Today, Akito, Atticus, and Sophia had a day off. Marcus went to Parsa to visit his daughter after receiving a letter from her; he would be gone for a few days. Sophia, as Marcus's granddaughter, was now in charge of the tavern. Fortunately, there were almost no people, so she closed it for the day.
Akito and Atticus lay in a field outside the capital's walls. The green and golden grass whispered, and a light breeze blew. Atticus had a blade of grass in his mouth and turned his head towards Akito.
"You know, thanks to you, I've started to rest more, if I can put it that way, spiritually. It really is important to share your thoughts, or just talk to someone."
Akito's blue eyes looked at the clouds; they reminded him of different things, from something ordinary to something special. He sat up, a slight smile curving his lips involuntarily, and his gaze met Atticus's.
"Do you think so?"
"Yes, I do. For now, you're the only one I spend so much time with, almost all day at work, and sometimes in the evenings."
"You know, Atticus, I had many friends... They were all so great..."
For a moment, Akito paused, a certain bitterness in his soul. He thought of Andy, Ray, Kai, and Eliza. Swallowing hard, he continued.
"They were unique... Seemingly great, very important to me. But now they're not with me. I still remember them; it seems like just recently we were talking to them, and now we are in different places, even worlds."
"We always lose something, we always lose something, that's our fate as humans."
After these words, Atticus stood up, shook off the grass, and walked away, but before that, he said:
"Don't lose heart there."
Akito just nodded. He didn't know why, but he wanted to speak out. Now he was alone, but it felt like a burden had fallen from him, not too heavy, but oppressive. Following Atticus's example, Akito stood up and decided to go into the city to explore places he hadn't seen yet. Entering the city, Akito went left, then right, different streets and alleys, houses and buildings. Akito observed and remembered everything, but his gaze was caught by one building, quite large, and built right by the wall. The structure itself was made of white stone, and near the door was the emblem of the imperial army – it was a military academy. This, of course, interested Akito; perhaps he would learn something new here. Putting on his mask, he quietly and carefully entered the building.
The floor was made of dark oak, and everywhere were corridors with classrooms. Akito wandered everywhere, eventually coming out onto a training ground. The ground was trampled everywhere, with various mannequins and types of weapons, all for honing strikes. Akito relaxed a bit, so he just walked around the training ground and saw her.
"Agnes..." Akito whispered as he watched her practice with a sword. Every one of her strikes, her stance, it all reminded him of Destreza, the fencing school that Andy had learned thanks to Richard. Akito approached closer and closer.
Suddenly, Agnes turned her gaze to Akito.
"What are you doing here, and how did you get in?"
Surprised, Akito stumbled backward and fell.
"Uh... I just wanted to explore what was going on here, and here you are..."
"It better be true, but seriously, are you so stupid that you snuck in here?"
Akito remained silent and looked away, but then suddenly said:
"Your stance... It's wrong."
"What?"
Akito stood up and approached her.
"Give me your sword, I'll show you what I can do."
With distrust, Agnes gave Akito her one-handed sword. He was surprised; after all, swords were not too light, but Andy wielded it with such ease.
Akito hesitated, trying to recall every detail of the straight-angle stance; it seemed Andy had talked about it. Akito managed to get into the stance; of course, it wasn't perfect, but it was correct. He tried a few techniques; they were correct, but mastery was clearly lacking. Agnes was surprised.
"I developed this technique for years... Ever since I studied here myself, and I never showed it to anyone... How did you learn this?"
"I had a friend; she had a similar style, Destreza, that's what she called it."
"Destreza? Sounds interesting. It seems she was a strong warrior."
Akito sighed heavily and nodded, a slight smile playing on his face, but it expressed pain rather than happiness or joy.
"Why do you want to kill the king? I know it's a stupid question, but I'm curious about your motivation."
Agnes looked at Akito.
"I'll tell you, consider it gratitude because you gave me ideas on how to use your Destreza in my fencing style. My family... They wanted to kill the king and return power to the people; it was King Icarus who seized this kingdom. His officials called my parents cursed; I think you know what happens to people like them..."
"It's unpleasant to hear, but I understand you.
You lost your family, and I lost friends, perhaps because of the king, and he also threw my friend into a pit. I can't just leave all this, understand?"
"Well, now you're in the resistance. I'm sure we'll kill him, maybe not you, or not me, but together with all the forces opposing King Icarus, we'll kill him."
"By the way, Agnes, what are you doing in the military academy?"
"Huh?"
"Well, since you're here, why?"
"Teaching people, I'm a teacher."
Akito nodded.
"And when are you free, well, when does your workday end? Maybe we could go somewhere, or are you against it?"
"I'm not against it, but I'm more interested in learning about Destreza and your friend; I'm not interested in you."
"Understood."
"You'd better leave here. If you get caught, believe me, a simple reprimand won't be enough."
Agnes pointed to the gates behind her.
"They will lead you out of the city; you'd better go, I'll open them."
Akito did so. Now he knows more about Agnes. He had nothing to do. Akito didn't want to return to the city, so he decided to look for Viator and persuade him to join the resistance.