It took Mimiyat a bit of walking to finally wake up, for real this time. She still yawned now and then, though. Atilia leaned her head, checking Mimiyat's face.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

She then began her explanation. She explained the contents of the letter on their way to the cafe. After hearing about it, Mimiyat let out a weird expression but kept silent.

Once they arrived at the cafe, they looked for the person that invited them. Atilia went up to the barkeep and chatted while Remy observed the cafe. The place looked similar to an industrial-style cafe back on Earth. It had exposed bricks occupying one side of the wall, and neon lighting on the other side. He didn’t get how the lights work here, but they looked similar to the decorations utilized by many cafes back on Earth.

He assumed that an outworlder owned the place, based on the styling. The way the interior looked made him feel at home, albeit he didn’t visit these kinds of cafes back then. The barkeeper then guided them to a table where the embassy staff waited for them. Remy, Atilia, and Mimiyat all took the chair opposite of him, with Atilia in the middle and Remy next to the wall.

“Sorry for the sudden inconvenience. My name is Natiria Eldar, a staff member from the Kingdom of Juskon official embassy. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” The staff introduced himself.

Natiria wore a charming black suit, with Juskon’s emblem on his right-side chest. The emblem showed a picture of a castle built into the mountains. A set of black glasses hung on his suit’s left pocket, with a fancy-looking bowler hat set above the briefcase next to him. The perfect picture of a gentleman.

“I’m Atilia Artinia. This is my husband, Remy Artinia, and our party member, Mimiyat Pukrakra.”

“Mimiyat…?” Natiria looked toward Mimiyat.

“... I suggest you not mess with me.”

“Did you two know each other?” Remy asked.

Mimiyat and Natiria both shook their heads.

“Back to the situation at hand.” He proceeded to explain the situation they were in. Juskon was the kingdom located up north. The forefront in the war against the demons. They were in huge trouble and needed help in fending off the attacks.

He then took out his briefcase, opened it, and showed its contents. Inside was a slip of paper along with some cash, in a different currency than the one used in this country. Remy hadn’t paid anything with cash yet, but he did see it a couple of times, and the markings were different.

Atilia glanced at him, seemingly having the same question as him, but it was Mimiyat who spoke out first.

“Juskonian Arbek.”

“You recognized this?” Atilia asked. Mimiyat picked up a bundle and threw it up, playing with it as if it were a baseball ball.

“He- hey.” Natiria looked quite surprised at the sudden gesture, but Mimiyat didn’t seem to care at all.

“Ehem… yes, these are Juskonian Arbek. To get to the point, we have a request for you. The ship had been lost for so long and had been considered sunk, but it is still a Juskon-owned vessel. Since you are outworlders, we are willing to give the ship for free and pay you if you can assist us in our war.”

Remy didn’t really like the way he mentioned outworlders. He was a normal human, like the rest of them. If anything, he was behind the others. His ability was a sniper rifle he couldn't use without Atilia. He was no better compared to Natiria, Mimiyat, or anyone else for that matter. Still, he remained silent, keeping his discomfort with the term to himself.

Mimiyat grunted, pulling him from his thoughts. She folded her hands and crossed her legs.

“So you consider it a lost ship, but you still use it to leverage your position in negotiations?”

“We thought it’s best to be honest with you. It is indeed a lost ship, but it is still our lost ship.”

“Honest? Why didn’t you write this in the letter instead, then?” Mimiyat asked in an annoyed voice.

“My superiors insisted on meeting you directly, as we are making a request. It’s considered more respectful that way. But I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t have that common sense.”

The sudden jab caught both Remy and Atilia off guard. They were sitting across a government official. A respected person, supposedly. Those words weren't something they expected to hear from his mouth.

“Common sense? Respectful? Hiding what you want from another person, trapping them into a meeting, then trying to use the object they fought demons for and risking their lives to recover, acting as if you bothered to expend any effort in looking for it? That’s respectful!?” Mimiyat slammed her hands onto the table. The loud thump caught the attention of nearby customers. Remy panicked and froze, not knowing how to calm Mimiyat down.

“Umm… ahh…” He searched for the words, failing miserably. Atilia then raised her hand in front of his chest, giving him a glance. Remy sank to his seat, not saying anything else.

“Lady Mimiyat, I respectfully ask that you calm down. This method is much more respectful than simply asking out of the blue.”

“Asking out of the blue is different from writing something in the letter. It’s obvious you’re trying to pressure us into accepting. If you’re-”

“We are not pressuring anyone! We are simply giving you a choice!”

“Oh yeah, then what about that briefcase full of money of yours!?”

“It’s our offer for the deal. We’re trying to reach a deal that will benefit everyone, one you’re actively trying to sabotage!”

