Chapter 286:  Gaijin (1)


    Late at night in the annex of the mansion.


    Shiron opened his eyes, feeling refreshed.


    Since his exceptional physique didn’t require much sleep, he immediately went downstairs and called the others.


    Ziiik— Shiron drew a red line on the wide map, dividing the imperial capital into four sections.


    “One, two, three… including me, that makes four?”


    Lucia, Siriel, Seira, and Shiron… Shiron counted the faces gathered around him.


    “From this moment on, each of you will enter your assigned zone and respond immediately when an attack urs.”


    “What do you mean by ‘respond’?”


    Seira, who had been looking at the map, raised her hand. Shiron, who was writing Seira’s name in the western section, looked up.“Of course, you kill anyone deemed an enemy immediately.”


    “… Even if they surrender?”


    “Handle it as you see fit. But I don’t think there’s any chance of the barbarians surrendering aftering this far. If they were going to surrender… they would have done so long ago.”


    In the southern section, Siriel’s name was written, and in the southeastern section, Lucia’s.


    Finally, in the northern section, where the northern prison holding 300 prisoners was located, Shiron and Yoru’s names were written.


    “But remember. Each of you is assigned arge area, so you might not have enough time to respond properly. The most important thing is to ensure your own safety. If you get injured, more people might die.”


    “… This isplicated.”


    Seira muttered as she bit her nails. Even though the city was divided into four, Rien was still barely smaller than the size of four regr citiesbined.


    Controlling a small city alone… While she had often received requests from Shiron since childhood, today’s task seemed the most grueling.


    However, it didn’t seem impossible.


    This was partly because Seira was a remarkable magician, but also because Rien housed a force of 20,000 troops.


    There would be no gaps in security, and with their ability to use sword energy, they should be able to buy time until Seira arrived.


    “The most important thinges after the battle.”


    Shiron summoned mana, producing mes.


    “We’ve received intelligence that the Grand Elder has crossed the border. If you kill or capture him, use magic to send a signal.”


    “Shouldn’t we just send a signal as soon as we spot him?”


    Siriel, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.


    “Isn’t the Grand Elder supposed to be really strong? Wouldn’t it be better to face him with many people instead of just two?”


    “If it were that simple, we would’ve formed a subjugation force and assassinated him already.”


    Shiron turned his gaze toward Yoru, who was sitting in a corner, with a dog bowl in front of her.


    On the surface, it was a ridiculous and amusing sight. But if you closed your eyes, you could imagine her towering over the battlefield with a massive greatsword.


    ‘… If it were that simple, Yoru would have been appointed Grand Elder long ago.’


    Gaijin had been defeated by Glen, losing one of his arms… but no one who had faced Glen as an enemy had survived.


    His swordsmanship was also at the peak of mastery, and being only 15 years older than Yoru, he was still in his prime.


    Of course, swordsmanship alone wouldn’t be enough against Yoru, but the biggest problem was the presence of Gaijin and the other shamans.


    Unlike straightforward magic, shamanism operated with such strange mechanisms that it was called sorcery. The most infamous was the Blood Curse, which affected the entire party.


    “The Grand Elder is easier to defeat when he fights alone rather than with others.”


    Shiron exined the curse used by Gaijin to Siriel.


    The moment the attack connected, the curse would activate, spreading the damage taken by the target to their allies.


    If Lucia took 100 damage, Seira and Siriel, fighting alongside her, would each receive 80 damage.


    While there wasn’t much chance that Lucia or Siriel would suffer life-threatening injuries, the key issue was that the damage was absolute.


    With Shiron’s hybrid of swordsmanship and magic and Seira being a pure mage, their stamina was naturally lower than Lucia’s or Siriel’s.


    If Siriel suffered enough damage to break her arm, Seira’s arm might end up severed.


    “We can’t afford to escte the chaos in an alreadyplicated city.”


    Fortunately, the range of the curse was limited. Rien was vast, and the curse didn’t reach far. As long as they didn’t gather at the boundary of the divided zones, they wouldn’t be affected by the curse.


    “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”


    “…Why are you apologizing?”


    Shiron turned to look at Glen, who had approached him.


    “Thanks to you, the Grand Elder is now one-armed. That’s more than enough to say you’ve done your part.”


    “I should’ve chased him down and killed him. I regret letting him live. Maybe I should’ve cut off the other arm too.”


    “Hey, let’s not talk about such gruesome things in front of the Grand Elder’s daughter.”


    “……Don’t mind me…”


    Yoru answered in a subdued voice.


    “I already know it’s toote. The rift of emotions is too deep to repair. I should’ve been the one to stop my father more forcefully from the beginning.”


    “…Somehow, I feel sorry.”


    Glen scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He knew who Yoru was and her hostile rtionship with his sons, but ironically, Glen had developed a personal fondness for her.


