Jia woke up in a comfortable, familiar bed. She stretched, enjoying the unique sensation of limbering up her stiff muscles—ancestors, she’d missed having a real body. It had been a long and arduous process for Yoshika to recreate proper bodies from scratch, and the temporary avatars they’d been using just weren’t the same.

Since Yoshika’s ascension to the ranks of xiantian, she had essentially become a demigod, completely detached from mortal necessities like food and rest, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying a good meal or an afternoon nap.

Another boon of her ascension was that Jia had regained the ability to sleep without forcing the others she shared a soul with to join her. It wasn’t quite the same. While her body was unconscious her mind was still aware, but she could let her thoughts melt into the gestalt for a while. It felt a bit like dreaming.

Eui stirred awake next to her, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“Good morning...huh, am I the last one up?”

Usually, Eui liked to wake up before Jia in order to cook breakfast for the family, but they’d been up later than usual that night. Jia blushed at the recollection—Eui had also been enjoying their newly regenerated bodies.

“I think so. Kaede and Meili are already out at the training field with Jiaying and Narae.”

“Already? Ancestors, that kid is insatiable.”

Jia giggled.

“That used to be us getting up early every morning to go train.”

“That’s because Master Ienaga made us. I’m pretty sure you’d have slept past noon every day if I let you.”

“Hey! I’m not that lazy!”

Eui climbed out of bed and started getting dressed, waving off Jia’s protests.

“Our daughter had to get it from somewhere, and it certainly wasn’t me—I’m a model student.”

“Don’t be mean to Heian! Also, you’re not a student anymore, Eui. Once the academy opens again, we’re going to be taking on a whole school’s worth of disciples.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

Jia joined her, picking through her wardrobe for something to wear. It was nice not having to wear combat robes all the time, but Yue kept insisting that she had to at least look somewhat fashionable, as Jiaguo’s head of state.

That still felt strange to say. She was the leader of an entire nation—albeit an extremely tiny one. Officially, Lee Jia’s title was “High Arbiter” a term that had been completely made up by Dae and Yue for the sole purpose of letting her claim that she wasn’t a queen or dictator.

She did not rule Jiaguo single-handedly. She had a governing body beneath her that did most—really, all—of the heavy lifting. Her job was to put her finger on the scales when the other people in charge couldn’t come to a consensus. If a dispute escalated all the way up the chain to her, then it would be her decision which determined the law. Once Lee Jia ruled on something, it was final.

So she was a dictator. It wasn’t ideal, and it wasn’t really what she wanted, but it was the best they’d been able to come up with on short notice. Jia knew it was wishful thinking, but she hoped that once the country was more stable, they’d have time to flesh out a more egalitarian system.

Once dressed, the girls found their living room already occupied by an unusual pair. Jia’s older sister Lee Jung had come over for a visit and was sitting down to tea with Jianmo.

The formerly demonic sword-spirit hadn’t lasted long before getting bored and joining them in crafting a new body for themself. Because they had reverted back to a regular spirit after losing their demonic core, Jianmo couldn’t create a true body without getting blasted by heavenly lightning, but they could still manifest an illusory body to interact with the world around them.

As always, Jianmo refused to commit to a single appearance, though their current form was different even for them. Rather than the seven foot tall buxom and/or muscular appearance they usually adopted, Jianmo had taken a more subdued form.

Only a few inches taller than Jia or Eui, Jianmo’s long purple hair hung low enough that it would drag on the floor if they didn’t just float around everywhere. Their signature black horn still featured prominently in the center of their forehead, but the red gem—their demonic core—was nowhere to be seen.

They had feminine facial features, but despite the loose and sheer clothing they wore—in a style that Yoshika didn’t recognize from any country—their androgynous figure was carefully crafted to give no hint of a gender. Depending on the angle, they could be mistaken for either male or female, and Jianmo seemed to enjoy the game of making people guess.

“Oh, hello girls, so nice of you to join us. I was just telling your sister about how you two spent the entire night going at it. Isn’t that a bit inconsiderate when you’ve got two others trying to go about their own business while they experience everything you do together?”

Eui rolled her eyes.

“You’re not going to embarrass us by talking about sex in front of Jung, of all people. As for the rest, it’s more nuanced than that, but there’s no point explaining it to you because I know you’re just trying to tease us.”

