by Ryota Hori
She was probably desperate not to leave a bad impression on me... Poor thing. Ryoma stifled the cold smile rising up within him.
“What about your escorts? We can prepare something cold for you, too.”
“No, thank you.” Laura rejected Andre’s request with an expressionless face.
The Malfist sisters stood at attention behind Ryoma. The only ones in this room were Ryoma, Andre and the Malfist sisters, who assumed the role of bodyguards.
“I see... My apologies, then. We’ll have your other escorts rest in another room.” Andre said.
With the sisters curtly declining his offer, he resorted to a statement that was meant to signify he was in control of the situation. It was him that said everyone wouldn’t fit the room he’d be negotiating with Ryoma in, and that was why they had to be moved.
“Yes. I apologize for the trouble.” Ryoma simply smiled lightly and lowered his head, though.
“Not at all, we’re happy to offer you our deepest hospitality... Incidentally, milord...” Andre trailed off, as if wondering how to bring something up.
Ryoma’s smile deepened as he cut straight to the chase.
“You want to talk about your suggestion from the other day, right? The request to have your group join my forces.”
The letter he’d received the other day detailed the pirates’ wishes. Ryoma knew full well what they wanted, and today’s meeting was meant for Ryoma to inform them of his decision. There wasn’t much need for pointless banter.
“Y-Yes, milord. Exactly. The demi-human we sent you was a gesture of our good will toward you.”
“Good will, you say... Hmm, I see.”
“We know this might come across as presumptuous, but one such as her is hard to come by. Their village is surrounded by a powerful barrier, and the only way to capture them is to wait for them to go outside the barrier on their own...”
And waiting for them to leave the barrier was difficult in the Wortenia Peninsula. It was infested with powerful monsters, so lying in wait for their prey to leave the perimeter of their barrier was a tiring task.
“I see, I see... So you sent me something you went to great lengths to obtain. My, is that so...”
To make doubly sure Ryoma would be inclined to accept, Andre stressed the effort they put into the gift they sent him. Presenting the danger they went through would improve the impression they made. This was something Andre experienced many times in his past as a merchant. If one were to sell something for a high price, explaining the rarity and difficulty in obtaining the goods in question was a common way of convincing them.
“Oooh. In that case?!” Andre smiled gleefully at Ryoma’s words.
He was clearly confident the result they wanted was within reach.
It’s like Luida said, he’s just a man... Sending him that woman was the right choice.
Andre was already convinced they’d won. Had Ryoma’s answer been negative, he wouldn’t come all the way here. But he did, and the meaning of that was clear.
But Andre’s hopes would soon be dashed.
“Yes. I’m going to make the lot of you disappear,” Ryoma said, a chilling smile on his lips.
The moment those words left Ryoma’s lips, Laura and Sara lunged from behind him and swung their swords at Andre. Caught by surprise by Ryoma’s unexpected words, Andre was helpless to resist.
“Then let’s begin. You remember the plan, right?” Ryoma asked the question as he coldly looked down at Andre’s corpse, which still had its eyes wide open in disbelief.
“Yes.” The sisters nodded silently.
“Do it!” Ryoma ordered them sharply.
“Fragments of sunlight, ye heaven-sent children of fire, sinful descendents of the God of Fire who were cast down to the earth. Sublimate thy sins and return to the heavens.”
Their chant reverberated in Ryoma’s ears like the reciting of a holy poem. With their chakras revolving as they chanted, prana rushed through the Malfist sisters’ bodies.
“Burning pillar!”
And with those final words, the sisters slammed their hands against the ground. At that moment, a pillar of flames burst through the estate’s roof with a rumbling sound. A massive fire pillar raged up from the center of the nameless city. This was the signal everyone that waited around the cliffside settlement waited for.
Men covered in black face masks silently rushed through the night. Sakuya sensed their presence and turned around.
“I know. Are you all prepared?”
The black shadows nodded at her words. They rolled up their sleeves, revealing leather belts that were tied against their arms. Attached to each of those belts was a small vase. It was a rather inconspicuous vase, with a roundish torso and a thin neck portion. An ordinary vase one could find anywhere.
But it was unusual in a few ways. Firstly, the vases didn’t contain flowers, but instead had a piece of cloth stuffed into it. And secondly, the sheer number of the vases was unusual. There were roughly two hundred of these odd vases there.
They were set up so as to not impede the black-clad men’s movements so they likely had some kind of purpose, but anyone who would look at them would likely burst out laughing at how they looked. And yet, none of them showed any shame at their appearance.
Quite the contrary, in fact — their gazes were like cold blades. They knew full well what they were about to do, and why they were about to do it.
At first I didn’t know why he gave each of the low-ranking ninja an individual explanation...
Explaining the details of the operation to the operatives carrying it out was a bothersome, time-consuming task. In fact, when Sakuya was ordered to take part in this job, she was not given any details herself. The elders simply told her to do it, and she had neither the reason nor the privilege to ask questions.
But this time was different. Ryoma used Sakuya, Gennou and Lione to clearly explain the objective and necessity of this operation. And Sakuya thought the ninja would not be any more anxious than they otherwise would be.
