The Fuuga That Halbert Saw

With Fuuga and his flying white tiger leading the way, we headed for

Wedan.

Once we lowered our altitude, we knew we would be sporadically

attacked by flying monsters. However, we had Naden, Ruby, and the

wyvern cavalry on our side. The moment the monsters appeared, they'd be

struck by lightning, scorched with flames, or torn to ribbons.

Aisha stayed with me instead of returning to the gondola, so with her

reassuring presence nearby, I managed to maintain my calm.

With my arms around Aisha's waist, I watched Fuuga.

There were monsters coming toward Fuuga, too, but he acted as if they

didn't matter, not even readying his weapon. Every monster that came was

batted to death with one swing of Durga's forepaws, so he had no need to

fight any of them himself.

This had to be at least in part because he trusted Durga implicitly, but it

was still fair to say he had incredible guts to be able to relax on this

battlefield.

"Um, sire," Aisha put in. "Aren't you holding me a bit tight?"

It seemed I'd tightened my arms around Aisha's waist. "Oh, sorry." I

relaxed them a bit.

Hal and Ruby came up alongside us to talk.

"Souma, your face is looking kind of scary, you know?" Hal said.

Hearing that, I realized for the first time how tense I probably looked.

In order to get myself into a new frame of mind, I slapped my cheeks.

"...Sorry. When I watch Fuuga, I can't help but feel uneasy."

"Is there something that bothers you?" Hal asked.

"I'm not sure about that myself..."

Was it unease? Fear? Tension? When I looked at that man's back, a

feeling I couldn't describe welled up inside me. It was different from the

pure fear I'd felt when attacked by Gaius VIII; it felt more like something I

didn't know was slowly creeping up on me. It was a strange sensation.

Catching a look at my face, Hal spun around the arm he held his short

spear with. "You probably don't have to be that worried. Sure, he's the king

of Malmkhitan, but that's just one country in the Union of Eastern Nations.

Sure, he's strong, so I can understand why you're on guard. Still, if he picks

a fight with the kingdom, he's not going to be winning it single-handedly."

"Hal..."

"You have me, Ruby, Kaede, Young Miss Aisha, Young Miss Naden,

and fifty thousand soldiers with you. So you can just sit there and act

confident." Hal thumped his chest as if to say, Leave it to me.

Maybe he was trying to reassure me.

It was true: no matter how powerful a warrior he might be, I didn't think

there was any way Fuuga could take us on as an individual. The man might

be able to wreak havoc alone, but the kingdom had more than a hundred

times his thousand soldiers. If he was just strong, there were any number of

ways to handle him.

But... I had a feeling there was more to him than just that. If I looked

down upon him as the king of a petty state, I felt like that was going to

come back and bite me hard.

Aisha and Naden chimed in.

"I will risk my life to protect you, sire," Aisha declared.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm tougher than that tiger, anyway," Naden

added.

...Fair enough. I was uneasy, but when everyone said to leave it to them,

that lightened my spirits just a little.

"Thanks, Aisha, Naden. You, too, Hal. Sorry to worry you."

"I'm telling you, just leave it to us," Hal said proudly. "Though, I'll

admit, this is kinda unexpected."

"Unexpected?"

"Yeah. You're fond of guys with crazy talents like his, right? Usually,

I'd expect you to want to recruit him." He looked a bit mystified.

I shook my head with a wry smile. "What I'm looking for is capable

people who are willing to move forward, matching their pace with mine.

There are limits to what I can do alone, after all. I want to support a large

number of highly capable people. But... that's not a man who would work

under someone else, or match his pace with anyone else, is he?"

I didn't have the strongest intuition. I couldn't look at someone and tell

how strong they were the way that Aisha and some of the others could.

Still, the moment I'd seen Fuuga's face, I'd sensed it.

That guy's BAD NEWS.

It wasn't an emotion or my experience; it was something like an instinct

that was setting off warning bells.

"We can't afford to make assumptions with that man," I went on. "If I

started to think he was following me, I might find myself subservient to him

before I knew it. If I try to use him, I'll be used myself, and if I try to walk

beside him, I'll find myself being dragged along. That's the sense I get. I

can't word it well, but we're probably not very compatible."

"Not compatible, huh..."

It seemed like Fuuga had sensed something similar, too. When he'd

looked at me, he'd said I might drag him down into the mud, and that he

felt like I came out of a different framework than him.

