A little over fifteen minutes later, in the north-eastern part of the city, in an empty warehouse…

「Did we lose 'em?」

Falcon asks the two palace guards trailing into the large, dim warehouse behind him. One of them peeks outside, then nods his head as he slides the door shut.

「Good. Get the rope… And the chair. I won't let a lady sit on a cold winter floor…」

He adds, glancing at Cycelia hoisted over his shoulder. The two palace guards rush to a spare collection of wooden crates and reach inside one of them. One pulls out a rather simple, destitute-looking chair, while the other pulls out a length of rope. Both of them run back up to Falcon and Cycelia while she's staring at them with her brows slightly furrowed from atop of his shoulder.

「…I thought you'd be a lot more combative, lady, but you're as tame as a bamboo warbler. Why? Resigned? Afraid?」

Falcon remarks in lowland common as the man with the chair sets it down, and the other holds the rope ready to tie Cycelia. He walks up, extending his hand out to take the rope instead, and the guard hands it over with a respectful bow. Falcon then lowers Cycelia to her feet and points at the chair behind her. She glances at it, then reluctantly sits down.

「I'm not. I know Straf will come and rescue me. You said you won't hurt me, so I expect you to keep your word. Otherwise it won't end well for you.」

Cycelia replies with a serious face and a calm tone while looking up at Falcon's smug face. He briefly fiddles with the rope in his armored hands, gaining an amused smirk.

「Oh? Reversing roles and threatening me instead?」

He asks after letting out an amused huff from his nose.

「No. It's a warning.」

She replies with a light shake of her head, keeping her serious expression. The two guards standing behind her chair gently furrow their brows at each other.

「Listen… I ought to tie you, but… 」

Falcon sucks air in through his teeth and lets out a troubled sigh while looking at Cycelia with a pensive gaze. Her hands are on her lap, and she waits for his next word, blinking up at him.

「…How about you promise me that you won't try to run or get your weapon out, and I'll just kinda… Wrap it a around your waist a bit and tie a little knot?」

He suggests with a shrug of his armored red shoulders.

「…That's fine. If you keep your word, I'll give you my word of honor.」

Cycelia thinks for a moment, then replies with a nod.

「Word of honor, huh? You sound like a noble lady… Could you raise your arms just a little?… I'm not going to tie 'em, I just want to keep you in your chair…」

Falcon asks, and though reluctant, Cycelia obliges and raises her arms slightly up to her chest level.

He moves the end of the rope around her waist, wrapping it once, twice, thrice, then again, and again, and again.

「…Not too tight?…」

He asks, and Cycelia returns a light shake of her head. With each loop, he gives the rope a small tug to tighten it, forcing her slack coat to hug her body closer. As he throws another loop around her waist, his eyes continue idly looking over her features, and he notices her coat forming a large bulge above her waist. His eyes jump up briefly in mild surprise.

「…You're pretty big.」

Falcon remarks as he moves to the back of her chair and ties a knot just behind her. Her head tilts in response at his words, blinking a few times with confusion on her face.

「…Huh?」

「What I mean is, you're very pretty, and it shows in all aspects…」

She utters out while staring at him, and Falcon nonchalantly replies with a shrug of his hands, sweeping a lock of his black hair out of the way of his face.

「…You two, go get the rest. I'm going to have a little one on one with the pretty lady here.」

Falcon suddenly switches languages as he nods up at the two guards. Cycelia lowers her hands back to her lap.

「Yes, Master Falcon!…」「…Yes, Master Falcon!」

The men in black reply in unison with a powerful nod of their heads, and rush for the door. They run out, with one of them sliding it shut behind himself.

「So… You speak our language?」

Falcon asks as he idly rests one hand on his hip, and the other on the handle of his curving sword. Cycelia blinks at him with a troubled grimace.

「That's fine. I speak yours.」

He shrugs his hands with a nonchalant grimace, albeit lightly disappointed grimace on his face.

「You know two languages?…」

Cycelia asks in a curious tone, inquisitively tilting her head.

「Three. Beastman Kingdom common, but I'm badly out of practice with that one, so…」

Falcon proudly declares, then quickly amends his statement with a little less pride.

「That's… Pretty impressive regardless.」

She replies, furrowing her brows something partway in between amazement and reluctant approval.

「Thank you… I'm sure you already know mine, but I'm Falcon. Means Falcon in your language. What's your name if I may ask, pretty western lady?」

With his fist on his hip, Falcon shrugs his hand, pointing it at Cycelia.

「C-… Lia…」

Cycelia makes a single sound, then quickly corrects herself after a momentary pause, speaking quieter with an awkward grimace on her face.

「Well, Lia…」

Falcon lets out a lightly, yet audibly disappointed sigh and bows towards Cycelia, causing her to furrow her brows in confusion somewhat.

