"Did you hear? Apparently [Dagger] was wiped out just last night!" Said a young man with crudely plated armor.

"Who hasn't? the news has been spreading like wildfire." Replied his partner, a young sage girl.

"Apparently it was the doing of "that man" again." Said their third and final party member, a bulky and much taller individual who looked at least a good 5 years older than the other two.

"The Griffin slayer? I figured as much, I guess his exploits weren't all rumor after all." Said the man, taking a swig of his ale.

"Who is he anyways? Rumors has it that he wield extremely powerful light magic and could punch through plated armor without even touching you. For someone of that caliber to go unnoticed for this long is just..." Asked the girl, "Argh, it's so frustrating!"

"I believe his name was... Kairen? Kayn? Kaito! I think it was Kaito!" Exclaimed the young man, "Kaito Hatori!"

"Oh, so he's of a n.o.ble lineage?" Asked the other man, "I guess that explains his powers. I've heard that many n.o.ble houses have a bloodline specific magic that only they can cast."

"Then in that case, I suppose he must have relatives." Said the young adventurer.

"He does." Said the other man, "Yesterday I caught wind of a group of 4 that appeared in the [Cinfreid] region and wiped out an entire Ogre settlement that had been plaguing that region for years. Apparently they were last seen in [Einfeld].

"[Einfeld]? That's only a day's travel from here! We should go there! Maybe we could meet with them up close!" Said the girl sage.

"Slow down there, Cecila! We aren't even sure what they are doing there! for all we know, they could be involved in some shady business. Its best if we stay away." Said the older adventurer.

"Way to be a party p.o.o.per Dayan." Pouted Cecila, "We can't play it safe forever you know! Why can't you be more like Haiden and I and live a little?"

Dayan let out a sigh.

"Very well, tomorrow, let's head to [Einfeld]." He said in defeat.

...

Franciska and Kaito pulled Vincent onto his room's bed, as blood poured out of his open wounds. Eliza, the inn owner, could do nothing but watch helplessly at the room's entrance.

"I'm so sorry." She said, quickly bringing them some bandages and cotton, "They broke in looking for you, I had to protect my kid's first! I hid in the cellar with Hugo as my guests got hurt, I'm so sorry."

Kaito used his limited medical knowledge to the best extend, applying pressure to the wound, taking off the clothes, using the disinfectants from his medkit. however, the stab wounds was far too deep, and the blood just wouldn't stop coming out.

"d.a.m.n it Vincent, please stay with me!" Cried Franciska, desperately clenching onto Vincent's frail body.

"This isn't good, we're losing him!" said Kaito, attempting to st.i.tch up the larger wounds on Vincent's body.

Franciska, desperate at this point, got up to look for more bandages. However, before she could fully get up, she felt a hand grabbing her by the wrist.

"Wait... Lady...Franciska..." Uttered Vincent.

"Vincent!" She exclaimed, "Thank G.o.d you're still okay! Hang on, the doctors are on their way!"

"It's no use Franciska... even if they save me, I won't be strong enough to carry you any furthere..." Vincent uttered weakly, "It's up to you now... finish... your... mission... *cough*".

"Mission?" Thought Kaito, watching this whole thing transpire.

"I-I understand..." Franciska replied, sobbing, "I'll... I'll do my best!"

"Good... now, before more arrive, go, before it's too late..." Uttered Vincent, "I'll be fine..."

Hearing this, Franciska, with fire in her eyes, wiped her tears and gave Vincent one last bow of grat.i.tude, before running to her room. Kaito, weirded out, followed suit.

"Hey! Fran! Wait up!" Said Kaito, as he walked in on Franciska, frantically packing her bags, "What's going on here?"

"Shut up, there's no time! I need to get to the capital as soon as I can!" Said Franciska, "I'm not gonna force you to join me, but you are free to tag along."

"Vincent is dying as we speak, why are you suddenly leaving!?" Asked Kaito, walking up to her as she strutted past him, heading for the door.

"There's no time to explain! I can't let his death be in vain!" Said Franciska, "We already wasted too much time before you showed up, and now, if I waste any more time, the entire human race will be at risk!"

Kaito suddenly froze. He knew that something was up with Franciska and Vincent, but the entire human race? Now things were getting interesting. Not wanting to be left out of whatever operation she was a part of, Kaito followed her all the way up to the door.

"What do you mean humanity is at stake?" Asked Kaito

"Cla.s.sified!" Replied Franciska.

"I'm human too am I not? Tell me!" Said Kaito.