Jianmo clicked their tongue in disappointment.

“Tsk. You two were more fun when you were innocent.”

Jung tittered quietly at their banter.

“We were actually talking about how Jianmo became a demon.”

Jia joined them at the table while Eui got started on breakfast.

“Really? You’ve never talked about that before.”

Jianmo shrugged.

“You never asked. Not that there’s much to tell, I was designed for the express purpose of absorbing souls. In a way, I was almost a demon before I became a spirit. That’s where my name comes from—the Bloody Sovereign’s Demonic Sword.”

“What was that like?”

“Boring, in hindsight. Newborn spirits are pretty singular beings. I was born as a thing of pure death and destruction—a weapon with no other purpose. I don’t think either my master or I even noticed that I was sentient for the first decade or so.”

Jung cocked her head to the side, humming thoughtfully.

“Hmm, and what then?”

“Chou was a lot less interested in using me as a weapon once he realized I was a person—had a whole thing about it. He tried just setting me loose, but after I spent about a century wandering around committing wanton acts of murder, he begrudgingly decided to raise me properly—if only because people kept blaming him for everything I did.”

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“That’s...quite a history.”

Jianmo shrugged carelessly.

“Eh, I didn’t hate it. Eventually I learned some self control, and these days I hardly do any wanton murder. I find I much prefer other wanton acts of debauchery.”

They wiggled their eyebrows suggestively at Jung, who just averted her eyes and giggled. Jia sighed.

“Jianmo, please don’t flirt with my sister. Jung, please don’t have sex with my sword—ancestors that feels weird to say.”

Jianmo snorted.

“Who says we haven’t already? Jung is a fine woman who isn’t afraid to get what she wants.”

“Unfortunately, I would know immediately. Also, you don’t even have a physical body right now, you couldn’t do it if you tried.”

“Tsk, not with that attitude. I assure you there are plenty of ways to go about it that don’t involve messy fleshy bits—fun as those can be.”

Jung leaned forward and rested her chin on one hand.

“Oh? Do tell.”

Jia blushed and stood up.

“You know what? I just remembered I need to talk to Ja Yun about...something. You two go ahead and carry on without me.”

Jianmo cackled.

“Hah! Liar! So much for not being embarrassed. I don’t hate that innocent side of yours.”

“It’s one thing between Eui and I, but Jung is practically my mom! I don’t want to hear about that!”

Eui snorted as she emerged from the small kitchenette with a platter of food.

“Speak for yourself. This sounds interesting.”

“Okay, great, have fun with that, I’ve got an important thing to do.”

“Wait!”

Jia paused as Eui wrapped her in a tight embrace and gave her a parting kiss on the lips.

“Enjoy your definitely real meeting that you didn’t just make up as an excuse to get out of this conversation.”

She returned the kiss, then took the opportunity to snatch up a skewer of spiced meat from the platter.

“Thanks, Eui! I love you!”

“I love you too!”

----------------------------------------

Despite Eui’s teasing, Jia had not actually lied about her meeting with Ja Yun. She made her way to a familiar building—the first place she’d ever visited in the academy when she’d arrived so long ago.

Though it was quite a long distance from what was to become the future government district of Jiaguo, the administrative pavilion was already well-suited to bureaucratic purposes and had quickly become the center of the city-state’s nascent organizational body.

She could still recall the fateful day she’d first entered it—when the course of her life had changed completely. Back then, she’d been nobody at all—dressed in rags so tattered that they threatened her modesty, filthy from days of travel during a season when it was far too cold to bathe, and all alone with nothing but a stolen scrap of opportunity.

By the time she left, she was an academy student—freshly bathed, thanks to a magical talisman, and dressed in an outfit more expensive than everything she’d ever owned combined. Not that she’d ever owned much of anything.

Come to think of it, where had they gotten those uniforms from? They’d have to figure out a way to supply them once they opened the academy again. Something to discuss with Ja Yun.

By the strange providence of fate, the person behind the counter as Jia entered the administrative building was none other than the very same man from whom she’d stolen the opportunity to change her life.

Tae In-Su immediately rose to his feet and bowed as she approached.

“Greetings, my lady!”

He winced when Jia frowned at his mode of address.

