“So this is where you were all gathered.”
The commander stepped inside, sweeping his gaze over the inn. The sound of his footsteps alone made the air sink heavily.
The armor of the soldiers who followed him in clanged against each other, filling the inn with metallic noise.
“...Sir Liv.”
Among the soldiers, Sergeant Jackson came into view.
“Stand back.”
At the commander’s cold, dry order, the soldiers halted by the door. Only then did he fix his gaze on us.
There was no gratitude in his eyes, no regret. Only a cold, peculiar calculation showed through.
“You fought well these past few days. I’ll acknowledge that. But we can no longer put this off.”
“...What do you mean?”
I asked in a deliberately calm voice.
“It’s an order from above.”
His lips twisted, and the words that followed fell heavily.
“Tonight, all forces, including you, will move to the northwestern coast. There’s been a report that their base is located there.”
Valdik frowned.
“Their base...? Is there any guarantee that’s true?”
Besides, knowing where their base was meant someone behind the scenes had found out.
Then why hadn’t they revealed that from the start?
The commander raised the corner of his mouth as if sneering.
“It doesn’t matter whether there’s a guarantee or not. It’s an order, so you follow it.”
For a moment, a compressed silence settled over the inn. Sailun glanced at me uneasily.
The commander’s tone was an order, but at the same time, it sounded as though he were testing us.
‘...That fucking bastard.’
Holding back the anger boiling up inside me, I slowly steadied my breathing and faced the commander.
“...Then let’s discuss the conditions first.”
The commander’s eyes flashed.
As though he had been waiting for me to say exactly that.
“Since this battle may be the last, the checkpoint inspection you wanted so badly may be resumed.”
“That’s only natural, isn’t it?”
Considering who I was dealing with, my words did not come out politely.
“...What do you want?”
After pausing briefly, the commander asked directly.
“What can you offer? I’m afraid I don’t know much about such things.”
I had no reason to answer right away either.
Negotiation, in the end, was a battle over who showed their cards first.
We went back and forth with “you make the first offer,” and the conversation dragged on.
“Taking this attitude won’t do you any good.”
The commander gradually lowered his voice, lacing it with threat.
But we had already fought several battles.
We were no longer dull enough to be shaken by such intimidation.
Rather, when he met our tense, sharpened gazes, it was the commander who flinched for a moment, then looked away first in discomfort.
I kept my eyes fixed on him for a while, then slowly narrowed them and opened my mouth.
“The one this won’t do any good for is you.”
My fingers, resting on the table, tapped lightly against the end of my staff.
It was a small sound, but the eyes of my comrades, sharpened by battle, followed it. Sailun was biting his lip, and Valdik’s brows were already drawn tightly together.
“...What did you say?”
The commander’s brow twitched. In the instant our eyes met, I was certain.
He did not have complete control of this place.
Outwardly, he blustered, but deep in his eyes, fatigue and unease were layered one over another.
“The ones who hold back the monsters every day are us and the soldiers, not you alone.”
I continued in a low but firm voice.
“You know better than anyone that the soldiers are already exhausted. If you keep pushing them like this, the front line will collapse, and standing behind that collapsed front line will be your own position.”
The words flowed quietly over the table, but the air inside the inn grew even sharper.
Valdik openly swept his gaze over the commander’s armored shoulders and snorted, while even Sailun, despite his tension, showed a piercing look in his eyes.
“You bastard... Have you lost your mind?”
The commander spoke low through clenched teeth.
But at that moment, from the other side of the inn, Sergeant Jackson slowly took one step forward.
“Commander...”
His brief call barely trembled at all. Yet that single word shook the atmosphere.
The commander’s gaze pinned itself on Jackson. For a moment, a wordless current passed between them.
I did not miss that opening.
“Present your conditions. Otherwise... in the next battle, the soldiers will have to hold out without us.”
At that instant, everyone in our party sitting inside the inn glared at the commander at the same time.
No one drew a sword, but the atmosphere was no different from blades pressed against each other. One wrong word, and blood would spill immediately.
The commander’s hand unconsciously brushed over his scabbard.
At that small movement, Valdik’s hand rose to his own sword, and Sailun, though his eyes wavered, also moved his hand toward his weapon.
