Chapter 17: Rewards

The quartermaster was not a problem. The lacquered armor, extra soul stones, and improved rations had been promised, and Koda’s Core Seed needed every advantage it could get.

The medical tent was another matter.

An infernal medic would know how to examine the flow of energy through a demon’s body. If they inspected his seal closely, they might notice that its core was thinner than it should be.

He considered smoothing out the irregularity before reporting for examination, then abandoned the idea.

He’d just felt the array react to the smallest adjustment.

Touching it again might provoke a stronger response, and the officer would have his proof.

’I’ll leave it alone, for now. A flawed seal is better than one that suddenly looks freshly repaired.’

It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was the best option he had.

The crest at his belt seemed heavier with every step.

Rank brought resources, but it also brought attention with it. From now on, every injury and every unusual decision could be scrutinized.

He rounded the corner of the last shed and nearly walked into someone.

"Vanguard Leader," the stranger said pleasantly.

Koda stopped.

The man was a junior officer, lean and young for his rank, with armor worn thin at the edges and a face that was easy to forget. His smile was small, relaxed, and entirely unremarkable.

That alone made Koda wary.

"I was hoping I’d catch you alone," the officer continued. "Congratulations on your promotion, by the way. Not everyone manages to leave the arena with their squad intact."

"We were fortunate, sir."

"Fortunate?" The officer chuckled. "Perhaps. Though I watched your fight with Gorg. You seemed to know exactly where to strike."

Koda shrugged. "He left obvious openings."

"True. Most conscripts are too busy trying to kill their opponents to notice those."

The officer glanced toward Koda’s shoulder.

"And then there was that little incident at the platform."

Koda kept his expression neutral. "The seal reacted to the dimensional disturbance. The senior officer witnessed it himself."

"Of course he did." The junior officer turned a ring around his finger. "Which is why you’ll be visiting the medical tents tonight."

"That’s the order, yes."

"They’re thorough in there. They examine everything down to the minute details. A seal that continues glowing after a dimensional disturbance might attract a few questions."

He paused, watching Koda’s face.

"Or it might be recorded as a routine response to the disturbance. Nothing unusual worth investigating."

Koda felt his stomach tighten. ’He knows? Or he suspects, and he’s trying to make me believe he knows.’

"And what would it take to make that happen?" Koda asked.

The officer’s smile widened slightly.

"A favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Nothing difficult, really. And, not today." He shrugged as though the matter were trivial. "But someday, I might need something from you. When that day comes, I’d like to know you’ll remember who helped you tonight."

Koda studied him. "You’re asking me to owe you a favor without telling me what I’ll be expected to do."

"When you put it that way, it sounds rather unpleasant."

"Is there another way to put it?"

"Several, I’m sure. I’m simply trying to be helpful."

"By offering to interfere with an official medical report?"

"By offering to ensure that a routine incident remains routine."

"Those sound like the same thing to me."

The officer laughed softly. "You’re a cautious one, aren’t you?"

"I’ve found it keeps me alive."

"An admirable habit. Especially in this camp."

Koda didn’t return the smile. "If your help is as harmless as you suggest, why not tell me your name and exactly what you’re offering?"

For the first time, the officer’s smile faltered; not enough to reveal anger, but enough to confirm that Koda had touched something sensitive.

Then it returned. "Because I prefer to leave the details until they’re necessary."

"Convenient."

"Very."

Koda considered his options.

On one side was an easy way out. On the other was a debt to a man he barely knew, who refused to explain what he expected in return and had approached him alone on the night his secret was most vulnerable.

It might be genuine help, or a leverage.

Or it might be a trap wearing a friendly face.

The junior officer waited patiently, turning his ring as furnace light flickered across his armor.

Koda finally spoke. "What if I refuse?"

"Then you visit the medical tents as ordered, and the medics write whatever they believe is appropriate... But it would be quite unfortunate if their report creates problems for you."

The man sounded genuinely sympathetic, but beneath was a veiled threat.

That made Koda trust him even less.

"I’ll think about your offer," Koda said.

"Of course. That’s all I ask."

The officer stepped aside, leaving the path clear.

