Chapter 61

Epilogue “It is my loss. I surrender. To think you would actually defeat Melora’s Deserver troops completely…” Liu Ryland received Galerie Berith with an oddly serene attitude in the silver train’s command car. “Give Ayaho back,” Iroha demanded as she shoved Nuemaru, dog-sized, against Liu. Technically it was a dreadful threat with a Moujuu, but she only looked like a silly girl holding a plushie to his face. Liu smiled stiffly in surprise, but then he nodded amicably. “Of course. Let us make a deal,” he said, hiding tied-up Ayaho behind him. “A deal?” Iroha parroted in confusion. “Yes. Without the Japanese government, there is no law in this country prohibiting kidnapping. The situation must be decided between us two parties. A deal for freeing Ayaho Sashou.” “You arrogant prick…” Yahiro fumed at his sophistry. Sure enough, there was no Japanese law to punish his crime, but at the same time, there was no law forbidding Yahiro from killing Liu. No one would blame Yahiro if he did that to take Ayaho back. Liu realized this, of course. And he also realized that Yahiro would never make that choice. Ayaho, raised in peacetime Japan, would not be able to accept Yahiro murdering for her sake. Liu understood this. “Okay. Let’s strike a deal,” Giuli answered in Yahiro’s stead. “Giuli?!” Yahiro looked at her in shock. He didn’t think she would agree, even if it was to get Ayaho back. Giuli paid him no mind and continued: “First, let’s make a truce starting right now. No retaliation allowed. That enough to guarantee your safety? We won’t demand damages, either. What else do you want?” “N-nothing… That enough is great…” Liu Ryland’s eyes wandered in confusion; the deal was too good. The Galerie had incurred severe damages thanks to Melora, including the harm done to the Yáo Guāng Xīng. He could not believe that they wouldn’t even ask for reimbursement for that. “Are you…sure about this?” Liu stared at her with suspicion. “Yeah.” Giuli laughed. “You will hand Ayaho over, naturally. Just that and let’s call it even. I would love to charge you for repairing our train, but you can’t pay for it anyway.” Rosé sighed. Liu Ryland’s eyebrows twitched; Rosé’s casual remark hurt his ego. “What do you mean we can’t pay for it? You think I can’t secure the funds to repair one or two armored train cars?” “That’s what I said. You can’t. Haven’t you seen the news?” “The news…?” Rosé handed Liu her smartphone. The screen showed a news site from the Chinese Federation mainland. “All Melora Electronics assets frozen… Patents invalidated… Delisted from the stock market, claims for damages, class-action lawsuits… What in the…? What is this?! What is happening?!” “This is what making an enemy of Ganzheit entails, Liu Ryland. Your bribery schemes and inside trading, among other crimes, have been made public—you’re wanted internationally. Whether those crimes are true or not, that is none of our concern.” “You… It was you… You reported me to Ganzheit! You told them I was trying to get ahead of them!” Giuli and Rosé stared coldly at Liu Ryland as he lost his temper. Liu’s power, his personal assets that ranked him among the world’s wealthiest, was no more. Melora Electronics’ future as a company was in peril, too. Liu was only a ruined CEO. All the Melora staff and operators, including the train’s drivers, had already forsaken him. Anything that could protect him in the lawless land of Japan was gone. He couldn’t even be sure he’d escape the country alive. “Y-you’ve got to be kidding me! I am Liu Ryland! I-I’m not going down at the hands of you filthy death dealers…!” Liu cursed as he grabbed the sommelier knife on the table. Then he ran to Ayaho’s side and held the knife to her throat to use her as a hostage. “Ayaho!” “Don’t worry, Iroha…” Ayaho opened her eyes and smiled at her screaming sister. The anesthesia was already wearing off. Her Relict Deserver healing powers were neutralizing its effects. It was already too late by the time Liu noticed. A metallic crystal blade shot from the train’s wall, cutting Liu’s wrist. It was no deep wound, but enough to make him drop the knife and fall to his butt as he shrieked. “I’m no longer a child who needs protection.” Ayaho cut the tape restraining her using the Regalia and slowly stood. Liu crawled away from her, but Josh and his men caught him. He lost all will to even beg for his life as they tied him up and threw him on the floor. “Thank goodness… Thank goodness, Ayaho…” “Iroha… I’m sorry I made you worry so much. Please don’t cry…” Ayaho hugged and patted the wailing Iroha to comfort her. One could no longer tell which one was the hostage, let alone the older sister. ““Ayaho!”” “I’m back, guys.” Her siblings received her in the Yáo Guāng Xīng. They cried and clung to her as she hugged them back with a smile. Yahiro stared at the family while holding a sleeping Sui in his arms. The contrast between their relationships was laughable. There would no longer come a day when he would celebrate Sui’s safety that way. Still, he felt relieved by the fact that he managed to get her back safely. “Thanks, Iroha.” Iroha was still weeping at the sight of her siblings but raised her head at Yahiro’s words. She narrowed her reddened eyes. “Why thank me?” “We got to save both thanks to you never giving up.” “But it all went well thanks to your and everyone else’s efforts.” Iroha placed her forehead on Yahiro’s shoulder. It looked like she was asking to be patted, but his hands were occupied. “Ahh! Mama’s flirting with Yahiro again!” Kyouta yelled, poking fun at the mood they had going on. All the kids turned around at the sound of that. “N-no, I’m not!” Iroha, red in the face, raised her fist at Kyouta. The nine-year-old trio kept poking fun at her as she chased them around. After catching them and giving them a spanking, Iroha came back short of breath and stood before Ayaho. While the rest of the children laughed, she looked oddly serious. “Ayaho, really, I wasn’t flirting or anything,” Iroha said timidly out of concern for her sister. Ayaho stared back at her before wearing a naughty smile. Then she turned toward Yahiro and bowed neatly. “Yahiro, thank you so much for saving me.” “Don’t worry about it.” Yahiro nodded. Ayaho smiled beautifully, somehow maturely with her usual shyness gone. “Thank you, too, Iroha.” “What’s with the formalities?” Iroha asked, confused by her distant behavior. Then Ayaho drew near Iroha’s ear and whispered: “But I won’t lose.” “Huh? What? Ayaho? What’s that mean?” “Hee-hee. What, I wonder?” Ayaho left the scene, a suggestive smile on her face. Iroha was frozen in confusion. “Looks like we can go now,” Yahiro told the twins after handing Sui to Nathan. “Yes. What a bother all of it was this time around.” “We lost a lot of time, but I guess we won some things in exchange.” Giuli glanced at Yahiro meaningfully. Although they’d retrieved Ayaho and Sui, the girls were nothing new—they only prevented their kidnappings. Miyabi took the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, too, and Galerie wasn’t profiting off the destruction of Melora’s Relict factory. However, due to all that happened, they saw the world inside the Ploutonion. They spoke with the ancient dragon. They didn’t know what significance that conversation might have, but it could eventually become their trump card—so Giuli was suggesting. They took anything useful from Melora’s abandoned train and the Yáo Guāng Xīng was ready for departure. As Yahiro was trying to get on the train, he realized a girl remained outside. Runa Senou. The youngest of Iroha’s siblings held Nuemaru in her arms, looking at the horizon, in the direction of their destination—Kyoto. The western sky, illuminated by the setting sun, was dyed an ominous crimson.