I stand before a cliffside, a single sword left on the ground, alone and with nothing to accompany it. I look around, looking, looking, looking for that man.

"Hey, are you done with this little detour? We have to get going soon." Stronl calls out to me.

"Yea, sorry about wasting time." I look away and head back.

The deserter I met before coming to the frontlines was gone, no body, no note, he was simply gone, all that was left was a sword I didn’t even know if it was his.

"... Hold on, let me do one more thing." I double back to the cliffside.

"Oh for gods... Alright, but we're going to have to pick up the pace after this." Stronl sighs.

I look around for a decent looking, big rock, then roll it over to the sword before setting it down on the earth. I blow out a small hole in the ground to rest the rock in, then grab the sword out of the ground.

I crouch down then rest my hand on the rock, resting the sword tip right next to my hand, my wind Tetsu turning into fire. I then exhale deeply as the sword begins sinking into the bubbling hot rock, hot steam coming out of the cliffside from all the moisture in the soil and air drying up. The rock soon hardens back up due to all the water surrounding the area, encasing the sword in rock.

"Alright, let's go." I say as I memorialize the sword into the earth, making sure nobody would ever be able to take it out.

Just as a reminder.

It was solely me and Stronl traveling through the wilderness. Stronl had told only her most trusted advisors that I was returning to the northern capital, while most of the army should be under the impression that I was returning to the frontlines as one of the silver armored knights, Fiao knows how to use fire anyways, so there shouldn't be any issue faking the enemy out either.

Aided by a strong wind current and Stronl running by the side, we were traveling back almost 7 times as fast as when I was traveling forwards.

“Aren’t you worried I might try and kill you out here?” I say to her.

She gives me a dirty look to the side. “Are you trying to confirm whether I trust you or not?”

“No, no, it’s not like that—“

”Oh it’s not? Then be quiet.”

I shut up quickly, understanding the implications of her willingness to travel with me alone.

Within two days we were already back at the capital.

"Hide your face, we'll work on fixing your reputation up as soon as we can, but right now it's a very bad idea to show your face in public." Stronl says as we near the entrance gates.

”Mmh.” I nod my head and pull up the hood from the cloak I was wearing.

I stare at the ground as we move through the gate, entering the main road of the 5th district. This part of town was quite tidy compared to the rest of the 5th district, but the unmistakable scent of rotten trash still wafted through the air.

"Why is the city separated into these ringed districts?" I ask as we begin walking through the main street. "It seems so…” I struggle to find an adequate word to describe it, as the first word that popped into my head was the non-specific terrible.

"Discriminatory? Shit? I don’t disagree." Stronl nods her head. "It's part of an old system that Mallefard was in the process of overhauling before the war broke out. The idea was that the poorer people at the outer edge would be able to constantly be in contact with the wealthier people when they were traveling back or from homes. A ruler from older times thought it would ‘inspire them to work harder in hopes of reaching that status’ when the capital was being constructed.” She delivers that last part in quotes. “But instead it’s brought up decades of resentment and frequent crime.”

Admiration? Are you kidding me? It would brew jealousy much more than it would create admiration, but I keep the thoughts to myself.

…

”The streets are very empty for this time of day.” I unintentionally comment.

"A result of the drafts." Stronl says. "Another byproduct of the district system, it’s simply too easy to make changes that directly target the lower class, but first district people make all the donations so no one wants to touch them.”

I just nod my head alongside as she confirms the thoughts that were swirling around my mind ever since encountering Thork.

“… Just to inform you.” Stronl addresses me directly this time. “I hope you understand the role you’re about to play once we get to that castle.”

“?” I turn to Stronl curiously.

”You’re going to be a highly contested pawn once we get inside.” She says. “To be upfront, there’s no unified leadership for you to follow. It’s all highly fractured after Mallefard died with nobody yet to take full control. A lot of people are not going to want you there purely due to the fact that you’re likely going to be throwing your weight behind Yesenia. So to get this out of the way early. Be cautious when following orders for anyone except Yesenia or me. There are others you’ll be able to trust but please run things through us first.”

I nod in understanding. Looks like she’s making an early bid for power.

“What if you and Yesenia want different things?” I then ask her with a morbid curiosity.

She stops walking, as if thinking for a while.

“Then go with mine.”

We soon reach the gate to the castle where Stronl and I pass by without much issue.

"Glad to see you safe back home commander." A soldier calls out. "Nothing particularly new has happened since you were gone, however there are rumors of a problematic figure..." The soldier hesitates as soon as he sees me cross the corner alongside Stronl.

