Storm ain't paasing through til Tuesday or Wednesday sooooo, here's a chapter. I don't know a shit about scheming and official business so I dabbled in a little ChatGPT for this.
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"Brother!"
Mumei excitedly ran up to the pink-haired man, whose presence clearly overshadowed the others in the group.
"Mumei!" her brother called out, his tone softening.
She stopped just before him, catching her breath. "I finally found you!"
"Glad to see you're safe." He smiled warmly, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Her brother?"
"You mean her brother is…"
"Lord Biba?!"
Yukina and the others were struck with disbelief. Only Ikoma remained calm—he had already learned about Biba from Mumei herself.
So that's the Biba I've been hearing about, Kaelis thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. Seems like an interesting fellow.
"Where is Shimon? I don't see him with you. Did something happen? Tell me," Biba asked, his expression shifting from warmth to concern.
"Aragane Station was attacked by the Kabane. Shimon… died with honor," Mumei replied, her voice steady but faintly pained.
"I see." Biba closed his eyes briefly and brought a hand to his chest. "May the blessings of the cycle be upon him."
When he looked back at her, a small, approving smile curved his lips. "But… I'm glad to see my treasured claw is safe."
Mumei's eyes lit up with excitement.
"By the way, brother! I'm so glad you're here! I have so many things to tell you! But before that—" she eagerly grabbed his arm, practically bouncing in place.
"There's someone I have to introduce you to! You're going to love him!"
"Oh?" Biba arched a brow, mildly amused by her enthusiasm.
It wasn't often he saw his sister this lively. Whoever this person was, they had certainly left quite the impression on her.
He turned toward his female companion—a blonde with her hair tied back in a small ponytail, two orange-tinted locks framing her face.
She met his gaze, gave a small nod of acknowledgment, then turned to the rest of their group.
With a subtle hand signal, she instructed them to continue ahead before she herself followed behind Mumei and Biba.
They approached Ikoma's group, and at the forefront stood a tall, brown-skinned man.
Both Biba and his companion immediately assumed this was the person Mumei had been so eager to introduce.
"Brother! This is the person I wanted you to meet!" Mumei said with barely contained excitement. "Brother, this is Kaelis Valeblade. And Kaelis—this is my brother, Biba Amatori! He's the one who leads the Karikatashu!"
She beamed proudly before adding, "Kaelis was the one who protected the train all the way from Aragane Station!"
Biba studied him for a brief moment—his sharp eyes assessing the man before him—then extended a hand with a composed smile.
"Nice to meet you, Kaelis. As Mumei mentioned, I'm Biba Amatori, and this is my colleague, Horobi." He gestured toward the blonde woman beside him.
Kaelis met his gaze, his expression calm yet unreadable, before a faint smile touched his lips.
"Kaelis Valeblade," he said, taking the offered hand. "Just Kaelis is fine."
He paid no attention to the woman—Horobi barely registered in his mind.
From a single glance, Kaelis could already tell she wasn't nearly as interesting as the man before him.
Seeing the two finally shake hands, Mumei beamed with pure delight—a smile so genuine that since Kaelis first met her, this is the first time he saw it on her face.
"Mumei said you're someone I'd want to meet," Biba began with a smooth, curious tone. "I wonder just how true that is."
"Did she now? Who knows, really. It could go the other way." Kaelis chuckled, his tone light but his gaze sharp.
He could feel Biba subtly probing—testing him, weighing him—and he wasn't about to take that lying down.
A faint, almost imperceptible edge slipped beneath his words, the kind that only seasoned men would catch.
For a brief moment, Biba's expression darkened, a flicker of realization crossing his face before his pleasant smile returned.
He chuckled softly, matching Kaelis's tone with equal finesse.
"Hmhm. Let's not stand out here in the sun all morning, shall we?" Biba said smoothly, gesturing toward the station.
"How about we continue this conversation inside?"
"Sure~ why not?" Kaelis replied with a casual shrug and followed along an easy smile.
The rest of the group followed behind before parting ways, leaving only Ikoma, Ayame, and Kurusu alongside them.
Along the way, Ayame engaged Biba in conversation, exchanging greetings and learning more about him through a brief but cordial discussion.
It turned out that Biba was the son of the shogun in Okimasa, born in Kongokaku. "Was," because he had been disowned.
They were abruptly interrupted by a steam leak, and Biba decided to help fix it.
As the others were about to leave him to his own devices, he called Kaelis over, asking him to stay behind and lend a hand.
This drew curious glances from the others, but Kaelis decided to stick around—and here's what he had to say.
Now left alone, Kaelis had no real knowledge of machinery, so he simply leaned against the train's valves.
"So… what do you want to talk about?" Kaelis asked with a small smile.
Biba paused for a few seconds before speaking. "First, I want to thank you for protecting the train and its civilians all the way from Aragane."
"No problem. Is that all?" Kaelis replied casually.
Biba shook his head. "I also want to ask—why didn't you just abandon them?"
Kaelis raised an eyebrow. "They kinda elected me as their leader so why not."
Biba gave him a calculating look.
"Suppose you had to abandon someone to save yourself… would you?"
Kaelis paused, considering the question. He could tell Biba wasn't asking casually—this was a test of his morals.
His answer would reveal whether he was pragmatic, idealistic, or self-serving—all crucial for deciding how much trust to place in him, or how to manipulate him.
Even knowing Biba's intentions, Kaelis chose to answer anyway.
"Hmm. I never really thought about that before," he said casually, "considering I'm more than powerful enough to save both… but since this is a hypothetical, I suppose I would."
Countless thoughts ran through Biba's mind at that answer. After a moment, he posed another question.
"Some people are just meant to fall behind. Don't you agree?"
"Elaborate," Kaelis replied, his tone calm.
Biba continued tinkering with his wrench, not looking up. "You know… life can be pretty rough," he said.
"I trusted people I shouldn't have when I was younger. Families who smiled at me, then stabbed me in the back. People who just… disappeared when things got tough."
He shrugged. "Most folks would've broken. I didn't. I realized weakness is a choice. Betrayal happens, so you either let it crush you or use it to get stronger. I chose the second."
A faint smile appeared. "Every bad thing that happened… it didn't stop me. It made me sharper, stronger. And now I don't have to rely on anyone else. I make my own rules."
He turned his head toward Kaelis. "So… what about you? Would you let life drag you down, or use it to get stronger too?"
Kaelis simply met his gaze. "I'll never know."
"Hm. Then allow me to ask—what do you think about the phrase, 'The weak are destined to perish, and the strong endure'?"
"That's natural."
Chapter 27 end.