Terine-shan is enjoying the cruise trip.

Gliding over the surface of the sea, ‘Friends on the Sea’ isn’t shaking much, so it feels comfortable to ride. And Captain Mountain Range, who usually won’t let Terine-shan leave his lap, has started to leave the skull on a barrel like this to tan in the sun. No matter how much Terine-shan likes hanging out with the captain, the skull still doesn’t like to be restricted too much, so it’s a pretty good deal, having some alone time like this. Dazedly, Terine-shan figures that it’s because Terine-shan’s less reliant now, and that must be the influence of the sea.

Of course, staying in the sun too long is bad for the skin, but to a skull that has lived so long and seen so much, it doesn’t really matter even if Terine-shan goes completely black. That’s why Terine-shan never even dreamed that such a thing could be witnessed there. As for her (?) subconscious actions after that, whose fault could that be?

Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram is standing on the deck and building up a relations.h.i.+p with the G.o.ddess statue praying for a safe voyage.

It’s just that there are still remnants of seasickness on the corners of his mouth.

Wolfram’s seasickness still hasn’t been cured, even though he accepted the worst secret technique known to the mazoku, something like ‘Günter’s protection’. All that did was give him two days free of retching over the side. That’s why he can’t quite understand why he was forced to take that slightly revolting talisman with him in the first place.

“…And it’s made of hair, too…”

To put it the way Yuuri would, it would definitely be 100% pure fleece, and it feels high quality too. But that’s just saying ‘fully Günter hair’ in a foreign-sounding way.

He takes the little grey pouch of his pocket, letting the cursing tool sway in the sea breeze—swaying, and swaying, and swaying.

“What, you’re not puking today?”

Technically he can’t have been drawn here by the swaying pouch, but Adalbert walks over, all swaying on his feet too. He’s still covered in muscles, but these days he seems somewhat tired. There are obvious bags under his eyes, and even those muscles, his pride and joy, seem to have wilted.

But Wolfram isn’t exactly fond of him, so he’s not the least bit concerned, even hmph-ing in displeasure. Besides, this fellow was an enemy of the mazoku not that long ago. Even if he’s not feeling well because he’s not used to the sea, there’s no reason to worry about him.

Adalbert doesn’t look angry at all, though, when he hands a packet of powdered medicine to Wolfram,

“Seasickness medicine, go ahead and eat it. It’s human-made, but it may still help you.”

“What? What are you saying? Just eat it yourself!”

“Me, eat this? You want me to it this seasickness medicine made of vampire bat eyeb.a.l.l.s and poisonous frogs and rotten pears and merman lord scales all ground together? How could I!”

There’s no way of telling if he’s being nice or purposely being annoying. Adalbert grabs onto the railing and exerts his muscles, leaning out his body dangerously.

“I’m not seasick.”

“Then what’s wrong with you, why does your color look so bad? I’ll tell you now, to get you onboard, we made a huge sacrifice! If the time comes and you can’t perform because your body is too weak, I’ll cut off each of those muscles of yours in order and throw them overboard!”

Seasickness makes one irritable. Surprisingly, though, Adalbert doesn’t snort at his words, instead lowering his head dejectedly,

“I’d rather you throw me overboard…”

“W-what’s the matter, Grantz? Has one of your screws come loose?”

“You won’t understand it, this pain.”

His gaze hollow, he looks out into the horizon and says,

“That voice is always echoing in my ears… A voice saying ‘Father, Father’, and making it a question, as though he’s c.o.c.king his head and asking ‘Father?’”

“W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what is that--!?”

Wolfram takes a few steps back,

“Not only did you betray the mazoku and side with the humans, you even had a child out of wedlock!? And of all things, you brought like a cute and innocent little girl onto the boat that’s heading out to save Yuuri!?”

“Which part of my imitation was cute and innocent? You… you’re rather badly sick.”

Adalbert grabs his blonde hair with his strong hands, mumbling in despair,

“After living a hundred and fifty years, never did I think that the Poison Lady’s venomous fangs would still reach me! I even thought I would be the only one to escape.”

“I see, so it’s something to do with Anissina?”

The pretty boy subconsciously nods in agreement. As long as Annissina is involved, even the scariest thing is no surprise. Although he has no idea how the muscleman suddenly got a daughter, but if it’s related to the Poison Lady, then he’ll just leave it at that.

