Chapter 1: Chapter 1 – Wartime Recruitment

"Hmm? Oh! Found it!" A youthful exclaim echoed inside the forest.

Draco looked at the herb he finally found after running around the forest for the whole morning. Grabbing a pair of scissors, he carefully cut a stalk from the plant.

After making sure that the plant was fine for future harvest, he placed the separated stalk inside the small woven basket on his waist.

Standing up, he looked around to make a note of the location. He looked for any landmarks that could help him remember this place.

After taking a final look at the herb, he started leaving with a satisfied expression.

Suddenly, a black shadow jumped in front of him, blocking his path.

"And here I was wondering why you would leave without getting your reward," Draco said, looking at the creature that had appeared.

It was a black squirrel. It was two times the size of normal squirrels, with a pair of sharp teeth sticking out of its mouth.

Draco crouched down, took out a fruit from his pocket and offered it to the squirrel.

The creature's intelligent eyes shone and it quickly grabbed the fruit. Giving a low chirp at Draco, the squirrel left, disappearing inside the bushes.

Draco saw it leave before starting to leave.

"Uncle Berg will be so happy after seeing today's harvest," Draco imagined as he walked out of the forest in a happy mood.

He spent some extra time today finding the last herb. He even had to bribe the squirrel to make it spill the location.

'Well, it was a special request from one of the customers after all.'

As he came out of the depths, the trees became less dense while the path beneath his feet turned clearer.

Expecting to be greeted by a bustling scene, Draco frowned when he saw the state of the market.

The shops and stalls were closed, while the streets that were meant to be bustling with crowds were empty.

Holding his confusion, Draco walked in the direction of Uncle Berg's shop.

As he walked through the market, he heard what sounded like sobbing from many of the houses and shops around him.

Feeling the ominous atmosphere, he increased his speed. Rushing through the streets, he arrived at his destination within a few minutes.

Knock! Knock!

Looking at the closed shop, he could only knock on the door of Uncle Berg's store-cum-house.

"Uncle Berg, it's me!" Hearing no response, Draco shouted.

Maybe because his shout cleared his identity, the door was opened a moment later.

But before he could start speaking, his hand was grabbed and Draco was pulled inside the house.

"Aunt Dera? What happened?! And why are you crying?" Draco asked as he looked at the middle-aged woman in front of him.

Her eyes were red due to crying, and hearing Draco's questions, tears began to well up in them once again.

"Oh child, you shouldn’t have come out of the forest." Dera spoke in a sad tone as she tried to wipe her tears. "You… You should hide!" She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand and started dragging him inside.

"Wait! Wait! Please tell me what's going on here? And where is Uncle Berg?" asked Draco while gently freeing his hand from her grasp.

Dera stopped and stared at the floor. After remaining silent for a while, she finally explained about the weird atmosphere.

As it turned out, the king of the country they live in has declared war on their neighboring country. And in regard to the scale of the battle, he issued a decree to recruit more soldiers.

And now, the squads consisting of the Kingdom's soldiers are visiting the cities around the country and gathering more troops. Even the small town Draco lives in was not spared.

Each family had to send at least one man. It was fine for those with multiple males, but families like Dera's lost all support after having their sole-breadwinner taken from them.

Everyone was scared, as the thought of losing their family members was scarier than having a change in authority.

Suddenly, Draco turned around and started walking towards the door.

"Draco, stop! Where are you going?" Aunt Dera was terrified and tried to stop him.

Draco looked at her and shook his head, "I have to go."

Dera looked at him with pity in her eyes. "I know you are worried about your grandpa, but it will do no good for you to go. And maybe, on account of his old age, they won't even take him with them." She tried her best to dissuade him from going out.

"No! I can't take the risk! I have to go!" He paused for a while to calm his emotions, and added, "Besides, there's still some time before I turn eighteen." He knew that she was worried about them discovering him, but the King, however ruthless, still had to keep up his benevolent appearance and not force anyone below eighteen to join the army.

Seeing his firm stance, Dera was helpless. "Alright, but you have to be careful." She gave him a hug and eventually allowed him to leave.

Draco nodded as he left the place.

He ran through the streets, while trying to calm his anxiety.

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Soon, he saw his house in the distance, as well as the squadron of soldiers that had covered the whole street. A few children were also gathered around an old man who seemed to be talking to an Officer.

"Grandpa!" Seeing the old man, Draco exclaimed in relief.

Hearing his shout, the old man turned to look at him, his expression tensing.

"Oh ho-ho! What do we have here? A healthy young man. I didn’t expect to have my quota filled so soon." The Officer laughed, looking at Draco, like he was some rare treasure.

Draco shivered as he heard his creepy laughter. He couldn’t help but remember Dera's advice.

"Sir, he is not of the right age yet. You can't recruit him." The old man said hurriedly, afraid that the Officer would choose Draco. 'Looks like I will have no choice but to go with them.'

