“My goal is to free Bulan from Yue’s oppression,” Secretto declared.


    “...I see,” James said.


    A hand inside the barn slowly rose up, shyly asking for attention. It was Chorong’s new hand.


    “I want to help freeing Bulan,” Chorong said.


    Secretto looked at James, checking if the robot was joking or not. James’s expression told the mechanic that she wasn’t.


    Chorong continued. “I’m against harming people, but as long as I can avoid that—”


    “Princess, you cannot help me,” Secretto said coldly. “To completely overhaul a system, you need violence: it’s in history, it’s in human nature. If you are against harming people, you will be useless.”


    Chorong was about to say something more, but then James gave her a look and silently gestured her to stop without letting Secretto see the signal. Chorong shut her mouth.


    The busker turned to the mechanic and said, “Thank you for saving us and giving Chorong a new arm.”


    Secretto read his intention: he was trying to change the topic.


    “You’re welcome,” the mechanic said. She stood up and opened a cabinet in a corner of the workshop. She pulled out sleeping bags from it and then tossed Chorong and James one each. “I will let you guys stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will guide you out of here.”


    She pulled out another sleeping bag for herself and opened it on the floor. She was about to turn off the lights but then hesitated. She turned to James, who was opening up his sleeping bag in the opposite corner of the barn. She asked, “…You aren’t going to ask me more about Bulan? About my plans?”


    “I thought you didn’t want to involve outsiders.”


    “…You’re right.”


    “I also have a contract to uphold, and Bulan’s business is not part of it. But, I do regret that I will be missing an opportunity to help out a beautiful lady,” the busker said. He made a mischievous smile.


    Secretto blushed. “Shut up and sleep!”


    She turned off the switch. Darkness filled the workshop.


    James and Chorong lay next to each other. The concrete floor was less comfortable than the beds back at the inn, but James was used to hard floors. He had spent months in the dumpster.


    Chorong listened to Secretto’s breathing. She lay a few meters away from them, lying on her side, facing away. She seemed to be sleeping.


    “James,” Chorong whispered.


    “Yeah?” James responded in a low voice.


    “Can we not help?”


    “No. We are complete outsiders. And, remember, our goal is to get you to Mi-Ray.”


    “As I told you, James, I’ve decided what my how is gonna be.”


    “…”


    “I want to help people, James.”


    James felt as if someone was poking him on his arm that was on the other side of Chorong. He looked in the direction. His guitar case lay there. He sometimes felt like the guitar poked him when he did something that made him uneasy.


    He tried his best to ignore that feeling.


    “Chorong, I’m sorry, but I agreed to take you to Mi-Ray safely. That’s our primary goal. Don’t you want to meet your master again?”


    William’s face flashed in Chorong’s mind.


    “Master...” she muttered. She clenched her hand into tight fists in front of her chest. She pursed her lips and then said, “You’re right, James.”


    Chorong turned her body, facing away from James.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    James let out a quiet, grunting sigh. His chest felt tight and uncomfortable. He remembered what he had said to her: how he would prioritize his life over anything else. Then he remembered fighting the wolf Alpha together in the forest. If Chorong didn’t come to help, he would’ve died. With her speed, she probably could run away from the wolf alone and leave him behind. But she stayed, and she saved him.


    And here he was, preventing her from saving others.


    He could only tell himself that this was for her own sake: he wanted her to live, get to Mi-Ray, and return to her master to be happy. Trying to save Bulan people would put her in grave danger eventually.


    I’m protecting Chorong, the busker told himself.


    The guitar poked him again.


    The sunlight shined into the workshop. When James woke up, Chorong and Secretto were already moving. The busker and the robot packed their stuff. The busker groaned from time to time. His legs and arms ached; running away and fighting that Alpha had really taken a toll on his muscles.


    “Put this on,” Secretto said, throwing a cloak to Chorong. “We need to hide your arm. Once we are outside, don’t talk; your voice will give it away.”


    James picked up his guitar and walked over to where he had put his rifle. He noticed that the angle at which it was leaning against the wall had changed slightly; someone had moved it. He picked it up and examined it. Its front sight had been just a small piece of metal, but now, it was a circular crosshair. Also, the entire bolt was gone. Instead, it had a simple lever.


    Secretto saw him looking at the firearm. “I took your gun apart in the morning. The inside was messed up like hell, so I changed it up completely. It’s semiautomatic now, so you don’t have to load the chamber manually each time.”


