No Romance, Only War (MobuSeka SI Chapter 1)
I looked back again as I walked away from my family estate.
My mother, Dad, Lysa, Jon, Neil, James, Charles my older sister and brothers, and even Terry, my younger brother-and the youngest-were all still there. Still sending me off.
Only Tom was absent, my second oldest brother. He was off living in the capital with his wife. I haven't seen him for five months now. His wife was like my own. A woman who's, politely, past her prime.
Lady Heloise wasn't...ugly. Just, normal old.
Look back once more, Lysa had an annoyed scowl on her face as is normal. She looked like she wanted to leave, but Dad hand on her shoulder insisted that she stays.
Jon look...neutral, almost bored.
The rest, Dad, Neil, James, Charles and Terry were waving me good bye, with varied looks of worry behind those smiles. They all told me to keep up my spirits, and face things head on. Only Terry was cheerfully waving me good bye, not fully knowing what all this mean. I hoped he never does.
"You know, you'll see them all again soon, Nathan." Lady Heloise said with a...warm voice. I looked up at her wisen face. Her voice wasn't slimy, but even if it sounded comforting, even this whole situation, well, I couldn't feel comfortable.
"Y-Yeah." I said back trying to smile, as best I can. I'm only eleven in this life thus far. How am I suppose to take all of this?
It's fine. I told myself. I can handle this. I repeated the though in my head.
I was reborn into the world of Otome Game is Tough for Mobs, Otome Mob for short, or Mobuseka, as Nathanel Fou Lamanton, son of Baronet William Fou Lamanton.
I know what happened to boys like me, sold off to marriages to help their families, but it's fine. Things will be different. Things will be different.
I focused inward, and felt the warm glow of an emerald spiral. Everything will turn out alright. I was reborn with the cheatest of cheat powers.
I looked back again, this time at my mother. She looked at me with that same look of annoyance, like she was seeing something not good enough. There was an elf there as well. His name I won't remember.
The emerald spiral dimmed, but it was fine. Everything will work out in the end. That's how these things go in shounen stories.
I will be fine.
"So this be your room, if you need anything just tell Cecila here. Okay, dear?" Lady Heloise said after showing me around her estate a bit.
"It's..." I looked around the place. It was big. Bigger than my old room, also pretty fancy and comfortable. The windows bringing a lot of sun. Yet, the only thought in my head was... "It's...this is only my room?" I looked at Lady Heloise in confusion.
She blinked at me confused for a bit, before her eyes widened in understanding. Then she let out a hearty laugh.
"Ohohoho, oh dear. Nathan, please, I'm old enough to be your mother." She laughed, before looking at me with warm amusement. "This whole marriage thing is simply for appearances sake, so I can aid your family without debts, or making it seem like they are subjugated to me. A way to give them money that doesn't spark controversy-Bad rumors, I mean."
"That's...huh." I nodded. That was good, wasn't it? Maybe the whole "old ladies marrying kids, then sending them to war" was just some rumor that got out of hand.
"Yes," she nodded. "It's only polite fiction, nothing more." Lady Heloise put her hand on my shoulder affectionately, like a mother, and I didn't feel that initial shy away as usual. It was still there as an emotion, but that's only because I only felt like I couldn't trust her.
I now knew I could, but heart and mind don't always agree. I guess all the stories I heard still affected me. You shouldn't believe everything you hear after all.
"So..."
"That's right," she said. "This is your home. You can stay here as long as you like, visit your family whenever you want, and when you're old enough you can dissolve this play, you can be free to live however you want. Okay?"
"Yeah!" I grinned.
Lady Heloise patted my head and I felt safe.
Five Months Later
The carriage cart I was sitting in along with nine other kids, in the range of teenage years, rocked up and down on the barely paved road as it was pulled by the horse.
I looked around to see other kids, with looks of despondency and despair. Even with the cart being relatively able to seat us all comfortably, no one sat relaxed. Everyone didn't want to be touched. Their eyes were sunken, and low, filled with emptiness and shame. Only one kid was still crying, muttering how he 'didn't want to die'.
I envied him. I think the others felt the same too. Maybe. Being detached, just made everything...easier.
Soon along the road, I saw other carts coming around each carrying kids of their own. A lot of noble kids from feudal families. A lot more commoners.
Our destination was a large airship that would take us to the border of the United Kingdom of Great Repard, along the border of the Selika Kingdom.
Like so many others before us, we are children sent to die, so rich vapid noblewomen can enjoy a rich lifestyle.
