Ryosuke wasn't good at comforting people.
So, he only said two things.
The first was, "My condolences."
The second, "I'll avenge him. I promise."
Yui took out the hairpin, and scalding tears fell onto it.
Ryosuke handed her a tissue. She wiped her tears and said, "Lord Ryosuke, please rest assured, I'm not sad because of my husband's death."
"We've known each other for over twenty years. There were many times we brushed past death together. At this age, life and death… I've long come to terms with them."
"I'm just… sad."
She lowered her head and looked at the hairpin.
"My husband had great ambitions, but he was born at the wrong time. Fifty years of wasted life, and just when he finally met an opportunity to show his true worth and leave his name in history, he died before he could fulfill it."
"How pitiful and tragic."
If not for his principles and ideals, with his abilities, the Blind Scholar could have easily found a position as an advisor in some noble household.
Not to say he'd live in luxury, but at least he wouldn't have had to hide underground, nor live such a wandering life.
Yui wiped away her tears.
"Thank you, Lord Ryosuke. I'd like to be alone for a while. Please, go."
Ryosuke nodded and closed the door.
He stood outside for a few seconds, then heard crying again from inside the house.
Through the door, the sound was muffled, like the mournful wail of a mermaid from beneath the sea.
Ryosuke turned and left.
Lord Tokugawa was waiting outside, holding a plate of pastries. He handed one over. "Eat a little. Sweets can help ease depression."
Ryosuke shook his head.
Sweets couldn't bring him any joy.
Only a sinner's corpse could.
"The Sand Village is skilled in puppet techniques. Can't they design a prosthetic limb for her?"
Tokugawa shook his head. "Puppet limbs require chakra control to operate, maybe not at a ninja's level, but at least enough to perceive and send commands. Lady Yui happens to be one of the rare people completely unable to sense chakra."
Ryosuke took a deep breath and didn't push further.
"Let's go."
Lord Tokugawa gave a signal to one of his subordinates. A female official stayed behind to comfort Lady Yui.
Tokugawa himself took a bite of the dessert, fell slightly behind, and walked beside Ryosuke.
Back at city hall, the two talked, from city reconstruction, to condolence payments for the fallen, to diplomacy with surrounding cities, and the coordination with the new city, Wangmi.
They talked from afternoon until late at night. For most of the time, Tokugawa did the talking while Ryosuke listened, only speaking up to share opinions or decisions, sometimes as advice, sometimes as absolute orders.
After nearly seven or eight hours, Tokugawa's throat was dry, but his mind was clear and buzzing. Talking with Ryosuke felt like eating hot sukiyaki, then going for a sauna, stepping out dizzy with heat, putting on fresh underwear, and feeling the cool breeze hit his skin, a kind of refreshing satisfaction.
"If I didn't know you were only in your twenties," Tokugawa said with amazement, "after everything we discussed, I'd think you were a sage who's lived hundreds of years."
"Every proposal and demand you made came from a completely new angle, yet all of them sounded so experienced and convincing, like these policies had already been implemented for decades somewhere else."
Ryosuke smiled.
Wasn't that the truth?
Every policy he mentioned came from lessons learned in his previous life, policies tested, adjusted, and refined through trial and error by generations of people who groped their way forward in the dark.
Ryosuke patted Tokugawa on the shoulder and said seriously, "I don't understand politics, or management. I might talk a good game, but the actual work still falls on you."
Tokugawa looked at the hand on his shoulder, then at Ryosuke's sincere expression, and smiled wryly. "With you being like this… I'd feel guilty even thinking about slacking off."
They'd talked enough. It was already eleven at night, and both of them were starving.
At that hour, ramen shops were long closed, so the only option was a tavern for some light dishes to fill their stomachs.
They went together and pushed the door open. Ryosuke froze the moment he saw who was there.
Tokugawa peeked over his shoulder with his round face and saw Iwamine kneeling straight-backed at the end of the corridor, a lunchbox placed neatly in front of her.