「…Despite the circumstances, it's a pleasure to meet you.」

He adds, and squats down next to her.

「Mh… Yes…」

Conflicted, Cycelia nods with an awkward expression and returns a lukewarm reply.

「So… This Straf guy… He's really gonna come for you?」

Falcon stares at Cycelia with his brows inquisitively raised.

「Yes, he will.」

「And if he won't?」

She replies, and Falcon very quickly asks another question. Cycelia blinks at him as if he asked her to explain why a fundamental fact of the world is not true… Like asking why the sky is green.

「…But he will.」

Cycelia says with her brows furrowed. Falcon shrugs with a nonchalant grimace.

「You seem very sure of that… Don't get me wrong, that's good for me… But really, what if he won't?」

He nods along, adding a shrug of his hands while he looks at Cycelia's wary face.

「…Why would he not?」

She asks in a hesitant voice, narrowing her eyes slightly.

「I don't know. Cowardice, treachery, selfishness, lack of any honor or dignity as a man… Or you're not that important to him. Pick one, and humor my question as a hypothetical.」

Falcon shrugs as he replies. With his hands on his knees, he adds a tilt of his head with a nonchalant grimace on his face.

Cycelia blinks at him, pondering his question. She turns her emerald gaze to her lap, and blinks at it too. She keeps blinking, blankly staring at her own hands as she thinks.

「Well, don't worry about it much if he doesn't…」

Falcon remarks as he stands up and stretches, interrupting Cycelia's aimless pondering. She turns her eyes to him with a troubled grimace.

「…It'll be a major pain in the ass, but if it comes to that, it can't be helped. I'd take you to the palace as a forced guest. I said I won't hurt you, so I'll keep my word even then…」

He adds while rubbing the back of his neck, and shrugs his hand with his other one resting on the hilt of his sword.

「…To tell you the truth, I picked you because you seemed the most important to him, but I was still only guessing. If it fragments the group, I suppose I can just try this again later.」

With a sigh, Falcon shrugs his arms with his mouth aslant, and drops them limp to his sides with a clatter of his red armor's wide plates.

「The most important?… How?」

Cycelia asks quietly while awkwardly fidgeting with her dainty hands, perking up a little.

「Outside the inn he spent the longest looking at you… Aaand you were the rearmost in the formation.」

「But that was because I was- Never mind. How does me being last mean I'm the most important?」

He replies with a shrug of his shoulders as his hand moves to rest on his sword. Cycelia tries to explain herself, but then stops with a shake of her chestnut head.

「Well, it's not exactly common knowledge, but amateur guards tend to concentrate their forces at the front of the formation, and leave the important people or things in the rear…」

Falcon crosses his arms as he begins to explain, tilting his head slightly. A lock of hair falls down to his face.

「…Bandits and kidnappers love that. Amateurs think that someone will just walk up to them and fight them. Fat chance, as you have found out.」

「…Then you leave someone in the rear?」

He adds, and Cycelia asks.

「That's right. Some people even go as far as claiming you should leave more in the back, and I'm inclined to agree… You can fake a frontal attack to snatch the person in the back.」

Falcon nods, smirking slightly.

The door slides open, and Falcon rapidly grips onto his sword's hilt with a clatter of both the blade and his armor. His eyes snap over his shoulder.

「Ah. It's just you…」

He sighs out and says to the palace guards as they return, bringing at least a dozen more men in black with them. Falcon lets go of the sword and rests his other hand upon it instead.

「What do we do now, Master Falcon?」

One of the men asks as they walk up to Falcon and Cycelia.

「I want one man on every corner, and two more as sentries on nearby crossings…」

Falcon orders the men wearing black, pointing his fingers in vague directions while speaking in his own language. Cycelia listens, but can't grasp the jumble of strange words.

「…Are you hungry?」

He suddenly asks Cycelia.

「Huh? Uh… I ate at the inn…」

「I see, I see…」

She replies, and Falcon nods his head as he turns his eyes back to the men.

「…Buuut the portions here are so small… And I'm still a little hungry.」

She bashfully adds with a little pout on her lowered face.

「Ah! Ain't they!? I hate that!…」

Falcon suddenly exclaims, pointing his finger at Cycelia with a grin on his face and eyes sparking with joy, clenching his other hand into a fist up at his chest.

「…I do a lot of physical work y'see. Whenever I go get food, I need to order two meals just for myself! I keep tellin' everyone it shouldn't be this way! I hate that shit!」

He adds, showily flexing his arm, though any muscles to be shown are hidden beneath his clothes and armor. He then places his fists on his hips, grinning at Cycelia.

「I see…」

Cycelia nods, furrowing her brows in surprise at the man's sudden energy.