I looked inward, and the emerald glow was murky, like something rotten had covered it.
I tried to make it burn up, to push the rot, the tar-like emotions away.
No matter what, I had to survive. I had to. I will.
Training camp isn't as hard as I expected. That was the first thing that sent alarm bells in my head.
I ignored my instincts warning me before so never again.
The instructor taught us enough to know how to aim, shoot, and handle our weapons, along with fast-casing a basic magic shot spell. Magic here is simple enough in that all you need is information, visualization and magic energy or mana. You need to know what effect you want, visualize it and have the energy to make it. Easy to learn, difficult to master.
Physical training was also minimal. Oh yeah, it was difficult for us newbies, but not what I expected the military level to be.
I saw some of the older kids, especially the younger looking instructors, closer to adolescence still training, and joined them. Most ignored me to keep running. Some looked at me once and nodded.
"You're one of the new ones here." Said one of the older kids, running in the middle of the group. He frowned after a moment as he stared at me. "Fuck, please tell me you're just short and look young. How old are you, kid?"
"E-Eleven, sir." I said, surprised at his tone. He now looked pissed off. "I'll be twelve in a few months?" I hoped that placated him.
"Saintess. Just...fuck." The guy sighed and shook his head, looking back forward. "I'm Eric Fou Henderson, what's your name, kid?"
"Nathanel Fou Lamanton, sir." I replied.
"Stop with the sir," he began to chuckle, only to stop mid-way as a look of recognition came to his face. "Wait, Lamanton? You're Tom's brother?" He smiled wistfully. "Wow, small world. Alright, stick with me. Training is gonna be tough, but I'll make sure you're as ready as can be, before the next deployment."
"Thanks." I smiled, but quickly asked what caught my attention. "You knew Tom? Where you friends when...?" When did the two meet? I began to feel cold in my gut. It...it couldn't be, right? I hoped my premonition was wrong. "How do you know him?"
"He was a good friend of mine. A real noble, you know." Eric smiled fondly. "I'm sorry for your loss, but Tom saved my ass before, it's kinda fucked up, but I feel relieved to have met you. It's as if I finally have a chance to pay him back."
The cold spread through my veins like a shock. The premonition was real.
"T-Tom is dead?" I asked, feeling my limbs grow heavy. I forced myself to keep running, to keep warm from the effort, so I can focus and not fall into my thoughts.
"...Shit." Eric gritted his teeth, and he looked away, shook his head and looked back. "Fuck, sorry. I thought you knew, it's been six months already. I'm really sorry you found out like this."
I stopped keeping up with the group. My legs just refusing to put in the effort, as if all energy within me was zapped away.
Tom was dead. Tom had been dead for half a year, even before Lady...her.
All this time, all this time not hearing from him. He was gone. Who else knew? Who else...
My mother's face came to mind. My sister. That woman.
"What the fuck is wrong with this world?" I said to myself.
It's a medieval world, but, but...something is wrong here.
What the hell is going on!?
I felt the emerald glow rise in me. Growing bright once again.
Yet, the glow was wrong. Twisted by rage and sorrow.
There was only one goal. I had to survive. I had to survive and make it back.
And...and make them pay.
Three Years Later
"SHIELDS!" Shouted Captain Eric.
I and the rest of the squad threw our arms up, pouring all our magic into the defensive wall. It rocked from the bombardment of fire lasers. Thankfully, we didn't have to take the full brunt of Selika's infamous military mass ritual attack spells. The spell was for half a mile radius, thus it was spread out too far, and not focused on us. We only took a hit of a tiny bit of it.
The moment the fire beams stopped, we continued our charge as fast as we can, our strengthening spell making us run faster than truck-kun on nitros, as we dived into the trenches. We made it.
We kept our head down, as we made our way to the mess area, to finally rest to a bit.
"Name and company!" Shouted the commander stationed there.
"Sir! Captain Eric Fou Henderson, Squad 14 of the 99th Company, Sir!" Eric said shouted back addressing taking over dealing with the Holfort Army Commander, while the rest of us took a breather.
I focused on my Spiral Power, focusing it on my wounds and fatigue, while using what else I can drag up to repair and empower my rifle. It moved slow. Very slow. Like sludge moving through broken pipes that spilled and wasted it's contents, rather than deliver everything fully and efficiently.
"You're fucking self-heal is broken, you know that, Short Nat." Said Carl from next to me.
"It's healing. Learn healing magic, dammit." I sighed and ignored him. It wasn't the first time we had this talk.
