Anima shot the king a sharp glare. His burning rage threatened to ignite the throne room, yet the king did not flinch. His gentle, warm smile never wavered.
“Please, calm yourself. She will not be punished. From the information given to me, she merely desired a family to call her own. Her actions, while large in scale, amount to nothing more than a child’s temper tantrum. Last I checked, that is not a crime.”
“I’m grateful for your considerate decision.”
His words soothed Anima’s rage, but that soothing lull barely lasted a moment. The king’s serious expression put Anima on guard. They were about to get into the most important part of their meeting.
“Now, let’s discuss the Merkalt incident. Losing him is a great blow to our country’s military force. We have other powerful knights such as Shaer at our disposal; however, what happened at the bridge proved that an exceedingly dangerous foe, unable to be subdued by our most powerful knights, could appear at any moment.” Anima listened very closely to the king’s words. “Losing access to a powerful individual like Merkalt puts our kingdom at great risk should we be faced with a cataclysmic event. For that reason, I would like you to take Merkalt’s place and sign a contract with us.”
“A contract like the one you had with the Scarletts?”
The king nodded. “I hear you married into the Scarlett family. Is that correct?”
“Yes. I’m Luina’s husband.”
“Then, given their circumstances, I assume you’re curious about the specifics, are you not? We are offering an annual salary of three hundred gold pieces.”
It was Anima’s first time hearing about the pay that came with being a mercenary for the kingdom, and three hundred gold was a lot of money. It equaled three thousand silver pieces, ten times the amount he’d sold the golem stone for. With that much coming in every year, his family would live like royalty.
“I decline.”
The king raised an eyebrow in confusion. It wouldn’t have surprised Anima if he were the first in the history of the kingdom to turn down the honor of becoming a mercenary serving directly under the king.
“And why is that?”
“Because I love my family.”
“I have heard about your undying love for your family from Shaer. That is part of the reason for my offer. I believe your family would be happy if you would agree to this contract and bring home nothing short of a fortune.”
“I won’t deny that the money would be nice, but it would also mean that I get to spend less time with my family. For me, my time together with them is more important than any worldly possession I could ever own.”
“I understand, but you see, issues that our knights or the highest-ranking Hunters can’t solve only arise once every couple of years. With your strength far outshining Merkalt’s, I’m certain that such events would be dealt with swiftly by your hand. All in all, you wouldn’t lose much time with your family.”
The king was absolutely right; it was obvious that no one was strong enough to oppose Anima. He could rush to the battlefield, defeat the enemy, then head home. It was that simple. The longest he would need to be away from home was a couple of days, but there was also the option that he could take his family on a trip every time a job came up. Even so, Anima’s determination was unshakable.
“I’m afraid I can’t sign your contract. My wife... Luina lost her father during one of his missions as a mercenary for the kingdom. I don’t care if I only have to deploy once a year or even just once a decade. It’s not happening. I will never make her live with the fear that I might one day vanish from her life the way her father did.”
Politeness had gone out the window halfway through, but the king listened carefully to everything Anima had to say.
“You would choose your wife’s peace of mind over serving the kingdom?”
“Yes. And no amount of money will change that.”
“I see...” the king answered in a disappointed tone, but Anima wasn’t finished.
“That being said, dangers that threaten the kingdom also threaten my family. Plus, I’ve taken a liking to this country. Every place we visited during our trip was incredibly welcoming and peaceful. So, I swear on my name that if anything like the Harbinger threatens the kingdom again, I will stop it.”
The king welcomed Anima’s promise with a hearty laugh.
“Very well. I will overlook Merkalt’s disappearance.”
“I’m honored.”
Achieving what he had come to do put a relieved smile on Anima’s face.
“While I’d thoroughly enjoy conversing with you further,” the king added, nodding, “I imagine you’re dying to get back to your family. Here, take this for your trouble.”
Shaer took an envelope from the king and walked it over to Anima.
“What’s this?”
“Consider it a reward for all your hard work. Turn it in at any Hunters’ Guild, and they’ll exchange it for fifty gold pieces. You said you don’t care for money, but I would very much appreciate it if you would accept.”
“I’ll use it to treat my family to a lovely dinner,” Anima said as he took the envelope.
“I’m certain they’ll be delighted to hear that,” Shaer told him. “Your Majesty, if I may, I’ll show Anima to the Hunters’ Guild. Please excuse us.”
Shaer bowed to the king, and Anima followed her example, marking the end of his audience. The two made their way out of the castle, and Anima began walking toward his inn.
“Lord Anima, the Guild is this way.”
“I’d like to go back to my family first. I wouldn’t want to make them wait.”
“Your love for your family is truly extraordinary,” Shaer replied, and flashed an understanding smile. “I’ll wait for you outside the inn.”
“You should come in with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your private time.”
“You’re not in the way. Not to me, not to Luina, and certainly not to the children. Everyone has grown so fond of you.”
His confession made her fidget.
“I’m quite happy to hear that. In that case, please allow me to take you up on your generous offer.”
Her arm thoroughly twisted, Shaer made her way back to the inn with Anima.
“Daddy!”
The moment they entered, Marie rushed up to Anima and hugged him.
“I’m home!”
After he picked Marie up, Myuke and Bram ran over to him as well.
“Daddy, can you believe this?! Bram won’t let me sleep with you! She wants you all for herself!”
“Sleeping with you is so nice! I’m letting Myuke have the whole top bunk to herself, m’kay?”
Seeing their small scuffle warmed Anima’s heart.
“Why don’t we all sleep together tonight?”
“Ooh!” Bram clapped her hands together. “I’m all for it, m’kay?”
“It’ll be super cramped, but whatever.”
Myuke seemed to be okay with the idea. They ran to their backpacks and moved them to the top bunk.
“Welcome back, Anima.”
Luina welcomed him with a smile.
“I’m home.”
“It seems like everything went well.”
“It did. I was pardoned for both the Bram and Malshan issues.”