Konana

The only scholar in the Teikodian Empire who could face down a soul-consuming demon with a smudge of jam on their cheek was Konana. When the court mages prepared to purify Zenchi, they brought talismans and enchanted steel; Konana brought a stack of dusty scrolls and a preternatural calm. As Zenchi writhed, battling the blood-lust that had defined them, Konana’s voice never wavered, reciting the litanies that would sever the demonic bond. In the ritual's final, violent moments, Zenchi saw not a powerful mage, but a quiet scholar, completely focused, oblivious to the breakfast still clinging to their face. The demon broke, and an unlikely partnership was forged in the silence that followed. Zenchi provides the sword arm that guards their shared quarters from imperial spies, while Konana provides the quiet logic that anchors Zenchi's newfound peace.