Maxi narrowed his eyes.
When she didn't speak up, Riftan said impatiently, "Your answer?"
She stared at his thick-toed boots before calmly asking, “How many knights… will you send?”
“About fifty.” Relief crossed his face, mistakenly interpreting her question as consent.
“Charon will go with you, and I will hire a maid to accompany you on the journey.”
"Thank you...
but I'll have to refuse.
I'm not going back," Maxi replied softly.
She snatched the books from his hands.
Riftan's eyebrow twitched.
He approached, his voice lowering.
“What did you say?”
“I… I’m not going back.”
Clutching the books to her chest, she took a step back.
She saw his jaw tighten.
Before he could say anything, she quickly continued, "D-Does it make sense for you to divide your men at a time like this?
Yes, the royal army is coming… but these knights are not loyal to you.
You should be consolidating more men under your command, no“"
He snorted.
“Are you trying to instruct me in military matters?”
1
The look he gave her, combined with the imperious way he spoke, made him seem irritatingly arrogant.
Maxi lifted his chin.
“Seeing as you are planning to send experienced knights away while we prepare for war… I thought you needed the advice.”
His eyes flared with anger.
“I don't need your advice,” he growled.
She felt foolish for waiting so long to talk to him.
Turning his back, he walked out the door and down the hall, leaving him in the library.
But, as she soon discovered, her steps were no match for his long legs.
“Is this your answer to my humble request?”
He followed beside her.
“H-Humble?” Maxi looked at him in disbelief, gritting his teeth.
"H-H-Humble, sir?
You clearly don't know the meaning of the word!"
"Good!
Then, I command.
Return to Anatol!"
“I refuse!” she shouted.
Servants passing through the hall stopped to watch curiously, but Maxi was so irritated that she didn't care about appearances.
She glared at him defiantly and continued marching.
Riftan, a few steps behind, made a subtle threat.
“I am your husband.”
“T-That’s surprising,” Maxi said, sniffling.
She increased her pace.
“I thought you forgot.”
“What does that mean?”
"What do you think?"
She raised her chin haughtily, looking at him.
“I don't feel like playing word games with you,” he said through gritted teeth.
“So… there’s nothing for us to talk about!”
She was almost running down the hallway at that moment.
Riftan grabbed his arm, causing all but one of the books to fall to the floor.
They didn't give the mess a second look.
He backed her into a corner, placing a hand on the wall next to her head, blocking her escape.
"You don't intend to listen to me, do you?
You always have to have your way."
“You’re the one who refuses to listen to me!” Maxi shouted.
She tried to push him hard, but he didn't move.
This only infuriated her more.
A brick wall was more malleable than this man.
"At least I wanted to argue with you!
But you...
don't even try to take my thoughts into consideration!
Even though I've told you countless times...
how much I care about you...
y-you never listen!
My words don't mean anything to you...
do they?"
Riftan's face turned dark red.
He opened his mouth wide, ready to retort, but closed it again when he saw tears shining in her eyes.
A moan resonated in his throat.
"It's not like that.
I...
I'm worried about the past repeating itself.
I never want to see you hurt." His eyes clouded.
“I would go crazy if something like that happened again.”
“I… didn’t know… anything about war back then,” Maxi murmured.
His shoulders sank as memories of the past came flooding back.
“I know you're worried about me,” she said carefully, pacified a little.
"But...
I can't let you make such a sacrifice.
At least...
let me stay here.
That way...
you won't need to send so many knights to protect me."
“That’s not an option!” Riftan bellowed without warning.
Maxi looked at him in shock.
She had considered this a great sacrifice on her part, so she was surprised by his warm response.He looked at her.
Then, in a voice filled with frustration, he said firmly, "I'm not leaving you here.
Have you already forgotten what happened last time?
There are crazed wizards out there creating undead monsters!
How can I leave you here knowing this?"
Maxi looked at him hopefully.
“So the only option is… I go with you.”
His face visibly contorted.
Rubbing his forehead as if to shake off a headache, he spat out the words firmly.
“Go back to Anatol.”
“If I do this… will it really bring peace to your mind?” she said softly.
"Don't you think...
that the journey back would be more dangerous?
Even when I was traveling with the Temple Knights, the path to Anatol was treacherous."
Her heart leapt with joy when she saw him hesitate.
“Being among thousands of experienced soldiers may be the safest choice,” she continued.
“And… you’d probably feel more comfortable if I stayed in sight.”
The same applied to her as well.
She recalled her extreme anxiety when Riftan did not return from the reconnaissance mission.
