A man was lazily down on his seat, his eyes to the ceiling, one of his hands rested on a big table. He has been like this for quite some minutes, the sound of his finger knocking against the table could be heard continuously. This was the captain of security personnel in the transit station.
His eyes still lingered to the ceiling and he began to talk slowly, "So let me repeat this. Your name is Xiahn and you came from Mhasgara as a helper at the request of that man, which was the servant to the Magister. The three of you were just heading to a restaurant when that young Martial Disciple suddenly burst out of the crowd behind you, startling the three of you in the process. Thus, the situation was quite intense when my men came."
The captain looked at a young man seated across his table, and continued to ask, "Is that correct?"
The man looked at the captain and sheepishly answered, "Y-yes, sir. That is correct."
The man averted his gaze from the young man to the ceiling and went back to thinking. "Hmmm…that makes this a little bit difficult."
"If I may, captain, we were just very surprised that someone would suddenly come up from behind us like that. We are escorting a grand personage after all, we were just nervous about someone having a bad intention toward the Lord. Does that…make sense?" The young man added, trying to explain himself further.
"Hmmm…I guess that would make sense." the captain seemed to agree.
The young man looked a little bit relieved by this and he decided not to add anymore, out of fear that he might end up saying the wrong thing instead.
"Well at any rate, you and your companions look like you are in the clear. That young Martial Disciple didn't lose anything after and was just trying to catch a thief that failed to pick him. So…this is nothing more than a case of misunderstanding after all." the captain concluded.
"Ye-yes, sir, that should be correct, just a misunderstanding!" the young man quickly agreed.
"Well. then we have no cause to hold you here any longer then. After finalizing some reports of accident, you would be able to take your leave."
"Thank you sir." the young man thanked the captain.
"But you sure are lucky aren't you kid? To be picked out as a helper for such a noble person. They even gave you a set of clothes, what was it, the traditional sailor uniform of Xinjia-kor? If you are careful, you could have a bright future ahead of you." The captain said to the young man, looking a little bit jealous to have such connection with a grand figure.
"Thank you sir, I will make sure to be careful."
"Hmm, you should. But your lord has got quite a nasty temper, hasn't he? To suddenly erupt and storm off like that, I was actually quite scared back there. I also feel kinda sorry for that servant, to take care of such a lord with that kind of temper…sheesh." the captain mused.
"Anyway! We just need him to calm down a bit. When they're back, we will finalize the release."
"Yes, sir, thank you again." the young man said.
The captain and the young man went silent. There were just the two of them in this captain's office, and it was obvious the young man just couldn't wait to be out of there. The relentless faint sound of the clock ticking away minute after minute was eating away his nerves.
"They sure take their sweet time, tho." The captain's voice broke the silence.
The young man's face quickly went pale at this time.
This young man was Nuno.
—
Going back a little bit, to the time when Satoshi, Mulah, and Nuno had just entered the private dining room at the restaurant. The meal had been served and they were now eating. Nuno was obviously stressed out at this moment but he gave in to temptation after seeing the foods that were served. The restaurant obviously took extra efforts for these.
"Eat up little brother, if it's not enough we can order more." Satoshi said to Nuno while smiling, his eyes shining a brotherly concern.
"Yes, big-brother." Nuno answered, unconsciously calling Satoshi big-brother.
The three ate in silence, no one said anything, even when they waited for dessert to be served. Nuno was enjoying the food right now, since he had never eaten anything like this before, but his mind raced without rest. He was confused about what was going on and was constantly looking for a way to get out of this.
The other men, on the contrary, looked relaxed. Satoshi ate his fill in silence and was very calm. While Satoshi looked excited and was obviously enjoying this, it didn't look like he was concerned that they were technically subjects of interest for criminal allegation.
When they were almost done with dessert, Mulah suddenly said something in a language Nuno didn't recognize. Satoshi looked at Nuno and asked him gently, "My Lord asks, did you enjoy the food, little brother?"
Nuno was startled by the sudden answer and blurted out, "Yes."
"Good!" Satoshi said while smiling. He then said something to Mulah in a foreign language. After he heard this, Mulah looked at Nuno and smiled.
Nuno was startled by this and bowed his head to Mulah. He was surprised that a noble man would smile at him like that, it looked like he really cared whether Nuno enjoyed the food or not.
