CHAPTER 143: HIRED MUSCLE

The academy wasn’t completely deserted.

Aegis passed a handful of students on her way through the east wing. A girl muttering incantations into a spellbook like it owed her money. Two boys sparring clumsily in an empty classroom. A cluster of scholarship students huddled in the library, probably cramming for next semester already.

[Some people have nowhere to go. Others would rather grind than vacation. I respect it.]

She checked the common room. Empty. Peeked into one of the lecture halls. Nothing but dust motes floating in the sunlight.

She wasn’t looking for just anyone, though. She had someone specific in mind.

Kanna Greaves. Grey-haired, stoic, and built like someone had taken "warrior woman" as a character creation prompt and maxed out every physical stat. The woman who’d beaten Scarlett in the Winter Trials without breaking a sweat.

[If I’m building a house worth a damn, I need fighters. Real ones. And Kanna’s as real as they come.]

She made her way toward Korvo’s training courtyard, boots echoing off stone.

And there, in the center of it, was the woman of the hour.

Kanna moved through sword forms like she was trying to bore a hole through reality with sheer repetition. Her grey hair was tied back in a practical ponytail, sweat darkening her training shirt and making it cling to her abs. Each strike landed exactly where it was supposed to. No wasted motion. No flourish. No flashy spins.

Just the kind of disciplined violence that made Aegis understand why Scarlett had lost.

[Damn. Scarlett really picked a good rival. This woman probably does sword drills in her sleep.]

Also, her arms were fucking huge.

Aegis leaned against the courtyard entrance, watching. And maybe appreciating the view a little.

In Queen of Hearts, Kanna was a mid-game recruitable character. High combat stats, low social stats, absolutely zero patience for bullshit. Most players ignored her because her recruitment requirements were annoying—you had to beat her in single combat twice, and she’d wipe the floor with you if you hadn’t grinded properly.

But if you did recruit her? One of the best tanks in the game. Loyal, deadly, and surprisingly good at training other units.

[And right now, House Starcaller has exactly zero military power. Can’t have that.]

Kanna finished her form and lowered her blade. Without turning around, she spoke.

"Starcaller. You’re staring."

"Can you blame me? That footwork is gorgeous."

Kanna turned.

"What do you want?"

[Straight to business. I can work with that.]

Aegis pushed off from the wall and strolled into the courtyard, hands in her pockets.

"I have a proposition for you."

"Not interested."

"You haven’t even heard it yet."

"Don’t need to." Kanna set her practice sword on a rack and grabbed a towel, wiping her face. "You’re a noble now. I know how nobles operate. You want something. I say no. You offer money. I say no again. You threaten me. I break your arm." She draped the towel over her shoulder. "Saves us both time if we skip to the end."

Aegis grinned.

"See, that’s exactly why I want you."

Kanna paused, towel pressed against her neck. One eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch—which, for her, was basically a dramatic gasp.

"What do you want?"

"House Starcaller needs a combat specialist. Someone to hunt monsters, maintain combat readiness, train future retainers." Aegis ticked off the points on her fingers. "Competitive pay. Access to resources—including some very interesting ruins beneath my new manor. Near-full autonomy on how you run things."

"Near-full."

"You’d still be working for me. I’m not gonna pretend otherwise."

Kanna crossed her arms. Her biceps flexed, and Aegis had to actively stop herself from staring.

"And why would I want to work for you?"

"Because you’re bored."

Kanna’s eyes narrowed. First real reaction Aegis had gotten.

"I’ve watched you," Aegis continued. "In Korvo’s classes, in the tournament, just now. You’re better than everyone here and you know it. The only person who’s given you a real fight is Scarlett, and you beat her already. You’re at risk of stagnating."

"Bold assumption."

"Am I wrong?"

Silence.

Aegis pressed forward.

"Working for me means real combat. Actual monsters, not training dummies. Opponents that’ll kill you if you slip up. Plus, once I start recruiting more retainers, you’d be training them. Shaping them. Building something."

Kanna’s expression didn’t change, but she hadn’t walked away yet. That was something.

