193 - - 第193话 晴臣の独白と纯白の魔影

I thought it was the end of the world.

After the battle with the Ronin, we came to the village of the priests.

But there was a great panic in the village because of the battle that had just ended.

I am sorry if we startled you with our fight with the Ronin.

We calmed them down and Yukinojo-san and Haruomi-san, who were involved in the battle, explained the situation to them and they finally understood.

"I heard that there have been crooks in the clan in the past, who have been making trouble for the next Shogun's life, but this is definitely the first time in history that such an outrageous disturbance like this has occurred.

"Haha, sorry. ......"

Fortunately, the priests forgave us because the village was not damaged.

Yes, they are very nice people.

"I have heard about Yamazakurakoji-dono from Omitsu-sama. I never thought he would do such a big thing. ...... I'm sorry."

For some reason, the priest apologizes for the actions of the first retainer.

"Good, it is true that Yamazakura Koji has priest's blood running through his veins, but that has nothing to do with you. This matter was caused by Yamazakura Koji himself.

"We appreciate you saying so.

I see, the first patriarch who started the rebellion was a relative of the priests of this village.

That must have made the priests very anxious.

But Yukinojo easily forgave them.

The first liege is the first liege and a priest is a priest.

It's not easy to forgive a relative of the person who tried to kill you without showing any grudge.

Yukinojo-san, you'd make a pretty good king.　

"Time is of the essence. I want to perform the ceremony of assuming the title of Shogun immediately.

Yes, sir.

Yukinojo-san said we didn't need a break, and the priest led us to a large mansion at the back of the village.

The house was quite large, so large that I guessed that one third of the village was occupied by this house.

The houses in this country are very wide, maybe because of the garden.

Yukinojo-sama, please come this way.

"Mm."

Yukinojo-san went forward and Haruomi-san tried to follow him, but the priest stopped him.

"I'm sorry, but your companions will have to wait here.

"What!　I'm the young man's bodyguard!"

Haruomi raised his voice, saying that Yukinojo-san could not be left alone.

"This is the customary way to assume the title of shogun. Therefore, only the next shogun is allowed to enter.

"......!!!!"

Haruomi's expression turns grim as he is told that only related parties are allowed to enter.

"The area beyond this point is the domain of the emperor, the true lord of Amagamine. Even if they are members of the Shogun's family, they are still required to follow the customs.

"......!"

At the mention of the emperor's name, Haruomi's body stiffens.

I remember that the emperor is the real king in this country.

He seemed to think that there was nothing he could do if that name was mentioned. Haruomi gritted his teeth, clenched his fists tightly, and obeyed the priest's words.

"Don't worry, Haruomi. This land is ruled by the emperor. There is no danger to me by any chance.

"Young ......"

"Rest assured. I'll be back soon to assume the title of Shogun."

"Yes, ......."

I guess I'm not worthy to do anything more.

Haruomi let out a big sigh, relaxed his fists, and bowed to Yukinojo on his knees.

"Young man, go ahead.

"Mm!　I'm off then. Thanks to Mina and Lex for escorting me here. You can rest comfortably in the village until I return.

Good luck!

"Mm, I'll take care of it."

Yukinojo-san and the priest entered the back of the building.

"He seems to have changed his mood a bit, doesn't he?"

Mina said as she watched Yukinojo leave.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, he was a bit restless when he first met me, and he's been that way since he met Lex. But since he came to this village, he's calmed down a lot."

Oh, what's going on?

"......The young man came to this land as the next general. Therefore, he is disciplined as a member of the shogun's family.

When we were talking about Yukinojo-san, Haruomi-san blurted out a few words.

"As a member of the Shogun's family?"

"Well, the young man is the son of the Shogun who rules the land of Tenpou. Therefore, he was strictly disciplined to behave in a manner befitting a son of the Shogun on official occasions, so that he would not disgrace the Shogun's name.

Wow, is it like the etiquette of aristocrats?

"Indeed, the young man has grown into a fine son of the next general. He has had many experiences on this trip that he would not have had if he had stayed in the castle."

