Going Ahead -leading force-

"Mmm, the sea breeze feels great... is something I could have said if this

was summer."

"It sure is cold, isn't it? We're still in the first month of the year, after

all."

We were aboard Kishun's ship, with Juna and me standing close

together, looking out over the vast open sea. Whew, it sure is cold. Despite

clear skies, the sea breeze was strong, and freezing.

Naden, never one for the cold, was cooped up in her cabin, wrapped in a

blanket. This wasn't as chilly as the Republic of Turgis, but it was still too

harsh for her. When a concerned Tomoe went to check on her, Naden

dragged her under the blankets to use as a living hot water bottle. Not sure

what else I could do, I was going to dispatch Aisha to rescue Tomoe, but

she had been laid low by seasickness. Having lived in the God-Protected

Forest for most of her life, she had never experienced a swaying ship like

this before. Ichiha was looking after her now.

But still... It was cold. Maybe I should have brought a real hot water

bottle. The rest of us might not have had it as bad as Naden, but not many

people were going to want to spend long out on the deck in this chill air. For

me and Juna, staying inside the whole time was too boring, so we had

popped out for a brief look. We fully intended to head back in after a little

while.

I stretched, hoping to loosen up my body which was a little stuff from

the cold.

"Ungh... I think it has been a while since I was last on a ship," I said

with a sigh.

"Haven't you visited the Hiryuu a number of times?"

"That's more of an island or a base; it doesn't feel like a ship. Are you

accustomed to traveling by boat like this? You were raised in a port town,

correct?"

"I did, but... Darling, we're alone right now, you know?" Juna

whispered, and I jumped a little.

Now that she mentioned it, I remembered we'd agreed to be a little more

relaxed and less formal with each other when we were alone.

"Sorry about that... Juna."

"Hee hee. Don't worry about it, Darling." Juna smiled with satisfaction

and pressed up close to me. It was a bit embarrassing.

"...Uh, anyway, I was surprised Kishun's ship was an occidental one."

"Occidental?"

"Ohh, just a thing from my world."

Because Kishun dressed in a manner I associated with Japan, I had

imagined an atakebune, the large warships used by the Japanese military in

the 16th and 17th century, or perhaps the ironclad variant of them, the

tekkosen, so I was surprised to find that his ship looked a lot like a carrack.

It had been designed to be pulled by sea creatures, so the front section

wasn't as pointy as a galleon's. There were also iron plates covering all the

important parts to protect against firearms. In a way, you could have called

this ship an ironclad.

Well, I'd heard the atakebune was unsuited to the open sea, so maybe it

was inevitable his ship would be shaped like this. The reports said they did

have some that resembled kohayabune, the small warships used by the

Japanese military in the same period, so maybe it was just a matter of using

the right ship for the right task.

Because this ship resembled a carrack, it had sails, but they were folded

now because we were being tugged by a sea dragon. It was pretty surreal

seeing a sailing ship with its sails furled up, being dragged by a creature

that looked like a plesiosaur like an ox might pull a cart.

"If it's going to be pulled by a sea dragon, why even have sails to begin

with?"

"They're for when there's trouble with the sea creatures," Juna

explained in response to my question. "If they're no longer able to pull as a

result of an accident or battle, then the ship can't move without sails or oars

as a backup. That's why they have sails. It also costs a lot to feed sea

creatures, so some trips are done using just the wind and currents."

"I get it... But by that logic, what's an iron battleship like the Albert

supposed to do? When there's a battle at sea, the sea creatures might get

hurt, right? Wouldn't a warship without a propulsion device like the Little

Susumu Mark V be stuck when that happened?"

"There is equipment to raise sails on warships like the Albert, too, you

know?"

"Huh? There is?"

Because the Albert had been modified to transport things and fire

cannons on land during the battle with Castor, I didn't have a full grasp of

what it was like before.

"That's only for emergencies," Juna added. "They're not fast, and you're

drifting at the mercy of the wind. Normally, warships don't sail alone, so

they'll be towed by the surviving ships once the battle ends. Whether those

ships are friend or foe, however, will depend on how the battle went,

though."

They'll be rescued if it's the former, or captured if it's the latter, huh?

Just then, a voice called out to me, "So this is where you were, Sir

Souma."

I turned towards the direction I'd heard it to find Shabon and Kishun

approaching.

"That outfit... really suits you. Anyone who sees it would think you were

from Yaeda Island."

"It's not bad, hearing that from one of the locals."