The two glared at each other. Remy shivered at all the yelling. He looked around with anxiety, finding the eyes of the other people at their table. Atilia, meanwhile, leaned back in her seat. She had her hands folded and her expression flat, as if she already expected this to happen.

Natiria then turned toward them.

“Lady Atilia, Mister Remy, we have no need for this traitor. If you are willing, we are happy to accept just the two of you.”

“Oh yeah? Count me out, then!” Mimiyat stood up and stormed out of the cafe. Remy watched as she disappeared into the street.

Natiria brought his hand up to his face and exhaled. “Sorry for the display. That is highly unprofessional of me.”

"I knew she had some history with Juskon," Atilia said, slightly miffed.

"... how?" Remy whispered.

"She had a friend onboard the Urkon Maria, had this face she made when she heard we would be meeting, and showed hostility ever since the start."

"Ah, I see…"

"So…" Atilia turned back to Natiria. "Care to tell me why you called my party member a traitor?"

Natiria let out another sigh at the question.

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“The truth is, Mimiyat is a Juskonian. She used to be a member of Juskon’s High Magic Knights, very capable people who are on the top of the Juskonian military. Our military isn’t big, but these people are worth a few thousand soldiers. Unfortunately, Mimiyat refused to follow our discipline. It had been so well known that the people called her ‘The Sleeping Knight’.”

Natiria paused to take a quick sip from his cup of coffee.

“As much as people disliked her, however, she is still a remarkable warrior. It’s a huge shame that she couldn’t open her damn eyes for more than a few minutes. In peacetime, we could afford to let her do as she pleased. But our enemies do not care about when we sleep. They came knocking on our doors, and we did what we could to survive. Many powerful outworlders came to our assistance, and we soon found Mimiyat no longer desirable. She had become a liability, a walking, sleeping, useless knight. We can no longer afford to keep her, nor do we have the reason to do so. Thus, with a heavy heart, we let her go.”

With a heavy heart…

It didn't sound like that to Remy, at least. The way Natiria said it made Mimiyat sound like some trash they couldn't wait to get rid of. The war offered them that chance.

He nodded regardless, but inside, he wanted to hear it from Mimiyat's side. Atilia, looking pleased with the explanation, stood up.

“We’ll think about the offer. We’ll notify you through the outworlder’s guild.”

“Feel free to contact me directly,” Natiria handed over his business card. It listed his name along with the inn where he stayed at. “I’ll be around for ten more days. I hope you can make your decision by then.”

The three shook hands and left the cafe. Remy and Atilia returned to the guild. They asked about Mimiyat's whereabouts, but as expected, Mimiyat wasn't there.

Atilia then went down to the port, Remy following after her.

"Where are we heading?" Remy asked, his eyes on the many wooden ships that surrounded them. Most of the ships were fishing vessels, evident from the nets onboard them. They had sails similar to the one on the Urkon Maria, albeit much smaller.

"Mimiyat."

"How do you know she's here? I thought we were heading back to Purwa."

"How do you end up with that conclusion?"

"Well…"

Remy expected the deal to be off. Since they still had a couple of personal items back there, Purwa would be their destination.

Atilia came to a sudden stop, Remy bumping into her. Remy lifted his face, looking toward the person on the other side.

"Mimiyat…" Atilia called.

She's right. How did she know?

Remy couldn't ask, however.

"... What do you want? Come to pick up your ship?” she asked, not bothering to turn around.

“We heard a story from Natiria about your past. We want to confirm it with you.”

Mimiyat didn’t reply. Atilia came closer, relaying what Natiria said in a hushed voice so that the port workers around them couldn’t hear what she was saying. She explained everything they heard from Natiria after Mimiyat left. With every sentence, Mimiyat’s fist tightened.

“And that’s what he said. Mimiyat, is that true?”

Mimiyat remained silent for a couple of seconds before speaking up, “Useless knight? Heavy heart? Hehehe… My goodness, that’s a whole load of crap.”

Mimiyat let out a chuckle, yet tears went down her cheeks.

“Mimiyat?”

“You want to know what they did to me?" she whispered, her voice frail like a crying little child.

"They put me on night guard! And you know what I did? Protect their asses when they sleep! I stayed up all night, staying vigilant and FREAKING ALONE to make sure they woke up safe and sound in the morning. What did I get for that? What did I get when their blind eyes woke up and saw me asleep? Envy. That’s what I freaking get. They wanted me gone. They thought I was just a heavyweight. They didn’t let me go with a heavy heart, they kicked me out. My commander deemed that I was too much of a burden and dishonorably discharged me. They scoff, they laugh when they see I left. You want to know what happened the very next night? Two thousand men die in a demon attack.”

