"Charles, I'm done for the day."
"Okay."
One of the work huts in the village.
Called out by a woman of what appears to be her forties, Charles replies briefly.
When I briefly tapped my finished pants, I took the needle I had in my hand.
"Charles is totally fixing things up."
Two years ago, Charles accompanied Ardis to the village.
It is required to play some role more than living in a village.
Kids don't have to know, and there's no place in the village for people who don't eat on foot.
As a result of Charles' attempts at one job, it was the repair job that best suited her sexuality.
At least he thought it was' better yet 'than farming or caring for livestock.
To live as a member of the village, it was the first job I started to shake, but now Charles was starting to think this wasn't so bad either.
The task of fixing the flaking and tearing of the sleeves (so), even if they look bad, so that they can serve as clothing again and the sense of accomplishment when it is completed.
That comfort that I didn't feel when I completed the work that the organization ordered me to do.
That piles up as a little serene routine in Shall's mind.
"Yeah, yeah, the finish's getting pretty, too. At first, it was a very dangerous gesture."
A mid thirties woman put her arms together and agreed greatly.
There are only three women in the work cabin combined with the chal.
Originally, two women were responsible for making repairs at the request of the villagers.
It is Charles who became an apprentice there.
Until two years ago, the repairs that only two women sometimes undertake beside their housework are also quite an increase in the workload now that there are more than five hundred inhabitants of the village.
Results theory, but Schal's presence was becoming a major force of war.
"You were terrible at first, too. I still think Charles had better muscles, though."
"You don't remember that old story."
You're talking about the other day.
"I'm not following you. 'Cause that was over twenty years ago, right?
"Oh well, it's been so long? I'm getting old, too."
"Are you unconscious? It's a little early for a mess."
"You tell me. Who the hell thinks I raised you a dozen years ago?"
"Yes, yes, I appreciate it. I appreciate it."
"Totally this kid... no matter how old he is, he can't pull out the childish part"
Charles listens to the conversation between two middle-aged women as he cleans up his tools.
When left alone, the values are too different in the shalls that have lived with only the minimal conversation required between the two of us talking so much that we don't know if they're here to fix things or chat.
But now I'm used to being pinched by two women for repairs.
I never felt uncomfortable, and that was beginning to turn into a routine for Charles.
"Oh, Charles. Have you finished cleaning up? So this is it for today. - Oh, yeah."
Where Charles finishes cleaning up, an older middle-aged woman takes the wrap out of the basket she leaves on her desk.
A hint of baked confectionery gave Schal a sense of smell.
"Eat this when you get home"
"Mmm, thank you"
It is a char that serves as a fix in exchange for a minimum life of clothing and shelter.
Naturally, there is no such thing as a benefit.
Sometimes snacks handed to them by the women were the only reward.
When Charles left the work shed with his first reward in three days, he ran into a boy wearing a vine-colored robe as if waiting for it.
A mercenary to whom Charles was ordered by the organization to monitor and who also caused him to come to this village.
A monster widely known by the alias' Mage of the Thousand Swords'.
The name is Ardis.
"Hey, Charles. Have you finished your work?
"Done."
I guess I expected that answer.
Ardis lines up beside Shall as he steps in.
"Right. I need to talk to you for a second."
"What?
Unusual, Charles nodded as he thought.
"You heard about the Empire about to move, didn't you?
"I know."
The information brought by pedestrian Michelle was quickly spreading throughout the village.
Rather than this, the people of this village may not originally have the idea of laying low their information.
If the two women were having a conversation while fixing things up in the work shed, it would be natural for them to come into Schal's ear as well.
But the topic is already over a month old.
It was a story that no longer tasted fresh, but Charles turned his face to the side unexpectedly to Ardis' words that followed.
"Finally, it seems the Imperial Army has been placed on the border."
"... when?
"Eight days ago. We also received information from Wang Du that an intercepted army was in formation."
Considering the distance from the border between the empire and kingdom to the king's capital, and from the king's capital to this village, it is fast enough to transmit information.
"What's the end of the battle?
"I don't know that yet. Perhaps the end of the war is open at this moment."
"Isn't there a battle already?
