This country is currently the most powerful one on the continent. It’s neither Arturia nor Nouviche. The nation has developed at an unprecedented pace. This success is proven by the rapid expansion of its territory. Inside the castle, which incorporates Japanese aesthetics… the architectural method using joint woodwork without a single nail is the pinnacle of craftsmanship that mesmerizes all who see it. For defense, it would not be easy to capture, given its surrounding moat, high walls, and installed cannons. Above all, it is built in a natural stronghold. With towering cliffs at its back, enemies have no choice but to attack from the front. While its territory, in harmony with nature, lacks the solemnity of Nouviche’s sacred trees, it is blessed with greenery that soothes the hearts of all who behold it.
This is the country called Grand-Ende.
Until several decades ago, it could have been described as a quiet nation living in harmony with nature. The people were peaceful, and there was no ambition to expand their territory. However, the ruler from several generations ago suddenly changed direction. Rapid land development, reforms, technological advancement, administrative improvements… While some opposed these sudden national changes, and not a few held concerns… None of them are alive today. Almost all were purged in what Grand-Ende calls the “Blood Reform.” Over several generations, the chosen rulers have pushed forward with national development, won repeated wars with neighboring countries, and finally acquired vast territory. Now the nation’s wealth is disproportionate to its short history. Other countries maintain their distance from Grand-Ende, sensing something unsettling about it. In the castle… unusual for this continent, three men sit on a black ebony floor, following the custom of removing shoes before entering. One is the head of intelligence, sweating as he makes his report. This man has known the ruler since childhood. However, having witnessed the transformation since the ruler’s selection, he trembles, knowing the eeriness and terror, as his head could be cut off at the ruler’s whim. Another man is blind. He wears the nation’s distinctive clothing… hakama and dōgi, with a single-edged sword—a katana without curvature—slung over his shoulder. His purple-black hair flows back, and his sitting posture is dignified. His back is straight, and his upper arms, visible through the dōgi sleeves, are trained and toned to perfection. Though his eyes are closed, his face matches his dignified appearance—handsome with elongated features. Despite his closed eyes, he faces toward the intelligence chief. Though contradictory, he seems determined not to miss a single movement. The remaining man is smaller than the other two. His unkempt brown hair grows long, seemingly without care for grooming. However, his face, though youthful, carries an intimidating presence, with a permanent furrow between his brows. This man also wears the nation’s clothing, but purely for functional beauty, without any decorative elements. He has chosen clothes that are easy to move and live in.
“So? Alankar, is it true that Sounité has been taken over?” “Y-Yes…” “We sent Lenha there, didn’t we? How did some mercenary group manage to take it?” “Well… Lady Lenha’s operation failed…” “Is that so?”
The small man throws down the report and glares at Alankar, the intelligence chief, while sitting more casually.
“So? What about dealing with Lenha?” “About that… it seems the Gourmet Princess of Nouviche has given her shelter, and we don’t know where she’s gone…” “Is that right, is that right?” “I-I deeply apologize, Lord Guive!”
Alankar prostrates himself, begging for forgiveness. Guive Grand-Ende. This small man is the nation’s ruler, the top.
“…Do you think everything will be forgiven just by bowing your head?”
Alankar’s shoulders tremble with fear.
“Find Lenha and dispose of her. She’s outlived her usefulness. We don’t need a child who can’t complete even one job.” “But—” “Huh? What was that?”
At Guive’s voice, Alankar presses his head even harder against the floor.
“N-nothing at all! I’ll find and dispose of her immediately!” “Right, right, get to it then. I won’t forgive another failure, you hear?” “Yes!”
Alankar quickly stands and practically rolls out of the room. Guive turns his gaze to the blind man and laughs cheerfully.
“Kuhahaha! Hey, was I getting pretty good at it?” “Yes. The quality of your voice closely resembles that of ‘His Lordship.’“ “Is that so? Kuara Hien, do you think I could become like His Lordship?” “Impossible. That person is the king of kings.” “That’s right! Trying to become like His Lordship would be beyond unreasonable!”
Guive laughs even harder, slapping his knees. Kuara sighs and lightly taps the floor with the sword on his shoulder.
