I looked around. “Yoichi?”
The track cut sharply into the trees on the west side of the slope and within seconds the mansion was gone behind us and the chaos was muffled by leaves.
"Yoichi?! Where are you going? The evacuation is the other way."
He didn’t even look over his shoulder. “Letgrandmaanswer for you.”
“What?” I looked at her.
“Grandma?” The old woman chuckled. “You’re the one old enough to be my great-great-great grandparent.”
I blinked.
Yoichi growled.
“But I will answer your question, Tora.” Then, the old woman sat up. Her spine, which had been bent almost in two, minutes ago, straightened all at once. Her cane shifted in her grip and she gave me a smile that was not the smile of an old grandmothertrying to save her grandsons. It was the wicked expression of a warrior that had just won.
I leaned away. “W-what is going on?”
"You passed our tests, Tora." She winked. Her voice came out clearer and younger than it had been thirty seconds ago. "Now we have a detour."
“Who are you?”
“Someone you’re not supposed to know about, but this day has called for drastic measures.”
“That’s still not an answer.”
“I love that the Dragon has picked a smart woman. Sometimes the men only pick with their cocks.”
I widened my eyes.
Those grandsons laughed.
“You have a brain and even your own power. Very good blood. Lots to work with. If she were alive right now, the Dragon’s mother would be proud.” She tapped her cane once against the floor of the cart.
Bang.
The sound cut through the chaos around us.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then the cane shimmered, and a magical transformation began. Deep inside the wood itself, moonlight rippled. Pale silver lines spread across the polished surface in branching veins.
I opened my mouth in shock.
The wood melted, turned to silver, and reshaped into a blade.
A katana.
The handle elongated.
Glowing symbols surfaced.
The air sparked.
I sucked in a breath. “H-how did you do that?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not magic. It’s just an illusion that I’ve practiced for a long time.”
