At the heart of the Akirama family's legacy existed an extremely powerful Unique Ability. When Enrico saw it for the first time in the original story, he immediately realized how absurd it was, even with its limitations. Its name was Shinketsu no Musubi.
This ancient technique was inherited exclusively by direct descendants of the Akirama bloodline and had been one of the main pillars of the family's magical and political supremacy for centuries, allowing its members to keep up with generations of talented mages even during periods of decline in Tsuyokuni.
The essence of Shinketsu no Musubi consisted of creating a spiritual and magical bond between two people. Those involved received two different designations: the Ketsumei, who was the person chosen from outside the Akirama family to serve as the core of the bond, and the Musubinin, the member of the Akirama family who established the connection with them.
Once the bond was formed, the Musubinin began to reflect part of the magical development and potential of their Ketsumei. However, they did not simply receive a copy of their abilities. The acquired power was adapted to the Musubinin's own body, bloodline, and magical affinity, allowing them to develop their own version of the abilities they received.
The process took place through a specific ritual, passed down only to the oldest members of House Akirama. When the ritual was completed, the Musubinin immediately received a partial reflection of the Ketsumei's current magical circle, adjusted according to the relationship between the talents of the two.
For example, if the Ketsumei possessed First Circle magma magic with 80% mastery, while the Musubinin had a different magical affinity and was still at Circle Zero with only 50%, their own magic could immediately advance to the First Circle with 80% efficiency.
The most impressive thing, however, was not just the initial gain.
The Musubinin's future progression would also proportionally follow the development of the Ketsumei. If the destined one continued evolving, learned new spells, or developed new magical abilities, the Musubinin would also receive equivalent possibilities for growth. However, they would not necessarily obtain the same magic. Their new abilities would be adapted to their own nature.
For example, if a Ketsumei developed magma magic and later awakened ice magic — something Enrico would consider quite an idiotic choice because they were naturally opposing elements — the Musubinin could develop an ability of a completely different nature, but one that fulfilled a similar function within their own magic.
Despite its enormous potential, Shinketsu no Musubi was far from perfect. In fact, it was often considered a double-edged sword within the family itself.
The first limitation was related to the difference in potential between the Musubinin and the Ketsumei. If the Musubinin possessed greater magical potential or began evolving faster than their Ketsumei, the bond could suffer a growth collapse. The Musubinin's progression would eventually be limited by the destined one's development, causing their own advancement to stagnate.
On the other hand, when the Ketsumei possessed greater potential than the Musubinin, this problem practically did not exist for them. The bond continued allowing the Musubinin to follow their development, although an excessively large difference in potential could also decrease the efficiency of the gains slightly, but it did not change much.
The second limitation was age.
The closer the ages between the Ketsumei and the Musubinin were, the greater the initial synchronization would be and the faster the bond would adapt to both of them. However, when the Ketsumei was much older and the Musubinin was still in the early stages of development, the connection could be formed, but its gains would be almost insignificant.
For this reason, there was an extremely strict rule within the family: adults should not establish this type of bond with very young members of the Akirama bloodline. The age difference could make the bond practically useless.
Furthermore, even if the limitation decreased as the Musubinin matured, there was still another problem. The more time passed, the greater the difference between an ordinary young person and a much more developed mage would become. Only individuals with extraordinary talents could break this logic and make up the difference later.
Finally, there was the most important rule of all.
Each member of the Akirama family could perform only a single Shinketsu no Musubi bond during their entire lifetime.
There was no second attempt.
Once the Ketsumei was chosen, the decision was permanent.
This made the choice be treated with extreme seriousness within the family. Throughout the history of the Akirama, this limitation had caused countless internal disputes. Some members chose their Ketsumei based on political interests, others tried to predict which young person would be the next great prodigy of their generation, and there were those who simply bet wrong.
Some ended up choosing someone who seemed promising only to discover, years later, that their true potential was much lower than they had imagined.
And then there was no way back.