Unlike me, he'd shown no signs of this bothering him, which said a lot

about Fuuga's natural strength.

Even if we were feeling the same thing, I was weak, so I felt a strong

sense of alarm, while Fuuga was strong, so it wasn't leaving a lasting

impression on him.

At that very moment, Fuuga, who was leading the way, turned back,

making a U-turn to come back to us. We stopped where we were for a

moment, and Fuuga pointed downward.

"Souma," he said. "I've been watching the state of the battle, and it

looks like the defenders are about to break on the west side. I'm going to

support them a bit, so do you mind if I only lead you this far?"

"Got it. Wedan Castle's just a stone's throw from here. If you'd like,

should we send some of our people, too?"

Fuuga shouldered his crescent blade and let out a hearty laugh. "That'd

help. We should be able to wrap this up quick."

"Halbert," I ordered. "Take half the wyvern cavalry and support Sir

Fuuga."

"Roger!"

"I'll be going on ahead," Fuuga announced.

No sooner had he said that than he slapped Durga on the back, beginning

his rapid descent to the battlefield below.

"Us, too, then..." Halbert began.

"Wait, Hal," I interrupted.

Seeing him about to follow Fuuga, I felt uncertainty all over.

I beckoned Hal to come closer, having Naden use her tail to pull their

bodies close together.

With the distance closed, I told a dubious-looking Hal, "Hal, if you feel

yourself being dragged along by Fuuga, remember Kaede and Ruby's

faces."

"Huh? Was that really worth calling me over to say?"

Hal had a doubtful look on his face, but I nodded.

"It's important. I feel like you and Fuuga are similar. When people are

close to those who are similar to them, they notice it, and they're either

attracted or repelled. They can get dragged along, in other words."

"Huh? Not sure I get it, but... you're serious here, right?"

I put on a serious face to make sure he knew I meant it.

"...Okay," Hal said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Right. Ruby, you look after Hal, too."

"Roger that."

"Hey, that's my line!" Naden cried indignantly.

With a laugh at Naden's indignation, Hal and Ruby led about fifty

wyvern cavalry to follow Fuuga.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Looks like... they're fighting hard down there," Halbert commented.

As Halbert and his men began their descent to the ground to follow

Fuuga, the united forces of the Union of Eastern Nations were managing to

hold back the diverse group of monsters somehow.

The soldiers of the Union of Eastern Nations were staying put in an

encampment meant for field battles that was surrounded by fences and

abatises (a line of sharp wooden stakes and the boughs of trees pointing

outward), while archers and mages attacked with bows and magic.

This was probably a valid tactic against monsters which used no strategy

or tactics, diving in without regard for their own losses. However, these

monsters were intensely driven, and the fences had been broken down in

some places.

The shield bearers kept clustering at the breaches, quickly plugging

them, and then the ranged attack units would keep the monsters in check

while the fence was rebuilt.

They would resume long ranged attacks from behind the fence, and

while the enemy was confused, cavalry or other high mobility troops would

come out, defeat whatever had slipped through, and pull out. That was the

process that had been carried out repeatedly.

The union's forces were made up from the armed forces of a variety of

countries, but because they were all using the same tactics, they were

managing to coordinate fairly well.

Halbert was impressed despite himself. "The union forces are doing

pretty... Hm?"

A sudden commotion was coming from the battlefield.

When he looked in the direction of the voices, he could see something

approaching the defenders on the west side.

"That's... a rhinosaurus?" Halbert wondered.

"Were rhinosauruses that hideous?" Ruby frowned.

There was a massive creature below, one that resembled the

rhinosauruses used to carry freight in the kingdom. However, Ruby was

right: this rhinosaurus looked very different from the ones in the kingdom.

The horn on its upper jaw was disfigured, its body sagged as if rotten, and

its flesh was exposed in places, so perhaps it ought to have been called a

zombie rhinosaurus.

There were several of those zombie rhinosauruses heading for the

encampment on the west side.

The commotion was the screams of soldiers terrified by it.

"That's not good," Halbert said worriedly. "I dunno if it's living or dead

from the way it looks, but if it hits the encampment with a big body like

that, it'll break through easily. It's even a threat to fortress walls."

"You're right," Ruby said. "We have to stop it."

Just as Halbert was about to tell his wyvern cavalry, "We're going to

intercept," he saw Fuuga, who had gone on ahead, ready his crescent blade.

