Despite the fatigue of the journey and the physical condition still not fully restored, a faint fire had appeared along the little dragon demon's back.

The uncontrolled anger of its tamer, angry at the injustice Ryutaro was about to suffer, involuntarily activated the draconic skill of the Oracle, who reacted to that primal instinct.

​​

Yoichi heard his companion's words and looked at her. Ayumu's face peeped out from her shoulder, and the archer's expression looked serious and determined. That look was enough for him to realize that there would have been two people incarcerated that night if he had gone too far.

Trying to restore an average level of calm, he released the accumulated tension in his arms by loosening the grip of his fists. The tendons and muscle fibres in his arm and forearm relaxed, giving even Kenji, who was always on edge, a temporary sense of calm.

I can't do anything about Ryutaro... he didn't wait for a second to travel many miles to come to my rescue. He only had an inkling that I was in danger, and yet, he didn't hesitate, Yoichi thought.

I, on the other hand, can't do anything. I'm helpless in front of the guards carrying out the Emperor's orders. It's not fair! Why wouldn't Ryutaro take refuge on my farm? Does he really prefer the prisons of the Imperial Palace to a quiet life away from the city?

Yoichi's anger, combined with the whirlwind of emotions he had been feeling for the past few days, turned into bitter tears. An unexpected, liberating cry slid down his face as the blades of the katanas pointed at him lowered.

The two guards had the task of punishing anyone who stood between them and justice. But that young warrior, that blond-haired boy, was visibly broken.

Yoichi's emotionality struck the head of the guards, but especially his silent master. Ryutaro watched the whole scene from under his black veil, without uttering a single word in support or against his pupil.

"Yoichi... try to think for just a moment!" the hand of Shioko forcefully grabbed the wrist of the young tamer. He hadn't even noticed that the archer had gotten off her horse and walked towards him.

"Enatsu is still in bad shape, needing urgent and constant care. Ryutaro-Sama had already foreseen his arrest and preventively told you what to do," the red-haired girl spoke. Yoichi's eyes were still filled with tears as he watched the gatekeeper get out of the carriage and give himself up to justice.

"Let's go back to the tower, to our guildmates. We need help, Yoichi," Shioko added, waiting for her gaze to cross with her interlocutor.

"Yoichi-kun" - Ryutaro's voice broke the silence. The sounds of the metal plates of the guards rubbing against each other stopped instantly.

Yoichi and Shioko stopped talking, waiting for the gatekeeper's last words before he was taken away by the Emperor's men.

"Cultivate your powers, become stronger. All the answers are already inside you, boy," the old monk spoke.

"Ryutaro-Sensei! I... I don't believe that..."

"Enough!" Ryutaro interrupted again, shushing his pupil and also the guards, who respected a religious silence in the presence of such a legendary warrior. "Do not eliminate anger from your life. Learn to control it, Yoichi-kun. Use it to achieve your goals and help those who need. Whenever you make progress or become stronger... I will know."

The words of the Dojo's supreme guardian hovered lightly in the air, hitting the deepest and most fragile part of Yoichi's soul. Anger and pain: according to the brief teachings of his master, he would have to learn to separate those two aspects, being able to use the anger unleashed by the injustices of the world to grow.

Yoichi responded to Ryutaro's statement with solemn silence. Placing one hand on his knee and the other knee on the tiled road that led to the Main Gates of the capital, he thanked his Sensei with a bow.

A sudden gust of wind from the woods that surrounded the air struck all those present. The veil on Ryutaro's face was moved more than usual, and, despite the lace that passed behind his ears, it revealed his lips, slightly curved into a genuine smile.

Even if only for an instant, Yoichi and Shioko could see an enormous scar that ended at the gatekeeper's chin and began somewhere at the top of his face.

The veil lowered again, and, like a curtain at the end of a dramatic tragedy, it sanctioned the solemn farewell between master and student, veteran and recruit, experience and rawness.

"Let's go, Ryutaro-Sama," the helmetless man said, letting out a long sigh. The head of the guards seemed deeply affected by the conversation between the monk and that unknown boy.

The sorrow sprung from that separation was so strong that one could almost touch it. However, the guards knew that directly disobeying the Emperor's orders was the same as signing their own death sentence.

Under the languid gazes of Yoichi and Shioko, the old monk who had come to their aid in the south of Tentochu was taken away as if he were a prisoner, or an enemy of the faction.

Nishiyama's men dared not even touch his sacred kimono and let Ryutaro walk on his own, knowing that he knew the way to the palace probably better than anyone else.

Yoichi stood up, wiping away his tears and continuing to witness his master walk away. Ryutaro never turned to look at him and, escorted by three of the guards who kept watch the entrance to Goldhaven, disappeared through the tall gates of the city.

Shinzo Nishiyama: For the second time since he could remember, the Emperor of Tentochu had indirectly hurt Yoichi's soul, fueling his resentment towards him.

Princess Sui's story was not even comparable to what had just happened. However, both events had the same perpetrator in common. How was it possible for a young guild warrior with no money and at the bottom rungs of the social ladder to compete with the most powerful man in the faction?