Now that he had experienced that terrible feeling of his heart shrinking in his chest, the idea of living in that state for months was distressing.
At that moment, she decided to go with Riftan no matter what.
"If it worries you so much...
I promise never to go near the front lines.
I-I will help the war effort from the rear as part of the medical unit."
Riftan's lips pressed into a thin line.
He seemed to consider for a second.
Then he said sharply, "No, no more arguing.
Anywhere would be safer than the battlefield.
I'm not taking you with me to that hell."
“I too… cannot allow you to go to war with just over a hundred knights.”
Annoyed by his stubborn refusal to compromise, Maxi shot him an icy glare.
The tendons swelled from his strained neck.
His voice dropped to a dangerous growl.
“And how exactly do you intend to stop me?”
Something inside her broke.
She threw the book into his hands with all her might.
The spine hit him directly on the chin, and he took a step back, cursing.
Still too angry to feel sorry, she continued to rage, not caring if anyone was watching.
"Alright!
Go ahead, do whatever you want!
B-Because I'll do the same!"
“Damn, Maxi“”
“L-Let go of me!”
She ripped his arm from her grip and fled down the hall.
Maxi's immediate next step was to look for Calto and inform him of his decision to join the coalition army.
Calto gladly accepted.
As it turned out, Anette, Miriam and Armin had already volunteered.
Maxi looked at Armin Dolph in surprise.
She knew Anette's motive, but had assumed that Armin would choose to return to Nornui.
As if noticing the question in his eyes, Armin shrugged.
"I'm a craftsman as much as I'm a wizard.
This is a unique opportunity to see all types of siege weapons and more in action."
Maxi completely understood.
Whether at Castle Calypse or Eth Lene, Armin spent most of his time at the forge.
It was also not uncommon to find him interested in the knights' weapons.
What was most surprising, however, was Sidina's decision to stay behind.
Despite Geoffrey's incessant attempts to persuade her, she was firm.
"I want to stay here and translate these records.
I find this task much more interesting at the moment," Sidina explained, pointing to the stack of parchment on the table.
His iron determination forced Geoffrey to retreat.
She was not alone in her decision to remain at Castle Eth Lene.
A total of five people, including Royald, Joel, Kiel, and Elena, chose not to go.
One of Urd's mages also chose to stay behind out of necessity, as they would need someone to coordinate the delivery of the records to the Mages' Tower.
“Let’s see… that means thirteen mages are leaving for the Pamela Plateau.”
“We've already contacted the free mages in the north, so about twenty more should respond, if we're lucky,” Anton said.
There were fewer volunteers than he expected, and he seemed somewhat discouraged.
“I’m glad you decided to join,” he continued.
“Earth mages are rare, so your skills will be invaluable.”
“As I have made clear several times, I intend to stay away from any fights,” Anette said dismissively.There were few earth-based offensive spells, and none of them were particularly strong.
It was a completely inadequate skill set against monsters with astonishing regenerative abilities.
Of course Anton was aware of this.
He gave Anette a bitter smile.
"Indeed, but it doesn't matter.
You earth mages are adept at repairing magical devices, not to mention talented in defensive magic."
Anette mirrored his smile with a slight air of superiority.
With the participating mages now confirmed, they delved into preparations for war.
The low concentration of mana on the Plateau meant that those in the offensive unit would need something to amplify their magic.
While working to solve this problem, Maxi and Anette purchased various medical equipment.
Most of the supplies were of southern origin.
Having learned from an early age that healing with magic alone was grossly insufficient, Maxi studied various treatment methods during his time in the Wizards' Tower.
With Sejuleu Aren's help, she has now acquired large quantities of alcohol and clean linen for washing and dressing wounds.
Other equipment included tools for suturing lacerations, such as needles, thread, scissors and tweezers.
Although she met Riftan several times, she completely ignored him.
Riftan also started ignoring her after finding out that she had enlisted.
A storm brewed whenever they were in the same place, and the heavy atmosphere seemed to surprise even Sejuleu.
The Livadon commander had begun to tread carefully whenever he was near them.
The days passed in this manner, and eventually the coalition army arrived at Eth Lene Castle.
Maxi was taking emergency medicine in the training camp's infirmary when he heard the boom of a kopel.
Poking his head out the window, he saw row after row of soldiers entering the castle gates.
A pair of banners fluttered above them“the coat of arms of Wedon, a white bird, and next to it, the Royal Army of Livadon.
every time this fictional man opens his mouth, my eyes widen wider
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