Author's Note:
Before the chapter begins, I wanted to let you know that public updates will be taking a short break for around two weeks.
The last few weeks have been a little difficult between university projects, work, and getting sick, and I haven't been able to maintain the chapter buffer I normally try to keep. I want to use this break to get ahead again and return with a more comfortable and consistent writing rhythm.
Thank you for your patience and for continuing to follow the story. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
*****
A title could be granted, withdrawn, or replaced when it ceased to fulfill its purpose. Although it determined a person's position before others, it did not necessarily have to alter who that person was.
A name was more difficult to separate.
Satoru had not chosen his own. He received it when he awoke in the void, along with a body, a power he still did not understand, and the order to become stronger. He had no family who had passed it down to him and no past to which he could connect it, but from that moment onward, it had been his.
It was the point from which he had begun to recognize himself as an existence separate from the incomplete memories he retained.
Adding another word could not be merely an administrative requirement.
"Master."
Hans's voice brought him back to the present.
Satoru lowered his gaze toward the man lying on the stone table. His body had stopped moving, and the small crystal placed over his chest no longer reacted to his breathing. Several dark lines remained beneath the skin of his neck and arms, traces of the path followed by the negative energy before his body collapsed.
The table stood in one of the tower's lower chambers, far from the windows and the areas used for less delicate work. Almost all the furniture had been removed, leaving only the necessary instruments, several sealed containers, and a second table where Hans recorded the results.
"How long did I maintain the current?"
"Twenty-seven seconds after it reached the chest. Dispersion increased when you attempted to concentrate it near the heart."
Satoru observed the crystal connected to the body.
The energy contained inside had diminished too much. Part of it remained trapped in the tissue, while the rest had dispersed without following the route he had established.
The subject had died before he could correct it.
"Bring the next one."
Hans closed the notebook, covered the corpse with a dark cloth, and left the chamber.
Satoru remained before the table as he adjusted the instruments.
He had ordered Hans, Zen, and the Black Demon to obtain humans whose disappearance would not cause searches or difficulties for Muno. The bandits hiding along the roads were the simplest source, although Satoru had not demanded to know the exact origin of every subject.
As long as they did not cause unnecessary consequences, that information was irrelevant.
Hans returned shortly afterward with another man. His hands and feet were bound in shackles, and his breathing accelerated as soon as he saw the covered table and the dark stains remaining on the stone.
He tried to stop, but Hans guided him to the center of the chamber without needing to use his full strength.
"Place him here."
Hans obeyed and secured the man to the surface. The subject struggled until he understood that the straps and metal pieces would not yield.
Satoru did not speak to him.
He placed four clamps around his arms and legs. Each one was connected by filaments to a dark crystal held within a silver base. A second crystal, still transparent, waited at the opposite end of the mechanism.
The stored energy did not come from Satoru.
It had been absorbed from Muno's environment during the collectors' first tests. Its density was low, but it was sufficient to practice controlling an external current within a living organism.
Once he gathered the necessary amount, he would have to introduce it into his own body and direct it toward Akon's seal. He needed to learn how to move it precisely, because any dispersion would waste a reserve that would take too long to replace.
Satoru placed two fingers against the silver base.
"I will begin with a weaker current. Record the loss at each point."
"Yes, Master."
The surface of the first crystal ceased to remain still. A shadow spread through the filaments until it reached the pieces attached around the man's limbs.
The man's entire body tensed.
The negative energy first entered through his arms and legs. The skin around the points of contact lost its color, but the current did not advance directly toward the chest. Satoru divided the flow, forcing it to travel through the limbs before gathering it at the center.
Hans watched the indicators arranged beside the table.
"The loss is lower than in the previous test."
Satoru kept the current stable.
The subject released a muffled sound. His muscles contracted as the energy advanced, but his body continued resisting. Part of the current attempted to seep into the surrounding tissue, though Satoru recovered it before it could separate completely from the main route.
His control was not yet perfect.
It was enough to continue.
"Activate the receiving container."
Hans placed a hand on the second base.
The filaments connected to the man's right side began to darken. The energy crossed his torso along the established route and entered the transparent crystal.