Fuuga kicked his stirrups into Durga the white tiger's belly, making his

partner charge at the zombie rhinosaurus.

"Ah! Hey! Damn it!" Hal shouted. "We're going in, too!"

Halbert and his men hurried to follow. As for Fuuga, meanwhile...

"Ha ha ha! Here's a target worth taking down!"

Yeah, he kept Durga running onward with glee.

Just as the zombie rhinosaurus was about to hit the west side

encampment and blow their fences and abatises away, Fuuga came down

from right above it.

"Those guys from the kingdom in the south are watching. Let's give 'em

a real show!"

And Fuuga's crescent blade began sparking with electricity.

Fuuga drove Durga on, and when they landed on the back of one of the

zombie rhinosauruses that was threatening the encampment, he swung the

blade down at its back.

Kerbang!

There was a sound like the air being torn apart, and a thick bolt of

lightning pierced the zombie rhinosaurus.

It opened a big, smoking hole maybe six meters across in the enormous

rhinosaurus's back.

It was hard to tell if the zombie rhinosaurus was living or dead to begin

with, but putting a big hole in its body seemed to have killed it, and its

sudden loss of life caused it to trip and slide along the ground with its

inertia.

Even Fuuga's allies were shocked and surprised by the strike.

The defenders who saw the flash of lightning the closest lost their voices

at first, and when they came to their senses at last, they were mad with glee

that a powerful enemy had been downed, cheering uproariously.

Halbert and his people were just as surprised.

"To think a human could fire off an electric shock on Naden's level..."

Ruby remarked.

"That's not just lightning," Hal said. "It's that powerful because it has

Fuuga's martial ability behind it, too. But still, it's an inhuman feat."

Halbert realized his hands gripping the Twin Snake Spear were covered

in sweat. He must have been awfully tense. It seemed it was his instinct

more than his head that had reacted to the way Fuuga fought. He had

goosebumps.

This wasn't the first time he'd been awed by someone's martial ability.

When he'd battled Aisha who was venting after Souma left her behind,

Halbert had learned how frightening she was when she let loose.

However, Aisha was Souma's second primary queen-to-be, and an ally.

She might have gone wild, but they hadn't been seriously trying to kill each

other.

Meanwhile, as the king of a foreign nation, Fuuga wasn't guaranteed to

always be on their side. Depending on the situation, Hal might someday

have to fight the man.

If it came to that, they'd be the ones Fuuga's power was turned against.

When that happened, would he be able to stop the man?

While Halbert and his men looked on with tense expressions, Fuuga

raised his voice.

"I am Fuuga Haan, King of Malmkhitan! I'll handle the big ones!

Officers of the union, unleash your might!"

As Fuuga's loud voice echoed across the battlefield, the emboldened

soldiers raised their own voices in a hearty war cry. Their fear of the zombie

rhinosauruses was completely wiped away by their confidence in Fuuga's

martial prowess.

Fuuga dived into the thick of the enemy in search of his next target.

"Prioritize taking out those rotten rhinosauruses!" Halbert ordered the

wyvern cavalry and headed into battle himself.

The size of a zombie rhinosaurus made it difficult to intercept them with

ground forces, but a concentrated attack with wyverns' flames could easily

take them down. Halbert took out two of them with Ruby's flames, too.

Once all the zombie rhinosauruses were defeated, and the encampment's

safety was secured, Halbert went looking for Fuuga.

"Ha ha ha!" a boisterous laugh howled.

Following the noise, Halbert found Fuuga and Durga in the thick of the

horde of monsters, with Fuuga swinging his crescent blade while laughing

as they ran forward as if across an empty wasteland.

On a battlefield filled with bloodlust, Fuuga was not only not tense, he

seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. There wasn't a monster that

could stop that man and beast's advance.

Then things started hopping over and gathering around Fuuga.

Boing! Boing!

They were mounted soldiers who rode goat-like creatures. They carried

single-edged swords shaped like the crescent moon, and bows with a unique

shape. These were the pride of Fuuga's kingdom Malmkhitan, the leaping

cavalry.

When the leaping cavalry had gathered around Fuuga, they began

following him into battle. With that large number gathered around him,

Fuuga's ability to break through the enemy skyrocketed.

With Fuuga at the vanguard, that group raced back and forth across the

battlefield, trampling the enemy as if a twister had come through.