"I don’t do noble politics," she said finally.

"Neither do I." Aegis shrugged. "I do results. You’re one of the best fighters in this entire academy, maybe the best pure combatant we’ve got. That’s what I need. Not someone who’ll kiss my ass at parties. Someone who can actually fight."

Kanna studied her for a long moment.

Aegis’s HUD flickered.

DIALOGUE OPTIONS

1. "I’m building something real here. You could be part of it from the ground floor." [APPEAL TO AMBITION]

2. "The ruins beneath my manor is packed with dangerous monsters. You’d have worthy opponents every week." [APPEAL TO COMBAT DESIRE]

3. "I’ll double whatever stipend you’re currently getting from the academy." [BRIBE]

4. "Look, I need someone I can trust to watch my back. You’re that person." [APPEAL TO LOYALTY]

[Option three is lazy. Option four is too personal—we barely know each other. Option one might work, but Kanna doesn’t strike me as the ambitious type. She just wants to fight.]

Aegis chose option two.

"The ruins beneath my manor are packed with dangerous monsters. You want practical experience? You’d have worthy opponents to face whenever you wanted them."

Kanna’s jaw tightened. Her grip on the towel shifted.

[There we go! That got her attention~]

"What kind of monsters?"

"Ancient guardians, mostly. Constructs, elementals, the undead. Tough bastards that require actual skill to take down." Aegis grinned. "Not like these training dummies you’ve been swinging at."

Kanna uncrossed her arms.

Another dialogue prompt appeared.

DIALOGUE OPTIONS

1. "Think of it as a permanent training ground. No restrictions, no supervision." [EMPHASIZE FREEDOM]

2. "Scarlett’s already agreed to help with the hunting. You two could finally settle your rivalry properly." [COMPETITIVE ANGLE]

3. "The drops from those monsters are worth serious gold. You’d get a cut of everything we sell." [FINANCIAL INCENTIVE]

[Option two is a lie—I haven’t asked Scarlett yet. Option three might work but feels weak. Option one, though... Kanna values autonomy. She hates being told what to do.]

"Think of it as a permanent training ground," Aegis said. "No restrictions. No supervision. Just you, your sword, and monsters that actually fight back. You run the combat operations however you see fit. I just need results."

Kanna was quiet for a moment. Then she walked to the weapon rack and picked up a real sword—steel, not wood.

"One condition."

[Here it comes.]

"Name it."

"I fight you. Right now. One-on-one." Kanna turned, blade in hand. "You beat me at the Winter Trials. I want to know if that was skill or luck."

[Of course. Every goddamn fighter in this world wants a rematch.]

"You’re on."

She walked to the weapon rack and drew her own blade. Not Ruby and Sapphire, no. She wanted to show she could actually fight, after all. Using a different weapon from the one she clearly specialized in would help.

[... Of course, I’m losing a lot of power changing weapons, but whatever. I can make this work.]

They faced each other in the center of the courtyard.

Kanna settled into her stance. Low, stable, sword angled across her body. Defensive but coiled to strike.

Aegis matched her, though her form was looser. She’d never beat Kanna in pure technique. But she didn’t need to.

"First to yield or first to disarm?" Aegis asked.

"First to yield."

"Works for me."

Neither moved.

The courtyard was silent except for distant birdsong.

Kanna struck first.

She closed the distance in two explosive steps, her blade coming in fast and low. Aegis barely got her sword down in time—the impact jarred up her arm hard enough to make her teeth rattle. Kanna was already flowing into her next attack, a horizontal slash that Aegis ducked under, feeling the blade whistle past her scalp.

[FAST. Really fucking fast!]

Aegis backpedaled. Kanna followed, each strike forcing her back another step. No hesitation. No openings. Just one attack flowing into the next like she’d done this ten thousand times.

Which she probably had.

Steel rang against steel. Aegis parried another blow, then another, her arms starting to burn.

[Can’t win trading blows. She’s stronger, faster, more skilled. Need to change the game.]

She waited for an opening.

It came when Kanna overextended on a thrust. Not much—maybe an inch more than she should have. Anyone else wouldn’t have noticed.

