Lukas was feeling smug.

Scratch that, he was feeling very smug. Exhilarated even.

He had been able to not only walk out of svartalfar territory alive, but also got an employment contract, guaranteeing a steady flow of coin for the foreseeable future. And according to Tanya, the jobs would be the most strenuous and challenging, which translated to more money when he completed the tasks.

Plus, difficult jobs means stronger monsters. Better creatures to siphon.

As if that weren’t enough, he’d also claimed an axe of svartalf making, one that was baffling, beautiful, and utterly terrifying in its own right. He remembered the axe feeling like it weighed half a ton when Roffulfet wielded it, but now, in his possession, it felt perfectly balanced— enough to shatter through most defenses without losing too much power in the swing. And he could channel lifeforce through it, much like the blades he’d used back in the anomaly.

He twirled the weapon around his wrist in a perfect circle, coming to rest in his other hand without so much as a slip. Without another thought, he threw it over his shoulder, where it came to hang on his spaulder.

The motions felt so familiar… Like he’d wielded it before.

But when? Maybe it’s—

“Skills.”

HOST: SKILLS

SKILL

LEVEL

SOUL CAPACITY CONSUMED

Internal Lifeforce Manipulation

Level 4

178

Burst

Level 4

135

Tachypsychia

Level 3

79

Psionic Burst

Level 2

84

Neural Suppression

Level 2

46

Shatter Fist

Level 2

52

Protection from Mental Encroachment

Level 2

82

Empathy

Level 3

95

Lukas frowned. Nothing at all about wielding an axe. He knew his memories of the spell and what happened back in the anomaly were still foggy, but was there something else he was missing? For all the time he’d spent in Inanna’s tutelage, he’d always used a pair of blades against her axe.

Never did he wield the axe himself. And even if he did have training before in the way of the axe, it wouldn’t show up as a skill itself. Something so mundane as using an instrument, no matter how skillfully, would not register as such. But if he never received training, and it wasn’t a skill he somehow unlocked, then how was he able to use it?

Lukas didn’t know, but he was determined to find out. Until then—

Tanya walked ahead of him and opened the door to her room.

And every trace of smugness vanished immediately.

“It’s nice to meet you again, Aguilar,” Zuken Banksi casually welcomed him. “We visited earlier, but neither of you were there. So—”

“So you decided to wait?” Tanya offered.

Lukas glanced at Elena, who was sitting at Zuken’s right with a basket of… were those peaches? His gaze shifted to Burger— err, Bergott —and a third individual, a bald middle-aged man dressed in rich clothing. But unlike Zuken, who was comfortable in a half-casual outfit, this stranger was clad in formal attire, the kind one wore to an occasion rather than a late night visit to a stranger’s home.

Something about this meeting felt off.

“Kind of.” Zuken’s expression was almost apologetic, “I’m sorry about this sudden visit. I did offer to wait downstairs, but the barkeep was most insistent…” He shot an odd look towards the unknown old man, who seemed perfectly content to ignore everyone else until the end of the world.

“My apologies. This is Tatun Kinosu. He was serving as the Secretary when I worked with the Shogun. Now that I have grown to a Freeholding Guildmaster, he is still serving as the Shogun’s Secretary. Very loyal.”

Lukas blinked at that. He couldn’t think of a more insulting thing to say to someone, especially to the second most powerful person in Asukan bureaucracy, below only the Shogun himself. Unless the Shogun gave an express order commanding otherwise, the word of the Secretary was as good as law.

And Zuken Banksi just implied he was an incompetent buffoon.

Just what is going on here?

Pushing past Tanya, he stepped forward. “And the Secretary decided to grace us with a visit this late because…?”

“To meet the two of you. Or more specifically, her.” The man’s grey eyes shifted and met Tanya’s surprised gaze. “Tanya… Shimizu. Am I saying that correctly?”

The temperature in the room dropped like a stone. Lukas’s hand moved on its own and grabbed Tanya’s, which was already colder than a block of ice. Alread, he could sense that Banksi had conjured a field of protective energies around himself and Elena, and wondered why this strange old man was being so aggressive out of nowhere.

“That is your actual name, is it not?” the Secretary demanded.

“I have the right to stay silent,” Tanya replied, not doing anything to get her arm out of Lukas’s grasp, which he was grateful for. Her deciding to blast them all with icicle spears could prove debilitating for everyone.

Zuken eyed Lukas. “She isn’t going to attack, is she?”

“You’re asking me?” Lukas demanded, perplexed. “She works for you.”

“But you have a deeper relationship with her than I do. And believe me, I had no idea Tatun would do something like this. Clearly, the village asshole doesn’t have an ounce of diplomacy in him.”

“I don’t need a cur lecturing me on diplomacy,” Tatun retorted. “This is neither an interrogation nor a deposition, girl. Nobody is clamoring for your imprisonment, so speak up. Are you Tanya Shimizu? A simple yes or no will suffice.”

…

“Let us assume that I am.”

“Do not waste my time with flowery words, woman,” the Secretary snapped.

“Tanya,” Zuken sighed, “you can answer the question. Trust me on this.”

