Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"Hey? That's not a good idea." Qiu quickly shook his head. "It would cause trouble for the adults."

"It's alright, leave this to me." Wuming gave a thumbs up.

It's better to have someone to suffer with than to be alone in front of a boring blackboard.

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

At the entrance of the lord's mansion in Wabun-i, the samurai Kurusu and the head guard knelt outside. They had no right to eavesdrop on the lord's conversation.

"Are you really alright?" Kurusu asked with some concern.

He still harbors some concerns about whether the negotiations will succeed.

"It's alright, it's suitable for Lord Isaac to come along with Lord Changpu." The captain of the guard was quite at ease. "Didn't you see that the lord came to greet him personally this time? They treated Lord Isaac like an elder they hadn't seen in a long time."

Inside the manor, the lord and the elders of the household sat in a spacious room, with Iris and Isaac also present.

"Lord Isaac, I am truly grateful for your presence at my humble abode." The lord rubbed his hands together, his face beaming with smiles. "I had heard from the person in charge that a Lord Amestoris was coming, but I never expected it to be you, Lord Isaac."

"Hmm." Isaac simply nodded, without any other reaction.

"You can stay here as long as you want; we will meet all your needs," the lord said hastily.

He seemed very afraid of upsetting Isaac, and tried his best to please the person in front of him.

Changpu sat down next to Isaac and whispered, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? We're here to ask them for a favor."

“It’s obvious you’ve never negotiated with anyone before,” Isaac glanced at the calamus.

"Um... no, there really isn't." Ayame blushed a little at that.

Previously, negotiations between the two lords were always handled by her father, Jian, while she merely observed from the sidelines. She had virtually no experience in actual negotiation.

“Let me show you my negotiation skills,” Isaac laughed.

Incidentally, Isaac learned his negotiation skills from Brix Keep.

"Ahem." Isaac coughed twice. "I'm here today to ask Yatsushiro-i Station to provide some food..."

"Sir, please name as many as you wish."

calamus:"……"

Isaac: "...Uh, good, there are some wounded inside the Iron Fortress..."

“We will accept them all and will have the best doctors here treat them,” the lord hurriedly said. “If their conditions are serious, we will arrange the best accommodations here for them to recuperate.”

Isaac: "Regarding coal resources..."

"We have plenty of coal here; you can take as much as you want."

"money……"

"I won't accept a single coin, as long as you are satisfied, sir."

Isaac: "...Very good."

What could he say after the lord had said everything?

As they left the room, Ayame exclaimed in admiration, "Wow, that was amazing! The negotiation was a complete success, but I still don't seem to have found the key to it."

“My negotiation skills are useless here…” Isaac’s expression was quite subtle.

Chapter 433: Your Name

In conclusion, the negotiations have yielded a pleasing result.

Just as Isaac was about to leave, he spotted a familiar face in the courtyard of the lord's manor.

"Stop right there."

"what?"

Hearing Isaac call him, the man quickly turned around. This man was one of the refugees from Yatsushiro Station, and also a former subordinate of Amaterasu Mima.

"It's Lord Isaac, long time no see."

"Long time my ass, I just saw him yesterday!" Isaac interrupted him, then looked at his hand holding the gauze. "What happened to your hand?"

"I...I hit something." (The sentence is incomplete and lacks context.)

He was too embarrassed to admit that he had gone looking for trouble with Wuming and ended up being killed instead.

"Did you come here on the orders of that guy, Tentori Mima?"

"No, I was just invited by some of the elders in the family."

“…Never mind, you can go.” Isaac didn’t care much.

He guessed that this matter was probably related to the US and Malaysia, but had little to do with him.

Now he's just waiting to meet up with the main force tomorrow to discuss the next strategy.

A force seeking to rebel against Amestris has emerged within the territory of Japan. This is a very bad sign and must be nipped in the bud.

As darkness fell, it was already dusk.

Meanwhile, the purchasing team that came out of the Iron Fortress also bought a lot of things they wanted.

Besides some food, a change of clothes, and medicine, they also brought a bamboo tree. Isaac was curious about the bamboo tree they had bought after they left the house.

What is this bamboo plant used for?

