All stories had their different charms.

Action stories that made my blood pumping by excitement. Adventure stories that made my mind wonder what’s going next. Or maybe, romance stories that made my face red from embarrassment.

When I was a kid, I thought that I’ll be old enough to love all the stories. And as I going older, my hate towards some kind of stories will disappear.

To some extent, it was true, I finally could appreciate some chilling horror stories and even Yuri. Hell, I love Yuri despite my grandfather beating me back then.

However, I could never understand tragedy and what makes it so appealing. What're the pleasures you got from other people's misery? Was it just they could feel better about themselves? Can’t you just help other people to make yourself feel better instead?

I asked my grandfather, but I couldn’t comprehend his answer about human catharsis.

Well, I was young at that time, and he’s suck with explanations anyway.

And then I asked my grandmother. She said, as humans grew older, they started to realize how corrupt the world was. Whether it’s aspirations, motivational stories, or any tales with happy endings, as humans began adulting, they began to recognize that more than half of those just outright lies. A deception given by our teachers, bosses, politicians, government, and often by our friends and families too, to make us appropriate human beings – to make us believe, there was happy end as long as we have good morality.

When we read tragic stories, we saw the world bare and witnessed that not even the peak of morality could escort you to your happy end. When we read it, we glimpsed at the truth of how the world works, compassions often were disregarded, and evils often weren’t vindicated.

Their explanation was hard to follow back then, no it was me who didn’t want to understand. I wanted to saw stories with a happy ending, not the kind of stories that would crush my heart from the injustice that happened to characters inside it.

What’s wrong with a happy ending.

“Once again, I’ll say it, I am someone who hates tragedy.”

I said that while looking at the old man in front of me.

…

“I didn’t understand any sentence you just said, Tobby boy,” he said with a confused look.

“Are you fucking serious, mate? After that long ass speech, you still don’t understand?” I yelled at him.

“…, Yes.”

“What the… Fine, let me tell you once again.”

“Enough, I don’t want to hear your explanation for the third time. You are too talkative. I’m not saying your speech suck, but my head hurts just from hearing them.”

“You don’t mince your words at all, old man,” I mumbled.

“Now you finally get my feeling,” the old man said while chuckling mischievously.

“Don’t mind his harsh words, he actually likes your speech. It’s been long he looked this happy,” the old man’s wife said while sitting beside him.

“I know he likes me. He’s like an open book in front of me,” I said smugly as a matter of fact.

“You both little piece of,” the old man fumed above his head, couldn’t found any word to retort us.

While I had fun taunting the old man, I heard a guard yelling at someone. I looked back and saw the guard yelling a little boy who crouched on the ground. It didn’t seem the guard using physical violence, but I saw the boy has injury all over his body, most of it shallow, which won’t endanger his life. However, this scenery where a small boy crouched in tattered clothes while sobbing still gave a bitter taste for anyone who saw it.

“Did he got separated from his family?” the old man said.

“Or maybe they are already,” the old woman’s words sentence stopped halfway after realizing how inappropriate it was.

“Whatever it is, we can’t bring her with us.”

“… I know, we don’t have the leisure to help others in the first place,” the old woman said while looking at her child sleeping next to her.

They became quiet. It’s like on earth, the war brought disasters even for uninvolved parties. Many people couldn’t help themselves, let alone others. They were praying for survival while the people above playing for benefit.

When war came, men put their swords at each other throats. When war came, even the most virtuous men lost their virtue. When war came, kindness became a weakness.

Whether you’re men or women. Whether you’re a soldier or a farmer. Whether you’re a young man or an old man.

When war came, death descent. You only can lament and resent the event which you can’t even prevent nor comprehend, because of some dissent or the government disagreement about their covenant.

One thing for certain.

When war came, you’ll die, without knowing why.

Well, except for the king, they can surrender anytime and trade their kingdom’s wealth and their citizens for their life.

I watched the boy who still crouched to the ground, sobbing as if confused with what happening. He closed his eyes while tear piling up in the corner of his eyes. The guard stopped his yell after being told by his superior to put the boy aside, but the boy still shivered all over his body.

Many people around the boy heard the guard’s scream, but everybody turned a blind eye. Nobody wanted to help the child. No one could blame them, though, they have their own burden, and a child in a war just adding a weight everywhere you go.

Moreover, after I conversed around with others earlier, I knew that people need to pay tax five golds each to enter this town. One gold was enough for one to live frugally for a month and those five golds were sufficient for a small family more than a month.

There was also a choice to work for this town as a soldier, but considering this war period, this option was equivalent to suicide. Anyone who started become a soldier in this timing will become cannon fodder, only people with exceptional ability that could survive, rise in rank, and took advantage this situation. However, if they were extraordinary people, they won’t be a peasant for this long in the first place.

So, for ordinary peasants without any experience of battles, their only real choice was paying five gold and become a temporary resident in this town. Those five golds were a lifeline that could determine their life or death in this war period. There’s no way people would help the boy when they can’t even assure their and their family security.

What a sad sight.

“Fuck it,” I stood up and then approached the guard next to the boy.

What kind of protagonist who didn’t move after saw this kind of sight. Even though the boy will become a burden later, I’ll still put my best effort into helping him.

“What do you want, kid?” the guard said to me derisively.

