Chapter 19 "A Discovery"

After our partial victory in the west, we had to plan ahead for our attack on the eastern outpost. After scouting the area with the help of Joy, Hana, and the summoned beasts Jiro had, we determined that the enemy forces here were much stronger, and there's a reason for that, you see, my dears. The pirates decided to take Yenchei's Industrial District, meaning they're able to mass-produce armor, weapons, potions, medicine, cosmetics, and cooked food. This means our enemies have better armor and weapons and are larger due to their food portions, and I don't mean large as in fat; I mean large as in muscle. They were beefy, according to Hana. At least she presented a set of armor that a man she had captured had on; it was large, it would only fit Nori or Jo. She placed a large sword against the wall of my room, stating that this was the weapon the person was using when she caught him. I'm surprised she didn't get captured. When I checked the brigs, I saw the man she captured; he was huge, head shaved, only having a stubble beard, and his left eye had a scar. An obvious warrior. I need to think about the possibility of recruiting him since we were already having trouble with our crew during this time.

I observed the man, but my session was cut short when Max came to call me, saying, "Hey Cap, the Emperor is here. He told me to tell you I have a box of macarons with your name on it, player two." I couldn't resist the macarons, so I thanked her calmly and headed up to meet Taka. I ran to him, grabbed the macarons from his hands, and then bowed to pay my respects. With my head down, he hit me on the head and took me to my quarters, almost panicking. "Rei, where did those bastards get you? You mentioned an archer hit you during your attack on the Lumber Mill; let me see! I'll heal it to only leave a scar!" he said. I chuckled, knowing he worries about me, and replied in a more composed tone, "Calm down, Taka. I'm a member of a samurai family; I've had worse hits in my life. Nori, the monk I told you about, fixed me up. He said I'd be fine." After showing Taka the scar, he seemed to calm down, and he spoke again, "You better not get hit again, you hear me? Anyway, I've read over your letter, and I think I'll let you be the governor of Yenchei. You're perfect for the job, overqualified even. But I can't have you leaving a puppet governor while you're out, which is why I want to use that crystal orb I gave you after your liberation of Tinwati. I'll ask one of the gods that bless me to bless you as well. His name is Gant, the god of shadows, a personal referral from his favorite follower should be enough to have him grant you his blessing. Now hold the crystal orb with me and focus all your psyche to the palm of your hand." I nodded, and as the room went silent, I could feel a warm light embrace me. I opened my eyes to find myself in a temple in front of a god who was sitting down in front of a display crystal, playing some sort of game. Before I could speak, he said, "Do not speak. I see my top follower has referred you to me. That's honestly enough to get me to grant you a blessing. But just to be sure, why would you want to be blessed by a god like me? I'm one of the least followed gods out here. You can speak now, by the way." I sat down beside him, watching him play, and said, "Hope ya don't mind me sitting beside you, Gant. Ahem, anyway, I think praising all the deities is good. After all, you all share an equal amount of balance in the scales of our world, and you all play a major role in our existence. I think that's a good enough reason to praise even a lesser god like you." He smiled and replied, "You're an interesting one, Rei Ishikawa. You've provided me with an answer I've never heard before. And since you amuse me and decide to praise me, I'll give you my backing, and of course, my blessing as well. Anyway here's a tip it's a god's duty to keep an eye on his followers after all, ya know That Sean fellow you recruited? he isn't who you think he is. Check his bow, and you'll find the answer to the question you have in your mind right now. For now, you must return to your realm, and I have to finish this game. I'm so close to getting all the achievements, and I can finally move to another game. Oh, and Themis told me to tell you just now that she wants an offering of macarons, even just one will do." With that final word, I snapped back to reality, with Taka waiting for me to come to by the door. I quickly made a makeshift altar and offered both Themis and Gant a macaron. I like to think Gant enjoyed it, while Themis just downed it in a single bite. Anyway, I tapped Taka on the shoulder, asking him to come with me to the planning room on the ship, to which, of course, he obliged. On our way to the ship, he asked me what the god said to me. I smiled and teased him, "That's for you to figure out, you pretty little thing." He turned bright red.

As I ran to the ship, my mood changed nearly instantly when I saw Sean walk by. I took a glance at his bow but didn't notice anything off, so I brushed it off for now and entered the planning room. I was greeted by Zeth, your Uncle Mil, Jiro, Joy, Hana, Lord Rukio, and Lord Haruki. I sat down at the end of the long table, and Taka sat beside me, holding my thigh almost the whole meeting. I started the meeting off by asking the lords for their ideas.

Lord Haruki had something to say, but Lord Rukio beat him to it, "My father and Haruki's father seem to be working closely. I can confirm a few things about my father, Lord Omura. His sword is different from other samurai and samurai lords. He has a charm attached to its hilt, a metallic charm with a glass ball at the center. Inside the glass ball is the symbol of the heavens, but not from any deity I know of. It looks like a skull with heaven's eyes."

Lord Haruki cuts him off, "Pardon my rudeness, but my father also has one of those charms attached to his weapon. His was also a metallic charm with a glass ball at the center. Inside, it was a symbol of a skull, but instead of heavenly eyes, it had ears that seemed like they came from the heavens."

Your uncle spoke up after making sure both lords were done talking, "I believe this is from a passage that goes: 'See no evil, Hear no evil, and Speak no evil,' but instead of the designated body part being covered, take Lord Rukio's father's charm. The eyes glow instead of being dimmed by it being covered, this would also explain how Lord Daisuke heard you even with the chaos outside his camp. His charm was 'Hear no evil,' but instead of the ears being covered, they were glowing, meaning his sense of hearing is enhanced."

Joy nudges Hana to speak up, since she's too shy to speak in a room with four important lords of the island Yenchei and the emperor of the mainland. Hana obliges and says, "So Joy told me awhile ago that a man with a banner similar to Lord Rukio's crest saw her in the sky, even though she was flying quite high. I think it would be safe to assume that he was Lord Omura Ishioka with the 'See no evil' charm. It only makes sense nobody, not even I, can see Joy flying from a high altitude."

I sigh, giving everything that was just said a thought before speaking up, "Uh, Zeth, would you be a dear and check the records you have on the samurai families? Check who were the closest to Clan Takahashi and Clan Ishioka. Find the mutual close friend, and we'll assume that the lord of that clan is our 'Speak no evil.' These charms we're talking about are no ordinary shrines, by the way. They are artifacts sent down by a fallen god to cause chaos in our land. That's why the pirates are taking over everything; they've found power through the fallen heavenly artifacts."

Jiro spoke up, "All crew members from the Tinwati mission have artifacts, though these are different. While they grant power, they also don't make the user go mad, unlike the artifacts that the pirates got their hands on. This is an example of an artifact." He takes the gem on his hat off, "This artifact grants me many abilities related to animals and beasts, captain. These artifacts were given directly to us by our deities, so now you see the dangers of these artifacts."

And the clock has hit 12; time for bed, my darlings. May the heavens always watch over you. We'll continue our story tomorrow, so don't worry too much.