"Ehehe."

"Sis, it's warm."

"Is that so?"

"Nn, it is."

"..."

"..."

There was no attempt to release me.

After we confirmed our feelings for each other we found a little spot in the shade of a tree and sat down. Karen leaning on the tree and me in her lap, being embraced.

"S, Sis? Where are you touching?"

"Your thighs."

"I can see that, but why?"

"Because they are squishy and smooth."

Karen completely lost any and all brakes that she might have had and now was openly and uninhibitedly showing me her affection.

Mostly in the form of sexually harassing me. It wasn't that I actually disliked it, though. In fact, I was slightly troubled that I wanted her to continue.

"Ehehe."

"... Is poking my thighs that much fun?"

"It is!"

Together with her rigorous reaction she strongly squeezed me with her free arm.

"You have no idea how much I've been holding back!"

"... You were holding back?"

I craned my neck back in an attempt to look at Karen. Though I wasn't quite successful in that endeavour, I could still see how she tried to avert her gaze, most likely regretting having said that.

"Sis, did you want to do this before already?"

"... Yes."

Somehow, I felt a bit sorry for making her wait. On the other hand, even if I didn't we barely had time for ourselves, so she would've had to wait anyway. Unless, of course, she wanted to keep doing this in public. I sincerely hoped that wasn't the case.

"Well, from now on you won't have to hold back anymore, so isn't it all good?"

"... Yumi."

"Nn?"

"I'm sure I said this before already, but you can be quite sly at times. I wonder whether you are doing this on purpose or not."

Well now, calling it sly was rude. I just expressed my feelings in roundabout ways. There was nothing sly about that.

"But you are right, I won't have to hold back anymore!"

"S, Sis?"

Still being embraced from behind I had no idea what exactly she was doing, but I certainly could feel it. She had buried her face in my neck and kissed it quite strongly.

"Sis, what are you doing? Sis?"

Alas, she didn't respond and didn't part from my neck for quite some time. It felt actually quite weird, rather than kissing it was more like she was sucking on it. Then, finally, she let go of me.

"Hyah!"

But not before giving my neck another lick, causing me to shriek.

"Ehehe, I wonder if it worked."

"Sis... Just what are you trying to do?"

"A secret."

"..."

I didn't like the sound of that. Unfortunately, it seemed she really wouldn't tell as she was just giggling behind me.

"Yumi."

"Nn?"

"Thank you. I love you."

"Nn, I love you too."

I nestled back into her arms and made myself comfortable. I couldn't stop grinning to myself.

I wish this would last forever.

----------------------------------------

By the time the sun had finished the better part of her daily round, we finally decided to head back to the fort.

"I hope they didn't start with dinner yet."

"Nn, it wouldn't be fun to miss it now."

Strolling leisurely along we enjoyed the last bit of private time for now. I wanted to inquire Karen about what she was talking about before, about her harming those around her, but I had completely forgotten about it while we were playing around. Karen had similarly forgotten as she was a bit troubled when I pointed out we should head back.

She might have just wanted to harass me more, though.

In any case, we didn't really get any important talk done, but it probably would've spoiled the mood anyway, so it wasn't that bad per se.

"Still, it's too bad about this."

"Nn..."

I took a look to my side, where Karen and I were holding hands. When I had talked with Lily about these things I felt really embarrassed when I imagined them, but now, it was simply a happy, warm feeling spreading through my chest.

There was just one problem.

"If only you were a bit taller."

"I'm sorry..."

"But if you were taller that would be a problem too..."

"..."

I think it's better to simply ignore that one.

Regardless, the problem didn't change. Karen had suggested we tried intertwining our fingers, something that couples commonly did. While that certainly worked while we were sitting, it didn't work when we stood side by side. Either my arm was awkwardly pulled up or Karen had to slightly lean down towards me. Neither option was really desireable. And so, much to our chagrin, we decided to hold hands the normal, simple way.

"I wonder if we look more like sisters or a mother and her child."

"Sis, neither do you look that old nor do I look that young that the last one would work."

"Demonkin mothers look quite young, don't they?"

"... I guess... you're right?"

Was that fine? Well, even if it wasn't, we didn't have much choice in that matter. I couldn't suddenly grow nor could Karen suddenly shrink.

I wonder, will this body grow or will it stay this size? Oh well, nothing I can find out right now, I guess. Time will tell. Actually, how long will I even live?

