"Till the end of this conflict..? I don't know if you people can see it or not, but Eldoris has never really been my dreamland. Ashenvale people..? I don't even know them. I came to fight for you, no doubt, but everyone can agree that ship has long sailed. I'm tortured here every day for a crime I was forced to commit—if I hadn't, I would've died at the hands of an unreasonable lord who didn't even bother to hear my side. If I am to do this, if I am to put my life on the line, give me something worth fighting for... Give me my freedom."

"Your head still attached to your body is reward enough, boy," Aramis gritted out through clenched teeth, and murmurs rippled through the room.

"I already gave you your reward," Vidalia added in her usual cold tone.

"That was for revealing information tomorrow. I didn't sign up to aid you through an entire war," Damian retorted.

"My lady, it might be a bit forward of me to say this, but if any other child in our kingdom had shown such talent and promise, the kingdom would have done anything to nurture it. He could be a Transcendent Seed in a very short time, We just assumed he was a spy but if there is a chance..." the same old lady who had earlier reprimanded Aramis now spoke in Damian's favor.

Vidalia listened carefully, her eyes calculating things.

"My Lady, how about I take responsibility for him? If anything happens, I will pay the price in his place," Lord Tristan offered, smiling at Damian in a way that only made him appear just that more sinister. What did this guy want from him?

"So you can adopt him into your house and wreak havoc in the neighboring regions again? I think not," Lord Ashford immediately called out Tristan's scheme.

"Enough!" the commander ordered.

"Think again, boy. Do you really want to let this one chance to gain my favor slip by?" she asked. However Damian was not paying attention to her words, she had just sent a large amount of mana towards him through the link. He unblocked the link while looking thoughtful, as if considering her words.

'What?' Damian asked.

'What is this nonsense now?' Vidalia's voice echoed in his mind.

'Why should I care about your stupid war? I tried being a soldier, and I got flogged for it, remember?'

'But you will die with me, you foolish boy.'

'Oh, I'm sure you'll save me to save yourself. Besides, defending myself and aiding your motley crew of lordlings are two completely different things.'

'Fine.... What do you want?'

'Promise me my freedom. A mana contract for my services.'

'Ugh... You always have to create some drama, don't you?'

'Just trying to stay alive... I'm barely 11 years old, for God's sake,' Damian lied. He wasn't even fully 9 years old yet.

'Even if you are telling the truth and I have wronged you, I won't just let you go free with a fire of vengeance clearly burning in your eyes. But I will promise to keep you safe, find a way to stop your punishment—it hurts me too, you know—and take you back with me. Your friends will be safe, my guarantee. Only she can decide your fate now...'

'She? Who..?'

'The Queen of Eldoris, who else?'

'I'll get that in writing?'

'Yes.'

'Then I agree to help you.'

Damian hadn't expected them to even consider his demands. He'd planned to share the necessary information when the time came anyway, but only if it risked the lives of innocent soldiers and workers in the camp. As for their lordly squabbles, they could all die for all he cared.

'Say you've reconsidered and will follow my orders in exchange for a good reward,' Vidalia pressed.

'And you call me dramatic?' Damian quipped back, blocking the link again. He cleared his throat loudly, drawing the attention of everyone who were still debating the validity of his arguments.

"I've reconsidered Lady Vidalia's offer, and I will assist to the best of my ability, in hopes of a better reward at the end of this fight."

The murmurs started again, but two people in particular were visibly disappointed: Aramis, who had hoped Damian was finally ready to die for his defiance, and Tristan, whose scheme bore no fruit. On the other hand, the old knight who had spoken in Damian's favor and the foreign knight both smiled at him. Even the Pugilist Transcendent Seed nodded in acknowledgment.

The commander put away the runic collar. Damian wasn't going to touch that thing before getting his mana contract. They began discussing strategies against the Ashenvale waygates, which could strike anywhere along the vast defensive line. Though the waygates couldn't transport an entire army, they could send an advance team to attack at the same time with defenses at the blockade's entrance.

The blockade was nearly finished, guarded by second-rankers day and night. They'd covered nearly everything, but nothing was certain. Anything could happen.

"Well then, there is still much to take care of, so let's end this meeting here. Everyone be prepared to fight at any moment. May the goddess Astraea help us defend what is rightfully ours," the commander declared.

Everyone stood and bowed, their faces set with determination, the mention of the goddess clearly motivating them. Damian, however, did not follow them out. He remained behind with the instructor maid and the lady commander.

"Something you want to say?" she asked.

Now... How should he start this..?

"Uhmm... Say... Do you want an iron golem?" Damian asked.

"Huh?" The commander, her guards, and even the usually composed instructor maid echoed in unison. Well golems were not that useful since barely anyone had done much research on them and very few people used the spell to make dirt golems. The spell of wood golem might be known to Vidalia since her family was the nature and wood specialist but the iron golem through a spell..? Now that was an art long lost in the winds of time...