The amount received was lower than what had been released at the beginning, but the difference was no longer as great as in the first attempt.
Satoru corrected the flow once more.
The energy reaching the second container retained its negative nature. Passing through a living body introduced minor alterations, but not enough to render it useless. The true problem remained the amount lost during the journey.
The subject began to lose consciousness.
Satoru reduced the current, although the accumulated damage had already exceeded the limits of the man's body. His breathing became irregular before finally stopping.
Hans checked the instruments before recording the result.
"The current was maintained for longer."
"The loss was also lower."
Satoru removed his hand from the base. The darkness gradually disappeared from the filaments.
He had managed to guide the energy along a longer route without allowing it to disperse completely. It was still not enough to repeat the procedure within his own body, but it confirmed that he could improve his control through practice.
Satoru brought a hand to his abdomen.
Beneath his clothing remained the scars from Mito's sword and the divine energy Akon had embedded inside him. The seal was not a superficial layer that could be removed with a spell. It was joined to his structure, reacted whenever he used power, and constantly opposed his regeneration.
To eliminate it, he needed to wear down that energy or corrupt it with an incompatible force.
Negative energy was the most obvious answer.
The problem was that his own could not produce the necessary effect.
Satoru possessed an amount and quality superior to any source he had discovered in that world. He could release it, control it, and use it on other beings, but he could not direct it toward himself as an external force.
It was one of YGGDRASIL's restrictions that had survived the transformation of its rules.
An undead could recover through negative energy received from an outside source. His own energy did not function in the same way, just as certain spells could not target their caster even when their effects were compatible with him.
He had attempted to alter that limitation without success.
That was why he needed a foreign source.
He knew of none capable of individually competing with Akon's divine energy. Even the most contaminated locations discovered by Hans and Zen contained only dispersed power, born from death, fear, resentment, and suffering accumulated over long periods.
The quality would not be sufficient, but quantity could compensate for it.
If he gathered a large enough volume and managed to direct it without significant losses, he could concentrate it around the seal, force it to react continuously, and wear down its structure. He did not need to destroy it in a single attempt. It would be enough to open a crack that he could widen afterward.
Satoru observed the receiving crystal.
The current had lost part of its strength within the body, but it had reached the container along the established route. He could improve that result.
"Remove the body and preserve the crystal."
Hans finished writing before bowing his head.
"Understood."
While releasing the restraints, he placed a leather folder he had brought with him beside the notebook.
"I have also finished examining the locations you indicated."
Satoru took the folder.
The report did not contain lengthy descriptions. Hans had organized the locations according to estimated density, distance from inhabited settlements, and the possibility of working without attracting attention.
There were ancient battlefields where human remains still surfaced whenever the earth was disturbed, cemeteries abandoned after the destruction of several villages, ruins occupied by monsters for years, and areas where corpses had accumulated without burial.
Some locations were within Muno. Others lay beyond the barony's borders.
"Did you confirm that there are no active settlements near the main locations?"
"Yes. Two locations receive occasional traffic, but it is possible to work at night without being seen. I discarded the places where our agents would attract too much attention."
Satoru closed the folder.
"Good."
He approached one of the cabinets and removed a rectangular box. When he opened it, several carved stones the size of a hand were revealed. At first glance, they resembled transparent crystals, although a small gray stain spread through the center of each one.
He had created them during his first weeks of work in the tower.
The negative energy accumulated in Muno was one of the remnants left behind by Zen's curse, the deaths caused during the territory's decline, and the prolonged presence of monsters and undead. Although that power posed no immediate danger to Satoru, it contributed to the deterioration of certain lands and interfered with some forms of work.
The crystals had been designed to cleanse the environment.
They absorbed nearby negative energy, stored it without allowing it to disperse, and could transport it for long periods. Tests had also demonstrated that the contents of several crystals could be concentrated within a single container.
A tool created to cleanse Muno could become the means to break Akon's seal.
Satoru handed the box to Hans.
"Send a copy of the report to Zen. His new servants will place the crystals at each location."
"Should I ask him to prioritize the locations within Muno?"
"Have him begin with the areas of greatest density and lowest risk of discovery. The border is irrelevant as long as he can work without involving the population."