Someone, probably Lily, had told me that monsters could live basically forever, but of course I couldn't exactly try out whether that stayed true for me as well.

"Yumi? You all right?"

"Nn?"

"You looked lost in thought."

"Ah, I was just thinking a bit."

I smiled at Karen to reassure her.

"Then it's fine. Look... We're nearly back."

"Nn..."

"I wouldn't have minded if it was a bit farther."

"I think Fenna will scold us if we're late for dinner."

"That might be..."

The gate slowly came into view while we talked. Our short private time was going towards the end.

"Mh? Yumi, is that Lily there?"

"Nn? It does look like her."

Even if we would walk slowly now, it wouldn't help much anymore. Lily had just left through the gate and was now walking in our direction. She quickly spotted us as well and started waving. Quite fervently, at that.

"Nn, did something happen?"

"I don't know, but maybe we should hurry."

We sped up a bit and quickly met up with Lily, who started jogging towards us.

"Lily, did something happen?" asked Karen her, once she was within talking distance.

"Yumi, Karen. Ohhh... Seems everything went fine, mhm?"

"..."

Lily threw a meaningful glance towards our hands. Karen and I both averted our faces awkwardly. Yet, neither of us made an attempt to let go of each other's hand.

"Mh, you two make me jealous now Ah, but we have to talk about that another time. We got an emergency."

"... An emergency?"

I took a look at Lily whose expression had turned serious.

"Yes, the refugee children... Whatever they have, it is neither the flu nor the child pox..."

"What do you mean, Lily?"

Lily turned to Karen who was confused at the wording.

"They have something else. And whatever it is, it's contagious as hell."

"... Wait, do you mean?"

Lily affirmed Karen's worries.

"We got more cases. In fact, a lot of them. Most soldiers have been infected. Wanda and Merim as well. The Captain is still doing fine but he probably caught it too."

"What about Emily and them?" I asked her.

"They are currently fine, much to our surprise. Fenna, Ria and some others are completely fine as well. What about you two, do you feel anything wrong?"

Karen and I both shook our heads and denied. In fact, it might be rude, but I currently felt incredibly good.

"That's good. Same for me, luckily. In any case, the Captain called for everyone who is still up and going, so let's go."

"Nn, okay."

"Okay."

Lily turned around and motioned us to hurry, so we quickly followed along.

"But everyone was fine until now, weren't they?"

"Yes, Karen, they were fine... But around the time you two left the first ones started to feel ill. Actually, some of the children were apparently complaining yesterday already about stomachaches for example."

"... So, what happens now?"

"I wish I knew. Thankfully Ria is still fine. Nobody is in immediate danger according to her, as long as they get continuous treatment."

That was at least some good news. Still, this was worrisome. An unknown disease. That was scary.

We passed through the gate and continued to follow Lily through the fort. Many soldiers from the fort were running about, carrying supplies or just generally causing an uproar.

"How did the fort react to that..." I wondered out loud.

"Not so well, but not as bad as one might think. Because they are, in fact, dealing with that disease as well."

"... Really?"

"Aah... They apparently had to quarantine some soldiers. But their own magicians were fine as well so they got treatment. But the Captain can tell you more."

It was quite lucky that all the magicians were unaffected. It would be even better if nobody was affected, though.

"I think it was here..."

Lily approached a door and knocked on it, then opened it without really waiting for an answer. Was that fine, just going in?

I peeked into the room from behind her. It seemed to be some office, the stone walls were hidden behind large bookshelves and a large desk was in the back. In the middle of the room was a long table surrounded by wooden chairs, six on either side and one on each end for a total of fourteen chairs.

On the furthest end sat a large burly man with grey hair. He must've been even larger than Korwen was. The man in question snorted when we came in.

"No manners, girl? One should wait for the room owner's permission to enter."

"I doubt I want to hear that from someone who just storms into someone's tent without checking what they are doing."

Lily was scowling at the man whose expression became rather awkward. He faced down for a few seconds, then coughed once and looked back up again, his awkward expression gone.

"I have already apologised on that matter, haven't I?"

"You should apologise to the affected girls, not me."