「…All that what I said, and bring us three meals. I'll let you pick, but I want meat.」

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Falcon turns to the palace guards again, and concludes.

They nod in response and rush outside again, shutting the door behind themselves…

…

Ten minutes later…

The guards return. Two of them enter while a third assists them with the door, shutting it after the two enter. They jog up to Falcon and Cycelia, carefully eyeing the food they're carrying to not drop or spill anything. Falcon takes a bowl and chopsticks, then casually hands it to Cycelia. She blinks at it in brief surprise, then takes it with a light nod of her head. Falcon then takes the other two plates from the guards and sits down on the ground.

「Alright… You two guard the door and don't let anyone but him in. Don't fight the rest if you don't have to, but keep 'em out.」

「Yes, Master Falcon!…」「…Yes, Master Falcon!」

Falcon waves the men off with his fingers as he starts digging into his cutlet slices. Slurping on her noodle soup, Cycelia watches the two men run out and slide the door shut.

「So… This Straf guy… Is he strong?」

He asks, and takes a bite of his cutlet with his brows inquisitively raised.

「Yes. He is.」

Cycelia swallows, and nods her head without a second of hesitation.

「Good… He better be. Stronger than me?」

Pleased, he shrugs his shoulders and tilts his head with a nonchalant grimace.

「…I don't know how strong you are… But I can safely say yes, he is.」

「Without knowing how strong I am?」

Cycelia replies with a nod, causing Falcon's brows to jump up as he lightly shakes his head in confused surprise.

「Straf is the strongest man I know. I don't think you stand a chance based on that.」

She confirms with another nod, speaking with a serious tone and face before returning to slurping her noodles.

「He was the runner-up in the arena, wasn't he? That's what I heard.」

Falcon remarks and eats another slice.

「Yes, he was, because- Ah!」

「Ah?」

Cycelia begins to explain, but abruptly stops as her chestnut head perks up. Her emerald eyes widen while staring at Falcon's confused face.

「You were the one I saw back then! You were leaving the arena!」

Enlightened, she says with her voice raised while blinking at Falcon.

「Hm? Yeah, we might've passed each other. I had to go back to attend urgent business…」

Falcon nonchalantly nods along as he bites another piece.

「…I'm glad you remember me. Am I that handsome?…」

Grinning at Cycelia, he asks with a smug tone. She averts her eyes with a tight-lipped grimace.

「…More handsome than him?」

He asks, and Cycelia remains silent with an awkward grimace on her face. Amused, he rolls his eyes.

「Come oooon, Lia… Don't be shy. Tell me, but be honest.」

He shrugs his shoulders, spreading his arms with his plate and chopsticks in hands. Cycelia returns her gaze to him with a greatly troubled face.

「…You're completely beneath him.」

She replies, and stares at him with a tight-lipped grimace as he visibly winces and hangs his head.

「…Ouch. Then again… From what I saw, he's a pretty good-looking guy. I just hope he's not a coward on top of that, it'd be bad for my heart…」

Falcon quickly recovers with a resigned sigh and a shrug, his enthusiasm and energy now snuffed.

「…Are you two in a relationship?」「Khakh! Khakhh!…」

He nonchalantly asks and bites into another slices. Cycelia chokes while eating and quickly clears her throat.

「…Ahem. N- Not in anything… Official… Or, um… We haven't done anything yet, but…」

Her emerald eyes aimlessly drift around the warehouse and her cheeks flush red a little as she explains.

「I see, so it's like that…」

Falcon nods and puts down his empty plate on the ground, then takes the other one into hand and begins eating that too.

「…I'm not asking with the intent to bed you or anything. But, uh… You know, I'll have to kill him… If you are in a relationship, I thought you might want to make peace with that.」

「You can't kill him.」

He adds, to which Cycelia quickly and confidently replies.

「Sorry, but I'm not asking for your permission. He has been marked for death, and I'm his death.」

With a smug and confident smirk, Falcon shakes his head.

「You don't understand. You can't kill him. Any attempt will end badly for you. Straf is on a completely another level of strength. I doubt anyone can take him on.」

Cycelia replies, and shakes hers with a serious grimace on her face.

「Heh. Well, allow me to divulge a little secret, pretty lady…」

Falcon says and finishes his meal, placing the empty plates on top of one another. Cycelia also finishes hers gives Falcon her empty bowl, which he places on the floor.

Clap!…

He claps his hands and gives them a quick rub before reaching for his belt for a coin sack. He loosens it very briefly and pulls out a gold coin.

「…Here. You know our coins? This is heads, and this is tails.」

Falcon says, showing her both sides of the golden coin before dropping it into her dainty hands.

「Huh? Why?」

She asks, furrowing her brows at the coin, then at him.

