I tilted my head in slight confusion, staring at Ria.
“It’s not… that you… shouldn’t… It’s more… That there is... no time… for it... You should… focus on... the things... that will help… right now…”
“Ahhh…”
So, rather than my sudden inspiration I got from Elina I should rather focus on getting the hang of using that charm? Mhm… That made sense. Time was limited right now. No choice but to delay it until we came back… Too bad…
“Then we’ll practise that charm, huh…”
“Not only… the Charm…”
“Nn?”
“We’ll need… to gather your… dolls…”
“Ahh. Nn.”
Well, that was relatively easy to do.
“But first… we practise… that Charm… of yours…”
“Nn. Okay.”
The Charm… The Charm, huh.
I turned around and looked at Karen. She was munching on her food while listening to Ria and me but when I turned to look at her, she returned the look.
“Mhm… Yumi?”
“Nn… Nothing.”
It was hard for me to let go of my worries about using that Charm magic on her. But she had already made her point in regards to that so I should accept that…
“First, we should eat, though.”
“Mm… That would… be a good… idea…”
With a small sigh, I picked up my dinner… We had gotten a weird kind of stiff bread filled with meat and vegetables that we could carry around. In other words, it was the type of food you could bring around and eat at work. There was no relaxed dinner. You really could feel their work ethic here… Thankfully, this wasn’t the norm.
“... Ria, should I already call for the dolls while we eat?”
If it was just the dolls, I could do it while eating. Probably.
Oh, this bread was actually quite good.
“Mhm… Mm… No… Not yet… Later… The Captain… had something planned… until then… Let them... help out… with preparations…”
“Nn, if you say so.”
They were helping out? Then, it was probably bad to call them over now, yeah.
“Nn… Do we at least know when we will be moving out now?”
We only knew that we would do the job but not when.
“Mm… The Captain… will probably… gather everyone… later... and announce it… Right now… we should work… assuming it… to be at… the earliest… possible time…”
“I see.”
So that’s why everyone was in such a hurry to get things done.
“Ria, don’t you have anything to prepare?”
“Mm… I don’t… Or rather… my preparation… is to rest...”
“To rest?”
“Yes… We are… magicians… We aren’t… allowed… to help out… because it tires… us out… And we’re needed…”
“Oh...“
In that case, Wenners and Krutz were probably also resting right now… And Wendl, too.
“Everyone has… their own work… to do… You two… have to prepare… in your own way…”
“Nn.”
Which meant getting that Charm to work.
“I am... looking forward… to it…”
“Huh? Why?”
Ria smiled when I asked her.
“Do you… remember… what kind… of position… the Captain… wanted you… to take?”
“Nn? Uhm…”
Position? Position… She probably didn’t mean our position as magician apprentices… Then… Oh… There was… one thing.
“... The banner?”
“That’s right…”
I see… The banner, huh… So that’s why Ria wanted me to practise the Charm now. Korwen had said it would be helpful for morale if I would carry the banner.
“This time… we are fighting… against other… humanoids… Rather than forming… small squads… tasked with… different jobs… We work more… like an army… this time…”
“An army…”
I nibbled on my food as I let those words sink in.
“Are you… scared?”
“Nn? Well...”
“Hehe… It is… normal… to feel so… No… It’s probably… good… to do so…”
“Good? Why?”
“Someone… who lost… their fear… of fighting… against others… against people… can never… be a good… mercenary…”
They can’t be a good mercenary?
“Those who lose… their fear… die an early… death… Fear… is paramount… to your… survival… But… being too… scared… is also… not good…”
“...”
“The most important… thing to a… mercenary… is their lives… That’s why… fearing death… is normal… We all… fear it… That’s… what makes us different… from the army… and their… soldiers… They fight… for their country… and the… country… is the most… important…”
Fearing death but not being controlled by fear… That’s what she was trying to say, right? Well, I sure didn’t intend to die so…
“Karen… the same… goes for… you too…”
“Me?”
“Yes… You don’t want… to die… or Yumi… to die… right?”
“Of course not!”
“Good… As long… as you don’t… forget that...”
Ria nodded, satisfied with Karen’s response.
