CH 312

Musashi crossed over to the Kingdom of Ploiss and into Caan Territory for two reasons.

The first is the imperial decree. He has been ordered by the Emperor to guard the diplomatic mission. That’s why Musashi must go over to Ploiss as an escort. But that wasn’t the only reason.

Another reason, just speculation… was that Musashi might have found a master to serve.

Musashi has been welcomed into the Demon Country’s imperial court, but he does not serve the Emperor as his master. Of course, he has loyalty and feelings for his homeland where he was born and raised, but Musashi thought that he had not met a master he should risk his life to serve.

During his martial arts training, he traveled around the world, polishing his sword arm here and there, and before he knew it, he was called a master swordsman. And he caught the eye of the Emperor and was personally invited to work close to his side.

He thinks it’s a great honor. There are very few people who are invited directly by the Emperor, but to be invited alone is rather impressive. But Musashi did not nod his head obediently.

There is also attachment and loyalty to the homeland where you grew up. Musashi thinks it’s an honor that the Emperor called out to him directly. But for some reason, Musashi didn’t like this honor.

He will be welcomed to the imperial castle as he is, and he will fulfill his honorable duty as the Emperor’s escort. Certainly, it would be a great success that he could not hope for more than this. That should have been the case, but Musashi couldn’t see his future there.

There is no particular reason, thought, or creed. However, Musashi refused the Emperor’s invitation for a very vague reason that he himself was not entirely sure of.

If he doesn’t convey this well, he might summon the Emperor’s wrath and be executed. Even if he is not killed, he may never walk among polite society ever again. Even though he thought so, Musashi refused the offer.

“Then serve near my side until your true master appears. When that person appears, go wherever you want to go.”

“Haa!”

And with that, Musashi gave in. That Sumeragi Kamui, the Emperor of Yamato1 has told him that much means that he cannot refuse.

Or perhaps… Emperor Sumeragi thought that Musashi’s true master would never appear. If a true master who can convince Musashi does not appear, Musashi will continue to serve the Emperor. He probably thought so in the process of making that condition. Musashi somehow understood that, but he had no choice but to say yes to the agreement.

How long has it been since then? Just when Musashi himself was beginning to wonder if his true master would ever appear, she appeared before his eyes.

A gaijin with blond hair and blue eyes. 2 When Musashi first saw her, he thought she was just a strange-looking girl. She then decides to go out on the town with the selfish second princess. Musashi was among those ordered by the Emperor to accompany them as both bodyguard and purse-minder. They quickly used up the money the Emperor had entrusted to them, and then they were made to pay so much of their shopping out of their pockets.

If you tell the Emperor, he will pay for the shortfall. However… the blond gaijin took out a jewel from her pockets and handed it to Musashi. When he said he could not take it, she told him to give it to the Emperor instead and be compensated for the shortfall.

Musashi was not seduced by money. Even when he was pretending to be a mere soldier, he shows such concern. Even if a gaijin with blond hair wanted to impress the people of this country, there was no reason to try and sway a member of the rank and file.

If he was a mere soldier who couldn’t give his opinion to the Emperor, it would be difficult to claim the shortfall of the money spent while guiding the two. With that in mind, hand over the jewel as proof. And if you still can’t tell the Emperor about the shortfall, then you should accept the jewel as payment instead.

What is her concern? Many members of the ruling class are selfish and do not think about those below them. Musashi thought that she wouldn’t even remember his face as he followed them as a mere escort. Even so, far from remembering, she even accurately guessed that they had cut into their pockets and given the jewel as an apology.

She doesn’t just want to show off her money and look good. She’s not doing this to flatter the demons of this country. This is a manifestation of this person’s heart, as it would naturally appear.

Maybe… Musashi may have found the master he’s been looking for, for so long.

He just got a chance. He just thought this could work. That’s why Musashi decided to go to Caan Territory in the Kingdom of Ploiss. To see if the blond-haired gaijin Floto von Caan is worthy of being his master…

After Musashi came to a town called Floren, he found himself surprised. The townspeople live happily and cheerfully. The quality of the soldiers was high, yet they didn’t become overbearing towards the townspeople and built up a very good relationship with them.

