Pov Hilda:
I was in my office even when most of the soldiers had gone to sleep leaving only those responsible for the night guard.
As the general in charge of security not only for this city but for the entire region, I have a lot of work to see every day like expense reports, patrol reports, crime reports, soldiers’ performance, etc.
For me, this has always been the best part of my job, which is why it means nothing important has happened, nothing that endangers the troops under my command or the civilians I must protect.
This work can be boring and incessant, but at least it shows that everything is at peace.
These situations where I stay up late here at the office working happen 2 or 3 times a week, it’s always something tiring for me, but at least when I’m done I can drink while enjoying the view of the ocean since my office is in one of the most city ??highs.
Sigh
“Finally finished…” (I)
When I’m done with the last document, I put everything away for a few seconds before heading over to the shelf where I keep my private liquor collection.
“…” (I)
I look at my sword beside the liquor cabinet but shake my head knowing it would be useless.
“Would you like a glass?” (I)
“I would, I’m surprised you like to drink, doesn’t match your industrious appearance.” (Zenos)
“I’ve never met anyone responsible for leading others who doesn’t have a drink in their office, that kind of work is very stressful at times.” (I)
“I think I can understand that.” (Zenos)
I grab two glasses and a bottle of my strongest drink, then take them to the couch where my unwanted guest is and set the glasses on the table between us, filling the glasses afterward.
“To what do I owe this middle-of-the-night break-in in my office?” (I)
“I apologize for coming in unannounced, but I didn’t want others to know about our conversation.” (Zenos)
“I also thank you for not taking your sword.” (Zenos)
“What would it do? I don’t think I would be able to make even a single scratch on you.” (I)
“You don’t have to keep hiding your face either, your name is enough to recognize from the wanted posters of the Church as Luz.” (I)
“Guess I don’t need to hide here, so it’s okay, I just wear this mask to avoid those persistent idiots.” (Zenos)
As he speaks he takes off his mask and lowers his hood revealing a youthful appearance that overflows with exotic and innocent beauty, but his different colored eyes show his true self.
His eyes are full of mystery and boundless depth, looking into them is like looking into an abyss, plus his emotions are completely under control.
I knew from the first time I saw him that it would be impossible to beat him in a battle, he doesn’t show it, but my instincts that I have cultivated after many battles say that I have no chance of winning against him.
“So let’s get this over with, I’m tired after seeing so many roles, all I want is to go home and get a good meal before bed.” (I)
“So tell me what you came here to do.” (I)
He wouldn’t come here for anything, I don’t even know when he came in when I saw him he was already sitting on the couch waiting for me if he wanted to do something against me I wouldn’t even have noticed him, besides he waited until I finished my job.
“I came to talk to you about an attack going on in this town.” (Zenos)
“…” (I)
I couldn’t help but get even more serious and let my Aura explode when I heard this, I looked seriously at Zenos who seemed to be calm, and realized that my Aura stopped a few meters away from me as if it was being impeded by something, so I looked at my sword that was still beside the liquor cabinet.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, of everyone in this town I’m sure you know that if I wanted to do something bad here, you wouldn’t be able to stop me, nor would I be such an idiot to come and talk to you about it.” (Zenos)
“Then try to keep control of your Aura so as not to alert the other soldiers, please.” (Zenos)
“…” (I)
He’s right, if he’s the one who’s going to attack, then there’s no reason to be here telling me this.
Sigh
“I suppose you came to tell me about this attack.” (I)
“Yes, I would also like to suggest a plan if you like?” (Zenos)
“(He’s up to something.)” (I)
“Why not, it might be useful.” (I)
“But tell me about the attack first.” (I)
“It looks like a fleet of pirates is going to attack this city, besides they are using some tricks to weaken the city before the attack.” (Zenos)
“There could be hundreds of pirate ships from what I heard, plus the number of pirates is over 3000.” (Zenos)
“…” (I) 𝙚𝙙𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙤𝙧𝒈
I don’t know where he got this information from, but this is much more serious than I expected, even not counting the tricks to weaken us he talked about, those numbers alone will be able to destroy more than half of the city and I’m not sure if we would be able to win in the end.
“That doesn’t make sense, pirates are greedy and don’t get along with each other, how would they be able to form such a large fleet? Besides, how would they be able to hide from us for so long?” (I)
“From the information I have, they have a leader who has conquered many pirates using fear to make them obey, it seems he is a mad Human by the name of the pirates.” (Zenos)
“He is known as Ivan the Butcher.” (Zenos)
“What did you say…” (I)
“But apart from his name, I can’t say exactly how you guys didn’t notice him, that’s your problem to find out later.” (Zenos)
“(I knew he was planning something, the smile he had on the day he disappeared was full of cruelty and hate, but after so many years without news, I thought he had died or gone somewhere else.)” (I)
“(If it’s him, then with his strength he would be able to subdue the pirates, besides he knows how we do our patrols, so it would be easy for him to hide for so long.)” (I)
“Looks like you already know him, from what I hear he has some strength, would you have someone capable of beating him?” (Zenos)
“…” (I)
“Yes…” (I)
“Very well, why don’t I plan to help in the battle, that’s your problem, the most I’ll do is give you a plan you can use.” (Zenos)
“What is this plan?” (I)
“The plan is…” (Zenos)