I tend to curse my master quite a bit. I think he doesn't deserve it all the time. (Just most of the time.)

  Today is certainly not one of those days.

  The damn bastard has managed to screw me over in the worst manner possible. I mean, giving me impossible charges is one thing. I will manage that somehow. I can try to achieve it even if I don't know how.

  He knew that the vampire hunters were coming here. There is no way that the bastard did not know that. He learns things at about the same time as the scholars do. The only reason he wouldn't have told me is to screw me over.

  How the hell am I supposed to manage this? I guess that I should explain why I have a problem with them. The vampire hunters are the troop that I had to leave to come under my master.

  I have fought with the four people who are leaving the ship right now in countless battles. Yet, I would have preferred any other troop among the sentinels. Let's just say that our parting was not pleasant. I do not wish to speak of this beyond that.

  Well, now is not the time to lose myself in a panic. The people in front of me would certainly sense that. Fear in front of a sentinel is like bleeding in front of a vampire. They will smell it from a mile away.

  As if that was not enough. My troop is standing behind me. Trevor will still be able to keep his calm if things go badly. It is Jacob and Andrew that I am worried about. You need a certain degree of confidence when dealing with the sentinels. Otherwise, they will think you are weak. On that front, the sworn start at a disadvantage against us sentinels.

  Well, I guess that I have to worry about myself before worrying about my underlings.

  I guess I should describe them. After all, the general population is not able to differentiate one troop from another. (And that is by design. Being popular would be pretty deadly to us.)

  Leading the group is John. he is popular in the legion for his skill with a sword. Very few people have ever managed to beat the man in the game of two moves. He is also the man who taught me how to wield a sword. I have never managed to win a duel with the man.

  Just behind him is Eric, the troop's sharpshooter. He has a scar near his left eye. (An encounter with a particular deadly vampire.) The man's mana sense is much more sensitive than mine. He can put an arrow in my head before I can even see a blob of mana in that direction.

  Behind them both is Emilia, draped completely in black. Looks like she has yet to leave her obsession with the color black. She is the troop rogue. She would put any assassin of the guard corps to shame in terms of hiding.

  Finally, closing the quarter is Lauren, the group's tank. She is a half-giant, wielding a giant shield and axe. (That only she can lift in our group.) She is a small hill herself when she is armored up.

  "How long are you going to stand there, little Antonio?" John speaks. There is a controlled edge to the man's voice. Something meant for only enemies. "You certainly seemed to be surprised to see us here."

  That snaps me out of my reverie. As I prepare to speak.

  "There is no need to scare the kid.", Eric says. "he looks as surprised as I feel at this moment. Looks like it was not his plan."

  He always was the group's negotiator. He was the only reason our little group was not at each other's throats all the time.

  "Good morning, young master Antonio.", Emilia speaks, her voice laden with sarcasm.

  I need to focus. Well, I had expected such hostility from Emilia. She is never one to scream, but her anger is always felt. As long as I don't get to feel her dagger in my back. (She is capable of that. She doesn't listen to even John if she gets angry enough.)

  "Well, I did not expect the legion to send you.", I speak, laughing. Even I can hear how hollow it feels. "Well, it will be pleasant working with you."

  "It is the same for us.", Eric speaks. "It would be nice to have your fire stakes again. You wouldn't understand just how much harder it was to fight without it."

  I don't even need to glance to see that the group is in combat mode. They are certainly not happy to see me. I can only tell because I am familiar with them. I know all their little tics. To anybody else, they would see a bunch of people chatting around with an old friend.

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  "Well, it was a pleasant surprise for me too.", I speak. "I am sure that you must be exhausted from the journey. My troop will show you to your rooms."

  As I speak, I study the group's body language. You have to be careful with the sentences. They can be all smiles and joke with you until the moment that they stab you in the back.

  Well, they certainly look like they want to attack at this moment. They are at least showing no physical inclination to attack, at least.

  "How about a duel?" John suddenly speaks. "A game of two moves as we used to play. I am sure that you can make use of the practice."

  "Certainly. We have a couple of days until the strikeforce is complete. We have nothing else to do anyway.", I find myself repeating. "For now, Jacob will take you to your rooms. You must be exhausted on this flight."