“Instead of distancing yourself from your daughter, wouldn’t it be nicer of she likes you? Since it’s your beloved daughter, then I have no choice, I’ll just pretend I don’t know she stowed away.”

“W-why are you so sure I have a daughter!?”

Having gone completely into father mode, Wolfram can’t hear a single thing anyone else says. Even if that’s a guy he hates from the bottom of his heart, he’s happy as long as he has a chance to show off Greta.

“Indeed, as a father, there’s nothing like the way your child says ‘Father?’ As soon as you hear your child ask in that questioning way, no matter what it is, you’ll just buy it for her. Oh, yeah, how old is your daughter?”

“H-how o-old? How many years old? Looks really old, but actually it’s only thirty… four, five?”

“Five years old! Mine is already ten. In that case, as a father, I’m your senior.”

“Hey, wait a sec! When did you become a father…”

Completely immersed in father mode, Wolfram can’t care about anyone else’s doubts. Even if it’s a man with a b.u.t.t-shaped chin, as long as he has a chance to boast about his beloved daughter, nothing else matters.

“Mn—Five years old is really quite young. I can just imagine Greta when she was five, she probably couldn’t sleep without her stuffed toy. If she gets a custom-made toy, she should probably be very happy. I wonder, how about a yellow ducky?”

“Ducky…”

Would it work if he gave a yellow ducky to Maxine, his lower half wrapped up in a gra.s.s-woven carpet, sitting like a mermaid and yelling ‘Father’? On the other hand he would really like to pull Wolfram into the room, and let him experience the ‘Father h.e.l.l’.

“Since it’s come to this, I might as well try my luck. All right, I’m using hypnosis houjutsu to try and fight the spell!”

“Hypnosis houjutsu?”

Wolfram reacts to that last word. It seems to have some alleviating effect on his seasickness.

“I’ve been wondering about this since forever. You’re not a s.h.i.+nzoku or a human, so how did you learn houjutsu?”

The former Master Grantz narrows his blue eyes, his expression strange and asking, ‘why the heck are you asking?’

“It’s not something I can explain in a few words. I trained so hard to learn it, it almost made my chin split into a b.u.t.t-shape.”

“Your chin!? Weren’t you born with that b.u.t.t-shaped chin!?”

Urk… That’s why he can’t stand these greenhouse-bred pretty boys. Not only did he laugh out loud over such a cold joke, he even takes it seriously.

“If you or I were born with a b.u.t.t-shape down there, that would probably be a misunderstanding. It’s not like your brother was born frowning, was he?”

“No, he probably wasn’t.”

But a chin still isn’t quite the same as wrinkles.

“More importantly, are there babies with a b.u.t.t-shaped chin? Have you ever seen one?”

“Probably… not.”

“Exactly! Get this me~morized, a chin is just like abs, the more you trained them, the faster they split, and the more you get used to using them.”

“Get used to a b.u.t.t-shaped chin?”

Wolfram is reluctant, but he feels as though he learned something today, and so he nods. But he may have mistaken this place for some daddy parenting cla.s.s or something, believing in his heart that a father with a daughter can’t be a bad guy. If he’s not quickly awoken from his father mode and reverted to normal, he will surely be in danger.

But what they don’t know, is that their embarra.s.sing conversation has been broadcast live across the world by all the kotsuhizoku.

Meanwhile, in the Blood Pledge Castle, Gwendal, Anissina and Greta, the trio of large, medium and small, have connected the piece of ‘Happy-Happy Bone Puzzle’ into a huge soup spoon-shaped container, and are holding their breaths as they listen closely to the content coming across the intercom.

Though the content itself is nothing much to talk about.

“What do you think of this ‘Tingly-tingly YESYES Now Receiving Electric Waves’, abbreviated as ‘Tingly YES-kun’? With this, we can even live broadcast social meetings, duels to the death and so on through the bones, receiving any noise whatever it is. Mn--? Oh, dear.”

Anissina points her neatly-manicured nail towards ‘Tingly YES-kun’.

“Wolfram has been duped by the muscleman.”

The older brother holds his head with his long slender fingers, mumbling,

“Oh, little brother…”

Sitting on his lap, Greta tries her best to stretch her arms so she can pat Gwendal’s head.

