The man’s grip tightened around Mathias’ neck. No doubt the soldier meant it. The drink, combined with all the money he’d lost, had pushed him out of control. Mathias could tell the soldier wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.
“Spit it out. The hidden fortune. Look, I’ll even consider splitting the proceeds.”
“Well, that does sound interesting. Perhaps you’d consider enlightening me,” came another male voice, this one with an odd affectation. The pitch was almost musical. “Only me, of course.”
The very next moment, the soldier with the thin eyebrows rolled his eyes backwards and collapsed to the floor, and the pressure around Mathias’ throat was abruptly gone.
Mathias followed the man to the ground and landed on all fours, retching. It wasn’t until a dozen shallow breaths later that he finally realized what had happened. Through teary eyes he peered up to see a tall soldier sporting a mustache. At least, the man was dressed like a soldier, and he had to be the source of the last utterance.
He looked around thirty. Yet Mathias would have believed he was fifty, if someone had told him so. The mustache made it hard to tell the man’s true age.
“A good evening to you. Mathias Kramer, I presume?”
Mathias had been right, the man’s speech was oddly affected. The man proffered a hand. He seemed to want to help up the junior Kramer.
For a moment, Mathias wasn’t sure if he should take it.
What if this man turned out to be like the soldier with the thin eyebrows? More to the point, how did he know who Mathias was?
“Nice work, boss. Nice and clean.”
Another soldier approached from behind. This one was old, but he was big and covered in burly muscle.
Mathias wondered for a moment if he might be hallucinating, but the more he looked at the soldier’s face, the more elderly he seemed. His cropped hair was silver and streaked with white. Mathias had never seen an old man so powerfully built.
Two more soldiers filed in behind him. They wore brand-new uniforms. One was a boy who looked no older than Mathias. The other was an even younger─no, a young woman.
Mathias was beginning to feel confused.
None of them indicated surprise at the scene before them, at finding the soldier with the thin eyebrows sprawled unconscious over the floor of the corridor. Were they all aware that he had attacked Mathias?
“That should go without saying. I am quite proficient,” the mustached soldier said in a singsong tone. “Come, to your feet!” He extended his hand even farther.
With nothing else to do, Mathias clasped hold of it and let himself be pulled up. He was still a little dizzy. He put his hand on the wall to steady himself.
“How do you know who I am?”
“How do I know you? My friends, did you hear that?”
He glanced back at the soldiers behind him. The gigantic old man wore a big grin; Mathias got the impression that the man was always smiling. The boy was looking coldly away. The woman upturned a tankard of what was probably ale and narrowed her eyes in apparent bliss. The mustached soldier turned back towards Mathias.
“How would I not know the scion of the renowned Kramer Merchant Association?”
Perhaps they had also seen Jörg’s notice, the one containing the message to turn down Mathias’ application. Perhaps they’d been there watching when he was rejected. Still, the soldier’s phrasing suggested he’d known Mathias from before the notice had gone out.
“It was clear the moment you came in. The abundant intellect! The oozing refinement! How out of place you were in a cesspool like this. An ill-match indeed!”
The gigantic old man was still grinning. The boy tutted, and the woman stifled a yawn.
The others addressed the mustached soldier as “boss” but didn’t seem to be treating him in accordance with the title.
“You were watching me? The whole time?” Mathias inquired of the mustached soldier.
“Naturally.”
“Then you also overheard our exchange?” Mathias glanced at the soldier with the thin eyebrows still recumbent on the floor.
“Assuredly. Hence our decision to intervene,” the mustached soldier said. He suddenly swung his head in closer. “Which brings me to my next question. It appears you are in possession of some rather special information?”
“Ah, um…” Mathias inevitably felt cautious. He couldn’t afford to make the same mistake twice.
“I ask that you give us a chance. You wish to volunteer for the campaign to take back Shiganshina?”
“Yes. But who are you all?”
They seemed awfully familiar with the way of the world.
Despite their air of having seen many battles, all four had only simple marks on their collars. It was hard to believe they exercised any influence over personnel decisions.
“Oh, we’re just a group of humble volunteers. Who have only just obtained their uniforms. Still, I can’t help but think we might be the most appropriate people to help you with your arrangements. I can assure you we’re a fair amount more pliable than regular soldiers.” He cast a look over his shoulder and exchanged a knowing smile with the gigantic old man. “And perhaps we should change venue. To some place more suitable for private discourse.”
The mustached soldier proffered his hand for a second time, forcing it into Mathias’ own. “Call me Bernhardt. It’s a good name, no? Nothing like yours, but it does have a certain dignified ring to it.”
Not in my book, Mathias felt an urge to argue, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
Who were these people? These terribly shady people?
Mathias followed the group, having resigned himself to whatever might happen. The mustached soldier─Bernhardt─flagged down a server, thrust a number of silver coins into his palm, and requested a private room.
The room was cramped, with a round table in the center and six chairs around it. Although it was only separated from the nearby hall by a flimsy wall, the outside clamor dropped away the instant the door was closed.
Mathias had finally claimed his drink from the server. Bernhardt and the others also had drinks before them.
Bernhardt raised his aloft. “To our meeting!”
Nobody followed his cue. As for the woman, she had already started imbibing a new one. Bernhardt shrugged, finished the gesture alone, then took a deep gulp of the ale.
“We should continue our introductions. The large one over there is Jarratt.”
“Good to meet you, kid.” A giant arm stretched out.
Not knowing what else to do, Mathias took the man’s hand and shook it. “You too,” he said.
The gigantic old man, Jarratt, flashed a toothy smile. A great many creases formed next to his eyes. He seemed good-natured─rather relentlessly so.
“The sulky one is Klaus. The rose among us weeds, Nikki.”
Klaus gave Mathias a brief, moody glance, but looked away almost immediately. Mathias didn’t remember having done anything to offend him. Klaus most likely bore him a natural aversion. Maybe he was the type who considered everyone in the privileged classes his enemy.