"The new government... Who leads it? How do they lead it?" I asked.
"You mustn't have heard it then. Out of the Emperor's 12 children, only one was able to survive the impact. His name is Qin Zheng. Emperor Zheng, a boy your age, built communication lines to the previously powerful old countries in this Land. But the old countries had lost their politicians. Only families like ours could be trusted. We have a history, a reputation, even great potential when it comes to the ways of the new world. A committee was built to ensure that everyone on the committee ruled fairly over the region they're in. Everything in a 2 week's radius is in our and the Takeda Clan's hands. We enforce the laws that the Emperor told us to." He explained.
"Our skill is looked at greatly then. That's why someone from our family went to the mainland before to attend the committee meeting, right?"
"Yes. Your uncle Kiyoshi and cousin Ryoto attended that meeting."
"I see... So that's the reason why our family members aren't chosen to be mere soldiers."
"Exactly. Our value is too great for them to use carelessly. But that's not entirely true. There is a deeper reason as to why our family members aren't drafted into becoming soldiers. It began centuries ago, when the Henka Clan was established. Back then, our ancestor was a Samurai that served a lord. But one day, when our ancestor wasn't present, his lord's estate was attacked, and the lord and his family were killed. Our ancestor had failed his duties. He had lost his reason to live. But then he asked himself, 'why shouldn't I die before avenging my lord and his family?' Our ancestor began to walk on the path of revenge from that moment onward, changing ever so slightly, day after day. He was called a Ronin for killing his lord's attackers. There were 48 of them in total. He alone defeated them, using what we call the Space Entity Style. The Shogun heard of our ancestor's honourable act, so he granted him the name of his fallen lord 'Henka'. Generation by generation, our family's power grew. We became something like mercenaries that did the dirty work for other lords and families. With no loyalty towards anyone except our own, the Shogun feared that we would be coming for his head next. The Takeda Clan was asked to keep an eye on us. And as you may've guessed, a clan of archers that outnumbered us by 3 to 1 had a huge advantage. That's how our family cogoverned this region together with the Takeda Clan until 190 years ago where old Japan's political structure changed." He explained.
"Our reputation and history remained. They didn't want to take any risks. Treating us like mercenaries once again was the most reasonable and calmest approach. What kind of things are we asked to do? And what do we get in exchange?"
"Dealing with criminals, escorting VIPs, making sure that new deliveries from the African Kingdom reach old Japan safely. And I'm sure we will be asked to fight in the upcoming war too. We also get basically anything we want. Credits or gems, horses, the best blacksmiths there are, even classified information."
I processed the information Master Henka gave me. We were an acknowledged family that accepted jobs for an exchange. Not bound by loyalty, though kept under surveillance to prevent an uprising. I liked that. I had hoped I wouldn't need to bow my head to some entitled piece of shit that used us like pawns. 'The value of family is the same here as it was back in Central Superio. Were my parents raising me for this? In case I ever wanted to get into contact with them, I would find similarities?'
Master Henka had noticed my thought process. He let me think as much as I wanted. When I finished thinking, he asked me something.
"Tsuki told me some things about your Salan ability. She said it resembled gravity in a way. Was she right?" He asked.
Master Henka had done me a favour. I didn't need to think about ways to ask them that personal question.
"She was right. It was the thing that saved me in the beginning. All the rubble that had trapped me suddenly 'weighed' less, and I was able to rise from it. There wasn't a day where my Salan ability didn't help me. It has become a part of me." I paused my explanation. "But that isn't enough. Towards the end of the journey, we met 2 people whose strength far surpassed ours. They had 2 Mana-Cores, and their abilities were almost too strong for me to handle. In the end, I realized that I wasn't able to beat them alone. I chose to sacrifice myself, trusting in whatever Tsuki were to do."
Talking about that made my wound ache and burn.
"Most of us haven't awakened their second Core too. You aren't alone. But I would recommend you focus on your own powers first. You are the vessel of your power. Is the power too great, or the vessel unstable, the outcome will be life-threatening. Whatever you do, start with the vessel. You will find your path once one of your issues is taken care of. Kiyoshi and Ryoto have already managed to awaken their second Core. If you feel like it, visit them at Mount Fuji, watch them train, observe their strength."
"I will keep your words in my mind. Thank you, Master Henka." I bowed.
"Your parents raised you well. You can go if you want to."
I was permitted to leave. If not for my weak and unhealed body, I would've went to train right away. But I decided to watch Kagami and the others train.
I walked to the last location Kagami and I had spoken. From there, I used Galaxy-Sight to search for them because I didn't know where they'd gone to train.
'If they went somewhere far, I could just take Gin for a ride. I want to see what she was doing all this time.' I thought.
The estate's infrastructure was easy to read, so I knew where the stables where at. I met Aunt Tomoko and a man I had seen at breakfast. They prepared the horses' food.
"Aunt Tomoko, I'm here for my horse Gin."
"Ah! Niam! Are you feeling better?" Without letting me answer, Aunt Tomoko went to introduce the man next to her. "This is my husband Toshiro. He sat next to me at breakfast."
"Nice to meet you." I bowed.
"Likewise."
'How was a man like that able to beat my Aunt?' I wondered.
"And yes, I feel better. So, can I take Gin out for a ride?" I asked.
"Gin has always been shy since Tsuki brought her here. She looked like she was always waiting for you." Toshiro said.
"I hope she didn't cause any trouble."
"Of course not. She is at the last pen."
I went straight to Gin. I walked by many horses. All of them looked at me with great interest. At the last pen, Gin was watching the outside. She didn't see me coming, nor did she hear the other horses' commotion.
"Gin." I said softly, not wanting to startle the horse.
It didn't seem to work. Gin immediately jumped around, neighing as loud as she possibly could. She came to the pen's door, swaying her head up and down multiple times.
"Calm down, Gin. It's good to see you too." I patted her head. "What do you say we go out for a ride?"
My words calmed her down immediately. She was ready to be saddled up.