Albeit feeling troubled by that, I took the initiative to approach and greet her.
[Yo, Myne.]
[…..who are you?]
Still sitting while hugging her knees, Myne sat still on the floor.
[My name is Fate.]
[Earlier today, I met Kairos-san by chance on the battlefield. He then brought me here. What about you, why are you here?]
[I fought Kairos and lost. He took Sloth away from me.]
[So you’re here because he won’t return it to you?]
[That’s a problem.]
I sat next to her, watching the ongoing construction work.
[Where are you from?]
She’s probably curious about my appearance. Kairos said earlier that my black hair and black eyes are unusual. It’s a dead giveaway that I’m not a Gallian.
[I came from a place far, far away from here.]
[A rural area?]
[Kind of? This place doesn’t seem like a place where people should live either though?]
[It wasn’t like this in the past. There used to be a large city spreading over the area. Kairos and the others have been building everything from the rubble.]
[Who is this enemy Kairos is fighting against?]
[The enemy is not a particular person. He was fighting against a country called the Gallian Empire. And I’m just a prisoner of war.]
In any case, I’m more concerned about Myne’s status as a prisoner of war.
[You look quite free for a prisoner.]
[I lost against him and thus had nowhere to go. That man knows that as well.]
Nowhere to go… So apparently Myne was an assassin sent by the Gallia empire.
[You too, don’t seem like you have any idea why you are here.]
[Is it that dangerous to be here?]
[Yes, it is. Moreover, I can feel that you have similar power to us. Very similar to Kairos actually.]
[Is that why you are willing to talk with me?]
Once you get close, it’s hard to set away.
[There is that. And, for some reason… I feel calm when I’m talking to you. Have we… have we met before?]
Before I could say anything else, Kairos already called to the both of us.
[You two, it’s meal time. Need to fill up that empty stomach.]
[I don’t want to fight anymore.]
[Don’t give me that. We need your strength. Fate’s too.]
[You say all that, yet you eat more than anyone else here.]
[Guh.]
[She eats even more than me, someone with Gluttony skill.]
[Just wondering, but where do you get your food?]
[From the empire. We were able to procure some during the previous battle.]
[That… you mean.]
[Perhaps it’s because of the Gluttony skill. But I simply can’t have enough to fill my stomach. You don’t want to know how it’s like.]
[Kairos…what in the world are you?]
[Alright then, eat up. Otherwise you’ll get nothing.]
[Is it really delicious, Myne?]
[Worse. The food in the facility is better.]
[What?]
[You can tell the taste of the food?]
[Obviously. This taste isn’t something I can stay silent to.]
[Really!?]
[How loud.]
[If you like it, then you can have my share.]
[Ooh.]
[Now I feel like I should surrender my portion as well. She’s just that feisty despite being a prisoner, ain’t she? Are you fine with that, Fate? Won’t you get hungry later?]
[I’m used to it already.]
Hearing my reply, the man laughed once more.
[That’s something you should never get used to though.]
Both of us watched Myne going through her meal merrily.
[At this rate, she’ll ask for more servings. Ain’t that right, Fate?]
[I think so too.]
[She always do that.]
[Full already? Nn? What’s wrong?]
I looked at him, something piqued my interest.
[Kairos-san, why do you keep fighting?]
[I wonder why… At first it was to stay alive. And it’s still to stay alive. I’m not fighting for some sort of noble goal or anything.]
Kairos then looked around, towards the people working on the construction sites.
[Then somehow, I became part of this big family.]
[To live?]
[Yeah. To live like a human being. All of us here were formerly the empire’s toys. We chose to escape, got here, and fought to keep our freedom. You remember that machine angel from the previous battle?]
[If we didn’t escape, we might end up becoming that thing.]
[The person who helped me escape back then was already dead. But his last words,『Live on』left a huge impression on me. Everytime Gluttony skill almost overwhelmed me, those words were what kept me from going over the brink.]
[You too… Gluttony skill is just troublesome, isn’t it?]
[You should know about it the most, right? I never consider this skill as some sort of a blessing. It’s more like a curse. What about you, Fate?]
[I…I’d be lying if I say that I don’t consider it as such. But without it, I won’t be able to protect the people who are important to me. Even now, I still feel inadequate.]
[I can understand that feeling.]
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