Tom P.O.V

I watched as Ajax quickly left the main camp and made for ours. I was surprised to see how quick he reacted and managed to put a defensive position not just for himself but also for me. The speed with which his mana reacted was what surprised me the most. I had never seen a mage use mana that quickly when caught unprepared, and that was the time until I saw the blue sheen on his skin, just how fast is he at bringing it up?

I turn back towards the firing range where I see Commander Grievous as well as two similarly dressed people, most likely the commanders of the other guard units, speaking with the two noble girls who just caused the commotion. While I hadn’t been around the commander all that long, with my new position as mascot he did introduce me to a few of the nobles in our city before. I could clearly see he now wore an expression I have seen time and time again. It was one that told he was pissed off and couldn’t even show that to the person he was talking to.

The other commanders seemed to be doing a better job of masking their emotions but it was pretty clear that all three of them were pretty annoyed at having a false alarm after having to help drill civilians into shape for the upcoming battles. Looking at the noble girls the blonde one, granddaughter to the Duke, assumed a meek position and at least seemed contrite, the navy haired one, daughter of the Archduke, had an aloof expression that all but said it was a minor matter and she might make a repeat performance if it strikes her fancy.

I quickly moved to help rearrange some of the dropped training racks that got thrown around in reaction to the explosion as soon as I saw the commander separate from the group. It was best if I made myself look busy as I didn’t want his attention on me right now if I could help it.

Thankfully everything just blew over and the camp got itself into the normal rhythm once again. In fact, after the big commotion, the display of power actually improved the troops morale.

The next day was a repeat of the previous only difference being training started in the morning. As our unit finished with our drills I left to stick next to the commander, my job as liaison meant I was almost always on call in case he needed a message delivered. The meeting concluded quickly with all parties agreeing that the plan they had made needed no changes unless the enemy made some of their own.

“Excuse me, sir Tom.” the duke’s daughter called out to me.

“I am not a knight ,milady, but how could I help you?” I answered as politely as I could at being addressed directly. Already fending off glares from the two future barrons about being addressed as a noble.

“Oh,” she seemed to take notice of them as well and gave me an apologetic smile.

“Is there something I can do for you?” I prodded her back on track after a few seconds.

“Ah ,yes.” She came back to herself. “There was someone in your group yesterday that wasn’t here today, a young man with a rather large shield, do you happen to know who and where he is?”

My thoughts freezed at the question, I could bet my house that she was looking for Ajax, the only question now was why? Could it be that her guard had a strong Inspect type skill, or maybe she one and managed to pick up on him when he came to the main camp yesterday. I didn’t get a chance to organize my thoughts and respond before her friend cut in.

“Really , Lex?” she asked. “I thought I convinced you that there was no way someone mounted a spell in less than a second yesterday. What you felt was most likely just some expelled mana from a startled mage that just so happened around him.”

This confirmed to me that they were talking about Ajax. Not only me but even the commander, who had turned around as he was about to exit to see what they wanted with me, gave me a brief but pointed look that told me I would have to answer some questions on this topic and that he put it together Ajax was the focus as well.

“This is a guard regiment, no way a mage would have a shield.” heir Stillwater filled in, “all guard mages wear robes and use staffs. Though you not seeing him here today does bring up some concerns, are your men neglecting their duty commander?”

“The only people who were not here today are the hunters of our unit, milady, if you're looking for a young man with a shield it must be Ajax.” I tried as best as I could to hide my fear but it seems that I didn’t do all that great a job as they picked up on it.

“Any reason her looking into this Ajax would trouble you?” The guard whom I had never heard speak a word since the start of this campaign asked me as his hand went around the hilt of his sword.

“Ajax is not part of our unit.” The commander answered, luckily for me as I didn’t have an answer ready. “He is one of the conscripts, barely fifteen and came into the city to join the Adventurer’s Guild. He was a hunter for one of the villages on the other side of Lessis and we dragged him into our unit to make up for one of ours who was exempted.”

His explanation took the attention of the people off me but it seems it wasn’t enough to put guard at ease, in fact he tightened his grip on the blade further.

“This still doesn’t explain his apprehension, you knowing so much about this actually makes it even more suspicious.” He hissed out.

“Ajax happens to be his little brother.” the commander continued and also seemed to flash something, perhaps a sigil, to the guard. I wasn’t quick enough to see it but the guard relaxed and took his hand off the hilt.

“See, there you have it.” The archduke’s daughter said. “He’s a hunter. Anything else we should know about him commander?”

Despite looking to put the whole incident behind her, the girl is surprisingly sharp. How she picked up that there might be more there I don’t know but I sure was glad the commander didn’t know about Ajax’s magic since lying to a superior is a crime.

“Yes, there is.” the commander’s words froze the blood in my veins, did he know about Ajax? “He is the person who planted the bug into the enemy camp.”

It took everything in me not to give a sigh of relief. The girl seemed satisfied with the answer and both me and the commander exited the tent after the duke’s daughter, Lex, promised a reward for his accomplishment.

“We’ll talk about whatever this is tomorrow morning, talk to your brother and Kate tonight but know that I want some answers.” the commander growled before he made a wave to dismiss me.

I quickly made my way back towards the unit but bumped into Kate along the way. We both took a little detour out of sight where I explained to her what happened.

“Oh, my poor boy,” she purred. “You look so stressed, let's see if I can help with that.”

She grabbed onto my arm and pulled me towards the bushes as her ears flicked and her tail wrapped around my waist.

After Kate … helped release my stress we both got dressed and headed our separate ways. I was surprised to find our unit all clustered in one place with boisterous laughter being heard. What on earth had happened this time?

As I made my way over I could see only Spencer and his buddies were sitting away from the main group with annoyed looks on their faces.

“She sure doesn’t seem to like you.” I heard the voice of the lead hunter, signifying that the hunters had returned. I dreaded thinking what had Ajax done this time. “I have to say I feel sorry for you if this is how females react to you.”

The laughter picked up at that and I started to force my way into the group to see what the fuss was all about. In the center, being given a good two feet of room was Ajax and he seemed to be wrestling with a rather large cat. The cat was clawing and hissing at him, though she was too weak to be anything more than an annoyance for him.

“Ajax, what did you do?” I asked as I approached him.

“He was jumped by a grown version of one of these, he killed it and chose to take the pup. Doesn’t seem like she likes him though.” The youngest hunter barely formed a coherent answer through his laughter.

As I approached the struggling duo to get a close look the cat froze and turned her head towards me. Before either of us could react she released a small puff of smoke and disappeared from Ajax’s hands only to appear on my shoulders. She sniffed me and rubbed her head into my neck before pulling back to look into my eyes. Before I could do anything else a system screen popped up for me.

Companion Bond

[Shadow Cat] would like to form a companion bond with you. Accept?