The travel group spent their first day in Tongyo mainly resting and planning. It is now 8:00 a.m., and exactly 24 hours remain until the start of the tribunal. Nothing is actually planned for today except their reveal shortly before the tribunal begins, but Saku has secretly organized something. In the morning, she sneaks into the boys’ room, where they are all still in a deep sleep.

  Saku: “Get up, you sleepyheads! We’re going on a sightseeing tour!”

  The boys wake up in shock and throw Saku out of the room. Saku remains persistent and bangs hard on the door.

  Saku: “We are doing this tour. I’m not going to spend my possibly last day of freedom in a shabby hotel.”

  After many more sentences and knocking, the boys give up and open the door again. They get ready and leave the hotel at 8:30 a.m.

  Saku has found a very popular and highly rated restaurant that specializes in breakfast. It is relatively close to the city center. Another reason for her choice is that they can see a lot of Tongyo’s infrastructure along the way.

  However, Saku is the only one who can really enjoy it, since the others are still half asleep and can barely manage more than two bites.

  Saku: “I really found a great restaurant. I’m just a gourmet who knows what’s good.”

  After her self-compliment, she notices a large crowd of people next to the restaurant. It reminds her of a moth trap that attracts moths.

  Saku: “What’s going on over there, I wonder?”

  She asks herself and draws the attention of the others. She tries to see something while sitting down. She is too small.

  Saku: “Naki, can you see what’s going on? You’re closer and taller than me.”

  Naki: “No.”

  Saku: “Come on. I want to know why people are gathering there.”

  Naki: “If you’re that interested, then stand up yourself. Or leave it. Be happy that I even came along.”

  Annoyed, Saku stands up and goes into the crowd herself. She has trouble getting through, and the people shove and push each other as well.

  Saku: “[This is such a mess. They’re even stepping on your feet.]”

  After a lot of effort, Saku manages to reach the front row. In the middle, there is a small stage set up. On it stands a woman—more like a young girl—in knight-like armor. She is holding a large flag in her hand, which she swings around powerfully. She speaks so loudly that she doesn’t need a microphone at all. A monstrous voice.

  ???: “We outsiders have the same rights as you. We only want justice and no unfair distribution of resources. Don’t always look away—do something. For yourselves and for others.”

  Many similar sentences follow, and more and more people gather. Unknowingly, Saku turns to a woman next to her.

  Saku: “Excuse me, but do you know what this girl is talking about?”

  Woman: “Of course. That is Johanna. She is the leader of the large protest group Alliance Water, which primarily consists of outsiders and people without families. They are very active in politics and in fighting for their rights. They are here right now because of the Cross Conference. That is a conference where political groups exchange opinions and discuss with one another. Many see them as a disruptive factor to our peace.”

  Saku is surprised by this statement and listens to Johanna attentively. She is not the only one captivated by her voice. No one dares to leave the crowd or speak too loudly. They form a real circle around her. After her long speech about justice, peace, freedom, and the importance of non-familial bonds, something red flies through the air. It is a tomato that hits her in the face. Many more follow. She covers herself with her flag, which is now covered in tomatoes.

  Confused by this reaction, Saku turns again to the woman beside her.

  Saku: “Why are they throwing tomatoes at the girl? I thought they wanted to listen to her politely.”

  Woman: “No. We all always wait until she’s finished, and then we throw them. She believes that many resources should go to outsiders like her, because they do not benefit from the rules of this world. She says they are cursed. Even though outsiders already live normal lives and are reasonably well provided for, they want more than we have. She’s completely crazy.”

  Saku does believe that having the right family automatically puts someone above those with weaker families or none at all, but she still believes in some form of justice for outsiders.

  Many people: “Disappear from our city! You witch, you’re spreading nothing but lies! Outsiders are where they belong! You will never win the Cross Conference!”

  After these hateful speeches, several people position themselves next to Johanna. They all carry megaphones and defend Johanna verbally and physically.

  The situation escalates between the two groups. They move closer and closer to each other, and Saku is right in the middle. She is pushed further forward and is just about to collide with a man who seems ready to knock her out with his megaphone.

  Before it can go any further, a digital girl appears. Mabadah emits a shrill and extremely loud tone. Immediately, everyone covers their ears.

  Mabadah: “You are violating several laws of this city and this country. I order you to withdraw immediately and stop this.”

  Mabadah sounds different than in the previous chapter. Her voice is slightly distorted, and she glitches a lot. It looks shabby, as if there are several system errors that are simply meant to be ignored.

  Alliance Water man: “They attacked our leader first. We only defended her, and not even with violence.”

  Many people in the crowd: “That’s not true! You keep coming back here and talking nonsense! Get out of our city!”

  It escalates again, and now the groups even become physically aggressive.

  Mabadah emits another loud tone, but this time a possible charge appears in front of every person.

  Mabadah: “Anyone who shouts again or becomes physically aggressive will be automatically marked in the system and brought to court, regardless of which side they belong to.”