Satoshi then said some things to Mulah, to which Mulah replied, their whole conversation they were using a foreign language. After his last sentence to Mulah, Satoshi looked at Nuno and said, "My Lord just said that this should be no more than an understanding. But, he also noted that the young master back there obviously had some suspicions or misgivings toward you. We don't know what it was about, but he looked like he was looking for trouble back there. Do you know this young master, little brother?"
Nuno was when heard Satoshi calling the young man that was chasing him 'young-master', but he managed to refrain from asking, and then answered."No, I don't know the young master, big brother."
"I see, then it is obvious he was looking for trouble then." Satoshi said to Nuno, then spoke to Mulah in a foreign language.
"H-he was a young master, big-brother? How do you know that?" Nuno couldn't curb his curiosity.
Satoshi smiled and explained to Nuno, "It's simple. He wears something that looks like an outer uniform that martial academy students wear on their training excursions. He could rip the sleeve of that man he was chasing, so while he looked young, he had some strength. This supports the conjecture that he might be a martial student."
By this point, Nuno was surprised that Satoshi could infer all of this during their very brief.
"He was bold enough to run through the crowd of people like he did to confront someone, but he was also calculated and careful since he carefully inspected us before saying anything. The way he stood himself and calmly talked to those security personnel can also indicate that he must be used to presenting himself like this, he must come from a dignified background, or something with authority at least." Satoshi still continued.
Nuno was surprised before, but still wasn't convinced since they were mere speculations. But after Satoshi continued, Nuno became a little bit more convinced. After all, Nuno also saw all these things.
"And lastly, while he doesn't look like it at a glance, that young man is loaded! He just carries it inside his clothes instead of his bag. You can clearly see it sticking out after he ran through the crowd and bumped against many people."
Nuno was now thoroughly convinced, after all, he also knew that man was loaded! This man must be like what Satoshi said, a young master. Not just a young master, but was also a martial student.
'That explains it! That's how he was able to notice when I reached for his things! Dammit, how did I not notice that he is a martial student!' Nuno cursed himself in his mind.
'Those young martial students, while arrogant, are most respected for being righteous and upright. If he manages to convince the security personnel and they decide to search me, I will be screwed!' Nuno became more desperate the more he thought about it. He had quite a few things on him that were gained through illegal means.
'Wait! This is quite weird…this man can infer all of this after a brief encounter, so he is obviously smart. But why does it seem like he wanted to protect me…' Nuno couldn't help but wonder.
Mulah suddenly said something to Satoshi in a foreign language to which he briefly replied. Nuno calmed his mind and looked at Satoshi. He wanted to know whether Satoshi had more to say.
"You don't need to worry little-brother, this young master obviously was obviously looking for trouble and he just happened to see you and must think of himself as an easy target. Now that my lord and I are here, hmph! Let's see if he can do anything to you!" Satoshi said firmly while holding Nuno on the shoulder.
Nuno stared at Satoshi who was looking at him, suddenly, Satoshi's eyes glistened as if he was going to cry.
"I had a little brother, too, back home…" Satoshi said, dragging his words
'Wait..this man, is he…' Nuno couldn't believe what he saw when Satoshi's eyes began to glisten.
His eyes stern, Satoshi convincingly said, "You reminded me of him, and I don't like when someone messes with my little-brother!"
'That's it! This man is a naive idiot!'
—
Satoshi, Mulah, and Nuno were now inside the captain's office. While they were technically a subject of interest, Mulah was seated in a respected guest position. There were only the three of them and the captain of the security personnel in the room. They were being questioned right now.
"So your name is Di Zheng of Xinjia-kor, and Xiahn of Mhasgara. What is, uhh…His Excellency's name?" The captain inquired, unsure whether it was appropriate or not.
"Forgive me, captain. But it is against the Imperial Protocols to disclose His Excellent Magister's personal name without definite probable cause unless being ordered by the Court Of Imperial Descendants Council of Elders." Satoshi answered.
He further added, "This, in general circumstances, also extends to His Excellent Magister's personal attendants and servants that were officially sanctioned by The Imperial Descendants House of Common and General Affairs such as myself. After all, we personal attendants have a cause of secrecy we have to maintain, so it is for security and safety concerns."