"Can't, If I did, I'd have to kill you." Replied Franciska.

"Ok, now you're just sounding like a 007 agent." commented Kaito.

"A what?!" Franciska replied, "nevermind."

However, before she could reach the door, Kaito grabbed the k.n.o.b, holding it in place.

"We are not leaving until you tell me what's actually going on!" Said Kaito, "You claim you don't want to waste any more time, so tell me everything and I won't waste your time anymore."

"Get you hands off the door!" Yelled Franciska, pouncing on him.

"Oh c.r.a.p! c.r.a.pc.r.a.pc.r.a.p! This didn't turn out like how I imagined it would!" Said Kaito, trying to hold her back, which proved surprisingly difficult.

However, within all of this thras.h.i.+ng, an amulet fell out of Franciska's pockets, making a loud enough clink for both sides to notice. Kaito, curious as to what it was, tried picking it up, but was knocked over by Franciska, who pulled out a knife and stuck it to his neck.

"You saw it, didn't you!?" She said in an angered tone.

"Oh my G.o.d don't kill me!" Kaito whimpered, holding his hands up, revealing the amulet in his right hand.

Franciska let out a light chuckle.

"d.a.m.n it, I didn't want you to see that. Oh well, now that my cover's blown anyways, I guess I'd have to..."

"Please for the love of G.o.d, I don't know what kind of attachment you have to this amulet but I promise I didn't see what's inside!" Exclaimed Kaito.

However, Franciska froze.

"Inside?"

"Yeah, isn't this one of those amulets that can open and close, revealing a picture of someone inside?" Asked Kaito.

"What? No! None of that, this is the emblem of the [Seven Nation Alliance]." Answered Franciska, confused.

"The... Alliance?" Asked Kaito, "What's that?"

"Wait, are you serious? You were a n.o.ble, weren't you? How could you have not been affiliated with the alliance?" Asked Franciska, "Hold on, are you even a n.o.ble? Who are you? Really?"

His cover was blown. Not only that, but it seemed as though is cultural ignorance was finally catching up to him. He knew that sooner or later, he'd be driven into the corner, forced to admit that he's not from this world, he just didn't know it would be this soon.

So, despite it potentially making him sound insane, he decided that it was about time he told the truth.

"I'm... from another world." Said Kaito.

Franciska froze.

"What?" She said in disbelief.

"I'm actually not quite sure how I ended up here either. I'm from a country called j.a.pan. Back in our world, humans are the only race on the planet, and our technology far surpa.s.s that of this world's. I know this may all sound crazy, but the weapons you saw me throw around against those elves are actually common in my country's military. In fact, in some countries in my world, even civilians can have access to them!"

"Hold on hold on, you actually expect me to believe all of this nonsense?" Asked Franciska, pinching her forehead.

"I knew you no one would believe me if I outright said it, which is why I made up the whole story." Said Kaito, "I mean, you heard me talk when we first met, didn't you? Did my language sound like any language you ever heard of?"

Franciska stared blankly at Kaito in disbelief. The j.a.panese twitched nervously, hoping that she would buy at least an ounce of what he said.

"So you're telling me you're not actually from here, but an entirely different world?" Asked Franciska.

"I have proof! Just look at my old uniform, my weapons, look, this booklet is my pa.s.sport!" Kaito tried desperately to convince her.

"This... this changes everything." Said Franciska, grabbing Kaito and pulling him to the inn's kitchen.

"Wait, so you believe me?" Asked Kaito.

"Not fully, but I acknowledge the plausibility." Replied Franciska.

"You do?" Kaito exclaimed with excitement.

As the two reached the kitchen, they sat down, facing one another.

"So you're telling me that in your world, only humans exist, your weapons far exceed that of our worlds and there's no magic?" Asked Franciska.

"Yes, that's exactly so." Replied Kaito.

Franciska let out a light chuckle.

"G.o.d that sounds even more ridiculous when i say it." She muttered.

"Now tell me, what's this mission of yours? What's going here?" Asked Kaito.

"If I tell you, will you help me?" Asked Franciska.

"Of course." Replied Kaito.

"Alright then." Said Franciska, "I'll start from the beginning.

...

[1000 Years ago, a race of demons came from another world. They were lead by [Lucirr], the Demon King, had run their world dry of resources and planned to subjugate ours. The local tribes and small kingdoms were swiftly defeated and enslaved. Their conquest was swift and caught our world off guard.