But their resolve is clearly different...
The way they cloaked their presence and retained their calm was no different from usual, but the clear sense of purpose heightened their mental condition and drove them to fight.
Perhaps that much is obvious... Our town is coming into place, and they refuse to let someone interfere with our new home... Even if that someone were the ruler of this land, Queen Lupis...
Sakuya thought back to their conference the night before. Seven men and women surrounded a round table as the sound of wooden hammers rang out from outside. Most of the people present listened to Ryoma’s explanation with an expression of confusion.
“This is why I’ve called you all here...” Ryoma said. “I’m sorry I had to distract you while you were busy. Especially you, Sakuya.”
“Ah, not at all,” Sakuya shook her head. “It’s understandable, given the circumstances... And not to worry, I’ve left a few men behind as lookouts.”
Sakuya was ordered to wipe out the pirates, and had discovered the pirates’ hideout a few days ago by stealthily tailing the pirates’ recon unit as they returned. She then performed a thorough reconnaissance of the area, researching the number of ships and personnel they had as well as the city’s topography.
Her only remaining task was to set the groundwork for when Ryoma would give the order. And just when she’d completed those preparations, she received orders from Ryoma to return to their city.
“So... What do you intend to do, Lord Ryoma? Will you accept the pirates’ fealty?” Sakuya asked.
“That’s... a bit of a tall order,” Lione replied. “The little ones might be loyal now, but if we do that, they’ll become disgruntled and turn on us.”
“That much is obvious...” Boltz nodded deeply. “For the children, pirates were the ones that burned down their hometowns and sold them and their families to slavery. Even if they’re freed from that slavery now, their grudge toward the pirates wouldn’t dis
appear that quickly.”
Everyone nodded wordlessly at Boltz’s explanation. The slaves became Ryoma’s soldiers in exchange for being freed from slavery, but that didn’t erase their past. If anything, their more fulfilled lives now only served to highlight how terrible and painful their time as slaves was.
“Still, refusing the strength of the pirates is a missed opportunity,” Gennou said. “We only acted to wipe them out since we assumed they wouldn’t obey us. Can we not find a use for their strength given that they wish to swear their loyalty to us?”
A silence fell over everyone at Gennou’s question. There wasn’t any true basis to deny his suggestion. The pirates’ value didn’t boil down to just their strength on the sea. Securing control over the waters was one advantage, and they could even help with trade. There were countless uses for the pirates.
Putting aside future prospects, farming and fishing weren’t existing industries in the Wortenia Peninsula at the moment. Their only plausible source of funds was to sell reagents harvested from the monsters or by selling demi-humans to slavery.
But while the practical part of their minds realized this, they couldn’t emotionally accept this.
“That’s right, but... What, are you gonna spit on the little ones’ feelings?” Lione asked, with a dangerous edge to her voice.
If they were to only consider their immediate profit, accepting the pirates’ offer of fealty wasn’t a bad idea. But from a long term perspective, it was clear that they could expect some friction between their soldiers and the pirates. And even if it wouldn’t blow up immediately, it certainly would sometime in the near future.
One of Ryoma’s few strong points in this overwhelmingly disadvantageous position was the quality and loyalty of each and every one of his soldiers. Their freedom from servitude and the positive and personal treatment they’d been given since was meant to solidify their loyalty to Ryoma.
The problem was that should Ryoma accept the pirates’ proposal, a crack could run through that otherwise firm loyalty. This was something that Lione and Boltz — who were in charge of managing the soldiers — were greatly suspicious of.
Ryoma quickly cut that suspicion in the bud, though.
“I don’t intend to accept their oath of fealty.” Ryoma’s deep voice echoed coldly through the room.
“Are you sure, milord?” While everyone fell quiet, Gennou fearfully sneaked a gaze at Ryoma’s expression.
Gennou didn’t intend to insist on his opinion there. Ryoma had the final word in the end, and Gennou only brought up a point for consideration to help Ryoma come to the right decision. Everyone present understood this. Gennou did think, however, that Ryoma would normally place more importance on his opinion.
Ryoma’s next words, however, would go on to wipe away everyone’s apprehensions.
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter what their intentions are; we can’t accept them. They’re vicious criminals, after all.”
That was an issue that was even more fundamental than anything else they brought up so far. As light as the cost of human life was in this world, the law did exist. Putting aside how pertinent the rule of law might be in each individual country, one couldn’t establish a nation in an entirely lawless environment.
And the Wortenia Peninsula was, legally speaking, territory belonging to the Kingdom of Rhoadseria. And it went without saying that piracy was deemed illegal in Rhoadseria. And in every country on this Earth, the sentence for piracy was death. And that extended to not just the pirate committing the crime, but their family as well.
This was an even heavier sentence than ordinary murder, of course, but there was a reasoning for that. Pirates pillaged in the name of their own profit, which hurt many people on a daily basis. In addition, the punishment was to set an example and maintain the civil order. And most importantly of all, it satisfied the masses, who were often directly or indirectly hurt by pirate activity.