This exchange made me a bit curious about what had happened, but it would probably have to wait for now. I scanned through the room and saw Korwen, Ria and Fenna, as well as the other two magicians, Wenners and Krutz. Additionally, another old man I had never seen before was sitting there. On his clothes was a black emblem sewed on. They all sat around the table, filling the spots close to the old man who had just finished bantering with Lily.

From the Black Guards maybe?

"Wendl, you're here too?"

Lily addressed the unknown man who promptly nodded, not saying anything else.

"Girls, take a seat, stop standing around."

"Ah, sorry about that, Fenna."

We properly entered the room, not without being scrutinised by the unknown man, and sat down at the closer end of the table. Karen and me one the right side, next to Fenna and Ria, and Lily directly opposite to us.

"Well, is this everyone, Korwen?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"Mh. Now, if only that stupid scholar would honour us with his presence as well and we could finally begin."

The man shook his head with a sigh, but he quickly faced Korwen again.

"Whatever, I'll tell you what I already know, if you have any questions, just get that scholar's ass and have him explain it for you.

"... We'll ask him about anything else, should something come up."

"Good. In any case, to begin with: The Academy has absolutely no idea what we're dealing with."

"That's not something I like to hear."

"Nobody does, my friend. Nobody does. There are only a few things we know. First, it affects all humanoids and even animals to a degree. Second, magicians and people with large amounts of mana seem unaffected so far. He was talking something about statistics and how it doesn't prove shit or so, but for me, it's pretty clear so far. Lastly, children get hit the worst and the fastest."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"If it does not affect magicians and similar, shouldn't the demonkin refugees we picked up be mostly immune?" added Fenna.

"Ask that bookworm about that. Can't help you with that. I only see my magicians and your magicians being unaffected. That's good enough for me."

The man stood up from his school and walked over to the desk in the back, taking some documents and returning back to the table.

"Well then, Korwen. What we discussed earlier."

"A job?"

"Yes. Payment will be the treatment and care for your ill. We will also shelter them, though they'll be put under quarantine. Not a bad deal, right?"

"... I'm sure some... monetary compensation would be in as well, wouldn't it?"

"Forget it. If you don't accept, we'll kick you out immediately. Good Luck reaching the capital when half your men are down for the count."

"... Guess there's not much of a choice."

"Damn right, there isn't."

Korwen sighed.

"Then, there's surely at least a little favour we could add, right?" he asked.

"Depends on the favour."

"We need some mana passes."

The man froze, then turned to Korwen and glared at him.

"Did you pick up another troublesome kid, Korwen? I told you the last time I wouldn't do that again!"

"Now, now. Don't get too worked up, Ruben, my friend."

"Don't call me a friend only when it suits you!"

The man, apparently called Ruben, jumped out of his chair and slammed the table. I instinctively tried to back away, though that wasn't quite doable on a chair. This old man sure was scary.

"Listen, Korwen. Do you even know your situation? The Akkian Empire used the flying mail and is demanding that we hand you and your entire mercenary band over to them!"

Eh? What?

"Oh, they are a bit faster than I expected."

"..."

Seeing how Korwen nonchalantly dismissed, Ruben slumped back into his chair and sighed.

"Well, if you would comply with them we would already be in your custody, so there's not really anything to worry about, right?"

"You... sometimes I really hate you for this, but you're right. The King has ordered us to shelter and let you pass. Fuck, that was a frigging royal order, what did you do to get them on your side?"

"We just helped them out in the past a bit."

"A bit, you say..."

Ruben shook his head a few times and then leaned on the table.

"Whatever, we were told to support you if you are in need of anything, so I'll get those passes ready."

"Much appreciated."

"I hope you do. Whatever, let's get back to the actual topic."

And just like that, Korwen somehow got his way. That whole discussion was a bit scary, to be honest. Suddenly we were being chased by a whole country and yet the country we were quite literally fleeing to just ignored them and decided to shelter us. I couldn't quite figure out whether it was because they valued the mercenaries just that much, or because they hated the Akkian Empire that much. Maybe it was just a combination of both, though.

"Korwen, have you guys heard of the various incidents that happened in Lafria and our neighbours?"

"... I heard various things from kidnappings over witch worshippers and fanatics trying to summon their god. They all sound like some exaggerated rumours, though."

"Not quite wrong, overall."

Ruben sighed yet again. At this rate his happiness would run away, wouldn't it? Or maybe it already ran and that was he was sighing that much.

