War.
Or more specifically, a company war. It wasn’t the same as a war between countries or city-states— armies didn’t march out to meet each other on the battlefield. There weren’t battles over city or territory.
Instead, company wars were smaller in scale. They focused on stealing the resources of another company, siphoning members away from a company and secluding them from the Adventurers Guild. And most importantly— killing each other until the other company was destroyed.
Because at the end of the day, war was war. Even between adventuring companies.
And Edithe had never thought it would come to this. Even a day later, it made no sense to her. The escalation from petty harassment to the cloak and dagger assassination attempts, to a direct attack on the Valiant Dreamers headquarters? No one would have seen it coming. At least, not so soon.
undefined“To think they would go this far in retaliation for revealing the location of their Dungeons, when hoarding Dungeons is looked down upon in the first place? And we did not even take it from them, we shared it with the public. I never knew the Iron Champions Company was run by fools.”
“It doesn’t matter, Father. They’ve directly attacked us. Even if they disguised their own members as assassins, it doesn’t change the fact that they’ve killed four Gold Ranks and a dozen other Silvers. This is war.”
“Not yet.”
Baris snapped, glancing up from the large table showing a map of all the different locations the Iron Champions Company owned. And the various Dungeons and resources they had a monopoly over too.
The meeting room was occupied only by the top brass of the Valiant Dreamers Company— only Gold Ranks and above were allowed, and even then, only some were let in. Like Edithe.
And that was only because she was familiar with the Iron Champions Company, having been in Silvergrove, Hazelbury, and other cities where they had a lot of influence. Baris, despite having just recovered from a deadly poison, was here too. And he was in charge of this meeting.
“Edithe.”
His voice instantly drew Edithe to attention. They weren’t in the military, but she couldn’t help but straighten and face him with proper respect.
“You say that you recognized one of the assailants who tried burning down our headquarters, correct?”
“Yes. His name was Blake. And he had been a prominent member of the Iron Champions Company— at least, over in Hazelbury. I’m sure if you asked around many other adventurers or even civilians in the city can vouch for that fact.”
“No.”
Baris raised a hand and shook his head.
“I am sure the Iron Champions Company has thought of this. They would simply claim that this Blake had been fired from the company weeks or even months ago and that he was acting out of his own agency. Same goes for any other member we can identify from the prisoners rounded by the city guards or the others killed by Gabriel— although I’m not even sure that’s possible considering the state he left them in.”
The [Alchemist] was not here in the meeting room; apparently, he had other matters to attend to. Edithe did not know what held precedence over the company being possibly embroiled in a war with another company that was even larger than theirs, but he was high leveled and usually left to his own devices. So, she did not question it.
Hadrian spoke up, voicing the thoughts that were not just in Edithe’s head but in many of the others in the room too.
“Father, I don’t understand. Why won’t you just let us declare war on them? They attacked us first. It doesn’t matter what the consequences of a company war are if we’re already in one.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
The older man sighed and pressed his fingers into his eyes. He slowly pulled up a chair and sat back down, sweeping his gaze over the room. A few of Edithe’s friends were here. Ian, for one, had the privilege of being here as one of the higher leveled Golds in the company. And some Platinums Edithe recognized but did not often talk to— Jeremy, Celine, and Evelyn were the ones she could name.
Paige wasn’t here. She was back at the Valiant Dreamers Company training grounds, in charge of guard duty there today.
Hadrian frowned.
“What do I not get?”
“The reason why the Iron Champions Company is being so underhanded with attacking us. It’s because they want to goad us into declaring war on them.”
“Then let’s give them just that—”
“Stop and think for a moment, will you?”
Baris cut him off with a loud grunt. He folded his arms and spoke slowly, his words reaching everyone in the room.
“Why does the Iron Champions Company want us to be the ones to declare war on them?”
Hadrian frowned, placing a hand on his chin. Edithe slowly offered a hand, and Baris turned to her.
“Yes, Edithe?”
“Is it because they realize that they don’t have any proper reason for it? That if they declare war with us now, it’d be over us giving their hoarded Dungeons to the public? And that’ll earn them the ire of other companies that look down on that practice?”
“That is true. And if that’s their goal, what exactly would they do to ensure it does not backfire on them?”
The leader of the Valiant Dreamers Company blinked. His eyes widened as he turned to his father. The realization settled in for Edithe too— so did for many others in the room.
“They prepare for it. They won’t just sit around. They’ll make sure they’ve got every advantage they have. Such as stationing their members around our company, prepared to strike us the moment we declare war on them.”
“Exactly.”
—--
So, it wasn’t war. The meeting ended, and Edithe left the room realizing that the Valiant Dreamers Company was stuck in a tough spot. If they retaliated now, they’d be struck down in an instant. Their enemy had already drawn their wand, prepared to cast a [Fireball] the instant they unsheathed their blade.
It was a preemptive strike— one which couldn’t be countered. What mattered now was how they reacted, and Edithe knew that if they just waited it out, they’d also suffer just as much from the whittling down and attrition caused by the Iron Champions Company and their ‘assassins’. Do they even have assassins? Have they been members of the company all along?