A wealthy town and one with happy townspeople are two different things. Being rich doesn’t always mean being happy. But this town was rich and happy. You can tell just by looking at it. Those who work here are lively. Good security. Quality soldiers. You can see at a glance that the Lord who has created this town is wonderful.

Could it be that Musashi really… was able to meet his true master…? He had high hopes.

The next morning, Musashi found Floto von Caan a short distance from the mansion where he had stayed the night before. She wields a sword alone in the early morning, at a time you can’t even call dawn. Her sword arm is beautiful and powerful. She may not be a match for the Emperor yet, but even so, Musashi thought that his skill was not inferior to himself, who was called the best swordsman in Yamato.

Of course, she is still young and rough overall. But would Musashi have been so strong when he was that age? Since when, and how much training do you need to accumulate to reach that level at this age? Just watching that morning’s training gave me a glimpse of the efforts she’d made so far.

After that, Musashi continued to observe Floto and Musashi’s gut was decided. Floto works hard day and night for the sake of her people. And yet, she never misses training to improve himself. Exactly to the tenets of the Bushi, military professionals. Musashi can only swing a sword, but if Musashi were asked to describe his ideal example of a bushi, his answer would be Floto.

Then there is only one thing to do. Having made up his mind, Musashi entrusted the letter to the messengers who were already on their way back to the Yamato Empire and went to look for Floto.

Back at the Yamato Empire, their Emperor Sumeragi Kamui let out a deep sigh as he held four letters before him.

“Haa…”

“What’s wrong?” Emperor Sumeragi’s wife asked.

He just shook his head at her.

“Iya……” he muttered.

Even though she was his wife, there are things he cannot say easily to her. Especially in politics, you can’t count on your wife not to carelessly talk about it and turn it into a festival.

He rereads the letters he just received. The first is an official letter from the diplomatic mission dispatched to Caan Territory in the Kingdom of Ploiss. The terms and conditions for the upcoming treaty with Caan Territory are written there.

They reported that Caan Territory is asking for diplomatic relations, the conclusion of the treaty, some trade, and technical support in exchange for monetary payment. The diplomats wrote that there were no more advantageous terms for Yamato and that the treaty should be signed immediately.

Then there is the other letter, sent to him personally. This is from Kanbee, the leader of the diplomatic mission.

According to Kanbee’s letter, if Yamato’s technology were to flow into Caan Territory in accordance with the request for technical support, they would suffer enormous losses, and their technological superiority would be shaken. He wrote that it would be outrageous to let this amount of money flow out. What’s more, Kanbee even goes so far as to say that if his protest is not heard, he will quit his job and leave Yamato itself.

Kanbee is said to be a bit arrogant and overconfident, but there is no doubt that he is an excellent worker. Kamui had no intention of sending him out to relegate him, instead appointing the excellent Kanbee as the leader because he thought it would be important for the future of their country. He sighs when realizes that things don’t seem to be going well with Kanbee and the rest of the mission.

Kamui intended to accept Floto’s offer. He doesn’t take the outflow of their technology lightly. If anything, he was worried about it, and that’s why he tried not to let the Kingdom of Del and Kamaal Alliance’s member-states get too much of their technology and goods.

Kamui evaluates that the other diplomats are blind and Kanbee is the only one who understands. However, he still accepts Floto’s request. He had already decided internally.

Still… he doesn’t take technology leaks lightly, he doesn’t take the word of the diplomatic mission lightly, and he doesn’t take Kanbee’s words lightly. Kamui just decided it was better to walk with Floto.

After coming to the Yamato Empire, Floto’s behavior, words and deeds, and the situation of Caan Territory in the report, Kamui now acknowledged the romantic relationship between Mikoto and Floto and decided to use it as leverage to build a relationship with House Caan. That’s why he sent a diplomatic mission, and his answer was as good as decided from the start.

