"Sigh... Finished."

Felix ran his fingers through his newly styled hair. "So, how is it?"

"You’ll make people’s mouths drop open with this!" Kai beamed proudly.

"Your hair was very wavy, so I did the wolf cut in a two-block style," he explained, puffing out his chest with pride.

"That’s the name of this hairstyle?" Felix asked incredulously.

"Yes! At least that’s what my father called it. Plus, you would have to pay 50 gold coins just for this hairstyle."

"Wow! Then I will pay you as soon as I have the money," Felix promised earnestly.

"No need for that, Sensei. You’re my sensei after all," Kai insisted.

"No, no! I won’t take that as an excuse. I will pay you once I get the money," Felix insisted firmly.

"Fine, fine! Pay me when you get the money," Kai finally relented with a grin as they returned to the kitchen.

"Gasp... F-Felix?" Ryota exclaimed in shock as they entered.

"How do I look?" Felix asked playfully.

"Suzu! Come here quick!" Ryota shouted, drawing Suzu away from her cooking.

"What is it—" she started but stopped short when she saw Felix. "Felix… is that really you?" she gasped in disbelief.

"Have you always been this good-looking?" Ryota asked as he scrutinized Felix’s new look. "I think I never noticed because of your long hair."

"Ahem." Kai coughed loudly to regain their attention.

"I see," Ryota said thoughtfully, catching Kai’s cue. "But I think this side has been cut a bit too short." He pointed at Felix's hair with feigned concern.

"WHAT?" Kai shouted in alarm.

"Where? I’m sure I cut it very carefully!" He began circling around Felix like a hawk inspecting its prey.

"Hahahaha! I was just teasing you!" Ryota burst into laughter.

"What?!" Kai pouted dramatically.

"Here, Felix, I have washed your kimono," Ryota said as he handed the garment to Felix.

"Thank you," Felix replied.

Ryota leaned closer to Felix and whispered, "And please be careful."

"Don’t worry; I will," Felix assured him.

Then they all headed to the village gate, where Miku and Granny were waiting.

"What took you so long?" Miku asked.

"Wait, are you speaking to me so nicely?" Felix replied, surprised.

"I’m just fulfilling my duty of responsibility to my samurai."

"Let’s go then," Felix said as they started heading away from the village door.

"Sensei!" Suddenly, Kai shouted.

Felix turned around to see him waving his hand. 

"Come back soon!" Kai screamed at the top of his lungs as Felix waved back.

"It doesn't feel real," Felix thought. "There are people who care about me. If I had still been living in that forest, I think this would have been impossible. So I guess when Miku appeared in that forest, it was a blessing in disguise."

After walking for a bit, they reached a dirt path outside the village.

"Now, regarding how wfe are going to travel to the administration office: as you know, we can't fly because of the Zor energy timer," she said.

"How could I forget the ability to fly? Even if a person awakens their Zor energy, learning to fly is incredibly difficult, but every noble has to learn how to fly. It's what's expected of us. But my father didn't force me to learn it," Felix thought.

"But when I saw people making fun of him because of me, I wanted to kill— No, I can't think about that now."

"Hey, what is your speed?" Miku interrupted Felix's thoughts.

 

"The administrator's office is 1,200 kilometers away. I can reach it in 3.48 nanoseconds at 5% of my speed," Miku explained. 

 

"What?!" Felix exclaimed.

 

"So when you were fighting me—"

"I wasn't even using 1% of my speed because I was trying to defeat you, not kill you."

"So that was basically walking for her," Felix was shocked.

"Even a rookie samurai can travel at 700,000 times the speed of light."

"So how fast can you travel?" Felix inquired.

"I can travel at 23 million times the speed of light," Miku said proudly.

"I knew she was fast, but this is outrageous! I can only travel at 1 times the speed of light. I guess I need to train more," Felix thought to himself.

"That means Ryota was holding back. When I see him again, I’m going to hit him so hard!"

 

 

[Achoo]

 

 

Ryota sneezed suddenly. "Dear, I think you caught a cold," Suzu said with concern as she looked at him.

"I am fine! Don't worry," Ryota replied hastily. "But for some reason, I feel like there’s someone who wants to kill me."