“Good boy, good boy, Gwendal. Don’t cry—Greta knows, that no matter how you train, you can’t make your chin b.u.t.t-shaped, just like how there aren’t any natural-born Poison Ladies in the world.”

“Lady von Wincott may have been a natural-born Poison Lady.”

Anissina’s careless words excite the young girl who fell in love with the Poison Lady in no more than five seconds.

“Eh, who’s that? Can Greta be that person’s student!?”

“Greta, we can discuss this again when you reach your zodiac year.”

“Eh—”

Greta makes a noise of dissatisfaction. Because there are a total of 577 types of animals in the s.h.i.+n Makoku zodiac, so the chances of surviving to your next zodiac year aren’t that high.

“But Wolf’s simple and dumb-dumb part is where his beauty lies, y’know.”

“Oh, dear, Greta, if Wolfram heard you praise him like that, he would definitely jump with happiness. But I have to give it to His Majesty, scolding when someone has to be scolded, praising when praise is deserved. He taught you well.”

“Yuuri wasn’t the one who said that--!”

“Then who is it?”

“Gi—sela--!”

The dejected Gwendal makes an indescribable wail.

“Oh dear, that Sergeant who always picked on strong st.u.r.dy men for her pleasure, has finally set her targets on men younger than her? How scary, how exciting. Aha, aha, ahahaha!”

Ahh~ My little brother, I weep for you.

No matter which world it is, the older brothers are feeling frustrated.

At the end of the death row name list, there are indeed names that don’t sound like s.h.i.+nzoku.

Jason and Freddy.

But I just can’t understand the words that look like flying birds, even if I try touching the words as I read. When I see the last two lines of words, the choking urge to cry surges suddenly up my throat.

I’ve been looking for you, for so, so long.

The other three are all men who returned from overseas, now held in the facility nearest to the capital. Hazel… No, Venera seems to know who they are by name alone. She presses her fist to her forehead, her eyes tightly shut.

Even so, she’s extremely wary of rescuing them. By nightfall, she still hasn’t decided on whether or not to take the risk. Even if they are friends so close to her heart it hurts.

Venera’s argument is that ‘they have long been mentally prepared for this’. When they decided to abandon their home country, boarding the boats seeking for a new world, they already prepared themselves for the worst. Everyone knew the fate of those who fail, and the chances of success, before they left on the journey.

“The sad thing is, no one ever told Jason and Freddy these things.”

That’s right, those two just accepted help from a rookie like me, so they have no way of imagining what their future would be like.

“No one told them, ‘be mentally prepared’, because they have no idea at all what’s waiting for them. I made them believe that ‘as long as you return to the place you were born, you will have a happy future’, and then I just sent them back to Seisakoku. That’s basically a hoax, it’s no different from cheating them!”

“I understand what you’re trying to say, Your Majesty!”

“If so!”

“Even so, there’s no reason for us to make an exception this time.”

Hazel is always so calm, no matter what.

“d.a.m.n! c.r.a.p, I actually swore in front of a lady, I’m so sorry. d.a.m.n!”

I carefully put the drink they gave me back onto the ground, then leaving the room as I hammer the walls. After we were chased last time they have helped us, hidden us, eve fed us, and I repay them with such an att.i.tude. How unbelievably rude. The corridor I walk out into is lit everywhere, so I can somehow walk without needing a torch.

Josak and the other one… probably Conrad, are following me as well.

I walk down the opposite direction of the narrow path we came, and after a few minutes’ walk, the flames on the walls stop. I will never step into an area without torchlight, so that I don’t get lost in the darkness.

I stand on the borderline of the darkness and the human world, leading on the walls mixed with mud and rock. My right foot is in the darkness, but my left is in this world.

I don’t talk to anyone, my anxiety only evident in the sounds of my breathing. Josak speaks up nonchalantly.

“You’re definitely going to save them anyway, right?”

His voice is so calm, as though he’s just asking me ‘do you want to join the morning drills’.

“It’s only five people anyway, if we set up an ambush or something it might work—of course, if it was only two, it’ll be even easier.”

“But we…”

I don’t continue, looking at the two faces in the faint light. I can count you in this, right, Conrad? If my guess is right, and this is Saralegui’s plan, then logically speaking the Dai s.h.i.+maron government would order you to stop it too.