Hans held the box with both hands.
"Zen has enough agents to cover most of the locations. He also has undead capable of guarding the crystals without approaching the roads."
"He must not concentrate too many in a single place. If someone discovers one, it should appear to be an abandoned object rather than part of an organized operation."
"I will inform him."
"When a crystal reaches its capacity, he must replace it and send the filled one to one of the prepared storage sites. No one will attempt to transfer the energy until I have examined the container."
Hans bowed his head.
"It will be done."
Satoru looked again at the receiving crystal beside the corpse.
He was still far from gathering what he needed. Even if every location in the report produced the expected results, the reserve would take time to grow.
However, the collection process would no longer depend solely on isolated experiments within the tower.
Every battlefield, ruin, and abandoned cemetery could become a source. Zen and his servants would work beyond Muno's sight while the crystals gradually gathered the power necessary to attack the seal.
"Continue searching for other suitable locations."
"Yes, Master."
Hans removed the body and left the chamber.
Satoru remained alone before the table until the room became silent once more.
Then he remembered Nina's question.
The matter had arisen after the viscountess returned from Yamaki.
The honorary position Muno wanted to recognize required several documents. Satoru would not have to personally administer the lands connected to the title, but he needed an identity that could be registered and used by officials beyond the barony.
Nina had explained the rights and limitations of the recognition. Satoru understood every point without difficulty.
The problem appeared when she raised her gaze from the documents.
"The surname is still missing. Which one are you going to use?"
Satoru did not answer.
Nina had already returned her attention to the pages and continued speaking without noticing his silence.
"It will have to be one that is not already in use. It would be inconvenient if you accidentally became associated with a noble family, a merchant lineage, or a fallen house whose heirs might still claim it."
She separated several documents and reviewed the notes.
"When you have a possibility in mind, consult my assistant. She can review the available records before you make a decision. They are not perfect, but they will be enough to eliminate the most obvious problems."
To Nina, choosing a surname was merely another part of the process, something that could be resolved after comparing a few possibilities.
Satoru had returned to the tower without giving an answer.
The experiments had allowed him to keep his mind occupied with a problem he could organize through concrete results. Now that the work was finished, the question stood before him again.
He found Liza near the end of the afternoon in a side section of the training grounds.
Most of the soldiers had already withdrawn. Only a few men remained, storing the practice weapons and examining the damage to the shields. Liza stood near a wall, cleaning the red blade of her spear after finishing her exercises with Zotol.
When she saw him approaching, she stopped moving the cloth and straightened her back.
"Do you need something, Master?"
"Nina informed me that I need a surname to complete the documents related to my new position."
Liza waited for him to continue.
"Do you know one that is not currently in use?"
She appeared surprised, although she did not need to think for long before answering.
"Kishreshigarza."
Satoru remained silent for an instant.
"What does it mean?"
"It was the name of my tribe."
Liza lowered her gaze toward the blade of her spear and finished cleaning a small stain near its base.
"It no longer exists. That is why I am certain no one is using it."
There was no evident sadness in her voice. She spoke of her tribe's destruction as a distant fact, a part of her life she could not change even though it remained part of her.
Satoru observed her expression.
"Is that the only reason you are suggesting it?"
Liza's movements stopped.
"No."
She put away the cloth and held the spear with both hands.
"Someone like you would not dishonor that name. I believe my people would have considered it an honor for you to carry it."
The answer seemed sufficient, but Liza did not immediately raise her gaze.
"Besides… it is one of the few things I can still offer you that once belonged to me."
Her fingers tightened around the shaft.
"It is only an option. I do not expect you to accept it if it is unsuitable."
Satoru repeated the name in silence.
Kishreshigarza.
Liza had not merely offered him an available word. She had chosen something that belonged to the life she had lost before meeting him.
"I will take it into consideration."
Liza bowed her head.
"Yes, Master."
Two voices approached from the opposite side of the field.
"Master!"
"We finished putting away the shields, sir."
Tama and Pochi were returning while carrying several wooden weapons. Pochi had too many balanced against her shoulder and had to correct them with every step, while Tama carried a smaller box against her chest.
