Reincarnated to judge worlds after complaining about God

 No matter how much I hated attention, he had left me in a position where I couldn't refuse easily.

 "Not to be rude, but from mine and your commander's perspective, you're all weak. If you want to survive long enough to grow strong, I suggest you live as the weak do and employ coexistence and cooperation."

 I don't think he expected such bluntness, but he thanked me for speaking a truth he lacked the heart to.

 Truth or not, it was clear my speech was more disheartening than inspiring and it wasn't my intention for coming was simply to gauge their strength, not crush their self confidence and so I decided to do some damage control.

 "Allow me to elaborate, you are weak for now, but you can help each other grow strong. Or foolishly make enemies that you will have to waste strength dealing with."

 The commander stifled another outburst of laughter, before telling me I seemed a far better fighter than instructor.

 Grunting, I told him I was a teacher in title, but since I took charge of my student from the moment she was brought into this world I was aware my teaching style was better suited for raising children.

 Making a gesture, I asked if I might borrow the garrison's training ground for training Sil, noting that combat was usually only taught from the age of twenty in 'our land', but the situation we found ourselves in made it more necessary.

 He nodded but asked if a woman should really be getting taught by a man, which annoyed me. I had seen much in my time and assumptions based on gender were annoyingly ridiculous, so I challenged him to take a punch from her expecting him to ignore my childish goading.

 I was surprised when he agreed, and Sil gulped when I quietly told her to try not to kill him as I took Fala from her.

 She had no sense of her new strength, so to say this was a dangerous situation was a gross simplification, and very nearly turned deadly. As she stepped in and shifted her weight however, the commander's instincts kicked in and he jumped back saving himself in the nick of time, and in a cold sweat as his armour hummed from the small impact it received.

 I gave a thunderous burst of laughter as he had done earlier, then asked if he believed there was a woman who could survive training her, whilst boasting about my child rearing.

 The commander's eyes were wide and sweat beaded down his face, as he asked if we really considered that the product of child rearing. It was clear he had more questions but with that however, he agreed to allow us use of the garrison so assistance would be at hand if I got injured.

 I thanked him for his concern, as ridiculous as the notion of me being injured in training was, then I excused us so we might complete Fala's request in time to keep Valo happy. 

 I was satisfied with having completed so much in a couple of days, but something was nagging at me, it was going far too smoothly, and we had been given far more information on the world than I had ever received before. 

 Usually, I received information in proportion to how difficult a world would be to navigate. So, why was such an easy world deserving of so much?

 Then there was the matter of me feeling 'God's' eyes on me, something that had never happened and I found myself in deep thought as we made our way through the streets, completely forgetting that I had a secondary objective of inspecting the food stalls in the market.

 As we reached the gates, I was snapped out of my thinking as Doran called ahead to his fellow guards and introduced us. It was quite entertaining how seriously he took his duty to escort us.

 When we had made it out of earshot, and clear of the township, I asked Doran flatly what we were ignorant of, and he squirmed whilst shifting his gaze down.

 I mused several observations aloud, starting with the obvious fact that Leeson was tired, which was strange since men in his position were often glorified admin staff outside of actual emergencies.

 My line of inquiry made Doran look very uncomfortable, so I aired my initial deduction that he had orders to remain quiet, then promised not to press the issue. His reaction had answered the question well enough for the meantime, even if I would want answers eventually, I was in a good enough mood to back-off.

 When we came to the same place we had met Fala the previous day, the sight of splattered blood reminded me she had also been wounded, and I decided to do a check-up before she started working.

 Again, she looked interested as I examined and cleaned the wound, so I decided to sate her curiosity by telling her the various indicators of infection I was looking for. Her wide eyes and enthusiastic response, brought pleasant memories to mind, ones of experiences somebody like me scarcely deserved.

 As I took a seat, leaning against a tree after changing her dressing, I realised how good a deal she got for her money. Me as a bodyguard, Sil and Doran as assistants. I couldn't help but compliment her business sense, or her father's cunning, whichever was responsible.

 As I sat, eyes closed and listening to the world around me, I managed an hour of feeling at peace before I became aware we were being stalked. Interrupting the general chatter the others were engaged in so that I could ask what local fauna hunted in packs.

 Unexpectedly, Fala informed me that most in that area hunted alone and Doran confirmed that any of the pack hunters wouldn't be in the same territory as the monarclaw, the name of the beast we had encountered the previous day, which meant the approaching threat was most likely human.