“There are just the three of us, though? And one of them is me. Be it my batting ability or fighting ability, they’re all zero… It’s tough for me to knock out even an inner-field ground ball. d.a.m.n—If I go for base, we might still be safe, though.”

In truth, it’ll be faster if I put my all into a dash.

“I can’t let Your Majesty walk into danger.”

Conrad says with a sigh. There’s even that ‘I just knew this would happen’ expression that I haven’t seen for so long on his face.

“But I don’t have the right to prevent you from going out there yourself… Regarding manpower, though, every country should have people who would do anything for money. As long as we use that properly, they may yet prove to be a useful a.s.set. Ah, I know, don’t worry.”

Seeing the two of us from the s.h.i.+n Makoku team with our ‘we’re broke’ prose, Lord Weller thumps his chest,

“I can make an official claim.”

“Dai s.h.i.+maron are so rich, aren’t they~~ Young Master!”

“That’s right, huh~~ Gurrier!”

Gurrier and I look at each other and joke.

“The problem now is the language.”

Even if my English is fluent enough, my Seisakoku language won’t do at all. In other words, it seems like my soul was never born as a s.h.i.+nzoku. On that note, though, I’m not sure if s.h.i.+nzoku exist on that reincarnation recycling list the mazoku are always going on about.

“Join!”

Suddenly someone speaks up, and when I turn around I see Mr Translator with his thick lenses stand up, his face red. The white moss-like beard is standing up on end, reacting to his agitation.

“Join. One, cousin.”

“One of them is your cousin? No wonder you were so concerned, Ajira-san… Oh, yeah, your parents were slaves as well, right?”

In that case we don’t have to worry about the language anymore. Although we do have two experts here, in terms of numbers, we are still at a horrible disadvantage. But I can’t just stand by and watch Freddy and Jason die because of that.

“Still, we must immediately stop the operation if it’s deemed impossible to succeed. I hope you can understand that.”

“Okay, but it will succeed.”

My old habit is resurfacing again, that sense of self-confidence bubbling up from goodness knows where. Josak puts his hands behind his head, watching us deal happily, and raising his head to look at the ceiling barely above his head—though of course there aren’t any stars there.

“Aaahh~~ I wonder, would they postpone the executions because of rain?”

If it were postponed due to rain, we would have time to practice our plans.

Unfortunately, the next day is sunny.

Even Ajira, the local, is rather impressed by the beautiful weather. There isn’t a cloud in sight, and the sun is hanging high in the cold sky, so bright it’s almost white. The wind that greets our cheeks may be bone-chillingly cold, but as winters go, the sunlight coming down is still rather warm. On that note, it’s still winter here in this country, and quite a while away from spring, it seems.

Standing in the middle of the capital, I can’t feel the difference in citizen cla.s.ses and the slavery system at all. All I see everywhere is beautiful streets and satisfied people. Everywhere, buildings of similar color and design, and people whose hair, eyes, and even most of their clothes are the same.

There are busy shops, old friends greeting each other with smiles, young couples leaning into each other, old couples helping each other out with the laundry, and children in the middle of happy families.

It’s all too perfect.

Everything I see is too perfect, making me worry if I’ve been duped. Maybe the Seisakoku slaves and their torment is all a lie, and the truth is exactly what I’m seeing now. Maybe this is a land of peace where everyone lives happily. The flood of gold washes over me, spinning my head around.

But that thought immediately disappears without a trace. Because a child tumbles out of an alley, b.u.mping into a beautifully-dressed woman’s foot. What happens next takes less than three minutes, but has nothing to do with any paradise.

The child in the tattered clothes darts back into the dark alleys.

He’s still bleeding.

Conrad, Josak and I all pray he can get away safely, apologizing to him profusely in our hearts, watching him leave wordlessly.

I’m obviously an outsider here, and to hide my hair and eyes, I wear a hat and lower my head, trying to blend into the crowd. In this land of nothing but white and gold, a foreigner stands out enough. If I make any rash movements, I’ll definitely get even more attention.

Only a few foreigners dress like this. I mean, I’m lucky that there are a few merchants who came here from Dejima on business, so I don’t stand out like a black chess piece in the white snow.

Regardless of the turbulence I feel inside, the street returns to normal nonchalantly. Maybe everyone’s used to this. It just goes to show that these things happen here all the time, and it’s only natural to them. Maybe I’m the only one who would get so wound up by a little thing like this until I’m holding my breath and my throat is dry.