"It has certainly been an experience of many kinds. I've had some crazy experiences that I wouldn't normally have."

Um, Mina?　Why are you looking at me there?

"But you are still inexperienced. It is painful that he lost his predecessor and could not inherit the wisdom and mindset of a statesman that he was supposed to learn from him.

It is an important learning experience for a nobleman to watch his parents work. Haruomi seems to be particularly concerned about Yukinojo not being able to experience this.

Even a merchant's son would not be able to do anything if he is entrusted with his parents' work when he has just started working as a servant.

But isn't that why you and your vassals are here?

Mina is right. Vassals support their lord in times like this.

But the first of his vassals, Yamazakura Koji-dono, betrayed us. And many more feudal lords followed him and interfered with us. Even if he succeeded to the position of Shogun, his administration would be severe.

I see, the first lieutenant will definitely be deprived of his position and possibly forfeit his title and fiefdom.

Furthermore, the feudal lords who assisted him will also be punished.

In such a case, Yukinojo would have to rule the country without a vassal with a proven record in national politics, such as the first liege.

In other words, he would have to start with inexperienced and ineffective subordinates to help him.

That would certainly be a hardship.

"Furthermore, the rebel's vassals, including the top retainer, are sure to become Ronin because of this incident."

Yes, they are the subordinates of the person who started the rebellion, and those who were not directly involved in the rebellion may not be executed, but they will surely lose their jobs.

"If that happens, there will be even more ronin with irrational grudges against the shoguns."

"I should say that I deserved it, or I should say that the Lord I served was bad. ......"

Mina-san snarls with a furrowed brow.

It's tough being a subordinate of a powerful man in a situation like this.

They can't disobey their superiors' orders.

I've seen knights who had to follow unreasonable orders for the same reason in my past life, and I myself have been used by them for the sake of protecting the world.

But I fear that you yourself will make the same mistake.

"Yukinojo-san?"

Huh?　What does that mean?　Yukinojo-san is the real supreme power in this country, right?

I don't think there is anyone to rebel against for power or interest.

The only opponent is the emperor, but since the emperor is said to stay out of politics, there is no merit in antagonizing him.

"It has actually happened in our country's history that a shogun has punished an innocent vassal without investigating the matter thoroughly, believing the admonition of a vicious vassal."

Yes, that is a story we often hear on our continent as well.

The general at that time must have been taken advantage of by the bad guys.

"The worst thing is that they turn away their subordinates who can give their honest opinions because they are suspicious of them. Or, if only to keep them away, in the worst case scenario, the whole family could be executed."

"That's terrible."

There have always been petty kings.

"In fact, even in the reign of my predecessor, there were incidents where the shogun himself punished his chief vassals."

"What about then?　Were they really doing evil?"

"I don't know. The details of that case are covered by a gag order. I was just a child myself, so I couldn't know the details."

That's quite a gag order. Does it mean that there was a very serious incident?

"But it seems that ...... they couldn't hide who was being punished because it was the other party."

"Who was it?"

"Hmph, you're under a gag order, you know?　If you are a member of a warrior family that already has nothing to hide, why would I tell you, a foreigner?"

Oh, that's right.

That's right. You don't usually get that kind of information.

"Anyway, that's why the young man has many enemies. That is why I wanted him to have his uncle Omitsu-sama as a backer and learn enough about the mindset of a statesman before assuming the position of Shogun. ...... But that is not how the world works. Yamazakura Koji has done a very nasty thing."

After saying that, Haruomi stood up and turned to us.

"I'll stay here and wait for the young man's return. You should rest yourselves as he told you.

"Yes, sir. I'll take a walk through the village just to make sure there are no survivors of the Ronin invasion, and then I'll rest.

"Mm."

The truth is that we know that there are no Ronin here because of our probing magic.

Still, we need to create an element of security so that Haruomi can wait with peace of mind.

Shall we go?

"Yes."

We go around the village, greeting people on the street.

"For coming to a priest's village, it's kind of ......"

"Yes, it's a very normal village."

