THE COLDEST DEMON GOD
An Unwanted Hero's Ascension
Volume 1 — Summoning & Rejection
Chapter 12 — A Place of His Own
Morning came quietly over Aureum.
First light touched the eastern towers of the capital, caught against white stone and cathedral spires, then slipped through the windows of the Imperial guest wing.
Renjiro Kurogane had already been awake for nearly an hour.
His room looked almost untouched.
The bed was made. The writing desk had been cleared. The few clothes Valentia had issued him were folded beside a small leather satchel, along with the handful of local coins he had been given for incidental guest expenses.
Renjiro counted them once.
Then focused.
“Store.”
The coins vanished.
A dark storage interface opened briefly.
VALENTIAN COPPER COIN ×18
VALENTIAN SILVER COIN ×4
He dismissed it.
Most of his spare clothing followed.
A towel.
Several small personal items.
Anything he would not need immediately.
Renjiro stopped when the satchel was nearly empty.
Walking out of the Imperial Palace carrying nothing at all would attract unnecessary attention.
So he returned one shirt, the towel and a water flask to the bag.
Enough to look ordinary.
Last night’s testing had already established that Void Box was absurdly useful. Objects appeared to retain their condition. Liquid remained contained. Weight had shown no obvious relevance, although Renjiro had tested nothing large enough to establish an actual limit.
He had learned enough to use it.
Not enough to assume he understood it.
That distinction mattered.
Renjiro pulled the satchel over one shoulder and looked through the window.
Somewhere beyond Aureum’s eastern wall stood the agricultural holding Princess Aurelia had offered him.
Housing.
Land.
Financial support.
A compassionate solution for the summoned student whom Valentia’s native Status Crystal had classified as an Unskilled Civilian with Farmer aptitude.
The Empire wanted him out of the Hero program.
Renjiro wanted out of the Empire’s plans.
Those goals were compatible.
For now.
He left the room.
✦ ✦ ✦
Breakfast had become louder with each passing day.
Apparently, thirty teenagers adapted to impossible circumstances faster when food was involved.
Junpei was explaining to Mika that yesterday’s spear drills had been “tactical suffering.”
Mika informed him that complaining was not a combat Skill.
Junpei disagreed.
Loudly.
Renjiro sat near the end of the table and ate.
Shizuka arrived carrying a tray.
“Kurogane-kun.”
“Sensei.”
“You’re inspecting the property this morning?”
“Yes.”
“I’m coming.”
Renjiro looked at her.
“You asked?”
“I informed them.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
“It should be.”
An Imperial attendant approaching the table proved otherwise.
He bowed.
“Kurogane-sama. The carriage is prepared. Master Oren Halvek will accompany you during the agricultural inspection.”
Shizuka stood.
“Good. I’ll come as well.”
The attendant’s expression changed by less than a fraction.
“My apologies, Takahashi-sama. Today’s inspection has been authorized for Kurogane-sama and Master Oren only.”
“Why?”
“The holding remains under Imperial agricultural administration. The relevant officials requested that the prospective resident inspect it directly before the relocation file proceeds.”
“I’m his teacher.”
“I understand.”
“Then you understand why I’m coming.”
The attendant clearly did.
Unfortunately, understanding and authority were separate things.
“I do not have permission to alter the arrangement.”
Shizuka’s expression hardened.
Nearby conversations weakened.
Daiki looked over.
“Sensei should be allowed to go.”
Akari nodded.
“At least until Kurogane-kun knows where he’ll actually be staying.”
The attendant looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Reina said nothing.
Her attention had moved to Renjiro.
Renjiro finished his tea.
“It’s fine.”
Shizuka turned toward him immediately.
“No, it isn’t.”
“I’ll inspect it and come back.”
“That isn’t the point.”
“I know.”
Her frustration stalled.
Renjiro stood and adjusted the strap of his satchel.
“I won’t agree to anything I haven’t read.”
Shizuka studied him.
“You read everything.”
“Yes.”
“Everything.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
“And if something feels wrong—”
“I don’t sign.”
Her shoulders lowered slightly.
Not because she liked the situation.
Because she knew him well enough to believe that part.
“You come straight back.”
“I will.”
Junpei raised one hand.
