0. Hey, I was wondering if I could ask you something. I heard that you don't have any parents. Is that right?
1. Yeah. The woman who raised me died, [cdb]and I don't even know who my birth parents are.
2. That must be tough for you, huh?
3. Tell him it weighs on you.
4. Ease his concern.
5. I don't really feel sad about it or anything, [cdb]but I do think about my birth parents sometimes.
6. It can weigh on me, not knowing who I really am. You know?
7. Nah, it's OK. They all died a long time ago, [cdb]so I don't feel sad or anything like that now.
8. But I do wonder who I really am sometimes. I don't have even the slightest memory of my [cdb]birth parents.
9. Well, you might not know who you are, but you still [cdb]work hard and you keep your chin up through it all. That makes you super strong in my book!
10. Hey, Raphael. Your parents are gone too, right?
11. Yeah, both my ma and pa died in an accident.
12. Well then, you're just as strong as I am. You work harder than anyone I know, and you [cdb]do it all with the biggest grin in the world.
13. Of course! It's easy when you love training as much [cdb]as I do!
14. Hey, I just realized something. We've sure got a lot in common!
15. Our parents aren't with us anymore, we're both [cdb]commoners scraping our way through this war, [cdb]and most importantly...
16. What can be more important than that?
17. Both of us have got some serious brawn!
18. I appreciate that, but our body types are completely [cdb]different. Not sure this really counts as brawn.
19. Sure, you're a little scrawnier than me. And maybe a [cdb]lot smarter.
20. But y'know, my brain's been getting a constant [cdb]workout ever since we opened the inn!
21. You have an inn?
22. Oh, yeah. I went home and started one up with my [cdb]grandpa and little sis once the academy shut down.
23. Running a business like that takes a surprising [cdb]amount of muscle! Sure, there's regular stuff like [cdb]hauling things around, but you need brainpower too!
24. If you ever wanna make a profit, you have to pay [cdb]real close attention to keeping the books straight.
25. I mostly let my sis handle that stuff, though. That muscle still needs more work for me.
26. Which means I'm in charge of the cooking! But that has its own share of problems.
27. Yeah, it can be tough to find your footing when you [cdb]switch jobs. Especially if you have to start doing [cdb]things outside your wheelhouse.
28. Trust me, I've had my fair share of growing pains [cdb]getting used to the army life. Everything's way [cdb]different from how it worked with my merc groups.
29. But don't you just fight? That doesn't seem so [cdb]different to me.
30. There's more responsibility.
31. It's a totally different way of fighting.
32. As a mercenary, the only thing you're responsible for [cdb]is yourself. Show up and do the job right, and you'll [cdb]get your pay.
33. But having soldiers to command, people I'm in charge [cdb]of beyond just myself? That's a huge change for me.
34. Mercenaries tend to get involved in smaller [cdb]skirmishes as opposed to big battles, and most [cdb]of them prefer to fight solo if they can afford it.
35. But an army acts as one unit. Coordinating that many [cdb]people all at the same time is a huge change for me.
36. And there's way more to military work than just plain [cdb]combat. Stuff like managing resources, making sure [cdb]everyone has the weapons and armor they need.
37. I don't think I'm bad at math per se, but it's definitely [cdb]not something I'm used to doing. And the more stuff [cdb]there is to keep track of, the harder it all gets.
38. Hey, you're not so good at using your brain either! We're practically twins!
39. That makes us pals now, right? I've got your back, [cdb]so you just keep on working hard, buddy!
40. Right back at you. Let's keep fighting the good fight.