Fuuga was enjoying himself as much as ever, but the cavalry from

Malmkhitan were fighting desperately for their lives. Even so, not one of

them left the line of battle.

Halbert was watching Fuuga's forces from a distance. It must be hard to

keep up with Fuuga. But... no one stops following.

Halbert thought he could understand the way those cavalrymen felt.

I'm sure... they must be proud.

Proud to be following Fuuga as he charged through the battlefield.

Proud to be able to fight alongside Fuuga, who showed them his

overwhelming martial prowess.

The way he fought, it was like something out of a heroic legend. He

jumped out in front of powerful enemies as if he were meant to do so, and

then struck them down.

By fighting alongside him, his allies were probably able to savor the

feeling of being a character in such a story.

Fuuga had that sort of splendor. Under such a glorious commander, they

could fight to their fullest. Could there be any greater pride as a warrior?

If they can fight like that, I'm sure... they'll have no regrets, no matter

when they die, Halbert reflected. If they can fight for such a commander...

they will have no regrets, even if they lose their lives. They will be able to

accept their death has meaning, and smile as they go.

That was why the soldiers following Fuuga were struggling so

desperately to stay with him. They sought to burn their lives in his blazing,

blazing, deep red flames.

How... How brilliant his radiance.

If only I could be like that, too...

"Stupid Hal!" Ruby shouted.

"Urgh?!"

Hal grimaced as Ruby's voice echoed loudly in his head.

He was so surprised, Halbert shuddered and nearly dropped the spears

he was carrying. Before he could recover from his confusion, Ruby's voice

sounded in his head again.

"Don't let him drag you along! Remember what Souma said!"

What Souma said? Come to think of it... he did say something before we

left, didn't he...?

Halbert tried to remember the words. If he recalled, they were...

"If you feel yourself being dragged along by Fuuga, remember Kaede

and Ruby's faces."

Kaede and Ruby's faces?

Halbert closed his eyes, half-doubting what he was doing, and he

imagined their faces in his head.

First, Kaede's face. She had been at his side since they were kids. She

had always been timid, but lately his lovely fox-eared childhood friend had

learned to speak her mind more clearly.

Next, Ruby's face. She had come from the Star Dragon Mountain Range

to be his bride. Normally she was prickly, but she was actually a very lonely

and very feminine dragon girl.

Halbert imagined how the two of them would see the way he was now.

In his imagination, their expressions were a little worried.

Halbert's eyes went wide in silent shock. What had he just been

thinking?

Had he wanted to fight to his limit, like Fuuga and his men?

Burning a brilliant, bright red, as his life flared out?

Had he thought that, if his life could burn like that, he'd have no regrets,

even if he died?

...Even if it meant leaving Kaede and Ruby behind?

"Like hell I could!" Halbert roared to the heavens.

"Eeek?!" Ruby flinched.

Halbert used the handle of the spear in his right hand to whack himself

in the forehead as hard as he could. The incredible thunk that resulted spoke

to the fact he hadn't held back. His forehead bled a little.

Seeing Halbert suddenly bleeding, Ruby panicked. "What are you

doing?! Are you all right?!"

"...Yeah, I'm fine," Halbert said, looking up at the heavens. Something

warm rolled down his cheeks.

"Huh...? Hal, you're crying..."

"I'm fine. I'm... fine now, Ruby."

She stared at him mutely.

Halbert wiped away the blood and tears before looking forward.

Seriously... What had he been thinking? He'd been entranced by Fuuga's

prowess, starting to convince himself his life was his own to do with as he

pleased. He'd even tried to chase those he ought to protect, those who were

trying to protect him, from his head.

It was true, he envied the life Fuuga and his followers led. But that's a

life I could only live if it were me alone.

Halbert already had two fiancées, Kaede and Ruby. They had been kind

enough to love him, and eventually become his family. He had no desire to

force a lifestyle that would burn their lives away on Kaede and Ruby, too.

As a warrior, he admired lives that burned hot and intense, like

fireworks, but he wanted those he cared for to live happy lives, even if they

were plain ones, full of smiles.

That wasn't something they could do if they were following Fuuga.

If Hal was the same man he had been before he met Souma, obsessed

with his own glory, he might have been dragged in. But he was different

now.

I have something more important than making a name for myself now!

Halbert recommitted himself, swearing that he would never make the

same mistake again. Then, turning his short spear toward the battle, he said,

"We're going in, Ruby! Let's wrap this up, and get back to Kaede

together!"

