quite well during my previous travels. Are you his friend?", her direct tone of speech made Asta feel a bit uncomfortable. He was used to arguing though, so he straightened his back, lifted his chin slightly and responded with a tone of pride.
"My name is Asta, I'm proficient in-"
"You're a noble, right? What's your second name?"
Being cut off, Asta felt insulted, but her strange attention felt good for some reason.
"My second name holds no meaning to you, there's no point in knowing it."
"Why keep it secret? If it's not important, I can know it right?", pushing him further, Asta looked at Lucas in the hopes of finding an escape. Yet all he got was a confused look from him.
"C'mon, don't hide it, I can keep secrets very well hidden, you know?"
Asta didn't know what to make of her. She was a princess, why did she act so strange?
"Is this the persona you created to get closer to the other nobles?", Lucas tried to put the puzzle pieces together, but he didn't know what he was working towards.
The girl chuckled a bit. "Somewhat. It mostly depends on who I'm dealing with. Certain mages like a cute and innocent girl who clings all over them, others like a more dominant side of me. I play to their likes, so to speak, rarely do I get to relax like this," she loosened up her demeanor, leaning back on the couch, unfitting for any of royal blood, but both men couldn't care less about her etiquette.
"Is it true you'll leave the moment you get what you want?", she asked seriously. Lucas didn't want to get on her bad side, but also had no plans on pledging his allegiance to someone. Luckily, Asta stepped in to help out.
"Yes, we have a large trip planned, and it cannot be postponed sadly. Besides, you don't need us anymore since you got those other two mages."
"Oh, are you jealous of their power?"
"Not in the slightest, give us some years, and we'll be better than them. We can probably beat them right now if they lowered their level to ours."
Freya stared deeply into his eyes. "That's not arrogance, is it? I can feel your belief in that statement. Well, it wouldn't be all that surprising considering you're capable of killing a Rank 3. Still, I wasn't expecting you to speak for both of you. Do you have no confidence in yourself?"
"Excuse you! I'm more than capable of handling some random mage myself, but when it comes to physical combat, I find it disgusting. It's undignified, so I need someone to help me out."
"Hihihi, so that's your explanation? I like you both," had any normal person heard it from the lips of this beautiful girl, they would be swept off their feet, yet both stared unflinching at her.
"C'mon, some reaction would be nice, you're hurting my feelings, you know?"
"Why say that?", Asta said with actual curiosity. He had plenty of women back home who wanted his hand in marriage, yet all said it with fake emotions. He learned to see through their deception, so he wasn't sure what to think when he felt she spoke true.
"I can trust both of you, I know it. My innate gift never lied."
"You have an innate gift?"
"Yes. When I look at someone, their body gives off some light. I wasn't sure what it was exactly in the beginning, thinking it had to do with luck or something, but it's fate. The light shows how beneficial they will be to my path."
"So you're saying you would approach anyone who gives off some light because you think they'll be helpful? What a stupid thing to do," Asta didn't hold back on his critique, but Lucas chuckled since that was how he met her in the first place.
"Exactly, it's never done me wrong before, and both of you give off a lot of light, enough for me to trust you with this secret."
"What a foolish thing to say, we could easily sell this secret at a profit."
"And I know you wouldn't do such a thing."
"Well, it's very undignified to sell off someone's secrets, but I would do it if necessary," Asta found her unreasonable, but her big smile and happy demeanor kept throwing him off guard.
A knock from the door dampened their conversation as a soldier brought in two small boxes. Handing them over, he quickly left. Seeing they now had everything they needed, Asta closed up shop.
"Either way, we were planning on leaving right away. If you have no further questions, we'll take our leave," Asta was to the point, not wanting to waste any more time with this woman.
"Lucas," she spoke softly, knowing it would get his attention, "if you truly are going on a long trip, I assume by the time you're finished we will be embroiled in war. Can I count on your support when you're back?"
Lucas wasn't even aware of what Asta had planned, let alone know where he was about to go. To him, the time he would be back could be dozens of years for all he knew. Making careless promises wasn't part of who he was. Instead, he gave the most reasonable answer he found within himself.
"If I get back in time, I'm willing to see what I can do."
"That's all I can ask for, my sunshine."
"What?", Lucas felt almost embarrassed hearing those words come from her mouth, yet she only smiled at him. "Lucas, we should leave while the guards are in rotation."
"Yes. I'll see you later, Freya."
"Goodbye, Lucas."
As the princess watched as Lucas walked away she felt her smile deepen. Her innate gift was a lot more powerful than one would think. People who gave off a lot of light would be on her side and willing to help her as if fate predicted it. The higher the shine, the more influence they would bring.
The light changed over a course of time. As time progresses, humans tended to change slightly, making the light dimmed or brighter depending on the person. She knew that only the ones with a bright light were trustworthy.
Many people had a small aura of light around them, some like Kasto had a small halo, lighting up a room. Even Asta, who she didn't know in the slightest gave off a bright light, but Lucas was on another level. He was giving off so much light he was a miniature sun, outshining all others.
Since he hadn't done that much for her yet, she knew he would return eventually. He was a beneficial influence to her fate, that was clear. Her heart started to race slightly, knowing he would return for her. Holding her hands on her heart, she blushed slightly at the thoughts she had about their future.
"I'll wait for you, my dear."