"Maybe so. That's why I want to go to Wangdu and see what's going on. If the kingdom is defeated, then we must discuss the future steering wheel with the village chiefs."
Ask that much. Charles understands what Ardis wants from him.
"You want me to follow you?
"That's right. I'm going to get an informer myself, but I want Shall to gather information from a different perspective. Can you ask for it?"
"I'll get paid"
"Absolutely. I'll buy you as much as I like, whether it's rice or sweets."
Hearing that answer, Charles loosens his cheek to his first decent job in a long time.
Demand as much sweets as you can carry as a reward.
Whatever you want, you can split it it between the two women in the work shed.
What would those two react to if they were always given the opposite as a share by Char, who just receives confectionery?
With that in mind, Charles naturally spilled a grin.
The next morning, Charles told the two of the work cabins that he would be away for a while and left the village with Ardis.
The twins are accompanied by a single broken twin, named Liana.
"Aren't you taking Rona today?
"Oh, I have a loading job. Either way, since this is about gathering information, there's no turning up for Rona."
Answering Liana's question, Ardis reaches for "Here" and "Ka".
"Exactly. I'm not a child anymore, and getting a hug..."
"You say the same thing as Filia. That's twins."
"The twins don't matter. Think of your age."
"Well, that's bad"
Apologizing to Liana with a bitter laugh, Ardis stands up and holds Liana to her nostalgia.
"Look, so is Shall"
"... ok"
Shull also turns his arms to Aldis' body and hugs him, just like Liana.
I don't really care, but I don't know how many days it will take to reach the King's Capital on a relaxing walk.
It was more than having Ardis flying in the sky carry me, it was impossible to cling to my body to keep me from falling.
I wonder which is better to be held as a child, and Charles pretends that he doesn't have a benefit (he wants to do) either.
"Hold on tight."
Ardis's arm is raised to his lower back so that he can hold Schal's body.
At the next moment, the body floated off the ground into space due to an unnatural behavior.
The three men, who escaped from the invisible forest to the sky, begin to fly toward the Wang Capital, which is southwest, as they continue to rise in altitude.
A reality that is as difficult to understand as ever.
Charles felt like some other HR person had a dry laugh coming out of his eyes at the ocean that seemed far away.
When they reached the Wang capital in about four hours while taking a few breaks along the way, the Shalls split into two hands and began gathering information.
Charles is asked to act with Liana because Aldis acts alone as an informant.
"I'm not telling you to look in the back. Just pretend to be a runaway mercenary and gather information from people in town and shop employees."
I didn't mean to put the idea of a foot clump on his expression, but Ardis has stabbed the nail like he saw through the inside of Shall.
Liana and I have no choice but to play a new American mercenary and start picking up information all over the city.
"Erm. What can I do to gather information?
"... I gather stories about the information stores spread over Shisei because they say that there are others. Does Liana have any money?
"I have the money I deposited from Ardis, does it have anything to do with gathering information and money?
Ask Liana's answer and Charles looks at her unexpectedly.
Sure enough, this daughter won't be able to gather information on her own, so put herself on the shelf and Charles gives Liana an unpopular rating.
"Merchants are more or less loving to customers, so getting information while shopping is fundamental. There's so much information in restaurants and taverns where people get together, but I can't even go inside and talk to them in the first place without money."
"Oh, I see."
Charles sighs small, wondering if he didn't even know such a natural thing.
Of course, I have the means to gather information without spending money, but if I can't afford the time and I can't use my back hand, it's hard to do either.
"In the meantime, buy some food at the outdoor store and listen. Listen to the stories around you as you eat it in a crowded square"
"Can't I talk to someone who's walking?
"No. A little bit would be nice, but if you keep doing that all the time, you'll be noticeable"
"Is that what it is"
"Yes. So first I buy skewered meat at that dew-store. Next thing you know, I'll buy some steamed bread at the dewstore over there, and I'll buy some fried pinches at the dewstore."
Just a good opportunity, Charles chooses an outdoor store with his own desires (well) rounded out.
Listening to that, Liana has turned her suspicious gaze to Shall.
"That's..., by what criteria are you choosing an outdoor store?