  Everyone falls silent and listens quietly to Mabadah. She explains the laws of this city as well as general norms. Her condition seems better again. Most likely, the system reacts sensitively to too many rule violations or major disturbances. Although Mabadah is supposed to be only a digital assistant, she is practically a professional mediator and controller of the city.

  In the middle of all this commotion, Saku slips away and rejoins the others. By now, they are fully awake and have finished eating.

  Saku: “Guys, you won’t believe how crazy the people in this city are.”

  Kogiri: “Oh, we can believe it. We heard everything. Alliance Water is a really interesting group, if you ask me.”

  Najun: “I overheard a few people earlier saying that they are mostly politically active but also secretly don’t shy away from using violence. Apparently, a major influencer was killed by them because he dragged many of their posts through the dirt and had a caricature made where this Johanna is burned with the words: ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ That’s pretty creepy.”

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  Saku: “Let’s not think about it any further. I have a good plan for us, and we’re going to stick to it.”

  It is now 9:30 a.m.

  Next on the agenda is a visit to an exclusive museum. Each floor of this museum has a different theme. The first floor is history. The second is space. The third technology. The fourth magic. The fifth… It has a total of ten floors.

  Naki: “I really don’t feel like this.”

  Saku punches him on the shoulder and drags him inside.

  A small person walks the same path as the four Sakiko members. The person has been following them since the café—always keeping a distance of thirty steps and completely covered except for the eyes. They follow them into the museum as well.

  Saku: “Look, this is a graphical timeline. How cool.”

  They go from floor to floor and see many interesting things. The only one who is completely bored is Naki. He was never the type for learning or visiting museums, and now there is also the factor that he is injured. With someone like Naki, you can’t go anywhere unless it involves fighting or weapons. They spend a full three hours in the museum and accordingly leave at 12:30 p.m.

  The mysterious person is still following them. However, now the distance is only twenty-five steps, since the group has sped up.

  Kogiri: “Naki seems to be done for today.”

  Naki: “Museums are so boring. I don’t know how I survived those three hours, but I’m proud of myself.”

  Saku: “Don’t exaggerate.”

  Naki: “I’m not exaggerating. That was pure torture for me.”

  Najun: “If you had paid proper attention, you would have learned more about our region too. Like how the Ice Caves were formed.”

  After this statement, Naki looks at Najun sadly. Both of them associate this place with something terrible that should never be mentioned again. Najun himself doesn’t understand why he just said that. It was more instinctive than thought out. Now an uncomfortable silence follows. No one speaks because no one knows what to talk about.

  Saku: “Since our Naki is such an idiot, I planned something for him too.”

  Saku points to a large green cube. They all go inside together after Saku shows a man four tickets. They sit down in something that resembles a grandstand. In the middle, two people in armor are standing. It is a real samurai fight that they are about to watch.

  As soon as Naki hears the announcement, he jumps up into the air and starts celebrating, even though the fight hasn’t even begun yet.

  Saku: “I knew you’d like this.”

  After a long thank-you from Naki to Saku, the fight begins. It is red versus yellow. The red samurai is a bit taller, and his sword seems broader than the yellow one’s. The yellow samurai has a thinner blade, but from his opening movements it is clear that he is very fast and flexible. He also has a short blade protruding from his helmet, which he will use in the fight as a headbutt attack. Naki’s favorite is the yellow samurai, since his fighting style is more similar to his own and he finds the helmet idea brilliant.

  The place where the group currently is is called an Instant Cube Duel. These cubes appear randomly throughout the city, and you only find out what kind of duel will take place after purchasing the tickets. The cube looks much smaller from the outside than it actually is. What the spectators don’t know is that these are staged show fights. Even if some do know, they don’t care, because it is still exciting to watch. These fights last one hour, with each round lasting eight minutes. In between, there is a two-minute break before the next round begins. According to the system, whoever has dealt more damage wins the round. It is also possible for a round to end in a draw or for an extra round to be required at the end.

  The fight lasts one hour, including the two breaks. The winner of the fight is the yellow samurai. The first round was a close draw. In the second round, the yellow samurai won 3 to 2. Naki is overjoyed and makes sure everyone in the cube hears it.

  Naki: “Yes! He won! The yellow samurai is just better.”

  After this spectacular fight, the audience gradually leaves the cube. Two dubious guys are also among the spectators. As they leave the cube, they spot Saku, who is currently separated from the others due to the crowd. They grin at each other and change their route. Both of them like the traditional look that Saku is perfectly wearing. She is wearing a pink kimono. It suits her very well, and she knows it. One of the two men gets very close to her and strokes her hair. Saku turns around in disgust and looks him deeply in the eyes.

  Dachi: “Hello, my name is Dachi. You caught my eye in this crowd. Especially your pink hair. I just had to touch it.”

  He continues stroking her hair. The other one stands close behind Dachi and can’t stop laughing.

  Saku: “If you and your ugly friend aren’t gone in three seconds, something bad will happen.”

  Saku looks at him with a dark glare. Dachi actually wants to back off, but his friend pushes him toward Saku. He now touches her shoulder. Although he was about to leave, he changes his mind and stays where he is.

