Ango winces slightly, covering his grimace with a long swig of beer. What's his story? He doesn't even know anymore. He's spent the past decade-and-a-half of his life as a professional writer, collecting awards and cultivating a dubious reputation among the literary elite, and now he's completely run out of stories to tell.

"Oh, you know," he begins, waving his hand vaguely. "It's tough out there even for royalty. Do you have any idea what it costs to rent a modest castle in Tokyo these days? I can't even afford a one-bedroom with a pull-out sofa. But I heard there's some organization in this town that will hire you no questions asked if you have one of these..."

He pulls a Sandglass pendant out from inside his shirt and swings it so the deep purple sand within glitters with a rainbow of colors. "And all you have to do is put on a costume and fight dream monsters with magic! Sounds sketchy but it's totally legit, probably!"