“Then… We should slowly… start…”
“Nn? But we’re still…”
I threw a glance to Karen, expecting her to still be eating as well. Well, she wasn’t… Sorry that I was so slow… Ugh… Time to eat a little faster. I quickly finished the remainder of my food, stuffing it into my mouth.
“Nn… Done…”
“Good… Now… Karen… Sit over… there… and Yumi… over here…”
“Nn.”
“Okay.”
We sat down on the chairs Ria prepared, facing each other.
“Mhm… Yumi…”
“Nn?”
“Do you remember… How you used… it back then?”
“Nn, no. To be honest, I didn’t even know that I had used it.”
“Mhm… Unconsciously… Then… Just try… to cheer for… Karen… for now… Also… Just in case… Don’t say… something… That could have… a lasting… effect…”
“A lasting effect?”
What did she mean with that?
“Yes… For example… If you… told her… to hate you… She might… really do so… In the future…”
“... I’ll be really careful, I promise.”
I definitely wouldn’t survive that.
“Good… Then… Mhm… How about… You do a simple… ‘Do your… best today...’ or something… like that? ”
“Nn…”
That sounded doable. Having decided what to say, I turned to Karen. I was a little nervous. Seriously. I cleared my throat once and then looked directly into her eyes. And after taking a deep breath...
“Sis, do your best today!”
“...”
“...”
Silence. Nobody said anything... And I even threw my fist into the air! I’d really like it if they could stop just staring. It was embarrassing!
“Mhm… Nothing. Karen?”
“Uhm… I don’t think it did anything? It was cute so I’d do my best anyway but…”
“I see… Yumi?”
“... The only thing I feel is this need to burrow myself.”
“So... nothing.”
Yes, nothing.
“Mhm… Do you have… any idea… why... it did… nothing?”
“Nn… No? Not really.”
“Mm… That is… unfortunate… Then… You just have… to do it… until you can… do it…”
“... Seriously?”
Even once was really embarrassing… And she wanted me to do it even more? I mean, I totally understood that in my head but my emotions told me otherwise…
“Mhm… Try to… recall… The situation… back then… Or… Mhm… what about… the time… Yumelia… used the… Charm?”
“... Yumelia?”
Oh right, she had used the Charm as well back then. Although it didn’t work at all on us… What happened back then again…
If I recall it correctly… She was suggesting something to the Captain… Oh right, it was about her ‘request’ and that she wanted to… Uhm... service the Captain… Yeah… Then… I saw the mana… vibrating, right?
Usually, the mana was thrown into a small turmoil when magic was cast. But that time, it was vibrating. Like, when you threw a pebble into water and the small waves extended from there…
Maybe it has something to do with the reason it was vibrating?
“Ria, if I remember it right, that Charm at the time was more like… vibrating the mana in our surroundings. Do you know why?”
“Ahh… That… Mhm… Wait a moment…”
“Nn?”
Ria stood up from her seat to the side and walked to her pile of books.
“This isn’t… quite my… area of… expertise… but I… remember having… a book… discussing this…”
A few seconds later, she pulled a book out of the pile and sat down again. She started to flick through the pages of the book, looking for something.
“Mhm… Where was… it… Ah… No… Not that… Mm… Ah… Here…”
After she found the page she was looking for, she silently read it. A short while later, she nodded and turned to me…
“Mhm… It is… likely… because it is… a vocal… magic…”
“A vocal magic?”
“Yes… The researcher… who wrote… this book… assumes… That magic… that is… invoked… through sound… Or rather… where… the effects… are carried… by sound… And those… types of magic… cause the mana… to vibrate…”
“Nn? Carried by sound?”
Wasn’t that… like how normal sound was just vibrations in the air?
Now that I think about it… That does make sense somehow… But the more I hear, the more I feel that magic is actually not that far from physics and science...
Maybe I had distanced myself too much from it. It wasn’t even the only thing… Ria and the others had told me a few times that you needed a clear understanding of the magic, didn’t they? The magic I could use instinctively… My instinct did whatever I needed to know… But… for everything else… Maybe I need a clearer understanding of how they work?
“Vocal magic…”
With that said… There was no way I could ever understand how I was affecting someone’s emotions with magic…
Wait… maybe I don’t even need to? Lust mana affects emotions either way… And I doubt Yumelia understood the intricacies of such a thing herself… Then… It might be worth a try.