Liza approached to help them.
"You should have asked one of the soldiers for assistance."
"I can carry them," Pochi replied, trying to keep her back straight.
One of the weapons began to slip.
Liza caught it before it fell.
"Apparently not all of them."
Pochi looked away while Tama released a small laugh.
Satoru observed the two girls.
"Do you know what a surname is?"
Both of them stopped paying attention to the weapons.
Pochi answered first, adopting the seriousness she used when trying to correctly repeat something she had learned during her lessons.
"It is the name shared by the members of a family. It is normally placed after a person's given name."
"It also tells you which house someone comes from!" Tama added.
Pochi nodded.
"It can indicate a noble family, a region, or the lineage to which a person belongs."
Tama raised her hand, although no one had asked her to do so.
"Karina said we must not confuse it with a title."
"That is correct," Pochi confirmed. "A title can change, but a surname usually remains within the family."
The two looked at Satoru, satisfied that they had remembered the lesson.
"And what do you consider a family?" he asked.
Pochi frowned slightly while arranging her answer.
"People who are related to one another."
"Those who live together," Tama added.
"Also those who eat together and return to the same place," Pochi continued.
Tama's eyes widened, and she pointed toward the group with a smile.
"Like us!"
Liza became still.
Some of the confidence disappeared from Tama's smile when she noticed the reaction. Pochi also looked at Liza before turning her eyes back toward Satoru.
"Did we say something wrong, sir?"
Satoru took longer than usual to answer.
"No. You did not say anything wrong."
Liza raised her gaze toward him.
Satoru observed the three of them for an instant before looking away.
"Continue with your tasks. I must return to the castle."
"Yes, Master," Liza answered.
"See you later!" Tama said in farewell.
"Have a good afternoon, sir."
Satoru left the field without adding anything else.
*****
He found Karina and Soruna in a small room near the library.
Soruna was reviewing several letters while Karina copied a document under her supervision. The slow movement of her pen made it clear that she would have preferred to be anywhere else.
Karina raised her gaze when she saw him enter.
"Satoru."
She set the pen down on the table.
"You still have not finished," Soruna pointed out.
"I am only resting my hand."
"You can rest when you finish the page."
Karina picked up the pen again, although she continued looking at Satoru.
"Do you need something?"
"I am looking for a surname that is not already in use."
Karina blinked.
"For whom?"
"For me."
The tip of her pen stopped again.
"You do not have a surname?"
"No."
"None at all?"
"The answer will not change because you repeat the question."
Karina leaned back against the chair, still surprised.
"I had never thought about it. I assumed you simply did not use it."
She observed him for several seconds, attempting to reconcile that answer with the existence she imagined behind him.
"Someone of your species should have an ancient surname or something similar."
"That is not my case."
Neither sister could know that Satoru was, in fact, the youngest person present.
Karina placed the pen down and appeared to consider the matter seriously.
"You could use Pendragon."
Soruna raised her gaze from the letters.
"Pendragon?" Satoru repeated.
"The surname of the hero Orion Pendragon." Karina's expression immediately became more animated.
"The character from your favorite story?" Soruna pointed out.
"Yes. A hero who traveled on a great red dragon named Welsh and overcame the seven trials imposed by the gods."
Karina looked at Satoru again.
"Besides, it suits you. Satoru Pendragon sounds much better than simply calling you Satoru."
"Is it currently in use?"
Karina opened her mouth but ended up looking toward her sister.
Soruna gently shook her head.
"We would have to verify it. Orion Pendragon is a popular story, but I do not know whether anyone adopted the name outside the tales."
"Then it can be checked," Karina insisted. "I am sure it is available."
Soruna placed one of the letters on the table.
"You could also use Donana."
Karina turned toward her so quickly that the chair creaked.
"Soruna!"
Satoru observed them.
"Donana?"
"Our mother's surname," Soruna explained calmly. "Our brother will inherit Muno when the time comes, so that will be the name that remains connected to the barony."
"Then Donana will cease to be used."
"Probably."
Soruna took another letter and arranged its edges with too much attention.
"Although it could still be preserved."
Karina stared at her with narrowed eyes.