Millions were killed, and the residual magic resulting from their transmigration polluted our world, giving birth to dangerous monsters that ravaged the lands and still exist to this day. Even the most powerful kingdoms were on the brink of collapse.

It was then that the 6 Apex Races at the time joined forces and fought back the demon king's armies. The [Elves], master of elemental magic and the most elusive and cunning race used their speed and agility to provide constant scouting, keeping the alliance informed, as well as leading sneak attacks and sabotage missions to the demon king's army. The [Dwarfs], deceptively strong and master of machinery used their ingenuity to create machines of war, tearing down Demon fortresses and encampments and besieging entire armies. The [Avians], masters of the sky used their air superiority to control the battlefield and provide support during skirmishes.

The [Merfolk], masters of the ocean sunk enemy s.h.i.+ps and helped transport supplies a large amount of distance, keeping the alliance constantly supplied. The [Orcs], the strongest race in terms of raw power and born without a fear of death became the vanguards of the entire war. Finally, the [Scalefolk], masters of the desert and the strongest magic users, second only to the [Dragonkin], who were far too small in numbers to be considered a race, fought off almost all attacks to their land thanks to their terrain advantage.

Eventually, the 6 kings of this alliance banded together a defeated the demon king, and the world knew a brief moment of peace. That however... didn't last long.

The kings started to argue over the amount of power each side should hold. They argued that whoever slayed the Demon king should hold definitive power over the other races. Unable to come to an agreement, the 6 sides erupted into a ma.s.sive civil war, one that lasted even longer than the invasion of the Demon King's armies.

It was here that many lesser races such as the [Harpies] and the [Taurens] got roped into the fight, as the war became an even bigger threat than the Demon King himself.

However, it was here where humans came in. Prior to even the invasion, humans had always been seen as the weakest race and was looked down upon by all other races. We were weaker than dwarfs, slower than elves, had less magic than scalefolk, couldn't swim as fast as Merfolks nor fly like Avians.

However, what we did have over the other 6 races was diplomacy. We used our resourcefulness and humbleness to negotiate with every side of the war, slowly coming up with compromises that benefited all sides, and, eventually, stopped the war by uniting all 6 races together into the [Seven Nations Alliance].]

"...And that is the story behind the Alliance." Finished Franciska.

"Amazing." Replied Kaito, entranced by the story, "However, why are people after you then?"

"When humanity stopped the war, all races felt grateful towards us for stopping the bloodshed and as a sign of respect, allowed us to stand beside the 6 Apex races as an equal. So we took advantage of that and took elements from all 6 races, such as Dwarven technology, to increase our own development." Franciska continued explaining, "However, it's been nearly 500 years since the war ended, and that grat.i.tude is slowly wearing off."

"What do you mean?" Asked Kaito.

"Some people in the alliance believe us humans have overstayed our welcome, and that our presence is slowing them down. They want to cut us loose from the alliance, like cutting off dead weight so that they may advance further." Explained Franciska, "They are plotting to secretly expel humans from the alliances and sever all ties we have with them."

Kaito froze.

"And if that happens..."

"We lose all of our progress. We may have the ability to sustain ourselves, but most of our stuff are bought from other races. If our ties are severed, we will no longer be able to buy dwarven machines, Elven crops, or occupy Avian and merfolk territory. With a world still filled to the brim with monsters, a race such as human won't survive." Explained Franciska.

"But how it's only a small part of the alliance, isn't it? Surely they can't be enough to fully sever all ties the alliance has with humanity!" Argued Kaito.

"I thought so too, but recently, I found this." Said Franciska, pulling out doc.u.ments, "Plans to corrupt the council and collapse it from within. Humans are seen nowadays as the ones that keeps balance in the Alliance. If it collapses, then our only strong point will no longer be seen as reliable and we will be ditched and left behind."

"So this small, Anti-human group is planning to collapse the council and pin the blame on humanity..." Kaito speculated, "And I a.s.sume you, humanity's representative in the alliance, found out about this plan and plan to warn the King?"

"Yes, but they found me out and attempted to kill me. knowing that I was no longer safe in the alliance, I planned to escape early to warn the king. Should this evidence be presented in the next meeting, we could bring down this group before it gets too big." Said Franciska, "Which is why I need your help."

Kaito, giving her a smile, lent her a hand.

"Very well then, Fran, I'll help you." Said Kaito, "Now, where's our next destination?"

"All routes to the Capital are probably crawling with hired a.s.sa.s.sins, so we'll have to take the long way round." Replied Franciska, "Our next destination will be the old town of [Einfeld]."