Birthday Trouble

“Rin…I appreciate your concern, but this is my job…” Ren said calmly.

“Can’t you just send someone else?” I asked hopefully.

“This is my job and I intend to fulfill my role and responsibilities. I won’t shrink back and send someone else in my place,” Ren said before he gave me a pointed look.

“Ren…” I whispered his name, not knowing how to convince him otherwise.

“You do your job, Rin…and I’ll do mine,” Ren said firmly.

“When are you leaving?” I asked.

“In a few days…” Ren replied without hesitation.

My head felt light, and I was certain that I was about to faint. I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing. The situation had gotten much worse than I could ever imagine. Firstly, there’s a war…again. Secondly, the war was at my hometown. To be precise, it was between my hometown and the empire. On top of all of that, Ren is going to war…