 Doran gulped as I asked if killing in self defence was legal, but he nodded whilst moving defensively and I launched a stone in the general direction. The waning shot caused one of the would-be assailants to squeal and jump into the open, making the others follow suit as they mocked him.

 Tattered simple clothing, un-uniformed which ruled out the slim chance they were soldiers of some kind and the shoddy equipment that each man had ruled them out as mercenaries. The men themselves were lean, scarred and unkempt, to put it simply they were painfully clichéd bandits.

 I told Sil to cover Fala's eyes and ears, then after giving them a chance to surrender peacefully, looked to Doran for final approval. (Adding that he may as well stand back and try to learn something from watching.)

 Leaving my sword by the tree, I walked towards them, then struck each hard in the chest as they swung their weapons at me, their deaths were commensurate with each blow.

 A single knuckle jab, infused with enough mana in a focused point to cease all body and brain function, painless and instantaneous. I had developed it in my first reincarnation, after getting dragged into a bare knuckle death match tournament I quickly began to feel disgusted with the act of taking life with my bare hands.

 Had I the opportunity I would have preferred to capture, but taking three armed men prisoner would draw attention, so I then set about using basic earth magic to prepare a few graves as to offer respect in place of mercy.

 I summoned Doran to see if he could ID the trio, or any possessions they had on them, then had him help lift them into their graves.

 Burying the fools left me feeling deflated and unsocial so I told them I would keep watch from the trees above. After finding a comfortable position from where I could oversee the others without them being tempted to speak to me.

 The day passed slowly, dragged out by the solemn atmosphere, which left all but Sil feeling gloomy.

 Another point of interest, no one is unaffected the first time they see someone killed and she was far too bad an actor for it to be forced levity. I didn't care about her lying to me at that stage, but I scolded her for "acting so disrespectfully" before Doran could notice.

 Making it harder on the others as they finished in silence. As nature saw fit to reflect their moods, I withdrew a blanket to wrap Fala in and told Sil to carry her so we could move quicker, then announced we were stopping for the day. 

 When we made it back to the guildhall, we were all sodden, uncomfortable and hungry for warmth and food, more importantly Valo was glad to see we took Fala's care seriously.

 My worsening mood also convinced me to try my luck getting the answers I had sought from Doran earlier, further motivated by the appearance of marauders so close to a town in broad daylight.

 I sent Doran to fetch Leeson and asked Valo to take me to the kitchen so that I could prepare a special meal.

 Whilst I truly intended to cook, recovering all the leftover boar meat as well as a few canisters of seasonings and herbs to that end, as we got into the kitchen I began my not so subtle interrogation.

 Valo, ever the professional, predicted why I sought private conversation, telling me she couldn't go into details, but confessing she had suspected trouble of the like in the area.

 Sensing that was the extent of what I could learn from her, I apologised for any concern or intimidation she felt.

 Valo smiled, thanking me once more for taking care of little Fala so well, then asked if I needed the cooks' assistance which earned a glare to express how little that would do to improve my mood.

 Using the remaining boar meat I decided to make a warm stew, and enough for everyone in the hall at that. The food warmed everyone's stomachs and spirits, though I would be lying if I said I was able to relax after feeding an entire guild ingredients they could have easily been allergic to. 

 The most surprising thing to happen over dinner, was Valo asking if I was married, not the question in itself as many similar worlds saw anyone who showed multiple talents romantically desirable. Not that I was interested in such things, having been single since my birth and apparently void of such desire.

 What was surprising, was Sil lying about me having a wife back home. "Yes, he is." The sheer abruptness and tone left us all speechless, but in spite of the anger at her speaking for me, I had no choice but to play along.

 I wasn't angry because she said I was married, the truth is I had used such an excuse in several lifetimes as it earns trust.

 What angered me was a mixture of it being her that said it, like a possessive girlfriend no less, in addition to someone speaking for me which may be hypocritical but I was only speaking for her in my capacity as her instructor.

 I disguised the anger beneath a veil of pained homesick back and forth with Sil, ending with an impassioned speech about how I hoped 'my wife' could find happiness without me.

 Valo told me not to make myself more desirable, and Sil visibly bristled, leaving me with a petty sense of contentment.

 Luckily Valo ignored her that time round, opting instead to fabricate her own reasons why we wouldn't be a good match, which improved Sil's mood and spoiled my fun.

 As she latched onto the poor girl next to her, she asked Fala if she'll ever find a good man to make her own little angel with. I could sense Fala was uncomfortable, but at the same time it was distracting her from thinking about everything that had happened, and could have if she hadn't hired us.