Either way, the first step was probably to get the mana into the air… In that case…
“Nn, Ria, can you use any magic like that?”
“No... I can’t...”
“I see…”
Well, worth a try… Then I had to figure it out myself… Mhm… If I treated it similar to sound… the vocal cords? Where were the vocal cords? Somewhere around the throat? Yeah…
“Nn… Sis, I’ll try it again.”
“Okay.”
I probably should focus on the area in my throat when I wanted to use the Charm magic. In other words, while I was speaking.
Once more, I cleared my throat, then took a deep breath.
“Sis, do your best today!”
“...”
“...”
Silence… Did… Did it not work? Apparently not…
“Mhm… It felt… like something… happened… but…”
“I didn’t feel anything.”
“Mhm… But it was… already… a step… forward… Maybe...”
A step forward, huh… So I wasn’t too wrong? Mhm… If only I knew where exactly the vocal cords were… Maybe I could find out? I tried gathering some magic in my throat for a new attempt. If I paid attention to that mana, maybe I could notice something.
“Sis, I’ll try again.”
“Okay. I’m ready when you are.”
“Nn. Then…”
Clearing throat and a deep breath.
“Sis, do your best today!”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Eh? Ah… Uhm… Give me a hug? Wah?!”
My vision disappeared as I was suddenly hugged by Karen. A full-blown, strong hug.
“Sis? Sis!”
No reaction. It’s just a Karen hugging me.
“No, Sis! I need air! Air!”
“Eh? Ah! Yumi?! Sorry!”
Finally, she let go.
“Haaa… I can breath again…”
Well… That… Did that mean it actually worked?
“Mhm… There definitely... was something…”
“So, Yumi charmed me?”
“Seems… like it…”
So it worked… While that made me a little happy, I didn’t have the chance to really take note of what happened to the mana in my throat. Karen’s sudden question threw me a bit for a loop.
“It was a bit… strong though…”
“Strong?”
“Yes… Rather than… a Charm… it was more… like you… compelled her… to action…”
“Uhh…”
True… Though, being hugged forcefully like that was quite nice… Ehehe...
“Did you… figure out… the difference?”
“Nn… Well… You said that it was similar to sound, right? So, I thought maybe the magic is cast at the vocal cords?”
“The vocal… cords?”
“Ahh… It’s a part in our throat that allows us to speak.”
“I see… That makes… sense… Mhm… Interesting… I will take… note of this...”
Ria took out a notebook and wrote some notes into it. Not sure which part she was thinking was interesting, though… The vocal cords or that I cast the magic there. Or both.
“Nn… Guess I’ll need to try using less mana this time then… Sis, are you ready?”
“...”
“Sis?”
“Uhm… Yumi?”
“Nn?”
Karen was blushing for some reason as she was looking at me.
“Uhm…”
“Nn? What is it, Sis?”
“Well…”
She was fidgeting a little and rubbing her thighs against each other… Her… thighs?
“Sis… Really?”
“Ah?! I, I can’t help it, Yumi! It just happened!”
Well then, another attempt. I used less mana this time, not even half. Probably should be enough considering Karen’s strong reaction. Mhm, speaking of which, maybe I could… Yeah, I could try that. Now then...
“Sis, calm down a little!”
“... I’m calm, though?”
She tilted her head in confusion. Did it not work But I could feel the mana moving. Or rather, since I properly paid attention this time… A part of the clump of mana in my throat was clearly vibrating. So, there, huh… That was a really small area. Maybe a little larger than my thumb.
“Nn, but how about… That…”
“Eh? Uhh… You’re right, I feel a little better.”
“Nn, that’s good.”
“... Is it really good?”
She seemed a little disappointed actually… Well, we were at work. Even if she felt horny, there was no way we could do it right now.
Wait, how come she was even feeling horny? She had no problem with the Lust mana in our wagon, did she? Weird...
“Anyway… Nn, I think I figured it out more or less.”
“That was surprisingly fast.”
“... Nn.”
Admittedly, it was fast. I expected us to take way longer as well. Not that you would hear me complaining.