“So? What do you plan to do with that country?” “Eventually, I’ll send the ‘Three Oni and One Demon’ commanders. Not yet though. After it’s grown fatter.” “…You’ll use my foolish brother too? He is a demon person created by His Lordship. Not someone easily controlled.” “Ryufa, eh?”
Guive stops laughing and looks up at the ceiling.
“Where are those people now?” “At that battlefield. As usual, wielding the divine sword ‘Rokugarasu.’“ “I see… Kuara. Your brother has become one of them.” “I’ve answered this many times. My brother was happy to be ‘chosen’ by Ryufa. Even if his sense of self eventually disappears, he’ll accept that as destiny.” “What about the ‘Demon Oni,’ ‘War Oni,’ and ‘King Oni?’“ “King Oni is on his way back to the country. The other two are still at different battle lines.” “I see.”
Guive stands up and brushes off his clothes. Though the polished and cleaned floor has no dust, this has become a habit.
“I’m going to report to His Lordship. Kuara, you wait here.” “As you command.”
Guive stands and walks toward the wall behind him. This room is called the council chamber and is built larger than normal rooms. It’s where political affairs and audiences are conducted. Guive had been sitting in the highest seat, built one level higher than the others. When Guive places his hand on the wall behind him, it silently disappears. Though it’s like watching an illusion vanish, neither man is surprised. Beyond it stretches a wooden corridor. Guive descends these stairs. Magic lamps are installed on the stairway walls, ensuring adequate lighting. Then, Guive descends to the lowest level. It’s a tatami prison. The area where he steps down has the same audience space as the council chamber, with cells set up beyond. However, this place is built far more luxuriously than other rooms or the council chamber, incorporating all manner of technology to ensure comfortable living. Guive sits before the tatami prison and bows his head.
“Your Lordship. I have a report.” “Hm?”
In the depths of the tatami prison sits a man. He’s a middle-aged man with white hair. Yet his posture is good, and he has a solemn atmosphere about him. The man is reading a book. Or rather, the tatami prison is scattered with an enormous number of books and papers. The man, sitting formally while reading, answers without taking his eyes from the book.
“What is it? Has the pacification of Sounité been completed?” “No. It seems there was interference and we failed.”
In that instant, a gunshot rings out. A bullet hole appears before Guive’s eyes. The man in the tatami prison had fired the gun in his hand without looking up. A single bead of cold sweat runs down Guive’s back.
“Did I hear wrong? Are you saying my orders couldn’t be carried out?” “No, we failed due to interference from the Gungrave Mercenary Group. We are taking measures to address this.” “I see… Very well. However, don’t take it just yet. Even after it’s grown fat, it’s still too early.” “Which is?” “There’s one there, isn’t there? A ‘Wanderer.’“
At these words, Guive raises his face with a surprised expression.
“You already knew?” “I’ve been receiving reports about the Gungrave Mercenary Group for some time now. I knew right away. That there was a Wanderer there who, like me, was rejected and refused by the flow of time.” “…That’s correct. He must be there. That development and prosperity isn’t normal.” “Exactly. There’s no point in taking it even after it’s grown fat. It’s a castle built on sand. The development only exists because of the Wanderer’s support. There would be no gain in taking it.”
Here, for the first time, the man turns his face toward Guive. Guive unconsciously averts his gaze. His Lordship’s eyes always give him the illusion that they see through everything about him. When he was chosen as ruler and his father brought him here. From that time, Guive changed. Had no choice but to change. He hadn’t thought that the source of all Grand-Ende’s development, their “ancestor,” would be such a terrifying existence. To deal with that, to face it head-on, Guive became strong. Strong enough that others called it a complete transformation. But even so, he has never managed to meet His Lordship’s eyes.
“Bring that Wanderer here.” “Yes!” “I’m interested in him. Perhaps, like Soujiro… Okita Souji, he came from the same world as me.” “Understood.”
Guive bows his head again and says:
“Your Lordship, Lord Oda Nobunaga.”
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link
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Chapter 57
“So? This is the report?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
This country is currently the most powerful one on the continent.
It’s neither Arturia nor Nouviche.