 After another hour of Valo displaying repressed maternalism, the commander stepped into the hall. I stood and greeted Leeson then gestured to Byurik's office.

 He tried to distract me by asking if he might enjoy whatever smelled so alluring, but I called him out on it as casually as he had done to me that morning. I liked having the opportunity to speak honestly, even if my tone was a bit out of line given his position.

 Tension flashed across the hall, and I admitted I'd rather not lower spirits I had worked so hard to raise, met with a lack of understanding by the commander who was instinctively moving into a defensive position.

 Valo killed the tension instantly by informing him I was responsible for the aroma he seemed so fond of and robbing him of any chance at resistance.

 When we were alone, there was a brief back and forth between Leeson and Byurik, whilst I sat at the far end and let them, before they asked me how much I had figured out.

 I sat back in order to remove any idea that I was belligerently pushing, it was only my intent to not be played a fool and I didn't want to spoil my relationship with them. They seemed like the kind of people I could call friends, a luxury I rarely enjoyed.

 As I got comfortable, I rambled off the list of observations I had made during my brief stay, finishing with a concise summary of what I believed the most reasonable conclusions.

 They looked at each other as I rambled with neither hesitation nor breath, then sighed whilst cursing what they saw as my overly observant nature. 

 Leeson was about to start quizzing my past, but Byurik hushed him and informed him that my line has genetic memory like his, which was honestly a fact I was unaware of but grateful to have.

 Seeing no point in denying things I had so easily discerned in such a short time, they informed me that I was ultimately correct in my assumption that they were preparing for two likely conflicts.

 The first concern was that there was indeed a war brewing to the far north, a demon horde was massing.

 The second was far more pressing, the town considering declaring its independence to the capital.

 Both men apologised for their deceit, which quietly cut deeper than they knew, then Leeson admitted that after meeting me he had been pushing Halsan to bring me in fully. He was apparently just as observant as I was during my match that morning, though Byurik admitted he was against it due to my 'status'.

 I didn't have a problem fighting wars if I had faith in the cause, but the cause was rarely the biggest issue, what ultimately earned my allegiance was the people involved and the means they employed.

 In this case I approved of Halsan, Leeson and Byurik, even if only on probationary terms, which meant they were on the right track, but I made it clear my allegiance was conditional and risky.

 Of course they wanted me to clarify as anyone in their positions would, which led to me pointing out that I didn't like repeating myself and the conversation would be better served in Haslan's company.

 They quickly agreed and said we should head over to his manor with all haste to see the matter decided.

 When we returned to the floor below, Valo was still clinging to the increasingly desperate Fala, who would be in real danger if Valo tightened her embrace any further.

 Sighing, I froze the tip of my finger and placed it on the deviant's neck, forcing her to release my young employer like any good bodyguard. I then pointed at her and stated her change in demeanour after a warm meal was yet another clue that there was something afoot.

 Byurik grumbled, stating that she took work far more seriously than life, as she did when I noted she was at work.

 The three of us then filled them in on our intentions.

 Turning back after we started to leave, I told Sil to not hold back if anyone caused any trouble for either herself, Fala or Rein; Then asked Doran to keep Valo out of trouble.

 With Leeson present, we were free to walk into the audience chamber unimpeded, whereupon my two companions told him everything that had been discussed already.

 The lord stood and bowed, cutting me as deeply with his apology for any deception as the other two had done, explaining that he had hoped to let us enjoy a moment's rest before we were scared off.

 I told him to save the apology for a transgression deserving one, suggesting that our words would be more useful discussing the matter at hand.

 They were clearly not used to my blunt, unacknowledged way of speaking, evident in the way they hesitated. I wasn't surprised, such worlds often put great stock in titles and authorities which meant nothing to me.

 Under the flag of simplicity, he asked what the terms of my assistance would be and what exactly my assistance would offer them.

 I shrugged and said that in truth they weren't getting anything nor giving anything, the simple fact was that I would do what I believed right at any time in any given situation, the only real condition for my help was that they were worthy of it.

 All three of them blinked suspiciously, as anyone would in the face of a deal too good to be true.

 "Then what is the price of not being worthy of it." 

 The words were spoken with the cunning, perception and knowledge of a true leader, earning Haslan my deepest respect.

 I raised my hands to mimic scales, saying with perhaps a little too much honesty that I was a walking ultimatum. 

 I did them the courtesy of standing and placing myself in their reach, then declared bluntly that if I considered someone unworthy of allegiance, they were by definition worthy of my opposition.