“Mm… Then… You have enough… time to practise… it now…”
“Nn? But…”
“You might have… figured it out… how to do… it… But… that is… all… How strong… The effects… and so on… Those need to… be considered… as well…”
“Ah… You’re right…”
So much to ‘fast’ and all that…
“Nn… Well… Guess we’ll be at it for a little more…”
“Seems like it.”
---
Around an hour or so later, Ria finally released us. After I more or less grasped how to use the Charm magic, we practised the entire time. By now, I had a good enough feel for it that I could control how strong the compelling force was. Somewhere in between, Ria had called someone else to help out and play my target. What we noticed was, that the effects were a lot weaker on someone I barely knew.
It reminded me of the book I had read at Wendl’s place: The effectiveness of some types of Lust magic are determined by the affection the target has for me.
In other words, Karen was really receptive to the Charm magic, while others weren’t so much. If someone was wary of me, they probably wouldn’t be affected at all unless I used an enormous amount of mana.
Another thing we noticed was that I could use the Charm as long as I gathered mana at my vocal cords with the intent to use the magic. There was no need for anything else. Even normal everyday speech would be fine, just that it didn’t have any large effect. Ria said that it would likely make others more open and friendly towards me if I used it like that, as long as they weren’t outright averse to it. Not that we could test it.
With that said, right after we finished, we were told to gather. Korwen had an announcement to make, just as Ria had expected to.
“Nn, that’s a lot of people.”
“Nearly all the mercenaries are gathered here right now.”
“Nn.”
It was similar to that time in the fort when Korwen made his speech. Just, this time there wouldn’t be any annoyances around to complain.
“Nn, I can’t see…”
“I can’t see anything either…”
The curse of small people. We had just arrived and among the large mercenaries, neither of us could see what was happening.
“Mhm… Excuse me…”
Ria tapped the mercenary in front of us on his shoulder
“Mh? What is it?”
“Could you… let those… two to… the front?”
“Nn?”
Huh? Ria pointed at Karen and me as she asked the man. He looked towards us and then immediately made way.
“Of course, no problem. Hey, you bastards, make some way. We got some coming through!” the man shouted towards the people in front of him.
“Huh? Oh, no problem!”
“With pleasure! Go ahead girlies!”
“Make way!”
A second later, there was a small path made by the mercenaries as they waved us through… Seriously?
“Uhm… I guess we should go, Yumi?”
“Nn…”
A little embarrassed, we took them up on the offer nonetheless, thanking them on our way through. They only replied with smiles and telling us that it was no problem or that we were welcome. Not long after and we were right up at the front.
“Ohh… There’s the Captain.”
“Mr Greyward is with him too.”
“Nn. And Mr Ruben.”
The three of them were waiting a little in the back while some other mercenaries were carrying a large table into the middle. Will, the king, wasn’t present, though.
We waited for a few minutes until they had set up everything. Korwen and the other two climbed onto the table so that everyone could see them. After a cursory glance at the crowd, he nodded to himself and began.
“Men! Attention!” he shouted.
Not even a second later, everyone fell quiet, their gazes directed at Korwen.
“A lot of things happened the past few weeks! The incident at the Hollow Fort. The skirmish in the forest right after! The accusations made towards us here at the capital! And finally, we were outright attacked just today! Cowardly ambushers aiming for our men and those we were protecting!”
He paused, letting the words sink in. A few murmurs could be heard from here and there but nothing much.
“We even lost some of our less inexperienced. In combat against trolls, lured in by the cowards! They fought with their lives on the lines. It makes me proud to say they fought with honour! But it shames me to say that we couldn’t save their lives.”
Lured in? Weren’t they there because they were driven away? Oh, everyone seemed to be getting riled up in response to Korwen’s words. Was that why he said it like that?
“We cannot let this slight go by idly! They are looking down on us!”
Another pause. A little further away from us, some mercenaries were getting quite loud. From the looks of it, they seemed to be some of the younger mercenaries. Korwen threw them a glance and they quickly calmed down, though.
“We have to repay this slight. And the chance to do so has come to us! Ruben, the commander of the Hollow Fort and hero to the Lafrian people has come to us, asking for aid! Aid to extinguish the enemies within their nation! Rotten nobles and merchants! Spies of the Akkian Empire! And...”
Korwen looked over the crowd.
“... the Witch Worshippers.”
Again, the mercenaries started murmuring, mostly in surprise this time. I could hear even the older ones close by voicing their surprise.