    Crunch—


    Yoru chewed on the snack in her dog bowl. While she had been imprisoned in the hotel, Lucia had brought her food, but now, in her pet-like state, her staple diet consisted of cookies Glen made.


    ‘She really is like a dog.’


    It wasn’t just that Yoru was being treated like a dog—she truly looked like one.


    The brown crumbs piled in her dog bowl.


    Even though Glen hadn’t added chocte or caramel to the cookies, they still looked like dog food with their dark hue.


    In this world, dog food meant leftover scraps, and Yoru was chewing the cookies without a second thought. However, she wasn’t the only one bothered by it.


    Shiron nced at Glen, who was watching Yoru.


    His face held aplex expression of both pity and satisfaction. It seemed Glen was pleased that Yoru, whom everyone in the mansion ignored, was eating his cookies withoutint.


    ‘Such restraint.’


    Glen knelt down to meet Yoru’s eyes. Yoru, who had been munching on the crumbs, trembled.


    “W-What?”


    “Wasn’t your name ‘ckie’?”


    “No, it wasn’t…”


    “If your father dies, I’ll be your father.”


    Glen sped Yoru’s hands together. Startled by the sudden gesture, Yoru almost shook him off, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.


    “I don’t need your sympathy…”


    Yoru shyly averted her gaze.


    It had been a long time since she had experienced such kindness. Since she had always been treated as less than human, like a dog, she felt awkward and embarrassed.


    She’d been beaten whenever she opened her mouth, beaten for being picky about food, beaten for smelling bad… She couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been hit, but Glen had neverid a hand on her.


    ‘Strong potential, well-suited for childbirth, and the heir to Lady Kyrie’s homnd. She’s perfect for a daughter-inw.’


    “epted.”


    “…?”


    Yoru, puzzled, looked at Glen’s satisfied face.<hr>


    There were times when your senses sharpened for no reason. It happened asionally in his previous life, but ever since he gained the body of Prient, it urred much more frequently.


    That was how capable this body was in preparing for uing battles.


    Late at night at the prison, Shiron stretched his body in the moonlight. Though he didn’t have the ability of foresight, his acute senses detected the approaching enemies from several kilometers away.


    Shiron ordered the guards and knights protecting the prison to withdraw.


    As he loosened up, Shiron nced over the 300 prisoners.


    All of them were bound and crawling on the floor, groaning in pain, some even drooling and trembling.


    In the corner, purple ss bottles were scattered in a heap. Yoru’s keen sense of smell warned her that those objects were not ordinary.


    “What… what did you do to our people?”


    Yoru gulped, her shoulders shaking.


    “They’repletely out of it. Did you use paralysis poison? Or maybe…”


    “Rx. We’ve already confirmed whether it’s safe or not.”


    “…Confirmed? How?”


    “Yeah, I considered using paralysis poison, but it has the side effect of muscle stiffness… making them freeze up.”


    Yoru cast a doubtful nce at his people.


    Honestly, it was better for her if they remained in their current state of confusion. There was no need to feel shame about being treated like a dog, and she didn’t have to engage in conversations, allowing her to stay at ease.


    But there was something she couldn’t quite understand.


    “Why didn’t you drug me? If I’m conscious, won’t I just get in your way?”


    “Don’t even think about pulling a fast one.”


    “…I don’t know what you think of me, but if I were going to do something sneaky, I wouldn’t have cooperated from the start.”


    Yoru muttered in a voice soaked with resentment.


    “You’re going to kill the Grand Elder… my father, anyway. I’d rather just hear about itter.”


    “Tsk. For a ve, you sure have a lot of demands.”


    Shiron tapped Yoru’s cheek with his holy sword.


    “Listen carefully. You’re a hostage, just in case things go south.”


    “…”


    “You’re the Grand Elder’s only daughter, right? If I find myself in a dangerous situation, holding a de to your throat might make him hesitate.”


    “…Is that so.”


    Yoru lowered her head and let out a bitterugh. Normally, she would have been furious, but perhaps because of the conditioning she had endured, Yoru epted the situation without muchint.


    She knew, as she had said, that nothing could stop this situation.


    Over the days, she had been angry and struggled a lot, but all that came back was relentless violence, so resignation came naturally.


    [Wow, Hero, you really sound like a scumbag viin.]


    ‘Shut up and double-check the blessings. They’re right at our doorstep.’


    “Kid, I’ve never seen such a brazen one like you.”


    Step, step, step—


    Footsteps echoed through the prison with no attempt to hide them.


    Acute hearing wasn’t something exclusive to the Prient body.


    The moonlight illuminated a face as terrifying as a demon.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    “And you came here alone. Arrogant to the core.”


    “I’m not alone, though?”


    Shiron grinned as if the provocation meant nothing to him. He raised his holy sword and poked Yoru under her chest.


    “You don’t see my sex ve here?”


    “….”


    “It’s two against one.”


    Yoru’s face flushed red with shame.