A Sensible Badger; Going to War Is Absolutely Out of the Question

Aaron suppressed the urge to slap Caspian, gritting his teeth as he looked at him and asked, "One last question..."

"Tumnus, Nicabir, I'm back."

A voice came from outside the tree hole, interrupting Aaron's question.

He swiftly stuffed two pieces of hard bread into Caspian and Nicabir, then covered them with a sheet before sneaking away behind the door.

Creak!

The wooden door opened, revealing a strange shadow cast on the floor by candlelight.

"Waaaaah..."

"What's that sound?" The newcomer scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Could it be that I'm getting old and my ears are acting up?"

The next moment, everything went black before his eyes, and then he felt a dizzying sensation as the world spun around him.

Aaron roughly threw a bound sack on the ground. Inside, a creature about the size of a dwarf struggled incessantly, but to no avail.

"All done." Aaron clapped his hands, then removed the bread from Caspian and Nicabir's mouths.

"Why did you catch him?" Nicabir speechless. "Trof is just a badger, he's no threat to you."

"I was wondering why he was all fuzzy when I caught him. Turns out he's Brother Mu!" Aaron chuckled meaningfully. "He's no threat to me, but what if he tips me off?"

"If he brings dozens of men, then my only options are to surrender or run away."

Nicabir:...

That makes perfect sense; I'm speechless.

"What exactly is your eye?" Caspian asked.

"I have no reason to tell you!" Aaron shrugged and continued, "One last question, why are those people chasing you?"

Caspian was silent for a moment, then pursed his lips and said, "Because I am a prince, and after my father died, my uncle always wanted to seize the throne. I think I have lived this long because he has no son to inherit the throne."

"You mean he has a son now?"

"Tonight, his first son was born."

"My teacher told me to flee for my life overnight, to escape to this forest, and gave me Queen Susan's Horn." Caspian said in a deep voice, "Now, can you let me go?"

I have to leave here, unless I die, otherwise my uncle won't give up.

I cannot bring the war to this forest; it is the last refuge of the Narnian.

"I'm afraid it's too late." Aaron poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "Tumnus, the first dwarf to draw his sword against you, has been captured by the Telmarine general and several soldiers."

As expected, they will report to the King as soon as they return to the castle.

Your uncle is clearly an ambitious man. If he knew there were Narnian in the woods... what do you think he would do?

"Lead the troops to attack." Caspian couldn't help but swallow.

"Correct answer." Aaron snapped his fingers. "He will definitely do that."

Actually, my initial idea was simple: to leave this forest. After all, I, a grown man, can't live in the wilderness forever!

But if the inhabitants of the human kingdom are descendants of pirates, then I, as an outsider, would probably have a hard time fitting in, not to mention that the king isn't exactly a good person.

He'll probably arrest me and force me to lead the way to invade other places.

"My uncle would definitely do that, but there's another possibility: he would just kill you to prevent you from revealing the location of Narnia and threatening his kingdom."

"You don't need to remind me, Your Highness." Aaron rolled his eyes. "In short, I can't go to that castle, but staying in the forest isn't safe either."

A war is about to break out here, a brutal war that could even lead to the extinction of one side's race.

I don't want to get involved, so the best option for me is to find another way and stay far away.

As he spoke, Aaron picked up the sack containing the badger. "You should have heard our conversation. I'm not a bad person. I tied you up to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."

I can let you go, but you have to stay calm, not yell, and definitely not be hostile towards me.

"It's difficult for me to be friendly to the robbers who broke into my house," came an annoyed voice from the sack.

Aaron nodded slightly; he would have done the same if it were him.

He didn't say much, but put down the sack, then placed the sword at his waist on it. The action of drawing the sword was slow, but the sound of the sword ringing was exceptionally clear.

"Wait a minute, esteemed guest, there must be some misunderstanding between us."

"Tsk tsk tsk! A shrewd badger always manages to live a long life."

With a flash of cold light, the rope on the sack snapped in two.

A badger emerged from the sack, first breathing heavily, then cautiously eyeing Aaron.

"Um... you don't mind if I let them go, do you?"

"I don't mind, I was planning to let them go anyway," Aaron said indifferently.

The badger immediately untied the rope from Nicabir, and the dwarf narrowed his eyes, quickly locking onto his weapon.

He decisively drew his Longsword and thrust it towards Aaron.

"No, Nicabir!" Badger shouted, "Stop!"

Clang!