"We have a lot of customers. Which means, hey - that's more than likely what you're getting from a lot of customers."
By accident, the real deal is about to come out. Shall reword it and give you the most apparent reason.
"Really? You're not just choosing what Charles wants, are you?
"............... that's not true"
"Are you out of your mind to look like your eyes are swimming?
"... it's my fault"
After all these two years of talking to simple villagers without a back table, apparently, Charles himself has been a lousy liar.
Where did the polished calm escape to each day you continue to carry out your mission as ordered by the organization?
Charles remembers the old days. Make an expression, suppress the pulse, and adjust the height and speed of your voice to take Liana's gaze straight from the front.
"I'm more used to handling information. If you don't believe me, it's easier for me to do something else."
"... Fair enough. I'm hungry, too, so why don't we talk to the owner for lunch?"
"Oh."
Grated her chest in her heart at Liana's attitude, who had stopped pursuing her, Charles turned to the skewered BBQ outhouse where she had decided to buy first.
Then Charles and Liana gather information while buying and eating at the outdoor store.
Aside from publicly available information and rumours about people from the country, pick up the prices of products lined up in stores, the market for necessities, and trends in churches and various unions.
It was also known to the people of the King's Capital that he had once again entered a state of war with the Empire.
As with the war four years ago, the battlefield is far from the other border, but the memory of the last devastating damage is still new.
Although it happened to be helpful four years ago because the Imperial Army had withdrawn, it would have even been attacked by the King's Capital, and the country could have perished if it did badly.
Very few people spoke of optimism, and there was a tight and heavy air in the Wang capital, even though the results of the first war had not even arrived yet.
Three hours after we started collecting information.
Shall and Liana take a trip to the park near the West Gate in an attempt to take a break.
Large fountain located in the center of the park.
Schal's movements stopped once again as he tried to sit on the bench placed on that side.
"This place..."
"What's wrong?
Without even answering Liana's query, Charles takes a small circular talisman from his hip porch and stares at it.
"I'll get you out of this prison."
I left that word at the end, a former companion who was terminated from the organization.
There was a man who said 'Let's get out of the organization' to Shall, then known as the Red Massago.
The street name is Tsubaki. I naturally don't know my real name.
He is a foolish man who refused the invitation to go down (groan) and still failed to keep waiting for Shall to escape.
It was this fountain that the man was found dead, and the talisman in Char's hand was the object worn by the diving swordfish.
"Think. Don't look away from the doubt."
That's what the diving swordfish said.
At the time Schal didn't even have any questions or other shards (pieces) and didn't understand what he was talking about.
But not now.
"Prison... Was it...?
At the time, Charles lived every day without any doubts about the organization or his role, just continuing to carry out his orders as they were told.
That organization no longer exists.
All that remains is the last task ordered by the organization.
It was a glimmer of light that proved his existence, not the chains that bound him, etc.
But for the past two years, Charles has had days he has never experienced before in his life.
Life without endangering your life and the role of not hurting anyone.
A treatment that I never used to think would be appreciated and smiled at by the people around me and cared for if I fell ill.
Every one of them tries to change a person named Charles.
For Charles today, the last task ordered by the organization is not the only light.
The countless lights and shadows shaping Char, it was only one of them.
"If it were now..."
If I had met the diving swordfish now, would I have taken his offered hand? Charles asks himself that.
Shull still doesn't know if he was captured in prison when he was in the organization.
But Charles didn't hate himself right now.
Even if I had the opportunity to go back to my former self, I don't think I would ever make a decision without a tour.
I'm no longer who I was and what I am. Charles recognises himself that way.
I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing, Shall.
I just wanted to see my former companion asexually.
A man who could be strangely thin, looked at from his surroundings with a frightened eye with all the extras in his mouth.
But unless you knock over the gates of the Underworld, Shall won't see the diving swordfish.
The word Sara now weighed Schal's heart.
"Shull, are you okay?
"Mmm.... no, it's nothing"
Returning a strange word to Liana, who looked worried about her complexion, Charles grabbed a small talisman.
"Sorry......"
Whether it was meant for Liana or someone I would never see again, Shull snapped so unsure of himself.