Aegis noticed.

She sidestepped, letting the blade pass her ribs by a hair’s breadth, and slammed her palm forward.

At that moment, she used a new spell she’d gotten recently.

Raw magical force exploded from her palm directly into Kanna’s chest.

Kanna flew backward and hit the ground hard, her sword clattering away across the dirt. Aegis ran over, pressing the tip of her weapon against Kanna’s throat.

"Yield?"

Kanna looked surprised. Not quite shocked, but still surprised.

"... I yield."

[Done.] Aegis held back a sigh of relief.

For a moment, Kanna just lay there, staring at the sky. Then she sat up, rubbing her sternum.

"The hell was that?"

"A little trick I picked up. An evolution of the spell I used against you at the Winter Trials." Aegis lowered her hand, breathing hard. "Packs more punch than the basic version."

The more detailed explanation was:

Aether Burst: (Intermediate) (15 MP, 15s CD, Unleashes a burst of energy to stun opponents. Shorter range than Aether Pulse, but higher effectiveness when used in close range)

She’d been training with Rosanna pretty regularly over the past few weeks. The ghost queen, as usual, was an excellent teacher when her ghostly clothes weren’t slipping off mid-lecture. Which happened so often that by now Aegis had gotten desensitized to it.

Between dodging unexpected glimpses of spectral royal tits and actually paying attention to the lessons, Aegis had gotten pretty decent at Aether Weaving. She could pull ambient mana faster now, shape it more precisely, and her spell list had expanded from "one trick" to "a few tricks."

Progress.

Kanna stared at her.

Then she started laughing.

Kanna stared at her.

Then she started laughing.

It was a low sound, rough, like it didn’t get much use. But it was real.

"You’re full of surprises, Starcaller."

"I try."

Kanna got to her feet, rolling her shoulders. There’d be a nasty bruise there tomorrow.

"Alright. You win." She retrieved her sword and sheathed it. "I’ll work for you. But I want that rematch eventually. A real one, where you don’t rely on new tricks."

"Sure."

Aegis extended her hand.

Kanna looked at it for a moment. Then she clasped it firmly. Her grip was strong, calloused, warm.

Aegis shook it, her grin probably looking way too smug.

"Welcome to House Starcaller."

"Don’t make me regret this."

"Wouldn’t dream of it."

They stood there for a moment, hands clasped, the summer sun beating down hot enough to make Aegis’s scalp itch.

[Step one complete. Got my first retainer. Now I just need about ten more steps and a small fortune.]

"When do I start?" Kanna asked, still holding Aegis’s hand.

"Officially? Right now. But, I don’t need you tagging along with me just yet."

"Fine. I’ll keep training here until you need me, I guess." She tilted her head. "And Starcaller? Don’t expect me to start sucking up to you. I might be working for you, but I’m no servant."

"Good. I hate that shit anyway."

Kanna’s lips twitched into something that was almost, maybe, a smile.

"We might just get along then."

"ACK!"

She pulled Aegis close.

"When that match happens, I won’t lose."

Aegis swallowed.

[... Whoa.]

Kanna finally let go and stepped back.

"O-Oh, meet me at my manor—it’s the half-collapsed disaster in the Noble Quarter, you can’t miss it. We’ll go over the details and I’ll show you those ruins."

Kanna nodded once.

"I’ll be there."

She grabbed her towel and walked off without another word.

Aegis watched her go—watched those shoulders, that back, those legs.

Her HUD flickered with an update.

HOUSE STARCALLER - RETAINERS

Combat Specialist: Kanna Greaves

Role: Monster hunting, combat training

Security Status: Probationary

Loyalty: Neutral (respect-based)

+10 Affection!

Kanna Greaves: (❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍)

[Neutral loyalty. Makes sense. She’s not doing this out of love—she’s doing it because I offered her good fights and proved I could win. That’s fine. Loyalty can be built.]

Her shoulder ached where she’d blocked Kanna’s heavier strikes. Her palm tingled from channeling the Aether Burst.

[Worth it. Totally worth it.]