The nation has developed at an unprecedented pace. This success is proven by the rapid expansion of its territory.
Inside the castle, which incorporates Japanese aesthetics… the architectural method using joint woodwork without a single nail is the pinnacle of craftsmanship that mesmerizes all who see it.
For defense, it would not be easy to capture, given its surrounding moat, high walls, and installed cannons.
Above all, it is built in a natural stronghold. With towering cliffs at its back, enemies have no choice but to attack from the front.
While its territory, in harmony with nature, lacks the solemnity of Nouviche’s sacred trees, it is blessed with greenery that soothes the hearts of all who behold it.
This is the country called Grand-Ende.
Until several decades ago, it could have been described as a quiet nation living in harmony with nature. The people were peaceful, and there was no ambition to expand their territory.
However, the ruler from several generations ago suddenly changed direction. Rapid land development, reforms, technological advancement, administrative improvements…
While some opposed these sudden national changes, and not a few held concerns…
None of them are alive today. Almost all were purged in what Grand-Ende calls the “Blood Reform.”
Over several generations, the chosen rulers have pushed forward with national development, won repeated wars with neighboring countries, and finally acquired vast territory.
Now the nation’s wealth is disproportionate to its short history. Other countries maintain their distance from Grand-Ende, sensing something unsettling about it.
In the castle… unusual for this continent, three men sit on a black ebony floor, following the custom of removing shoes before entering.
One is the head of intelligence, sweating as he makes his report. This man has known the ruler since childhood.
However, having witnessed the transformation since the ruler’s selection, he trembles, knowing the eeriness and terror, as his head could be cut off at the ruler’s whim.
Another man is blind. He wears the nation’s distinctive clothing… hakama and dōgi, with a single-edged sword—a katana without curvature—slung over his shoulder.
His purple-black hair flows back, and his sitting posture is dignified. His back is straight, and his upper arms, visible through the dōgi sleeves, are trained and toned to perfection.
Though his eyes are closed, his face matches his dignified appearance—handsome with elongated features.
Despite his closed eyes, he faces toward the intelligence chief. Though contradictory, he seems determined not to miss a single movement.
The remaining man is smaller than the other two.
His unkempt brown hair grows long, seemingly without care for grooming. However, his face, though youthful, carries an intimidating presence, with a permanent furrow between his brows.
This man also wears the nation’s clothing, but purely for functional beauty, without any decorative elements. He has chosen clothes that are easy to move and live in.
“So? Alankar, is it true that Sounité has been taken over?”
“Y-Yes…”
“We sent Lenha there, didn’t we? How did some mercenary group manage to take it?”
“Well… Lady Lenha’s operation failed…”
“Is that so?”
The small man throws down the report and glares at Alankar, the intelligence chief, while sitting more casually.
“So? What about dealing with Lenha?”
“About that… it seems the Gourmet Princess of Nouviche has given her shelter, and we don’t know where she’s gone…”
“Is that right, is that right?”
“I-I deeply apologize, Lord Guive!”
Alankar prostrates himself, begging for forgiveness.
Guive Grand-Ende.
This small man is the nation’s ruler, the top.
“…Do you think everything will be forgiven just by bowing your head?”
Alankar’s shoulders tremble with fear.
“Find Lenha and dispose of her. She’s outlived her usefulness. We don’t need a child who can’t complete even one job.”
“But—”
“Huh? What was that?”
At Guive’s voice, Alankar presses his head even harder against the floor.
“N-nothing at all! I’ll find and dispose of her immediately!”
“Right, right, get to it then. I won’t forgive another failure, you hear?”
“Yes!”
Alankar quickly stands and practically rolls out of the room.
Guive turns his gaze to the blind man and laughs cheerfully.
“Kuhahaha! Hey, was I getting pretty good at it?”
“Yes. The quality of your voice closely resembles that of ‘His Lordship.’“
“Is that so? Kuara Hien, do you think I could become like His Lordship?”
“Impossible. That person is the king of kings.”
“That’s right! Trying to become like His Lordship would be beyond unreasonable!”
Guive laughs even harder, slapping his knees.