"Huh?! ...Right!"

It seemed Halbert's determination had gotten through to Ruby, as she

spread her wings wide.

Then the red dragon knight descended on the battlefield.

◇ ◇ ◇

After parting ways with Fuuga and Hal's group, we headed up to a

higher plateau than Wedan City, which had been built against a small

mountain. We were on our way to Wedan Castle, the home of Duke Chima.

There was an intense back-and-forth battle unfolding on the battlefield

below us.

I was a little worried that Hal, who had gone after Fuuga, might be

drawn in by the other man's aura, but, well, Ruby was with him, so he'd

probably be fine.

"Sire, look." Aisha pointed.

"Hm?"

When I looked in the direction she was pointing, there was a soldier

waving a flag up on the castle walls.

"Let's see... He's signaling for us to land in the courtyard," Aisha told

me, catching the detail with her excellent distance vision.

Following the orders from Wedan Castle, we landed in the courtyard

with the half of the wyvern cavalry we had kept as guards.

Setting down the gondola that Tomoe and the rest were riding in, Naden

turned back into human form and jumped down to the ground with Aisha.

At that point, a middle-aged man quickly appeared from inside the castle,

walking toward us with a relaxing smile.

"Well, well, it's Sir Souma Kazuya, the King of Friedonia!"

With his arms spread wide, a man with a Kaiser-style mustache

welcomed us with an exaggerated reaction.

He was average weight and height, and his graying black hair made him

look to be about fifty years old.

Though he wore the smile of a kindly old man, which reminded me of

Liscia's father, Sir Albert, I felt something suspicious from him, too. I was

pretty sure, out of all the men in our kingdom, he most resembled Sebastian

of the Silver Deer, or Lord Weist of Altomura.

Also, behind the man, there was a pretty woman with a longsword slung

over her back. She looked to be about twenty, and her beautiful, long hair

that was tied together at waist-level left an impression.

On top of a hakama, she wore armor that looked like the sort used in

ancient Japan. Because she looked like the sort of person with more than a

passing familiarity with the martial arts, I was reminded of Komatsuhime of

Shinshu Ueda, or Kiso no Yoshinaka's mistress Tomoe Gozen, two similar

people from the other world.

The man with the Kaiser mustache took my hand with both hands and

knelt with one knee on the ground before me. The woman followed his lead

in kneeling, and lowered her head. I was taken aback by the suddenness of

it.

Then the man held my hand reverently over his head and said, "I have

already been briefed by your subordinates. I could not be more grateful that

you have come all this way to assist us."

"I am indeed Souma," I said. "And you are?"

"Pardon my late introduction. I am Mathew Chima, the ruler of the

Duchy of Chima."

Oh! This guy with the Kaiser mustache was Duke Chima? He was

acting so obsequious, I'd wondered, but... yeah, now that he said it, it was

somewhat convincing.

The reason his kindly-old-man smile had felt suspicious must have been

because his face as the head of a family that had survived through crafty

politicking was showing through.

"Please stand up, Sir Mathew," I said. "As rulers of our respective

nations, we are equals."

"No, no, my country is a small one, even with the Union of Eastern

Nations. You, the king of the great nation of the south, are far above me."

"R-Right..."

Th-This is tough...

It was really hard to deal with someone who was being thoroughly

humble, and making a point of trying to lift me up. Hearing compliments

from someone when I had no idea how they really felt didn't feel

comfortable at all.

That said, since he was being friendly, I couldn't mistreat him. Was this

how Gaius VIII had felt with Weist kneeling before him?

"It can't be easy to talk from that position," I said. "Stand up, please.

You, too."

"Ohh, I neglected to introduce her. This is my daughter Mutsumi." As

Mathew stood up, he put his hand on her back as he spoke.

Mutsumi Chima. Then this woman was the Mutsumi, the one that

Madam Maria had said was the most popular of Duke Chima's children?

She was a clever-looking beauty, that was true, so I felt like I could see

why so many lords wanted her for themselves.

Mutsumi stood up and bowed to me. "I am Mutsumi Chima. Thank you

so very much for sending troops to aid us. You seem to have many good

subordinates, Sir Souma. That's very reassuring."

As she said that, Mutsumi glanced to my left and right.

The ones standing beside me were Aisha and Juna. If she was looking at

them and calling them "good subordinates," then she was likely a good

enough warrior to tell how strong her opponents were just by looking. It

seemed her reputation as a woman blessed with wisdom and bravery was

not an exaggeration.