He had a criminal-like appearance. His white beard was fully grown similar to thick bushes, and also a sword scar crossed his left eyes make him like some classic bandit in an old story.

I wanted to spout many curse words to his face, but I need his approval to go inside the town.

“Excuse my intrusion, I know this little boy. I’m his father’s friend. He afraid of strangers since his parents got killed by soldiers. Can you tell me what he did?” I concocted a story on the spot.

The guard observed my expression while squinting his right eyes. It seemed he wanted to determine whether my words were lies or not.

I’m sorry, but my ability to lie was top notch.

“Do you know what happened if you get caught of lying here?” he whispered quietly while emitting bloodlust on his eyes.

I felt nauseous from the ominous pressure he gave, there were some invisible hands wrapped around my body as if it would strangle me anytime soon. I was sweating bullet on my face even though I already tried to keep calm.

“If it’s become a slave, then yes, I aware of that,” I said while calming myself. However, my quivering voice gave another impression.

“So, I’ll ask it once again. Are you this boy acquaintance?”

“Yes, did he do anything wrong?” I confidently answered with another question.

The guard got quiet while still glaring me weirdly. Was it just my feeling, there was slight confusion in the guard eyes for a moment.

Not long after, the guard sighed, and then the ominous aura dissipated.

“…, forget it, it was my fault to overreact towards a child. My son goes to war as a soldier, and his commander said he lost contact with my son. I felt restless and became slept deprived for a few days already. Earlier, my anxiety got the better of me. I’m sorry for that, boy,” he said while looking at the boy who still crouched on the ground.

Surprisingly, he apologized. Maybe he’s not really a bad person. Quite unexpected for someone who has a criminal appearance. I’m sorry for anyone who had a scary face. Like proverb said, you can’t judge books from their covers.

“Don’t mind it, this war taking a toll for all of us. Right, can you let me go inside with this boy? Consider us as a group,” I shamelessly asked him.

“You supposed to go back to your line, but consider this as my apology. Follow me.”

I notice a vein bulged in his forehead for a moment, but when I look again, there was actually none. It must be my feeling.

“Really?” I just tried asking without expecting anything, but he really let me cut the line.

What a nice fella.

I followed him walk towards a room. Inside the room, there was a bluish translucent crystal ball above a small table. Some guards stood around the crystal, and they look slightly tense. It seemed the crystal was an important item for them.

“Put your hand here,” the guard said while pointing the crystal ball.

I looked the crystal carefully, it let out a strange bluish calming aura. I believed the guard didn’t have any intent to harm me, but I won’t put my hand to something suspicious without ascertaining it.

‘Observe.’

Eyes of Friegze

A device created from a peaceful but already extinct crystal creature, Friegze. Friegze’s eyes could determine whether someone or something considered by their race as a dangerous creature. When someone considered as dangerous by Friegze beast – a serial murderer, warmonger, rapist, etc. – stand nearby, the Friegze’s eye will shine red. However, after Friegze’s died, their eyes only active when someone touched it.

‘Basically, a tool to determine whether someone is a criminal or not.’

I put my hand on the ball, and then unsurprisingly, the blue crystal didn’t shine red. I looked at the guard, and then he nodded while writing something on a paper.

“Good. What’s your name?” the guard asked.

“Tobias.”

“You have a strange name, but fine.” He said while writing my name in the paper, and then he pointed at the boy, “he also needs to touch the crystal.”

I nodded and then grabbed the boy’s hand, he jolted and taken aback from my sudden action.

“I’m sorry he’s still tense about this all,” I said while slightly forced the boy hand towards the crystal.

A few seconds after the boy touched the crystal, its aura didn’t change into red. I slightly relieved, I thought there will be some plot twist here, and the crystal will shine red or something along the lines, but yeah, sometimes no plot twist was good.

“Good,” the guard said while still writing. “The total taxes for you both are eleven gold coins. Do you wanted to pay it with gold or worked as a soldier until you bring equal value to this town.”

“Wait, I thought it was five golds each person?”

“Consider it my fee to let you cut the line.”

I took back my words about he’s a nice person. This guy truly a bandit, sometimes you can judge a book from its cover.

“What a greedy old man,” I grumbled.

“So, golds or works as a soldier. Or maybe you wanted to queue back?” the guard said as though he didn’t hear me at all.

This hateful guard.

“Golds, of course,” I said while sighing and then gave eleven golds I acquired from the skeleton in the forest.

‘That person quite rich, huh,’ I thought as I counted the golds left in the bag.

After the guard finished counting the gold I gave to him, he told me to go inside quietly.

“Thanks,” I said.

I thanked him from the bottom of my heart, considering that even nobles didn’t get allowed to cut the line, one gold was a bargain. Maybe it was his roundabout way to help me. He probably too embarrassed to help me for free.

What a tsundere.

“Did you just thinking something rude?” he said while emitting another ominous aura.

As expected, this man was scary.

“Nothing,” I answered while hastily running through the gate with the boy also running next to me.

***

Not long after, in the Guards’ room.

A burly man with a scar on his left eyes, sat in the middle of the room while looking at a paper and eleven golds in his hand. The guards standing next to him, still tense because of this man's smile. It was unexpected for everyone in this room.

No, even his existence in this room was very abnormal.

“Tobias, huh. What an interesting kid,” he murmured with a smile.