A suffocating silence.
The commander’s lips trembled. His eyes shifted from arrogance to rage, then to unease, and finally to suppressed fear.
He must have instinctively known that the moment he drew his sword, even he could not guarantee the outcome.
“...Hmph.”
He let out a deep breath and, at last, took a step back. He withdrew the hand that had been resting on the table and forced a calm expression onto his face.
“Fine. Then let’s do this.”
His voice still tried to carry authority, but less than half of its earlier force remained.
“I’ll arrange additional compensation as well.”
“...How much?”
“One gold coin per person.”
The tension stretched taut inside the inn slowly eased.
Valdik snorted and crossed his arms, and Sailun let his shoulders sag slightly. Sergeant Jackson, eyes closed, let out the faintest sigh of relief.
I looked at him for a while, then slowly nodded.
“If that’s the amount, it’s acceptable.”
I paused briefly, then spoke again.
“...However, it’s difficult to trust a promise made only in words.”
The commander stopped walking. His steps stiffened, and his head slowly turned toward me. His eyes were asking, “What did you say?”
“Put it in a contract.”
I spoke firmly.
“If we hold back the next battle, the checkpoint inspection will be resumed immediately, and our party will be given top priority to pass through. Additional compensation will also be promised. Put those three things in writing.”
For a moment, the air inside the inn turned cold again.
Valdik let out a snicker, and Sailun looked at my face with wide eyes. Even Sergeant Jackson suddenly lifted his head, unable to hide his surprise.
“...Ha.”
The commander gave a low laugh. But there was a strange tremor mixed into it.
“Do you think this situation is a joke? The battlefield is a day away, and you want me to scribble on paper?”
“It isn’t a joke.”
I stared at him without the slightest wavering in my eyes.
“You’ve been pushing us around with nothing but verbal promises until now. At the very least, if it’s put in writing, you won’t be able to overturn it so easily.”
The commander’s face gradually hardened.
He snorted as if it were absurd and glanced back at the soldiers, but no one laughed.
Instead, Sergeant Jackson bowed his head heavily.
They were people who had felt the power of my magic on the battlefield time and again.
That was probably why they knew I was not speaking empty words.
“...”
After a long silence, the commander clenched his teeth and took out a small scroll from inside his armor. It was a simple document used on the battlefield to record orders or reports.
“Fine. We’ll see how this goes.”
He spread it out on the table and began writing, pressing hard with each stroke.
The sound of the pen nib scratching across the paper spread harshly through the inn.
The sharp, rough letters seemed to contain his emotions.
After signing and stamping his seal at the end, he slapped the scroll down onto the table.
“Is that enough?”
I slowly picked it up and checked it carefully.
The contents were exactly as I had demanded. Immediate resumption of checkpoint inspection after victory in battle, top-priority passage for our party, and payment of additional compensation.
And below it, the name written there: Rellion Crosswood.
‘So he was of noble birth after all.’
After confirming it, I smiled faintly and nodded.
“Now I can feel at ease.”
The commander’s jaw twitched unpleasantly.
“...You really are persistent.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Tch.”
He led the soldiers out of the inn.
He glared at us without turning his back until the very end, and only withdrew his gaze the moment he opened the door and stepped outside.
All that remained was the chilly air, and the fact that we had to prepare for the battle that would soon descend upon us again.
As I rolled the contract tightly and tucked it at my waist, I thought,
‘I managed to make him take one step back. But... this is only the beginning.’
Silence returned to the inn.
Even after the commander had left, tension still lingered where he had stood.
Valdik was the first to speak.
“Heh, he lowered his tail in the end. Looks like that bastard has plenty he doesn’t want exposed.”
Sailun glanced at the contract and asked,
“But... Brother. Will this really be of any use? Just because something like that exists, will he actually keep it?”
I slowly rolled up the scroll and secured it at my waist as I answered.
“At least we have justification now. That’s what matters.”
“Justification?”
“Yeah. If those bastards break their promise from now on, this becomes proof that we’re the victims. It isn’t just a piece of paper. It’s that bastard’s leash.”
“...I see.”
