“Now then, we’ll start our mock battle. It may be one against three, but there’s no need to hold back. Does that sound all right to you, Lady Hakurei?”
“Yes.” The voice that rang out was sharp and cool. “I have no issues with that.”
The answer carried across the training grounds on the outskirts of Keiyou, capital city of Koshuu. Located in the north of the Ei Empire, Koshuu was situated south of the river that bisected the continent. The voice who answered the young and serious-looking captain’s question belonged to a beautiful girl who wielded a lovely sword. She was Hakurei, the eldest daughter of the famous general, Chou Tairan. Due to his accomplishments in protecting the Ei Empire from foreigners, he’d been given the title of National Shield.
Hakurei’s long silver hair, tied up with a crimson ribbon, reflected the sunlight. Though many outlanders came and went in Koshuu, very few had eyes like Hakurei’s—a deep azure that housed a keen intelligence. Her well-proportioned body was hidden away under white fatigues and armor and still she looked elegant and dignified. The soldiers watching over the training grounds from the ramparts and the turrets couldn’t suppress their sighs of awe.
I, Sekiei, was nothing more than an adopted son of the Chou family. Though we weren’t related by blood, I thought of Hakurei as my own younger sister. And even with my bias for her as family, I found her beautiful. Not once in over a thousand years, going back to when Kou Eihou was alive, had there been a girl as stunning as Hakurei. Not only was she hardworking, training every single day, but she was also kind to both the servants and the soldiers of the Chou family.
In the past, people believed in a superstition warning against women with silver hair and blue eyes, stating that they’d be responsible for toppling the country. These days no one thought much of such things, and the residents of Keiyou deeply respected Hakurei.
Is she really sixteen, just like I am? Could it be that she’s just like me, and has memories from her past life?
That was what I secretly thought about her. Mostly because she’d always been weirdly strict to me and only me... Well in any case, it didn’t seem like my impression about Hakurei was off the mark.
The soldiers watching yelled their support—while taking advantage of the moment to tease me, as well.
“Lady Hakurei, please do your best!”
“You’re as beautiful as always today!”
“Please help Sekiei grow a backbone and stop him from prattling on about nonsense like how he’s going to become a local magistrate!”
“It’s so unfair how he got to stay in the city for half a year all by himself!”
“You’re going to become an official in the army, right?”
“Young master, you’re going to train after this as well, aren’t you?”
The majority of the soldiers were male, but not all; there were a small number of females as well. Since Keiyou was at the border of the Ei Empire, both men and women had to bear arms.
Wait, what did they say? Training? Uh, yeah, in your dreams! I’m busy reading the books I got from the city!
I thought back to the words of the older girl I met while in the city. “Uh-huh, I see... So you want to get an office job in the future. In other words, you want to become a civil official! Then it’s important for you to read some difficult books. Here, I’ll sell you these ones for cheap! ♪” She had her fair share of personality problems, but I couldn’t deny the fact that she had the insight to become a very skilled civil official.
I wasn’t able to become a civil official in my past life, but I’ll definitely make that dream come true in this one! Besides, I didn’t even want to come out during training. I’m only here thanks to Hakurei.
“This is the bare minimum of responsibilities you must fulfill as someone living with the Chou family,” she’d said, and with such a cool expression that I’d had no choice.
As I finished my thought, the silver-haired princess suddenly turned around to stare at me with narrowed eyes. I looked right back at her. No words were exchanged between us. However, I could feel the unspoken pressure in her beautiful gaze.
“I’m the one training and you’re not even going to look at me? Hmm? I see...”
I couldn’t withstand it and looked away, awkward. It’d been ten years since my adoptive father, Chou Tairan, found me on a battlefield and took me in. It’d be a whole other matter if I had to face off against her in actual combat because at least thanks to my memories from my past life, I had some skill in martial arts. However, I’d never once managed to win against Hakurei’s silent pressure.
I played with my black bangs and flapped my hand. “Um... Isn’t it about time for you guys to start?”
After a long, frosty pause, Hakurei replied. “I suppose.”
She walked slowly towards the soldiers, taking one purposeful step at a time. The young captain serving as the arbitrator looked at me as if he wasn’t sure what to do, so I nodded slightly.
“Now then,” he called out at my mark, “begin!”
At the captain’s call, the mock battle between Hakurei and the soldiers started. The three soldiers held aloft their wooden spears and slowly approached their opponent. Judging by their movements, they were new soldiers, freshly recruited. Hakurei, however, stood completely still; the only thing moving was her silver hair, blowing in the spring breeze.
Yeah, she’s not gonna lose this one.
In the recent past, our empire, the Ei Empire, had unified almost all of the provinces—barring a single, remote piece of land. And then about fifty years ago, the Gen Empire suddenly rose to power. The people in the Gen Empire were mostly horsemen, originating from the old En province north of the river. The Gen Empire took land and territory from the Ei Empire, chasing us south, all the way to where the Sai province used to be.
The Ei Empire’s greatest desire was to see our lands reclaimed. Right now there was a lull in the fighting, but I could say for certain that we would be back to war sometime soon. When that happened, it would be the Chou family’s army that would be at the front lines. The only thing separating our land from the Gen Empire’s army was the river, so here in Koshuu we’d been at a standoff for years.