"Please excuse me." Stronl says to me before walking to the side. The soldier quietly whispers the rest of the report out into Stronl’s ear before she returns by my side.

We continue quietly walking across the courtyard of the castle.

"Are you curious as to what he told me?" Stronl asks.

"Yes." I respond truthfully. “But if it’s none of my business, it’s none of my business.”

"Good response, though if that rumor is true, it'll likely involve you, so there's currently an extremely dangerous person that's wandering around our city right now, well known by her title as the strongest in the world. She hasn't allied herself with either nation. We’re tracking her but we’re highly unsure of her intentions, so be on your toes."

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"I'll keep it in mind." I respond simply.

"Good, now..."

"Caaaaaaain!" Both Stronl and I cringe at the sound of my name being shouted so carelessly, but we turn around to see Yesenia running through the courtyard. I stumble down in surprise as Yesenia literally tackles me to the ground.

"Man I was so happy when—" I immediately trap all the air around us to prevent sound from coming through. "—I got the message that Stronl decided to let you work with us."

"Oi, Yesenia, people aren't supposed to know that I'm here." I gently push her off while Stronl picks her by the cuff of her neck at the same time.

"Mmh, I know, that's why nobody is patrolling the area right now. I know how the guards are scheduled." Yesenia says without losing the smile on her face.

"What about that guard Stronl just talked to?" I ask.

"His shift just ended right after Stronl came back, unless someone was listening in deliberately nobody should be here right now. Though you're right, we need to get inside A - S - A - P."

"Yesenia..." Stronl starts but then takes a deep sigh. "Alright, let's go."

The three of us walk into the castle, one of us giving off a much more bubbly vibe than the other two.

I look at Yesenia's head, her little jewel studded crown was back. Although it looked different than the one that she threw out the window back then.

"Ah, are you looking at this?" Yesenia tugs the crown off her head and shows it to me. "Living out alone was fun but I gotta keep up appearances I guess. These are fake gems though, I'm still prepared to keep my promise to you."

"No need, Yesenia. You can wear real gems if you'd like. That whole deal I made about hating royalty was incredibly stupid in hindsight." I say in response.

"..." Yesenia stays quiet in response, as if deep in thought.

"Is Stronl blackmailing you? Blink twice if she is." Yesenia says.

"Oi." Stronl says darkly.

I couldn't help but crack a small smile at the interaction. "Yea, she told me that I would never see my sister again if I didn't comply." I say jokingly.

"No I didn't."

"Really?! That's terrible! That’s low, even for you! !" Yesenia exclaims.

"You guys... We need to be serious right now." Stronl tries to keep a straight face, but I could see the smallest of grins forming on her lips.

"I'm always serious, you're just way too serious all the time." Yesenia says in response.

Stronl stays quiet. "Am I??? I can be funny, I told three jokes in the past week." She says in a surprising turn of events.

"No lighthearted person counts the amount of jokes they tell in a week, what were those jokes anyways?" Yesenia says.

"I think it went like... What do you call a fly without wings?"

"Ah, that kind of joke." Yesenia murmurs.

"A walk." Stronl says without any sort of effort in her delivery whatsoever.

"Did you study those out of a book somewhere?"

"Huh, how did you know?" Stronl says without any hint of self-awareness either

"Nevermind about that, did you get someone to laugh from it?" Suddenly, Yesenia seemed to be the one lecturing Stronl instead of the other way around.

"Yes, I did. Now what?"

"Definitely at you…” I say in a very quiet tone. Unfortunately both Stronl and Yesenia pick up on what I said.

"He's right, you know." Yesenia dogpiles on her with the first chance she gets.

"Okay so that was a bad one, I’ll make note of that and use a different one next time." Stronl says.

She doesn't get it...

"Yea sure, that's the problem. Just choose a different joke out of that book next time." Yesenia forgoes all attempts at advice and instead settles for heavy sarcasm.

"Anyways, we've arrived. I've already sent a messenger telling all the leaders that you are no longer a threat. Although I doubt any of them have changed their minds about you, this is just for a meeting deciding and detailing all the specifics for your involvement, though I'm sure we're not going to make any significant consensus today." Stronl says.

"That's fine. There's no need for everybody to accept me."

"Alright, allow me then." Stronl opens the door for me to step through. I walk in first without hesitation to a giant room crowded with people.

