As I untied Hakurei’s ribbon from the hilt, one of the veterans approached me, sword in hand. Behind him were the other soldiers, excitedly clamoring for attention.
“Young master!”
“This one! Use this one!”
“It probably won’t break so easily.”
“It’s of truly sturdy make.”
I took the sword from the soldier and held it in my hand. It was thicker and heavier than a regular one, likely designed for real combat. “It’s a good weapon. Thanks, I’ll take it.”
“What an honor,” the soldier said, smiling as he pressed his hand to his chest, right over his heart. I could see the other soldiers around him copying the movement.
Hmm? Wait...
“Lord Chou Sekiei.” It was Teiha, who broke the short silence to attach the Chou name to mine. His face was flushed as he continued, “Though we all acknowledged your martial talent, there was a part of us that looked down on you. We thought of you as a coward who wanted to be a civil official and not a military one despite being a member of the Chou family. We thought of you as nothing more than a freeloader. Until today. Now, we realize it was wrong of us to do so. None of the guards stationed in Keiyou could have lasted in a duel against the Crimson Wolf. You are truly and unmistakably the son of Lord Chou Tairan.”
Teiha, along with the thousands of soldiers gathered, offered me a salute as one. “Lord Chou Sekiei, we pledge to fight alongside you until the bitter end! Please give us our orders!”
I widened my eyes as the memories rushed through me, clear as day. Ahh, that’s right. How could I have forgotten? Even in my past life, I loved to fight alongside soldiers like them. Feeling strangely abashed, I ran my hand through my hair before tying Hakurei’s ribbon around the hilt of my new sword.
“Idiots,” I said. “But thank you. No one is allowed to throw their life away! We will protect Keiyou until father and Hakurei return—until this battle ends—no matter how many days it’ll take!”
“Yessir!!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
As soon as I arrived in the capital city of Rinkei, I made my way to the Chou family manor in the northern district. Tugging on Getsuei’s reins, I skidded to a halt on the main street.
“L-Lady Hakurei?! Asaka?” One of the older servants, cleaning up as part of her nightly duties, shrieked when she saw me.
Instead of giving an immediate reply, I stroked Getsuei’s neck. It had taken us five days of riding to get here, with only small breaks now and again. “Thank you,” I murmured to the horse. Then, pushing my exhausted body, I got off the saddle and turned to the servant. “Is father present?”
“Yes, he is!”
Some of the other servants hurried out; I handed Getsuei’s reins to one of them and Asaka and I entered the manor. Enemy cavalrymen, sent to stop messengers leaving Keiyou, had attacked us several times on our journey, but Asaka looked the same as always. We walked down the hall and entered the inner courtyard where, underneath the stone roof, a man in military garb was sitting across from a young girl. Her long brown hair was tied in pigtails and she was wearing a fancy orange outfit. Behind her was a woman with beautiful, long black hair. I recognized the woman as Shizuka, who was said to have come from an island country in the east.
Father and Ou Meirin? As I wondered what they could possibly be talking about, my father noticed me and his eyes widened. He shot to his feet and hurried towards us.
“Hakurei! What’s the matter?!”
“Father...” I was about to tell him the situation when he wrapped me up in a strong and warm embrace. I rested my head against his muscular chest and felt the strength leave my body.
Father’s face scrunched up. “I get the picture. There’s only one reason why Sekiei would send you here. Adai made his move, I presume?”
“Yes. Here, take this.” I took Sekiei’s document from my pocket and handed it to father.
Father let Asaka take over in holding me up as he gave the letter a quick read. “Understood.” His eyes shone with determination. The man before me was no longer just my father; he was Chou Tairan, the National Shield of the Ei Empire. “Lady Meirin, please accept my apologies for making you come all the way here, but I must return to Keiyou immediately. This issue affects the future of our country, you see. Would you be willing to continue our discussion about expedition rations with Sekiei as our proxy?”
Wait, this little girl is the one who’s making business deals with father instead of the head of the Ou family? She has that much power? And what does father mean by “expedition”? One of the elderly servants brought a chair for me, so I gratefully sank down in it. My legs were so weak I was on the verge of collapse.