Because I was going incognito, I was wearing my Kitakaze Kozouesque outfit with the conical straw hat and traveler's cape for the first time

in a while. I had used this occasionally after I heard my hair color and facial

features resembled those of the people in the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago, but to elaborate a little further, a race of black-haired humans

was the second or third most common in the region, and there were a lot of

them on Yaeda Island, which had a large human population.

Hakuya has black hair, so maybe he could trace his roots back to Yaeda

Island, too?

As I was thinking that, Shabon hesitantly asked, "Um... Is there anything

inconveniencing you, perhaps?"

"Nah, I'm pretty comfortable. It's nice to travel aboard a ship every now

and again," I said, smiling at the worried-looking Shabon.

Her expression relaxed a bit. "I am glad to hear that."

"I guess if I had one thing on my mind, it's the sea creatures pulling this

ship. I hear that the creatures pulling your ship when you came (horned

doldons, which resembled dolphins) ran away, so we're using sea dragons

from the Kingdom. Won't people in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago

find that suspicious?"

"It should be all right. We use sea dragons to pull large ships in the

archipelago, too, after all," Kishun explained. I guess it was all right then.

"So, how much further is it to your island?"

"We can already see the mountains of Nine-Headed Dragon Island—the

largest island of the archipelago, and the one ruled by the king—which is

even more distant than the Twin Islands, so I expect they should come into

view soon. ...Ah, I just spotted them now, in fact," he said pointing forward.

When I looked in the direction of his finger and I could see something

sticking up out of the sea. It seemed to grow as the ship approached,

eventually taking the form of two islands. That's the Twin Islands, huh?

"When I look at them like this, we're pretty close to the island where the

Nine-Headed Dragon King is, huh?"

"No, sire," Kishun shook his head. "The mountains of Nine-Headed

Dragon Island are quite large, so while it may appear that way, in reality,

they are still quite far away. It would still take more than an hour by boat."

"I know it can be hard to tell the distance between islands. There was a

young man from a race especially gifted at swimming who boasted, 'I could

swim to that island.' He tried to, but was surprised to find that it was further

away than he thought, and drowned... or so the old story goes," Shabon

added.

Hmm, that's a neat story, I thought. It was common for the old stories

people passed down to reflect taboos and lessons, as was the case with old

man Urup's tsunami legend. That story probably had a factual basis. Maybe

they handed down the story because someone actually drowned like that?

To prevent anyone repeating his mistake.

"Ah!" Kishun exclaimed, breaking my train of thought.

"What's up?"

"Now that we can see the islands, please, be careful."

"Come again? ...Wait, woah?!"

The ship heaved. Then... Slam! There was the sound of something

striking the keel of the ship.

"What was that?! Did we hit a rock?!"

"It's nothing to worry about. The intense tidal currents around here

mean that when the ship cuts across the waves, the bottom of the ship

strikes the surface of the sea, producing a loud noise. There is nothing

actually being hit here."

"Is that how it works?" I asked Juna despite myself, and she nodded.

"Yes. It's something that happens when you go over a certain speed in

places where the tide is fast."

"I-I see. I'm relieved to hear that—"

Slam! Ker-slam!

"—is what I'd like to say, but there's no way I can feel relieved hearing

that sound."

"...Yeah."

Some wooden planks were all that separated us from a watery grave. I

felt like I was experiencing the terrible power of the sea first hand.

"Okay, now that we are riding the tide, it shouldn't be long before we

reach the islands," Kishun said, as if trying to reassure us. I was feeling

awfully eager to get back on dry land now, so I just hoped he was right.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Ohh, it's Lord Kishun!"

"Everyone, Lord Kishun has returned!"

"Lady Shabon is with him!"

Once the ship arrived in port, the islanders greeted us with enthusiasm.

Those who saw the ship arrive called in others, and in no time the harbor

was full of people. It looked like the people of this island truly loved

Kishun and Princess Shabon.

I subtly approached Kishun. "The islanders don't know you're under our

command, right?" I asked in a whisper.

"That is correct. You are free to use this island as you see fit, but that is

solely by my will. The islanders know nothing of it, and are simply obeying

their chief."

So, basically, if they were criticized for siding with the Kingdom later,

all the responsibility would fall on Kishun. He was making sure that, should

the worst happen, he could offer up his own head, and the islanders

wouldn't be punished. I respected his resolve.

A gangplank was lowered from the ship, and we were able to stand on

dry land for the first time in far too long.

"Ohh... Even now that I am back on land, it still feels like it's swaying

underneath me."

"...I just want to get indoors quickly."

Seasick Aisha and cold-averse Naden both looked unenthused by their

current situation.

I worried if my two strongest fighters could play their roles as

bodyguards in their current state, but well, if it came to it, I was sure they'd

be fine. They'd do a bang-up job of it.

