"Your Majesty, Gondor's people have arrived!" Just as Roland was still pondering how to face Aragorn, Adolf Heinrich walked over and spoke softly to him.
"Gondor? What are they here for? Trade? They should go to Ruhl in Flowing City for trade! What, am I supposed to conjure goods out of thin air for them or something?" Roland wrinkled his nose in confusion.
"You really do forget things easily when you're important..." Adolf Heinrich said with an awkward smile.
"Denethor..." Adolf Heinrich reminded him politely, though not without embarrassment.
"...Damn it, I forgot about him!" Even someone as thick-skinned as Roland flushed with embarrassment. Nearly a year had passed, and Roland had long forgotten that casual move he had made back then.
"How many came?" Roland quickly composed himself and asked calmly.
"Three thousand!" Adolf Heinrich gave him the number.
"Whoa! That's quite a few! What's their quality like?" Roland leaned back against the chair and spoke in a relaxed tone. Though somewhat surprised, he did not think three thousand was excessive considering Denethor II's status and family background.
"The quality is decent. At least they're all sturdy young men! The only group with military training is a three-hundred-man warrior squad!" Adolf Heinrich said.
"Whoa! So Denethor II even sent over a force of Professional Soldiers?" Roland's eyes widened. That was quite an investment! After all, the proportion of human Professional Soldiers in Middle-earth was not high to begin with. Not everyone was a cheat-code king like Roland. For a human lord, gathering a force of Professional Soldiers was indeed no easy task.
"Looks like he plans to use these Professional Soldiers as officers and squad leaders?" Roland soon realized. Three thousand men made exactly three hundred squads. Having three hundred Warriors lead the ordinary soldiers could indeed maximize their