"Enjoy your promotion, Vanguard Leader. I suspect you’ll find that rank opens quite a few doors."

Koda watched him walk away, a murderous intent flashing through his mind, causing his hands to twitch repeatedly. But he shook his head and clenched his fists tightly.

Serah and Varkos were waiting at the end of the shed row. As they crossed the camp toward the quartermaster’s compound, Koda gave them a quick account of what had happened.

Varkos’s expression darkened. "Don’t take the offer."

"I haven’t agreed to anything."

"Good. Keep it that way."

Serah glanced at Koda. "Did he tell you what he wanted in return?"

"No. He wanted me to agree before he told me what the favor was."

"Then he’s not offering help," she said. "He’s buying the right to ask for something later."

"That’s what I thought."

"Then why didn’t you tell him to get lost?" Varkos asked.

"Because I don’t know what he knows, and I don’t want to give him a reason to start talking."

Varkos grunted. "I hate officers."

"Yeah, you say that a lot."

"And I’ll keep saying it until they stop giving me reasons to."

The camp was still unsettled. Demons argued around the fires about the trial and the strange crack in the sky, while officers moved among them with ledgers. Nobody had explained what had happened, and the silence was making the rumors worse.

The quartermaster’s compound was a walled yard filled with iron sheds and stacked crates. Its clerks wore gray tunics and bored expressions.

One took Koda’s crest, pressed it against a slate, and read out a series of numbers to another clerk.

The second clerk recorded them without looking up.

Everything that crossed the counter went into the books.

The armor came first. It was a reinforced scale-leather pieces for the chest, forearms, and thighs. The edges were stiff, but the joints allowed enough movement. It was better than anything Koda had worn before.

He flexed his shoulders and crouched twice to test it.

"Does it fit?" the clerk asked, already reaching for the next item.

"Well enough."

"Then it’s yours. If it doesn’t fit tomorrow, that’s your problem."

Koda gave him a thin smile. "You people certainly know how to make a gift feel special."

The clerk ignored him.

Next came a short blade of dark iron, plain but well-balanced. Koda drew it once, tested its weight, and slid it back into its sheath.

It wouldn’t replace his talons, but it would give him another option when using the talons was a bad idea.

Finally, the clerk placed five red stones on the counter. Each was about the size of a thumb joint, with concentrated essence glowing faintly beneath its surface.

Koda felt their energy immediately.

These were far richer than the Soul Crystal dregs he’d been trading in Grevall.

"Five mid-grade soul stones, one set of armor, one blade, and the Vanguard ration allotment," the clerk recited. "All issued against your crest."

Koda looked at the slate. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means they’re issued to you and you’re accountable for them." The clerk finally glanced up. "Lose something, and you’ll answer for it. Same as your quota."

"My quota?"

"Daily essence quota. Your unit’s already been entered."

He said it as casually.

"Calculations are underway for the next deployment," the clerk added.

Koda kept his expression neutral.

Nobody had announced a deployment, yet the army was already calculating what they would be expected to produce.

"Anything else I should know?" he asked.

"Don’t lose your equipment."

"Very helpful."

"Next."

Koda signed where he was told, gathered his supplies, and left.

While the crest had bought him better equipment and a larger ration allowance. It hadn’t bought him a single inch of freedom.

---

Koda spread the supplies across a flat rock near their camp. The stones were the main prize. His Core Seed was still tender from the strain of the seal, and their concentrated essence could help stabilize it.

He could keep all five. Nobody had told him otherwise.

But a squad with empty reserves was a weak squad, and a weak squad would make his new title worthless.

"You guys take one each, and I’ll keep three." he said, pushing two across the rock.

Varkos and Serah stared at the stone, then at Koda. "Thank you."

Across the camp, several demons sat around a distant fire. Koda recognized those among Gorg’s surviving squadmates.

They watched him but didn’t approach.

Koda didn’t acknowledge them either. He had spared them during the trial, but that didn’t mean they owed him anything. For all he knew, they were still deciding whether to resent him or respect him.

He wasn’t going to turn a distant look into a conversation.

That night, the three of them settled behind a ridge of black rock, far enough from the campfires that their voices wouldn’t carry easily.

It was secluded and private enough.