As I walk through the village, a thought comes to my mind.

I see. This village was an ordinary village.

I thought it would be more like a temple village in our country, since it is a priest's village. ......

But they are dressed like normal villagers except for a few people.

They are heading for the fields with a hoe.

When we came to the entrance of the village, the gatekeepers who guarded the entrance of the village and the people who looked like hunters were talking with a difficult look on their faces.

"Um, is something wrong?"

When I called out to them, they looked at me.

"Are you the ...... Oh, you're the great guests from earlier?"

"Ha-ha-ha."

I'm sorry I startled you earlier.

Anyway, the gatekeeper explained the situation to us as well.

"Well, there are too many demons and it's getting dangerous, so we thought it would be better to thin out the herd earlier than planned.

"Thinning?"

"Yeah, there's a demon I've never seen around here before that's been living in the woods near here recently. It seems that he is the reason why the neighboring demons are gathering in the forest.

"You mean you've never seen a demon before? ......"

Yeah, what is it?　But if demons are gathering here, maybe they are mutant demons.

If that's the case, it's not safe to leave them alone.

"I mean, we can't thin out the demons with just this many people, can we?　We need to get more people together."

You're right, Mina, we don't have enough people.

There are only two gatekeepers and one hunter.

"I'm going to ask the feudal lord to send us men to defeat the demons. But the number of demons is increasing in the meantime. And it's not like our guests don't have something to do with it.

The gatekeeper said something that bothered me.

"If you have come to this village, you must have come here for a ceremony that takes place once every few decades, right?　But in order to perform the ritual, we must go to the ruins outside the village. And to get to the ruins, we have to go through the forest.

I see. I certainly wasn't a stranger to that.

"Besides, we want to reduce the number of demons as much as possible now so that everyone in the village can collect them in the forest.

Indeed, the forest is an important place that provides us with many blessings.

We can't stay away from them just because they are dangerous.

It is natural to want to reduce the number of demons as much as possible to solve the problem as soon as possible.

And if Yukinojo-san's ritual has something to do with it, there is no reason for us not to be involved.

Then we will help you.

"What?　You sure?

The hunter is surprised to hear that we are going to help him.

We are mainly engaged in exterminating demons, so we can be of some help. We can also use attack magic to a certain extent.

Not "just" enough. But well, we've been escorting guests who had business in this village. You can expect more or less.

Mina winked at us as she offered her assistance.

Yes, I can feel this feeling without saying anything. It's nice to feel like friends.

"Wow, it's quite a feat to be an escort at such a young age."

When the hunter heard that we had come as an escort, he voiced his admiration.

"It's just that I don't have the money to pay you guys," he said.

But the gatekeeper voiced his confusion when he couldn't pay the gratuity for our help.

"Well, that's the thing. I surprised you all when I came here. I'd like to apologize for that."

Yes, I know I gave you a big surprise earlier when I was fighting with Ronin.

"Oh, that. That was a real surprise.

"Yeah, I thought it was the end of the world."

Uh, I'm really sorry.

"But, well, he's the owner of such a crazy boat. That certainly sounds promising!"

"But are you sure you want me to help you?"

Yes, I'll take care of it. I'm not busy until Yukinojo-san's business is finished.

With a thump on the chest, I tell him I'll take care of it.

A friend of mine from a previous life once told me that in times like this, you should make your partner feel secure by appearing confident.

"Well, if that's the case, I'd like your help."

Yes, I'll take care of it!

I really appreciate your help."

Thus, we were to thin out the demons that had taken up residence in the forest.

"By the way, what kind of demon is this that you've never seen before?"

Just in case, let me ask you a question about the demon that is causing the commotion.

Since there is a high possibility that it is a mutant demon, it is better to have as much information as possible about them.

But the hunter scratches his head as if he is troubled.

"It was a dimly lit place in the woods, and the guy was fast and dangerous, so I only saw him from a distance."

"That's fine."

"Okay. The demon I saw was pure white. He was fast and strong, and he fought undaunted against monsters bigger than him. And he had defeated the strongest bear around here.