"Are you alright, Grandpa?" Draco asked, as he didn't forget his purpose for coming here.

"Sigh! You should not have come here, Draco." He shook his head helplessly. The old man was hoping that they would leave quickly so he wouldn’t have to face Draco, but that wasn't possible anymore.

He continued, "I'm going to be away for a while… Take care of the kids till I'm back." The old man instructed Draco with a stern expression.

The kids around showed sad expressions, some even having tears streaming down their faces.

But Draco ignored the old man. Walking in front of the Officer, he looked him in the eyes and spoke, "You can't take him away."

"Oh, and why is that?" The Officer asked curiously.

Draco's gaze turned serious, as he spoke, "Because… He'll kill you!" In a tone that dripped with warning, Draco stated something that made the old man rub his temples.

All the soldiers looked at the thin old man and tried their best to imagine his "prowess". Meanwhile, the kids showed barely any reaction, as if this was normal for them.

Before the Officer asked anything, Draco continued, "Ahem… What I mean is – he will get you killed. You see, I'm a responsible citizen and I don't want you to be scammed to death by this old man."

"Scammed? How?" The Officer was now really interested in what the teen in front of him was saying. And he was not worried about the recruitment as he had already decided not to leave this place empty-handed.

Draco shook his head, "Can't you see how eager he is to leave this place?" he asked.

The Officer took a look at the old man and nodded. He had also felt weird that someone would be so eager to leave with him, as all the others they had recruited didn’t show such eagerness.

"Why do you think he's so eager to leave, huh?" Draco scoffed. "That's because he wants to dump the responsibilities of these children on me." He pointed at all the kids. The kids acted in sync and nodded while their faces contained pitiful expressions.

The soldiers, especially the recently recruited troops, looked at orphan children and felt pity for them. Some even looked at the old man with a disgusted expression, making him shake his head helplessly.

"Listen, kid-" The Officer opened his mouth to make it clear that he only cared about his mission, but Draco interrupted him.

"Forgive me, Mr. Officer. But I can't let this old man go with you. Not because I'm afraid to take care of these children." Draco spread his arms as a bunch of kids squeezed together to give him a group hug.

"Listen, we-"

"I know, Officer. It is your duty to assemble a strong team to fight against our enemies, but taking this old man with you is not worth the risk," Draco stated.

And he continued, "Besides, that's not even the main problem." His expression turned serious, his tone ominous. Seeing his face, some of the new recruits even swallowed their saliva due to nervousness.

"This guy here has got a bunch of diseases. Some of them are even contagious. While it is no problem for all of us who have already become immune to this disease-carrying animal, tell me… what will happen if you leave such a person with a bunch of healthy people who are about to go fight for our country? Do you want to take the risk? And would your superiors even allow someone like him to join the battle? He would probably be relieved of his duties right there…" Draco huffed as he finished speaking. "How cunning!" Throwing a disgusted glace at his Grandpa, he shook his head with an expression that said, "I've already warned you, don't come and complain if anything happens later on."

The Officer finally turned serious, as even though the rest of what he spouted might sound exaggerated, the thing about a contagious disease was no joke. After all, there won't only be his team that will be present at the camp. And, if the situation with this old man is true, then taking him to the camp would only be a shortcut to punishment.

'Well, whatever. I just need one more person for my quota; I just need to think of a way to make this young man come with us.' Lost in his thoughts, the Officer suddenly frowned, "What's this smell?"

"Ah Grandpa! You forgot to take your stomach medicine again?" Draco screamed while pointing at the old man's feet. "Forgive me, Officer. I forgot to give him his medicine, now his condition is acting up."

The Officer and the soldiers moved their gazes and found a blob of a greenish-brown gooey substance flowing down the old man's feet. A nauseating smell filled the air and some of the soldiers couldn't help themselves from vomiting.

Blergh! Blergh! Blergh!

An unpleasant symphony was created unintentionally, making the situation even more disgusting.

The Officer looked at all this as his cheek twitched. Now he was really thanking his stars. Taking this old man with them would have been a disaster.

Meanwhile, the old man himself was also stunned, 'Damn it! What kind of jelly did they mix this time? They always tease me with this fake jelly goo, but this time it really smells like…' His expression changed as he turned his nose and tried to avoid looking at the blob any further.

"Ahem." The Officer coughed to call attention. "Alright. You are a good child. Fortunately, you saved us from facing a disaster. And for that, I will exempt your grandpa." He gave up the idea of recruiting anyone from this place. He now only wanted to leave this place, lest his group catch any weird disease.

The new recruits showed an envious expression when they heard the old man getting exempted. Only a few of them were going willingly, after all.

"Turn!" The Officer ordered the troops to prepare.

Just as he turned to leave, "Wait Officer."

"What do you need now, kid?" asked the Officer impatiently.

Draco rubbed his head as he spoke with a smile, "Can I come with you?"

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