Tadayoshi, however, had wandered off after being pushed away. Walking through the palace grounds, he slipped into some nearby bushes. There, hidden beneath the leaves, he found a strange glowing rock. It was black and white, covered in small polka dots, each one a pale white that seemed to shine faintly.
Curious, Tadayoshi reached out and touched it. The moment his fingers made contact, the rock disappeared. Confused, he quickly ran back to John. John, reasonably upset, told him he should not have run off. Tadayoshi tried to explain that he had found a strange rock. When John asked him to describe it, Tadayoshi said it was black with white polka dots. John frowned and said he did not know anything like that, then told Tadayoshi he needed to go attend the young master's birthday.
Tadayoshi made his way to the celebration and stood off to the side, watching. The young prince, Tadamori, was surrounded by many unfamiliar figures, people who looked different from the others in the palace. Curious, Tadayoshi asked someone he recognized from the kitchen why one of the men near the prince looked so strange. The man quietly told him that he was a noble, and that many of them looked like that.
Before Tadayoshi could ask more, a soldier stepped closer, and the man quickly told him to stay quiet. The young prince had begun opening his gifts, and the atmosphere shifted as people gathered closer. There was a sense that something more important was about to happen.
As the gifts were being opened, an older man, surrounded by guards, approached the king. The two stood together, and soon both the king and the elder addressed the gathering, announcing the beginning of the Metal Rite.
The king spoke of it as an old tradition, passed down through generations. He explained that young children would choose a metal that called to them, and once chosen, they would consume it. Many of the parents present looked confused, some even uneasy, and began to question why such a thing was necessary. The king answered calmly, saying that it was important for the children's health, just as it had been for those before them.
One by one, the children stepped forward to choose the metals that called to them. Some hesitated, while others reached out without fear. Among them, the young prince, Tadamori, was drawn to a particular piece. It was white as powdered snow and gave off a faint glow, standing out from the rest.