“You all know of our elven guests! We might have had a little falling out in the beginning but now we know that they, too, were just victims of circumstances. These circumstances being the fanatic worshippers! They have been tricked and attacked us! And the Worshippers are likely involved in the other incidents just as much as they were in this one! They might even be the ones who called those trolls!”
They definitely were involved, from what we knew already… But the trolls? Well, bending the truth a little... Not my place to complain about.
“And so, we were asked to fight these fanatics! They have taken over a village to the north, planning even more atrocities! I have accepted this job! It presents us to make right for our fallen comrades!”
Shouts and bellows followed those words of his.
“We will show those worshippers what it means to mess with us! With the Dragon Knights of Lomeria!”
“””Ohhhhhh!”””
“We will move out by dawn! Prepare well! We will not hold back!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd. Seeing the reaction, Korwen nodded and then turned around, stepping down from the table. Ruben and Greyward followed him.
The cheers continued for a good while but slowly died down as more and more of the mercenaries left to make their preparations. After a short while nearly everyone was gone, only a few remaining.
“Nn, that was quite… a thing.”
“It is…”
The way he delivered it was astonishing. You could really feel the trembling and the anger in his voice at certain points. I didn’t know if it was on purpose or if those were his true emotions leaking out… but it sure made an impact.
“Nn… What do we do now?”
“I don’t know… I really feel like doing something, though.”
“Nn…”
Considering how I had just practised the Charm magic, seeing Korwen make this speech hit even closer. He didn’t even need magic to make people listen to him and spur them into action.
“Ah, Yumi! Karen!”
“Nn? Merim?”
“Finally, I found you two. Where were you?”
“Right here. The entire time.”
“Seriously?”
“Nn.”
Merim, who had just rushed over to us, let his head hang.
“I should’ve known it… Well, whatever, could you two come along?”
“Nn, of course we can.”
“Good.”
For some reason, Merim grinned mischievously.
“We have to dress you up for the occasion, don’t we?”
“... What?”
Dress me up?
“You heard me just right, Yumi. So, come on, we don’t have all night.”
“Wait, shouldn’t that happen, like, tomorrow morning?”
“You are expecting to sleep? You got quite the nerve.”
“... Can I cry? Hey, I can cry now, yes?”
“I was joking, okay? It was a joke.”
Thank the lord… I really would’ve cried. Probably.
“Wanda needs to make sure she got everything right. And the Captain wants to get an impression as well. He also has some other things to discuss.”
“... Nn. If that’s all.”
Seriously. I hated being scared like that. I’d definitely repay that sometime.
“Let’s go then. They’re waiting already.”
“Nn, okay.”
And so, Karen and I followed Merim. I first expected him to lead us to Wanda’s place but… much to my surprise, we were at Wormaz’ place. And his black wagon was still here as well. Korwen and Wormaz stood in front of it and were discussing something. Several weapons and some armour were laid down on a table nearby, including the large banner that I had carried before.
“Captain! I brought them!”
“Finally.”
Korwen, his arms crossed in front of his chest, turned around.
“Now we only need Wanda to turn up.”
He regarded us with a quick nod and then looked at Wormaz again.
“I guess there are no problems with what I asked you of, right?”
“Hmpf, should be doable. Just don’t complain to me later on if it doesn’t work out.”
“You have my full trust that it will work out.”
“You’re a real slaver, aren’t you? Tsk, I’ll see what I can do about it. But I’ll need some measurements to work with first.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Yumi.”
Suddenly, he turned to me.
“Call all the dolls over here, okay?”
“Nn, I can do that but… are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Well then…”
I already knew full well how many of them were around… And I really wondered how many they were now already… We’d find out soon enough, wouldn’t we?
“Ahem… Then… Dolls! Come here!”
“...”
And now we had to wait… Not for long, as expected. The first dolls already came running towards us.
“Quick as always, aren’t they.”
“Nn…”
“Hey, Dragon Captain.”
“Hm?”
“Been wondering for a while. You’re one brave bastard to keep someone with such odd magic around, aren’t you?”
“Just between us, I’ve seen much weirder magic already.”
He saw even weirder magic?
“At least, this magic has a lot of uses. Even now, I have yet to grasp the point of making a fart sound like a growling goblin. Not like the natural sound is much different.”