"Most of the incidents are minor in nature, mostly small groups trying themselves at ritual magics and failing. Most of the time they overload themselves and that's the end of it."

Overloading themselves? What does that even mean?

"But some incidents have become rather extreme... An entire village was wiped in an attempt to use them as living sacrifices. The ritual still ended in failure, of course, but the village was gone. Some of my men took it really badly... Every single villager was overloaded... and died. No exceptions."

"An entire village, huh... That's quite extreme."

Korwen rubbed his temples and then faced towards Ruben.

"I guess your job has something to do with this?"

"Indirectly, yes. Originally we were ordered to investigate the matter, but with the outbreak we are severely lacking in men. All my men are already occupied just keeping the fort in one piece. Now, I can't have mercenaries conduct an important official investigation, but I can have you help out in various other matters."

"So you basically want us to do your odd jobs?"

"Exactly. In return, we'll take care of your men and they'll be treated once we know how to. Ah, and your passes, too."

Korwen fell silent and closed his eyes. He was probably thinking about it. After a short minute, he opened them again.

"I understand, let's do it like that."

Korwen nodded. Ruben held out his hand and they shook the hands of each other.

... And why were we necessary here? Actually, why did we even have to come here in the first place? Doesn't he have others to take care of things like this?

"Then, go and look for Galt. He'll tell you what you can do to help."

"Understood."

Korwen stood up and motioned us all to do so as well. We all left the room and stood in the hallway. Korwen turned around towards us once everyone was outside and the door closed.

"Wendl, how many from the Black Guards are ready to move."

"Around half have shown severed signs of having contracted the disease and from the remaining ones another half showed minor symptoms, sir."

"That's a lot... Get everyone who can move together and send them to me."

"Understood, sir."

Korwen nodded satisfied and the man, Wendl, swiftly left to carry out his orders.

"Fenna, until Merim is back on his feet again, you will be my second, understood?"

"Eh?"

Fenna froze upon hearing those words. I was a bit surprised upon hearing that as well, I didn't know he valued her that much.

"I asked whether you understood."

"Eh? Ah! I, I understand. I mean, Understood, sir!"

She saluted hastily. I could spot a small happy smile on her face.

"Ria, take Wenners and Krutz and help the infirmary in taking care of everyone who is ill."

"Mh... got it..."

Ria swiftly grabbed the two men by their arms and dragged them away. They both froze and followed her mechanically, their faces turning red, blushing heavily from the unexpected skin contact. If the were both cute girls it might've been a precious sight, but seeing two grown men act like that was a bit disturbing.

The only ones left except Karen and Fenna were Lily, Karen and me.

"You three come with me and Fenna. Usually, I'd leave you with Ria or Merim to get you slowly used to the job but we don't have time for that right now."

"Understood, Captain."

Lily replied with a salute, showing she was clearly used to this. Karen tried to copy her so I attempted it as well. Korwen grinned seeing us.

"A bit more practice will be necessary for that too, I guess. That makes me remember when I started my first mercenary work. Got a trashing for saluting with the wrong hand."

Korwen began laughing heartily. In the meantime, I quickly checked whether my hand or Karen's was the wrong one, but thankfully it wasn't. It was probably still awkward but at least we didn't bring up the wrong hand.

"Anyway, let's go."

Korwen turned around and lead the way.

----------------------------------------

"Yes, we need someone to check the inventory and request supplies for anything that we're low on. We also need someone to take of the Waroxes. Then, we also have that scholar... They need an escort and... they keep requesting girls for those..."

The man, Galt, glanced towards us while saying those last words. The garrison was full of men, so a request for girls was pretty much impossible. And even if he found one, nobody was likely to be willing to take care of someone who obviously had nothing good going on in their mind.

Korwen stroked his chin, thinking about what Galt had told us. Next to him, Fenna was desperately trying to write something on a small notepad. With a sigh, Korwen took the notepad away from her and began writing on it himself.

"I, I'm sorry, Captain!"

"Don't mind it. I forgot that someone like Merim is rare, I got too used to him."

Fenna already had small tears in the corners of her eyes. She probably tried to appeal to him with her skills, only to find out that this wasn't exactly something she was very proficient in.

After taking the notes, Korwen turned around and glanced over us for a moment while still stroking his chin.

"Captain? Is something the matter?" asked Lily after a while.