“If it has goats—”
Mika seized his wrist.
“No.”
“I was only going to ask—”
“No.”
Renjiro left before the argument developed.
Behind him, Shizuka remained standing.
Watching.
✦ ✦ ✦
Oren Halvek waited beside the eastern carriage wearing the same faded green coat, worn boots and complete lack of concern for Imperial presentation that Renjiro had appreciated yesterday.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
“They tell you I’m your chaperone?”
“Agricultural adviser.”
Oren opened the carriage door.
“Better title. Same carriage.”
Renjiro got inside.
The carriage rolled through Aureum.
Government avenues gradually narrowed into merchant streets. Bakers opened shutters. Smithies were already alive with hammer blows. Produce carts crowded intersections while shopkeepers arranged displays beneath coloured awnings.
The farther they travelled from the palace, the less Aureum looked like Valentia wanted to be worshipped.
It looked like a city.
People worked.
Argued.
Bought breakfast.
Dragged children away from traffic.
Complained about prices.
A Human merchant shouted at a porter carrying flour.
A Dwarf was arguing with someone over a wagon axle.
Farther down the road, Renjiro noticed a Feline Beastkin woman carrying two heavy baskets.
A narrow metal collar circled her neck.
He focused.
Appraisal Eyes answered.
SERVITUDE RESTRAINT
Grade: Low
Primary Function: Ownership Identification • Movement Restriction
Secondary Function: Pain Compliance
Renjiro dismissed the information.
The woman moved aside when two richly dressed Human men exited a bakery.
Neither acknowledged her.
Renjiro remembered it.
Nothing more.
The palace murals.
The chained Beastkin.
Religious language presenting Humans as divinely favoured.
Now collars used for ownership and compliance.
The pattern no longer required imagination.
It still did not require him to start a crusade.
Oren noticed where he was looking.
“First time outside the central districts?”
“Mostly.”
Oren’s gaze moved briefly toward the Beastkin woman.
He said nothing.
Neither did Renjiro.
The carriage continued.
At Aureum’s eastern gate, the Imperial crest allowed them through without inspection.
Beyond the walls, the world opened.
Fields stretched across rolling land broken by stone walls, small villages and narrow roads. Forest covered the hills farther east. A stream caught the morning light as it twisted between cultivated plots.
Renjiro leaned slightly toward the window.
Oren noticed.
“More interesting than the palace?”
“Yes.”
“That was fast.”
“It isn’t difficult.”
Oren laughed.
The property appeared roughly half an hour later.
Several hectares of neglected farmland surrounded a two-storey farmhouse. The lower level was built from stone, the upper structure from dark timber and plaster. A tiled roof sloped above a narrow porch. A barn stood farther back, while an old orchard stretched toward the northern boundary.
A stream passed near the eastern side of the land.
The forest was closer than Renjiro expected.
He looked toward it.
Oren sighed.
“Monsters.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“You were going to.”
“What kind?”
“I knew it.”
Oren pointed toward the tree line.
“Greyfang wolves farther in. Horned boars. Slimes around wet areas. Goblins occasionally travel through the outer forest, although patrols and Adventurers keep them away from the main roads.”
Adventurers.
Renjiro looked at the forest again.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You looked interested.”
“This is my normal face.”
“That excuse gets worse every time.”
They entered the property.
Someone had repaired it recently.
Several roof tiles were new. Two windows had been replaced. Fresh timber reinforced part of the porch, and the chimney had been cleaned.
Minimal work.
Enough to present the farmhouse as habitable.
Renjiro started with the building.
Foundation.
Roof.
Support beams.
Doors.
Windows.
Cellar.
Well.
Kitchen.
Oren eventually stopped following every movement.
“You inspecting a house or preparing to buy a fortress?”
“Both require walls not to collapse.”
“Fair.”
Renjiro used Appraisal Eyes selectively.
The northern support structure showed mild moisture damage.
The well water was safe.
The chimney needed another cleaning within a few months.
The cellar remained structurally stable.
No hidden magical surveillance appeared inside the farmhouse.
That last part interested him more than the others.
The land itself was neglected but recoverable. Drainage was uneven. Several plots had gone unused long enough for weeds to dominate. The orchard required pruning, and two trees were already beyond saving.