They remained bound to that choice for the rest of their lives, following the development of someone who might never be capable of taking them beyond their own limits.
That was precisely why Shinketsu no Musubi was not merely a powerful ability.
For the Akirama family, choosing the Ketsumei meant choosing their own future.
Renzou's own rise within the Akirama family, becoming the Ketsumei of his three wives, had also been the result of political decisions made hastily, driven by the fear of losing even more influence and the desire to strengthen the bloodline with a Ninth Circle mage.
The three women were close in age to Renzou, with a maximum difference of three years, and the result ended up being considered a moderate success. Two of them managed to reach the Seventh Circle, while the most talented, the first wife, reached the Eighth Circle after many years of effort, making the most of the bond's benefits and combining them with her own talent.
Even so, that was something positive for the Akirama. Before Renzou's arrival, no descendant had reached the Eighth Circle in the previous twenty years. The bloodline, which had once been feared and influential in Tsuyokuni, was facing a long period of weakening since the death of the father of the three wives, a legendary Eighth Circle mage who had taken much of that generation's prestige with him. Many believed that he could have reached the Ninth Circle if he had not died so young.
Shinketsu no Musubi had been, for generations, one of the main pillars of the Akirama's supremacy. The family sought individuals with extraordinary talents — heroes, war geniuses, leaders of great clans — and established strategic bonds with their descendants.
In this way, the bloodline was able to keep up with exceptional people and transform its own members into increasingly powerful mages. However, political disputes, the negligence of previous generations, and the decline in the territory's prestige gradually caused this system to lose its strength.
Until Renzou appeared.
Now, however, everyone in that room was thinking practically the same thing.
Enrico stood before them and had chosen precisely the daughter considered to have the least potential. A girl who had not even awakened her own magic and who, according to the family's standards, could end up becoming a burden to his development.
It was difficult to believe.
Even Rina, who had considered Enrico weak when she first met him, began to see him differently. Upon noticing the obvious expectation on her father's face, she could not help but think that perhaps that boy had a reason for making such an unexpected choice. Perhaps he was a new prodigy. Perhaps he had seen something that none of them could see.
Renzou was the first to break the silence.
"Are you sure?"
The emperor truly could not understand Enrico. Even though he was not yet in Class S, he had demonstrated intelligence far above normal, claimed to be capable of seeing the future, and was in the same circle as Rina. Furthermore, he was not simply among the students of Class A; he was Rank 31, the strongest in that class at that moment. To Renzou, all of that indicated that Enrico possessed considerable potential.
So why choose Yumeha?
Had he seen something in the future?
"Yes, sir. I am sure."
Renzou continued looking at him for a few seconds before finally nodding.
"Yumeha, come closer."
The girl took a moment to react. Then she took a step forward, walking slowly while keeping her eyes lowered. There was a small hope in her heart, but she still seemed afraid to believe that this was really happening.
For years, Yumeha had been looked down upon not only by the family's servants and citizens, but also by some of her own siblings. Even her brother, who possessed low potential, was still far ahead of her. While the others advanced, she remained trapped in Circle Zero, without even discovering which magic was compatible with her body.
She trained.
Tried to improve.
Tried to find some way to prove that she was not useless.
But nothing worked.
The situation had reached a point where Yumeha was beginning to become desperate. At times, she even thought that perhaps the only way to change her fate was to make a pact with some demon.
Now, however, that boy stood before her.
And her own father, who knew the potential of every member of the family better than anyone, seemed to see a different future for that choice.
Yumeha did not know what Enrico had seen in her.
But she wanted to believe.
Perhaps, finally, she had an opportunity to evolve.
Enrico observed Yumeha for a few seconds and then turned his eyes back to Renzou. The emperor remained expectant, as did everyone else present.
"So... how do we form the bond?"
Enrico asked, while Yumeha remained standing before him.
For a moment, no one answered.
Everyone was still trying to understand why that boy had chosen precisely her.