"Oh yeah, because it's so fucking easy to learn." Carl rolled his eyes.
He was right of course. If you didn't have the affinity when it comes to Healing Magic, you shouldn't bother. But it was still something I put effort in to stay alive. Spiral Power helped as well. As minuscule as that help was.
It annoyed me. Mostly because I knew I could do more with my cheat power. So much more, yet it was always difficult, stagnant. I knew by the standard of this world's soldiers I was exceptional. But the standard of what I can really do? Of a Spiral Warrior? I didn't even rate as a joke.
I can't afford to ham it up. I can't afford to try and be hot-blooded.
If I made a mistake, if it didn't work, people next to me could die. I could die. Reality was too harsh, and too quick to punish the naive. I can't take that chance.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, THERE ARE ONLY THREE OTHER SQAUDS!?"
Eric's shout brought attention back to him and the commander who was looking at him with a condescending smirk.
"It's your fault, really. You guys took too long, so the ones that arrived early got sent ahead. Shame they all died, but they died heroes of course. Not like you lot." The Commander said with a smirking sneer.
My squadmates and I tensed, hands on our weapons but acting relaxed. We were in a hostile environment, and it wasn't only because the Selikans firing at us.
Eric stayed quiet, his expression furious as he glared silently at the commander.
I looked around at any of the older soldiers to see them standing at the back, watching us. Like always, other than our own squadmates, or soldiers in our age bracket, there was no one we could trust. Not even our "allies".
And we couldn't attack or escape either. It just meant death came quicker.
And I had to survive. I had to.
"Very well," Eric finally spoke. "We will carry out our mission in the cover of night, sir." He said firmly, as if he was relenting, but of course, that was for our benefit.
"I'm afraid not." The bastard commander smirked, seeming to take pleasure in denying Eric and us, even the chance to do this smart. "Orders from higher up, you have to do this soon. Before sunset. We take the castle today or die trying." He said unfurling a scroll showing the orders with a ministry seal.
Meaning, we take the castle or die trying. I only took a glance at the siege castle on the run here. It was on top of a hill, and far away. Eye balling it, about...500?
No, 700 meters, with 200 meters being inclined up. And they have a mage squad with ritual spells, and obviously a mana reactor for recharge and healing.
Fuck. Yeah no, it was a pipe dream to be able to make this in a year.
A day?
...Eric is gonna have to make either make a suicide run, or hide somewhere and divert attack to his base. Tough choices have to be made for survival, but who will manage to outsmart who.
"Three hours, men!" Eric called out. "Rest up, rotate shielding and be ready to move."
The commander looked like he was about to argue, but his aid gestured to the squad soldiers, to see us eyeing him and the older officers. He backed down.
A small victory, and we're likely gonna be reported, but if we survive for another day, it would be worth it.
Eric looked at me and gave me a nod. I understood. I'll have to drill a tunnel once we move forward, and do it quickly to instantly have another trench base ready, after we jump ahead.
As usual in these strategies. They shield and I transform the field. Eric went to talk to the other squad captains, he's likely gonna lead as he has seniority, but you never know. The important part is, we'll have to make another line forward today, and don't want that asshole commander make his way to it too quickly, so we would have better rest and have more preparation to try that whole "take the castle" thing.
It's not like he can fire us, if we don't pull off the bullshit he wants, and he can't execute anyone without a mutiny.
"Nathan?"
I'm dragged out of my thoughts by a familiar voice.
I looked around and my eyes fell on someone that made my heart drop still.
"Terry?" No. No, no, no no no. NO! "What are you doing here-?"
Terry ran and hugged me.
I grabbed and held him, as he cried in my chest.
He felt warm and small, even though he was much taller than I remember.
As I pulled him away to look closer at him, I realized he was thinner too.
"What..." I couldn't finish the question. What are you doing here? The answer was obvious. "Why?" I searched his eyes for an answer I didn't want to find.
He looked away.
My hands on his arms tightened before I forced them open and to let go, so I don't let my anger touch him.
"I...I had to carry my duty to House Lamanton-"
"That fucking whore!" I growled.
Terry flinched, as he looked back to me in alarm.
"I-It's not mom's fault!" He called out. "I'm the one who volunteered-"
"No! That!..." I took a deep breath to calm down. Before looked up gently and trying again. "It's not your fault you hear me."
"I...I know." Terry flinched, taking a step back. I let him, but lower my voice to a gentler pitch.
