As Heki had said, this wasn’t a job that could be completed in just a year. Even if they were only able to become acquainted with one house, they shouldn’t aim for that from the beginning. What was important was to be exceedingly polite. If they were to state what they wanted from the get-go, it wouldn’t lead to the optimal outcome.
Sukreen deceived the Art of the Shrine Maiden users and had tried to exploit them. There’s no way I’ll repeat the same mistake as her...
The other two princesses remained silent; although they hadn’t touched on the subject, they all thought the same as Toris.
Acting out of turn will always catch up to you. I think it’s a good decision.
It’s better to be modest and pay respect to your opponents... If we don’t, we’ll have to stop.
As the three princesses had chosen to take their leave, the four martial artists also did the same. The seven women all temporarily left the itami room.
“Marionette Style, have they left?” the Testudo Style master asked the head of another house.
“Yes, they all left together.” Marionette Style used a similar power to that of the Shrine Maidens, and its users had been keeping a close eye on the women from the beginning. Although it probably wasn’t going to happen, they had been ready to deal with a hostile situation, should such a thing arise. The Marionette Style users would be able to deal with it, as they were terrifying assassins whom not even Suiboku could deal with when he first came across them.
“Well, what do you think?”
“I did not sense any hostility from them and their words were truthful. However...they are hiding their true intentions.”
“I see... I think I can guess what they are.”
While they might have an ulterior motive, as long as they didn’t intend to cause any harm, it wouldn’t be an issue. They had previously formulated a clear idea of what their intentions were, seeing how the four women had returned. It seemed they had been right after all.
“Ahh.” The Testudo Style master had a glimpse of the future, which led him to sigh dejectedly. He was able to picture how it would turn out, having seen everything play out in his mind, hence why he was so dejected. Nobody thought anything about his behavior. Even though they were unable to see the future, they were able to work out why he was so down.
“Ah...yes, please inspect the contents of the boxes.” Once the Testudo Master had given his permission, a group of women entered the itami room. There were three sliding doors placed around the room, and all of them opened as the women poured in. Everyone was excited as they checked the contents of the treasures.
“Wow, is this a rug? This is a rug, right? Is it one you can use on the floor? It’s not a quilt, right?”
“Whoa...what beautiful, thin materials... I wonder how they made these...”
“Hey, let me see that ring! Ah, and that hairpin... It is a hairpin, right? That too!”
“This mirror...it’s so pretty...”
There were a lot of gifts, not only from Arcana, but also from Magyan and various other kingdoms too. A large group of women surrounded the tightly packaged treasures, even as the ten masters felt relieved that the princesses who had been present earlier didn’t have to witness such a sight.
“Well, well...”
Those who were in receipt of gifts had to act a certain way. However, that varied hugely between country and culture, so there was no definitive answer on how someone should act. The giver would no doubt be delighted to see the recipient so happy with their gift. After all, they gave the gift to make them happy, and it was much better than having them being displeased with it. In other words, it wasn’t a bad thing that the women were so happy.
“We can’t let them see them like this...” It was understandable they didn’t want them to witness this kind of situation, however.
“Are you finished checking the items? Now we can decide who gets what,” the Mist Shadow Style master said quietly. His voice could barely be heard over the excited voices of the women, but even so, the women went silent. Even though they had received a lot of treasure, it would be difficult to pass all of it around the village. “While not the best solution, I believe that as these were items Konoko won, we Mist Shadow Style users should receive a portion.” Upon hearing that, four other martial artists, as well as the Mist Shadow Style users, all laughed. The six remaining martial artists, however, all had sour looks.
“The remaining portions will then spread out as such—the Four Vessels Style will receive a portion from Yabia’s gifts, the Bursting Venom Style from Suji’s, and the Drunken Fist Style from Kazuno’s.” That was the fairest way of doing it. Although no one had actually permitted it, the four women had participated in fights as representatives of their martial arts. As such, the houses should receive the rewards.
However, it was uncertain if the other six houses would agree, as they likely weren’t open to not receiving anything. It didn’t make a lot of sense for the men, who had no real interest in the treasures, to receive everything.
“But, her portion is in there too. So...” There were probably treasures in there that were awarded for Ran’s work. If there were, it was uncertain who would be the one to receive them. “How about we give it to the Testudo Style? They often carry the burden.” Once again, that was a fair opinion to have. When Ran had returned to the village a few days prior, the Testudo master was the only one who had dealt with her. Everyone had pressured him into it, true, but it was also true that none of them had shown their faces at the time.
“The Testudo Style also gave out their book of secrets. Thinking of that, we should at least give them some treasure,” the Mist Style Shadow master said, showing off his political acumen. With this, it would mean that five houses would receive something, whereas the other five wouldn’t. It would make the numbers equal, plus the lack of feeling indebted would work in the Mist Shadow Style’s favor.
“Aren’t you being a bit hasty?” Surprisingly, it was the Testudo Style master who spoke up. The other uses of the Testudo Style all wore expressions that seemed to say “don’t do anything hasty.” If they continued with this idea, rather than handing it out evenly, they would receive a lot more. In other words, the number of people they had to share it with would double. The treasure was definitely going to be shared primarily with the main family, but the rest of it could be effectively passed around the branch families. As a result, the weak houses were reluctant to distribute it to everyone, which could lead to friction. There was no way to only focus on the opinions of the branch families. “We should first hand it out to those who were hurt by her, with the remainder being kept by the village as a whole.” It was less than ideal having everything jumbled together, so the Testudo Style master suggested that the healing fruits be distributed amongst Ran’s victims. Naturally, no one had any complaints regarding that. Or rather, each family had victims, so there was no compromise needed.
“As for the remaining treasures...it will be as Mist Shadow Style said. It would be strange to focus on other houses after we received the book of secrets.” The Testudo Style master had a wife and children. He didn’t want the treasures that much himself; however, if he were to simply give them up, it might have roused suspicion. If they were to split the village into two, it would cause long-term problems. It would no doubt cause a huge argument later—that was obvious even without being able to see the future.