On a certain road in the Kingdom of Numero are two horsemen riding their horses as they travel.

With the direction the two are going, they are sure to travel to the west where the border of Numero to the country of Samar is found.

These two horsemen are named White and Black. Just some time ago, they are both Generals of their own army but now, the two are just two dead people to the world.

Currently, the two are traveling towards the western border of Numero that is bordering the country of Samar which is one of its main trading partners.

The two as they ride their horses are wearing blue light tunics with sabers on their hips. The typical dress for the light cavalry of Colis which also acts as their scouts, messenger, and many more jobs that can be done by horse.

The horseman at the front is called Black. He is a person who has already experienced a lot in his life.

Just a long sentence pertaining to someone who is already old, but in this man’s case, he really looks the part.

On his body are scars of various shapes and sizes. Some look like slashes from blades, some like those of burns, and even those of lashes which tells that he has experienced a lot. And even though he’s old, his muscular body would warn you otherwise to not underestimate him.

In terms of looks, his facial features look like those of an old person who has already accumulated a lot of wrinkles. His hair is a match with the person on his back which really only differs in color. His hair has a blonde color and has shortness enough for his hair to stand but not enough for his scalp to be seen while his hair is even shorter on the sides and on the back part.

As said, Black’s hairstyle is almost identical to White. The only difference they really have is that White’s hair is black. His facial features though defer from the old man which lacks those wrinkles and unlike Black’s face, his face would give you the sense that he is still young.

“What country are you going to choose for your lifetime vacation kid? Or are you planning to go around the world?”

Ask by the rider on the front questioning the rider on his back

“Traveling around the world is a good idea. I’m already dead anyway so no one would find out about me even if I did.”

As White tried to ponder about the option of traveling around the world. White immediately remembers his original plan.

“But for now, I’m going to stick to my plan and hide in Miritea.”

“Miritea?”

When Black heard the name of the country, he wasn’t able to recall anything about the country instantly, but sure enough, after just some seconds, he easily recall some information about the country.

Maybe this is due to fact that his past job involved knowing about foreign knowledge.

“The Empire of the west? The Empire of Miritea?”

“Yeah, that. To be exact, my plan is to stay at the north of Miritea near the mountain range there.”

Suddenly, as they talk to each other. Black was hit by a sudden Déjà vu.

“Wait, isn’t that the country where those people with long pointed ears came from. What is it again? Elks?”

With the sudden remembrance of his past, White suddenly became embarrassed.

Luckily for him, Black is looking forward as White is riding on the back so Black wasn’t able to see his face.

But even while dealing with his embarrassment, White still faces his past and corrected the error that Black made.

“Elves.”

“Ohh, that. I remember you being so happy seeing them back then.”

“I was young back then. Just to be clear, the reason why I chose that place now is different.”

“But aren’t people from Miritea called Miriteans?”

“Can you please just not ask?”

…

As they continue to travel. The two would talk about random things to kill time.

“When will Isa join us?”

Asked the guy named Black as they continue to travel to the east.

They were supposed to meet up with a girl named Isa as they escape the place where the two faked their death.

“We will wait for her in the next city”

“How long would we need to travel to get there?”

“Maybe an hour or two. What? Are you bored, Gramps?”

“Don’t mock me, kid. Just this far is nothing new to me. I could even walk there if I wanted to.”

Shouted by Black as he tries to impose that he should not be treated as an ordinary old man.

When White heard the answer of the old man though. He just laughed loudly that he almost fell from his horse.

Then suddenly, White remembered the question that Black asked him early on.

“How about you Gramps. Were you able to think of land where you would want to stay?”

To the question of White. Black answered with a straight and short answer leaving White unable to continue the topic that he has just thought off.

“No.”

“Figured.”

Then after some time, a question again sprung up from his brain which made black unable to answer.

“How about you, what will you do?”

“…”

Maybe due to the fact that, unlike the initial question, the next question of White is going to affect the future that Black will need to walk alone. That’s why he wasn’t able to easily answer but instead ponder about the question more seriously.

“Hmm. You got me there kid. I’m don't know what to say.”

“Didn’t you ever dream of doing something other than leading an army?”

“No. When I become a soldier, I already decided to devote my life to the Empire.”

“That’s a quite sad old man.”

“Shut up, kid.”

…

“So, how do we enter?”

Asked Black holding the rein of his horse as he walked alongside it while looking at a gate guarded by soldiers.

In his memory of the norms in the Empire. Entering a city requires passes or identification to be able to enter or exit the city itself.

In his case, it’s usually his subordinates who do the identification for him though.

“Obviously, by entering!”

Said the guy across him which is named White as he walk alongside the guy who asked.

As Black heard the enthusiastic call of White, he tried to guess what's on White's mind.

“Is this because of our dress?”

“Yes.”

…

“What’s your business here?”

Inquiry by a guy sitting on a chair as he looks at the two supposed scouts in front of him.

He is the captain of the soldiers inside the city of Orene. His command over the soldiers here is only second to the Lord of the city which is currently gone to participate in the war against the Colis Empire. His name is Diez (Dyez).