Kuara sighs and lightly taps the floor with the sword on his shoulder.
“So? What do you plan to do with that country?”
“Eventually, I’ll send the ‘Three Oni and One Demon’ commanders. Not yet though. After it’s grown fatter.”
“…You’ll use my foolish brother too? He is a demon person created by His Lordship. Not someone easily controlled.”
“Ryufa, eh?”
Guive stops laughing and looks up at the ceiling.
“Where are those people now?”
“At that battlefield. As usual, wielding the divine sword ‘Rokugarasu.’“
“I see… Kuara. Your brother has become one of them.”
“I’ve answered this many times. My brother was happy to be ‘chosen’ by Ryufa. Even if his sense of self eventually disappears, he’ll accept that as destiny.”
“What about the ‘Demon Oni,’ ‘War Oni,’ and ‘King Oni?’“
“King Oni is on his way back to the country. The other two are still at different battle lines.”
“I see.”
Guive stands up and brushes off his clothes. Though the polished and cleaned floor has no dust, this has become a habit.
“I’m going to report to His Lordship. Kuara, you wait here.”
“As you command.”
Guive stands and walks toward the wall behind him.
This room is called the council chamber and is built larger than normal rooms. It’s where political affairs and audiences are conducted.
Guive had been sitting in the highest seat, built one level higher than the others.
When Guive places his hand on the wall behind him, it silently disappears.
Though it’s like watching an illusion vanish, neither man is surprised. Beyond it stretches a wooden corridor.
Guive descends these stairs. Magic lamps are installed on the stairway walls, ensuring adequate lighting.
Then, Guive descends to the lowest level.
It’s a tatami prison. The area where he steps down has the same audience space as the council chamber, with cells set up beyond.
However, this place is built far more luxuriously than other rooms or the council chamber, incorporating all manner of technology to ensure comfortable living.
Guive sits before the tatami prison and bows his head.
“Your Lordship. I have a report.”
“Hm?”
In the depths of the tatami prison sits a man.
He’s a middle-aged man with white hair. Yet his posture is good, and he has a solemn atmosphere about him.
The man is reading a book. Or rather, the tatami prison is scattered with an enormous number of books and papers.
The man, sitting formally while reading, answers without taking his eyes from the book.
“What is it? Has the pacification of Sounité been completed?”
“No. It seems there was interference and we failed.”
In that instant, a gunshot rings out.
A bullet hole appears before Guive’s eyes. The man in the tatami prison had fired the gun in his hand without looking up.
A single bead of cold sweat runs down Guive’s back.
“Did I hear wrong? Are you saying my orders couldn’t be carried out?”
“No, we failed due to interference from the Gungrave Mercenary Group. We are taking measures to address this.”
“I see… Very well. However, don’t take it just yet. Even after it’s grown fat, it’s still too early.”
“Which is?”
“There’s one there, isn’t there? A ‘Wanderer.’“
At these words, Guive raises his face with a surprised expression.
“You already knew?”
“I’ve been receiving reports about the Gungrave Mercenary Group for some time now. I knew right away. That there was a Wanderer there who, like me, was rejected and refused by the flow of time.”
“…That’s correct. He must be there. That development and prosperity isn’t normal.”
“Exactly. There’s no point in taking it even after it’s grown fat. It’s a castle built on sand. The development only exists because of the Wanderer’s support. There would be no gain in taking it.”
Here, for the first time, the man turns his face toward Guive.
Guive unconsciously averts his gaze. His Lordship’s eyes always give him the illusion that they see through everything about him.
When he was chosen as ruler and his father brought him here.
From that time, Guive changed. Had no choice but to change.
He hadn’t thought that the source of all Grand-Ende’s development, their “ancestor,” would be such a terrifying existence.
To deal with that, to face it head-on, Guive became strong. Strong enough that others called it a complete transformation.
But even so, he has never managed to meet His Lordship’s eyes.
“Bring that Wanderer here.”
“Yes!”
“I’m interested in him. Perhaps, like Soujiro… Okita Souji, he came from the same world as me.”
“Understood.”
Guive bows his head again and says:
“Your Lordship, Lord Oda Nobunaga.”
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link
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