Tenmaru processed the request for a while before asking Carter.

"What is her name?"

Carter sipped the tea again.

’Right... I haven’t given this character a name yet...’

"I don’t know."

Tenmaru widened his eyes. "Then what does she look like?"

"I also don’t know." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Tenmaru’s mouth corner twitched.

"Master Ginro. If you don’t want to take me in as student, you can just say so."

"I’m being honest. The Shrine Maiden can literally be anyone. But she does have a mission on her shoulder. You can recognize her by two things.

She has a deck that can reveal fate and destiny.

She has unique spirits that might aid her in her paths."

"That helps... I guess?"

Carter stood up and left. "If power was easy to come, anyone would already have it. Fulfill this task and I will accept you as my student."

"Wait! How do I find you when I complete it?"

"No need. I’ll know."

’I will literally be the Shrine Maiden. Of course I know.’

As Tenmaru had recovered quite nicely, Carter left Sado Village. He said goodbye to Hideo and returned to Sabaku Village.

Carter still hadn’t bid farewell to the Elder there yet.

"Master Ginro? You have returned! How was the young man?"

"He’s alive."

"Well, alive is better than most."

Carter sat down with Bunzo and asked about Arashi Empire. Obviously, he couldn’t say he was a complete outsider that didn’t know what was going on. Instead, he pretended like he was some kind of hermit that hadn’t gone into civilization for a while.

From Bunzo, he gained basic knowledge about the Arashi Empire that the Exquisitor Forum didn’t have or wouldn’t share.

Currently, the Arashi Empire were split into five smaller kingdoms. Yuuki, Soukei, Enzan, Rikiro, and Jado.

The Yuuki Kingdom was ruled by prince Mitsuhino Shinno Denka, the first son of the deceased Emperor. Some said he was the only one with the claim to the throne.

The Soukei Kingdom was ruled by princess Hinami Naishinno Denka, the actual eldest heir of the deceased Emperor. She used the age claim to pronounce herself as Queen and refuted Mitsuhino’s claim to the throne.

The Enzan Kingdom had the youngest prince, Tenki, as its king but it was actually ruled by the Lord Regent Busujima Hakka, the former advisor for the Death Emperor. Hakka had been using Tenki as a way to retain his power and made his own kingdom.

The Rikiro Kingdom was ruled by Arashi’s previous ruthless general, Oda Yushin. He had no claim over the throne but took a part of Arashi forcefully through military might and the loyal of his men.

The last one, Jado, was ruled by Tengo Ryuja, a powerful third-rank Awaken that called himself the New Dragon of Arashi. He was similar to Yushin but instead of military might, he used his power to control and enslave his subjects.

The place that Carter was in right now, was actually the Enzan Kingdom. A very rural part of it that was left alone by the Lord Regent because there was literally nothing to make use of.

’Yuuki, Soukei, Enzan, Rikiro, and Jado. Each has a unique type of leader and probably its own strength and weakness. If I want to take over the world, I need to strike it where it hurts.’

Out of all five kingdoms, Jado was the most feared because of its powerful king. Enzan was the most admired because of how wealthy it became. Rikiro was the most loyal with its military concentration. The weakest links were Yuuki, and Soukei, kingdoms that led by very young, very inexperience leaders. They did have the loyalty of the people because of their bloodline though.

Carter would not attack those two kingdoms. He knew better.

It wasn’t about controlling a land. It was about getting its people’s approval. Like how Zeneros Blackburn was able to capture the hearts of the entire world by eradicating Terrors.

Carter had made up his mind.

’The place that I need to conquer first... is Jado.’

Carter bid farewell to Bunzo and took on his journey. The Elder didn’t have a map for Carter to use but he did point him into its direction.

When he was faraway from the village and any potential scrying eyes, Carter switched his skin.

[SHRINE MAIDEN EQUIPPED]

The large silver-haired Fighter disappeared. In his place was a white-haired woman wearing a white shrine dress, or more precisely, a Hakama.

’Huh... This feels different.’

Carter looked at himself. He was... incredibly alluring to say the least.

’Why am I like this?’

He couldn’t help but notice the curve on his body. Carter had to smack himself in the face a few times to get his head straight.

He found a river to look down upon and saw his reflection.

White hair. White eyebrows. White skin. And even a white pair of eyes.

It was a beautiful skin, making him feel a little weird bit overall still fine. He had worn female skin before, like the Terror Witch. But the witch was a monster so he didn’t feel that soft before.

’There is something missing in this character. A certain something.’

Carter used Ghost Clothes to materialize a special black mask. A mask that would cover his entire upper face and wrapped around his head

He put it on. His eyes were covered. His flowing white hair was tied into a beautiful tidy knot.

’Now the look is perfect...’

A simple mask and blindfold added the extra mystery to the skin that it lacked. Carter had Sonar Echolocation so he didn’t even need to use his eyes anyway.

’Now... Let’s try to use my new power.’

Carter found a good place to sit down. He took out Destiny Deck.

This skin was a seer. She could see into the future with all her complicated skills. She also had the ability to make a supernatural being her Guardian, kinda similar to Eldritch Knight’s Eldritch Armor but instead of powering the user, the Guardian fought by itself.

"Give me the direction to my Guardian." Carter spoke. His voice was soft and carried by the wind.

The internal biology of a female made him blush gently. ’Damn. She sounds kinda hot. But she’s me... So conflicting.’

He could be the first person ever that said ’I have a crush on myself’.