 

"It also means that Kyojin was playing with me. If he had used his speed against me, I would have lost," Felix mused.

"Speed and strength are the only attributes that can be acquired easily; the more you train, the faster and stronger you become. This offers hope for people who cannot use Zor energy."

"Based on your reaction, I don’t believe you’re able to keep up with me, and I can’t lose a single quectosecond," Miku said.

"But—"

Then she crouched down and pointed to her back.

"What…?"

"You want to piggyback me?"

"Stop whining! I don’t want to be late to the clan meeting because of an idiot!"

"She is one impatient woman," Felix thought.

"Well, I have to follow her orders, and I do want to see what it feels like to travel that fast."

With that, Felix climbed onto her back. Nearby, a monkey watched with wide eyes, munching on a banana. Its cheeks flushed red as it witnessed something inappropriate.

 

And in just 3.48 nanoseconds, they arrived. "We're here," Miku said.

"Woow...itt...feelss...kinnd...of.... refreshiiing," Felix remarked, his sagging cheeks wobbling with each word as his hair spiked up.

"Stop being stupid and let’s go inside."

They stood in a bustling town before a large building adorned with seven flags, each displaying the symbols of different clans. The air was thick with the aroma of sizzling street food. 

"Ma'am, come here and try some sushi!" one man shouted.

"Please, can I have some sweet potatoes?" said a woman to a sweet potato seller.

"No, sorry, I can't. I need to go to work," a man waved his hand at the sushi seller.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" the woman shouted as she took a bite of the sweet potato.

Vendors shouted cheerfully, hawking their wares, while people sampled food and clothes. Children dashed past, their laughter ringing like music in the air.

"Wow, this place is huge," Felix thought.

"Halt!" One of the two guards standing at the entrance said.

"Who are you?" He pressed further.

 

 

[Smack]

 

 

The other samurai smacked his helmet.

"Sorry, Lady Miku, he is new here," the second samurai replied.

Miku nodded and entered; Felix followed behind with his saggy face.

Then she approached the counter.

"I am Miku Yotsuba. I need passes for Midono—it's urgent!"

"Y-yes, Lady Miku," replied the girl at the counter, her voice trembling.

The girl quickly rushed to the back room, nearly stumbling as she was visibly shaken with fear for some reason.

"Pardon me, Lady Miku, but I believe Mister Park has your passes," she said.

"Okay, I'll go meet with him," Miku replied.

The counter girl nodded and bowed deeply. Miku then took the stairs on the left side, ascending to the upper floor and heading towards the large door at the end of the hallway.

 

 

[Slide]

 

 

Miku slid open the door. The room was big; it had two large sofas facing each other in the middle. There was a man sipping tea while sitting on one of the sofas that faced the door.

"Ahhh... if it isn't the precious lady Miku," said Mister Park.

Miku's expression hardened. "Enough, Minho. Just give me the passes."

"Pleaseee have a—"

"Ehhhh... who’s that with the weird face?" Minho interrupted, pointing at Felix, who stood awkwardly behind Miku.

"None of your business," Miku replied sharply.

"Fine, fine... here." Minho reached into his kimono's sleeve pocket and retrieved two passes.

 

 

[Pfft]

 

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the passes toward her.

 

[Whizz]

 

 

In an instant, Minho appeared before her and caught them effortlessly. Felix blinked in surprise; he hadn’t even seen him move.

 

"Stop playing games, Minho," Miku said, annoyance creeping into her voice.

Minho's gaze lingered on Felix. "He has a lot of Zor energy—more than I do and more than Lady Miku's—but he doesn’t even know how to conceal it. I bet he doesn’t even know how to sense other people's energy," he thought.

"So he is your samurai? Sorry, but he looks kind of funny," Minho remarked, a smirk playing on his lips.

"If you have a cup of tea with me, I might give you some valuable information," he offered smoothly.

Miku crossed her arms defiantly. "Fine, but don't waste too much of my time."

"Sorry, but could you give us some time alone?" Minho asked Felix.

