"Thank you, oh benefactors!" The peasants, bowing and endlessly fawning, began to irritate Stas after just ten minutes, and this was only the beginning.

Realizing that no one was going to kill them right now, the locals very quickly cleared four of the largest houses for their saviors. If these buildings had owners, they didn't object in the slightest.

And you could understand them. It's hard to go back to life as usual after being saved from certain death by three youths who had just come of age.

However, seventeen or eighteen years old was long considered the age of a full-fledged man or woman among the locals. And no one in their right mind would consider warmasters as ordinary children.

But Ordyntsev was raised in different conditions, so he didn't approve of the local customs at all.

After the thanks, the remaining survivors decided to feed their saviors. And the earthling was inclined to believe that it was not so much gratitude as fear that motivated them.

The peasants were still convinced that the fearsome warmasters could change their minds at any second and execute them all.

Knowing the habits of his new acquaintances, Ordyntsev couldn't blame them.

It was terrifying to even imagine what the peasants felt, watching the warmasters heartily munch on their last supplies.

After all, warmasters ate much more than ordinary people.

The prana's dependency on the body required warmasters to consume a higher number of calories.

As a curious fact, Ordyntsev, being a medic, couldn't help but notice that although warmasters ate a lot, it didn't mean they needed to relieve themselves often. In fact, they needed it even less.

Somehow, the stomachs of warmasters transformed part of the food directly into energy, which was then absorbed by the prana core in the heart.

From a scientific perspective, this process could rightfully be considered unique.

None of the three apprentices refused alcohol either. And while Ordyntsev didn't particularly need it as he knew how to compromise with his conscience, Mei and Eiji drank quite seriously. Although, considering their protection against poison, they were unlikely to get very drunk from ordinary alcohol.

"Sensei, are you sure it's safe to sleep in separate houses?" Stas asked, leaning towards Jun, who was heartily eating. The latter took a greedy sip of sake, emptying his cup in one go, then snorted, blowing the smell of alcohol over the earthling.

"Don't fret. This time, I'll monitor the area. You can sleep peacefully," the sensei winked obscenely, causing Stas to frown in confusion.

Well, in some social nuances, Ordyntsev was an astonishing novice.

When, later in the evening, surviving girls tried to sneak into his house, Stas did not appreciate this turn of events.

Understanding the village's women wasn't hard; Ordyntsev, with his snowy white skin and unusual facial features, inevitably attracted attention.

Moreover, each of the girls dreamed of becoming a servant to such a master, to escape the dying village.

But the problem was not only that they lacked beauty, as the hard rural life did not contribute to attractiveness, but also that the man was simply disgusted.

Stanislav had not yet become so desperate as to venture where a whole gang of bandits had been.

Therefore, the girls were scared off by Leviathan, who, by her looks alone, seemed ready to stand as a barrier, after which they were sternly turned away with instructions to tell the others not to disturb the esteemed warmaster until morning.

However, judging by the groans coming from Eiji's house, Stas's teammate was not so scrupulous. And he could be understood. The adult life of a warmaster had so many ways of painful death that it was necessary to take everything possible from life here and now.

Ordyntsev lay down on the thin futon, which was clearly considered a luxury here, and tried to sleep.

But again, he was disturbed.

Leviathan's warning hiss, and Stas instinctively rolled off the futon to the side, then, staggering from sleep, sprang to his feet.

'Thank you, damn Master Jun, for your lessons on night attacks.'

The earthling stared into the dark corner that Leviathan continued to hiss at.

And the more he looked at the shadows, the more he realized that there was something wrong with them. They were strange, as if... convex?!

As if Ordyntsev's realization was enough, the shadows came to life, falling down as dark blotches, dissolving in their motionless counterparts.

Before the frowning earthling stood the girl already familiar from the previous battle.

Only this time, she was dressed in a clean, colorful yukata, and her hair was carefully combed, falling down in straight black strands.

The man raised an eyebrow as if asking a question with his entire demeanor. He no longer doubted that the prevailing darkness was no obstacle for either of them.

"Good sir," the girl bowed. "You saved my life. You saved my honor."

At Stas's questioning look, she explained.

"You were just in time. They didn't manage to do the irreparable."

Ordyntsev simply nodded.

"Therefore, to thank you, I am ready to give you everything I have," in front of the wide-eyed Stas, the unfastened - as it turned out - yukata opened and fell to the floor.

"Master, I submit my soul, body, and thoughts to your disposal," the girl finished solemnly, causing Ordyntsev to wearily close his eyes. "I have nothing else," she modestly lowered her gaze.

