Back To the Beginning
History and Conditions

I and Noland had arrived right in front of the head of the registry, the one who arranged all the affairs regarding the government's labor registry.

As expected of Noland, straight to his head.

We were both led to the right side of the room where seating was available for guests.

"Please sit down" he said, allowing while pointing at the place in question with open arms.

Like a polite guest in general, we chose to sit in a place that he had set. Noland's on the right and I'm on the left.

Finished sitting perfectly, I looked at the young man in brown military uniform in front of me. He sat with both feet touching the floor with the distance between the two slightly stretched, his body firm but looks relaxed, his left wrist placed on his thigh making his palm as if hanging, while his right hand held onto the new paper given by the guard, his lips continued to maintain a small smile, and his eyes focused on reading the contents of the paper in his right hand, his blink of an eye in order.

Good initial body attitude, showing that he controlled the whole room, there are no strange signs to date.

In his honor, I put on a self-humiliating posture.

I saw Noland next to me, neutral, just like Noland in general.

Moments after, he thrust back the paper he received to the guard behind him, the guard would probably be in this room throughout the conversation.

The young man looked at the two of us in turns with a small smile on his face, and prepared to start a conversation.

"So you're Noland and Arthur."

"True sir, I am on behalf of Noland and.." said Noland, pointing at himself with open arms.

"And I'm on behalf of Arthur" I said, taking the initiative.

"I'm thrilled to know that if you're so eager to join this kingdom, with the effort to come here, I really appreciate that."

There was a few seconds of his words.

"But we are very careful not to accept your registration for a while."

Temporary time...

"If allowed, I would like to ask the reason for our refusal" Noland said.

"You are rejected because of many factors that affect, one of which is that you are a stranger who just lived in the city a few days ago. You have had time to walk around the city and interact with the residents, right? What information do you get?" the man asked us.

"Yes, we've had time to walk around and interact with the residents, and we think the residents are very careful with foreigners" Noland replied confidently.

Looks like I've seen the red thread.

"True, that's what's happening right now. We on the royal side as well as the townspeople are very careful with foreigners like you. It's hard to get you guys out of town who haven't even lived a week" explained the man.

Time to get information.

"Sir, can we know why you're so careful of new people? There must have been a beginning, right?" my many.

A glance of his eyes turned towards me, looking at me so deeply as if examining my thoughts.

"Maybe this information is okay to spread.." he murmured.

Now his body's attitude is relaxed.

"A few years ago, before the royal revolution... Foreigners are very rare around cities and other places. When there are foreigners who want to join the kingdom is an advantage to the kingdom, the foreigners have our trust. But trust is like a double-edged sword. Many foreigners betrayed the kingdom, some tried to depose the king, some spread state secrets, and some also seized state property and assets. Fortunately, this problem can be solved. Foreigners who betrayed the kingdom were all put to death and witnessed by the royal population. And since then our trust in foreigners has greatly decreased."

That brief explanation ran through my mind, maybe so did Noland.

So the point is they were betrayed.

"So how? Have you found the reason?" ask the man.

"Yes sir, we understand" said Noland in compassion.

I also began to be rather careful to receive information from this kingdom, as it was possible that this was the same false information as before.

All right let's get started.

"So is there any way that we can join the kingdom in a short period of time? Our family is in desperate need of money" I said.

Again the young man looked at me, not... She's staring.

"There are conditions that you can meet in a short time," he said with a smile.

The young man in front of us changed his posture.

He crossed his right leg over his left leg forward, both hands stacked on top of the kneecap of the top leg. His head was slightly turned to the right.

So this is the goal.

"You must be involved in the affairs of the kingdom."

I'll follow the game.

"How do you get involved, sir?" my many.

"I told you a story a few years ago, didn't I? The betrayal of strangers. The kingdom at that time was in a state of disarray. Seeing that there was an opportunity, the foreigners seized the property from the kingdom and brought it out. The people who plundered the kingdom have all been caught alive or dead. But not with the loot, many things are still missing out there including very important objects..."

"So you can look for those things to be involved in the affairs of the kingdom. Oh yeah, minimum three."

Looking for missing things? It was a very difficult job because the positions of the objects were unknown, too many probabilities were going to happen.

In a short time? It doesn't make sense! Even finding one will take up my entire life.

Huhhhhh...

"Sir, is there any information or anything like that to help us find the three objects? If we work without the slightest clue, until whenever we won't find it."

Whether I saw it wrong or how, but I saw the angle of his smile add up a while after I asked my question.

"Relax, you'll be given help..."

Not yet finished putting out a complete sentence, the young man called out to the soldier behind him and whispered something.

The guard nodded in understanding and walked to the other door in this room, it was not the door when we first entered, but rather another door that was to the right of this room.

There was no topic, a moment of silence waiting for the soldier to return.

What exactly is going to happen?

Most likely the soldier will bring a stack of information documents and other data. That would be a big help.

But whether it is possible to meet, it could be that the precious object was found first by others and carried away or dragged by currents or also embedded deep in the ground. If so, all parts of the earth have possibilities.

Damnit. Its hard.

While thinking about the future plan, there was a sound of a pitched knock from the door the soldier passed.

The soldier has returned.

I straightened up my body preparing to see the pile of information it was carrying.

Noland was so beside me, he was ready to notice what was about to happen.

The young man as usual allowed the soldier he was assigned to enter.

The door began to move open.

...

What does this mean...?

My guess is completely wrong.

The soldier did not carry any paper, no documents were stacked, so no information was given. But... In the right hand the soldier held a small hand. And if I look behind the soldier, that hand belongs to a little boy behind him. He's withdrawn.

What...?

The little boy was brought into the middle of the room so that everyone could see him clearly.

If I look closely, the little boy was wearing dirty clothes that had been torn on some of his sides, his legs barefoot, his hands weak and filled with dirt, his face dull, his hair wavy unkempt, and his hair was undamaged, his eyes were hopeless.

Waiting for clarity from the young man, I turned towards him, we made contact for a moment before he finally opened his mouth.

"This is our slave, the royal slave, he will help you find the precious objects of the kingdom... Use him as you like."