“Yeah, you’re right. That sounds pretty pointless.”
Well, uhh…. You could maybe make others believe there’s a goblin around and cover up the fart that way? The inventor was probably just embarrassed to be heard farting, wasn’t he?
In the meantime, a large amount of dolls had gathered around us. And they were still coming…
“Ah, stop, don’t climb me now! You can do that later, okay?”
And of course, some of them were impatient and immediately tried to climb me… Well, I could indulge them later but not now.
“Yumi, tell them to form rows and stand at attention.”
“Nn? Okay…”
He could do that too, though, right?
“Dolls! Form rows and stand at attention!”
Good. They immediately followed the orders. Once they had joined the formation, they all stood straight and saluted to me…
“Ten… Twenty… Twenty-nine… Mhm… Is that about all of them, Yumi?”
“Nn? I think so? Doesn’t seem like any more are coming.”
“Okay. But to think they’ve already become so numerous… Three-hundred and seventy-seven.”
“Nn? So many?”
That was… a lot of dolls…
“Yes. It’s interesting. You didn’t say anything other than forming rows and yet they formed lines of exactly thirteen. With twelve saluting and the frontmost standing at attention.”
“Huh? You’re right…”
The frontmost dolls were the only ones not saluting. Although, they did have their arms behind their back and their heads liften, as if they were looking at me.
“Maybe your dolls are possessed by former soldiers or mercenaries?”
“That…”
Would former soldiers or mercenaries try to climb me though?
“Anyway. Wormaz, this good enough?”
“Mhm, yes. Just need to take some measurements, then. Just saying it in advance, there’s no way I can make that many.”
“As many as you can do is good enough. You have other things to do as well, right? Just do as much as you can in between.”
“If you are fine with that.”
“Nn?”
What were they talking about?
“Mr Captain? Do you have something planned for the dolls?”
“Mh? Ah, right, I should explain. You remember about what happened in Arkesta, right? In the underground, what those dolls did.”
“Nn… I do.”
They had swarmed inside and… Killed some of those thugs and criminals. In rather… unpleasant ways.
“So I thought, if it is possible to make something like a weapon for those dolls.”
“A weapon? Like a sword?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes. Not a sword however. A sword that size is probably nothing more than a toothpick.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to fucking make one that size!” commented Wormaz.
“That anyway. But it might be possible to do other things. Spikes are one thing but maybe they can also make use of something a little larger if they work in tandem. Do you know of battering rams?”
“Not… really?”
I vaguely recalled hearing that before, though…
“You can think of them as large logs used to break open gates and the like, usually used by many people at once. They aren’t used that much anymore since cannons are similarly effective but possess more range.”
“I see…”
“Dragon Captain, it probably won’t work like that, though. The battering ram is strong because of its weight. If I give them a spear, it still won’t have the weight to pierce armour. It might barely injure an unprotected person.”
“Mhm, maybe a battering ram was a bad example…”
“I’ll try to think of something, but I won’t make promises, you hear? Those dollies seem to understand what you say anyway. If they’re smart enough for that, maybe they know what works too.”
They… actually might know, yeah…
“Well, even if we don’t find something, if you can make some kind of protection for them that will already help. My primary plan for them isn’t combat anyway.”
“Will see what I can do.”
“Great.”
His primary plan?
“Captain, what did you plan for them?”
“Working in the rear supplies. They can do a lot of menial tasks like resupplying crossbow bolts and arrows, medical supplies or even transporting the injured. It should help out a lot since we don’t have many men doing that kind of work. It’s mostly done by the older women from the families, those who have some experience. But with the dolls, we can keep them away from the combat.”
“Ohh…”
Could I apply for that work as well?
“And no, you got other things to do.”
“... Are you a mind reader?”
“No, but I know how you work by now. And you wouldn’t be the first one to ask anyway.”
“I see…”
Was worth a try. Actually, I didn’t even try, he just denied me before I could…
“Well, let’s wait for Wanda and then we can go over your part of the job.”
“Nn…”
He was grinning at me, just like Merim did earlier. These guys totally enjoyed this, didn’t they? Although, I had to say… I might enjoy it a little as well… The dressing up part, at least...
Rinne
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