Currently, he is supposed to interview two scouts that have come from the main bulk of the Kingdom’s army that is supposed to fend off their invading neighbor.

From the information said to him by his subordinates, the two scouts have come to report about the state of the army which is done so that the closest castles and fortresses can react immediately in case something bad happens.

One of the scouts looks like a normal young soldier while the other looks like an old man in his forties.

“We’re here to report to you that the kingdom’s army has defeated the Empire!”

Said enthusiastically by the young man.

When Captain Diez heard what he said. It should have been normal for a person with a position like him to be happy or at least glad. But instead of those, he instead felt suspicion.

Receiving news about the state of the war after a battle happened is pretty normal. All to more that his walled city is one of the closest cities to the battlefield. With the news brought to him by the scout, he can just sigh in relief that his city is not going to be besieged any time soon.

But instead of being happy, he instead became suspicious.

It is because there is a big problem with the statement of the young scout. That is that the Captain already received such news.

In this case, it would have been less suspicious if an opposite of the first news is what's brought like in a case where the commander became too overconfident and sent early good news only to be ambushed and lose later on.

Because of this, Captain Diez wasn't able to help himself but survey the two carefully.

He looks at them closely trying to guess what’s really happening.

‘Why would the main army send two reports? Is this just an error on the orders? Or are these two in front of me spies from the Empire?’ on Captain Diez’s mind, he was thinking of such things.

Both reports show that the Kingdom has won the battle which is great, but he wasn’t sure why two reports are coming.

There’s also his guts telling him that the two-person in front of him is suspicious. Even though their looks are definitely of those of the Numero cavalry, something feels off about the two.

As he look at the two, he did notice one thing which is their weird hairstyles. Though he easily ignored that as It could just be the fashion from the place where they came from. After all, the kingdom is such a big place.

As he completed looking at the two.

Captain Diez decided to act based on his hunch.

“Guards!”

With the call to the guards, Soldiers suddenly rush through the doors and surround the two people in the middle of the room.

The two though was surprised by the sudden event.

“What's the meaning of this!?”

Shouted by the guy at the front as he look at the soldiers trying to surround him and his partner.

His partner on the other hand that hasn’t been talking since earlier suddenly moved and release his sword from his scabbard.

As the two moved, Captain Diez didn’t miss both of their reaction according to his plan.

“I would be honest with you two. You’re not the first guys who came here to bring that news.”

When the two guys heard what he said. They look at each other then look again at the face of Captain Diez.

“Is that true Sir?”

Asked the young scout as he act like he didn't know anything about what the Captain said.

“Sir, our superior might have just forgotten that he sent scouts already so please drop your weapons.”

Said the first guy as he tries to reason out the mistake that might have happened.

It might be true that there might just be confusion in the order. All to more when they are busy after just winning a battle. But still, on his mind, he can’t just let two possible spies when they are already in his grasps.

The Captain is also thinking that even if he is wrong, he could just ask their superior about them and if he indeed made a mistake, he could just reason out that he was just doing his duty.

After all, their enemy is the Empire. A known powerhouse in the continent.

It could be their ploy to send fake messengers so that they would ease their defenses. And if that is indeed true and he chose to not do anything, he would be more in trouble.

Also, there’s also this weird reaction from the old scout at the back.

Having an old soldier is pretty common in the Kingdom as it was a Kingdom that really didn’t experience war for over a century. So the Kingdom was pretty lenient on the age limit of their soldiers, but the old man's reaction towards the sudden entrance of the soldiers caught the captain’s suspicion.

Instead of reacting the same way as the younger one, he reacted more violently by drawing his sword. For a country that didn't fight for over a century, there's no way a soldier would react like that against multiple soldiers surrounding him.

“Really?”

“Yes Sir!”

“Really?”

“Yes Sir! So please drop your weapons!”

The two exchange a short question and answer before Captain Diez pointed his left arm at one of the guards.

“Take these two to the dungeon.”

Because of the sudden order, the young scout which is the only one talking to Captain Diez tried to ask a desperate question.

“Wait. Why?”

To the question of the man, Captain Diez answered honestly.

“You see, I’m not sure why but I’m quite suspicious of the two of you since early on.”

‘It’s actually more about this old man than you though.’

“Just some suspicion Sir? Please don’t just jail us like this-”

As the young scout spoke, he made a short pause that is like he is thinking but it only lasted in a matter of milliseconds before he started speaking again so no one was able to notice him.

“There’s gonna be a parade coming and it’s my dream to join them.”

Added by the young man as he tries to make a reasonable plea to the Captain.

The parade that the young scout is talking about is the parade of the Kingdom’s army that is going to happen because of their victory against the Empire.

If they did win as the two reports said, the Captain is indeed sure that such an event would definitely occur.

As the young scout said, It’s quite normal for all young soldiers to dream of joining one and be hailed as a hero by the Kingdom’s populace.

All to more that the kingdom didn’t have a hero's welcome for almost a century now, even Captain Diez dreamed of such an event when he joined the ranks of his lord.

“Please Sir, I know you’re a soldier too, you should have dreamed of something like this happening."

