Le Grand Canal

By the time morning had come, General Blackwell’s words still echoed in my mind.

It had taken just a few days, barely a week or so, before Lilly’s name reappeared with another accusation. Ever since my first day in Gallai, her face had been inescapable. Yet, ever since this recent murder I couldn’t go a block without getting a reminder.

According to Aila, Ell was a close ally of Gallai. Cryter, Wazan, and Runa—those were all far off countries where loose trade was the most ever discussed between us and them. But Ell? Ell was straight to the southwest, just a short boat trip away.

That was all it took for Gallai to take Lilly and place her as priority number one.

Posters of her copycat’s face covered nearly every store as Aila and I walked through downtown as the yellow of the suns started to set. Didn’t matter if it was a simple market stall, doctor’s office, government building, it felt like every store with the means went out of their way to plaster her everywhere within a night.

“Hey, Rin,” Aila gently nudged my shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“You don’t sound fine! Don’t lie to me, Rin! Come on. It’s lunchtime, no one should be sad during lunch!”

“I’ve been breaking that rule for the last few years.” I sighed, smelling a mix of fresh bread and cooked steak as we turned the corner towards the restaurant-heavy district of Tallum.

“Well, hopefully some food can cheer you up!” Aila turned toward a random restaurant on the block, reading the intricate red menu posted on a sign next to the door. “We have to plan our next itinerary soon now that we're approved.”

It got caught up in the mess of last night, but according to a rather busy-looking Richard, we had passed our trial mission with flying colors. We could, or more accurately were forced to, take on a simple mission every few weeks of our choosing. “Do you care what we eat?”

“It’s up to you,” I said, staring straight ahead and toward the brick road under my feet. Hopefully, the insides of whatever restaurant we chose would be poster-free.

Food sounded abysmal right now, but even with my current mood, I could tell my body was screaming behind the never-ending numbness. It was a feeling I had long since become familiar with.

The streets around here felt like a mix between a luxury fashion district and the outskirts where the homeless hid in the stores’ shadows. Everything felt down to earth, free of suit-wearing nobles yet without the stench and uncleanliness from the suburbs I had become familiar with.

“Aila?” I rubbed my eyes. In between my people watching, the tall figure of a man dressed in a brown suit and red cape caught my eye. “That’s the General, right?”

“Yeah…” She sounded confused as her eyes narrowed alongside mine. “But what would he be doing in a place like this?”

“And what’s with the child?” As the crowd cleared, I saw a child talking to the general, tears in his eyes.

“Well, nothing to do but ask,” I said.

“Wait!” Aila tried to pull me back, but with the crowd, she reacted far too late. “We can’t just— “

“General Blackwell, it is nice to see you here,” I said.

He turned, wearing a delighted smile as we approached. “Call me Thien,” The man said while leaning down and placing a hand on the child’s shoulder. “I remember you two from Richard’s overview last night. Aila and Rin, am I right?”

“Yeah,” I said, barely hiding my surprise. I had not met many leaders who would go out of their way to learn names that quickly.

“It’s so nice t-to meet you!” Aila’s face was flushed red as she spoke.

“You two as well, I always love to meet my juniors in Unit E.” He glanced at us both in turn, though his smile seemed to fade as he glanced toward my Senn.

Yet that disgust disappeared mere seconds later; maybe I’d just been imagining it.

“Actually, you two have come at a great time,” Thien said, gesturing to the kid at his knees. “I spotted little Theo here all by himself. According to him, his parents are lost somewhere. You know how horrifically busy these streets can get. I can only cover so much of the district by myself, but with two exquisite members of Unit E here, surely, we can find your parents in no time at all, Theo!”

“Absolutely,” Aila leaned down and patted Theo on the head. If Aila was good at one thing, it was quickly adapting to whatever situation arose. It pained me to admit she was better than even me. “We’ll find your parents soon. Can you be a big, strong man for me and wait with us while we find them?”

“Y-yeah.” The kid said between sniffles. I tried to reach an awkward hand out to pat him, before rethinking that horrid idea. Kids were strange creatures I had never been one to get along with. Being thrown into another world wouldn’t change that.

“There we go!” Thien hefted the kid on his shoulders, giving him a bird's eye view. “Now there's nothing blocking your sight! How does it feel to be a bird?”

“I’m so high up!” That one move of Thien’s turned Theo’s crying face into one of amazement.

“That you are, Theo. Now we have an adventure to go on. Come on, soldiers, we have some parents to find.”

Thien’s enthusiasm with Theo felt almost infectious. As we walked around, people stared at the tall general with Theo acting like his driver, pointing him through street after street. Everywhere we went, I could almost physically feel the chorus of smiles that sprouted.

“What brings you to town T-Thien?” Aila asked, barely getting his first name out smoothly.

“Am I not allowed to check out my old training grounds?” he grinned at Aila’s flustered expression. “I remember my days in Unit E. It feels like just yesterday I was getting drunk in the doors.”

A cannon-like laugh came from his mouth, the kind of laugh that could shake mountains. “Those days are a bit further back than I want to admit. Part of the pain of getting older.”

“Older?” I looked up to the man’s face. Japan was famous for people not looking their age. If he was half the age he acted, Thien was an anomaly even to them. “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I don’t mind at all. I’ll be turning sixty in a month's time.”

“Sixty?” Aila looked flabbergasted. “You don’t look over twenty-five!”

It wasn’t just empty praise. He really did look that young.

“They say a Senn slows your aging, maybe there's some truth to that,” Thien said, hefting Theo higher into the air. “You see anything from up there, kid?”

“Nuh-uh.” Theo shook his head.

“Well, they must be on the next street then!” Thien said.

His words soon proved to be prophetic. The second we turned the corner Theo began to squirm, pointing to a distressed looking couple in the distance. “Mommy! Daddy!”

When we reached them, I could see relief spread on their faces.

“Theo!” The mother shouted, gently taking the kid into her arms as Thien let Theo bounce off his head into her arms. The kid smiled for the first time as they embraced. Even I had to admit it was a pretty heartwarming scene.

“Pleasure to do what we can, miss. If you ever have any issues, the Gallai guard will always be there to assist you.”

“Thank you so much!” Theo’s mother looked like she was about to cry in relief. “Can I ask your names at least?”

“Certainly. These two are Aila and Rin. My name’s Thien.”

“L-like the general?” Her eyes widened as she stared at his crimson cape.

“Some call me that,” he shrugged. “As long as I serve, me and our especially talented members of Unit E will serve the city with all we have.”

“Thank you, all of you,” she said, transferring Theo to his father’s arms. “Come on, honey, last one back home has to do the dishes?”

“With Theo? You play dirty!” The father laughed as the couple started to sprint away back home.

“Back home…” my mind flashed back to the last conversation I had with Lilly, our silly little race to WcDonalds. That felt like a lifetime ago nowadays.

A lifetime now unobtainable.