The End of the Journey.

　Two years have passed since he was expelled from the Colosseum.

　Futa was found in the capital of a kingdom far away from his homeland.

　Few people in this country knew Futa anymore.
　Partly because of the distance, but more importantly because there was no culture of colosseum in this kingdom.

　More importantly.

　Even if someone knew Futa, it would be difficult to identify him as Futa, because he looked so different from before.

　He had overgrown hair and a beard that had been crudely cut with a knife or something.
　His body is emaciated, and the rags he wears give off a foul odor.

　With no job, it's no wonder they can't find me a job.
　I knew that. 　

　Still, if there was anything that could help me get a job...
　He had walked all the way to the capital of the kingdom, hoping to find some kind of work, whether it was illegal or not.

　But Huta was nearing the end of his rope.

　His vision was blurry, and he could barely feel anything below his abdomen.
　With hunger and weakness from the sun, he could barely take a step forward. 　

　--He was still conscious, perhaps thanks to the training he had undergone so far.


　A back street in a corner of the capital. The owner of the tavern, which is open from noon, looked up when he heard the bell and frowned when he saw Futa.


I hope you have ...... some money.
"......

　He didn't have any money. I've already run out of street money.
　He quickly gave up hope that the owner would be so kind as to donate food to him, and looked toward the back of the bar.
　There, however, he found a bulletin board covered with several sheets of parchment.

...... Hey brother, are you listening?
"I need a job. Just give me a job.
"Job"?　...... What's your occupation?　You don't mean "unemployed", do you?

　The bald-headed shopkeeper crosses his arms, looks up and down at Huta, and mutters.
　He grabs Futa by the shoulders and stops him as he walks step by step to the bulletin board at the back of the store.

　Here, too, is a "profession.
　In every town, in every country, the treatment of the "unemployed" has been shoddy.

　If I'm refused a job in this store, I might finally die.
　Vaguely, I thought that might be a good idea.

　A heart that has been worn out over a long time. An aimless journey from exile.
　With the sweltering heat and all my troubles, my brain melted and I wasn't even afraid of dying anymore. You could say that my mind had become lightly paralyzed.

"If that's the case, do you have a job?
"Are you seriously unemployed? ...... There's no request on that board that I can give to a jobless person. What would you do?

　I immediately recognized the subtext in that question.
　I guess it means that there are illegal and unprofitable requests.

　What's unprofitable depends on what.
　Price, days, reward, risk.

　Or--

"300,000 for ...... to talk to me?
I didn't even want this stinker in my house.

　The request the owner gave you was a so-called shady job that was expensive for what it was.
　It was illegal, of course.
　At the very least, if he tried to submit it in a legitimate way, it would be rejected by the censors.

　But it was just right for Futa now.
　If he didn't accept the request, he would die anyway.

Did you get the money in advance?
Fifty thousand.
I'll take it. I'll take it. ...... Will you give me some food with that money?

　The owner of the store looked a little uncomfortable at Futa's plea and muttered.

It's a good idea. Fifty thousand is a fair price to pay for a smelly tramp to eat at my place.

　The owner retreats into the kitchen, telling him to leave immediately after eating.

...... Hmm.

　It's been a month.
　Finally, a decent meal.
　Holding back the tears that were threatening to come, Futa looked over the request again.

　I don't know what I'm going to go through.

　But for now. 　

　But for now, he was filled with gratitude for this request, which had saved his life.














--The next day. Back streets of King's Landing, Old Fountain Square.


　The next day, in the old fountain square in the back streets of the capital, Futa, who had regained some energy thanks to the meal he had eaten yesterday, arrived at the appointed place with the request in his hand.

"Huh?

　A presence.

　He looked up.
　In front of the fountain. A hooded girl sits quietly in front of the fountain.

　Normally, a girl alone in a place like this would instantly become an outlet for the desires of hungry people.



　That's why it seemed so alien.

　In the square, there was no sign of the vagrants, even though they had their strongholds.

　The air was tense, just like the fighting spirit I felt in the Colosseum.

　The girl's voice was terrifying. The power of a fierce warrior who is as calm and sharp as the best swordsmen Futa has ever faced.

　Futa hurriedly checked the request.