Felix then started heading back down the hallway, and Minho closed the door.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind Felix, Minho leaned forward. "So... I'm guessing something happened to your other samurai?"

Miku remained silent, her eyes narrowing as she studied him.

"Not going to answer, eh?” He settled back into his seat and sipped his tea.

"Then I guess I should get to the main topic. There are rumors flying around that the shogun might choose the next emperor in this upcoming meeting."

"Yes, there is a possibility," Miku replied.

"But you know that the shogun could also banish the Yotsuba clan, right?"

"What are you getting at?" Miku said, narrowing her eyes.

"I’ve told you this before: there’s an option that can help the Yotsuba clan regain its power and respect. You will just have to marry—"

 

 

[Thump]

 

 

"Don’t finish that sentence or you will lose your head," Miku warned, drawing her katana and pressing it against Minho’s neck. He remained composed despite her threat.

"My apologies, Lady Miku," he said firmly.

"This talk is over," Miku said as she got up and left the room.

"Mmm... You're beautiful when you're angry, but by rejecting me, you have brought a fate that won't favor you," he whispered as he went to his desk, opened a drawer, and picked up a tiny scroll.

Then he opened the nearby window.

 

 

[Whistle]

 

 

A bird swooped in at his call. He secured the scroll to its leg.

"Fly away, birdie."

The creature took off with remarkable speed powered by Zor energy.

"I leave this to you, Niko..." he whispered.

 

 

 

"We are leaving," Miku said to Felix as he stood at the door outside.

"Okay," Felix replied, his face finally returned to normal.

 

 

Just then, three girls strolled by them.

"Look at that man," one whispered excitedly.

"Yeah, he is so handsome," another chimed in eagerly.

"But he's already with a girl," remarked the third with a hint of disappointment.

 

Felix didn’t notice their admiration; instead, he caught sight of Miku crouching again.

"Not this again," Felix complained under his breath.

"Just shut up and—"

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" A piercing scream echoed from an alley nearby.

"What was—"

 

 

[Fwoosh]

 

 

Before Felix could finish his sentence, Miku vanished from sight in an instant.

"At least tell me you're going!" Felix shouted as he sprinted toward the alleyway after her.

 

He saw Miku's katana dripping with blood and a man's body on the ground.

"Mik—M'lady, what happened?"

"T-Thank you, miss," came a voice from beside her.

Small hands clutched Miku's kimono. It was a little girl wearing old, ragged clothes. She had a burn mark on near her right eye.

"He was a slave trader, so I dealt—"

 

 

[CRACK!]

 

 

"Aaaahhh!" The little girl screamed as Felix crushed the man’s head with such force that it was completely flattened, cracking the ground beneath.

"What are you doing? He was already dead," Miku said to him.

Felix felt he deserved worse, but when his gaze fell on the little girl, memories of her fear began to flash in his mind.

"I—I am sorry," he whispered, lowering his head and stepping back.

"It’s okay; you don’t need to worry," Miku tried to reassure the little girl.

"Can you tell me your name?" Miku asked gently.

"M-Mei," she stuttered shyly, green wavy hair framing her wide brown eyes filled with uncertainty.

In a daimyō yashiki far from Miku's and Felix's location.

"My lord, the Yotsuba clan has already acquired their passes," an informant reported nervously to his lord seated within a steamy bath chamber obscured by mist.

"Ugh... I guess we wasted our money on those stupid Yotsuba samurai for nothing," the lord replied as he was taking a bath, his face hidden in steam.

"And my lord," continued the informant hesitantly, "she is with a man who has black hair and red eyes."

 

 

[THUD]

 

 

"That man again!" The lord slammed his fist against the wall beside him in frustration. 

"Didn't I send men to gather information on him?" he shouted.

"Y-Yes, but she killed them," the informant said hesitantly.

"That stupid old woman! She was already making my life hell by protecting that girl—and now this red-eyed man!" His teeth ground together in irritation.

"My lord, if it's not too much trouble, should I deal with them?" a woman's voice came from outside the door, only her silhouette visible.

"Do whatever you want, Mirei, but don't come back if you lose."

"You won’t be disappointed, my lord," she replied confidently before disappearing into shadows beyond.