"Sister…"
"I am only answering."
"You know what you are doing!"
Satoru turned his gaze back toward Soruna.
"What would be necessary to preserve it?"
Soruna raised her eyes toward him. For an instant, she seemed to consider the best way to respond, though the small smile appearing on her face indicated that she already knew.
"Someone would have to become part of that branch of the family."
"Through adoption?"
"I doubt my father would try to adopt you, Lord Satoru."
The answer came with complete naturalness.
Soruna then briefly looked toward Karina.
It was a small gesture, but it was enough.
Karina's face began to turn red.
"Pendragon is better," she declared, taking up the pen again. "Much better."
Satoru remained silent for several seconds.
"Would using Donana connect me to your family?"
"Naturally," Soruna answered.
Karina gripped the pen so tightly that its tip left an ink stain across the document.
"You do not need to consider it!"
"I am asking about the conditions."
"Well, now you know them."
Satoru looked at her again.
Karina turned her face away, unable to hide the color of her cheeks.
Soruna returned to her letters with a calm expression.
"Karina is correct about one thing. Pendragon would be much simpler."
"That is what I have been saying from the beginning."
Satoru observed the seal of Muno printed at the top of the document Karina was copying.
"What does a surname represent to you?"
The question caused Karina to stop arguing with her sister. She spent several seconds looking at the name of her family before answering.
"It says where you come from."
She ran a finger along the edge of the page.
"When someone hears Muno, they know I am the baron's daughter and that I belong to this land. They also believe they know many other things about me before they have even met me."
"But you are not descended from the old Muno family."
"No."
Karina lowered her gaze slightly.
"My father received the house and title, but we do not share the blood of the old marquises. That did not matter much in Yamaki. To the giants, we still carried the name of those who provoked them."
"That bothered you," Soruna said.
"Of course it bothered me."
Karina did not attempt to hide it.
"They blamed us for something that occurred centuries before we were born, committed by a family with whom we do not even share blood. But… we also cannot use the name Muno when it benefits us and pretend it has nothing to do with us when it causes problems."
Satoru observed the seal.
"Then you inherit their actions."
"Whether we are their heirs or not, we are the ones carrying the name now," Karina answered. "If we leave the barony as it was before, Muno will continue to mean the same thing. If we manage to rebuild it, perhaps one day people will remember something different."
Soruna nodded while folding one of the letters.
"A surname may carry a history from before, but those who bear it can still add something to it."
Satoru remained silent.
Kishreshigarza came from Liza's lost tribe. Pendragon came from a story Karina admired. Donana would connect him to a family that still existed.
None of them was merely an available word. Each brought with it a different history and different expectations.
"I will check whether Pendragon is currently in use."
Karina raised her head, visibly satisfied.
"I knew it was a good idea."
"I will also inquire about the conditions for Donana."
Her satisfaction disappeared.
Karina opened her mouth but could not find an answer that would not force her to speak directly about what Soruna had implied.
Satoru headed toward the door.
"Wait!"
He stopped and turned his head slightly.
Karina remained seated, her face flushed and the pen suspended over the document.
After several seconds, she looked away.
"Just… do not decide anything without discussing it first."
Satoru considered her words.
"I will take that into consideration."
He left the room without adding anything else.
Soruna waited until the door closed before pushing the ink-stained page toward Karina.
"You must repeat this section."
Karina looked at her indignantly.
"This was your fault."
"I was only trying to help."
"Do not ever help me that way again!"
*****
Satoru walked through the corridors.
Several soldiers greeted him as they passed. A servant carrying clean clothes stepped aside to let him through but continued walking without lowering her head. Near the courtyard, two workers were discussing the repair of a wall and only lowered their voices when they saw him approaching.
Muno was becoming accustomed to his presence.
The tower, the conversations, the training sessions, and the problems Nina brought to him had created a routine. Satoru could leave the castle whenever he wished and had no formal obligation to return, but there were people there who expected him to do so.
That had value.
Precisely because of that, he could not treat a surname as a convenient solution.
Satoru had been the name with which he began to exist. Kishreshigarza, Pendragon, and Donana would not merely accompany him within a record. Each would acknowledge a different relationship with the people he had met and with the place he was beginning to occupy in Muno.