Aaron knocked Nicabir's weapon away with a single move, and the next moment the tip of his sword was aimed at his throat.

"Mr. Dwarf, do you think I let him release you so easily?" Aaron said helplessly. "It's not that I underestimate you, but even ten of you couldn't get close to me."

So... please don't let my mercy in sparing my life become a laughing stock, okay?

Nicabir nod blankly and didn't dare to say anything, since he couldn't beat them.

"Don't get me wrong, he has a bad temper, especially with humans." Badger reassured Aaron while untying Caspian's rope.

He then picked up the white horn on the table. "So... it was Prince Caspian who sounded the horn?"

"Yes," Caspian said without mincing words. "My teacher told me that it should only be used in an emergency."

"Okay! I think I've misunderstood." Badger pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "You're here to save us."

"Save?" Caspian was a little confused.

"Yes, salvation," Badger said firmly. "We will regain the freedom and peace we have not had for hundreds of years."

"That's just a myth," Nicabir said.

"No, Nicabir, you know, in the Narnia badger clan, memory is what they are in charge of."

My deepest memories tell me that Caspian is our hope, and we need a leader now; no one can unite us better than the one who blows the horn.

"Perhaps!" Nicabir sighed. "But his uncle will soon lead troops to attack the forest, and we don't have much time."

"Notify the others that Ai Tian will set off early this morning."

"One Telmarine can surely persuade them," Nicabir sneered. "He'll have to face the wrath of the Narnian before reaching a consensus."

Hearing this, Badger calmed down.

"He had no choice, and neither did we, at least not until the King and Queen arrived."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Aaron clapped his hands. "Good luck, goodbye."

"Wait," Caspian hurriedly called out to Aaron. "You can choose to help us. After we win this battle, I will be the king and can give you a legitimate status."

"Heh!" Aaron sneered, "Don't you have a conscience if you trick a fifteen-year-old into going to war?"

"You're very strong." Caspian smiled. "To be honest, you're the most capable person I know."

And if I'm not mistaken, you must have... killed someone before!

Aaron's eyes sharpened, but he didn't deny it. "What are you trying to say?"

"Stay and help me this time, and you can live a peaceful life in Narnia afterwards."

If you are unwilling, I will prepare a boat for you, and you can leave this place.

"I don't want to." Aaron refused very directly. "I've had enough of war. Besides, I'm neither Narnian nor Telmarine. This war means nothing to me."

From my perspective as an outsider, I actually hope you guys can win.

Go for it! I believe in you guys!

After saying that, Aaron quickly left the tree hole.

Just kidding, war? What kind of war?

He almost died of exhaustion on the battlefield in the previous world. That old bastard Gandalf wished he could be used as an entire army by himself.

This time it might not be as tiring, after all, the enemies are just ordinary humans, without the terrifying monsters like sandworms, vampire bats, Ogre, and dire Warg, and he has already transformed into Grand Archmage, which can be considered a complete metamorphosis.

The problem is choosing a side. Last time, he stood on the side of humans, and his opponents were ferocious orcs. He killed them without any psychological burden. But this time, if he had to choose a side, he could only choose the Narnian and stand on the opposite side of humans, which made him feel somewhat... awkward.

He can kill evil alien races without hesitation, but he can't just start a massacre because he doesn't like the Telmarine's actions, can he?

He certainly has a sense of justice, but not much of it.

After walking for a while, he finished digging the pit he had dug earlier.

Aaron added some branches to the dying fire and then lay down comfortably.

The next day, the first rays of sunlight shone on my face.

Aaron dusted himself off and prepared to leave the forest that was about to become a battlefield. As long as he stayed far enough away, the war would not affect him.

That ruin is no longer safe. The King and Queen of Gunnarnia might come at any time, and the first thing they'll do when they arrive is look for their old equipment.

Before we are certain of their strength, it's best to keep our distance.

The Sun overhead moved slowly, and Aaron stopped by a river.

Just as he was about to rest for a while and catch a fish in the river for breakfast, a wooden boat appeared in the distance.

The two rowers were dressed in armor, carrying crossbows, with swords at their waists—standard soldier attire.

"OMG Fuck!"

Aaron rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I've already avoided them all, how come I still run into Telmar soldiers?"

I should have known better than to sleep last night; if we had traveled through the night, we wouldn't have had so many worries.

However, now was clearly the time to complain. Before the soldiers could spot him, Aaron quickly hid behind a Monolith.