"Mh... Give me a bit, I have something to think about."

"Haa..."

He closed his eyes and then turned towards Galt.

"Are there any other immediate things to take care of?"

"No, those are the most pressing. Once those are done we can take care of other things."

"Good. Thank you."

Korwen gave his thanks and walked away while we followed behind him. Some ways away he stopped and turned again towards us.

"Fenna, get to the tamers and tell them to help out with the waroxen. Afterwards, get some people and make a list of their inventory. Anything they are low of you report to Galt, clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

Fenna jogged away. She was pretty quick on her feet, maybe wanting to redeem herself.

"Now, Lily. You can take care of yourself, so I want you to take care of the scholar. If he tries anything funny, deal with him how you see fit."

"Understood, Captain."

Lily saluted again, affirming her orders.

"We'll come along first, I want to hear what the scholar has to say. Karen, Yumi, you'll stay with me for now."

"Okay."

"Nn."

We nodded, upon which Korwen grinned awkwardly.

"You two, when hearing your orders, you salute and affirm it."

"... Ah!"

We quickly realised our mistake and tried saluting awkwardly, which only made Korwen burst out in laughter again.

"Now, let's find the scholar," he suggested once he had calmed down.

This time, we saluted properly, or rather, as good as we managed to.

Korwen walked ahead of us and lead the way, while we followed behind him. It didn't take long until we found ourselves in a large hall.

"This is..."

"... This is bad..."

The large hall was most likely a dining hall or something similar, suggesting from the tables and chairs that were leaning on the walls. But now it was used as a large area where all the inflicted were treated at. Rows upon rows of ill were lying on the ground, easily numbering in the hundreds.

"That's a lot worse than I imagined it to be," commented Korwen.

He led the way through the side of the hall and asked a young man, clothed in something reminiscent of a priest garb, where the supposed scholar was. We were quickly directed to the other end of the hall.

"Mh... I wonder if that's him."

Korwen approached a young man who was currently taking care of a little girl.

We waited behind the man until he finished his treatment and stood up, turning around.

"Oh? Are you my guests? Oh, could you girls possibly my escorts? My, to think that old coot found actually such cute girls, hello there!"

The young man immediately came over to us, ignoring Korwen entirely in the process, and stood in front of us. Before he could try to touch us, though, he disappeared from my sight.

Slightly confused I took a look around and found him lying on the ground.

"Captain, may I hit this guy?" asked Lily, sounding more than just a bit annoyed.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you."

The man, realising his situation quickly rolled away when Lily tried to stomp on him.

"Girl! That's not a punch, that's a kick! Do you want to ruin me?!"

Lily clicked her tongue when he dodged. Though, if she really wanted to, I was sure she could've hit him before he ever had the chance to react.

I took a quick look over the man who stood up and dusted himself of. He looked like an intellectual with his glasses and short hair. He was actually a bit handsome. Maybe in his early twenties.

Korwen coughed once to draw attention to himself.

"I assume you are the scholar? I am really sorry, but my mercenaries are not exactly known for being very patient. You might want to be careful."

"Mer, mercenaries? Is, is that so..."

The man's expression took a hundred-eighty-degree turn, looking quite fearful in our direction.

"Th, that means you... You girls... killed people before?"

Ah... He was scared of that. I could understand that feeling, someone who could kill... was indeed scary. And... I couldn't exclude myself from that group anymore.

None of us affirmed nor denied his question, which probably only made him even more worried.

Then again, he was surrounded by soldiers, so I found his behaviour a bit curious.

"Boy, they are mercenaries, and mercenaries do what their job asks of them. Whether that means killing others or escorting some brat, are we clear?"

"Y, yes! Yes! I, I'm sorry!"

The man looked ready to throw himself on the ground and beg for forgiveness. I felt a bit bad but on the other side, I slightly wanted to bully him.

"Now, Boy, tell us what you know about the disease."

"Y, yes! Will do! I will, yes!"

"Get to it!"

"Yeeeesss!"

The poor young man, or now nicknamed boy, was panicking when Korwen snapped at him, he tried to grab his papers, only to lose them all in his panic. Now they were all on the ground.

I've honestly seen quite a bit of paper around, but I don't think it's so common spread that you should just throw it on the ground...

"Yumi, Karen, get those papers, leaving it to that brat will taker forever.