「I have a blessing that makes it irrelevant how strong he is… Flip it. We're not betting or anything, just flip it and tell me what the result is.」

He replies with a nod up at Cycelia.

Though confused, Cycelia places the coin on her thumb and obliges.

Plink!

She sends the coin into the air, spinning wildly above them. It reaches the top of its arc, and begins plummeting down.

Pat!…

Cycelia catches the coin on the back of her hand with a slap of her other hand.

「Heads.」

Falcon says with a fully confident smirk before she even has a chance to move her hand. Cycelia blinks at him with confused eyes a few times, then lifts her hand.

「Huh?」

She utters out as she looks at the coin's heads side. Falcon peeks at the coin, and lets out an amused huff.

「…Let's try again.」

Cycelia says and places the coin on her thumb again.

Plink!… Pat!…

「Tails.」

Falcon utters out again before Cycelia lifts her hand. Furrowing her brows, she lifts her hand.

「Wha-?…」

Surprised, she blinks at the coin's tails side. He looks at it with her.

「That could have been just a coincidence. Let's try again. I bet it's a trick like before.」

Somewhat frustrated, she prepares to flip the coin again.

Plink!… Pat!…

「Tails. Again.」

「What? But…」

The scene repeats as Falcon correctly and prematurely calls out the result, only further deepening Cycelia's confusion.

「…Again.」

Plink!… Pat!…

「Heads.」

「Again.」

Plink!… Pat!…

「Tails.」

Falcon says, audibly growing bored. Cycelia hesitates with lifting her hand. Her face grows deeply troubled when she looks at the tails side of the coin.

「…See? Look, we can keep doing this, but I'll get it right each time. I assure you, I wasn't guessing. I suppose I shouldn't say any more.」

He looks at the coin and returns a smug smile, spreading his hands. The door slides open. Startled, Falcon's eyes snap to it.

「Ahh… Again?…」

He grumbles, rubbing his face with his palm when he sees a group of palace guards run in and jog up to the two. Falcon stands up and waits for them with his mouth aslant.

「Master Falcon, new-」

A man in black bows as he begins to report, but stops himself. He glances at Cycelia, then almost quizzically turns his troubled gaze back to Falcon.

「She doesn't know the language. It's fine, just say it.」

Falcon returns a dismissive wave of his armored hand, and with a fatigued sigh, he places them both on his hips.

「Master Falcon, new orders from the palace. You've been ordered back to your old position…」「…What?」

Despite the assurance, the palace guard leans in and starts speaking with a hushed voice to Falcon, who perks up with widened eyes.

「…Demons have razed the hamlet, and your orders are now to suppress them. The guards sent there had been slaughtered, and only a handful of survivors escaped.」

The man adds, and straightens out with a visibly troubled look in his eyes that Cycelia can understand through the language barrier.

「…But I just fucking got here! What the fuck!? What was the point of me coming here then!?」

Falcon exclaims, spreading his arms in outrage.

「It's a direct order from Master Willow, Master Falcon. We are your replacement for this task, and you are to set out immediately. I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do.」

The guard replies, helplessly shrugging his shoulders.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap…

With his fists on his hips, Falcon rapidly taps his foot on the ground while turned away from Cycelia.

「Tsk… Shit!…」

He curses out in anger and turns around with a very sour expression on his face.

「…Sorry Lia, looks like I won't be able to keep you company any longer. See, my work is like this. I do my best, everything's going well, and then something happens elsewhere.」

Frustrated and resigned, Falcon shrugs his arms with his mouth heavily scrunched to the side as he speaks in lowland common again.

「Y- Yes… I know what it's like.」

Cycelia nods and returns an awkward smile while tied to the chair. Falcon lets out a long, disappointed sigh.

「Tsk… And I was looking forward to fighting him too… You. You are all forbidden from harming her. At all. Serve her as you would a noble. If the guy's no-show, take her to Willow.」

He clicks his tongue while rubbing the back of his neck, then turns to the men in black, pointing at them while ordering them with a serious face.

「Yes, Master Willow!…」「…Yes, Master Willow!…」「…Yes, Master Willow!」

The palace guards reply in unison with a nod of their conical hats as he walks past them to the door.

「…See you later, I guess?」

Facon says towards Cycelia as he partially turns to her and flashes a quick wave of his armored hand on his way out. She returns a nod, and the door slams shut.

The guards all exchange awkward glances with each other while surrounding Cycelia and her chair.

「Eh?…」

She utters out when one of them decides to kneel down in front of her with his head lowered.

「Is there anything you require of us, lady?」

The kneeling man asks while the rest attempt to stand in a posture that wobbles between intimidating and deferential.

「N- No… Thank you…」

Greatly confused and a little unsettled, she flashes and awkward smile at the group of black-shrouded men while sitting tied to her chair…