None of it was a serious problem.
Renjiro stood on the porch and looked across the property.
Quiet.
Close enough to a village for supplies.
Far enough from Aureum that the palace was no longer visible.
Forest nearby.
Road access.
Water.
Space.
He liked it.
Unfortunately, liking a place and owning it were completely different things.
A carriage arrived shortly afterward.
A man in formal administrative clothing stepped down carrying a leather document case.
He bowed.
“Kurogane-sama. I am Administrator Verdan Pell, Ministry of Territorial Administration.”
Renjiro returned the acknowledgement.
Verdan opened the case.
“These are the preliminary residency documents concerning the eastern agricultural holding.”
“Preliminary?”
“Yes.”
Renjiro accepted them.
He read.
The first page described the land.
The second described agricultural obligations.
Then the wording changed.
IMPERIAL AGRICULTURAL OCCUPANCY LICENCE
Not ownership.
Not transfer of title.
Occupancy.
Renjiro turned the page.
The licence could be revoked by Imperial administrative order.
No minimum occupancy period was guaranteed.
Agricultural use requirements could be amended by ministry regulation.
Maintenance responsibility belonged primarily to the resident.
Future transfer of title was mentioned only as a discretionary possibility.
He continued reading.
“Where is the ownership document?”
Verdan paused.
“Transfer of title would be considered after the initial residency period.”
“How long?”
“That depends on performance and administrative review.”
“Minimum?”
“There is no fixed minimum.”
“Maximum?”
Another pause.
“No fixed maximum.”
Oren looked toward the orchard.
Apparently fruit trees had become extremely interesting.
Renjiro turned another page.
“Monthly allowance.”
“A support stipend has been recommended.”
“Approved?”
“The Treasury request has been submitted.”
“So no.”
“It is expected to receive approval.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Verdan’s professional smile tightened.
Renjiro continued.
“Temporary housing authorization?”
“The farmhouse would serve as your accommodation once the occupancy order is issued.”
“Issued?”
“After administrative processing.”
“So I currently have no right to live here.”
Verdan hesitated.
“Not until the order is finalized.”
Renjiro closed the document.
There it was.
The farmhouse existed.
The land existed.
The promise did not.
Not yet.
Perhaps never.
“Do you require my signature?”
“Only acknowledgement that the proposed terms have been presented.”
Renjiro looked at the final page.
The wording confirmed exactly that.
He signed only the acknowledgement of inspection.
Nothing accepting residency.
Nothing accepting obligations.
Nothing describing the land as his.
Verdan blinked.
“You are not signing the declaration of intent?”
“No.”
“Doing so would allow the Ministry to process the relocation more quickly.”
“When the housing order, stipend and actual terms are approved, I’ll read them.”
“Princess Aurelia has personally requested that your transition be handled generously.”
Renjiro handed the documents back.
“Then finalizing them shouldn’t be difficult.”
Silence.
Oren coughed into one fist.
It sounded suspiciously like suppressed laughter.
Verdan closed the case.
“I will report your position.”
“Good.”
The administrator left.
Oren waited until the carriage disappeared along the road.
“You liked the house.”
“Yes.”
“Liked the land.”
“Yes.”
“Still didn’t agree.”
“It isn’t mine.”
Oren looked toward the farmhouse.
“Most people would take the roof first and worry about the paper later.”
“Probably.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Renjiro considered the property.
“A place someone can take away whenever they want isn’t mine.”
Oren studied him for several seconds.
Then nodded.
“Fair enough.”
Renjiro looked once more toward the forest.
The house would have been useful.
The land too.
But he had lived long enough depending on decisions made by other people.
He had no interest in building a life on permission that could disappear with one signature from an Imperial office.
“Ready?” Oren asked.
“Yes.”
They returned to the carriage.
✦ ✦ ✦
Something had changed while Renjiro was away.
He noticed it as soon as he returned to the Imperial residential wing.
Two Imperial Knights stood near the entrance.
General Brandon waited farther inside.
Malakor stood beside Princess Aurelia.
Shizuka was already there.
So were more than a dozen students who had apparently decided whatever was happening concerned them.
Junpei.
Mika.
Akari.
Daiki.
Reina.
Several others.
Renjiro stepped from the corridor.
