Law of Space and Time

"You will die by my hands someday," the little girl said in an extremely placid voice. It was as if what she had said wasn't a threat. Instead, it was merely a statement of fact, something that was already set in stone.

The middle-aged man gave an unfazed smile upon hearing this, and it was clear that this wasn't the first time he had heard this.

I can't wait for that day to come, he thought to himself as he took a glance at the little girl with a complex look in his eyes.

However, the emotion in his eyes faded just as quickly as they had appeared, and he turned around as he complained, "I hate coming to Zans. There isn't even a place that makes decent yellow croaker noodles here. Don't just stand there! Keep up!"

"It's all your fault. If you had fired that arrow with more power, we wouldn't have had to come here," the little girl said with a displeased pout.

"You don't know anything," the middle-aged man scoffed as he turned around to roll his eyes at his disciple. "This is the joy of the hunt. I bet that guy must be living in constant fear, not even daring to come out of his house. Where's the fun in killing him right away?"

"Bullshit!" the little girl scoffed as she spat on the ground next to the middle-aged man's feet. "If that guy hadn't got in the way, our target would already be dead. You were shooting to kill, but it just didn't work out."

The middle-aged man shook his head in response. "He wouldn't have died even if that arrow had struck him."

"How is that possible? You're spouting shit out of your mouth!" The little girl had clearly forgotten the pain of the slap she had just received.

The middle-aged man wanted to slap her again, but the little girl recoiled in fear as soon as he raised his hand, and looking at her swollen cheek, he couldn't bear to slap her again.

"That foul mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble someday."

The little girl turned her face to the side in indignation. "Why do you care?"

The middle-aged man couldn't be bothered to scold her any further, and he began to stroll through the streets of Zans, looking for a place to eat.

Funnily enough, the establishment that they ultimately chose was the pub by the name of "Watching the Stars", which Chahan had taken Erwin to once.

It seemed that the middle-aged man had a sharp nose for food.

He entered the establishment while humming a cheerful tune, while Stinkbag was following along behind him, sweating profusely. It was clear that whatever was inside the box was extremely heavy.

After entering the restaurant, the middle-aged man's gaze was immediately drawn to something.

"What's that?" The middle-aged man was referring to the stacks of papers that the patrons of the restaurant were using to pay for their meals, and he was very perplexed.

Even more perplexing to him was the fact that the manager of the pub was gladly accepting the papers.

"I dunno," Stinkbag said with a shake of her head, and she was just as perplexed as the middle-aged man.

"Go and ask about it," the middle-aged man instructed.

"Why the fuck don't you go?" Stinkbag snapped.

"Do you want to eat or not?" the middle-aged man asked as he glared at Stinkbag.

This kind of threat was extremely effective against Stinkbag. Despite her small stature, she had an enormous appetite, so the best way to keep her in check was to threaten her with the prospect of taking away her meals.

"That's paper money, which is basically Loonies made from paper," Stinkbag explained after asking the pub manager.

From the pub manager's perspective, Stinkbag's eyes looked very vacant, making him feel as if she had a strong sense of curiosity. In reality, she was actually just very hungry. Furthermore, her accent clearly wasn't from around these parts, so he gave her a very enthusiastic introduction to the paper money used in Zans.

There are Loonies that are made from paper? the middle-aged man thought to himself with a surprised expression. He was planning to exchange some of his Loonies for this paper money to see exactly what it was.

...

As the middle-aged man began to ask for further details about this paper money from his disciple, he was left completely disappointed, much like he always was. As usual, his disciple was not the sharpest tool in the shed. Her responses were halfhearted, and her speech was muffled as she was gulping down food as quickly as she could, and the middle-aged man was becoming more and more furious at the sight of her.

It seemed that the only times that she was able to speak clearly were when she was swearing at someone.

Thus, he had no choice but to ask about the paper money himself.

As was the case with Stinkbag, the pub manager was more than eager to answer the middle-aged man's questions.

The pub manager could see that the middle-aged man and the little girl were together, so he merely treated them as curious outsiders, and thus, he gave the middle-aged man a detailed recount of the Ubiquitous Firm's release of paper money.

The middle-aged man seemed to be eager to hear more about Zans, and he asked about the Universal Church Freedom Army's takeover of the city.

This was a subject that the pub manager was more than happy to talk about, and he immediately launched into an epic story. Given how detailed the story was and how animated he became, one could easily be forgiven for thinking that he had been standing right beside Erwin during the battle on the Canston Plain and had personally witnessed everything.

The pub manager then described how Lia and the others had delivered a life-changing speech, showing the people the true nature of the nobles. After that, he described the founding of the City of Freedom and all of the policies that had been implemented.

Many of the patrons of the pub had their attention drawn to his vivid story, and there were many of them who were planning to pay for their food before leaving, but all of them stopped to listen to the story. As a result, the entrance of the restaurant became completely blocked.

In reality, what the middle-aged man truly wanted to ask about was Erwin.

As for Lia and the others, he had a rough understanding of them, and given his personal assessment of Lia, he was confident that there was no way that Lia would've been able to stir up such a revolution.