Every time Ryosuke went to her tavern to discuss business, she would always abandon her guests and kneel quietly in a corner, waiting for Ryosuke's summons.
Tokugawa rubbed his nose and sighed helplessly. "Looks like I'll be going home for instant noodles tonight."
But Iwamine took out another box from behind her back and walked over, carrying two insulated lunchboxes. She handed one to Tokugawa.
"Lord Tokugawa, this one's yours."
Tokugawa's face lit up. He took it happily and left, humming as he went.
By this hour, city hall was already empty. When he was gone, only Ryosuke and Iwamine remained on that floor.
She tilted her head slightly upward, her gaze soft and gentle, completely different from that of a certain desert princess. Like a breeze through a summer forest, her look alone had a calming magic to it.
"You didn't have to wait for me," Ryosuke said.
Iwamine was no longer a tavern hostess, she was the leader of Gorin City's underworld, known by many as a "legend."
"I really didn't have to," she said, walking into the meeting room, setting down the lunchboxes, and smiling back at him. "But I wanted to."
She unpacked the food, pulled a chair close, and sat beside him.
They chatted casually, not trying to find topics, just talking about little interesting things that happened recently.
Laughter drifted softly around the small meeting room, until at last Ryosuke put down his chopsticks, and Yakuko poured him some tea.
"I'm heading back to the Land of Water tomorrow," Ryosuke said.
Her hand froze slightly mid-pour. "So soon?"
Ryosuke looked out the window into the thick night.
"The war's coming. Whoever's ready first will have the advantage. I can't waste time."
Between his brows was a trace of exhaustion, and worry.
How could Ryosuke not worry?
Lady Yui's sobs still echoed in his ears. He truly didn't want to see any more of that sorrow born from death and separation.
But how could you change the world without bloodshed?
The only way was to keep growing stronger, and make the enemy bleed instead.
Iwamine sensed his stress. After thinking for a moment, she tied her hair up with a band, revealing her slender neck and small, delicate ears.
She knew two ways to help a man relax. The first wasn't very appropriate. Luckily, there was the second.
She stood up, walked behind Ryosuke, and gently began to massage his shoulders.
His body stiffened instantly, and he started to rise, but she pressed him back down.
"Please don't move," she said softly. "Consider this…"
"Payment for the meal."
Ryosuke froze.
Wasn't that supposed to be the other way around?
But he obediently kept quiet.
———
The next morning, the Warsaw City exploration team officially disbanded.
Granny Chiyo and Rasa were returning to the Sand Village.
Ryosuke, Takeshi, and Gaara headed to the research institute in the Land of Water to begin experiments on extracting tailed beasts.
Before parting, Rasa grabbed Gaara and gave him a long, strict list of warnings, don't cause trouble for Ryosuke, don't embarrass the village, don't do this, don't do that…
After countless "don'ts," Rasa crouched down to meet Gaara's gaze.
Gaara looked up in surprise.
He'd never seen this before. His father had always looked down on him, cold, distant, issuing commands.
"Lastly," Rasa said, his lips dry, "eat properly, sleep properly, and don't let yourself be unhappy… got it?"
Gaara stared blankly at him, as if meeting his father for the first time.
Rasa stiffly opened his arms.
Gaara stiffly walked into them.
Two people, four arms, locked in an awkward hug, like two wooden planks pressed together.
Only their hearts beat wildly, silently passing emotions neither could put into words.
The hug lasted only half a second before Rasa released him and gave Gaara a kick on the rear. "Anyway… just come back alive."
Ryosuke stared speechlessly at Rasa. Everything was fine until that last kick, and what did "come back alive" even mean? It wasn't like he was about to dissect Gaara.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's go."
Gaara and Takeshi entered the ghost room.
There was no convoy this time, Ryosuke planned to fly back to the Land of Water as fast as possible.
Two days later, in the afternoon, they arrived at the research institute.
The staff were thrilled to see Ryosuke's return and wanted to throw him a welcome party.
But when Ryosuke dragged Gaara out of the ghost room, the researchers, all with dark circles under their eyes and thinning hair, fell silent.
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