Shizuka reached him first.
“Kurogane-kun.”
“Sensei.”
“How was it?”
“Quiet.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“You usually say that.”
“Because you keep answering around the question.”
Renjiro almost smiled.
Almost.
Shizuka saw the satchel.
Her expression changed.
“You packed.”
“Yes.”
“Before you left?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Renjiro looked toward Malakor.
“Preparation.”
Shizuka followed his gaze.
The answer clearly did not reassure her.
Malakor stepped forward.
“Kurogane Renjiro.”
No honorific.
The small change was deliberate.
Reina noticed.
Her eyes narrowed.
“The Imperial Council has completed its review of your position within the summoned Hero program.”
Shizuka turned.
“What review?”
Malakor ignored her.
“The native Status Crystal detected no foreign divine soul structure around Kurogane comparable to those associated with the Classes granted to the rest of the summoned group. His recognized presentation remains an Unskilled Civilian with Farmer aptitude, no registered Skills and negligible measurable combat potential.”
Daiki frowned.
Malakor continued.
“He has also declined military assessment and shown no desire to participate in the Empire’s Hero training program.”
“That was his choice,” Shizuka said.
“Yes.”
Brandon spoke from behind them.
“And choices have consequences.”
Shizuka turned sharply.
“He didn’t choose to come here.”
Silence.
Brandon’s expression hardened.
Aurelia moved before the argument could become openly hostile.
“Takahashi-sama.”
Her voice carried precisely the right amount of sympathy.
“No one is punishing Kurogane-sama.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“We are separating Hero-program accommodation from civilian support.”
Shizuka stared.
Aurelia continued gently.
“Kurogane-sama has repeatedly made it clear that he does not wish to serve as a Hero. Forcing him to remain inside a protected military residence designed around training and deployment would disregard his wishes.”
Beautiful.
Renjiro almost admired it.
Almost.
Daiki looked toward Aurelia.
“So he’s being expelled?”
Aurelia’s expression softened further.
“He is being formally released from the residential Hero program.”
Reina spoke.
“That’s expulsion with nicer words.”
The corridor became very quiet.
Aurelia looked toward her.
“The legal distinction matters.”
“Not to the person being told to leave.”
Renjiro glanced at Reina.
Troublesome.
Malakor’s patience finally broke.
“The decision has been made.”
Shizuka turned to Renjiro.
“You don’t have to accept this.”
“I know.”
“Then say something.”
Renjiro looked at her.
“I want to leave.”
That stopped her.
Completely.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
“Kurogane-kun.”
“I was going to leave eventually.”
“Eventually isn’t today.”
“It can be.”
Her lips tightened.
“Not because they’ve made you think you’re useless?”
“No.”
“Not because you think you’re causing trouble?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Renjiro looked beyond the corridor windows.
Aureum’s walls were visible in the distance.
Beyond them—
roads.
Villages.
Forests.
Monsters.
Herbs.
Blacksmiths.
The Adventurer Guild.
An entire world.
“I want to see Asteria.”
Shizuka followed his gaze.
Renjiro continued.
“I don’t want to spend every day inside this palace waiting for Valentia to decide what I should do.”
Her expression shifted.
“I’ll figure out the rest myself.”
“You’re eighteen.”
“Yes.”
“You say that like eighteen is ancient.”
“I didn’t.”
“Your face did.”
“This is my normal face.”
A strangled sound came from Junpei.
Mika elbowed him immediately.
The tension cracked for half a second.
Aurelia used it.
Of course she did.
“Takahashi-sama, I understand why you’re worried. That is precisely why the Holy Empire has made arrangements for Kurogane-sama’s civilian transition.”
Renjiro’s attention sharpened.
Aurelia continued.
“Suitable housing, agricultural land, initial equipment and a monthly living allowance have been arranged while he establishes himself.”
Shizuka stared at her.
“All of that is confirmed?”
Renjiro became very still.
Aurelia answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
A clean lie.
Not proposed.
Not being processed.
Not expected.
Confirmed.
Renjiro had read the documents himself less than two hours earlier.
There was no occupancy order.
No Treasury approval.
No title.
No completed relocation package.
Aurelia knew he knew.
Their eyes met.
Only briefly.
Her smile did not change.