　The meeting place was correct.
　The other party looks like a lightly armored man with a blue hood. She's the one.

　But the request isn't for a fight. It's a talk.

　If she's here to talk to him, but the atmosphere is like this, I'm afraid the other clients will run away. That's what Futa honestly thought.

"Um...

　He took a step into the square and called out.
　Instantly, the angle of the hood was raised. The only part of his mouth that you can see from here is a small arc.

"Are you the man who took my request?
Yes. ...... Well, .......

　Futa was taken aback.
　Her voice was cool, pretty. It was taut and pleasant to listen to.
　It was good.

　But there was no hint of hostility.
　Not with all this fight in her.

Can I help you?
No, no. I don't mean to offend your client.

　The girl tilted her head, puzzled. The hood shook.

I'm sure no one will be able to get close to you if you have this kind of fighting spirit around you.

　For Futa, it's a familiar presence from the Colosseum.
　Even so, it took him a while to get used to it. It took him a while to get used to the Colosseum, but he finally got used to it after fighting over and over again in the Colosseum, where everyone was fierce.

　No matter how hard I tried, it would be too much to ask someone who came to such a place with an illegal request to walk in this air.

　But the girl did not seem to understand.

The girl didn't seem to understand.　I didn't mean to.
"Really?
You can tell a lot?　Is it possible that the person giving it out doesn't notice it?
It seems that if you don't train hard enough, it can leak.
...... I see, so that's why people have been avoiding me for the past few years.

　I'm not sure what to do.
　But there's no sign of the fighting spirit disappearing.
　So, Futa had no choice but to conclude that she was unconsciously producing it.

　He went next to her, thought about it for a moment, and sat down away from her.

I'm not sure. I'm not sure if my ...... fighting spirit is something I want to be that far away from.
No, it's just that I've been unhygienic for a while and I thought it might smell.

　I thought I was being considerate, but the girl shook her head.

I was trying to be considerate, but the girl shook her head, "This place smells so bad now. Don't worry about it. I came here to talk to you.
Well, that's odd. ......

　Story.
　When I came here, I wondered what kind of request it really was, but it seemed to be a real story. I'm not sure what to make of it.

　The two of them on the edge of the stones surrounding the fountain.

So, what's the story?　The request didn't include any details.
I know, right?
What?

　She put her hand over her mouth and said, as if it were something else.

You see, we don't know anything about each other, do we?
Yes, we do.
We've been advised that there are things we can talk about in that kind of relationship, ...... and that's what we've done. But when I meet him, I'm troubled.
Huh. ......

　I'm not sure if you've made an unlawful request for such an idea - and for a large sum of money, like 300,000.
　He seems to have no shortage of money.
　I don't know what rich people think.

　However, I'm the one who accepted the request.
　It would not be good if I could not carry on a conversation with him, since he asked me to be his confidant.
　I don't have confidence in my speaking ability, and I am not a "professional" speaker.

　Even if it's a mundane conversation, it's better than not talking at all.

　First of all, yes.

"Thank you for your request. Really.

　He bowed deeply.
The girl opened her mouth in surprise at the exaggerated bow.



No, sir. It's not something I should be thanking you for.
For you, maybe. But for me, it's different.
What do you mean, "......"?

　Futa began to talk about how he came to this country.

　He was kicked out of the country after a bad day at work.
　After that, he was lost, and because he was "unemployed", he was not allowed to work.
　Finally, I arrived in this faraway country.

"Unemployed. ...... I see."

　The little girl's words did not reach Futa.

What kind of work did you do before you were kicked out?
I was a fighter. I was confident in my skills.
After you were kicked out, you couldn't find a job that would allow you to use your skills?
No. I'm sure there aren't many people who've been unemployed and have only trained their sword skills to this point.
"......

　The girl was silent and looked down.

I'm not sure what to do.
"...... Can I help you?
Oh, no.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not.
　I don't think I'll bother to ask again and offend the client.
　So, he let her murmur pass.

　Then she looked up and stood up.

It might have been a good opportunity.

　What she meant by that, Futa did not know.
　He could only stare up at the girl as she stood there in a daze, and she looked back at him.

The girl turns to him and says, "Would you like to play a hand?　We'll pay you separately.