Nothing Matters, But Everything Does

As the stranger thought about how to escape, he already accept that he couldn't. He looked at his comrades, one dead, the other unconcious next to him. Somehow, Yamato knew about his childhood in such a detail. Even Yuki, who before meeting Yamato spend her whole life judging people, was suprised. Maybe they would be spared if he told Yamato what he wanted to know. Maybe not. But there wasn't even an alternative. It was either maybe survive, or don't. So with no motivation but a slim chance of hope left, he began to speak.

"...The person that send us... It's the personal advisor of the empress: Masami Ryo..."

Yamato looked at him, his eyes turning bored the second he got what he wanted.

"That's his name?"

"...yes... So... Please, let us go..."

"What a coincidens... Thanks for the name. But I don't think I'll let you live."

Hearing Yamato say that did shock him, however deep down he already knew and accepted it as reality. He never expected to survive this interaction, the moment he looked into Yamato's eyes.

It was... Poetic in a way. How his life was about to end, not in a hasty action, an accident or a quick fight... But while being powerless and at someone's mercy. It was a bit like he was being executed. The alley was silent, no one around. Just him, his unconcious friend next to him... And looking down at them.. was Yamato. Who decided about their fate. Though, he probably wasn't going to end them personally, it was his decision in the end. If he told Yuki to kill them, she would. It was like he puts Yamato put himself in the position of god. With Yuki as his executive power.

It was only after leaving the alley, with no survivors, when Yuki asked Yamato.

"Hey, Master? Does it have any meaning that you wanted to know the name of who send them? Or rather, how does that name help us?"

"Well, the name itself is secondary of importance. What is really important, is the political role he has. Masami Ryo... Personal advisor of the empress. He's a total scumbag. But smart. He manipulates his subordinates to gain more power for himself by sacrificing them for his goals."

Yuki was once again... Suprised. That was alot of information he got from just a name... It was like that earlier aswell, when he analized that one stranger, and suddenly had his whole childhood found out... She just didn't understand how he did it. Maybe he would just say "Just guessed it" like he always seems to do.

Master, how do you know so much about him already?!?"

"...It's simple. Remember the childhood of the first guy?"

"...the one you just knew all about by analyzing him?"

"Yeah. Let's call him Stranger One. When he was young, he and his friends did something bad. They were kids and couldn't help being stupid and doing stupid things. But the trouble was so big that he lost everything. His peacful life as a child, family, Home and stuff. But then he found someone to save him. I guessed they were a person with alot of power and influence here. We now know that this person was Masami Ryo. He took care of him, raised and educated him. When he had no one. That's why he felt like he'd have to pay him back. With all he got."

"I still don't believe you guessed all that, Master... But yeah, what about that?"

"Well knowing all that, it's easy to create a psychological profile of Stranger One's savior; Masami Ryo."

"...It is?"

"It's very easy. First we know he is a powerful political figure. So why safe a child who lost everything? Out of kindness? Posibly. But then he wouldn't let him do dangerous work like that, were he follows people into alleys, like he followed us. If he did it out of kindness, it would mean he would've cared for him. But concidering the kind of work he did for Misami, that seems to be unlikely. So why did he help him and let him do the dirty work for him? It's simple. Because he didn't care, it only leaves one logical option. He wanted to use him. Masami Ryo saved that stranger as a child, not out of kindness, but because he saw him as a potential tool. He needed someone who'd follow him unconditinally. That's just the dream for every politician. Espacially someone who's in a lot of power. You see, in politics it works like this: The higher you climb in power, the greater the impact of the downfall. So naturally, any politician fears falling. Which is why having followers that don't question you is like the jackpot. But those are really rare to find. So why not make them, is probably what Masami thought. Based on all that, it's reasonable to assume that he maybe even is responsible for stranger one to end up in a situation where he lost everything, just so Masami could represent himself as a savior or role model figure. All that together gives me the description I previousely mentioned; Scumbag, smart, manipulative, power seeking. You could add more to the list but that's about the basics."

Yuki stared blankly at him. His definition of 'simple' seems to be questionable. But atleast she understood his thought process now. Or atleast how he concluded his psycho analysis. It's hard to believe that he thought about all that in a few seconds. Him explainig it to her probably took longer than him creating the whole profile. Sometimes she forgets he's just seventeen. He could easily be an old man, with all the intellect he has. But it's not just intellect. She feels like it's expirience. Or something like that. She didn't really know. Yamato sometimes just confused her. Even though she now understood how he got to the conclusion, she still didn't get how he even got to that part so easily. To her, it was like he knew everything. She adored him, even though she couldn't follow him sometimes. But she felt like she stared too much now. So she broke the silence while trying regain her composure.

"...Uh... Yes.. that makes sense, Master.. so, what does that mean for us?"

"Well, it means a few things. First, Masami is probably responsible for the lack of different species than elfes in this city. That's probably why he targeted us. However it's unclear if the empress is involved or not. However concidering that Satomi seemed open to us, I have reason to assume that they empress isn't involved in Masami's doings. Because if the empress would be involved, I doubt that we could've entered the city at all. So Masami is probably doing it behind her back. Maybe that's why Ken seemed so hostile towards us.. it could be that he is somehow connected to Masami.. or atleast agrees with what he does. But his motivations remains unknown at the momet. I could imagine that he wants to strengthen the countries unity by having only elfes as citizens, so having only one race. It could also just be a form of religious believe or something. Either way... It causes us problems if we wanna move freely... Getting ridd of him would be the best way of solving that problem, while also damaging the empires infrastructure."

