link Lorenz volume_up
Ah, I was wondering who it was. What fortuitous timing.
link Shez volume_up
Did you need me for something?
link Lorenz volume_up
Nothing in particular. I was simply thinking of having a little chat with you. Please, do relax.
link Shez volume_up
But I already am relaxed...
link Lorenz volume_up
I've heard your background is quite the mystery. And what's more, that you possess some sort of unknown power.
link Lorenz volume_up
It's certainly a bold decision for Claude to put someone like that in charge of frontline forces.
link Lorenz volume_up
It's certainly a bold decision for Her Majesty to put someone like that in charge of frontline forces.
link Shez volume_up
I dunno if there's anything "bold" about it.
link Lorenz volume_up
Oh? It seems you do not understand your unique position then.
link Lorenz volume_up
Each noble house in Leicester commands its own knights, and those knights in turn enact the will of their lords through the soldiers in their employ.
link Lorenz volume_up
Typically, wars among regions are fought between nobles and the knights in their servitude.
link Lorenz volume_up
But you are no knight, merely a mercenary who commands soldiers in fealty to nobody at all.
link Shez volume_up
Maybe so, but all my orders come straight from the Alliance leader himself. What's the problem?
link Shez volume_up
Maybe so, but all my orders come straight from the emperor herself. What's the problem?
link Lorenz volume_up
There is no problem, per se. You excel at what you do and fight with true valor.
link Lorenz volume_up
However! Protecting the people of Leicester has always been the nobility's responsibility, and theirs alone.
link Lorenz volume_up
However! Protecting one's people during wartime has always been the nobility's responsibility, and theirs alone.
link Lorenz volume_up
Some nobles may feel insulted that they have to rely on a simple mercenary of unknown origin.
link Shez volume_up
Seriously? But nobles are usually the ones hiring mercenaries in the first place.
link Lorenz volume_up
On the other hand, I hear there are more commanders of common birth in the Empire of late.
link Lorenz volume_up
On the other hand, it is true that Her Majesty has actively appointed commanders of common birth of late.
link Lorenz volume_up
Given our current lack of resources, the Alliance could serve to learn from them and promote more commoners through our ranks.
link Lorenz volume_up
This strategy has proven effective in shoring up our ever-dwindling resources. And, of course, the nobles have no choice but to obey Her Majesty.
link Lorenz volume_up
Which means there should be no particular reason for anyone to resent you.
link Shez volume_up
Didn't you just say they might feel insulted? If nobody's getting all hot under the armor about it, then there's no problem, right?
link Lorenz volume_up
That said, this does not change the fact that a noble's obligation is to protect the commonfolk.
link Lorenz volume_up
Though your exact origins remain unclear, you undoubtedly fall into the "commoner" category as it stands.
link Lorenz volume_up
Therefore, you are entitled to all the protection a noble is compelled to provide. Simply say the word if you ever require my assistance.
link Shez volume_up
Of course, Lorenz. You'll be the first person I go to. Capable guy like you has plenty of sway with the other nobles, after all.
link Shez volume_up
I think I'll pass. I might be a commoner, but I'm a mercenary before anything else. Fighting is what I live for.
link Shez volume_up
You know, at first I thought you were just coming to complain, but you were actually trying to be nice.
link Lorenz volume_up
Me? Nice? To you? Ahaha! My, you are funny.
link Lorenz volume_up
Allow me to explain—I am the heir to House Gloucester. A noble among nobles.
link Lorenz volume_up
My offer of aid was not an act of kindness. It was a means to inform you of your place in this society.
link Lorenz volume_up
You would do well to remember the order of things here in Fódlan.
link Shez volume_up
So you just came to tell me how I'm disrupting the order? You are complaining!
link Lorenz volume_up
Most certainly not! Do you really think me that small-minded?
link Lorenz volume_up
I've acknowledged your skills, and all I ask in return is that you act according to your station. Understand?
link Shez volume_up
All right, I'll keep that in mind. For now.
link Shez volume_up
Not really, no. I mean, we're at war and you're seriously telling me I need to worry about how nobles and commoners are "supposed" to act?
link Shez volume_up
In any case, my job as a mercenary is to fight, simple as that. You're wasting your time if you're gonna get all bent out of shape about me.
link Lorenz volume_up
I am not—! Oh, never mind. We shall continue this at a later date.