Meanwhile, Tomoe and Ichiha seemed to be full of energy.

"Lookie, lookie, Ichiha. The houses are packed in tight."

"You're right. The alleyways are so narrow."

"It's common to see houses built like this on islands," Juna, in

educational program mode, explained to the curious pair. "Because they

have limited space to build, they're forced to pack things in tightly. The

narrow alleyways form a maze, so they can be fun to explore."

"""Wowwww,""" the kids and I beamed, impressed by the sight.

This was something that occurred to me when we visited the Republic of

Turgis too, but it was interesting to see how the landscape shaped the

culture and lifestyle of its inhabitants.

An older, muscular man with beast ears wearing a twisted headband, a

happi coat, and loose-fitting pants walked up to Kishun. Judging by his tail,

is he a tanuki beastman?

The tanuki guy asked Kishun, "So, Island Chief, how did it go?"

"Yeah. I was able to get fish from the Kingdom safely," he replied.

So, the story was that Kishun had gone to the Kingdom to negotiate with

knights and nobles whose domains were on the coast in order to get his

hands on fish. Because of that, Kishun's ship was loaded with fish caught in

the Kingdom... The smell had done nothing to help Aisha's seasickness,

though.

The tanuki man slapped his bulging abdominal muscles. "That's

excellent."

"Yeah. I'd like to ask you to begin unloading immediately. Take the sea

dragons around to the bay, too, if you would. We don't want Ooyamizuchi

sniffing them out."

"Leave it t'us! Hey, you louts! We're unloading the ship!"

"""Right!"""

With that, a group of men wearing the same happi coat as the man

boarded the ship. I was surprised to see that the only things they wore other

than those coats were a loincloth and socks. It was the middle of winter and

here they were working half-naked.

"Aren't they cold...?"

"Of course we are. That's why we're wearing happi coats, isn't it?" the

tanuki guy, having heard me mumbling to myself, said with a hearty laugh.

No, I couldn't see wearing a happi coat without even doing up the front

doing much to ward off the cold... and hold on, reading into what the guy

just said, did they not even wear happi coats when it wasn't cold? Were they

really a group of buff macho men in loincloths? I bet they make an

imposing sight in the middle of the summer heat...

While I was thinking about that and watching them unload the ship, one

of the macho men called out to the tanuki man, "Hey, boss! There's

something weird in the luggage?"

"Oh, what is it?"

The men carried out a wooden box which was just large enough that an

adult would still struggle to fit inside it.

"There's no label, and it felt strange carrying it."

"Hmm... Any idea what it is, Island Chief?"

"No, I don't remember a box like this..." Kishun said, looking to me for

an answer.

We all shook our heads. I didn't remember bringing anything like this

aboard.

"Well, once we pry it open, we'll know what's up."

The tanuki guy opened the lid of the wooden box, and...

"""Whaa?!""" we all cried out in surprise.

Inside the box was a twintailed girl with wings like a crane's.

""Why's Yuriga here?!"" Tomoe and I cried out in unison, but...

"Urgh... Blech..." Yuriga just vomited, her face pale.

"...So, what exactly are you doing here?" I asked after Yuriga had

recovered.

She puffed up her cheeks and said, "When I heard Tomoe and Ichiha

were both taking time off from the Academy, I wondered where they were

going. They wouldn't tell me a thing when I asked. So, I stowed away in the

luggage on the gondola to find out... I never expected to be loaded onto a

ship. To think I spent all this time cramped up in a cargo room that stank of

fish... Ulp..."

Yuriga gagged, probably feeling sick again, and Tomoe patted her on the

back.

"What did you eat and drink?" I asked.

"...I borrowed some fruits and water from the cargo. I intend to pay for

them later."

"Sheesh. If it was so bad in there, you could have come out and shown

yourself, you know?"

"I could never! I found myself on the ship before I knew it! A total

stowaway! I've heard that stowaways are usually fed to large sea creatures.

I was pretty sure you people were aboard the ship, too, but I couldn't be

certain. I couldn't come out until I was positive that it was safe... Though,

that meant I ended up half-delirious with seasickness." Yuriga shuddered as

she remembered her time aboard.

Well, if she was stuck in a tiny space that smelled of raw fish, fighting

her fear of being caught, as well as seasickness, I couldn't blame her for

feeling unwell.

The tanuki guy looked down at Yuriga. "You're right. Anyone nervy

enough to stowaway aboard a ship deserves to be megalodon chow."

His tone was threatening. I'll bet that the reason Yuriga just got even

paler wasn't just because of seasickness. Oh, but she was, technically, a

princess from another country, so I didn't want him frightening her too

much. If anything happened to Yuriga, Fuuga would be an absolute

nightmare to deal with.