"Well, so…what should we do here then…" the captain was at a loss after Satoshi's rapid barrage of explanations.
"How about this, I can show you this as proof of identity," Satoshi reached into his inner pocket and took out two medallions. One of them was bigger and obviously more valuable, but both of them were obviously exceptionally a product of expert artisans.
The design was that of the Imperial Descendants Crest and it was very intricate. There was an inscription on them that says 'An Altera Parte Maris Gloriosi Stabant'.
The captain looked at the two medallions. In his eyes, they both looked legit, so he didn't even dare to take it from Satoshi. Instead, he looked at Satoshi and asked, "Could we at least take a picture later for reporting?"
"Sure! Just tell me when." Satoshi then put the medallions back to his inner pockets.
"Alright. Anyway, did you change your clothes?" the captain looked at Nuno and asked.
"Ah, yes, sir. The clothes I was wearing before were old and unsightly, so His Excellent Magister told me to change since we are about to see a respected figure such as you. Thus, brother Di gave me these clothes. They are traditional uniforms of Xinjia-Korean sailors." Nuno answered.
"Well..you shouldn't have to change." The captain tried to hide it but he was actually quite happy that the Magister would see him as a respected figure. He subconsciously looked at Mulah and gave a nod.
Nuno closely watched the changes in the captain's expression. His answer was prepared by Satoshi. He made Nuno change into this back at the restaurant.
Nuno recalled what had happened.
'Little-brother should change your clothes into this. Those security people tend to discriminate against people they deem poor or of lower classes. Since it is likely we will be going against that young master, you need to present yourself well.'
'Aigoo…it's good that little brother is wise with money, but you shouldn't keep your money like this. What if other people see and have malicious intentions?'
'Aigoo…little-brother, you don't even have a bag? Can't be helped then, let big brother keep it for you for now.'
'Little brother, when we get to the security personnel's office later, you should act properly. Since we said you are a helper, you should carry these. They are light, but there are valuable documents, bonds, and promissory notes inside that we are going to use as a gift, so do be careful, okay?'
'Little brother, we don't even know your real name. Tell big brother your real name.'
'Little brother, when they question you, you should answer like this…and if they ask this, you should answer like this…'
'Little brother, when we are done here, how about you come with your big brother? And after we are done with our business in Istindi you should come with us to Xinjia-kor! How about that?'
Nuno looked at Satoshi, he was answering more of the questions from the captain. He was thinking about what a naive man Satoshi was. Nuno wasn't a slight bit concerned about Satoshi holding his belongings, in fact, this eliminated his concern about being searched.
Nuno secretly looked at the boxes on top of the table. They were wrapped nicely with exquisite wrapping paper. There were beautiful patterns on those papers. But what interested Nuno was the content of these boxes. He would scam Satoshi of these!
"Well, anyway the young master, the martial student you have met before actually brought this in…"
The voice of the captain wrenched Nuno out of his thoughts. He was surprised that the young man was actually really a young master and a martial student, but he was even more surprised by what was in the captain's hand. It was a torn sleeve.
Nuno almost totally forgot about this, when he saw that the captain brought it out, he unconsciously looked at Satoshi to see what he would do.
But before Satoshi could say anything, the captain continued, "There is actually a name written in the hem of this sleeve, it said 'NUNO'. Do you know anyone or anything about this?"
Before Nuno could be surprised by this question he was surprised by something else. In fact, everyone was surprised because Mulah, who kept his silence and let Satoshi answer everything, stood-up from his seat so suddenly. He looked angry and began saying things in a foreign language.
The captain was surprised and confused, he looked at Satoshi for confirmation, but before Satoshi could explain anything Mulah yelled again. This time the captain could understand what was said.
"Nuno, no. NUNO. NO!"
After saying those things Mulah stormed out of the captain's office. The captain wanted to say something but he didn't dare to stop him from leaving.
"Forgive me captain, it looks like His Excellent Magister misunderstood what you were saying." Satoshi quickly apologized.
"Within the circle of some royalties among the Imperial Descendants, the word 'Nuno' actually meant something entirely different and it is a taboo to talk about it." Satoshi quickly explained to the captain
"That means..what the lordship saying was…" The captain looked at Satoshi for more confirmation.
"Nuno, No." Satoshi said to the captain.
"We don't talk about nuno."