Houren Vanadis agreed with the Guard Captain Devon's sentiments, of course, mostly because he had been a combatant in the scuffle between the forces of Fiore and the forces of Grimoire Heart in the heart of Era. He had fought and found out for himself firsthand just how terrifying the dark mages of that illegal guild were, and he was also aware that apparently, whether it was simply for the operation in Era or in general, they were in cahoots with another unlawful guild, Phantom Lord. A fearsome duo, to be sure, and while the light guilds in Fiore certainly outnumbered the criminals by a fairly positive ratio, it wasn't the quantity or amount of mages that made the difference, it was the quality. In particular, the lady who did not seem to be human, the wolf boy and the man who's magic involved taking the visage of a demon stood out in Houren's mind. They were strong, and had he not been assisted by those Rune Knights, there would have been little resistance when it came to Thesus breaking out of prison. Of course, in the end, he and his Rune Knight allies had failed in their mission, but the objectives of the law enforcement group known as the Rune Knights held little importance for Houren. He was just happy that the battle itself yielded no casualties on the good guys' side.
"Those little scuffles in Era were a real loss for us. The Index was stolen, that high class criminal Thesus escaped, really, it was just a disaster! Now it's Grimoire Heart and Phantom Lord that have the advantage, they have the momentum and because of that, I'm afraid that they won't just stop at Era. Look, if they really want to cause some damage, then it's Crocus they'll be after, I know, but can we, I mean, normal guys like you and me, really hope to know what goes on in the heads of those maniacs? This is my city, I want to protect it, and I know there are civilians who think the same way as I do. That's why I want you to help me recruit for my little makeshift army," the Guard Captain who's name was Devon explained quickly, much to the Fire Dragon Slayer's understanding.
Houren nodded as though he understood exactly what Guard Captain Devon was getting at, but in reality, that was not the case. Apparently, this guy was incredibly confident, not only in his skills as a combatant, but in his ability to make other people into competent fighters. But was it really a good idea to bring civilians into this war? Didn't the Rune Knights feel as though the public are maing them out to be useless when people are forming independent groups to protect their cities? After all, was it not the responsibility of the Rune Knights to protect the sovereignty of Fiore? It was being threatened now by these criminals, but the Rune Knights had been taking this loss and that loss. The Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail who's name was Houren Vanadis nodded again, and decided to accept the request wordlessly. However, he knew almost full well that this faction that Houren was helping to recruit who's leader was Guard Captain Devon would not be necessarily well received by the Rune Knights. After all, they were the law enforcement around here, so this little guard could be seen as nothing more than a group of vigilantes, and worse yet, they were putting themselves in danger fighting against forces of which they have absolutely no knowledge.
Still, Houren Vanadis would do the job that he was paid to do, and in this case, to try and recruit people for Guard Captain Devon. The Guard Captain Devon gave Houren Vanadis some parting words of advice before leaving the park, "Nobody in the world thinks they want to be a soldier, you know? You have to rouse something in them, you have to make them think that what they are right now isn't all they can be. You have to make them want to make a difference, you have to make it sound all glorious and stuff. Protecting and dying in a ditch somewhere at the hands of some merciless villains is anything but glorious, but damn it, I'll be fucked if you tell me there's anything more noble," and with that, and a semi-affectionate pat on the back, Guard Captain Devon slunk away, probably to another park where he could go and recruit people. Thereby, Houren was left alone in South Gate Park, thinking over his speech in his head as he decided to go for his first candidate. He decided to exclude women and children first, clearly, Guard Captain Devon wasn't that desperate for people. Seeing a young man of ample waist size, but otherwise healthy looking, Houren decided to approach him. A more balanced diet and some strict exercise could really do him good, and the Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail was going to use that to his advantage, and as the major selling point of his advertising.
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