Seryu Ubiquitous

Yorii Tsugikuni nodded slightly. For many years in the past, he had lived alone.

He had few material needs, and his life had been simplicity itself.

Thus, he did not find anything wrong with the shabby room before him.

"When I was at home, I liked helping my mother clean the rooms."

Sayo moved swiftly. She brought up a wooden basin filled with water from downstairs and began carefully wiping the floor with a rag.

Half-kneeling on the floor, she was still a young girl, yet her curves fully displayed her voluptuous figure.

"Mm."

Yorii Tsugikuni stared at a spiderweb in front of him. A butterfly was trapped in the middle of the web in the corner.

He replied softly to Sayo, then gently freed the trapped butterfly. Picking up some food crumbs from the table, he carefully placed them on the web.

"Sorry for taking your food."

In the evening glow, Yorii Tsugikuni's gentle features were dyed red. The rescued butterfly slowly flew up from his palm, eventually flying toward the sunset.

"Master really is a gentle person."

Sayo tilted her head slightly, momentarily lost in thought by the scene before her.

The two worked well together.

Before long, the room, which had accumulated much dust and was somewhat messy, had been thoroughly cleaned.

The floor was wiped spotless, and the small items in the room had been rearranged into suitable places.

"We're back!"

First, Ieyasu's voice reached the room from afar.

Then came a burst of brisk footsteps.

Swish!

Yorii Tsugikuni took out a small box of matches and struck one lightly, lighting the lantern in the room.

"Ieyasu, can't you keep your voice down?"

Seeing Ieyasu push the door open and walk in with a grin, Sayo immediately gave him a knock on the head and said helplessly, "It's rude to be so loud. We aren't the only ones living here, idiot!"

"Hiss! That hurt."

"Got it. I'll be more careful next time."

After taking Sayo's knock, Ieyasu covered his forehead with one hand, his eyes watering from the pain as he looked pitifully at Yorii Tsugikuni.

But when he saw that Yorii Tsugikuni said nothing, he could only admit his mistake.

"These are the rice balls Master wanted, and this is Sayo's dorayaki."

Tatsumi stood behind Ieyasu.

Seeing Ieyasu holding the bump on his head, Tatsumi held back his laughter, the corners of his mouth twitching as he took out the food they had brought back. "This is Ieyasu's bread and sake."

The four sat facing one another around the low table in the room.

The hazy orange lamplight, combined with the sight of them eating together, made the little house feel especially warm.

"By the way, Master, when we went out to buy food just now, we ran into a colleague from the Security Force."

Ieyasu stuffed half a loaf of bread into his mouth.

The hunger he had experienced in childhood made him instinctively eat faster, as though it gave him some sense of security.

After swallowing the bread, Ieyasu took a sip of sake and continued, "She was chasing a bad guy, and Tatsumi and I even helped her out. She gave us this sake while she was buying food."

"Mm, no wonder you two took so long."

Yorii Tsugikuni slowly ate the rice ball in his hand.

He ate very slowly, chewing every bite carefully. Every movement of his carried calmness and elegance.

Hearing Ieyasu speak to him, Yorii Tsugikuni paused and listened attentively.

"I heard people on the street say that girl was called Seryu?"

Tatsumi was eating a rice ball. This was already his fifth one.

Listening to their conversation, he added from the side, "Maybe you'll run into her at the Security Force tomorrow."

"Seryu."

Yorii Tsugikuni softly repeated the unfamiliar name, then continued eating the unfinished rice ball in his hand.

He liked maintaining consistency when doing something.

For example, when eating, he focused on eating rather than thinking about anything else.

Seryu Ubiquitous

A dinner that could not be called lavish ended completely before long.

Thoughtful Sayo went to the landlord and asked for a pot of hot tea. The group sat cross-legged together and listened as Yorii Tsugikuni explained matters that required attention while cultivating Breathing Techniques.

"Generally speaking, focus. Focus on your breathing and find the rhythm of life..."

Yorii Tsugikuni spoke earnestly and slowly, striving to ensure that all three could clearly understand every sentence.

As he spoke, a pale blue water dragon slowly circled around him. This was the rhythm of Water Breathing.

Sayo supported her chin with her fair hands, occasionally refilling Yorii Tsugikuni's tea.

Ieyasu, meanwhile, tilted his head, struggling to keep his eyes open. To him, what Yorii Tsugikuni was explaining was far too profound and difficult to understand. Unable to follow it, he gradually felt as though he were listening to a lullaby.

Tatsumi, on the other hand, had his eyes wide open and listened carefully. A faint glimmer of excitement flickered within them.

For Tatsumi, Breathing Techniques were an entirely new system of power.