Three long dark wood tables filled the room, and at least 40 people were in here at once, all their eyes on me. I take a deep bow and introduce myself. “Greetings, I am Cain Trosied." Stronl and Yesenia file in behind me and take their seat. I eye Crux, Hanafin, and Rainel all sitting at the tables. "You will have known me from my previous antics; I know too well what I was like a couple weeks ago, and I assure you that I am no longer that person, nor a threat to you all. Please allow me to help in any way I can." I hear a couple of snorts but ignore them and try to find a spot on the table. My years of political experience carrying me through the introduction.

"No, keep standing there, I don't want to be close to such a dangerous person." A man on the table glared at me. I recognized him from the night I came to this world. He was in the same room where I caused all my commotion.

I follow his orders quietly and go back to the spot I was standing in, trying to be as non combative as possible.

"You seem to have an opinion that you want to communicate, Roxan?" Stronl says passive aggressively.

"Yes I do, I think you, Yesenia, Crux, and anybody that supports this murderer joining our forces should be strung up and filled with arrows, in fact let's skip the discussion altogether. Who here wants to see this kid dead by tomorrow?"

"Wait, wait, wait, I was in the same room that day, I understand how you feel, but Stronl has yet to be wrong with any of her judgements of character. She did figure out that you were the one wasting our budget to get a couple of drinks at night." Another person interjects.

"Why every time I try to make a point someone brings that up? I've already apologized, move on."

"Probably because those are what we call 'the consequences of your actions.'"

The room begins to rapidly devolves into bickering. Most of them being mundane and petty arguments.

"Hey Cain." Yesenia directly addresses me.

"Yea?"

"Can you make a really loud noise with your wind? I know Fiao has some abilities with sound." She opens and closes her hands in a dramatic manner.

"Okay." I clench my fist and a massive pop emanates through the room. Instantly shutting everybody up.

"Roxan." Yesenia quietly says as all eyes turn from me to her.

"I argue that you have a conflict of interest and are making your decisions based on emotions. Everybody knows that my faction has control of the Tetsudo right now. Are you afraid of that sudden power difference, or do you genuinely believe that Cain will murder us all? Also Cain, don't listen to him, please sit down.” I find a seat right next to Crux as soon as she says that.

"I'm not saying he'll murder us all, I know you like to twist words like that. I'm saying that he's a murderer, and he can't be forgiven for what he has done for killing Aftman."

“Hold on, before we continue, let’s make sure we do this in an orderly manner. Anybody who wants to make a case for or against the aid of the Tetsudo please go one by one.” Crux holds his hands up.

I try my best to keep an expressionless face as I’m thrown with insults, mischaracterizations, and outright lies. However, I’m saved by Yesenia passionately speaking up for me for multiple hours until finally, the final person says his piece. the room was left with a 18-20 ratio of supporters to deniers with 4 indecisive, Rainel being one of the indecisive.

“Great, now let's cast a vote to see if anyone’s opinions have changed.” Crux says.

One by one, each member of the room raises their hand, an open palm meaning that they support me, a closed fist meaning that they don't, leaving us with the number of… twenty to twenty. Rainel of all people being the last person to cast a vote.

“Cain, I want to let you know that I went out to drink with Aftman a couple of times.” Rainel says. “Outside of his duties he was a pretty fun guy to be around.”He slowly raises his hand. “So I don’t think I’ll ever like you.” And opens his palm, signifying his support for my participation. “However, I’m going to go with my instincts.”

Rainel stares at me dead in the eye as the entire room groans from both relief and anger all at once. “But, don’t get comfortable, if you make a single mistake I will withdraw my support immediately.”

I stare at him back. “Don’t worry, if I make a mistake I’ll target Roxan first.” I say jokingly.

“I wouldn’t really consider that a mistake.” Rainel smiles back as Roxan stares at both of us incredulously.

Meanwhile

“Alright, get out of the carriage. You know the drill.” A soldier lazily beckons.

“Do your worst.” The merchant says as he steps out the cart.

The interaction was happening near the entrance way to the northern capital of Lyster, it was just like any routine cargo check to make sure no illegal items or people were being smuggled out of the city.

“Some booze… fabrics… looks good.” The soldier suddenly stumbles over a loose board near the bottom of the cart as he was walking out.

“Ow, ow, ow, what the hell was that?” The soldier looks closely into the little hole he found, placing his hand in the hole and feeling around the floorboards. Until he brushes against a stack of papers. He takes the stack of papers out of the floor and inspects them closely before drawing his sword.

“GET THE FUCK DOWN TO THE GROUND!” The soldier screams at the merchant, running at him to tackle him down.

Indeed, the stack of papers the soldier just found contained an unfathomable amount of secrets, about city layout, army composition, state of economy. Secrets that only the highest of higher ups would know.