The Ou girl nodded upon hearing father’s suggestion, her face severe. “We have no qualms with that. I pray for your success, General Chou.” She paused for a moment before she added, “Ah, since we’re on the topic, I would like to make a single request.”
“What is it?” There was something menacing in father’s voice.
The Ou girl simply smiled in response, unafraid. She placed her hands together and said, “It’s about Lord Sekiei. May I have him as my husband? My parents have already agreed to letting me be his wife. I hear that he hasn’t officially received the Chou name either, and in that case, I believe that such a union would benefit both of our families.”
As the meaning of the words sank into my head, an intense wave of emotion erupted within me. “Wha—?! J-Just what are you—?!”
“Lady Hakurei, please don’t push yourself!” Asaka placed her hands on my shoulders as if worried I’d leap from my chair at the Ou girl.
Sekiei? Her husband? She wasn’t kidding about that?!
Father crossed his arms and hummed. “And why would you want that?”
The Ou girl’s smile deepened as she looked up at the sky. There was a slight flush to her cheeks, as if she was thinking back on something. “It’s simple, really. It’s because that man saved my life. There is no greater debt than a life debt, wouldn’t you agree?”
I’d heard that this girl and those in her employ had been attacked by pirates when Sekiei saved them in the nick of time. I agreed that “he saved my life” was an important enough event that it would make anyone fall in love, but... When I looked back at her, the Ou girl was looking at me and my father with the face of a calculating adult. Her eyes were chips of ice.
“Objectively,” she said, “this country is very wealthy. It’s to the point that Ei’s power and influence rival that of its past, when it ruled the lands north of the river. However, it’s precisely because of its wealth that it’s rotting from within. Under normal circumstances, you should’ve already been on your journey back to the front. Yet you are forced to remain in the capital. Why is that? It’s because those parasites in the Peacemaker Party are preventing you from leaving. My dear Lord Sekiei will eventually have to deal with those fools as well. To tell you the truth, the mere thought of it makes me wish to hurl. I hear that he has been forbidden from entering the city on a false charge—and not only that, but one of the people responsible for this was the grand chancellor’s grandson? I simply want to see Lord Sekiei smiling at my side.”
“The grand chancellor? So that was...” Father stood next to me, silent, as I trailed off. When I had gone to give food to Sekiei in prison I had passed by someone, though I couldn’t get a good glimpse of them because of the darkness. Even the grand chancellor, who was known for his wisdom, wasn’t able to completely control his own family?
The Ou girl stood up with a twirl, her robes billowing about her with the movement, before lowering her head in a deep bow. “Let me guess: the letter was informing you of a large-scale invasion by the Gen Empire, yes? And I suppose that it also told you of how Seitou has submitted to Gen? Now our country must deal with enemies from two sides of the border. However, over these past three months the only debates that have occurred in our courts were over trifling matters hardly worthy of attention. Just how many people actually understand the prickly reality we’re in? I doubt that even the grand chancellor can make a move.”
Seeing she still had our attention, she went on. “Those in the palace must be aware that Rinkei and Keiyou have both seen an increase in business from Seitou. They are also aware that there are many bizarre incidents involving these sales, such as the existence of Gen spies and the mass imports of rare products. However, none of them were able to face the facts, writing it off by saying, ‘A longtime ally such as Seitou would never betray us,’ or ‘Cavalrymen can’t pass through the Nanamagari Mountains or Hakkotsu Desert.’ They cling to their baseless optimism. Under these circumstances, the imperial guards—the emperor’s personal army, with the most manpower of any military faction in Ei—will only be deployed after Keiyou falls and when the enemies are on Rinkei’s doorsteps. I guarantee it. Your highest priority is to leave Rinkei immediately. Once you have made your decision to do so, I can prepare all the ships that you’ll need.”
My father let out a sharp breath as he swallowed all of the Ou girl’s words.
“You...” I said before words failed me. She was so much shorter than me and, aside from her sizable breasts, she looked as young as a child. Yet her intelligence! She seemed to have an endless wealth of it. No wonder Sekiei praised her so often; I reached up and brushed my fingers against the ribbon in my hair.