"It's not your fault." I repeated. "Don't worry, we'll make it through this. I'm here now, I'll protect you, okay?"
"Y-Yeah," Terry gave a nervous nod, before finally looking back with a hesitant smile. "At...at least the Lamanton House is finally whole again. So, so...we'll be strong together, yeah?"
I paused at his odd wording.
"Yeah, we...have to make it together, so we can go home." I said slowly, testing the water, and watching my little brother's reaction.
Terry looked away again, sharply this time, guilt on his face.
"Terry," I said slowly. "Terry, is everything okay?"
"Um, ah..." I stumbled for words.
"It's okay, you can tell me. Alright, I swear I won't be mad." I said, extending a hand, halfway to him, so he can hold it if he wants.
After some hesitance, he does.
"A...a while...A while go, before..." He swallowed, wetting his drying mouth.
"Take your time." I told him.
He nodded, taking a few breath, finally gathering his resolve and continued.
"About a month before I was signed up to the army, Sky Pirates attacked our manor." His breath hitched. "Only...only mom and Lysa made it. Since they weren't there. No one else... Mom was distraught and..." He stood next to me and looked away, still holding my hand.
I felt numb.
They were gone? Just like that? I wasn't even there.
Mom was distraught.
Is it wrong that I feel some kinda enjoyment that the bitch lost her elf and Jon, her likely her love child from it.
There is nothing left of home.
I reminded myself of the hand still holding on to me.
No, I still have something to protect. I still have something to keep fighting. A reason to survive. A reason beyond needing to survive.
"Keep a barrier at your back while we dash in." Eric whispered to me, while we got ready to jump onto the ground and make an advance.
I blinked and took a quick glance from the side of my eyes, to the older soldiers stationed at the far back.
"They won't actually attack us outright, would they?" I asked back in disbelief.
It was one thing to give insane order, but just outright try to kill us? Surely that's the breaking point, right?
"No, but Howard might use one of us slowing down as being a good reason to report us, for suspicion of attempted desertion." Eric said back.
"'Desertion'? The fuck are we gonna run off too."
"Doesn't matter, it's the reason they usually give to sent troops to the harshest area." He explained.
"You mean this isn't?" I asked blinking in surprise.
"That castle is on it's last supply and military personal. They have enough mages to massive attacks, or the giant barrier, but they can't keep both us. They have to switch between them." He explained.
"So they're at their most vulnerable while attacking." I nodded. "I guess I can see the reason why the general said to try and capture it now, even if the reason and method are asinine."
"Yes, so we'll have to do a rapid advancement through enemy lines, till we reach the walls. Breach and infiltrate before they realize what's happening." Eric said.
"Wait," my eyes widened. "We're not advancing the trench line?"
"And have that fucker at our back? No." He chuckled before focusing on the castle and looking at it with a focused determination. "We just need to wait for the period between their shift from defense to offense to make the biggest stride forward, before focusing on barrier advancement. Captain Conner agreed to work with me, and others specializing in Water and Wind Magic to make us a mist wave."
I nodded and got ready.
Things were quiet the sun was starting to reach the horizon.
The second and third squad began their mist forming. The troops advanced.
The castle mages easy noticed this and began switching from barrier to mass attack spell formation.
With body strengthening, we all ran as fast as we could.
There are some standards that become to ingrained once you fight the same enemy for too long. You get too used to their tactics.
The Holfort Kingdom was a mix of technology and magic, thus it's military was the same.
The Principality of Fanoss was mainly focused on advancement through technology backed by magic, and their military reflected that.
The Selika Kingdom was one devoted only to magic advancement.
It's why when gunfire and bullets came from the front, that it took us a second to react.
A second were everything went wrong.
"Shit, they must've salvaged some from the riflemen who died before. SHIELD AND TRENCH DIVE!" Eric quickly ordered in response.
"NATHAN!"
But I couldn't focus on that, I only had one thought in mind, once I heard that cry.
I turned back, running before seeing the state Terry was in. I spotted him, meters away, a bullet wound in his chest, as he fell on the ground.
"NATHAN! RETURN NOW!"
The others put the barrier up. It was my job to make the trench line due to my vast amount of mana. Eric started digging with Earth Magic and ordering the mages for the back up plan to do the same.
I reached Terry, throwing him on my back, and running quickly to the group with my barrier up.
The Selikan mages kept firing with the stolen guns.
One got lucky, or was just that good, firing two mana covered bullet back to back with a wind sharpening spell, that pierced my barrier and through my leg.
