Assassins and Dragons

Chapter 17: The Icy Death

[In a village outside the Capital]

A man was walking quietly down the road, intending to go home after shopping.

The man in question was a 73-year-old man, measuring 1.69 in height, with gray hair that was kept combed back. He has fair skin, with black eyes and some wrinkles on his face. The elderly man wears a gray kimono under a black tunic and wears black sandals. He also carries a wooden staff with a forked end.

His name was Yoshi Takeda.

Yoshi arrives at his house, but something makes him strange: The door of his house was barred by some imperial soldiers, who carried spears and wore hats with a black cross symbol. The old man recognized that symbol quickly.

Yoshi: Esdeath's army? - He asks, raising his eyebrows.

One of the soldiers walks in front of Yoshi, looking him up and down due to the height difference between them.

"General Esdeath wants you to go to the Capital."

Yoshi: Esdeath girl? - He questions, calling her by the nickname he used when she was younger - Courage of hers after her "great partner", Honest, made it clear that he didn't want me to set foot in the Capital again. - He says, with slight sarcasm in his voice.

"Silence!!" - Another soldier says - "You know very well that it's only because of her that you're alive now!"

Yoshi: Huh! If she wants me back, what does she want from me? That I lick her boots? Because if so, tell her I'm not a slave.

"We don't run errands for Esdeath-sama. We deliver what she wants." - Says the second soldier - "And she wants you to return to the Capitol, so that you can dazzle her achievements, and then tell her if her fate will still bring darkness and pain."

This makes the old man raise his eyebrows.

Yoshi: You still haven't given up on this idea of ​​trying to change the future, have you, Esdeath...?

The man sighs, tightening his hands on his staff.

Yoshi: I will... on one condition. - Esdeath's soldiers are confused - I want to be entitled to a room and be at least 20 steps away from Honest.

The soldiers look at each other. They didn't seem like severe conditions.

"Okay, so!" - Says the first soldier.

[In a palace room]

The Jaegers were gathered in a dining room. Wave, Bols and Atsuko were preparing a meal for everyone.

The blue haired man used food from his house to put in the meal.

Atsuko: Putting these seafood in for our dinner was a great idea, Wave! - The general praises, smiling.

Wave: Oh, thanks.

He looks at Bols out of the corner of his eye.

Wave: But... Isn't it a little strange that he can cook with that mask on?

The sailor tries to put spinach in the food, but the masked man stops him.

Bols: Wave, the spinach goes last. It's too early to add it or it will wither.

Wave: Oh, sorry.

Knowing that the former member of the Incineration Squad was a kind person, Wave had learned to be calmer in his presence.

Wave: But, you know, Bols... I was relieved to find that you're a good person.

Bols is quiet for a while. He lowers his head grimly, slashing the head off one of the fish Wave brought in.