"your room is the last one on the left, here is your key and a spare for your partner", the innkeeper handed 6Q the keys to our room for the night, Yhorna was a massive city, so reaching the HQ by foot would most likely take hours, and neither of us felt like walking forever in the middle of the night, specially in the military zone, which had a pretty bad reputation as a danger zone at night, mostly due to robbers and such.
The walk to the inn had been a pleasant one to say the least, since our train arrived at station 3, the closest to the social district, the gathering place for a lot of the more "well known" individuals of the city, it was littered with street vendors and amateur performers, but the presence of the military was of course there as well, for every 5 people we saw, a soldier was stationed near them. Yhorna was nicknamed "the beehive city", not entirely because of the way the city itself was designed in a very honey comb fashion, but because it was full of workers and soldiers, all obeying the orders of a single individual. Despite all the current political tension due to the death in the royal family, the city was peaceful.
"hey...6Q do we really have to share the same room? I mean I don't mind, but we do have enough to spend on a 2-bed room.", Ika pulled on the sleeve of 6Q, who was walking with her usual stride, completely ignoring every greeting from the other customers welcoming her into their establishment. "saving as much currency as we can be extremely important in this city, unnecessary expenses are to be kept to the minimum, especially for erasers, since our only income is gained through contracts and company deals. Essentially, we're just government backed mercenaries", to Ika's surprise, 6Q didn't bark at him for asking too much, this time she kept her voice close a whisper, as if she didn't want anyone around them to hear of their position.
After finally arriving to their destination, 6Q unlocked the door to the room and walked in along with Ika closely behind her. "I hope you're not regretting your decision, you still have until tomorrow to go back to the station and take a train back to your village. After tomorrow, you'll most likely never see your family again, you know?" as she spoke, 6Q took off her blindfold and cloak, as her blindfold came off, her eyes shone against the moonlight for a second, fully revealing a glimpse of lavender in the darkened room. "although, your entrance ceremony will be completely different from what I had to go to...mainly because I didn't have one ha-ha, I was simply manufactured and put into commission whenever I was needed, and now here I am.", her hands were now on her sides as she looked at Ika with an emotionless look.
"I don't regret it, I feel like I could be of more use here, specially since they're willing to take a soldier with one arm", Ika smiled and leaned against the wooden wall behind him. "you could do many other things, being a soldier is a life deal with the Erasers, becoming one of us is like being born again, you'll lose your identity, your wealth, your dreams. Everything", 6Q's gaze seemed to melt right through Ika's entire being, as If she was studying every particle that made him, him.
"only a fool would die to be born a lesser being, as you are now, you have a shot at a better life than we'll ever have. Our taxes are increased, we cant own land, we cant do many things, including retiring, if you live that long anyway, without approval from the council of Alticia."
"the council of Alticia? I've heard of erasers in the past, but I've never heard of them." Ika scratched the top of his head, which made 6Q sigh before moving closer to explain, grabbing a chair to sit closer to him.
"there is a ladder of power when it comes to our ranks, ill tell you this only once so listen up, I want to go to bed soon." 6Q fixed her bangs so her hair wasn't covering her eyes and lifted 6 fingers, closing the rest of them into her palm. "at the very top we have the royal family, after that, we have the council of Alticia, followed by the 13 wings of ikarus and then we- ", 6Q was interrupted by a fairly confused Ika who had his own fingers up, trying to keep up with her explanation.
"the 13 wings of ikarus? What is that?", 6Q's mouth opened slightly at the question, then closed as she turned her gaze from her fingers to her lap. "the 13 wings of ikarus are...a group of elites. experimental units, they're rarely seen by the public eye since they spend most of their times at training facilities or on the frontline whenever a war breaks out".
Ika put a finger up to his lips and closed his eyes to think. "I see...so they're really powerful people, aren't they?"
"yes, they are, they're rarely used however, the last time they were deployed was during the Medician invasion."
"the Medician invasion!? That was over 12 years ago! What have they done all this time? Didn't you say that the only was for an eraser to get paid was to do contracts? How have they eaten all this time? They're probably a bunch of overpowered stickmen by now!" the look of genuine shock made 6Q giggle.
"well at least you listen to me, but no, for them its different, since they're an elite group, they're officially recognized by the government as guardians of the peace. They receive payments to help them live every week or so"
"oh, well that makes sense I suppose"
"yup", was the only thing Ika heard before a gust of wind brushed his face, causing him to look up from his hands. 6Q was no longer sitting in front of him, she was laying down on the bed, asleep. the chair was back in its place as well.
"and that. Is the end of any chatter for the rest of the night", 6Q said in the middle of yawning before laying her head on the pillow, "now go to sleep, we're leaving tomorrow as soon as the sun rises". Ika listened to her command and laid down on his side of the bed, he looked back at his companion one last time before turning over to face the wall.
"goodnight, 6Q"