NAMAE ISAMU
The man sat back slowly, his expression unreadable after I had spoken. For a long moment, there was silence, the tavern's muted noise fading into the background. Then… he smiled.
I blinked. A smile? After everything I had just told him? Suspicion curled in my chest, and I frowned, my guard snapping up again. "…What's so funny?"
He shook his head, a small, almost disbelieving laugh escaping him. Then he looked straight into my eyes, golden irises burning like the last light of dusk.
"I'm Yosuke."
The name hit me like a spark, lighting recognition in my chest. For a moment I just stared, wide-eyed, my breath caught. Then… relief. The kind of relief that loosened my shoulders, that let me breathe for the first time in hours.
A smile spread across my face before I could stop it. "I'm Namae," I said softly. "Nice to meet you."
Something unspoken passed between us in that moment — the invisible thread of Sai. The same man who had scarred both our lives and bound them together.
I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "This morning… something happened." I told him about the chariot, about the sound in the road, the two soldiers, the rings filled with chimeras. I told him how Sai had ordered me to keep going, how he had stepped into the storm alone — how I had obeyed, even when my chest burned with fear for him.
"And now…" I exhaled, my gaze flickering to the doorway as though expecting him to appear at any moment. "…I'm waiting for him here."
For the first time, I saw something change in Yosuke's face. The worry was still there — but underneath it, something steadier. Trust.
For a while, we just sat there, the air thick with unspoken thoughts. Then, Yosuke shifted in his seat and reached a hand toward me.
"Give me your hand," he said.
I hesitated. His tone wasn't threatening, but after everything I'd seen, caution was all I knew. Still… something about the steadiness in his eyes made me trust him. Slowly, I placed my hand into his. His grip was firm, grounding.
"You see?" he asked.
At first, I didn't understand. But then, something shimmered faintly at the edge of my vision — a familiar translucent screen. My eyes widened. It was the system.
"No…" I whispered, pulling my hand back slightly in shock. "That's impossible. I thought… I thought only Sai had the system."
Yosuke's golden eyes softened. "You're right," he said calmly. "Only Sai has it." He leaned back slightly, his voice quieter now, carrying a weight I could feel in my chest. "But with his Gift-Weave ability, he doesn't just borrow power. He can… share. He gave me a smaller version of the system — a fragment, tied to my own strength."
I stared at him, struggling to process it. "So… you're saying…"
"I'm saying," Yosuke interrupted gently, "that if Sai trusted me enough to give me this, then he trusted you enough to fight for."
For a moment, I couldn't speak. The system's faint glow still hovered at the edge of my sight, proof that his words weren't a lie. My heart pounded. Sai hadn't told me everything. But… somehow, this revelation didn't make me afraid. It made me feel closer to him.
Just as the weight of Yosuke's words settled in, the tavern door creaked open. The air shifted, and two figures entered — a man with steady eyes and a quiet presence, and a younger woman at his side. Yosuke's expression softened the instant he saw them.
"Jiro. Naemi," he called, lifting a hand in greeting.
The man — Jiro — approached quickly, his gaze scanning Yosuke as though checking for wounds. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Yosuke gave a small, reassuring nod. "Yes, I'm fine. I met someone here… someone who knows Sai." His golden eyes flicked toward me, and for a heartbeat, I felt exposed.
Jiro's expression shifted at the mention of Sai, his eyes narrowing with sharp recognition. But before I could speak, Yosuke continued.
"For your protection," Yosuke said, his voice steady, "I was heading toward Yasu Village."
At his words, confusion stirred inside me. "Yasu?" I asked quickly. "I thought it was destroyed."
Yosuke's lips curved in a faint smile, though his eyes carried a trace of melancholy. "It was. But now… a friend of mine is trying to rebuild his home there. He's determined, and I won't abandon him."
He stood, resting a hand lightly on Jiro's shoulder before looking back at me. "I have a chariot outside. You'll go with this woman and Jiro. Jiro is Sai's best friend — you'll be safe with him."
My breath caught. Sai's best friend. I looked at Jiro again, really looked, and saw it — the kind of quiet strength that must have been forged alongside Sai through battles I could only imagine.
"And you?" I asked softly.
"I'll stay here," Yosuke replied. "I'll try to find Sai and make sure he's safe."
My chest tightened. Somehow, I wanted to believe him — that he truly could find Sai, that he wouldn't rest until then. My voice wavered, but I forced the words out. "I trust you, Yosuke. Please… please bring him back safe."
Yosuke nodded, his expression solemn, yet there was warmth there too. "I will. Give me a moment to explain what's happened to Jiro and Naemi, then I'll return to you."
I nodded, watching as he turned toward his companions, lowering his voice to speak with them. For the first time that day, a fragile thread of hope tugged at my heart.