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~~((The 7th Anniversary Special -- page 10 of 24?!))~~
'I've never met any of them personally,' the reaper said, 'but yes, as I understand it, the Intarian military does retain a few of its own servants, still.'

"Only a few?" said the Queen. "Surely, such a large nation would have more than that."

'Maybe three hundred years ago. These days, though, the Vanguard has a bit of a monopoly on that type of manpower in Intar.'

"Why is that?"

'Many reasons, I imagine--but all of which result in one reoccurring problem. That being, it is very difficult to control people who wield such power.'

"Ah."

'In order to work for the Intarian Armed Forces as a servant, you must pass number of "loyalty tests." And you must also agree to live under constant observation.'

"...I find that very odd. Any normal military would offer enormous benefits to such valuable officers."

'Oh, I'm sure they get paid quite handsomely. But the IAF takes the rule of law extremely seriously when it comes to servants. Which is wise, in my opinion. Historically speaking, servants and reapers who don't possess a deep respect for something higher than themselves--like the law, for instance--are often the ones who pursue the path of violent rebellion and conquest.'

Pauline's head twitched as she suddenly realized that her father was right there behind her. She'd gotten so caught up in the last bit of that conversation that she hadn't even noticed him landing.

She turned and looked at him. She waited, but he didn't say anything.

That was weird.

Why wasn't he saying anything? Wasn't he mad?

Hey, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was pleased.

And maybe that was wishful thinking.

She checked on the Queen again.

"--sounds like you are victims of your own success," the woman was saying with a surprising amount of amusement in her voice.

'Heh. Perhaps. The Vanguard has bailed Intar out so many times that it does seem like they've begun to take our presence for granted. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about that.'