    “Thank you,” James said. He then pointed at the front sight. “Why did you change this?”


    “Your aim is ass.”


    Her words made James feel like a bat hit his heart.


    “Circular sights are easier to aim. I might not be there when another Alpha shows up in front of you,” Secretto said, smiling. She turned to Chorong. “I saw you fighting for a brief moment; I feel like you will be a much better shot than this idiot.”


    Chorong shook her head. “I...I definitely realized from the last battle. I hesitate when I am about to hurt something else. Weapons will be much more useful in James’s hands than mine.”


    Secretto considered explaining how violence was sometimes necessary. Then she scanned Chorong. Secretto did not see a blood-stained war machine but instead saw a kind-hearted, innocent girl. She decided to not talk about the topic more.


    She looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost ten. “We should go. Stick close to me when we are outside. Yue guards might question who you are, but they know me. Just act like my friends who work as traders.”


    James nodded. He remembered an episode from the Knight of the Stars, where the main characters had to go do an undercover operation under disguise. Even though he knew he was being childish, he couldn’t help but feel like he was in the show. He put on the rifle strap and said, “I’m ready.”


    Chorong nodded, signalling she was also prepared.


    “Here we go,” Secretto said. She opened the door and let the two out first before locking the door. Then they started walking on the roads, with the mechanic leading the other two.


    There were much more people than at night. Most wore sleeveless white shirts and shorts to combat the grilling air rising from the dry dirt floor. Like the group Chorong had seen back in the forest, most had visible artificial limbs. Chorong could not see any sort of smile on their faces.


    “Go! Keep moving!” a low male voice shouted.


    A group of workers came toward the trio, each of them carrying two bags over their shoulders. Chorong could tell the bags were extremely heavy for ordinary humans to carry. Next to the group, a Yue man in a uniform hurried the workers on, barking non-stop. He waved a remote in his hand like a whip.


    “If you don’t want to become an eel, keep moving!” the man shouted. Then he turned his head from the workers and noticed the trio.


    “Good morning, Gilbert,” Secretto greeted with a smile.


    “Good morning, Miss,” the man greeted back, approaching them.


    James couldn’t help but tense up slightly. He wondered how spies in the Knight of the Stars could act so naturally.


    “Where are you off to?” Gilbert asked. It wasn’t an interrogative question, just more like a how-do-you-do question.


    “I’m going out with my friends to the forests. They need some guidance to the next village,” Secretto said.


    “Ooh, friends of the Miss. Nice to meet you, sir and madam,” the man said. Gilbert bowed lightly to James and Chorong.


    “Hello,” James said, trying his best to relax.


    Chorong opened her mouth. “Hello—”


    Both James and Secretto snapped their heads to Chorong. Realizing her mistake, she quickly coughed, drowning out her mechanical voice.


    “She is a bit sick, so she can’t talk much,” James lied.


    “I see. No worries, madam,” Gilbert said. He turned to Secretto. “Well, I will take my leave. Have a good day, sir and madam.”


    “Bye, Gilbert,” Secretto said. She led the other two and walked past the uniformed man and the group of workers.


    Chorong glanced at the faces of the workers. She could not see any light in their eyes. They all looked gloomy as if they were in front of a great void they had to jump into. Her heart ached for them. She wanted to help them. But she suppressed the urges and kept on walking. She didn’t have a proper plan on how she could help them, anyway.


    The trio and the group were around twenty meters apart when a worker collapsed with a thud. Rocks fell out from the bags he dropped and rolled on the ground.


    “Get up!” Gilbert shouted.


    The worker panted. He put his hands on the ground and tried to push himself back up, but his arms shook.


    “His leg is not functioning well,” another worker said, pointing at the collapsed man’s left leg. It was an artificial limb.


    Gilbert ignored the worker’s comment. He pointed his remote at the collapsed worker and pressed the button. The worker screamed as electricity burned through his body.


    James, who had been watching what was happening, turned away. He felt as if he was feeling some of the pain the worker was feeling. His guitar felt heavier, as if it was scolding him.


    “James,” Chorong’s voice whispered to him.


    “Hm?”


    “I’m sorry.”


    James immediately realized what that meant. The busker turned around, desperate to stop Chorong. However, the robot was no longer next to him.