Magi: The Tale of Faith and Hope

His Name Is Ren Hakuryuu

Hakuryuu was sitting alone in the room they had showed him to, staring out a window.

'I do not have the leisure to waste my time and yet... Will I be able to talk with King Sinbad even a little...?" He stood up and crossed the room to the door, getting ready to go out. He was surprised when someone knocked on that door. He opened it to find Aladdin, Alibaba, and the twins standing on the other side.

"Hello, I'm Aladdin. We came here to talk to you," Aladdin greeted him frankly.

"I'm Faith. That's Hope. And that's Alibaba," Faith added.

"Your sister... her name is Ren Hakuei, right?" Aladdin asked. Hakuryuu looked at him in surprise.

"Why do you know my sister's name...? Aladdin...?" Hakuryuu asked. "Could it be... you are Aladdin... the magi...?!"

"!?" Aladdin said. "Do you know about me?"

"Yes... I heard about you when my sister, Hakuei... returned home after the western campaign. She was helped on the plains by a young magi and a pair of twins. That's you, right?" he said, looking from Aladdin to Faith and Hope. He invited all of them to sit, and they accepted the invitation.

"Ah, I see..." Aladdin said as he sat down.

"That explains it," Faith agreed.

"How is Hakuei?" Hope asked.

"She's doing well, thank you," Hakuryuu replied politely. 'If these are those twins, then they're the ones Kouen...'

"The plains, the thing you told me about the Kouga?" Alibaba asked his friends.

"Yeah, that," Aladdin answered.

"Lord Aladdin. Ladies Faith and Hope. Please accept my thanks," Hakuryuu said humbly, bowing to them. "My sister is my sole, beloved sibling. Thank you very much for saving her life."

"There's no need to thank us," Aladdin said.

"Yeah, you don't have to bow to us," Faith agreed.

"We were happy to help," Hope said.

"Even though you ran away from Lord Kouen?" Hakuryuu asked.

"Ah, this and that are two different things..." Hope said, smiling wryly.

"Yeah, we like your sister, but we don't like being captured," Faith added.

'Wow... I was wondering what kind of person he was, since he's from the Kou Empire, but... I didn't expect him to be such a nice guy!' Alibaba thought, pleasantly surprised. The grateful smile he was giving Aladdin and the twins was genuine.

"That's right! I was worried about your sister as well, so I wanted to talk with you, but... you were going somewhere when we got here. Are we bothering you?" Aladdin asked.

"It is impossible... that you would bother me. I have to thank the rukh's guidance that allowed us to meet," Hakuryuu said, bowing again, This time he kneeled too.

"...!?" Aladdin and the twins said.

"I wished to meet you as much as I have wished to meet King Sinbad," Hakuryuu said. "I beg you to listen to what I have to say, Lord Magi."

"Prince..." a Kou soldier said, opening the door. "King Sinbad called for you."

"I apologize," Hakuryuu said, standing up and bowing again. "I have to go.."

"Don't worry, let's talk another time! Faith, Hope, and Alibaba, too!" Aladdin said.

"Yeah!" Alibaba agreed.