Almark – Northern Sword, Southern Wand

Chapter 0.4

Almark had developed into a smart boy, just as Yorog had predicted.

Reyes did not teach him swordsmanship, but he practiced on his own, holding a large, adult-sized sword.

He was still quiet and shy, but as he grew up, there was a light in his eyes.

One day, when he was eight years old, an incident happened that dazzled everyone.

On that day, leaving his main force in the rear, everyone went out to battle.

The opponent was the Knights Mercenaries of Maurice. They were a formidable enemy.

Therefore, all the men were going out to battle.

Then, two mercenaries burst in.

They were mercenaries of the flow, but both were strong warriors.

The only ones left in the main force were women, children, and old men. Five of them were immediately turned into a bloody mess.

　Then Almark jumped out.

He handled his adult long sword with great dexterity and quickly cut down two of them.

Reyes, who had returned home wounded after a one-on-one fight with Garkash, "White Gale," the ace of the Maurice Mercenary Knights, heard the story from the women and snorted.

It seems that your son wants to be a mercenary," said Gerus, the leader of the group, clapping Reyes on the shoulder.

Even in this land where it is normal for a 12-year-old to go off to the battlefield, this was an exceptionally early age to be going off to the battlefield.

But Reyes called Almark and asked him if he wanted to join him on the next fight. Almark nodded.

　Winter passed and spring came.

　It was the spring of Almark's 9th year.

But the situation in the north was getting worse day by day, and Reyes was in no condition to leave his troops.

And so, instead of Almark's entrance ceremony at the Academy of Magic, he made his debut as fighter .

He joined the rest of the adults and slayed foes.

Next time, his father told him, you must join fight again.

The second battle was a defeat. Instead of reading his textbooks in class, he spilled blood on the cold northern ground.

After five big battles, summer came.

　Almark had already become a full-fledged warrior.

But Reyes had not given up on his son's entrance into the Academy of Magic.

　When he was not fighting, he called his son and taught him everything he knew. He taught him to read, write, and calculate in the same way that Almark had learned to use a sword.

Thus the summer of Almark's ninth year passed in a fruitless manner for Reyes.

　One day, Almark nearly lost his life on the battlefield.

His chest was stabbed by the spear of Angol, the ace of the Garret heavy-armored mercenaries, nicknamed the "Shark of the Sea.“

　Fortunately, he survived, but even so, he was unable to get up for a month.

Reyes finally decided to part ways with his son.

　When Almark finally recovered, Reyes called him and told him to leave for the south .

At first Almark protested, saying he would fight with him.

　When Almark said he would fight with his father, Reyes shouted at him.

"You're a fool, you're just holding us back!”

In fact, the Black Wolf Cavalry was planning to head for the Kingdom of Bastia, one of the top five hot spots in the north.

　The danger would not only be on the battlefield.

"I will be stronger,"

　Almark said. Reyes snorted and said,

"It's too late for that now," he said.

　Almark fell silent, and Reyes spoke to him in a gentle voice this time.

"Listen, being a mercenary is the most unprofitable job there is. There are a lot of stories about mercenaries who became knights, but there aren't many of them. They are all just used up and thrown away when they are no longer of use to the others. To avoid that, you can't just use a sword. ...... Use your head, Almark. Don't depend on me to tell you what to do or how to do it. Study up, get smarter, get better, get great, get a bunch of friends to run things."

Almark was silent for a moment, and then he said in a quiet voice, "All right, Dad."

Reyes didn't even smile, but said, " Good, you know what to do, ".

"Go say goodbye to the others."

　Almark nodded and left the tent.

　"There were two children the same age as Almark."

　Mary, one year younger than Almark, looked up to him as if he were her brother.

She was a clever girl who did the cooking and laundry along with the adult women.

"Don't forgot about me, big brother Almark, "she said with a tearful smile on her face.

　Galba is the same age as Almark and is the son of Gazak, a master axeman. Of course, he hasn't been in his first battle yet, but he hates to lose and has always competed with Almark.

　"Take care, Almark, and the next time we meet, I'll be a full-fledged warrior, Galba said."

Early the next morning, Almark set off to south . Reyes went to see him off.

"You're a full-fledged warrior now. I'm not worried about you. But there are always some unexpected events can happened ."

He took out a small red colored pendant from his pocket.

"It was a memento of Shetina."

Reyes said, referring to his late wife.

“It will protect you no matter what.”

"Thank you."

Almark put the bag on the ground and took it with both hands.

"I'm off ....... Take care, Dad."

"Yeah."

　And with that, the two men parted.