Yuki tried to be of help. But it seemed like he already knew everything, and just talked loud so she could follow.

"Uhm... So... we just kill this Masami, Master?"

"That could prove difficult as we don't have any information about his position or his abilities. Maybe he's strong."

"Why didn't you ask one of the strangers those things, Master?"

"Because... That'd be boring."

She felt like for the first time today, she didn't need him to explain further. She understood him with that. Someone who gets a full psychological profile through analyzing a childhood of someone he just met... To someone who gets from so little information so much knowledge, having too many information means too much knowledge. She felt like that was a key aspect of his behaviour and personality.

"I see... Fair enough, Master~ We'll get those informations by ourselfs then! But how do we do that...?"

"Good question, Yuki..."

"...you don't know, Master?"

"Of course I do. I just said it was a good question because I felt like it literally was."

"Ah... So, what's the answer to my good question?"

"It's simple, really."

Yuki felt like this was something super complex again. She was prepared to listen carefully, but to her suprise...

"We're going to Ken Kento."

"...that guy? Why?"

"Because, don't you remember? I just explained that Ken's hostile behaviour could be explained through a connection between him and Masami."

"Ah! That's right! So that's why."

"Yes."

"...but how do we find Ken, Master? He left early and we don't know where he went. We also don't know where Satomi is so we can't ask her either."

"Can't you just find him with mana detection like you did when we first entered the city and you could tell how many people were inside?"

"Well... But it's not that precise, Master... I can sense everyone as individual, but they don't appear differently to me, aside from the ammount of mana they have. And all the people in the city have about the same ammount. Between below- to slightly above avrage. There are exceptions but Ken wasn't one, so he just blends in with the rest of the city."

"Ah.. I see. I thought something like that would happen. It'd be too easy otherwhise. In that case... I have an idea. Though, it's a bit extreme..."

Yuki was already used to extreme things by now. Though, she did wonder if he could solve those things in a not so extreme way aswell. Maybe he just didn't want to. Or it would be boring to him. Probably both. But it didn't really matter, as she wouldn't question him no matter what he does.

"What's the extreme idea, Master?"

"Arson."

"You want us to... set fires…?"

"Yes. A small one outside the city will be enough."

Yuki didn't really get the point in doing that. As they walked along the streets, she noticed that they were directed to the city gate.

"Why would we set a fire, Master?"

"It's for multiple reasons. One is the fact that we are in the middle of the forest. This while having many advantages for the city, has the major weakness of fire. But I don't think that the people of this city aren't aware of that. So that makes me wonder what they'll do to stop it."

Yuki thought about it. They were now past the gates, walking away from the road to an area where they wouldn't be seen.

"So we're going to start a fire to observe their reaction..."

"Basicly, yes. Can you do that with your magic?"

"Uhm.. no... Not really, Master..."

Yamato looked around the place they picked out observing the trees.

"Really, why not?"

"Well... My magic is still very limited... Creating fire is..."

"Okay, I get it."

"Ah, but I can still make fire without any magic!"

Yuki looked excited while Yamato looked rather nonchalant. It was a bit like Yamato wasn't that motivated to do the whole thing. But maybe that would change once he sees if it will have consequenses or not.

"You can create a fire without magic? Do that then."

"...Now?"

"Why not?"

"Oh.. no, it's just you would want me to elaborate on how I would make the fire..."

Yuki got all sad. She wanted to share her knowledge. In a way, she tried imitating Yamato. She wanted to explain something to him for once. But He seemed so nonchalant that she didn't know if he even wanted to hear it. Yamato, who realized that chose to ask. Though he believed it to be a bit childish of her.

"Okay.. how are you going to create a fire without any magic?"

"...Ah! Glad you asked, Master! It's a super ancient secret method!"

"...is it the bow drill?"

"…....no...."

"Yes it is."

"How did you know that, Master?! It was supposed to be my time to shine with knowledge!"

"You're right, sorry. Tell me something about the bow drill..."

Though she was now pouting, she couldn't resist the opportunity to share knowledge with him. She felt useful this way, which made her happy.

"...okay... So... The bow drill is a primitive fire starting method that has been used for thousands of years around the world. The exact origin of the bow drill is unknown, but it is believed to have been used by many ancient cultures including Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, Australia, Europe and Asia. The bow drill is considered one of the most reliable and efficient fire starting methods in survival situations and has been passed down through generations, allowing people to survive in harsh environments without access to modern tools and equipment. The bow drill is a valuable skill to learn and master, as it can be used in a wide variety of situations and can help you start a fire in a variety of conditions."

Yuki's display of knowledge made her happy. She felt proud to have contributed to her masters plans with that information. Though, Yamato knew most of that already.. she didn't have to know that.

"Aha.. thank you so much, Yuki..."

"You're Welcome, Master!"

With Yuki's mood now lifted, they could start setting their plans in motion.