  You can see Jacobs's nervousness when he scurries to lead this bunch. I would say that there is a hint of awe there as well. Maybe Andrew would have been a better choice, but it had not struck me in the heat of the moment. Not that he would be that much better.

  Well, the two sworn are another reason that I am speaking to them personally. For better or worse, the sentinels have quite a bit of influence over the sworn. You could say that we are the examples that they are expected to look up to in their training.

  That is a reason that the two soldiers have never missed a command of mine, even though they never really speak to me. I can't trust that they will be able to stand up to the troop when it might be necessary.

  As for what I am doing, I am waiting for the scholars to come here. I am supposed to greet them as well. Granted, at the moment, all I want to do is run about screaming like a madman.

  Well, they are leaving from the top of the ship now. There has been a plank placed for them to climb down from. It is not very practical or safe. Most ships have an entrance at the base. It would be safer and quicker to get out of there.

  It is supposed to be a show of force, I think. That they can take the worst possible route, and still no enemy would dare to attack them. Well, I should have recorded that. It could have meant my death, not noticing my environment like that in any other situation.

  Shit, I need to focus. There are only three of them, as I expected. (That is the usual size of a scholar's team.) Right now, I have to greet them as politely as possible.

  Their assistance would be quite useful in this fight. You could say that right now they are a wild card. They could be with me or against me. This interaction could very well decide on which side they fall.

  I struggle to keep my expression steady as I look at the faces of the scholars in front of me. You never know what they can learn from a misplaced expression. As I look at them, I struggle to keep the surprise from my face. All three of them are young. I would say that each of them is my age.

  Until now, the youngest scholar that I have ever seen was a middle-aged man. The man was old enough to be my uncle. These scholars could have been siblings. Their mana signatures are also impressive. Each of them is at the peak of the foundation stage. I would say that they are even more impressive than the vampire hunters in terms of cultivation.

  "I greet you, scholars.", I speak. "I am your guide to the Mayfire Castle. My soldier, Trevor, will be leading you to your rooms."

  It is always advised to be as direct as possible with the scholars. They are not the variety to meander on a topic for hours to be polite.

  "I greet you, young master Antonio.", the man leading this bunch speaks.

  I can feel my heart sink as I listen to this.

  "Are you sure you want to fight this duel with troop captain John?" the man speaks. "We have heard of his reputation. Are you sure you can fight him? You know how the legion can get if they think you are weak."

  This just makes my heart sink more.

  "You need not worry for me, lord scholars. I know how to take care of myself. Who knows, I might even win the duel.", I reply. "May I enquire your names?"

  As I ask, I bow my head to them. Better to be safe than to be sorry.

  "Oh, certainly.", he replies, bowing to me. "I am searcher Arnold."

  As he speaks, I look at the two people behind him. One is a young man who holds a book with him.

  "I am searcher Patrick.", the man speaks, bowing to me.

  Finally, there is a lady who holds a magic staff. That is rare. All scholars are good mages. That is not the only thing they focus on, though. At least not to a degree that they would require a magic staff.

  "I am searcher Amelia.", she speaks.

  I have to take note of her. The air of authority she carries makes it clear that she is the leader.

  "I am sure that you must be exhausted.", I speak. "My soldier will be taking you to your rooms. If you follow him."

  As I speak, Trevor begins to move, taking the scholars with him.

  As the scholars leave my mana sense, I can feel myself wanting to collapse to the ground. Andrew looks even worse than me. Things are going to be harder than I had expected them to be. I mean, I had expected to face a challenge from the legion. What I got from the legion is even worse than that.

  The scholars are also more difficult, it turns out. They are an undefined quantity. Now it is clear that they are hostile to me. The scholars have already challenged me in this conversation. (Their insults never tend to be obvious.)

  They named me young master. That would be my title if I were a part of the formation corps. The fact that they are calling me young master is an indirect threat. It means that they are going to treat me as if I were a part of the formation corps.

  I am sure that I can still woo them. It is just going to be a long and annoying process.

  Also, how did they even find out about the duel? That was something that we agreed on moments ago. It is certainly not magic. After all, I have a stronger mana sense than them. (The perks of being a sage.) There is no way that they would be able to hide any magic from me.