Six months of Academy education had finally given me enough knowledge to understand just how complicated the world actually was.
And by complicated, I mean really, really complicated. Like, village-boy-brain-hurting levels of complicated.
I was sitting in the Academy library with Mina, trying to organize everything I'd learned into something that made sense, when she asked the question that made me realize I actually did understand it now.
"So explain it to me simply," she said, looking up from her own advanced mathematics homework. "How does everything work? All these regions and guilds and authorities?"
"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "Let me try to explain this without making my brain explode."
I grabbed some paper and started drawing circles. My artistic skills were about as impressive as my early fire control, but Mina was used to interpreting my terrible diagrams.
"So first, there's us—Shinrin Region." I drew a circle and labeled it. "We've got our six guilds that protect the region from Akuma threats, help with trade, handle missions, basically take care of whatever people need."
"Crimson Fang, Silver Moon, Iron Crown, Storm Hawks, Azure Blade, and Broken Chain," Mina recited perfectly. She'd been paying attention to my Academy stories.
"Exactly! And all six guilds serve under our regional leader—the Daimyo." I wrote the title carefully. "Think of him like... the ultimate village elder, but for an entire region. He's got his own Royal Army too, filled with elite-level warriors who protect the whole region from external threats."
"External threats?"
"Other regions, mostly. Apparently the different regions don't always get along perfectly." I drew five more circles around the first one. "There are six regions total—us, plus Kasai, Mizu, Tsuchi, Kaze, and Kage. Each one has its own guild system, army system, and their own Daimyo."
Mina studied my terrible map. "But they all work together?"
"That's where it gets interesting!" I said, probably sounding way too excited about politics. "Even though the regions work together most of the time, they also all serve under something called the Central Authority."
I drew a big circle around all six regions.
"See, about three hundred years ago, Akuma threats were getting really bad. So this one super-strong clan managed to unite all the regional leaders and convinced them to form this Central Authority to deal with the corruption problem."
"What kind of clan?"
"That's... actually a good question." I frowned, realizing there were gaps in my Academy education. "They didn't tell us much about the specific clan. Just that they were powerful enough to get six different regional leaders to agree to work together, which honestly sounds impossible."
"And this Central Authority does what?"
"They oversee the growing Akuma threat and maintain six great seals that keep the corruption from getting out of control." I drew some lines connecting everything. "Plus, each region sends a representative to the Central Authority, so even when regions have conflicts with each other, they still have to cooperate because of the Akuma problem."
"That actually sounds smart," Mina said, which made me feel proud that I'd explained it well.
"But wait, there's more!" I said, channeling every marketplace merchant I'd ever heard. "At the top of the Central Authority is the Shinsei—basically the leader of leaders."
"Shinsei..." Mina repeated the word carefully. "That sounds important."
"Super important! He's supposed to be like a divine authority who acts as a court to resolve conflicts between regions and punish anyone who causes problems. And here's the really crazy part—all the regions have to accept his decisions."
"Even our Daimyo?"
"Even our Daimyo. The Shinsei's word is final." I paused, trying to wrap my own head around that level of authority. "Oh, and apparently the Central Authority operates from a floating island."
Mina blinked. "A floating island."
"I know, right? I thought that was just stories, but apparently it's real. A literal island that floats in the sky where all the really important decisions get made."
"How does that even work?"
"Advanced Shinzai techniques, probably? The instructors just said it was 'beyond current understanding' when someone asked." I shrugged. "Honestly, after seeing what guild leaders can do, floating islands don't seem that crazy anymore."
"So let me make sure I understand," Mina said, studying my diagram. "Our region has six guilds under a Daimyo. Six regions each have their own systems. All six regions work together under the Central Authority. And the Shinsei leads everything from a floating island."
"Exactly! But it gets even more complicated when you factor in the Academy systems."
I drew some smaller circles. "Remember how I told you about Kouen Academy—the Red Academy? Different regions prefer different Academy systems. Some send their people to Shinkai Academy like us, others prefer Kouen Academy training."
"Why?"
"Philosophy differences. Shinkai Academy focuses on teamwork and service, which fits with regions like ours that value cooperation. Kouen Academy emphasizes individual strength and innovation, which appeals to regions like Kasai with their warrior culture."
"But they all feed into the same Central Authority system?"
"Right! The Academy choice affects which regional guilds might recruit you, but ultimately everyone ends up serving the same overall structure." I paused. "Well, almost everyone."
"Almost?"
"Kage Region is... weird." I drew their circle with question marks around it. "They're like a closed nation. No ties to either Academy system, no guild system that anyone knows about, and they don't follow Shinsei authority."
"How can they just opt out?"
"That's what I asked! Apparently they've been isolated for so long that nobody really knows how their internal system works. They don't share information, don't participate in Central Authority cooperation, just... do their own thing."
Mina frowned at the diagram. "That seems like it would cause problems."
"You'd think so, right? But apparently they handle their own Akuma threats somehow, and they don't bother anyone else, so the Central Authority just... leaves them alone."
"Weird."
"Super weird. And kind of mysterious, which makes them either really impressive or really concerning."
I sat back and looked at my terrible drawing, which somehow managed to capture the basic structure of our entire world. "So that's how everything works! Regional guilds serve Daimyos, Daimyos coordinate through Central Authority, Shinsei makes final decisions from his floating island, and somehow it all holds together despite the fact that half the regions probably want to punch the other half on any given day."
"And you're going to be part of all this?"
"Eventually!" The thought still seemed surreal. "After Academy graduation, I'll join one of our six guilds, go on missions to protect people from Akuma threats, maybe even participate in inter-region cooperation missions."
"Which guild do you want to join?"
I thought about it seriously. "Iron Crown seems pretty cool, especially since Izuma's their captain. But honestly, any of them would be incredible. They all protect people, which is what I actually care about."
"You'll be great at it," Mina said with the kind of absolute confidence that only little sisters could manage.
"I hope so. The world's a lot bigger and more complicated than I thought when I was just trying to pass village trials."
"But that's good, right? More ways to help people?"
I grinned at her. "Yeah. Definitely more ways to help people."
Looking at my diagram of interconnected circles and authorities, I felt a strange mix of excitement and nervousness. The world was vast, complex, and full of challenges I was only beginning to understand.
But it was also full of opportunities to make a difference on a scale I'd never imagined possible.
Six months ago, my biggest worry was not embarrassing myself at a village trial.
Now I was preparing to become part of a system that protected entire regions and maintained stability across vast territories.
The village boy in me was still intimidated by the scope of it all.
But the part of me that had stood between an Akuma and my sister was ready to take on whatever challenges this complicated world could throw at me.
Bring it on.