Edithe wasn’t sure. However, she had to clear her mind on these thoughts the moment she returned to the headquarters. Rachel was there, waiting for her in their room. Princess was wrapped in the little girl’s arms as she ran up to the red-haired woman.
“Edithe—”
She hugged Edithe’s legs and spoke in a muffled voice, her head buried in Edithe’s pants.
“You’re back.”
“I am. Sorry, I took so long. The meeting ran a little longer than I thought.”
Rachel drew herself back and looked up at Edithe with wide eyes.
“Is this about what happened yesterday? Those assassins that tried to burn down the building?”
Well, they didn’t try. They succeeded, if only briefly. And the [Enchanters] and [Mages] of the company managed to repair all they could. Even then, however, the building was still damaged and burnt in many places. Luckily, Rachel and Edithe’s room wasn’t one of them, having been guarded by additional protection wards the red-haired woman put in place.
“Not assassins.”
Edithe corrected Rachel, running a finger through the girl’s hair.
“The Iron Champions Company.”
“And they are…”
“The bad guys who have been disturbing us for a while.”
Bringing herself down to meet Rachel’s gaze, Edithe spoke softly.
“This has nothing to do with you. It’s something that matters only to our company.”
“I-I see.”
The little girl nodded as Edithe took her hand and walked her out of their room.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s going to be a little bit dangerous around here from now on. And while I think it’s good to keep you here, safe from any bad guys that might be after you, I don’t think this place is the safest place you can be right now.”
“We’re leaving?”
Edithe stopped at the door and glanced back. Rachel had nothing— she owned nothing when Daniel and Salvos brought her here. Only the doll in her arms belonged to her. So, there was no need to pack.
“For now, you’ll be staying at a temple, with someone I trust.”
“A temple?”
Rachel cocked her head just like Salvos would. Edithe nodded.
“Yes, the Sanctum of Elements. There’s a [Priest] I know there. William. I asked him to take care of you, and he said he would.”
Edithe spoke reassuringly as the girl took a hesitant step back, almost like she wanted to run back to her bed and bury herself under the blankets.
“He’s someone I trust. And Salvos and Daniel have met him before too. And I promise I’ll check up on you every day too.”
“Why can’t I just stay here with you?”
Rachel asked, her voice smaller than even she was. Taking a deep breath, Edithe tried to explain.
“Because it’s dangerous. The Iron Champions Company could’ve struck this place while you and I were here. If they did and you got hurt somehow… well, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”
Faces flashed through Edithe’s mind. People she couldn’t protect. People she cared for, killed by a rampaging Greater Demon because she insisted they pretend to be [Heroes].
“I made a promise to Salvos, Rachel.”
Trying to bring up the name of the girl’s idol, Edithe spoke softly and patted her head gently.
“I will keep you safe no matter what. And this is what’ll keep you safe.”
Rachel remained quiet for a moment. She stood at the doorway, unmoving, as a few people passed through the corridor beyond. Gabriel was one of them— however, he ascended the stairs at the end of the hallway, not bothering to even greet Edithe.
Finally, the little girl spoke. And it was a question.
“...when is she going to come back?”
“Salvos?”
Edithe blinked and watched Rachel reply with a small nod. The red-haired woman hesitated, then lied through her teeth.
“I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
—--
“Please take care of her, William. And call me if anything happens— no matter how minor.”
“I will, Edithe.”
The [Priest] warmly nodded back to her. He stared at her for a moment, his expression almost sorrowful. Edithe shifted her feet uncomfortably.
“W-what?”
“It’s nothing. You’ve just grown so much now.”
“Right, uh, thanks.”
Edithe quickly waved back at William and then shouted her goodbyes to Rachel. The girl kept calling out to her, even as she disappeared amongst the crowds of people making their way through the large city square.
Apparently, most of them were unaware of what happened last night. If they had known that a company war was looming over the horizon, they would surely be a little more afraid. Because company wars were deadly, even if mostly to the adventurers in the companies. Collateral damage still happened— especially when it was two high-leveled individuals fighting.
Edithe was Gold Rank, considered already to be a rarity in small cities. Slightly more common in big cities like Viechester. And if she ended up in a duel with another [Mage] around her level, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to avoid harming a passerby around her. And considering that Hadrian was at Diamond—
She really didn’t like that it had come to this.
The red-haired woman felt her hands shaking. Even now, while in the middle of the day, walking through a crowded street, she felt fear grip her to the very bone— the pressure from its grasp caused her knees to go numb. It splashed over her like cold water, making her tremble at what was to come.
War.
And more than that.
Death.
She didn’t want to see her friends die again. Edithe still remembered hearing Daniel break the news that her team had died. And it broke her. Revenge had not fixed her. It did not fill the void in her heart.
Clenching her fist, Edithe took a few steady breaths, trying to calm herself. I need to relax. She had been asked by Paige to meet at the training grounds to tell her all about what happened in the meeting, but she did not want to think about that right now.
They had not arranged for a specific time, and Edithe really needed some time to just breathe for a moment. And when a woman complimented her on the ruby pendant around her neck— the one Salvos picked out for her— then invited her into the cafe she was standing outside of to try one of the delicious coffees they had…
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