Thus, from his assessment of the situation, he deduced that Erwin had to be the one that had set everything into motion under the guise of the Universal Church. Furthermore, the Ubiquitous Firm had to be his creation as well.

With that in mind, the middle-aged man became even more interested in the target that he was hunting.

...

After the guards arranged by Sherry arrived, Erwin took Chinba to the control headquarters of the City of Freedom, which was previously Count Onen's manor.

After arriving at the headquarters, Erwin led Chinba straight to the Shadowfeather Division that was being overseen by Georgina.

This was a decision that he had made after extensive consideration.

Georgina was a very talented martial artist, but he was far less talented when it came to gathering intelligence. He could carry out orders reliably, but he needed someone to provide him with plans and ideas.

Furthermore, Chinba was very familiar with all of the nobles and wealthy merchants in the Boll Dukedom and other nearby dukedoms. Hence, in Erwin's eyes, he was very suited to this role. In addition to that, Chinba had displayed an exceptional ability to analyze intel, which was one of the most important qualities that had to be present in someone overseeing proceedings in the Shadowfeather Division.

Hence, Georgina was going to be responsible for carrying out operations, while Chinba was going to be his deputy, who was responsible for gathering and analyzing intel. This was the smartest and most appropriate arrangement, and only by doing this could the Shadowfeather Division truly operate smoothly as a unit.

After hearing about this latest personnel assignment, Georgina was finally able to heave a sigh of relief. He was well aware of his own limitations, and he also had full trust in Erwin's decision-making skills. Thus, he was eager to welcome his new colleague with open arms.

In fact, he wouldn't even have been bothered if he had been demoted to the deputy position, while Chinba took over as the commander of the Shadowfeather Division.

However, out of consideration for his old subordinate, there was no way that Erwin would make such an arrangement.

After learning about just how important the division that he had been assigned to was, Chinba became even more grateful and reverent toward Erwin. He had only pledged his loyalty to Erwin just a few days ago, yet he had already been assigned such a vital role in such an important division, and he was truly amazed by Erwin's courage and conviction.

Even more importantly, he knew himself very well, and he was surprised that Erwin was also able to determine what kind of person he was so quickly. This was what drew the most admiration from him. On the surface, he was a traveling poet, but he clearly had a talent for gathering intel, and that was something that Erwin had naturally also realized.

This is truly the perfect role for me! I feel like a fish that has been released back into water, Chinba thought to himself with a hint of excitement in his heart.

"The Shadowfeather Division has only just been founded, and I want you two to set this division on the right track as quickly as possible," Erwin said with a serious expression. "Your job is no simpler or safer than fighting on the front lines. At times, you'll also be risking your lives, do you understand?"

Georgina and Chinba both nodded in response with serious expressions.

"Perhaps you don't understand it all that well now, but you'll come to realize what I mean in the future. The fundamental purpose of your job is to prevent the deaths of as many of our brothers as possible," Erwin continued as he took a glance at the two of them. "Oh, and also, go and investigate the assassination attempt on me. At your current level of ability, I'm not expecting your investigation to yield much, but it'll be a good starting assignment for you."

"Assassination attempt?!" Georgina was astonished to hear this. "What happened?"

"On the way back from Tellier, I almost fell prey to an assassination attempt," Erwin replied with a calm expression, and it was as if he were disclosing something completely mundane and inconsequential.

Georgina wanted to ask for further details, but he was interrupted by Erwin. "Has the city been peaceful the past few days?"

He had asked Sherry a similar question, but he still wanted to ask Georgina just to make sure.

"Everything has been normal," Georgina replied. He didn't know why Erwin was suddenly asking such a question, and his mind was still lingering on the assassination attempt on Erwin.

"What about on Onen's side? Has anyone approached him?"

"No, we haven't heard anything from there, either."

"Everything is normal elsewhere as well?"

"That's right."

Erwin nodded in response, and looking at the troubled expression on Georgina's face, he knew what Georgina was so concerned about. Thus, he smiled as he said, "There's no need to feel guilty, it had nothing to do with you. Given the current manpower and resources that we have on hand, how could we possibly have gathered extensive information on the likes of Duke Eru and Mackney Farody? I just said that the Shadowfeather Division is still in the fledgling phase of its development, and everything has to be taken one step at a time. I'm only asking you to keep an eye on these people so we know what they're doing on the surface. If they try to do something in the shadows, there really isn't much we can do to counteract them at the moment. However, if such a blatant assassination attempt is staged on me two or three years in the future and you're still completely unprepared, then you'll really have to answer to me."

"We definitely won't let that happen," Chinba replied with a serious expression, while Georgina was clearly still feeling rather troubled.

"I know what you want to say," Erwin said as he turned to Georgina. "The assassin sent after me is far more powerful a martial artist than you are, so even if you want to stay by my side and protect me, it won't do any good. Hence, you should focus your efforts and attention here. Also, there's one more important thing that you need to focus on, and that's your own training as a martial artist. Don't let these added duties be an excuse for you to slack off and make no progress."

"I understand," Georgina replied with a solemn expression.

Erwin still had other matters to attend to, and prior to his departure, he said to Chinba, "I'll notify you right away if Yuho wakes up."

After departing from the control headquarters, Erwin went directly to the Holy Jade Cathedral.