Tanya lightly glared at the Banksi, though her body lost some of its stiffness. Feeling the temperature slowly rise again, Lukas exhaled, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding. But he didn’t let go of her hand.

“I— I am.”

“And your father was Yanric Shimizu?”

Lukas felt the blonde spiritist tremble as she shifted her balance from one foot to the other. “He was.”

“And you are willing to provide blood tests and oaths to back your claim?”

“If necessary.” Tanya looked peaky. “What is this all about?”

“Miss Shimizu,” the Secretary replied, his tone becoming rigidly formal. “It is my duty to inform you that there was a coup on the Shimizu family last night. No one managed to escape. As of right now, you are the last Shimizu in existence. In light of the Customs and Laws upheld by the Asukan Empire, you are being recognized as an official Shimizu to continue your family’s dealings.” He paused. “That includes formalities related to the acquisition of familial properties—”

Tanya sucked in a breath.

“But before we get to that, there are protocols that need to be observed.”

She gulped. “I… understand. What, if I might ask, killed them?”

“I am told the attackers were a pack of wolves.”

“…Wolves?”

“Wolves.”

“How many?”

“One… cannot be sure. In fact, if not for the slashes and bites on the victims, one might even wonder if they were wolves in the first place. There was no smell, no trace, and no footprints, physical or otherwise.”

“I’ve been trying to get him to consider the possibility of a spiritual attacker,” Olfric interjected.

“What you are suggesting is preposterous, Mister Bergott,” the Secretary snapped. “Spectral beings that do not exist are crossing over to this plane and creating… what? Illusory wolves that can tear the hearts of Asukans and bremetans and feast upon their flesh? As much as I understand your wish to see justice meted out, it does not justify raising demons from our past and bringing them back to life.”

“I’m sure what Bergott is trying to—” Zuken tried.

“Let me repeat myself in case I was not clear. There. Are. No. Yokai. Alive.”

Yes. Yes there are.

Lukas sighed. Truly, Tatun was the epitome of the perils of bureaucracy. Bergott had encountered the yokai. He’d been kidnapped by them, forced to fight against other Asukans, and was even cursed by one. Lukas also knew that Kasha, and some other monster prototypes in his array were also yokai. Hell, he himself was currently standing next to a yokai, and practically living with her to boot.

The irate Secretary was too hasty in his proclamations, but something told him that it wasn’t about the truth, and not entirely about fear either.

It was about control.

And the real question, as always, was why.

Why did the Empire want everyone to believe the yokai were gone?

Lukas could understand fraudsters claiming to be evangelists. He could understand rapists and murderers claiming to be godmen. He could even understand blaming illusionary enemies for simple vote-bank politics to attain power. But to actively bury one’s head into the sand and pretend the yokai didn’t exist was… odd. Stupid, even.

And to him, Tatun Kinosu did not appear to be a stupid man, despite Zuken’s implications.

“Regardless,” the Secretary barrelled on, “Banksi has made me understand that you are of the Shimizu bloodline and are in possession of the mighty wind spirit your grandfather was famous for. Bergott has seconded this claim, which is why I find myself in this mess.”

“Excuse me,” Lukas finally interjected. “That’s all fine, but it still doesn’t warrant a late night visit like this. What exactly is the issue here? Are we in trouble?”

“What were the two of you doing last night?” Tatun asked. “We’ve made several discreet inquiries, but no one from this inn can vouch for your presence before morning.”

“We were outside,” Tanya replied.

“And where did you visit?”

“None of your business.”

“Tanya,” Zuken implored, though there was an undercurrent of sternness in his tone. “There’s a time and place for antagonism, and this isn’t it. We really need to know where you and,” his eyes flickered to Lukas, “our new friend have been since yesterday noon.”

“Ah, so this is an interrogation,” Lukas challenged.

“It could be,” Bergott asserted.

Elena just sat and munched on her peaches, watching the drama unfold.

“We could have been anywhere,” Lukas shrugged. “I may not be very familiar with the local laws yet, but without Tanya’s own admittance, there is quite literally nothing you can charge her with.”

His hands itched to grab the axe hanging from his back.

“Nobody’s charging anyone with anything,” Zuken clarified, both hands raised. “But it’s essential that we know where you were. Look, this is all blowing up into something it isn’t.”

“Oh, like how this isn’t an interrogation, but actually is?”

“ENOUGH!”

Tanya’s sudden outburst plunged the room into silence. She shot Lukas a thin glare, before sweeping it across everyone else and landing on the Secretary. “Lukas Aguilar is a foreigner,” she finally said. “Yesterday, I wanted to give him a tour of Haviskali. That’s why we weren’t at the inn.”

“And you decided the western front, at the edges of the desert, was the best spot to show?” Tatun skeptically asked.

“No. We went to visit the svartalfars.”

“Zwaray Keep,” Zuken muttered, his brows furrowed.

“The very same. We went in, and came out with some work.”

“Pull the other one,” Bergott retorted. “Everyone knows svartalfars hate our guts.”

“Come now, Burger,” Lukas grinned, pulling out a scroll from his pocket and unfurling it. “You mean like how they’d never sign a permanent employment contract with someone like myself?”

Their reactions were mightily satisfying.