When someone's sex was questioned, especially a man's, their reaction usually gave the truth away. Those who looked furious and insulted, or even wanted to pull it out and compare sizes, were generally real men. Those who panicked and loudly denied it were usually women whose disguise had been exposed. So Tesolys easily concluded that the handsome boy in front of him was a girl...
Any normal man would be furious if his manhood were questioned. He might even see it as an insult to his dignity. Many countries had similar expressions that questioned a person's sex, usually as swear words. When Tesolys had asked, he had actually been prepared for the boy to lash out.
The boy's name was very familiar. Tesolys had even felt an urge to ask whether his father's name was Caladog. But mods had long since changed this world beyond recognition. He could not be sure his guess was right.
Yet the boy's face had instantly gone white with panic, and his body had moved as if to flee. That proved Tesolys had guessed correctly, at least this time. This boy... No... He should call her a girl now...
The girl named Corein was the daughter of Caladog, High King of Battania, in Mount & Blade II. In the game, she had excellent stats and a terrible personality, along with a short stature and a face that was quite beautiful by Mount & Blade standards... She was the game's famously bad-tempered little girl.
He had never expected to meet her this way. And she seemed to be doing quite badly, resorting to such a dangerous method just to steal a few sacks of grain from him...
"You... don't need to worry. I won't tell anyone about this..."
His head had been full of all sorts of thoughts. What he had almost blurted out was, "Miss Corein, you wouldn't want anyone else finding out you're a woman..." A line with thoroughly unsavory implications. But at the last moment, his tongue had stumbled and he had managed to change it, barely preserving his current image as a cold, powerful man.
The girl named Corein said nothing. She only watched him warily, intense fear in her eyes... She had no idea how he had uncovered her identity. The people who lived with her day and night had never noticed a thing, yet this officer had understood everything just from hearing her name...
As far as she could see, he either knew some terrifying witchcraft or her face had given her away. After all, a face this pretty hardly looked like it could belong to a bandit who robbed people in the forest.
Being a girl in this world was certainly no blessing. Unless you were the daughter of a high-ranking noble or a wealthy merchant, you were bound to suffer. And things were especially terrible now. She had fallen prisoner to these savage-looking cavalrymen, and they had discovered she was a girl... Corein did not even dare imagine what would happen next. She shook all over as though a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her.
The man before her might look respectable, but perhaps he was some kind of twisted pervert. Why else would he make such a fuss over a few sacks of grain and actually come after them? Their camp was so remote, and these men wore heavy armor. Did they not get tired, trudging all this way?
Unaware that the girl was furiously slandering him in her thoughts, Tesolys was feeling quite pleased. He looked at these sensible bandits. Once completely surrounded, they had thrown down every weapon without a word, obediently crouched on the ground and surrendered. They had none of the reckless desperation of hardened outlaws. That confirmed for Tesolys that they were not professional bandits.
This was especially clear when he saw the little children and frail women, all of them sallow and skeletal with hunger. Forget fighting desperately like hardened bandits. It took strong willpower for them not to faint with terror at their first sight of the cavalry. Besides, professional robbers would not drag their families around like this. If an army surrounded them, they would not even be able to escape.
That pleased him even more. He did not want a band of vicious criminals with deeply ingrained habits joining his army. They would only ruin his troops' discipline. Some commanders might consider bandits braver than ordinary soldiers, but that sort of lone fighter's courage had very little use on a battlefield.
What truly won battles was strong organization, discipline, determination and fearless courage, not mere personal bravado. These men might be able to rob people in the forest, but on a real battlefield they would often be useless. Their vicious tempers would also make them hard to control and train.
Having made up his mind, Tesolys reached down and lifted the girl from the ground. He gave her shoulder a firm pat, making her straighten up involuntarily. He did not know why she looked at him with such panic, but this little girl was not as fragile as she now appeared. She had been the only one to fight back, swinging that greatsword with fearsome force. He had no idea where such a small, thin body got so much strength.
"If you'd been any better, I would have had to break one of your arms... Looked at that way, you were quite lucky."
That was the first thing Tesolys had said after knocking her flat with a single blow from the wooden shaft of his iron mace. It had infuriated her, but she could not argue. She really had only held out for three moves before being knocked straight to the ground, her sword flying from her hands.
Just as Corein thought that, as a helpless prisoner, she was about to be treated horribly, she heard Tesolys say this:
"Why take such a huge risk to steal a few sacks of grain? Didn't you know the slightest mistake could have got every one of you killed there?"
That question set off all her anger. Her face was livid as she answered.
"Because we were hungry, of course! So hungry we were going mad! So hungry we were about to start eating people! We waited in ambush on that road for three days, and you were the only ones who came along... If we didn't get food, we really would have gone mad with hunger. So we had to do it, even if it was dangerous! Besides, I succeeded, didn't I? You didn't catch me there! If it weren't... if it weren't for that traitor showing you the way, you would never have found me in your lives!!"
As she spoke, she glared furiously at the man surrounded by the cavalrymen. He shuddered as if struck by lightning and quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes.
While she raged helplessly, she heard a hint of amusement in Tesolys's voice.
"Then would you like work that would give you enough to eat?..."
Corein immediately understood what he meant. A little surprised, she asked:
"You want to hire us? If you hire us, will we get food every day? You don't mean we could eat our fill at every meal?"
Tesolys fell silent for a moment before continuing.
"As long as you pass my test, I can pay each of you two gold dinars a month..." He reached over and grabbed the sack of grain beside him. "And one gold dinar can buy at least ten sacks of grain like this..."
The girl's face flushed bright red. She breathed heavily through her nose, so overwhelmed with joy that she had fallen into a daze...
"Yes!! We'll do it!!"
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