Men of Honor

The man was called in late on a weekend; it was early into the evening, after patrols had already stopped for the day and people were shopping for their dinners. Hero was fully prepared to be working at any time since he figured that was the duty of all Rune Knights. The task was simple: a convict from the nearby jail escaped and was currently on the run. He was to be captured and brought back as soon as possible. For whatever reason he landed himself in jail for, the giant had to catch him and bring him back as quickly as he was able. After receiving his orders, Yamamoto left immediately to begin the search within the capital of the Magic Council HQ, Era.

The giant started first with the populated areas, such as the markets and the industrial sections, since he could have tried to blend in with the crowds. The next areas of interest were the residential areas, since the convict could have had a hankering for more criminal activity when he broke out. As Hero was about to move on to the next area of interest, however, he found a suspicious-looking person sitting on a sidewalk; he immediately walked over to the person and placed his right hand on the person’s left shoulder.

”Alright, found you. Time to come back to jail.”

”Wait, Knight. Please let me stay out just a little longer. You can keep me cuffed if you need to. But my family. My wife and daughter. I just want to see them. Please. I’ll go back after.”

”Hmm… very well. You’re a lucky man to have me as your captor. Lead the way.”

There was no way a man of honor like Hero could turn down the request of a man so clearly set on seeing his family just once. For the man to rob him of that small bit of time would be too cruel. Plus, logically speaking, his orders never specified a time limit. So long as Hero got the convict back to the jail, it was not a problem what happened while on the task. With that in mind, the convict bowed once before walking a bit ahead in the direction of where his family most likely was. The sooner this happened, the sooner Yamamoto could complete his task.

Minutes later, the two men arrived back at the market district where the convict assumed his wife and daughter currently wandered. Yamamoto let the man do his searching on his own, since it would have been more time wasted to try and explain their features to the giant. While the convict searched around with a giant hand on his head, Hero looked up at the sky which had spots of clouds here and there. Aside from the daily tasks given from his superiors, his patrols were quite peaceful, and often times those days gave him a lot of time to think through the choices he made. For instance, the choice to let this convict see his children. After spending years with the Rune Knights, the giant learned much about what it meant to complete tasks and what it meant to better the nation of Fiore, which were in essence different things. By yielding to the convict and doing something good, it was going to end up having a positive effect on the people as a whole who would hear of such deeds. Was it not also the duty of the Rune Knights to represent the people of Fiore? That was this man’s honor.

Time flew by before the giant could realize and the convict was attempting to get his attention. A little bit surprised, Hero looked at the person with a confused expression on his face. He was not the type of person who was able to hide his thoughts.

”I thought you were going to see your wife and daughter. Is there something wrong?”

”No, there is nothing wrong, Knight. Seeing them from a distance is enough. Knowing that they are still doing well is fine for me. I hope that they will remember me when I have served my time.”

”A man’s worth is only shown in the actions he takes when not seen by anyone. I am definitely certain that your worth will reach them. Time to get you back.”

The convict nodded with a resolute smile on his face, and they walked side by side to the jail; Hero did not need to hold the man any longer, for that convict also understood honor.