“I-”

“Look, if you want to take the ship, take it. I’ll continue my search on my own. If not, then leave me alone,” she said while wiping a tear off her face. Atilia reached out and grabbed Remy’s hand, bringing him back toward the guild.

“Well, that sure ended in something.” Atilia sat down on the bed, looking exhausted. The bed had been cleaned, the dirty blankets replaced with a new one. “So… what would you do? Juskon or Mimiyat?”

“I… what about you, Atilia?”

“What would you do?”

“I… you-"

"What would you do?"

"I… I mean, you should make a decision as well."

"Still, technically you're my boss, so you make the final call."

"Come on. You know I don’t see you that way." Remy sighed. "It's really complicated, isn't it? I wanted to help Juskon. I mean, we’re sent here to help fight against the demons. By helping Juskon, we’re doing our part in stopping them in their tracks. We’re also helping more people that way. On the other hand, Mimiyat is still our friend, and her friend needs help as well. We should still help while we can,” Remy said, sitting down next to her. Atilia rose from the bed, walked to the other side, and rested herself on Remy's back.

“You should at least mention the money offered.”

“I just… don't really care about that. How about you? Who do you want to side with?”

Atilia paused for a moment before answering.

“Siding with Juskon means getting a ship, a lot of money, and whatever else they can offer... Objectively, they offer more benefits. But, we are dealing with a nation. In their eyes, we’re tools to be used in war, pawns to do their bidding. Mimiyat, on the other hand, pisses me off. She’s a person, with a whole lot of weaknesses. I really dislike some sides of her… but at the end of the day, she’s still a person. I don’t want to abandon her, either.”

“Is there really no way for us to side with both of them?”

“That would mean forcing them both to make peace.”

“I’m also kind of unsure about our strength. Mimiyat knew the extent of our powers, probably. But Juskon?”

“They see us as two outworlders and assume we have a lot of power as a result. What if they found out that it wasn’t true? They may kick us out.”

“Much like what happened to Mimiyat.”

“Correct.” Atilia bobbed her head, her hair sliding up and down on Remy's back.

"But on the flip side, we’ll be more like hired mercenaries than soldiers. We won't have as tight of a rope around our neck."

"But that still means we will be working in groups. I don't want to drag everyone down."

"I won't let it get to that."

“Thanks.”

Remy smiled. It didn’t answer the question at hand, though. Should he side with Mimiyat? Or should he side with the country that threw her away? He regretted it reached the point where they needed to make a choice in the first place, but he really couldn’t do anything. Everything just exploded within a few lines of dialogue, too quick for him to form a proper reaction.

“In her mind, Mimiyat already cut us off. Juskon is willing to accept us as long as we signed up before the war ended.” Atilia began laying out the facts. “But trying to change Mimiyat’s mind is probably easier than changing the minds of an entire country. And Juskon is already willing to accept Mimiyat, albeit half-heartedly.”

“So we should try to talk to Mimiyat first?”

Atilia nodded. “Plus, as a Juskonian, she can be a valuable guide.”

“Should we set off now, then?”

Atilia shook her head and held Remy’s hand. “Give her some time to cool off. We’ll contact her later tonight.”

“Alright, what should we do for now?”

Atilia got off the bed, dragging Remy with her. “Let’s look around the city,” she said with a wide grin.

* ••

After some window shopping, they made their way back to the inn.

“I wonder if Mimiyat is back?”

“I sure hope she is.”

The two walked back side-by-side. Now that their little trip had ended, his mind returned to the issue at hand. Mimiyat or Juskon. Between a friend that helped them before, or an entire country that needed help. He couldn’t decide, but he didn’t want to waste time by not thinking about it. He would eventually need to choose. There was also the concern regarding Mimiyat’s friend and the demons that surely wouldn’t wait for them.

“We should try to talk to Mimiyat again. Maybe she calmed down,” he said. He really hoped he didn’t need to choose. He genuinely wished he could find a compromise.

“Assuming she doesn’t change her mind, what will you do?”

“Can I really not choose them both?”

“That’s the best-case scenario, but Mimiyat not changing her mind is the opposite of it.”

“I think I’ll try speaking to her first.”

“Whatever you choose, remember that I’m there to back you up.”

“Even if I decided to join the demons?”

Atilia swung her hand and grabbed Remy’s shoulder.

“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”

“Do that, and I myself will swing my sword against you.”

“Sorry, sorry! … What sword, though?”

“A normal sword would do.” Atilia let go. “Seriously… never do that, alright?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t. So… should we search for her?”

“... Let’s just rest for now. We’ll find her later.”

Not having any other idea, Remy agreed with his wife’s suggestion, and the two returned to their room.