"That day, as usual, I was hunting in the forest with the village adults. While we were looking for prey, we discovered a girl unconscious in the snow.
No one could bear to leave a young child to die, so naturally, we brought her back to the village to take care of her.
Our village is located in the northern part of the Empire, where snow covers the ground all year round. There are no other settlements within dozens of miles, so everyone was puzzled as to why a child would appear in the forest.
When she woke up, the village chief asked her many questions, but she couldn't remember anything.
Finally, the village chief asked her name. We didn't have much hope that she would recall anything—but surprisingly, she did remember.
She said her name was Yoshino.
The people in our village are kind-hearted, and no one had the heart to drive away a little girl, so we took her in.
But soon, we noticed something strange about her.
After a few weeks, we finally understood the source of her strangeness.
It turned out the girl we had saved seemed to have a psychological issue—she possessed two personalities within her body.
Yoshinon was the personality we usually interacted with—the one that appeared whenever the girl wore a bunny puppet on her hand and used ventriloquism to express its thoughts.
Yoshino, however, was her true self. She rarely spoke and never showed any expression. It was as if she herself was the puppet.
The first time I saw her use her power was a few months later, when we encountered a Class-2 Danger Beast in the forest.
Back then, I, Ieyasu, and Sayo were all on the verge of death. What saved us was an ice shield that suddenly appeared and blocked the fatal blow.
The Class-2 Danger Beast was then pierced through the chest by an ice lance and collapsed into the snow.
Later, Yoshinon told us that she could manipulate ice and snow.
We were all excited and grateful that Yoshinon had saved us, but we also wondered why she had never mentioned her abilities before.
Although Yoshinon was quite proud of saving us, there wasn't much joy in Yoshino eyes. As she stood beside the corpse, her usually emotionless face showed sorrow for the first time.
At that moment, we all understood—
She hated hurting others. She hated harming any living creature. That's why she had never used her powers until then.
We chose to keep her ability a secret from the adults and didn't tell anyone.
That event also marked the moment when Yoshino finally began to trust us. She started speaking to us on her own.
As we spent more time together, we quickly became close friends.
A few years later, I, Ieyasu, and Sayo grew up—but Yoshino didn't change at all. Her appearance and heart remained just like when we first met her.
At first, due to the age difference, we treated her like an older sister. But gradually, we began to see her more like a little sister.
Over the years in the village, Yoshino personality changed slightly. Although she still remained silent around strangers, she would occasionally say a few words to those she knew. She was no longer afraid to appear in front of unfamiliar people.
As we grew stronger and older, the three of us wanted to go to the Imperial Capital to make a living and support our poor village. Yoshino agreed to come with us.
You all know what happened afterward."
Tatsumi licked his slightly dry lips after speaking all at once, summarizing everything he knew.
None of the members of Night Raid immediately asked questions. Instead, they quietly pondered the details of the story.
Previously, they had assumed that Yoshino was just an ordinary hometown acquaintance of Tatsumi and hadn't paid much attention.
But after hearing that this girl could be a Teigu user and had a mysterious background, everyone began to take it seriously.
"Do you know any more details about her Teigu?" Najenda was the first to ask the question that concerned her most. "Like the specific abilities, or the name of the Teigu?"
"Unfortunately, I only know she can manipulate ice and snow for both defense and offense. Other than that, I know nothing."
"Do you know her true strength?"
"To be Honest, not really," Tatsumi said. "Yoshino only uses her power when her life is in real danger. At other times, even when she's bullied, she only runs away."
"To this day, the only thing she's killed is a Class-2 Danger Beast. That's definitely not her upper limit—but where that limit lies, probably only she herself knows."
Killing a Class-2 Danger Beast would already make her a hero among ordinary people.
But if she were a Teigu user, that wouldn't be enough.
After all, Tatsumi now had the power to defeat a Class-1 Danger Beast that could destroy an entire city.
"Based on the current intel, your friend might not necessarily be a Teigu user," Najenda analyzed. "In this world, besides Teigu, there are also Shingu, alchemy-based tools, and other special artifacts."
"But no matter what it is, we need to bring her here."
"Boss, with all due respect—Yoshino is not suited for Night Raid, nor the Revolutionary Army," Tatsumi shook his head. "She's too gentle. Even after saving us, she was depressed for a long time because she had killed that beast. There's no way she could bring herself to kill a person."
"I understand. I have no intention of making her join Night Raid," Najenda replied. "I only want to negotiate for the ice-controlling artifact she has. After the exchange, I'll have someone escort her back to your village."
"After all, she barely uses it. Rather than letting it go to waste, why not let it contribute to our revolution?"
"This…"
Tatsumi wanted to object, but he couldn't deny that Najenda had a point.
Although it felt a bit overbearing, for the sake of Night Raid—and for the country—sometimes individuals had to make sacrifices.
"Don't worry. The Revolutionary Army doesn't take things for free," Najenda said. "We'll compensate her with money and grant her any reasonable wish."
"Don't feel like this is inappropriate. In fact, it's actually in her best interest. If the Empire's nobles find out she possesses such a treasure, you know what kind of fate awaits her."
"You're right…"
Thinking of the darkness in the Capital, Tatsumi nodded in agreement.
But soon, his expression turned anxious.
"Leone, you said earlier that Esdeath went after Yoshino, right? Then what happened to her now?"
"I don't know. She either escaped or got captured."
"Then we have to go save her now!" Tatsumi slammed the table and stood up. "If she's been captured, forget the artifact—her life might be in danger!"
"Don't be so hasty," Najenda said calmly. "I don't think Esdeath pursued her because she was after her artifact."
"Even if Esdeath noticed the treasure, she's not the type to rob people. Besides, she doesn't have any ability or tool to detect artifacts."
"Then why did she go after her?"
"Perhaps… it's related to their identities?"
Najenda rested her elbows on the table, interlacing her fingers under her chin. Her eyes glimmered with contemplation.
"Don't you all think Esdeath and Yoshino… look quite Similiar?"
At that moment, Leone—who had seen both Esdeath and Yoshino—raised her head with a strange expression.
The others also looked surprised, as if they had guessed what Najenda was about to say.
"Tatsumi, you said your village found Yoshino about eight years ago, right?"
"Yes. I was only six years old then, but I clearly remember that day."
"Before I defected from the Empire, I served as Esdeath deputy for a time. She once told me a few things about her past—like how her tribe was destroyed by northern savages eight years ago."
Najenda continued slowly.
"And… that her younger sister went missing during the chaos."