Looking at the capital city of the country of Fiore, Crocus the Holy Capital they called it, Silver couldn’t help but let out a long impressed whistle. “Nice place you got here.” He jokingly yells over his shoulder, causing the armed men behind him to laugh knowing the foreigner was half making fun of them since the capital, while clearly impressive, was in various states of disrepair due to the recent battle. But still, it was a genuinely nice city, filled with towering pointed buildings of fine Fiorian build, pleasant busy streets, equally pleasant looking and lots of plants which made everything just so… nice. As the caravan, he was guarding got closer and closer Silver was beginning to like the place more and more. Politics didn’t matter too much to a freelancer swordsman like the Sinian, so this place was perfect as a start point for his new life. Fiore was perfect, unlike the war-torn Sin a perfect place to start a new life.

Today was a great day! Silver had just arrived in Crocus and was taking a pleasant stroll around town, enjoying the wintery weather and ignoring how damaged the city was. While the change of monarch had shaken the people, business was business and life moved on. People were generally happy as they moved about their tasks, but maybe Silver was only seeing the surface. But in the end he just shrugs to himself and counties on his peaceful little stroll.

It didn’t take long for him to be called down by his new acquaintance, Merlin, for another job. After the last one he seemed to have gained a bit of her trust and often when on odd jobs for her. This time is was simply to return an entire cart full of books to the library, something Silver was very willing to do for a nice pay, or just to be nice. The job itself was quickly done and Silver decided to take a look round the ancient library, maybe learn a bit about his new home as he walked through the shelves.  

“… You there.” An emotionless voice calls to him from the darkness and Silver jumps, drawing his sword and turning around with record speed, causing the readers around him to stare in surprise. But it was just some pale girl with a face as emotionless as her voice, Luciel, Merlin’s student and daughter figure he guessed. “Yaaaa…?” Silver asks, still not putting away his sword. Luciel looks at the katana for a moment then seems to dismiss it making eye contact with Silver’s glaring orbs of the same colour. “You are from the country of Sin and a freelancer, yes?” The young man gives an uncertain nod. “Good, I will be hiring you. Follow me.”

“Hold up, you can’t just decide that on your own!” Silver protests but is immediately shushed by nearby people, causing him to cringe and whisper “Can you at least explain what the job is?” But the girl ignores him and continues to stride forward causing the swordsman to let out a tired sigh, sheath his katana and follow the one-eyed girl through the library. He had to jog a bit to keep up with the surprisingly fast researcher, only knowing where she’s going by the barest glimpse of her cloak going around corners. Listening to footsteps was useless here since the old library echoed so much. But just as he turned a corner he stops abruptly, just barely not slamming into the stoic girl in front of him. Looking over her shoulder she seemed to be opening the door in front of her, letting them both into a messy study space.

“Here. Translate this. I will pay.” Luciel says, handing Silver a ragged piece of parchment before giving him a nod, then turning to leave without even a backward glance. Wondering how he’s even supposed to find her when he’s done, Silver sits down at the desk with a sigh. He was never really the studious type but looking at the text it made sense she would get him, since it seemed to be in ancient Sinnian. Stretching a bit and grabbing some nearby reference books, Silver got to work.

A few hours and swear words later Silver had the fully translated sheet in front of him. Which was really just a grocery list, to his disappointment. He asked a nearby librarian where Luciel might be and was surprised to be pointed to a nearby desk. The stoic girl didn’t seem disappointed like Silver at the translation, though she didn’t look happy either, just gave it a long read over before reaching into a pouch and paying the freelancer for his work. Then proceeded to ignore his very existence. Silver gives a sigh of defeat before remembering with panic that he never reported back to Merlin, causing him to immediately run from the area.