Kishun bopped the tanuki man on the head with his sheathed katana.

"You're a grown man. Don't intimidate a child like that."

"Oww...! No, boss. I'm telling you, you've gotta teach brats like this a

good lesson."

"This is my ship, so it is not your place to get angry. She is a friend of

my guests, so I will not do anything to punish her."

"G-Guests, you say?"

The tanuki guy looked at me. I tipped my conical hat to him.

"I'm a merchant who trades in the ports of the Kingdom of Friedonia. I

helped with the purchase of the fish, and Sir Kishun invited me to come

stay on this island as thanks."

"The Kingdom of Friedonia? You're not a Yaeda Islander?"

"I am by blood. I'm told my great grandfather came to the Kingdom

from there."

That was a lie, of course, but I couldn't let who I really was come out, so

I needed a backstory. I grabbed Yuriga by the head and forced her to bow,

then lowered my own head, too.

"I'm sorry. I should have kept a closer eye on her. I'll be sure to give my

little sister an earful later."

"Wait, little sis—"

"Yuriga! When you apologize, do it properly!"

"I-I'm sorry."

Once we had both apologized, the tanuki man awkwardly scratched his

cheek. "Oh, no, if she knows she did wrong, it's fine. I wasn't being as

mature as I should have, either."

"It helps a lot to hear you say that," I said.

"Still, for siblings, you don't look much alike."

"We're half celestials. My little sister takes after our mother."

"...You've got a complicated family, huh? Well, be a good brother and

take care of your little sister."

"Yeah. I will," I replied with a small wave.

...Whew, it looks like I managed to get through that. Once the tanuki guy

had returned to work, I crouched down in front of Yuriga and looked her in

the eye.

"Yuriga," I whispered.

When she heard her name, her shoulders tensed. It seemed she was

trying to defend her actions, but she couldn't find the words, and ultimately

just deflated.

"Um... I'm sorry," she replied, also whispering, then let out a sigh. I

might not have been very good at this sort of thing, but I needed to tell her

off.

"...If even one thing had gone wrong, this could have turned into

something major. That risked an international incident, obviously, but it put

you in danger, too. I hear seamen can be a rowdy bunch. If they'd caught

you when we weren't around or you'd been loaded onto a different ship...

there's no telling what they might have done to you."

Yuriga hung her head in defeat. Part of that had to come from the way

the tanuki man had intimidated her. She could act tough, but she was still

just fourteen years old—or in my world, she'd only be in her second year of

middle school.

I rested a hand on her discouraged head. "Well, I can see you're

reflecting on your actions, so I won't press the issue any further, but don't

ever do this again. Also, report what happened to Fuuga yourself."

"Yes..."

Giving Yuriga a pat on the head when she nodded, I turned to Kishun

and said, "Sorry for the trouble. Could you show us to the mansion now?"

"Very well."

And so, we followed Kishun.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Whoa, the alleys really are narrow, Ichiha."

Tomoe and Ichiha, who were following Souma and the others through

the alleyways of the Twin Islands, were surprised how close together the

houses were. They were packed so tightly that, even in the middle of the

day, the alleys were a bit dark.

"The gaps are so small that two adults couldn't stand side-by-side.

There's nothing like this in the Duchy of Chima or the Kingdom of

Friedonia." Ichiha gulped at what he was seeing.

"It'd be real bad if there was a fire, huh? The walls look like they're

made of wood, too."

"Maybe they're made of wood so they can be rebuilt quickly when there

is a fire? The houses are rather simple... But that makes me worry about

burglars instead. Even the doors are wooden."

"I think they'll be fine on a small island like this, right? They all must

know each other here."

"That makes sense. With the houses so densely packed, it's easy to

notice something's wrong in the neighbor's house."

Seeing the new surroundings of the island, Tomoe and Ichiha discussed

what life must be like here. This was something instilled into them by their

teacher, Hakuya.

"When you look at the scenery of another country, you can see how the

people of that land live. Things and culture are born of necessity. The way

people build their houses, for example, tells us quite faithfully how they live.

If you wish to expand your perspective of the outside world, you can start

by closely observing those details."

They did as they were taught, and imagined the lives of the islanders as

they looked around. Whenever the things the islanders did matched their

imaginations, Tomoe and Ichiha felt giddy, like they had solved a puzzle.

"This is like one of those games where you find the matching pictures,

huh, Ichiha?"

"You're right. Though, I'm not sure we should be having so much fun

when we're here on official business."