The young scout hit the mark on what he said and made Captain Diez now unsure. In his long years of serving the Kingdom, the way this young scout has acted thus far is definitely like those of the Kingdoms.

Because of this, he was convinced to let the young soldier go.

“Okay, I’ll let you go.”

Said the Captain which made the young scout look happy.

“Men, take only that older guy to the dungeon.”

“Wait, wait, I thought we are already in the clear?”

“No, only you are clear. That guy over there is definitely not.”

The young scout would have almost jumped in joy with the change of mind of the Captain but instead, not just him but both of them just got confused.

After hearing what the Captain said, the young scout immediately looked at his mate.

“Huh?”

…

“What seems to be the problem, Captain?”

‘Like seriously, what is the problem with the old man?’

When he looks at Black. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary at all.

“You know, I have been working here for too long.”

‘So what? I’ve been suffering also in this world not just for long but for all my life!’

As the Captain is talking, the two scouts are just standing there trying to listen to every bit of information that the Captain will utter.

They were hoping that in his words, they might be able to find a gap to escape this situation.

“You might be new in this industry so you won’t be able to notice.”

‘How did he get that? I mean, he’s not wrong.’

In reality, White is indeed new to the Kingdom. It’s not even a year since he was awarded an honorary title by the King.

“There’s no way for this uncle here to be a scout of the Kingdom. There’s just no way.”

When he heard what the Captain said, he looked again at Black but like the first time, he still didn’t understand what’s wrong. On the mind of White, White was sure that he made the perfect copy of the dress of the scout before coming here.

“His clothes might be the real deal but his looks definitely didn’t.”

‘Wait seriously?’

When White prepared for the plan, he didn’t really consider much about anything besides their dress.

On his mind, soldiers from the Kingdom won’t really be wary because of the fact that they were never at war for over a century.

He believed that the Kingdom Soldiers would be lax on their job and would let them pass without much problem.

He just found that theory wrong though and this now comes to bite him as he didn't even prepare for it.

What's worse is the thing that bite him on his back using the same reasoning as what he used to make his plan.

This is because the Captain knew how the soldiers would act base on the same theory that the Kingdom wasn't fighting for a long time.

There’s also the fact that White was used to seeing the soldiers of the Empire, as he was seeing them most of the time back when he was working for the Empire. This also added to the factor as to why he never saw Black as weird.

“We are a kingdom which never saw a war for over a century. How could there be a scout like him which has so many scars on his body?”

‘Oh shit!’

When White heard what the Captain said, he got taken by surprise because he wasn’t able to take into account the state of the soldiers themselves when considering that they use the same reasoning.

But instead of backing out, he countered the analogy of the Captain.

“But Sir, look at him. He’s already old. He might have seen his house burned, he might have been slashed by his own sword, he might be whipped by his parents when he was a kid. There are so many things that can happen to an old person like him!”

What White said is indeed reasonable even to the Captain. Indeed in his experience, he indeed sees some soldiers having scars though not to the abysmal amount that Black has. But it might also just be that the old scout has been an unluckier person than those he met. But unbeknownst to White, the captain already considered all that. His decision why Black was definitely a spy is not just because of his scars.

“Reasonable, but that’s not all. Like this man’s muscular body. Those of a military nation like the Empire could have an old man like him with them having to fight constant wars and battles but there’s definitely no way for a simple Kingdom scout to have trained those bodies."

‘Shit!’

When White heard it, he easily thought of a counter to the analogy of the Captain.

“But uncle Black could have really just like to train his body.”

On his counter, he hoped that the Captain would really just let them free now but when he look at the Captain’s face, he instantly accepted that it’s simply impossible. It didn’t look like the situation proceeded forward at all.

“That’s impossible. As I said, the Kingdom isn’t at war for a century. He might be that rare person that does it but I simply don’t buy it.”

‘Shit! Shit! Shitty, peaceful Kingdom!’

This time, the problem lies with the fact that Captain Diez isn't convinced that a scout from a kingdom would have trained to have a body like those of Black.

Considering the busy life a scout have with all their jobs, he simply cannot see a person being engaged in strengthening themselves.

“But Si-“

White was just going to go for a rebuttal but before he could get to his topic, he was cut off by the Captain.

“No, not just that. There’s also this other thing that really gives him as an Empire Spy.”

‘What now?’

The Captain, look at the old man Black and then.

“Your reaction to the guards definitely shows up who you are Empire Spy! Just give it up.”

From the words of the Captain, it seems that everything is over. The Captain is really convinced that Black is an Empire Spy.

“There’s no way for our soldiers to react that way. Only a person who thinks he can beat this many soldiers would react that way and sadly for you, I don't believe there's a scout in the kingdom like that."

When White heard him, he also felt lost and can’t rebut at all anymore. He was also thinking that if their position is reversed, he would also think as such given the information that the Captain has.

In short, White was also convinced that he wouldn't be able change the mind of the Captain no matter what he say.

But suddenly, as the guards are already is starting to move, the Captain spoke again. Though it’s more like a whisper in the wind which made only White the only one to hear it.

“Though Eins is kinda like him.. but he is part of that Sacred Numbers though.”