One day, on a beach, a knight on a white horse, wearing a gleaming silver suit of full plate armor, with a shield and a sword at their hip, rode along the shore. They saw many pieces of wood and splinters, which appeared to be from a destroyed ship.
Another mounted knight approached the white-armored knight. Seeing someone approach, the white-armored knight took off their full-face helm. From under the helmet, the knight was a very beautiful young woman with long, wavy blonde hair flowing in the beach breeze. Her green eyes stared at the knight who had just arrived.
"Commander Jeane, these debris are from the SS Commodore, from the Calderon kingdom, which seemed to be on its way to attack the Phanteos kingdom," said the newly arrived knight. The knight was a middle-aged man with white hair and a beard that wrapped around his chin.
"Hmm... so it seems. That ship was likely wrecked by the storm. Continue the search, Brian," Jeane said.
"Understood, Commander," Brian replied.
"Commander Jeane! Deputy Commander Brian!"
Jeane and Brian turned. They saw a handsome soldier with long hair tied back in a ponytail, who looked Asian. He was carrying a large curved sword like a long katana and was running toward them.
"What is it, Kato?" Jeane asked.
"Quickly, follow me, Commander!" Kato yelled.
Jeane turned to look at Brian, who was also looking at her. Both of them dismounted their horses. Kato immediately turned and ran back the way he had come, followed by Jeane and Brian. They took a shortcut through the forest and came out on the other side of the beach. When they came out, Jeane saw the wrecked hull of a ship washed ashore. She also saw a few soldiers gathered there.
Jeane, Brian, and Kato approached the group of soldiers and made their way to the front. When they arrived, they saw a young man with blonde hair and a thin beard, wearing only a leather jacket, kneeling and pressing his ear to the chest of an unconscious boy with long hair to check for a heartbeat.
"He's still alive," he said, turning to look at Jeane and Brian. "Oh, Commander and Deputy Commander." The man was standing again.
"He's still alive, you say, Leroy?" Jeane asked.
"He is. He's still alive, and it looks like he's the only one on the deck. I'm not sure why the deck is covered in red stains, but I couldn't find anyone else besides this boy. What happened to that ship is still a mystery," Leroy replied.
"Hmm, this boy... look at his body, Jeane," Brian said, kneeling next to the boy and opening his clothes.
Jeane knelt next to Brian. She saw that the boy had a very sturdy build, even for a child. Then she leaned in and pushed the boy's hair away from his face to get a better look. She saw he had a handsome face for a slave, which made the commander smile faintly.
"Bring this boy back. I will personally train and care for him. In the future, this boy will play a big role in our mercenary group," Jeane said, smiling.
Hearing Jeane's words, Brian and Leroy immediately turned to look at Jeane's face, who was focused on the boy's face, smiling. Jeane propped up the boy's head with her hands, caressing his forehead.
"Hmm, this is the first time I've seen our commander act like a woman, hehe," Leroy said.
"Well, you're right. She's finally a woman. Uncle is so happy," Brian added, with tears in his eyes.
"Don't mock me," Jeane yelled, her face red.
Kato, who was standing behind them, covered his mouth with his hand to hold back his laughter.
"I'm not mocking you. It's a good thing, Princess," Brian said.
"Hey, Brian, I told you, I'm not a princess anymore. I'm the leader of the Grey Dragons mercenary group. I'm just a descendant of a long-gone noble family," Jeane replied, looking at Brian sharply.
"Ah, my apologies, Commander, but I'm still happy, hehe," Brian said.
"Whatever. In any case, I will take care of this boy and raise him to be an asset in the future," Jeane said, blushing.
"But if he's a slave, he might not even have a name. Besides, we also have to teach him to read and write, not just how to fight," Leroy said.
"Yes, we'll educate him in everything. I'm sure your wife Tania will be happy to teach him how to read and write, Leroy," Jeane replied, looking at Leroy and smiling.
"Ah, I shouldn't have brought that up. Poor Tania, forgive your big-mouthed husband," Leroy said, shaking his head and covering his face with his hand.
The soldiers behind them laughed loudly, including Kato, who was standing right behind them.
"That's enough. Stop the jokes. We're heading back to the base," Jeane said.
Brian immediately stood up and bowed. He picked up the boy. After that, they walked back into the forest to get their horses on the other side of the beach.
***
"Ugh," Max opened his eyes. He found himself lying on a soft, comfortable bed. He saw a wooden beam ceiling and looked over at a wall made of stacked bricks. The room he was in was lit by a kind of lightbulb with a flame inside on the ceiling.
He looked toward the window on the adjacent wall; it was dark outside, with many stars decorating the night sky. Max sat up in his bed.
"You're awake?" a woman asked.
Max turned. He saw a beautiful woman with long, wavy blonde hair and green eyes sitting in a chair next to his bed, reading a book calmly with one leg propped up. The woman was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and tight black pants, making her look like a man.
"Um... wh-who are you? Where am I?" Max asked.
"My name is Jeane Orion. I'm the founder and leader of a mercenary group called the Grey Dragons. I'm only 19 years old, so you can call me "sister." What about you? Do you have a name?" Jeane asked, smiling.
"Ma... Maxwell... Ravencrow," Max replied. "I can't remember my first name in this world, so I'll just use the name from my previous life," Max thought.
"Maxwell, huh? How about I just call you Max?" Jeane asked.
"Y-Yeah, that's fine... where am I now?" Max asked.
"You're at our camp right now." Jeane closed her book and looked at Max. "Hmm... you're from the Norden Empire, just like Kato. Your hair is both black."
"Um... yeah, I'm from the Norden Empire, but I was thrown out of there," Max said, looking down but not continuing his story.
Jeane observed Max's face, which looked sad because he still felt the loss of the slaves he considered his family and was still confused by his second life.
"Alright, if you want to talk about it, I'll listen. Now, do you want to join our mercenary group?" Jeane asked.
"Mercenary group?" Max asked.
"Yep. On this continent, there are eight kingdoms that coexist and fight for territory. We'll work for any kingdom that pays us well. Right now, we're working for the Phanteos kingdom in their war against the Calderon kingdom," Jeane answered, smiling.
Max fell silent. He was confused to suddenly be offered a chance to join a mercenary group when he had never been offered anything like this in his previous life or in his 12 years in this one.
"But... I'm just a slave," Max muttered.
"That doesn't matter. You're our soldier now. I'll teach you how to fight personally. What do you say? Are you in?" Jeane asked, flipping her hair.
Max was silent again. He looked around the room he was in and at the window to see the night sky of the new world he was in. Finally, after a moment, he looked at Jeane, who was waiting for his answer, looking at him.
"Alright, I'll do it," Max replied, making his decision. "This time I want to help people and live a free, easygoing life, even if I can't relax just yet. It won't be like my last life, where I was rich but wasn't free because of my greed, and I wasn't happy at all." Max thought.