"Hey, what do you think, Yuriga?" Tomoe asked, turning to the silent

Yuriga.

"..."

"Yuriga?"

But Yuriga was present in body only. Her mind had clearly wandered off

someplace else.

"Is she still feeling bothered by the way Big Brother and the old tanuki

man got angry at her?" Now worried, Tomoe leaned in and looked at

Yuriga's face. "You okay, Yuriga?"

"Huh?! Uh, what?"

Yuriga's head snapped up as she suddenly returned to reality. It looked

like she hadn't been listening.

Tomoe looked at her with concern. "You were quiet all this time, so I got

worried. Is what happened earlier still bothering you?"

"Not really... I was thinking about it, though."

"About what?"

"Is your brother, um... always like that when he scolds someone?"

Yuriga asked Tomoe awkwardly. "You know, the way he spoke to me and

then bowed his head to the people I inconvenienced together with me. Like

that, I mean."

"Hrm... He has scolded me before. I've never done anything that would

require bowing my head and apologizing, but I think if I did, Big Brother

would bow his head with me just like he did for you."

"I see..." Yuriga replied, before lapsing back into thought.

Seeing this, Tomoe cocked her head to the side and asked, "Hasn't

Fuuga ever scolded you?"

"Of course he has! You've even seen him drop a fist on my head,

haven't you?"

"Ah, I do remember that..." Tomoe said, recalling a similar event from

when they were in the Union of Eastern States.

"If it were my brother, I would have gotten hit, I'm sure." Yuriga sighed.

"And I doubt he'd have bowed his head to a common laborer, either. I'd

have received ample punishment, so the other side would leave it at that...

That's how it would probably go."

"Ah..."

I can see it, thought Tomoe. That was definitely what Fuuga would do—

punish her then insist she be forgiven. The other side would be forced to

accept it. In exchange for a headache, Yuriga would gain forgiveness.

Yuriga sighed again. "My head always hurts after my brother drops his

fist on it. But when Sir Souma scolded me, and I bowed my head with

him... there was no physical pain, but..."

She seemed to be struggling for the words, but Tomoe understood.

"Your heart hurt?"

"...Something like that. This is actually harder on me."

Because of what she'd done, someone who had nothing to do with it was

forced to apologize with her. That 'hit' pretty hard. Even if someone didn't

feel bad about what they'd done, they'd still feel a sense of guilt. Because,

at her core, Yuriga was a serious person, which only amplified the result.

"Is this what Sir Souma means by a difference in values?" Yuriga asked,

rubbing her head in the spot Souma had touched earlier during the apology.

"Murgh..." Tomoe got a little grumpy and pinched Yuriga's cheeks.

"Hey... Shtop it! What are you doing?!" Yuriga exclaimed, batting her

hands away.

Tomoe snorted angrily, "Big Brother is my big brother. I won't let you

have him."

"He's only your honorary brother! Besides, it's not like I want him

anyway! The strong and cool Fuuga is the only big brother for me!"

"My big brother is cool, too!"

The two glared at the other. Hesitantly, Ichiha put himself in the middle

between them.

"Hey now, you two, don't fight here. If we're separated from the others

and get lost, we'll be scolded again, you know?"

""Ah!""

The mention of being scolded by Souma snapped both Tomoe and

Yuriga back to their senses.

"Uh, oh! They've already gotten away from us a little."

"Because you're a slowpoke, Yuriga."

"Don't make this my fault, you little kid! You were talking, too!"

"Come on, you two! I said this isn't the time to fight!"

"Oh, right, you did. Anyway, let's run!" Yuriga said, looking at Tomoe

and Ichiha.

""Roger!"" Tomoe and Ichiha snapped a salute, and then the three took

off running.

They ran as hard as they could and managed to catch up before the

adults noticed they had been lagging behind.

Souma turned around, only to see the exhausted looks on their faces.

"Hm? What's up, you three? You're out of breath."

"I-It's nothing, Big Brother."

"Eh?" Souma cocked his head to the side in confusion, then turned to

face forward. The three quietly sighed in relief.

"Whew... I'm glad we made it," Tomoe said.

"I-It was tough with the incline here, huh? Even though it's winter, I still

worked up a sweat."

"Geez, and whose fault is that, Yuriga?"

"Yours, too, I'd say, Tomoe."

"Huff... Huff..." Ichiha was too winded to mediate in their squabbling.

Tomoe smiled wryly, then glanced at Yuriga. We just got to the Twin

Islands, and things already feel hectic... she thought.

"...What? What're you staring for?"

"No reason."

But if Yuriga's got her spirit back... Well, I guess that's okay. Tomoe

chuckled as she thought about it.