As long as the contract existed, unless they intended to kill us all, they would not be able to move recklessly. The room for them to do something insane had certainly narrowed.
“If worst comes to worst, we slip out again at night. According to the contract, we’re people who should already be allowed through.”
“Ah... Understood.”
Sailun still looked uneasy, but he forced himself to nod. Ranson, arms crossed, smiled bitterly and muttered.
“The problem is when that leash will snap.”
A little while later, footsteps climbing the ladder could be heard. Sergeant Jackson entered the inn and approached with a grave expression. He looked around, then whispered in a low voice.
“...Be careful tonight.”
“What do you mean?”
When I asked with a frown, Jackson hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“Because of that document, the commander was badly shaken. He certainly won’t report it to his superiors. But... that doesn’t mean he’ll sit back and do nothing.”
His gaze turned beyond the inn window, into the thick darkness outside.
“I cannot say for certain that the promise will be kept until the next battle ends.”
“Are you saying that man will break his promise again?”
At my question, Jackson shook his head vigorously.
“No. This may be hard for you to believe, but the man I have served would never do such a thing. However... it is certain that pressure is coming from above.”
Above.
Did that mean the kingdom itself, or was it an order from some higher-ranking noble above that commander?
“Whatever it is, judging by how the same pattern has repeated itself so far, some measure will be taken this time as well. You must be careful.”
Leaving that short warning behind, Jackson hurried out of the inn.
The cup left on the table trembled. From outside came the faint sound of someone passing by, and the heavy scrape of iron armor.
Valdik muttered lowly.
“...So now we don’t just have to stop the monsters.”
I quietly pressed my hand against the spot at my waist where the contract was tucked.
One thin sheet of paper.
But to me, it was a weapon, and at the same time, a thorn in their side.
‘I hope it doesn’t come to the point where I have to shove this contract in their faces.’
At that moment.
The sound of a horn erupted from beyond the walls.
We looked at one another’s faces and sprang to our feet at the same time.
The battle was about to begin.
Once this battle was over, would they truly keep their promise?
Or would they erase us before then, to make the promise as if it had never existed?
Perhaps it could be both.
***
After the battle ended, that night.
As promised, we came out to the shore.
No, to be honest, it was closer to being dragged here than coming out of our own will. Perhaps fearing we might run away, the soldiers had come directly to the inn and brought us.
“They really gathered the entire force.”
Sailun murmured softly.
“At this rate, it looks like they even pulled almost everyone from the checkpoint guard detail.”
“Then maybe...?”
Sailun narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings.
Valdik replied with a cold laugh.
“You want to run now? They can probably feel us even glancing around from where they are.”
Indeed, the tension carried on the sea breeze pressed down heavily.
The gazes of several soldiers boring into our backs felt less like they were looking at fellow comrades and more like they were watching targets under surveillance.
Of course, there were more soldiers who looked on us favorably.
‘Even so, if we move carelessly, it’ll be dangerous.’
In the end, for now, we had no choice but to go along with this current.
By the time the sea breeze had chilled my body.
Crunch, crunch.
The heavy sound of military boots came across the sandy beach.
“Is everyone gathered?”
The commander walked out from among the flickering torches behind us. Among the soldiers, only his armor gleamed strangely.
“I’ll keep this brief, then we depart.”
His voice mixed with the wind, yet it rang out strangely clearly.
“We will board ships and carry out an operation at sea, in the area presumed to be their base.”
‘At sea...?’
This was a world without modern submarines or diving suits.
They were going to load soldiers onto mere waterproofed wooden boats and head into the middle of the ocean?
‘That... makes no sense.’
Beside me, Sailun whispered with his face gone pale.
“Brother, that... We heard that right, didn’t we?”
Valdik muttered through clenched teeth.
“That damned bastard. He’s out of his mind. He’s saying we should fight monsters in the middle of the sea.”
I remained silent for a long while, then looked back at the commander.
The bastard continued speaking as if it were nothing, as if it were only natural.
“They have been avoiding the island’s defenses and growing their forces at sea. Only by striking that place first can we end this wretched Wave.”
His words sounded plausible.
But...
‘He’s telling us to go straight into that hell.’
It was nothing more than bullshit asking us to die with him.