A big demon bear, a demon peculiar to this country?　The name sounds like it could be big and magical.

But still, it's a small, white, but very combative demon.

This is too little information to tell us much.

But it seems to be a dangerous opponent for sure.

"White, small, ...... and I don't know if I remember ...... it or not."

Mina-san didn't seem to have any idea about it, and she couldn't identify the demon.

Well, white in the natural world is like telling someone where you are, unless you are in a snowy northern area.

"Shall we go then, Mina-san?

"Yes, let's just defeat them quickly so that Yukinojo can go to the ceremony quickly!"

◆mystery demon

There were hundreds of demons under my eyes.

They varied from strong demons to weak demons to demons that excelled in specific abilities.

They are not of a single race.

There were many races, some hostile to each other, others in a predator-prey relationship.

But these demons did not fight, but stood quietly before me, waiting for my command.

Waiting for my command, the king of demons!

H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H!

Yes, I have founded a kingdom of demons here.

Not only the demons in the forest. I have formed a great army of demons from the mountains, the rivers, the plains, and even other forests not here!　

The fools who defied us were quickly defeated and enjoyed a delicious meal.

The demons of this land are spicy and delicious. Oriental flavor!

The demons of this country are very competent in taste, strength, and loyalty.

This will be a powerful army that will follow my orders to the letter!

And I don't even have a master!

Let's just live in this forest and not think of our master's subjugation anymore, K-A-N-A!

Dgooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Just as I thought that, with a sudden roar, my army vanished.

Clean.

I, who had been watching from the top of the tree, fall down from the vanished tree and land on the cleared ground.

...... is that aaaaaaah!

What, what, what?　What just happened?

What's happening?

Where is the forest where I used to be?

Where is my legion?　Where are my mighty men?

What has happened!

But everywhere I looked not a single hair of my men was to be found.

Yes, they were!　Two shadows approach us from across the clearing.

There were survivors. ......?

Hmm?　Huh?　It's not a demon ......, it's a .........

"※※※※?"

Geez, master!

What?　What are you doing here, master?

"※※※※※!"

I should run away, but I can't move because I'm shaking.

They know!　My grandiose future plan to form a legion of demons to rule this land?

"※※※※"

Aaah!　They caught me!

Why?　I fled deep into the mountains, away from the coast, so my master wouldn't find me!　I thought this was my chance to get away from my husband!

Yeah, I didn't think your husband would die in a storm that big!　d*mn!

"※※※※"

His hand is on my head.

Are you going to crush my head?

You misunderstand, master!　I have not the slightest intention of rebelling!

lolling

Oh, no, it leaked.

Mina.

"Wow, there are so many demons!"

Lex, who has been searching for the demon with his search magic, shouts in surprise.

"I mean, you didn't even have to use your search magic to find it..."

The trees around here are so tall that we had to use both flight and search magic to search from the sky, but we didn't need to do that and soon found the location of the demon.

After all, a tremendous number of demons had gathered in a corner of the forest.

Because we could see such a large number of demons that we could recognize them even when they were hidden by the tall trees.

Well, it's a good thing we were looking for them from the sky.

If we had been searching while walking on the ground, we would have run into that many demons without knowing what to expect.

"Oh, there are more demons in this forest than there are in this forest...! How many are there ......?"

Despite the fact that the tall trees made it difficult to search from above, we could see that the herd of monsters had spread over a large part of the forest.

I'm afraid I don't know the exact number: ......

"Well, there must be thousands of them."

"Thousands?

What the hell?　Isn't this whole country full of demons?

What are we going to do?　We can't defend the village against that many demons!

The walls of that village can't hold them!

Yukinojo and the others may be able to escape with them, but they won't be able to escape while protecting the priests.

Do you think Rex's flying ship can carry all of them if it doesn't have any ...... baggage?

"Yes. It's too much trouble, so let's just kill them all right here and now.

"Defeat!　All of them!

Yes, let's use ranged magic to take them all out.

