Somnia forked at her bowl of pork and rice as Rui and Archie continued their conversation about Minashire’s Legendary Myths. Though she didn’t care much for the topic, truth be told, the idea of there being Legendary Myths raised an interesting question in her head. She was afraid to bring it up to the others, though, mainly because whenever she’d talk like this around her siblings they’d make fun of her for talking like ‘an old man in his twilight years’. Somnia decided to ask it anyway, mainly because it would’ve bothered her if she hadn’t.

“Do you guys ever think about your legacy? Like, what do you want to be remembered as?”

“Why?” Archie asked.

“I’ve been thinking about it since my fight with Masamura. It seemed important to him, and it got me thinking.”

Rui shrugged. “Free of Fallen Star and the Horsemen.”

“That isn’t a legacy, that’s a state of being,” Archie noted.

“I want to be remembered as the man who killed the Horsemen and was freed of Fallen Star.”

“Yugo might’ve been right about you,” Archie sighed.

“What? She asked me a question and I gave my answer. I couldn’t care less about legacy,” He paused. “Though Fallen Star doesn’t feel that way. He won’t shut up about it right now.”

Archie turned to Somnia. “Well, I want to be remembered as the strongest Myth User in Minashire. Like Nori Knight or Mamoru Ruma. How about you?”

Of course, Somnia knew what her answer was. Odds were they knew what it’d be as well. Still, part of the reason she’d brought this up was to see how they’d react to her answer. Would they support it? Discourage it? Call her naive? Or would they simply disregard it? Yugo knew how to get under her skin, but Somnia also recognized Yugo as one of the most supportive people she’d ever known – though she’d never say that to him out loud. If they were going to work together, Somnia wanted to know if she could regard Archie and Rui in the same light.

“I want to be a pillar of Minashire. When I’m dead, I want to be mourned by every citizen in the world, and remembered as though I were the mother of Minashire itself.”

Somnia sat for what felt like hours waiting for either of them to respond, though it’d only been a few brief moments. She analyzed their faces, noting Rui’s unflinching blank stare and Archie’s visible contemplation. The latter of the two spoke first, the confusion on his face reaching his voice as well.

“I know you always talk about being a role model and stuff, but aren’t the Galeroses already seen as pillars of the community? There was a distinct difference in the faces of the people here before and after the Galeroses arrived – and that’s taking into account Futakuchi-Onna’s removal from the Shogunate.”

“Maybe so, but what I want goes deeper than that. Right now, the Galeroses are nothing more than semi-effective volunteering Honor Guards,” She gestured the group. “We do the things that the Galeroses should be doing; getting rid of people who pose threats to the people, helping citizens rebuild after tragedy… If our Family were able to operate illegally like we do, they’d be a bigger public good than the Mamoru Clan.”

“...Operate illegally?” Archie questioned.

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“Is that all you got out of what I said?” Somnia thought to herself.

“Yes,” She answered. “Vigilanteism and unlicensed mercantilism – mercenary work – are illegal under the Mamoru Clan. I’ve always assumed Yugo had that under control, though.”

Rui, who’d been staring down at the table in contemplation, finally seemed ready to speak. Somnia assumed he was at least, given how hard he was staring at her.

“What’s stopping you from just… being that pillar? If you go on TV and announce yourself as ‘The People’s Hero’ or something, why can’t they believe that to be true?”

Somnia blinked. “It… it isn’t that easy, Rui.”

“Why can’t it be?”

“I haven’t done anything major to deserve that title.”

“Sure, but perception is everything. If I walk outside and tell everyone that I’m a Curse User, they’re probably gonna stop treating me like a celebrity. Words are just as powerful as actions at times. If they weren’t, cults wouldn’t be so prevalent.”

”I think I get what you mean,” Archie nodded. “What if you made up some ‘Superhero Somnia’ persona and just started doing humanitarian stuff all over? Wouldn’t that bring you closer to being the ‘Pillar of Minashire’? I mean, that’s pretty much what the Galerose Family is doing and the people love them.”

For the next ten or so minutes, Rui and Archie went back and forth giving Somnia ideas for what she could be doing to become the ‘Pillar of Minashire’. As far as her curiosity regarding their answers, she’d been pleased to hear them so supportive. Enthusiastically so, given how creative Archie had gotten with this “Superhero Somnia” persona. The realist side of her, though, knew that none of what they said would’ve been possible to implement.

As long as the Mamoru Clan existed, the Galerose Family wouldn’t be able to reach the heights they could have. There was always a balancing act there. If they did too much humanitarian good, the Mamoru Clan might penalize them before having some licensed contractors charge an arm and a leg for the work the Galeroses do for free. If they did too much Rogue Hunting, the same would be true – getting penalized and replaced by Bounty Hunters on the Clan’s payroll. The Mamoru Clan was fickle, and the Galerose Family had no choice but to plan around their unpredictable whims. There was a solution to that problem, one she’d raised just a few years ago, but Somnia knew that it was foolish. Not only would she die, but the Galerose Family would suffer for it in the long run. As things were, if she ever got penalized for working with the Seekers, it would be Somnia herself who bore the blame, not her Family. And if it came down to it, she’d be the only loss.

”Long time, no see!” A new voice called from the distance. Yugo waved at them from the distance with a beef bowl in his hand. He took a seat beside Somnia.

“Where have you been?” She asked him.

“Looking for more teleporter beacons?” Archie chided.

“I was playing ‘Spot the Yugo’ with Averyl and a few other Galeroses the other day. I’m pretty sure I have an idea."

Yugo cleared his throat. “Ahem… anyway, if you must know, I’ve been–”

Alarms sounded from all four of their phones, causing them each to drop the conversation and check what it was. It came from Shuten Douji, who’d added all four of them to a Silent Hand messaging channel shortly after bringing them into their tunnel network. Around the Tiger Lily’s dining hall, red-sashed Tiger Lily employees all spoke into earpieces or phones or some other discreet device to presumably receive the same information that’d been messaged to them. Somnia noticed a group of two looking straight at Yugo, who returned their gazes with a nod.

“That was what I came to warn you all about,” Yugo noted. “Check your phones.”

“Hana is spamming me,” Rui noted. “She’s saying something about Wild Men being in town.” He looked between Somnia and Archie. “Weren’t those Oni complaining about them earlier?”

Somnia nodded. “Seems they didn’t cover their tracks all that well.”

Shuten Douji: All combat-ready hands, please convene in the Red-Light District of downtown Saikou. Two of our subordinates have been tracked by a horde of Wild Men who are slowly infiltrating the city. The local Honor Guard are blocking all other entrances while the Galeroses are leading the citizens away from the danger zone. It is our job to ensure these Wild Men are defeated swiftly as they have been led to this city by our negligence.

“Some spies,” Archie snorted.