The defense force was shorthanded to begin with, so it wasn’t about to turn away anyone willing to help. The three newcomers were added to the defense force right away, treated like a party of adventurers. The strength they displayed was jaw-dropping. Whenever a group of monsters approached, they would stand in front, obstructing their enemies’ paths like a giant boulder in the way of a raging stream, and cut them all down without mercy. Just like legendary warriors.
At first, Ishka’s government had only intended for the defense force to buy time. The soldiers at the hastily constructed first bulwark were to hold the monsters off as long as possible while they built a second bulwark behind it. When the first bulwark fell, they’d move to the second bulwark, buying time to build a third, and so on. In other words, they were to delay the monsters’ invasion as long as possible to give Ishka’s actual military the necessary time to mobilize.
But with the arrival of these three newcomers, the monsters didn’t even make it past the first bulwark. The line of defense was so solid that the second, third, and fourth bulwarks were constructed in no time. Everyone who’d assumed the stampede would eventually reach Ishka and ruin the town was even starting to wonder if the entire horde might be eradicated before they even reached the town’s walls.
But there was one thing everyone could agree on: This great success was almost entirely due to the three newcomers who’d come from the royal capital. One Kanarian soldier mused that their strength might rival that of the highest-ranking knights of the kingdom, or even the strongest of the dragon knights. One adventurer wondered if they might even be as skilled as the five Rank 1 adventurers in the kingdom.
None of them knew the truth. The reality that the white-haired youth muttered in exasperation upon overhearing one of these astounded kingdom dwellers heap praise onto them.
“‘Rival’ them, huh?” he scoffed. “They really have no idea, do they?”
“Minister, how much longer are we going to hunt such easy prey?”
“What’s the matter, Klimt? Dissatisfied?”
“Of course I am. After all, we came here to investigate how that priest died, did we not? And now we know the culprit was that duke, Drag-something-or-other. So why can’t we just cut him down and go back to the island? Why do we have to waste time fraternizing with these weaklings and fighting their battles for them?” The boy, Klimt, kicked the ground in irritation. “If I hear one more person say I’m on par with a dragon knight or a Rank 1 adventurer, I’m gonna be sick. I haven’t even unleashed my Shinsou yet, and they’re already showering me with praise? Give me a break.”
“Remember, the standard of strength on the continent is very different from that on the island,” the man Klimt had called “minister”—Gozu Shiima—warned. “Their customs, common practices, and values as well. I put you on this mission so that you’ll learn as much. And I believe I’ve already explained to you both why we’re participating in this fight. As retainers of Mitsurugi, we have a duty to atone for Jijinbou’s misdeeds.”
Klimt merely shrugged. “Does that really matter? It’s not like fighting here will resurrect the people he killed.”
“It does matter,” Gozu answered sternly. His self-possessed demeanor rarely ever slipped, but a hint of anger showed itself in his expression. Of course, the anger wasn’t directed at Klimt, but at Jijinbou, who’d made this mess in the first place. Having investigated the disturbance in Kanaria and learned the full extent of what Jijinbou had done, Gozu was furious. Even setting aside his personal feelings on the matter, as the Mitsurugi family’s Minister of War, assisting Shikibu in overseeing the island’s military, Jijinbou’s actions had been unconscionable.
“The Illusory Blade style was founded to protect the world,” he muttered. “That means we have a duty to use this power to defend those without. Jijinbou’s misdeeds violated our creed.”
For that reason, Gozu had no intention whatsoever of killing the duke and avenging Jijinbou. Rather, he would have liked to apologize to the duke for his colleague’s insubordination and even wanted to praise him for having the strength to take out an Illusory Blade user.
Klimt nodded reluctantly. “Well, I’m not going to disobey you, so whatever you say goes, I guess. Still, if we keep fighting these small fry much longer, I feel like it’s gonna dull my edge. Don’t you think so too, sis?” The boy turned to the woman, who’d been listening to the conversation silently up until then.
“Pride and arrogance are two different things, Klimt,” she replied with a shake of her head. “Whatever the situation may be, conceit is prohibited. Also, you’d do well to watch your tone a little more. However skilled you may be in combat, that’s no reason to look down on others.”
“You’re always saying things like that, Kuraia. However you want to dress it up, weaklings are weaklings,” he spat coldly. But rather than animosity toward his older sister, it sounded more like a child pouting after being scolded. From that alone, one could probably surmise what kind of relationship they shared as siblings.
Gozu observed the two of them silently. The older sister was Kuraia Berch, and her brother was Klimt Berch. The Berches were one of the most eminent families on Onigashima—much more so than the Shiima family, in fact. The Mitsurugis had four chief vassals called the Four Ministers supporting them: the Minister of Welfare, the Minister of Works, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of War, the last of which Gozu was currently serving as. Two of those other seats were occupied by Berch family members, a good indicator of the amount of influence the family held.
As members of that bloodline, Kuraia and Klimt were also expected to take their own seats within the Mitsurugis’ central network one day. And secretly, Gozu had given them this mission to test whether they truly had the potential to serve as vassals of Mitsurugi.
As Gozu reflected on this, Kuraia spoke up. “Minister, I have a question regarding Duke Dragonaut.”
“The duke? What do you want to know?”
“Do you really think he was capable of defeating a Banner of Seirin?”
Gozu narrowed his eyes slightly. He urged her with his gaze to continue. Correctly interpreting his gesture, Kuraia went on to explain the reason for her doubt.
“I’ve only been observing from a distance, of course, but as far as I can tell, the duke does seem quite skilled. Most likely his level is somewhere in the fifties, like mine and my brother’s. I daresay he’d prove more than a match for us in a fight.”
When her brother heard that, his eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to protest, but a wry smile from Kuraia kept him silent. “However,” she went on, “that’s only assuming we didn’t use our Shinsous. If we did, we’d most definitely win. And from what I heard, Jijinbou’s level was over 70, and he used his Shinsou in the battle. I find it hard to believe that the duke could win against him in that state.”
“Is that your only reason for doubting the duke?” Gozu asked.
“Not quite. I also find the actions he took after the battle to be suspicious. Apparently he’s currently exerting every effort to help the town rebuild. In other words, he was unharmed enough in the battle against Jijinbou for him to be this active. I just don’t see how that’s possible.”
“I see,” Gozu said, nodding slowly. Truthfully, he had found that dubious as well. But news of the stampede had reached the royal capital before he’d had a chance to investigate more thoroughly.
Just as he was about to explain to Kuraia that they’d investigate in greater detail once the current issue was taken care of, a voice came from outside their tent.
“Excuse me, but is there a Gozu Shiima inside?”
When he heard the voice, Gozu arched an eyebrow. It sounded female. Naturally, their success in battle today had earned them the admiration of soldiers and adventurers alike, and while few in number, there had been women among them as well. Some had even approached Gozu and Klimt with bedroom proposals. For a moment, Gozu wondered if this visitor might be another one of those.
But then he reconsidered. There was no flirtation in the voice calling for him. Nor did it sound like the speaker was seeking him for anything so frivolous. It sounded almost businesslike.
Gozu opened the tent flap and invited the two women he found there inside. They introduced themselves as envoys from Ishka’s Adventurer’s Guild. While they looked young, Gozu could sense that they possessed nerves of steel.
Their names were Ridelle and Parfait.