So it’s not as if this amount was Kamui’s price, and he didn’t take the technology outflow lightly. This is support from Kamui to Floto. From now on, he’s thinking of doing it to support the country that Mikoto and Floto will build together. If anything, she didn’t even need to pay for all of this. After all, this is support from parents to children…

Kamui sent a letter to Kanbee to that effect, though he’s not sure if Kanbee will agree with his reason. In some cases, it may result in the loss of excellent people.

And the other two. One of them, Isuzu, is not so surprising. Kamui ordered her to check the situation over there and tell him what she saw and heard in her own words. He thought it would be better for various people to see it from various viewpoints, rather than rely on one representative.

Isuzu’s report is very easy to understand. He thinks it’s pretty subjective. Whereas many reports from the mission despise the country as just a small state, Isuzu sees the details as a woman and as a maid.

According to the report, it is true that the population is small and it seems to be an emerging area, but the development, technology, and infrastructure are remarkable. It is written that the House Servants and soldiers are also of high quality.

Kamui let out another sigh at the last letter. It is a letter from Musashi. He also ordered him to see and hear about the Caan Territory from the perspective of a swordsman. Here too, it was written that the town was prosperous and developing while still an emerging territory, the quality of the soldiers was high, and the townspeople were living happily.

That’s good. That’s fine, but since Musashi has determined that Floto is his true master, he concludes his letter by pleading Kamui to let Musashi serve Floto, instead.

The master swordsman, who Kamui had a hard time bringing in… ended up leaving so easily. So it is with Kanbee. He certainly doesn’t seem to have good relationships with the people around him, but he’s an excellent civil servant. And after he got involved with Floto, out he goes.

In addition, the types of jobs and the number of staff she’s requesting support from are not odd. Everything she does seems to be trying to take away a large number of Kamui’s people. Certainly, from the perspective of the Yamato Empire, such an outflow of human resources is within the permissible range, but there is too little restraint.

“Fuuh… Maybe it wasn’t a mistake to say she was ‘the one who brings disaster.’”

With a distant look in his eyes, the Emperor of Yamato, Sumeragi Kamui, put the letters away.

Going back in time, it was still early in the morning, before the earliest horse messengers left for the Yamato Empire… Isuzu woke up in a bed with a canopy.

“You’re up already?” asked the woman in what this side called “maid’s clothes.” “The servants from over there seem to be of high quality, as well.”

Isuzu looks around and she shakes her head as tries to remember last night.

“Ah~… eh~… what do I say…?”

On the bed, there are figures of girls sleeping in a disorganized state. However, it seems that the owner of this room is no longer here. And this girl in maid’s clothes has already finished preparations for the day. It seems that the maids in this country are also working from early in the morning.

“My clothes are…” Isuzu said.

“Over there,” the maid said.

And when Isuzu was about to change back into her clothes, she saw herself reflected in the large mirror and felt her face turn bright red in an instant. She was wearing see-through underwear called “Negurijei.” It’s a kind of style that doesn’t exist in the Yamato Empire, it was very disgusting. And she finally remembers last night.

Last night… Isuzu was stripped of her clothes when she entered this room… she thought she was going to be attacked too.

“It’s my first time, so please be gentle.”

She hates herself for blurting that out. She can’t believe she was going to experience her first time in this way. It’s also with women, of the same sex. For a short while, they put her in this “negligee” and they all just slept together.

“Are you mocking me?!” she wanted to say. There’s only one thing left to do when you get to that point! Isuzu was expecting it! It’s finally her first time! It doesn’t matter if the other party is a woman or if there are many of them. Finally, finally at this age! She thought it was her first experience! She was just made to change clothes and they all slept together…

She wanted to erase herself for saying that line. She wants to pretend it never happened. She was hoping for a bit more! Her heart was pounding even with only beautiful women around her! She wanted them to do something about these feelings! Even though she’s old enough…

“I’m only a little more than middle-aged!”

She stabs her own heart.

There was no way that they didn’t do anything because she wasn’t attractive… surely not…

“That can’t be true! Absolutely not!”

Once again, her chastity was protected, and the “Cursed” Isuzu was on her own.

T/N: Like Mistress, like Maid, always being denied sexual satisfaction.