“Er—Miss Lee. My apologies, it’s a reflexive habit. Please forgive me.”

Jia chuckled.

“You know, I was just thinking about how I stole that token from you way back when. Maybe next time you address me like a noble I should have you thrown out of the city and beaten.”

Tae In-Su went pale, and she sighed.

“That was a joke, Tae. You know I would never do that.”

He chuckled nervously.

“Aha, yes...I suppose you wouldn’t. I do appreciate that you haven’t held it against me. I suppose I can’t complain about a little teasing—though I should note that your wife tends to say such things with far less levity than you, and the distinction between you is...not always clear.”

Jia shrugged.

“That’s fair. Eui probably actually means it, but I won’t let her follow through with it. You’re a useful guy to have around...for now.”

She held in her laughter as he sunk into his seat and rubbed his temples.

“Is it wrong of me to wish I was still working as Sun Jaehwa’s personal barrister? You are a very stressful person to work with.”

“Nobody is keeping you here, Tae In-Su. You’re still a Goryeon citizen, you can go back whenever you want. Nayeong isn’t even that far.”

“I am also a known associate of both Do Hye and Hyeong Daesung—rather high profile traitors to the state—and would rather not deal with that baggage, thank you.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“Secretary Ja Yun is waiting inside—please forgive me for being ungrateful.”

Jia bowed politely.

“It’s fine. All teasing aside, you really are good to have around. I’m glad you’re with us, even if it’s because you don’t think you have a choice.”

“That’s very kind of you to say.”

She left it at that and proceeded deeper into the building. She’d never actually gone beyond the reception counter as a student. It was typically manned by academy disciples, but for some reason she’d never been called on to perform that duty.

Jia found Ja Yun in the largest office at the back of the building, surrounded by paperwork. She rapidly flipped through each document before signing and filing it into one of the dizzying array of boxes behind her.

On the floor in front of Ja Yun’s desk, the mud elemental Iseul was hard at work helping her mother, various tendrils efficiently sorting through boxes and placing documents into neat little piles on Ja Yun’s desk.

“Wow, I didn’t realize our tiny little city needed so much paperwork.”

Ja Yun paused and gave her a strange look.

“What? No, of course it doesn’t. There’s only a few dozen people living here and most of them are Lady Lin’s self-governing cult. My job is entirely decorative right now.”

Jia blinked.

“Then what’s all this? You seem pretty busy.”

“Old academy records. Admissions, accommodation, supplies, accounting—lots of accounting—incident reports...actually your name comes up a lot in that last category.”

Jia scratched her cheek, chuckling.

“I guess it would. Why are you going through those?”

“It’s valuable information. It’s out of date, but these documents are shaping up to be the beginning of a pretty substantial basis for our foreign intelligence. There’s a lot of stuff about Qin and Goryeon nobles here. It also helps me figure out how the heck they kept the city maintained, which is my job now that you’ve decided to put me in charge of the treasury.”

“Oh! Well, good job! Actually, I wanted to ask about the uniforms—”

Ja Yun shook her head, surprising Jia with her assertiveness.

“That’s going to have to wait. Rika says her scouts ran into a runner from Yamato who says they know you. Someone named Ito?”

Jia stroked her chin thoughtfully, trying to recall where she’d heard that name before.

“Ito...Ito...oh! Ito Suzu? From Urayama?”

“Not quite—Iseul, can you show her?”

The elemental pulled herself together into a shapeless ball of transparent fluid, then quickly reformed herself into the shape of a young man. Using illusion magic, she filled in the details—tanned skin, working clothes, and the hardened physique of a man who was used to both combat and labor.

Jia recalled that Suzu had mentioned having a son who was in the military. Maybe he’d come home? She could see the resemblance, and either way she was pleased to be hearing from Urayama.

“I think I might know who that is. Where is he now?”

“Waiting outside the shield formation. He insisted that he deliver his message to Yoshika directly.”

“Hm, okay. I guess I’ll go pay him a visit, then.”

She headed out immediately, barely able to contain her excitement. Their first new residents! Lady Tennin must have gotten her letter of invitation.

She wondered how many had taken her up on the offer. The people of Urayama were a pretty tight-knit community, so she guessed that it would probably only be a few of the younger ones like Ito’s son.

She looked forward to meeting them.