"Madam Mutsumi," I said. "It's true that they act as my bodyguards, but

these two are also my fiancées. The one on the right is Aisha, the one on the

left is Juna."

"Yes, sir. I am Aisha Udgard."

"Juna Doma. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Oh! Pardon me. I'm Mutsumi Chima."

Mutsumi quickly apologized for treating them like common retainers

before shaking their hands. Then...

"Souma."

I turned, feeling a tug on my sleeve, and Naden was looking at me with

her cheeks puffed up. Her upset eyes said, "I'm your fiancée, too, so

introduce me properly!"

"Ahem... And this is Naden," I said quickly. "She's also my fiancée."

"Nice to meet you," Mutsumi said. While shaking Naden's hand, she

stared hard at Naden's antlers. "Antlers and a scaly tail... Are you of the sea

serpent race, by any chance?"

Naden puffed up her slight chest and snorted. "I am not. I'm a dragon

from the Star Dragon Mountain Range."

"A dragon?! You've formed a dragon knight contract with a dragon, Sir

Souma?!"

"Yeah, well... we're a bit of an unorthodox dragon and knight, though," I

told the surprised Mutsumi, smiling wryly.

The moment he learned I had formed a contract with a dragon, I felt like

Sir Mathew's smile got a little deeper. "My word! To have formed a

contract with a dragon, even though you're not from the Nothung Dragon

Knight Kingdom! That's a truly heroic accomplishment. I am in awe."

"Uh, no, listen, my contract with Naden's a very unusual one, and..."

"Don't be modest. Why, I envy those who will be lucky enough to marry

you. I've been hoping my own daughters could marry a man such as you,

you know."

"Urgh..."

Whoa, buddy! Not so close.

He was being weirdly pushy now. And oddly eager to foist his daughter

off onto me.

Juna subtly wrapped herself around my arm.

While I was wondering what was up, Juna whispered so just I could

hear, "Be careful. I'm sure Sir Mathew wants a connection to you, sire."

A connection... Oh, a direct line, huh?

When Mathew Chima had sent a request for aid with the current demon

wave, he had made public his intention to send his six capable children out

to become vassals or marriage partners in response to how hard each party

worked.

While it was meant as bait to lure in reinforcements, it was also a way to

get his children into the service of powerful factions, or to marry into them,

in order to increase his own influence.

From Sir Mathew's perspective, I, as the provisional king of the largest

power on the east side of the continent, was the best catch he could hope

for. No matter what it took, he wanted to take this opportunity to set up a

direct channel of communication.

If possible, he clearly wanted me to marry his daughter and become a

relative.

That was why he was trying to promote Mutsumi, who was the most

popular catch with the other lords, to me.

"I don't really like his methods, though," I whispered back so that only

Juna could hear.

Using his daughter's betrothal as a tool. It shouldn't have been any

different from what the former king, Sir Albert, had done, but this time it

felt way more unpleasant.

Sir Albert had done what he had for both my future and Liscia's, and

he'd wished for our happiness from the bottom of his heart. He hadn't been

just using her as a political tool.

Juna whispered to me again, "I understand how you feel, but without the

ability to carry out negotiations like this, I'm sure it would be difficult for

him to maintain independence in an area with so many countries through

just diplomacy."

"...I guess you're right," I murmured.

There might be some countries and lands where it was only possible to

survive through underhandedness and duplicity. It was true I didn't like his

methods, but if that was this country's secret to success, I didn't want to be

judgmental.

"Still, it's a pain when he goes at it so hard," I muttered. "Juna, could

you stick close to me for a while? It has to be harder for him to bring up

marriage talks when my fiancée is present."

"Hee hee, there's a role with perks," she giggled. "I'm glad I stuck

around."

As she said that with a mischievous laugh, Juna was so cute I couldn't

help but stare adoringly.

While we were talking, there was a sudden beating of wings. Looking

up, I saw a white tiger, red dragon, and countless wyverns descending to the

courtyard.

Fuuga, Hal, and the rest had returned.

"Ha ha ha! Honestly, there wasn't a worthy foe in the lot of them!"

Fuuga announced.

Unlike Fuuga, who was lifting up his crescent blade in joyous

celebration of his triumphant return, Hal was holding Ruby's reins with an

exhausted expression on his face.