There.
She understood that he had noticed.
Renjiro said nothing.
Why would he?
Expose her now and Shizuka would fight harder.
Daiki would question the Empire.
The relocation could be delayed.
More meetings.
More palace scrutiny.
More attention.
Renjiro wanted the opposite.
Shizuka exhaled slowly.
“If he has somewhere safe to live…”
“He does,” Aurelia said.
Another lie.
Akari looked toward Renjiro.
“You’ll still be able to visit, right?”
Renjiro looked at her.
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
“I don’t know their rules yet.”
Aurelia answered before anyone else could.
“Kurogane-sama will not be imprisoned outside the palace, Tachibana-sama.”
Warm laughter moved through a few students.
Akari relaxed slightly.
Renjiro did not.
Daiki approached.
“You’re really okay with this?”
“Yes.”
“If you need help—”
“I’ll handle it.”
Daiki frowned.
“That wasn’t me saying you can’t.”
Renjiro paused.
Fair.
“Thanks.”
Daiki looked mildly surprised.
Then nodded.
Junpei moved forward next.
“You better come back.”
“For what?”
“You’re still our classmate.”
“That doesn’t require a palace.”
Junpei opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
“…Actually, fair.”
Mika sighed.
“For once.”
Shizuka had not moved.
She looked angrier than anyone.
Not at Renjiro.
At herself.
Renjiro recognized that immediately.
“Sensei.”
She looked up.
“If anything happens—food, money, medicine, anything—you find me.”
“Yes.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“And don’t immediately join the Adventurer Guild.”
Renjiro paused.
Shizuka closed her eyes.
“Kurogane-kun.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Even Reina looked like she was trying not to smile.
Malakor gestured impatiently toward the corridor.
“Your belongings will be transferred.”
“Already packed.”
His gaze dropped to Renjiro’s satchel.
“That is all?”
“Yes.”
Brandon looked at the small bag.
Renjiro did not explain Void Box.
Aurelia stepped aside.
“An administrative liaison will meet you at the eastern civil gate to finalize the relocation arrangements.”
“Understood.”
Renjiro looked at Shizuka one last time.
She was worried.
Angry.
Powerless in a world whose legal system she did not understand, surrounded by rulers who controlled food, lodging, guards and information.
For now, she believed he had a roof.
Land.
Money.
Renjiro let her keep that belief.
Then he walked away.
✦ ✦ ✦
Shizuka remained in the corridor long after Renjiro disappeared.
She hated how easy it had been.
One review.
Several formal sentences.
A legal distinction she could not verify.
Then one of her students was simply no longer permitted to live with the others.
Everyone kept using better words.
Civilian transition.
Independent residency.
Alternative development.
Release from the Hero program.
Support.
The words sounded reasonable.
That made them worse.
Akari stopped beside her.
“Sensei…”
Shizuka looked over.
Akari’s hands were clasped tightly in front of her.
“I should’ve said more.”
“No.”
“But—”
“This is not your responsibility.”
Akari looked toward the empty corridor.
Neither of them seemed convinced.
Daiki was speaking quietly with Aurelia a short distance away. The Princess listened with patient concern, occasionally nodding.
Junpei was uncharacteristically silent.
Mika stared at the floor.
Reina had not moved.
Her eyes remained fixed on the corridor Renjiro had taken.
Shizuka pressed two fingers against her forehead.
She had promised herself that all thirty students would remain under her protection until they found a way home.
It had taken less than a week for the first one to leave.
Housing. Land. Allowance.
She repeated the words silently.
At least he had those.
A safe house.
Food money.
Somewhere to sleep.
It should have made her feel better.
It did not.
✦ ✦ ✦
The eastern civil gate had no administrative liaison.
Renjiro waited thirty seconds.
Then one minute.
A junior clerk eventually approached holding an envelope.
“Kurogane-sama?”
“Yes.”
The man checked a document.
Then held out the envelope.
“I was instructed to give you this.”
Renjiro opened it.
NOTICE OF RELEASE FROM IMPERIAL RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM
Effective immediately.
No alternate address.
No transport order.
No agricultural occupancy permit.
Renjiro looked at the clerk.
“Property assignment?”
The man swallowed.
“The agricultural holding remains under administrative review.”