  Saku counts down from three, but Dachi remains stubborn.

  Two other men notice the situation and seem to know the two men who are harassing Saku. They intend to go over to them, but are stopped by a small person. The person trips one of them and punches the other in the nose. They take care of both without anyone noticing.

  Saku grabs Dachi by the wrist and pulls out her fan. A small cherry blossom storm wraps around Dachi and makes him float. Saku spins him a few rows away. She gives the other man several slaps until he is sitting on the ground, then pushes him away with many cherry blossoms. She does all of this in under a minute and with very elegant execution. The person who dealt with the other two is visibly proud of Saku and secretly shows her two thumbs up.

  Saku rejoins the boys without letting on what just happened. The person continues to follow them.

  The group goes to a circus performance.

  To another museum.

  To a street full of important statues.

  To city hall.

  It is now 9:00 p.m. The final destination is the evening market of Tongyo. A market full of good products, merchants, and opportunities to gather information.

  Kogiri: “This market is the best attraction so far. I haven’t seen such high-quality goods in a long time.”

  Impressed, Kogiri walks alone through the evening market. Saku stays at the stalls selling kimonos in all colors. Najun and Naki wander around on their own.

  Naki: “We haven’t really talked properly since I woke up.”

  Najun: “I noticed that too. Kind of strange, right?”

  Naki: “Yeah. Are you nervous about the tribunal tomorrow? Also about Father’s reaction and the others?”

  Najun: “Of course I am. But we’re already here, so they can only kill us later.”

  Naki starts laughing.

  Naki: “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  Naki: “I just want you to know that you can rely on me if problems arise.”

  Najun: “You always say that, and I know it.”

  Naki: “Still. When I was injured and unconscious, I couldn’t do anything. I could have prevented the three hired killers from escaping, or that weird doppelg?nger of Father from capturing us at all.”

  Najun: “It happened, and there’s nothing that can be changed about it.”

  Naki: “I know, but I promise you it won’t happen again that I can’t protect you.”

  Najun: “Thank you, big brother.”

  The brothers continue talking about the current situation and already discuss strategies for how they want to surprise their father and how they might persuade him not to kill or imprison them. They make real plans with dialogues, counterstrategies, and escape maneuvers. People start looking at them strangely.

  Najun: “I saw a stall earlier where I wanted to buy something. Wait here, or we’ll meet later in the middle.”

  Before Naki can offer to come along, Najun is already gone. Naki now stands alone in this market with no idea what to do.

  Najun runs through the market and stops in front of a stall. At the stall, there is currently no one—no one except a small person next to him, completely covered except for the eyes. The person is holding a bag of tomatoes, which they bought in order to maintain their twenty-five-step distance without it being noticeable.

  Najun: “Excuse me, wasn’t there a vendor here just now? I wanted to buy this compass.”

  ???: “Uh, yes, but he is—”

  Suddenly, Najun presses himself tightly against the body of this small person and pushes a sharp stone into the paper bag.

  Najun: “I know you’ve been following us this whole time. I may not be able to see intentions or thoughts, but when something with the same shape is always behind us and keeps exactly thirty or twenty-five steps away, that’s suspicious. Your body language was strange too. You probably thought my ability wasn’t that precise. Bad source?”

  ???: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just wanted to—”

  Najun: “The only reasons I’m not killing you are that you look very young and that you helped Saku in the cube stop those perverted pigs. I actually wanted to help her myself, but when I saw that you were already helping and that she could handle herself, I thought there was no need to intervene unnecessarily.”

  The person stays completely silent and makes no sound. Najun lets go and uses his sharp stone to cut open the bag. All the tomatoes roll across the path, and people start looking at the two of them strangely.

  Najun: “Oh, I’m sorry. I accidentally caught your bag with my fingernails. Let me collect the tomatoes.”

  Najun carefully picks them all up and puts them into a new bag from another stall.

  Najun: “Get lost. If I sense your filthy presence near us one more time, I will really kill you. Don’t underestimate me a second time.”

  With these words, Najun disappears back into the crowd. He feels good about protecting his family without them knowing. It gives him a really good feeling. He also thinks it would have been unnecessary to burden the others with the information that they were being followed. Better to handle it himself.

  Najun: “[Where did the others go? They’ve spread out to all corners. This could take a while before I gather them all.]”

  Najun walks calmly through the market, searching for his group. Even after almost half an hour, he doesn’t find anyone—until someone taps him on the shoulder. Najun turns around and is startled. It is the people he did not want to meet yet. The ones he had already worried about finding out that he and the others were here.

  Najun: “Good evening, Father. Good evening, Uncle. Good evening, Aunt Keiko.”

  Najun bows respectfully and full of fear before them. His father presses his head down, practically crushing it.

  Aihara: “Looks like we’ve collected the last one.”

  Najun is forced to lift his head and sees his three traveling companions. All of them have large bumps on their heads and look just as frightened as he does.

  Ino: “Let’s go somewhere where there are no witnesses.”

  Aihara: “Good idea.”

  They start walking. Keiko laughs and expresses her pity for the children through various remarks she throws out.