Realizing that this was no longer helping, Ordyntsev massaged his eyes and forehead with his fingers under the unexpressive gaze of black eyes.

"Get dressed," said Stas, looking at her with a stern glance.

"Master..."

"If I am your master, to whom you and all your trifles like soul and the rest belong, why don't you follow my direct order?" Stas did not raise his voice, but even so, the yukata was immediately back where it should be.

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"Master, may I ask a question?" the girl asked after a pause.

"Go ahead."

"Do you not find me attractive?"

"It's not that," Ordyntsev moved to the hearth, fanned the coals, and threw in more wood, causing the fire to light up the room. "Sit down."

After waiting for her to sit down and Leviathan to take a position next to the girl, Ordyntsev activated his anti-eavesdropping amulet. This action had become a habit for him.

It was funny, but the stranger didn't even flinch when the huge snake crawled past her leg.

"First of all, I want to say that I don't like scrawny chicks... How old are you?"

"Seventeen, master."

"Seventeen years old. I prefer older women," and Stas was hardly exaggerating. The skinny figure sitting before him only evoked pity in a thirty-year-old man. "Most importantly, you're not just any girl. And I'll be damned if I share a bed with you before I know who you are and where you're from."

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but Stas gestured for her to stop.

"I want to warn you right away," Ordyntsev was completely serious. "Right now, you owe me nothing, but if you don't get up and leave, I accept your oath. And that, in turn, will mean that I won't tolerate any lies towards me. And if something doesn't match up in the future, you will die. Do you understand and agree with this?"

"Yes," the immediate answer made Stas grimace. Usually, only fools are completely confident in themselves – intelligent people often doubt. Wise people, however, take time to think.

"So be it. I'll repeat the question: I want to know who you are and where you're from." Ordyntsev deliberately didn't mention her shadow play, acting skills, and throat-slitting abilities. Why give hints?

"As you say, master," the girl bowed. "My name is Mari. My father was named Kenta Rinako, and my mother was Shiori. I'm not sure if that's her real name. The union of my father and mother was illicit, as there was a war going on between the Rinako clan and hers."

"The Rinako clan?" Stas asked. He couldn't recall what this particular clan was famous for.

"The Rinako clan is known for two things," Mari continued in the same monotone. "Their assassins and spies, and their shadow-based techniques. It's the Rinako clan's lineage, passed down from generation to generation."

"Go on."

"My mother was from a shinobi clan. Do you know what that is?"

"Ninjas? Mercenaries who, like warmasters, can manipulate prana but have focused more on stealth?"

"You're right, master. The Rinako clan and the hidden shinobi clan had too many points of conflict. Very often, the nobles of the surrounding countries hired these two forces to oppose each other. Since the Rinako shadows were weak and poorly suited for attack, ninja and warmasters fought on equal footing."

Stas didn't interrupt, though he already guessed what he would hear next.

"My mother and father seriously injured each other and were forced to hide together in one of the natural caves. There, they got to know each other better, and at some point, they fell in love. That's how I was born. I was left with my father. He betrayed his clan and hid with me; otherwise, they would have killed me."

Mari settled more comfortably, causing Leviathan to move closer, but immediately continued her story.

"My father lived with me for a while, until I grew up enough. He couldn't stay with me any longer, as he risked attracting the attention of his clan. He left, and I don't know what happened to him. He left me in the care of the village elder, but old man Hoku died a few days ago from torture. Now I am alone."

"And your mother?"

"I never met her again." The answer was just as cold.

'Does she have any emotions at all?' Ordyntsev wondered with curiosity, 'I wonder if her emotional state is a manifestation of her lineage or if she is inherently so peculiar?'

"Master Shiro. I won't be useless to you." Suddenly, Mari's voice interrupted Stas's thoughts. The earthling looked at her attentively and then noticed something odd.

'She's nervous. Yes, much less than you would expect from someone her age, but still nervous.' Ordyntsev was right. Mari was almost imperceptibly fiddling with the edge of her yukata with her fingers, and her gaze kept darting, looking him in the face and then dropping to the fire.

"My father taught me a few Rinako clan techniques. I can hide and pretend to be different people. I can also sense and conceal my prana. Although my range is very small, just a few meters." The girl blushed. "But I can still be very useful."

'A sensor, really? That's a very interesting point, albeit a bit neutered. Besides, the ability to conceal one's prana, while not particularly rare, is still useful.'