Yorii Tsugikuni's words made him feel as though he had entered a new world, and he began earnestly trying to comprehend them according to Yorii Tsugikuni's guidance.

"All right, we'll stop here for today. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come ask me anytime."

Only after thoroughly explaining how to reach the state of Total Concentration Constant did Yorii Tsugikuni finally stop.

Looking at Ieyasu, whose drool was flowing freely.

He smiled faintly and said, "It's getting late. Everyone should go back and rest."

"Time for bed, Ieyasu!"

Seeing Ieyasu still snoring where he sat, Tatsumi, seated cross-legged beside him, stifled a laugh and cupped his hands around his mouth like a horn. Then he took a deep breath and shouted at him.

"Ah... You scared me to death! Tatsumi, get back here!"

Startled by Tatsumi, Ieyasu sprang up from the floor, nearly hitting the low ceiling.

Seeing Tatsumi run laughing out the door, he chased after him in indignation.

"Mmph, mmph..."

Watching the two fool around, Sayo covered her mouth and laughed.

After laughing for a while, she tidied up the parts of Yorii Tsugikuni's room the two had messed up.

"Master, good night."

Carrying the teapot as she retreated outside, Sayo stuck out her tongue at Yorii Tsugikuni.

"Mm, you worked hard."

Yorii Tsugikuni nodded as the wooden door creaked shut.

As the footsteps along the long wooden corridor gradually faded away, he returned to his bed and closed his eyes.

"Our Security Force work is simple."

"When there are patrol assignments, we patrol the streets. When there aren't, we stay at the Security Force on duty."

An older Security Force member led Yorii Tsugikuni and the other two to stop before a building.

He loosened his overly tight belt slightly and slowly explained some of the Security Force's duties to them. "Of course, there are emergency assignments as well, but generally speaking, compared to some other Imperial departments, our usual work is fairly easy."

"This is where you'll usually be on duty. You can rest here too, or whatever."

After explaining some matters that required attention, the older member casually pushed open the mottled door before them and waved a hand through the air. "Though there's a bit more dust here."

"Thank you for bringing us here."

After finishing his introduction, the older member quickly left.

Yorii Tsugikuni thanked the helpful colleague.

"Looks like we'll be busy for a while again."

"I have a feeling we're being singled out."

Ieyasu stepped into the room and lightly slapped the tabletop. A large cloud of dust immediately scattered in all directions.

Clearly, no one had come here in a long time.

He pushed open the window and saw older members in the rooms opposite occasionally glancing over. He muttered gloomily, "Those people are obviously watching us make fools of ourselves."

"Go find some tools."

Having lived two lives, Yorii Tsugikuni did not care much about such matters.

He lightly patted Ieyasu on the shoulder, then prepared to start tidying the room.

"But... all right."

Ieyasu wanted to say something, but when he saw Sayo shake her head, he swallowed his words.

He quickly understood that this was a job they had found only with difficulty, so it was best not to cause trouble.

Besides, this was not something overly excessive.

Lowering his head, Ieyasu felt somewhat wronged. Suddenly, he missed his hometown.

There had been warmhearted villagers there, as well as family members he cared about.

"Hey, remember me?"

"We met yesterday."

Ieyasu shook his head. Just as he was about to ask someone where he could find cleaning tools, he suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice.

"Seryu?"

Turning around, Ieyasu quickly saw an orange-haired girl enter his field of vision.

The girl was examining him with clear, bright brown eyes.

Ieyasu quickly recognized who she was. She was the colleague he and Tatsumi had seen yesterday while she was chasing a criminal.

"Your memory isn't bad."

Seryu held Koro as she watched Koro bare his teeth at the room. Only then did she notice that there were two more people in the long-abandoned room.

Pointing at the abandoned room, Seryu looked at Ieyasu with some confusion. "And these two are?"

"Oh, this is my master, Mr. Yorii Tsugikuni."

Ieyasu scratched the back of his head. Looking toward Yorii Tsugikuni and Sayo, he introduced them with a smile. "Her name is Sayo. She's from my hometown, and we just joined the Security Force."

Yorii Tsugikuni?

Seryu crouched down and gently patted the uneasy Koro on the ground, soothing it.

Ever since it had seen the young man named Yorii Tsugikuni, her Imperial Arm, Koro the Hundred-Armed Giant, had been restless and uneasy. Clearly, the young man before her was not ordinary.

"My name is Seryu Ubiquitous. It's a pleasure to meet you."

After calming her companion, Seryu walked over to Yorii Tsugikuni and Sayo and introduced herself.

Seeing the dust-covered room, she frowned and quickly understood what had happened.

She had seen plenty of cases where older Security Force members bullied newcomers.

What a strange creature.