Looking closer, there was a fresh wound on Hal's forehead. What had

happened out on the battlefield? Did I need to ask him about it later?

Fuuga jumped off Durga the white tiger, walking toward us with broad

steps. "Duke Chima, I went and took out the big ones wherever it looked

like there was going to be a collapse."

"Ohh, excellent, Sir Fuuga! You work with the intensity of a fierce

god!"

"This is nothing. As long as we're here, this country can't lose." With

that, Fuuga winked at Mutsumi.

Mutsumi smiled, folded her hands in front of her, and bowed. "I am

pleased to see you return uninjured after scattering our enemies. I am awed

by your prowess. Do you know no fear, Sir Fuuga?"

"Naw, it's all so I can take you as my bride," Fuuga smirked. "I'll bet I

need to work even harder."

He was suddenly declaring he'd make her his wife?! How bold.

Mutsumi's eyes went wide for a moment when he said it, but she

eventually giggled and smiled. "You're an honest man."

"If I want something, I say so. If I say it, I make my wish come true.

That's my creed," Fuuga said, brimming with confidence.

If he wanted something... huh. So he was the type that lived true to his

desires, and drew power from that. That made him easy to read, but I'd be

scared if our interests ever clashed. Once that man resolved to do

something, I doubted he'd ever back down.

Just then, I heard voices from behind us. ""Eek?!""

Turning back, I saw that Hal was hugging Kaede and Ruby, who was

back in her human form. He actually picked them both up.

Kaede was flailing her arms in surprise. "W-Whoa, Hal?! What do you

think you're doing all of a sudden?"

Kaede kept protesting, but Hal didn't let the two of them go.

"...Sorry," he said.

"Huh?" she asked, looking confused.

"That I came close to forgetting you two, for even a moment... I'm truly

sorry," Hal said gravely.

Seeming to have picked up on something from that, Kaede gently patted

Hal on the back.

Ruby was silently letting him do what he wanted, too.

I was silent. Something really must have happened out on the battlefield.

But, well, as long as those two were with him, he'd be fine.

Even when you seem ready to collapse, if there's someone at your side

who cares for you, you can get going again. I'd been through that a number

of times myself up to this point. By feeling that warmth, you can reconfirm

what it is you ought to be protecting.

I clapped my hands, trying to get myself back on track. "Sir Mathew.

The reinforcements will arrive tomorrow. I'd like to discuss arrangements."

Sir Mathew nodded eagerly. "Ohh, of course! We don't have time to just

flap our gums out here forever. Let us go inside the castle. Come, come, Sir

Fuuga, everyone, this way!"

With that, Sir Mathew began to lead the way.

Before we reached the inside of the castle, I gave instructions to each of

my companions who were present. "Aisha, Juna, Naden, Hal, Kaede, Ruby.

The six of you will come with me. The wyvern cavalry are to stand by here

until further orders. Kuu and Leporina, you can do as you like, but..."

I looked over at the master and servant pair from Turgis.

Kuu crossed his arms behind his head and laughed. "While Bro's

holding war talks, maybe we'll take a little look around the area. Right,

Leporina?"

"I'll come with you, but don't cause too much trouble for the people

here, okay?" Leporina scolded.

"Ookyakya! I know that!"

It seemed they were planning to wander around Wedan. They'd just

tagged along of their own accord, so that was probably fine.

"That leaves Tomoe and Inugami," I said. "Inugami, I want you to

contact Kagetora. It can wait until you've been shown to your rooms, but

can I leave that to you?"

"Understood. What should be done about guarding Lady Tomoe in the

meantime?"

"Oh, right... What should we do...?"

"I-I'll be fine," Tomoe said quickly. "Please, do your duty, Mr.

Inugami."

Inugami looked concerned, but Tomoe smiled as she said that.

Holding down the fort alone, huh? I was a bit worried, but she would

probably be safe inside this castle.

"Well, can you wait in your room, then?" I asked.

"Got it," Tomoe said, snapping her hand to her forehead in a salute. How

adorable.

I cleared my throat to keep myself from fawning on her, and then turned

to the rest. "Now then, you can all begin carrying out your orders."

On my command, each of them went into action to fulfill their duties.

We started walking to follow Sir Mathew, but... at this point, we were

overlooking something.

"...Hee hee!"

We were overlooking the fact that Tomoe's tail was swishing around as

she eyed the area with fascination.

Our beloved little sister was at an inquisitive age.