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A man with golden hair and a handsome face polished his sword. He sat on the top of a fortress wall. He was well known for his relaxed attitude and jokes in serious moments. A couple men, all wearing the same iron equipment, sat around the man.

“So anyway, she tells me to fix her leaky roof… Are you kidding me? A leaky roof?”

The men started to chuckle.

“This woman was living in a damn shack, and she’s worried about a tiny leak? So I told her what I should have.”

One of the men asked the question that Jamie was hoping they would ask.

“What’d you tell her?”

“I’ll tell you what I told her. I said, ‘ I’m already paying to share your bed by the night, and you want me to fix a leaky roof? Woman, do I look like a carpenter? Do I have a hammer and nails on my belt? No, I have a sword- because I’m a vampire hunter! If you ever get attacked by a vampire, then I’ll help you. Until then, focus on the task at hand.’”

The men chuckled. Jamie’s humorous stories had entertained them through many of the recent wall-watching duties.

“Jamie, slacking again? Distracting your brothers?”

Jamie stood upright upon hearing the calm and feminine voice.

“I, uh…” He stuttered out of surprise. He looked for his friends to help, but they had already ran off to their respective positions. The woman showed no signs of anger- which Jamie had long learned meant that she was angrier than shouting. He quickly tried to change the subject.

“Who is this man, Captain Freyja?”

Jamie looked up and down the giant. Jamie was certainly not short, but compared to this man, he felt little more than a child.

Freyja answered in the same tone.

“This is Amarok. He is a new recruit. I’m putting him in your squad for tonight’s assignment.”

“Ah, Captain Freyja, while he is certainly an impressive person, tonight’s assignment will be rough for a novice…”

“Are you questioning my judgement?” Freyja smiled warmly. She pushed her red hair behind her ear. Jamie’s face sunk. Amarok was quietly observing.

“NO! N-Never, Captain Freyja… I will take him!” Jamie quickly moved over to Amarok. With a couple backslaps and an awkward laugh, Jamie tried to show Freyja that he would treat him as a brother going forward. Amarok’s expression had not changed, but he was slightly surprised at the agility of Jamie. Could there be more to this man than meets the eyes?

“Good! Thank you, Jamie. And we will talk about your punishment for earlier upon your return from the assignment. I’ll see your squad at the final briefing at the gate.”

Freyja, who had not lost her smile at any point, walked further down the wall to probably scold the other men for giving the foolish man attention.

Jamie relaxed his posture and smacked his forehead as she walked away.

“Damnit… She never comes up here… I am so screwed…”

He cut eyes at Amarok. His gaze and tone wasn’t as friendly as before.

“Look, man… I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably going to die tonight… We’re raiding a cave with an Elder Vampire in it… Oh, it’s so tragic. You look like a good fellow, but that bitch Freyja is sending you to your death.”

“I see. I will prepare accordingly.”

Jamie’s eyebrows raised at his response.

“Hey, hey… Didn’t you hear me? An ELDER vampire, got it? So, like, not a kid or new one… This one’s at least 100 years old!”

“I understand the difference between an Elder vampire and a regular vampire.” Amarok’s expression did not change.

Jamie blinked a few times.

“Say, you’re not an idiot, are you? Because if you are, that’s okay with me, but I need to know.”

Amarok grimaced slightly. Is this guy really a Squad Leader of the Night Guard?