The morning was cold. It was one of those days when the ambient seems grayer for some reason. The streets of Crocus were already full of people, but a blind person could mistake them for empty. Maybe due to the cold, maybe due to the morning fog. For whatever the reason, not a single noise was heard in the grand capital of Fiore. Either way, Kenzo thought to himself that this was maybe fitting. The past couple of days had been more fun than what he’d thought. His lifestyle now was a far cry from all the previous years he’d lived. Moving from one battlefield to the other, fighting every day and risking his life for a pay. Sure, they also had their allure, but there was something intrinsically different from the one’s he’d spent so far in Fiore. There was this feeling of “fun”? The blue haired man did not have the words to actually describe it, but he just felt that the new life he was trying to build for himself had the allure of adventure he’d always enjoyed, minus the gruesome and gritty details of war. The man however, kept the thought buried within his mind. He knew better than to make assumptions so quick. Life always found a way to turn itself around and reveal the darkest sides of humanity. The thing was, that lately humanity had something else to worry about. Demons. Kenzo was still unsure what the real scope of the demon invasion was, but for the moment he could make a very good guess with what he had seen so far. Nevertheless, the mercenary was up this day to clear a request. It had all started on the day he arrived at Crocus. Before entering the capital, the man took a detour to a destroyed villa nearby. Unknowingly, it would become a quest to protect them from some wolves that had gone mad. Today, he had been called by the owner of the villa again. Apparently, he had a job for him. As he remembered the generous reward he was given, Kenzo could not help but accept.

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The way to the villa was short. Kenzo exited the capital from the eastern gate. Large lines of people stood in wait to enter the bustling capital. Even though demons were attacking, commerce was flourishing, and many people came from far away places to trade their wares. Caravans coming from the ports of Hargeon, ministrels from Magnolia, refugees from Era. Kenzo had just slowly started to learn about the different towns and places in the country. He hoped he could travel soon and see them with his own eyes. Eventually, he’d need to make his way to Magnolia. Kenzo had a lot of questions that needed answers. The whole reason he came to Fiore was to find out some clues about what happened to his parents. Perhaps… even a way to restore his magic? For now, that was wishful thinking though.

As he occupied his mind on these matters, he slowly but surely began to see the outlines of the destroyed villa’s mansion. Kenzo hurried up, he wanted to be done with the task at hand as soon as he could. As he crossed the villa’s entrance, the blue haired man couldn’t help but chuckle and mutter to himself. ”Talk about a Déjà vu”.

”Miisteeeeeeeer!!!!!! You came back!” A short kid came running to his way. In a second, the boy leaped into the air to cling to the older male. Instinctively, Kenzo avoided the boy and he fell to the ground. With an unamused face, he asked the boy as he dragged himself up. ”Where’s the boss, brat?” Noticeably discouraged by the lack of reaction by Kenzo, the boy lowered his head as he answered in a slightly sad tone. ”He’s waiting for you…. Follow me” The kid was clearly heart broken. To the mercenary though, this was indistinct. ”What a bothersome kid.” Silently, the two made their way through the mudded road. It had rained through the night, so the smell of wet grass, the clear fields and puddles in the mud were relaxing. Kenzo thought to himself what a peaceful life would growing in a place like this be like. Perhaps, he’d have been just like the now disheartened kid, far from his younger person. No use lamenting the past, the man was a mercenary now. ”What’s the job?” The man was skipping courtesies. As he spoke those words, the owner of the villa turned around.

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“Mister swordsman! I’m really glad you could come today.” Kenzo crossed both his arms as he remained silent, still waiting for an answer to his first question. Noticing this, the owner of the villa quickly scratched his head in embarrassment as he understood the man’s corporal expression. ”Well, to be honest… The other day that you helped us, we noticed that we need to be better prepared in case something like that happened again. The man took off his hat as he continued with a saddened expression. [color=orange]”Due to our powerlessness, we lost Mariah and Bartolo, Isidro’s parents”[color] As he muttered the sentence, he gestured towards the kid who now sat on the corner with a somber expression. For a slight second, Kenzo felt a bit of empathy with him. Or. Did he? Nah.

”Either way! We want you to help us be prepared in case an attack happens once again. We will defend ourselves! Please help us, I’ll reward you the same rate as last time.” As the villa’s owner finished his explanation, Kenzo smiled. He hated weak people. But he could respect people that recognized their weaknesses and worked to erase them. ”Very well. But to begin with, we need to do something about that shitty palisade you have around this building.”

For the rest of the day, Kenzo ordered the villa’s workers around. He divided the work into different teams. The people of the villa would delimitate a rectangular perimeter, clearing the area of any trees or obstacles that stood on its way. He sent a team of men to cut wood to the nearby forest while the women helped carrying axes and picks. The hours were spent digging trenches, erecting a palisade and organizing the distribution of the tents and future houses. As the stakes littered the walls of the palisade, he made sure that they were even and had the desired quality. All in all, Kenzo had become for the night a Castrorum. Having been born in Bellum, son to a Bellan commander, Kenzo had spent a large part of his childhood admiring his father’s work. The legions of his home country accomplished impressive civil engineering feats, and as such, Kenzo was familiar with the way they built their forts.

As nightfall came, the man was happy with his job. Not only him, but the whole villa was in high spirits. After collecting his reward, Kenzo made his way back to Crocus to spend the night. As he exited the surrounding land, he saw the boy Isidro playing with some squirrels near a tree. As he noticed Kenzo’s presence, his face lit up, only to freeze after a moment’s notice and lower it in shame. Feeling a little embarrassed, Kenzo hid it the best he could as he awkwardly pet the boy in the head. With a cool voice, he spoke without looking at him. “Good job today kid…”

As he got away, Kenzo couldn’t help but feel weird at the prospect of what just happened. Perhaps he was changing? Either way, he was sure the future would be hard, but perhaps he’d just helped to make the boy’s future change if just a bit too…

-Exit-
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