“Residency order?”
“None has been issued.”
“Allowance?”
“Treasury authorization has not been approved.”
“Temporary accommodation?”
The clerk looked genuinely uncomfortable now.
“There is no accommodation order attached to your file.”
Renjiro folded the document.
Once.
Cleanly.
Exactly as expected.
The clerk looked miserable enough that Renjiro almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“I apologize, Kurogane-sama. I was told the remaining arrangements would be completed before your release.”
“Not your problem.”
The clerk blinked.
“Sir?”
“You didn’t make the decision.”
“No.”
“Then stop apologizing for it.”
The man looked unsure how to respond.
Renjiro slid the folded notice into his satchel.
He could store it later, somewhere no one was watching.
“Anything else?”
“No, Kurogane-sama.”
“Then we’re done.”
Renjiro walked through the gate.
No escort followed.
No carriage waited.
No Imperial servant carried his possessions.
The enormous white palace remained behind him.
Its gates closed.
Renjiro stopped on an Aureum street beneath the afternoon sun.
For the first time since arriving in Asteria—
nobody had scheduled his next hour.
No orientation. No Imperial summons. No military assessment. No agricultural consultation.
Nothing.
He inhaled.
Fresh bread. Forge smoke. Horses. Oil. Spices. Sweat.
A drainage channel somewhere nearby that desperately needed improvement.
Freedom smelled less dramatic than expected.
Renjiro started walking.
He had limited money.
No guaranteed accommodation.
No local identification.
No weapon.
No legal understanding beyond several hours of orientation.
A sensible person might have found an inn first.
Renjiro intended to.
Eventually.
First—
he needed information.
Street signs marked apothecaries, general stores, weapon shops and inns. He watched transactions and recalculated the value of his small supply of coins. He noted patrol routes, market density and the directions people carrying adventuring equipment tended to travel.
Then he saw the emblem.
A sword crossed behind a silver identification plate.
The building beneath it occupied three floors of dark timber and grey stone. Armed men and women moved constantly through the broad entrance.
One party carried bundled monster hides.
Another dragged a wooden crate that periodically shook.
A third group was arguing loudly about who had lost a shield.
The sign beneath the emblem read:
AUREUM ADVENTURER GUILD — EASTERN BRANCH
Renjiro stopped.
There it was.
He had seen the Central Branch from outside during the Imperial tour.
This one was smaller.
Closer.
And no Imperial escort stood between him and the door.
In less than a week, another world had given him a forbidden summoning, a Goddess, an altered Divine System, a Holy Empire, a false native Job presentation, political manipulation and an expulsion wrapped in charity.
Finally—
something he actually wanted.
Renjiro crossed the street.
He stopped before the doors.
No katana. Limited local currency. No knowledge of registration requirements or Guild ranks. No understanding of quest regulations, monster-core procedures or whether an Unskilled Civilian would be laughed away from the counter.
A sensible plan would be simple.
Find an inn. Buy food. Study local law. Return tomorrow.
Renjiro considered it.
The doors opened.
Warm noise spilled into the street.
Voices, laughter and arguments filled the room. Mugs struck tables. Someone complained about goblin ears while someone else demanded compensation for a destroyed shield.
Renjiro looked inside.
Quest boards covered one wall.
Reception counters lined another.
Weapons rested beside chairs.
Adventurers in mismatched armour filled tables while Guild workers moved between desks carrying ledgers and bundles of stamped paper.
Near the back, someone examined monster claws beneath a bright mana lamp.
Something shifted beneath Renjiro’s usual calm.
Small. Quiet. Genuine.
Excitement.
For years, worlds like this had existed behind screens and printed pages.
Guilds. Quests. Monsters. Loot. Maps. Crafting. Labyrinths.
Things he enjoyed privately because fictional worlds demanded nothing except curiosity.
Now one stood beyond a wooden threshold.
The farmhouse outside Aureum had never been his.
The room inside the Imperial Palace had never been his.
Even the “support” Valentia promised had vanished before he reached the outer gate.
But this decision—
this one belonged entirely to him.
No palace official had ordered it. No soldier had evaluated it. No one had scheduled it.
Renjiro pushed the door open.
And stepped inside.
End of Chapter 12