"With ranged magic, there are thousands of them, aren't there?　But Lex can do it?　But how?　It's fine at first, but you'll be scattered in no time. If the boss who controls the demons escapes, the next one will be more difficult.

Lex's magic is great, but I don't think it's possible to defeat thousands of demons all at once.

We have to defeat them dozens of times.

So first we need to find out where the bosses are.

Because some demons are smarter than we think.

Especially the bosses of large packs are often not only powerful but also wise.

"Yes, I know. That's why ......"　

Rex responds that he is aware of this.

Do you have a better solution to our problem?

Yes, that's why they want to do such a crazy thing.

"I'm going to round up all the demons within range of each other!"

"This was a more forceful plan than I thought!"

So, can you do it?　Defeat thousands of demons at once?

From what I remember so far, the magic Lex had used was indeed amazing.

But I have yet to see such an extraordinary magic that can defeat thousands of demons with a single blow.

Does such mythical magic really exist?

And is the forest safe to kill that many demons?

"Yes. It is indeed a bit troublesome to defeat such a large number of demons without causing any damage. So let's just quickly clear the entire forest and then use plant magic and special fertilizers to promote regeneration of the forest.

The solution was also a forceful one!

"Oh, don't worry. I'll apply exploration magic so that humans won't be harmed.

"Ah, yes. Yes, I know. That's important.

"Now that the demons are all in one place, we can minimize the damage to the surrounding land.

Oh, so you were thinking about that too, trying to round them up.

"And the range of the destruction will be as narrow as possible."

With these words, Lex begins to focus his attention, and a dense magical power begins to gather around him.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

Even I, who am not as skilled at detecting signs as the bandit, can see the animals in the forest flee in a panic when they sense something is wrong.

"Won't the demons notice this?"

We are far away from the herd of demons here, so we should be fine. The demons on the nearest perimeter might notice us, but we've already set up a ward around them, so it's impossible for them to escape.

"What?　When did this happen?

Not only did you defeat the demons, but you also prepared wards to keep them from escaping?

"Okay, let's go!　Inferno Country!"

By Lex's magic, a surprisingly ordinary ball of flame appeared.

The ball of flame bursts into flames as it shoots toward the ground.

Could it be that I failed?　That was the moment I thought so.

Dogooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

"What?"

With an explosion, flames spread throughout the forest in an instant, forming a huge, distorted circle.

"Huh?

It really happened in an instant.

That small ball of flame swallowed up all the demons that had gathered in the forest in an instant.

What is that thing?

"This is Inferno Country, a broad area annihilation magic. Flame Inferno is a weeding magic that burns straight lines, but this is a range-specific weeding magic to destroy pests and vermin in a wide area.

"Range-specific?"

Yes, it can burn only the area specified by the surgeon in order to clean up a field or a piece of land with an irregular shape. So, if you look closely, you can see that there are still trees in the area.　That area is where there are no demons or trees."

As it is said, there are indeed trees and places that have not been burned even though they are within the range.

"This magic alone will be fine, but they are important sustenance for the priests and the animals in the forest. We are protecting them with the warding magic we used earlier. Oh, and we're also protecting the ordinary beasts that didn't escape so that they don't leap into the flames.

You're too good to us!

What?　What is that?　Not only does it attack a huge area, but it also removes the designated area from the attack range?　And it even deploys a ward of the same size!

How are they going to do that?

"However, there's nothing we can do about the plants under the demon's feet..."

"It's more than enough!"

And the scale of concern is just too different!

"Oh, it's over. Oh, what's that? Only one survived?"

"Huh?"

I feel a twinge of fear in Lex's dubious voice.

Don't tell me there's a demon that survived that?

A demon survived that monstrous magic?

"Let's go. I think that's the leader of the pack the priests were talking about.

"What? ...... yeah."

At Lex's words, I activate my body enhancement magic to the maximum.

I follow Lex, desperately suppressing my inner fear, wondering what kind of monster I'm going to be fighting.

I do not go down directly to the opponent, but get down to the ground at some distance from him.

Lex leads the way, while I, as the rear guard, follow from behind.