Accepting one would mean allowing that relationship to become part of his identity.
He did not reject that possibility.
He was not yet prepared to accept it either.
The honorary position could be registered another way. For now, he would keep his name without adding anything else.
He found Nina in an office on the second floor.
The viscountess was seated behind a table covered with letters, cargo records, and several pages containing figures arranged into columns. Some documents already had prepared responses, while others had been separated according to the territory from which they came.
Nina raised her gaze when Satoru entered.
"I hope you have not come to report another explosion."
"None have occurred since this morning."
"That precision does not reassure me."
Satoru approached the table.
"I have made a decision about the surname."
Nina placed the pen down.
"I will not use one."
She observed him for a moment before looking at the empty space in the document she had prepared.
"That will make the records more inconvenient."
"Will it prevent you from granting me the position?"
"No. We will have to register you simply as Satoru and include the title whenever it is necessary to distinguish you. Some officials will protest because it is not the usual format, but they can protest while doing their jobs."
Nina picked up the pen and made a note beside the space reserved for the surname.
"Should I consider this your final answer?"
"Unless I find a reason to alter my name, yes."
"Very well."
She did not ask what kind of reason he needed or attempt to convince him to choose a word for convenience.
For Nina, the decision created an administrative difficulty, but not one that justified disregarding what Satoru had just decided.
He observed the documents spread across the table.
Several contained routes, prices, and lists of merchandise. Another displayed the conditions agreed upon with Yamaki, along with estimates concerning wood, herbs, minerals, and other products that could circulate between the two regions.
"Is there a problem with the Yamaki agreement?"
"Not with the agreement. The giants accepted the principal terms, and we are already preparing the first routes. The problem is that Muno cannot sustain that exchange solely with what it currently produces."
Nina separated one of the pages.
"The barony can already maintain its roads, protect shipments, and fulfill contracts. The core is active, the curse has dissipated, and the villages have begun to recover. Internally, things are progressing."
Satoru waited for her to continue.
"Our relationship with Yamaki is already secure, but Muno still does not produce enough to take full advantage of it. The mine will help once the kobolds finish settling. They are accustomed to supporting their own community, understand mithril better than most human miners, and their payment primarily consists of keeping part of the stones they extract."
Nina pointed toward one of the commercial projections.
"That makes the operation much less costly, but we still need to wait for them to organize the settlement and begin working. Even then, possessing mithril will be of little use if we cannot find buyers."
"You need to expand trade."
"We need merchants, artisans, buyers, and families willing to settle here."
Nina indicated several letters.
"I can use my contacts with the ducal house to obtain official support. The duke has no reason to allow a region that is becoming productive again to collapse. There are also nobles willing to negotiate with us from a distance."
"But they are not coming."
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Satoru observed the figures. The projected number of caravans was far greater than the number that had actually arrived.
"Why?"
Nina leaned back against the chair.
"Because of you."
Satoru did not react.
Nina took a different letter, this one without a commercial seal.
"To the inhabitants of Muno, you are no longer an unknown presence. They have seen you walking through the castle, training with Karina, working with our soldiers, and causing enough explosions in your tower for it to become part of the routine."
She placed the letter before him.
"Outside the barony, the situation is different."
Satoru read the first few lines. They did not concern Muno's economy, but the security conditions required before sending a delegation.
"High society knows that you defeated Hayato Masaki," Nina continued. "They also know that you were identified as a possible Demon King before that battle and that the Empire mobilized forces against you."
"I did not destroy that army."
"I know. So do they."
Nina joined her hands over the table.
"The problem is not that they believe you will attack Muno. They believe Muno is safe precisely because you live here. What they do not know is whether they will be safe."
Satoru looked again at the letter.
"Hayato explained that you would not attack without provocation, which does not sound bad, but he also explained that defeating you would be practically impossible."
Nina tilted her head.
"From their perspective, those two statements are not reassuring when placed together."
"They would only need to avoid attacking me."
"That is simple for you. To them, the word 'provocation' could mean anything."
Nina moved another document aside.
