I'm now following the old man down a hallway and taking in everything I see. There are paintings all over each wall, but one, in particular, catches my eye. A portrait of two young men, each around the age of 16, has been hung on the wall. The boy on the left is Kiichi. It must be.

Adachi: "Hey, old man!"

*SMACK*

A swift palm meets the back of my head.

Master Shiki: "You'll call me Master Shiki, boy."

I rub the back of my head and wince. That stung, but at least I got someone's name! It feels like nobody has told me their name in ages.

Adachi: "Sorry, Master Shiki. By the way, is this Kiichi in this portrait?"

Master Shiki: "Ah! That it is. That portrait takes me back. He and Kiichi used to be so close. Best friends, in fact!"

Taking a closer look, the man on the right looks a lot like the boy who led me here. I turn to ask Master Shiki to inquire about the man on the right, but he's already started moving down the hall again.

I walk faster and catch up, carefully placing my steps to maintain the floorboards' integrity.

Adachi: "Master Shiki! Who is the boy on the right in that painting? The boy who took me here, what is his name?"

Shiki chuckles and continues walking.

Master Shiki: "Your first question is a long story, but I will tell you that the boy who led you here is named Mito. I will explain more later. For now, let's get you cleaned up."

I had almost completely forgotten about my condition because of all the information I've been absorbing. Finally, we round a corner and enter an old infirmary. Inside is a young girl with hair so blonde it could be perceived as white. She wears it up in a bun and has a stern look on her face. She hasn't yet noticed that we've entered the room.

Master Shiki: "Ahem."

The old man clears his throat to catch her attention. She looks up in surprise, but her face is quickly overcome with a look of annoyance.

Girl: "Grandpa... What have I told you about bringing strays into the infirmary?"

I can feel a vein bulging out of my head. Why is everyone around here so rude? I can see why Kiichi didn't trust people if they're all like this.

Girl: "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. Come over here, and let's get you patched up."

The old man nods and leaves the room without a word. Is he really her grandpa? I sit down on an infirmary bed and look at the girl prepping bandages and alcohol to treat me.

"Please remove your shirt."

Adachi: "I-I'm sorry?"

She sighs and crosses her arms impatiently.

Girl: "Come on. I don't have all day!"

I reach back to take my shirt off and wince in pain. A wound that had begun healing just reopened with that motion. I can feel the blood leaking through my shirt. I should probably thank her for this. She's clearly quite inconvenienced by having to treat me.

Adachi: "I'm sorry to ask, but could you help me a bit with the shirt?"

She rolls her eyes and pulls out a pair of cloth cutting scissors. She walks around to my back and begins cutting my shirt from the bottom.

Adachi: "Hey, thanks for doing this for me. May I please know your name?"

Kina: "It's no problem. My name is Kina-"

Kina stops mid-sentence as she finishes cutting my shirt. She gasps a bit, and I can hear her hand clap over her mouth.

Adachi: "Is something wrong?"

Kina: "These wounds... they're a lot more severe than I had thought. You should be in a lot of pain right now!"

I chuckle and wince as another wound opens.

Adachi: "I suppose I've been through worse pain once before."

Kina: "Is that so? Please lay on your stomach. I'll start stitching up your back first. How did you get into this condition?"

Adachi: "I saved Mito's life and then was taken away by a royal household of some sort."

Kina: "Ah. Lord Gishie's household. I've had to patch up a few people who encountered that household. With these wounds, I should have been able to guess. His head guard enjoys using his unique whip to torture their unfortunate guests."

Adachi: "I saved their daughter's life as well... Alice, I believe. This is how they repaid me."

Kina: "It appears you wasted your energy. Anybody from that family is bad news. You'd do well to stay as far away from them as possible."

Is that true? I thought that Alice seemed quite kind. Then again, she did ignore me during dinner. I think perhaps she's only scared of her father. Kina breaks off my thought prematurely.

Kina: "Apparently, the Lord of this land is just a bartender who weaseled his way into a place of power. I wouldn't doubt a person like that would bring about so much evil."

My whole body tensed up as I heard the word bartender. My thoughts raced to try and remember where I had heard the phrase bartender recently. I remember Kiichi's words vividly.

"What I saw there that day truly destroyed whatever hope I had left. Through the window of my old room, the owner of the bar my wife used to work at was making love to her on our bed. It had only been three days since I had left..."

How did I not realize it sooner? I was so busy trying to survive that I hadn't even considered that the man at that manor and the bartender were the same person, which means Alice is Kiichi's daughter! Perhaps she's realized her dad is innocent now that she's older!

Kina: "Umm... Excuse me. I suppose I forgot to ask your name as well."

I almost forgot that I was in the infirmary. I got too lost in thought.

Adachi: "Ah, yes. I'm Adachi!"

Kina: "Well, Adachi... I didn't realize you were a Cosmic."

Oh no, my guise fell off again! Not twice in the same hour! I need to get a stronger hold on this alteration technique. It seems to fall away when I get emotional.

I sigh, but as I begin to explain, Kina cuts me off early.

Kina: "Don't worry. Nobody in this dojo will begrudge you for being a Cosmic."

I exhale, relieved. Safe once again. Kina's expert hands finish the stitches on my back, and I turn around to stitch the front wounds.

As she begins, I ask a question.

Adachi: "Kina, is it possible to overthrow the Lord of a region?"

She looks up at me in disbelief. I know what I just said was crazy, but I intend to get Kiichi's children away from that man no matter what.

Just hold on, Alice. I'll save you and your sister for sure. I owe that much to Kiichi.