I fell.
Eric saw me, and didn't make the right choice. The smart choice.
Eric ran toward me.
The Selika Mages finished their Rain of Blazing Light spell, and a thousand fire beams fell, focused entirely on us.
It was quiet.
Everything was quiet and dark.
I tried to move, but felt my chest shoot with sudden pain, making me cough and telling me I was alive.
"Wha..." I looked around trying to find anything.
"H..ey...idiot." I looked to the side to see Eric, leaning against a boulder.
"Eric!" I whisper shouted as I had been conditioned to do in this battles now.
"I really...fucked up..." He coughed blood. I could see his leg was gone, as a massive gouge took his torso and hand.
"Shit! Fuck! Eric, I'm so sorry-" I moved to heal him, only for his sharp look and raise hand to stop me.
"Don't. Save your magic. That's an order."
"But-"
"Listen," Eric took a package of letters from his jacket. I quickly crawled to him, and took them. "There...are correspondence...between some commanders, and what's known, as..." he coughed, and struggled to take a breath. "The Forest of Ladies...you know...the ugly whore that marry and...send us to war."
I didn't know how to respond. These were Eric's last words.
...There were Eric's last words. My heart bumping so roughly, but I felt cold in my stomach. I touched my torso. No, I wasn't injured. It was a miracle.
Eric ran toward me.
No. It wasn't a miracle. All of this, it's...
"I'm..." My eyes were burning wet. "I'm so sorry."
It's my fault.
"Make it...up to me...to us...then. Fix this." Eric looked me dead in the eyes, with all the fire in his soul. "Bring them to justice. Don't...let...them..."
The fire died. Strength left him. Eric was gone.
It's all my fault.
My hands shook with the lettered bundled up. I forced myself to move, putting them in my jacket, next to my heart and looked back.
My eyes widened, as I saw-
"Terry!" I rushed toward him. Almost forgetting to keep quiet. "No, no, no, Terry." I held him in my arms. He was so cold. The flesh so stiff. He was de-
Wait.
I focused all my senses, feeling something, a speck of life within him about to fade, and for him to rest.
I summoned up all my power, all my mana, even Spiral Power no matter how sludgey or little or slow it was, forcing it all on Healing Magic. On healing someone else.
I threw it all into that speck of life, forcing it to stay, to grow.
It was a haphazard effort. Unskillful, unrefined and wasteful. I could feel Terry being in more pain that he had ever been before because of my terrible healing.
"Agggh, Arrrggh!" Terry's eyes snapped opened as he coughed, and struggled to take in air.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. Terry, I'm here, it's okay. It's Nathan." I tried to tell him reassuringly.
"Na...thAN!" He cried out and gritted his teeth.
"Sorry! Sorry, it's okay, it's all gonna be okay." I said, feeling my mana rapidly emptying for a magic branch I wasn't skilled at. My Spiral Power straining in an effort for some fucking reason. This is meant to be a shounen power, so why isn't it doing the shounen thing, and helping save him my brother-
Pain broke my shoulder, as I felt a bullet punch into it.
I glared as I saw the giant light spell from the castle towers focus on me, and the Selika Mages started firing the stolen rifles at me.
Quickly I formed a barrier spell around me and Terry, but I couldn't power it well, as I had to focus on healing my little brother. I had to focus on them. I had to heal him, I couldn't lose him!
"Nat...Nathan..." He pleaded.
"It's okay. It's gonna be-" I felt the impact of the bullets hit against me. It wasn't lethal yet, my barrier was strong, but it was distracting.
"I'm sorry." Terry said.
"Save your breath."
"We couldn't..." He placed his hand on the one over his wound that I was pouring Healing Magic into. "We couldn't...stay together...in the end." Tear build up at the side of his eyes, and fell. I felt my own tears fall just the same. "Please Nathan..."
The bullets stopped. I felt the sky light up from the mass fire spell launching upward, about to reach it's arc and land on top of us.
"Please live."
I poured the last of my power into saving my brother.
But death defied me and took him all that same.
The fire beams struck.
The spell was fired as a warning, and a show of power from the Selika Mages saying they will eradicate any Holfort soldier down to the last Holfortian ant.
Then in defiance of that might, a shout erupted from the point of impact.
Not of pain.
But of wrath.
Then the world was bathed in crimson light, as a pillar of spiraling red energy blasted off from where the Holfort Soldier was, reaching all the way to the heavens.
And signaling the rageful judgement that will befall the Selikans right after.