"I won't be much use to you, but I can at least blind them!"

I involuntarily clears my throat at the prospect of a fierce battle to come.

"Huh?"

Then Lex made a strange noise.

Then, he randomly approaches the only remaining demon.

"You're being too cautious, aren't you?

But Lex didn't seem to be concerned about my concern and continued to approach the demon.

On the contrary, the demon seemed to be more puzzled by Lex's attitude.

And then Lex confronts the demon.

......?　Compared to Lex, that demon seems much smaller ......?

"I knew it, you're fluffy!"

"What?　Mofumofu?

What?　The rumored demon was fluffy?

"I see, the protective magic in the horn ring I gave you activated and protected you from the inferno country.

"Cu,cu,cu,cu ......"

Rex's words made Mohammed pull and shake.

"I see, those demons were chasing you and you were on the run, weren't you? It's all right now.

Rex gently picks up Mohamofu.

"Cu-cu-cu-cu-cu-cu?"

Fluffy squeals in fright as he is lifted up.

"It's okay, Fluff Fluff. I got rid of all the scary ones.

"Kyuhuh~"

Lex gently stroked Mohamofu's head, and Mohamofu seemed to be truly relieved and let out a weak squeal. ......

Choro-choro-choro-choro-choro......

I peed my pants.

"Whoa!　What's the matter, Fluffy?

"Yes, of course. It would be scary if all the demons around us suddenly burst into flames and burned to death.

I was sure that I would have told them if I had encountered the same thing, but I didn't say anything about it.

I was so afraid that I might say something like that.

"I'm glad you found Fluffy, by the way. In a way, it was the hardest thing to find."

"Cu-cu~"

They must be very relieved to see us again.

Mohamofu was lying limp and weak in my arms.

"Oh, by the way, yes. Gyros would have looked for us in town, or even looked for us on their own, but that's impossible with this girl.

"Yes, it is. And in the worst case scenario, they could have been attacked by humans because they were demons, or they could have been grabbed by humans for show.

"Oh, yes, in that case, the other person is in danger.

Anyway, it was really good to see you again.

We headed for the village, happy to see Mohammed again, and on the way we met some armed villagers.

"Huh?　What's going on, everybody?"

Among the villagers were the gatekeepers whom I had talked with at the entrance earlier.

"Oh, are you all right?　Suddenly there was a huge noise, and we were worried and came to the rescue!"

The gatekeeper breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that we were safe.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. The demon who was leading the herd of demons has been killed by the herd itself, so you don't have to worry anymore.

"Oh my God!　You've already taken them out?

And by the whole herd!

Yes, sir.

"That's great, guys!"　

The gatekeepers were truly surprised and excited as they praised us.

"We didn't do that much!"

I haven't even done anything myself.

No, no, no, don't be modest. We only managed to drive back one or two demons. Thanks to you, everyone in the village can sleep in peace.

"Ha-ha-ha. If you say so, it makes all our hard work worthwhile.

We're not. I didn't do anything this time.

After explaining to the gatekeepers that we no longer have to worry about demons, we all decide to return to the village.

Yukinojo-san's general's succession ceremony should have been over by now.

That's when I thought so.

Suddenly we heard the sound of something exploding from the direction of the village.

What is it?

"Look!　Smoke coming from the village!"

Suddenly, black smoke rose up, and the villagers shouted in agitation.

"Mina!

"Yes!"

Gentlemen, we're going back to the village first!"

As soon as we did, we rushed to the village with our flight magic without waiting for a reply.

As soon as the village came into sight, we noticed smoke coming from a corner of a house located in the back of the village.

"Mister Lex!　Mister Mina!"

We looked down and saw the priests who had welcomed us waving at us, so we decided to go down to the ground and ask them what was going on.

We went down to the ground and asked them what was going on.

The priests seemed to be in a panic, and there was no doubt that something unusual had happened.

"Yes, that's the trouble!　Yukinojo-sama was attacked by a demon and there were injured!

"What?

And so, we returned home after a day's work, and without a moment's rest, we were caught up in another incident.