"Understood."

"Nn, understood."

We quickly went over and collected the papers. The young men scrambled away from us in a hurry. At first, it was amusing but seeing this obvious reaction did hurt a bit.

"Here, Captain."

Karen took the papers I had collected and presented them to Korwen.

"Mh... Yumi, explain this in a simple way."

And then he gave them back to me. I had no idea why he thought I could handle some academic's papers, but I could at least try. I took a quick glance over them, only to realise it wasn't as bad as I expected. Mostly notes and things he observed, some theories about the causes and so on. I was still learning the language so it was a bit hard to read, but I could manage.

"Nn... Numbers of the afflicted soldiers, the severity of the symptoms, possible causes..."

"Skip those, is there anything that tells us how to deal with it?"

"Nn..."

I skimmed through the documents as quickly as I could but didn't find much of note.

"Apparently it affects a person's mana? People with strong reserves of mana are unaffected, that's why children are affected, as they are still developing. Strengthening the mana delays a worsening of the sickness and so far nobody died as long as they got treated. Untreated it will slowly kill the patient. Nothing about a cure."

"Mh, that's good enough for now. If there's no immediate danger to their lives, that's good."

"Nn... Also, someone who was exposed to the disease but didn't develop it within a few days themselves is unlikely to catch it afterwards."

"So everyone who wasn't infected now is safe? That's also good news."

Korwen nodded satisfied and motioned me to return the documents, which I promptly did. The man, still scared, accepted the documents with his arms stretched out, to keep as much distance from me as possible.

This treatment actually hurts quite a bit.

I returned to a spot behind Korwen.

"Now then..." began Korwen, causing the man to flinch again.

"Lily, the guy wanted a girl as an escort, so go ahead. If he does anything funny, you have my permission."

He smirked, leaving out the important part, namely what kind of permission. The man was really unnerved by this. Speaking of which, we still didn't even know his name.

"Understood, Captain!"

Lily saluted as vigorously as she could and then turned towards the scholar.

"Pleasure to work with you."

"Y, y, yes?!"

Korwen gave a sigh while shaking his head and turned away.

"Karen, Yumi, come. We got other things to do."

"Nn..."

We followed him outside the hall. Everyone was now assigned to some work, except us. That made me a bit worried. I took a glance to my side and saw Karen looking nervous as well, fidgeting and being unsure what to do.

"Um... Captain?" I asked hesitantly."

"Mh? What's up?"

"Well... Everyone got assigned some work so... What about us?"

"Mh? Oh, yes. Well."

He stopped in his tracks and handed me the small notebook that Fenna used earlier.

"Your job is this."

"... Excuse me?"

"Basically, your job is to be my secretary now."

"..."

"..."

Karen and I stood there, dumbfounded.

"Not having Merim around is troublesome, the guy is too capable and I got too used to him. But you two are educated to a degree so I'll have you help out when he's not around."

"Is... is that really fine... to just decide it like that?"

We were around only for a few days, so why would he even trust us with something that important?

"It is. There's not really anything troublesome you could leak anyway unless you would be doing accounting and working on the ledger. Everything else isn't that important."

"Haa..."

"Anyway, I want you two to help me with this work. Ah, but Yumi."

"Nn?"

"Those dolls of yours... How good can you control them?"

"Um... I'm not sure what you mean?"

I tilted my head at the odd question.

"The one that's with the Black Guards shows a scary degree of autonomy. It understands what is said and makes decisions on its own. And outwardly it just looks like a doll. What I want to know is simple. Can they be used for reconnaissance? Can they relay reports to you or information?"

"That... I don't know?"

"Mh... Then, I'll have Karen help me out for now and you go and try out how much you can do with them. Those dolls... might be quite useful with this.

"Is that so?"

Korwen nodded. I handed over the notebook to Karen.

"At our camp should be some supplies. Make a few dolls and try it out. If you can communicate with them, place them around the fort."

"Nn... Okay... Eh, wait, isn't that..."

"Yumi."

Korwen's curt call out made me shut up.

"Some things are better left unsaid. In any case. I want to make sure, this disease isn't manmade... Understood?"

"... Nn, I understand."

I nodded.

"Good, get to it.

I nodded another time. Korwen then walked away, together with Karen who stealthily waved towards me.

... Never would I have thought, that I'll be used for spying.