NAMAE ISAMU
Sai sat on the edge of my bed, shoulders heavy with exhaustion. His eyes were distant, though he tried to soften them when they met mine. The silence between us was fragile, as though one wrong word would shatter it completely.
I forced myself to smile faintly, telling him to rest, but my chest was already stirring with unease. When he finally lay down, the weight of his presence beside me both comforted and suffocated me. I lay there, staring at the ceiling, thoughts spinning like a storm.
Father's words from earlier gnawed at me. His sudden acceptance, his lack of resistance when Sai asked for me to leave… it didn't make sense. My father never gave anything freely, not even to me.
I couldn't stay still.
I slipped quietly from the bed, careful not to wake Sai. My steps were light as I left the room, the air in the corridor colder than before. My heart thumped painfully, a whisper in my chest urging me to go back, to not risk this—but my feet carried me forward.
Toward Father's office.
The wooden door loomed ahead, tall and unyielding. My fingers brushed the handle, but then I froze. Voices.
I pressed myself closer, holding my breath.
"You saw what happened in the battlefield. Tomorrow morning he will leave with my daughter." Father's voice was calm, firm, and full of calculation.
"Yes, sir. What are we going to do?" a soldier asked.
"They are going to leave with a chariot," Father continued. "But there will be no two for their protection. That's when you come. You will take these rings—each one holds about five hundred chimeras. When you are about two kilometers away from the village, both of you will summon those monsters. While Sai is locked in battle, you will take my daughter and the child and bring them back here."
My chest tightened, breath catching in my throat.
Another soldier spoke, hesitant: "If we have those rings, will the monsters not attack us?"
"No," Father replied coldly. "The monsters will not attack the owner of the ring."
The soldiers answered together, "Thank you, sir."
The words sank into me like knives. My body trembled as I staggered back from the door, heart pounding so loudly I was afraid they might hear it.
He never meant to let me go. He never meant for Sai to survive.
I covered my mouth with my hand, choking back a gasp. Every part of me screamed to run—to wake Sai and tell him immediately—but I couldn't. Not yet.
If I told him now, he would fight. He would burn everything in his path, and maybe… maybe he wouldn't survive.
I turned, walking unsteadily back down the corridor, my thoughts in chaos. When I slipped back into the room, Sai was still asleep, his face softened by rest, unaware of the storm building outside these walls.
I stood at the threshold, staring at him, and one thought dug deep into my chest:
Tomorrow, everything changes.
I slipped back into the room, heart still racing. The shadows of what I'd overheard clung to me like chains. I thought I could let Sai sleep, let him rest, but the words clawed inside me until I couldn't breathe.
I sat carefully on the bed, but the motion stirred him. His eyes blinked open, hazy at first, then sharpened when he saw my face.
"You're trembling," he said quietly, pushing himself up. "What happened?"
I bit my lip, fighting the fear that threatened to spill over. "Sai… I heard them. My father. The soldiers. They're planning to betray us."
His gaze narrowed, piercing. "Tell me."
My voice cracked as I spoke. "When we leave tomorrow in the chariot, soldiers will follow. They'll have rings—each one holding five hundred chimeras. They'll wait until we're far enough from the village. Then… while you're fighting them, they'll take me and the boy back."
The words fell heavy into the silence. Sai sat there for a moment, still as stone, his expression unreadable. Then he let out a slow breath.
"So," he said, voice low, "it's true. Everything you feared."
I felt guilt twist inside me. "I'm sorry, Sai. I should have—"
"Namae." His tone cut through my panic, calm but firm. His hand reached out, resting on my shoulder. "You did the right thing telling me. But listen carefully."
His eyes locked onto mine, sharp and steady. "We're still leaving. All three of us. I'm not backing down, and I'm not letting your father's schemes decide our fate."
My throat tightened. "But… the chimeras. If they summon that many, even you—"
A smirk touched the corner of his lips, though his eyes stayed hard. "They aren't the only ones with rings."
I blinked. "What?"
He lifted his hand slightly, revealing the faint glint of a ring I hadn't noticed before. "The one I took from your master. The system told me what it was. A storage ring. Full of chimeras."
The air left my lungs. "You mean…?"
"If they want to bury us under monsters, then I'll drown them in their own game." His voice was quiet, but the weight behind it was crushing. "Nothing will touch you. Or the boy."
Tears welled in my eyes despite myself. "Sai…"
"Namae." His tone softened for the first time, almost gentle. "I promised I wouldn't let you be alone. And I keep my promises."
He leaned back, lying against the bed again, but his eyes stayed on me a moment longer, steady and unshakable.
I sat there in silence, torn between fear and a strange, overwhelming trust. Whatever tomorrow held, it would be drenched in blood and fire. But with him beside me, I felt—for the first time—that maybe, just maybe, we could survive it.