"Also, if needed, when I grow up, I can warm your bed..." With each word, a hidden panic sliced through Mari's voice.

The impassive face of the strange warmaster and his eerie gaze were unsettling her.

She had heard from her father about the danger of ones like him, but this was the first time she saw them. And they lived up to everything he said about them.

The way that girl wanted to kill her showed that they indeed had no mercy or compassion.

Only the fact that she had not been overly emotional since childhood allowed her to hold herself in front of her frightening master.

Mari originally wanted to offer herself, but now she wasn't sure that even that would be enough for a man with serpent eyes.

"I..."

"Be quiet," Stas interrupted her again. "I need to think."

Perhaps his behavior was not the best choice, but it was completely in line with how he was supposed to act according to local customs.

Any sign of weakness or uncertainty could immediately turn into the saddest outcome.

Ordyntsev, however, was thinking about what to do with the young and inexperienced warmaster who had so suddenly fallen into his lap.

'Bringing her to the clan means dooming her to the role of the clan's wife, who will obediently give birth to one warmaster after another until her body can't take it anymore. Needless to say, her children won't belong to her. And her status is not even worth mentioning, since she's not a Sumada.'

Ordyntsev shook his head. In his eyes, it would be better to kill her here and now than doom her to such a fate.

'Leave her here? Not a bad option. But would that be better for her? It's like seeing a bag of jewels lying on the road, then getting scared and throwing it in the trash. Foolish and irrational.'

This option shared the fate of the first one.

Stanislav wouldn't be himself if he was satisfied with his position at any given moment in time. Even on Earth, a fire of greed and ambition burned in his heart, pushing the man forward.

Learn, learn better, graduate from university, move to Moscow, and achieve a job at one of the best clinics.

Every time, he could have stopped, but he still went further.

Would he stop now?

Not a chance.

The earthling clearly saw what Goro Sumada's power gave him. Strength? Undoubtedly. But sometimes strength alone is not enough. Fierce Ishiro's example was literally right in front of his eyes.

There was something else. Namely, the subordinates whom Goro carefully placed at various levels of power.

Relatives or friends of the clan head were everywhere, and this gave him true power and control over the situation.

Goro was an excellent personnel manager who knew how to value useful people. Take, for example, how he dealt with Ordyntsev himself.

He simultaneously fulfilled the Council's wish but also helped and remained on good terms with the earthling.

So why couldn't Stas take advantage of another person's experience?

The nervous young girl sitting before him was promising, and while there was a risk that she would mess up, Stanislav realized that he was unlikely to find a better option for the first step.

He had to take a risk, and Ordyntsev habitually pushed aside his doubts.

"I've decided," Stanislav looked seriously at the girl sitting before him. "I accept your oath. Now you belong to me. If I tell you to die, you'll do it."

"As you say, master," Mari smiled happily. "I will be happy to fulfill this order."

'She's happy about the prospect of killing herself at my command. Bloody psychos.' Ordyntsev grimaced.

"I can't take you with me to the Sumada, as in that case, you'd face a very sad fate. Because of your lineage, you'd be forced to give birth until your death. The same awaits you in other clans. I believe you deserve more than such a fate. But the problem is that right now, I, like you, am weak."

"Master, but I saw how you dealt with..."

"That's nothing compared to those who can tear apart someone like me with their bare hands effortlessly." Stanislav grimaced. "If I want people to listen to me, I must achieve the same strength. Do you understand where you come in, Mari?"

"Yes, Shiro-sama." The overly respectful suffix grated on his ears, but Stas showed no sign of it. "If you become very strong, you will be able to protect even the useless Mari-tan."

"As for your supposed uselessness, I have something to say about that," a smile slithered across Ordyntsev's face. "Since you can't follow me, you must be useful elsewhere."

The man stirred the coals with a special metal rod, causing the shadows to dance across their faces.

"Not everyone can see it, but I feel that this world is on the brink of a great war," Stas began. "The great clans have not clashed with each other for many years, waging war through the smaller clans that are subservient to them. All these years, they have been accumulating strength, collecting weapons, and raising a new generation eager for battle."

The shadows from the fire created a terrifying atmosphere as if the earthling's words were already beginning to come to life.

"They are young and thirst for blood to prove themselves and take their rightful place. They don't care for half-measures and treaties. There have been no major wars for too long. Soon, and very soon, everything around will catch fire, and the old world will collapse. And the debris will hit those who can't protect themselves – the ordinary people. And that's where you'll come in."