"A merchant wonders whether a disagreement over prices might offend you. A noble fears that one of his men might say something inappropriate. A family considering moving here hears that Muno's protector was called a Demon King and chooses another region."
It was not the barony's stability that was being questioned.
Potential visitors feared coming too close to someone against whom the hero himself had believed victory to be impossible.
Satoru remained silent.
He could assure them that he had no intention of attacking those who came to trade. However, a statement made by the very person they feared would have little value.
"Do we need someone to speak on my behalf?"
"Someone with enough prestige to declare that people can interact with you, trade in Muno, and live here without fearing retaliation."
Satoru thought of the people he had dealt with since his arrival.
"Seiryuu could serve."
Doubt appeared on Nina's face immediately.
"Is there a problem?"
Nina observed him closely, leaving the pen suspended over the document.
"Seiryuu was the one who shared information concerning your battle with the other hero."
Satoru showed no surprise.
"I am aware."
Nina blinked as if she had expected a different reaction.
"The details Hayato received could only have come from those who inspected the location and saw my injuries."
Count Roswal and Seiryuu's temples had sent the warning that eventually brought him to the attention of the Saga Empire.
"That does not seem to make them good candidates," Nina pointed out.
"I can use their guilt."
She stared at him in silence.
"And their fear," Satoru added.
Nina's expression lost part of its neutrality.
"I am not certain I want to know how you intend to do that."
"It will not be necessary to threaten them."
Satoru reached into his bag and removed a pair of letters. The documents still bore the seals of Seiryuu and the temples that had confirmed his actions within the city.
"They have already vouched for me once."
Nina accepted the letters and examined the first seals.
"That changes things."
"If they refuse to reaffirm what they wrote, their contradiction will be exposed. If they agree, we can use their testimony to demonstrate that I protected Seiryuu and respected the agreements reached there."
Nina ran her gaze across the first page.
"I will read them carefully and determine whether they can still be used. A private letter does not always carry weight as a public declaration, but at least it gives us a foundation from which to negotiate."
She placed the documents beside her records.
"Do you know anyone else?"
"Hayato Masaki."
Nina's hand became still over the letters.
"The hero?"
"Yes."
"The same hero you defeated and forced to retreat."
"He withdrew after confirming the difference between us."
"That description does not improve the situation very much."
Nina knew the reports concerning the confrontation, but she had never dealt with Hayato personally. She could not know whether the hero would be willing to support Satoru after being defeated before his companions and pursued all the way to his ship.
"Do you believe he will agree?" she asked.
"It should not be difficult to convince him."
Nina remained silent for a moment.
"I suppose you can try."
Her tone did not express opposition, although she did not appear entirely comfortable with the idea.
"Just remember that we need his support to appear voluntary."
"With Hayato's personality, there should be no need to resort to other methods."
Nina slowly raised her gaze.
"So you did consider them."
"I considered the available possibilities."
"Of course."
The response was brief and carried a resignation Satoru did not entirely understand.
Nina began arranging the letters from Seiryuu again.
"Speak with him. I will review these and determine what we can obtain from the count and the temples without making the situation worse."
Satoru nodded.
"[Message]"
The connection extended for several moments until it reached a familiar presence.
"Hayato Masaki."
"WHAT?!"
The shout erupted with such force that Satoru fell silent.
"Ringrande, wait! It was nothing! I only…"
Hayato suddenly stopped speaking. For several seconds, he said nothing else, as if searching for the person whose voice he had just heard without finding him nearby.
"Satoru?" he finally asked, still sounding uncertain.
"Yes."
"Where are you?"
"In Muno."
"Then how are you…?"
Hayato stopped when he understood.
"Ah. Magic."
Satoru considered explaining why he had contacted him. After hearing the shouting and confusion on the other side, he concluded that the conversation would be simpler in person.
"I will come to see you."
"Now?"
Satoru closed the connection.
*******
Author's Note
Thank you very much for reading.
I do not have much else to add this time. I enjoyed being able to explore what a name means to Satoru, and I feel this chapter also shows his relationship with several characters through the different surnames they offer him and what each one represents.
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That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Thank you again for your support, and I hope you enjoy the chapters to come.