Scenario:Deliford - Ex-Soldier's New Opportunity

Ex-Soldier's New Opportunity

While out drinking, Deliford is asked to consider returning to the Erste Army with Zechs. In order to make the right decision, he decides to take a trip to Ravi Island to see with his own eyes the current state of the Erste Royal Army.

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Deliford: Agastia, the imperial—no, the former imperial capital has changed plenty since I was last here.

Deliford had returned home to his family during the crew's vacation.

Near the end of the vacation, he received an invitation to catch up with Daryl over some drinks in Agastia before returning to the Grandcypher.

Deliford: Where's the oden stall... Ah, there it is.

Deliford traverses through familiar alleyways in a rush to reach the designated meeting spot.

Daryl: Over here, Deliford! You're early!

Zechs: Sorry we started without ya.

Deliford: Doesn't exactly feel like I'm "early" when you're already three glasses in.

Daryl: Aw, don't sweat the small stuff!

Daryl: Mister! Some grub and drink for our friend here too!

Deliford: I'll have vegetables, if you have anything like that in stock...

Daryl: A platter of veggies? You've got dietary restrictions now?

Deliford: Not exactly. When I eat with my folks, I get so engrossed in conversation that I end up overeating.

Deliford: And here I am trying to make up for that...

Zechs: Just goes to show what a family man you are.

Daryl: Heck, with all the time you spend in the sauna, there's no way you're in poor shape!

Zechs: I happened to read your last article. You're really making a name for yourself as a sauna columnist.

Deliford: Please, I still have a lot to learn. I also have more to say about the Sauna Sandbox.

Deliford: Mm... The radish really packs a punch. I still remember how moved I was when I first tried it here.

Daryl: Sure does. Zechs, wasn't it you who first found this place?

Zechs: Someone in my unit introduced me. You could say this place is the home of the soul for old Erste soldiers like us.

Deliford: Yes, this joint definitely speaks to my soul.

Deliford: I never imagined we'd be able to get together for another meal here. Thanks for the invitation, Daryl.

Daryl: Any time. Truth be told though...

Daryl: I didn't gather us here just to reminisce on the good ol' times.

Deliford: What do you mean?

Daryl: I won't beat around the bush, Deliford. What do you say to rejoining the army?

Deliford: Wha?

Zechs: C'mon now, there's a better way to bring up the topic.

Zechs: Deliford, I'm sure you're well aware of how Erste has reformed itself from an empire into a kingdom.

Deliford: Yes, of course... And it's the Erste Kingdom's army that Daryl's asking me to join?

Daryl: Yep. Unlike back then, the royal army tries its best to stay on the straight and narrow under General Pommern.

Daryl: But traces of the imperial army remain aplenty across the skydom.

Daryl: A legacy of tragedy, some might call it. Erste will never be acknowledged on a grander scale if this issue's not resolved.

Zechs: On a surface level, law and order have taken a firm hold in Agastia. But we had countless brigands join the imperial army during its final stages.

Zechs: Although many of them were able to clean up their act and go on to be upstanding soldiers...

Daryl: Some remained stuck in their old ways. They were put through their paces and filtered out of the army in Erste's transition to a kingdom.

Zechs: Enter an alleyway on a dark night nowadays and you'll occasionally find one of those bad apples.

Daryl: Of course, it's the army's job to stop any mischief, but...

Deliford: They lack sufficient manpower, I take it?

Daryl: Exactly. The Erste army must maintain the peace in both Agastia and Mephorash.

Daryl: And to achieve that, capable, trustworthy personnel are paramount. The more, the better.

Zechs: I do what I can to help every now and then. Helps me get by since I'm currently out of a job.

Deliford: I see...

Deliford: Wait, why are you still out of a job if you're assisting the army?

Daryl: Says he likes his laid-back life right now. Boy oh boy, wish I had a cushy job myself...

Zechs: Heh, I guess we're all taking things for granted.

Zechs: To be honest, if the pay was just a little better...

Deliford: (The transition from empire to kingdom is still recent. It must be tough managing their finances...)

Daryl: I'll admit the pay's not the greatest. Even compared to back then.

Daryl: But damn is it a job worth doin'. I'm as passionate about this as when we first enlisted to join the army.

Deliford: Hrm...

Daryl: I don't expect an answer right away.

Daryl: Here's a ticket for a ferry to Ravi Island. If you've got even the slightest interest in this, I'd like you to see what Mephorash is like now with your own eyes.

Daryl: I promise it won't be a waste of your time if you make the trip.

Deliford: You seem awfully serious about this. Very well, then. I promise to give it due consideration.

Daryl: That's all I'm askin'. Also, here's something a little extra.

Deliford: A special invitation to Agastia's Garden... That's the recently opened sauna that Pholia paid a visit to!

Daryl: The royal army issues a few of these vouchers each month as part of their benefits package. And it is one heck of a sauna, I tell ya...

Zechs: Yeah, half of why I help out is because I hope to land one of those vouchers.

Deliford: Really now, Zechs... Wouldn't you be better off being back in the army?

After parting ways with Daryl and Zechs, Deliford makes his way to Agastia's Garden.

Deliford: The royal army, eh...

Many fellow patrons in the sauna seem to be affiliated with the military.

They are engaged in lively chatter with the common folk seated next to them.

Deliford: When I first enlisted a decade ago, a sight like this was rather commonplace...

Deliford: Ah, how the imperial army shined in my eyes back then...

Deliford: My older brother had gone missing, and I alone was left to support my aging parents.

Deliford: That's when I saw a recruitment poster for the imperial army.

Deliford: Of course I knew what it would mean to be a soldier, but the conditions were too good to pass up, so I went to take the test...

Deliford: The officers administering the test seemed to be full of life in their spirited interactions with the enlistees.

Deliford: I told myself this would surely be a job worth doing.

Deliford: Looking back, I suppose you could say that was half-true. Every day truly did feel fulfilling.

Deliford: My skill with a spear was praised by all. I won merit for my feats in battle, and the citizenry thanked me for my work.

Deliford: But there were things I pretended not to see.

Deliford: I could sense something sinister about the Erste Empire as it continued to expand...

Deliford: Rumors of troubling experiments, aggressive invasion into foreign territories, among other things...

Deliford: In retrospect, I'm glad I was no longer looking to make a name for myself and had already left the front lines in the empire's waning days...

Deliford: If I had remained on the front lines, I would have either lost my life or borne witness to things so terrible they'd haunt me forever...

Deliford: Being relegated to mostly clerical duties and lacking the courage to uproot my comfortable lifestyle, I remained in the army.

Deliford: Until that day... when I was ordered to capture and detain an innocent blue-haired girl...

Wiping the profuse sweat off his brow, Deliford stares at his hands.

Deliford: While it is true that the royal army of today is more akin to the imperial army I looked up to in my youth...

Deliford: I have my job as a skyfarer now... and precious friends who depend on me... Perhaps I should turn Daryl down after all...

Deliford: Though I should probably consult my friends in the crew first before making a decision...

Deliford mutters quietly to himself, remaining deep in thought in the sauna for a short while after.

Daryl: You came!

Deliford: Yes... I realized I'd never seen Mephorash, and this would be as good a chance as any.

Zechs: Not a bad stance to have. Looks like you lucked out, Daryl.

Daryl: Wh-why do you say that to me?

Zechs: You've been hung up for days now, worried about whether Deliford might show up.

Daryl: That's not true! I... I just didn't want to see the ferry ticket go to waste!

Deliford and Zechs burst into chuckles at Daryl's response.

Though none of them realize that a lone figure watches them from the shadows.