In the original game, "Kaname" was just "Kaname." Her surname was never revealed.
To think she actually had one, and that it was "Shiunin"—
It was the same name as the will of the Ancient Magic I had first encountered. There was no way this was just a coincidence.
I must have let a grim expression slip, as Kaname tilted her head curiously.
"Is something the matter, de gozaru ka?"
"…No, nothing. I was just a bit taken aback by your surname. It’s an Eastern one, right? Is it common in your country?"
"It is a rare name, de gozaru. I have never heard it used outside of my own clan."
So there was no chance that "Shiunin" was just the Eastern equivalent of a common name like "Tanaka."
As I thought—there was no way that entity could get away with claiming she had "no relation" to this girl!
That damn Shiunin. Is she just messing with me for her own amusement? There was absolutely, undeniably a connection here.
But what kind of connection?
I was dying to know, but I didn't know how to ask Kaname. Bringing up Ancient Magic was far too risky...
Suddenly, I realized Kaname was gripping my hand with surprising strength, staring at it intently.
"Ah, sorry."
I tried to pull away, but Kaname wouldn't let go.
"…What’s wrong?"
"Shaking hands with you is strangely comforting, kiden. It is like dozing inside a kotatsu in the dead of winter..."
Based on my memories of my previous life, I could certainly relate to that being a good feeling, but it was just plain weird in this situation!
"Aren't you just tired from being in an unfamiliar land?"
I pulled my hand back with a bit of force. Kaname looked down at her own palm, appearing slightly disappointed.
"Anyway, you had business with me, didn't you?"
"Oh, that is right, de gozaru! I wish to behold your lightning magic! People say it is quite similar to my own Thunderclap!"
"I don't mind showing you, but we're in the same year. You'll have plenty of chances to see it eventually. Can it wait until then?"
I wouldn't have minded helping her out, but right now, I was desperate to go interrogate Shiunin. I decided to push our training off for later.
"…Muu. I suppose that is true. Your point is well-taken, kiden."
Kaname nodded and turned on her heel.
"I apologize for taking up your time. I look forward to speaking with you again, de gozaru."
"Yeah, see you later."
I gave a light wave and parted ways with Kaname.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
After returning to my dormitory room, I took out the Imperial Book of Weather Control once again.
I focused my intent and opened the pages.
—Hey, Shiunin! Get out here, now!
In an instant, the world around me shifted. Just like the day before, I found myself standing in the gravel garden of a sprawling Japanese-style manor.
Shiunin’s voice drifted out from behind the shoji doors.
『To visit me yesterday and again today... what a persistent man you are.』
I wasn't in the mood for her games.
I marched across the gravel garden, kicked off my shoes, and stepped onto the veranda. I threw open the shoji doors from which the voice had come.
Deep within the tatami room sat Shiunin on a curtained dais.
She was draped in beautiful, layered robes that contrasted sharply with her lustrous jet-black hair. Though the folding fan in her hand obscured the lower half of her face, the irritation in her thunder-colored eyes was unmistakable.
"To barge into a lady's chambers without leave... You truly are a mannerless fool...!"
"Listen! I just met a woman named Kaname, and her surname is the same as yours! Do you still intend to play dumb!?"
"Hou... how interesting..."
Shiunin narrowed her eyes slightly, but that was her only reaction.
"However, my answer remains the same. I have no recollection of anyone who would dare claim my honorable name, nor of anyone who wields the same lightning as I."
Her tone made it sound like she truly didn't know. The problem was that I could never tell how much these entities were being honest and how much they were simply feigning ignorance.
"No matter how you look at it, there are too many 'coincidences' for this to be a fluke!"
"What I do not know, I do not know. What does not interest me, does not interest me."
"No, but—!"
"Silence, fool!"
The glow in Shiunin’s lightning-like eyes intensified.
With a swift motion, she flicked her fan.
A sharp, unpleasant whistle sliced through the air.
The realization that the sound was the air being rent apart, the white-hot agony in my leg, and my balance failing as I collapsed onto the tatami—it all happened at once.
"Gwah!?"
I hit the floor hard, slamming my face against the mat. I tried to scramble up in a panic, but my leg wouldn't obey. I looked back and finally understood why.
My leg was gone.
To be precise, my severed leg was still lying back where I had been standing moments ago.
The moment I processed the sight, an unimaginable pain surged through me.
"Uwaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"
That woman... she cut off my leg from across the room with nothing more than a flick of her fan?!
Shiunin stood up gracefully.
Her cold gaze looked down at my writhing form.
"It seems a fool like you has already forgotten my warning. I do not permit the same question twice."
She approached with slow, measured steps and stepped onto my head.
The sound of my bones grinding echoed in my ears.
My skull was being crushed as if placed under a slow-moving hydraulic press. I reached up with both hands to shove her foot away, but it was like trying to move a massive oak tree.
"Hohoho! What a foolish, pitiful creature. The way you squirm is truly comical!"
A loud crack resounded inside my head as bone gave way.
"As I am merciful, I shall forgive this single act of insolence. I will let you go without finalizing your death. However, there will not be a second time. Next time, I will grant you a certain end. If you wish to ask me something, come prepared to pay the price."
Then, she added one final thing.
"Your words and conduct are so crude I can hardly bear it. If you wish to ask a lady for a favor, first learn how to woo one."
With a sound like a bursting balloon, my head was crushed flat.
————
————When I came to, I was back in my dormitory room.
I was drenched in sweat. The backlash of being killed in that world left my entire body weighed down by a crushing fatigue. I had been killed by Verdict countless times, but this was something I could never get used to.
I set the Imperial Book of Weather Control back on the desk.
If she was going to deny it that forcefully, was it possible she really didn't know?
...If so, it really was just a massive coincidence. But I still couldn't swallow that.
The problem was that questioning Shiunin any further was no longer an option. She had said she’d kill me for another "stupid question," and I didn't doubt her for a second. She would absolutely follow through.
Since I had to stay away from the entity, I decided to focus on Kaname.
The next day, I invited Kaname to the training grounds.
"I’ll show you my Lightning Bolt, like you wanted."
"Truly, de gozaru ka!?"
Kaname followed me with genuine joy. Standing before her, I held out my right hand and channeled mana toward the target.
"Spell: 'Lightning Bolt'."
A flash of brilliant gold illuminated the training grounds.
The bolt struck the target with a thunderous roar. I had dialed back the power, so there was no major destruction, but the impact was still significant.
"Well? What do you think?"
I turned back to Kaname, only to find her face flushed and her eyes welling with tears.
"Ah... to think the day would finally come when I could meet Lady Shiunin..."
Wait, what? What did she just say?
Suddenly, Kaname lunged at me, wrapping me in a tight embrace as she cried out.
"Uwoooooooo! Lady Shiunin! It is an honor to finally meet you!"
What the hell is this?!
I’m Shiunin, you’re Shiunin, and that haughty brat in the book is Shiunin too?!
There are too many Shiunins!
What are you?! Seriously, what the hell are you?!