Ideas of mercy and ethics could greatly differ depending on the era one lives in, the education they receive and the environment they live in. And while this law may have come across as barbaric in modern Japan, in this world it was simply a natural conclusion. An act of mercy could easily result with the one showing pity to another attacked for their weakness.
The people of this world would likely not care at all if the pirates had reformed or changed their ways. And they would spare no mercy for their families, that lived off of a bloodstained fortune.
Of course, Ryoma could ignore the law thanks to the right to autonomy he’d gained from Queen Lupis. But it would create needless friction between him and the surrounding nobles and their subjects. Had Ryoma been in absolute power this wouldn’t have mattered much, but it was risky at this point, when he was still an emerging noble of Rhoadseria.
“The Wortenia Peninsula was given to me as my territory, and that means maintaining the law and order here falls to me. No one’s saying anything right now, but if we leave the pirates as they are, people might demand I take responsibility for the pirates, even for things they did in the past.”
It was clear how hard it was to settle and govern a land that was left unattended for years, and so no one bothered Ryoma with the matter right now. But given time, surrounding nobles might begin demanding he handle the pirates, or even take responsibility for their past raids, too. It only made sense that they would. No one could punish the pirates so far since the land was abandoned, but now Ryoma was its governor, and handling the law and order was part of his duty.
“And, well, there’s all these other reasons you brought up, but honestly speaking? I just don’t like them.” Ryoma cracked a smile.
He understood the pirates’ position, and knew they didn’t become pirates because they wanted to. Perhaps they were even victims, in a way, and there was room for sympathy. But they could only demand the justice they were due as victims against the assailants that hurt them. There was no justification to them having turned their blades on unrelated civilians.
Both emotionally and practically, Ryoma couldn’t accept their proposal of fealty.
“And to that end, I’m going to have to wipe them out. Any objections?” He regarded everyone around the round table with a cold, stabbing glare.
At that moment, the pirates’ fate was sealed.
♱
“Your orders, Sakuya.” One of the men said, snapping Sakuya out of her recollection.
No good... I have to stay focused.
In Chess terms, they already had the king cornered. The pirates had no means of escaping. But that didn’t mean Sakuya could afford to be reckless. Sakuya nodded silently and raised her hand to the air.
“It is time to greet your noble deaths. We haven’t much time. Half of you will regroup with Grandfather and quickly secure the target! The rest of you will follow me and light the fire. Make sure that our Lord’s path of retreat is not severed until the next signal comes!”
At Sakuya’s order, the ninjas set forth like arrows fired from a bow. Given their careful planning and preparations, Sakuya’s explanation was perhaps unnecessary. The ninjas simply nodded and tied a rope around a thick tree’s trunk. They then grabbed onto the rope and dived off the cliff.
The nameless city Henry and his cronies made was indeed a natural fortress. It was surrounded in three directions by several-dozen-meter-tall cliffs, with the ocean spreading out on its north end. There were only two staircases across the cliffs, hardly wide enough for two people to pass through together. It was likely designed this way to defend themselves from the monsters, but in times of war the cliffs also served as walls.
The only way to lead a frontal charge into the city after coming out of the forest was to cross a narrow staircase cut into the cliff-face. But that was only if one were to attempt a frontal charge like a monster might. Humans could come up with a multitude of other ways into the city. Like rappelling down the cliff using a rope...
This world didn’t have anything like a carabiner, which would otherwise be seen a
s the perfect solution in Ryoma’s world. And so, the ninjas had to hang their lives on this literal lifeline, relying on the rope as they slid down the cliff.
“I leave the rest to you, Sir Boltz.” Sakuya whispered as she secured her body to the rope and dove into the open air.
♱
“Milord... You’re finally here.”
Gennou appeared after they’d finished off Andre. He was clad in a black bodysuit and a black hood. His ninja attire made his facial features indistinguishable. But the sharp gaze emanating from a small gap in his mask and the low whisper of his voice made it clear it was Gennou.
“Did you find it?” Ryoma asked.
“Of course,” Gennou nodded curtly. “I’ve also secured them, and made sure guards would escort them to the harbor.”
Gennou’s task was securing the captured demi-humans. Gennou and his men swam into the bay from the western cape. Given it was their primary occupation, the Igasaki ninjas perfectly tackled their tasks. They snuck in under the cover of shadow and the darkness of night, and were able to infiltrate the nameless city through the sea.
Gennou discovered the prison where the demi-humans were held, and waited for Ryoma’s signal before moving in.
“Good job. Then let’s head for the harbor and move on to the next phase. Looks like Sakuya’s group is already moving in.”
Outside the window, flames were rising from each direction, and the streets of the nameless city were falling into a state of frenzied chaos.
“Sir Boltz has the cliff’s staircase sealed... So long as we capture the harbor, the people of this city will have nowhere to run.”
“Right. So everything’s going as planned.” Ryoma said, his lips curling up in a cold smile.
Ryoma didn’t enjoy murder in any way, but he was more than willing to resort to it if the situation called for it.
Let this sinful city burn...! There’s no good or evil here. Everything will be reduced to dust...