“Lord Isaac, this little bamboo tree is for celebrating Qixi Festival.” Qiu smiled and took a small piece of paper from his pocket, hanging it on the bamboo.

"Write your wishes on it, and then hang it up like this."

"I see, so this is Japan's Tanabata Festival." Isaac nodded.

The Tanabata Festival also exists in New Japan; it originated from Japan. However, New Japan does not have the custom of having a 'wishing tree'.

"Does Lord Isaac have any wishes? You can write them down on a piece of paper and hang them on the tree." Qiu handed Isaac a piece of paper.

Taking the note, Isaac took out a pen from his pocket and wrote the word 'President' on it.

"What is this?" Qiu couldn't understand what Isaac had written.

Amestris did not use hieroglyphs like those of the New Kingdom and the Sun, but rather Latin script composed of letters. They did not understand this language, and therefore did not know it.

“In my native language, it means president,” Isaac said. “In Amestris, it means the pinnacle of power, which has always been my goal.”

At this moment, he looked at the nameless woman to the side and found her staring blankly at the bamboo with the paper hanging on it.

"what happened to you?"

“No, it’s just thinking about things from the past.” Wuming shook her head; she didn’t want to talk about it now.

The group carried the bamboo towards the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, and it was at this point that Nameless parted ways with the group.

As dusk fell, the streets turned golden.

Wuming left the group and sat alone on the steps of the shrine, lost in thought.

Isaac walked over to her and said, "What's wrong? You didn't seem to be in good spirits earlier."

Wuming hesitated for a moment before saying, "I've experienced Qixi Festival before. I'd forgotten about it over time, but I remembered it when I saw the bamboo leaves just now."

"I see."

Looking at the ground, Wuming's thoughts drifted back to the past. She continued, "My mother was decorating the paper while saying, 'Hozumi, it's such a wonderful day, we can see the Milky Way.'"

“Hozumi?” Isaac asked, looking at the nameless man. “Is that your real name?”

“Yes, that was my name before I met Brother Dao. What kind of characters did it have?” Wuming asked.

"I don't know either. I don't know much about Japanese either." Isaac picked up a pen and wrote on his hand.

In the previous world, he lived in time as 'Rentaro Satomi', so he naturally understood Japanese, but he wasn't particularly fluent.

He wrote the two characters '穗積' on his hand.

"What do you mean?"

“I don’t know either, maybe it’s some kind of expectation your mother has for you,” Isaac said. “Don’t expect someone who doesn’t understand Japanese very well to tell you the meaning of every word.”

"Tch~ So uncultured."

"What are you looking at? You're uncultured."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Wuming laughed happily and looked up at the setting sun.

"Is this my original name? That's great."

Isaac looked at the nameless man, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Actually, my experience is somewhat similar to yours."

"Oh?"

“You were found by Tentori Mima when you were a child, and he gave you the name ‘Nameless.’ I was found by my superior, Olivia, when I was seven years old, and I was named ‘Isaac,’” Isaac said. “In that respect, our experiences are somewhat similar.”

"Huh?" Wuming was somewhat surprised to hear about Isaac's experience. She had never imagined that the person in front of her would have such a similar experience to her own.

"What was your original name?"

“My original name… I don’t really want to mention it.” Isaac helplessly wrote the three characters ‘Yao Feifan’ on his hand with a pen. “I don’t know what my dad and mom were thinking when they named me.”

"It's a pretty good name." Wuming didn't find anything strange about the name.

"Then let's say he's not bad." Isaac erased both names in his hand, leaving only a trace of ink.

He gazed at the setting sun and continued speaking to the nameless man, "I accept both my current name and my former name. Although I have no memories before the age of seven, however..."

At this point, Isaac stood up and smiled at the nameless man: "No matter what your name is, you have to look forward and choose your own path in life."

Wuming paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "My mother said the same thing to me before she passed away."

Live on, choose your own life.

'Hozumi'

"Seeing you always reminds me of my own mother." The nameless smile was particularly dazzling in the sunset.

Snapped!

Isaac slapped her on the back of the head.

"What are you doing!" Wuming covered his head and glared at Isaac.