The Bloody Valkyrie

“—About that, as long as you have Shalltear-sama’s permission, you may do as you wish.”

Solution’s brows furrowed slightly, a face filled with disappointment could clearly be seen. Sebas saw and tried to comfort her:

“It should be fine; There shouldn’t be any problem with giving you only one guy.”

“Really?  That’s wonderful!  Please help me relay my wish to Shalltear-sama. If it is possible, I want to have that man.”

Solution showed a smile brimming with joy. That kind of cheerful sunny expression without a shred of gloom could charm any on looking person.

Sebas felt pity and interest in the man who made Solution to show such an expression.  He asked her:

“So, what did that man say?”

“I think he said he couldn’t wait to enjoy me. It’s a rare chance, so I plan to enjoy him properly too.”

Solution showed an even brighter smile.

That smile contained a childlike innocence; like a kid looking forward to the next big event.

 

Part 2

A miserable life.

Zach walked quickly, thinking about how miserable his life had been.

Life in the Kingdom as a farmer couldn’t be called fortunate or easy.

Though he labored very hard in the fields every day, most of the harvest was taken by the landlord. If the yield of a full harvest had a hundred shares, it was still bearable if only sixty shares were taken away. It was still possible to survive on forty shares, even if it meant a life of poverty.

However, there would be a serious problem if eighty shares were collected. If one could barely make a living with forty shares, there was no doubt life would become hellish and unbearable with only twenty shares.

During one of the years with only twenty shares to live with, he returned home worn out after a hard day of farm work, only to discover that his little sister had disappeared without a trace.

Zach was still young when it had happened. His adored little sister went missing, but his parents wouldn’t go looking for her. He didn’t know what was going on back then, but now he clearly knew the reason: She had been sold. In this day and age, slave trade had finally been stopped due to the efforts of the “Golden” princess, but slavery had been quite common within the Kingdom back then.

For that reason, whenever he visited brothels and passed by prostitutes, he would subconsciously stare at their faces. Of course, he didn’t believe he could find his little sister like this. Even If he did find his little sister this way, he wouldn’t know what to say to her. Nonetheless, he just couldn’t stop himself from looking.

Living in such a harsh and poor environment, one also had the heavy obligation to be drafted into the army.

The Kingdom of Re-Estize periodically went to war with the Baharuth Empire, and often drafted soldiers from farming villages such as his. To lose an able worker for even a month was quite a big deal for a small village and it significantly affected the yield of a harvest. However, there were also those who felt lucky to be drafted into the army.

Since there were less people that needed to be fed, a family’s food expenditure was reduced. For those who were drafted, they’re provided with rations given by the Kingdom. For some, that was the first time they experienced how it feels like to be full.

Sadly, these were just about all the upsides.. Even if you risked your life, without achieving a major accomplishment receiving any kind of reward would be impossible. Some didn’t even get rewarded for completing great achievements, only those who were truly blessed with luck could find success within the army.

After the end of the war the soldiers went back to their villages, but they only found despair because the village’s harvest had lower than expected yield due to lack of workers.

This had happened to Zach after his first two drafts.  But during his third draft, a way to change his fate occurred.

The war that time was like the others, it ended with only a small scale battle. Luckily, Zach survived the battle. As he was about to head back to his village, he stopped. He looked at the weapon in his hand and an idea popped into his head.

...Perhaps it would be better to try another kind of life than to go back to that village.

But he was just a farmer and he barely received any training for war. He didn’t have many choices for his new life.

His body was mediocre and there was no way he could compare himself to those few that were born with innate talent. All he had learned in his life is to sow seeds and farm, and when to spread which seeds.  That was just about all he knew.

Zach took initiative with his one and only trump card, and that was to run away with the weapon issued to him by the Kingdom. The thought of troubling his parents never came into his mind because they had sold his little sister——even if they did it so the rest of the family could survive——and he no longer held any love for them.