“Don’t tell me that once it’s time, all these people will just crowd over to witness the execution… Where’s the location again?”

“In the central square, so they can make examples out of those few.”

Josak’s answer makes me tsk. If my mom were around, she would definitely scold me for being rude and flick my ear.

“In such an obvious place, too… That habit of yours is a bit too messed-up, Yels.h.i.+.”

And your name sounds so much like the European Union, too. Wait, that’s EU, right? Josak’s right cheek is twitching now, as though trying to hold back his laughter.

“Young Master, why are you saying that even now? When you were in Van dar Via yourself, you were the mastermind who waved Mörgif around in the middle of the public. Now that was a public execution, complete with evidence. And just like today, the convict back then was a kid. The audience loved it and kept cheering, and wasn’t there this gramps who got so excited he croaked? But that must have been because the Young Master totally lost it then, huh?”

“Is that so. G.o.d—That just proves that even if you give me a weapon, it’s no different from peeing at a cat’s ear!”

Putting it that way sounds like it might offend some animal rights’ groups. How should I put it otherwise, though? “No different from feeding a cat”?

“I think they also say ‘throwing a pig a ball’[1].”

But no matter how exaggerated I may act, only I know the coward that I truly am, a coward who can’t stand up to pressure, either. The truth is, I’m almost about overwhelmed by the unease and restlessness. I keep thinking, “What happens if we fail. No, this chances of this plan succeeding were never high. If we fail, will those two be executed in front of me? Can I just stand back and watch as Jason and Freddy are killed in front of me.

Although it sounds disgusting, if I don’t crack some jokes to distract myself, I would probably be spewing out my guts right now. Luckily, I didn’t eat breakfast, though we skipped it because we didn’t have enough supplies. Right now, I’m starting to lose track of what being ‘lucky’ means.

As for Lord Weller and Translator – Ajira, they stepped away for a while to delegate the tasks to the newcomers. Maybe out of fear that he would be admonished later, Josak grabs my arm under the borrowed cape. He applies more force into his fingers, so I can clearly feel the heat of his fingertips.

“Are you angry?”

His face is turned towards the fountain, and he randomly throws down this question. The central square, soon to be a makes.h.i.+ft execution site, is two streets to the east of the brick slab road. Since all the buildings are scattered around an accurate radius, it’s very easy to find our way.

“What would I be angry about? Why are you suddenly so serious, Gurrier?”

“Are you angry about what I did back then?”

“I don’t have a reason to be mad at you, do I? You’re always helping me out.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Maybe the designated time has come, because water starts spurting out of the tall stone pillars everywhere. The sun s.h.i.+nes through, throwing little rainbows around. The girl who waited for ages in front of the fountain claps happily at the colorful images. I mumble, “And soon you’ll be watching people die.” How I hope your parents are decent people, who would come and take you home before the execution.

The spy stares at the spray of water everywhere, continuing after a while,

“I meant what happened in Van dar Via, my att.i.tude and actions.”

“Oh~~ You were pretty cold and sharp in the beginning, huh.”

It feels as though that was years ago, but in truth not that much time has pa.s.sed. If I count the Earth time, it’s probably only around half a year. From that moment onwards, we started some conflicts with s.h.i.+maron, and our journey around the world.

“But that couldn’t have been helped, either, since I wasn’t trusted, was I. After all, a brat just shows up and says, ‘I’m the king—‘, of course no one would believe that immediately.”

Actually the situation hasn’t changed much to this day. I always feel guilty for not being the talent they wanted, and maybe he caught on that guilt, because he continues stiffly,

“But still, that wasn’t the way to treat a king. There’s something you might not know—Actually I can read s.h.i.+maron words, and I knew all too well what kind of event that would be. But I still forced Your Majesty into the gladiator ring, so how is that any different from lying to you?”

So that’s it! Well, I completely, utterly didn’t notice that at all, but it’s embarra.s.sing if he knew that, so I just reply with a nod.

“That’s more than enough to get me beheaded, it’s just that mazoku sentences don’t have beheading as an option. Whenever I think about that now, I feel so ashamed it’s physically uncomfortable. I’m really… really very sorry.”

“When it comes to embarra.s.sment, let’s call it a draw.”

The fountain show ends after showing the people a temporary illusion. Now there’s only a small steady trickle of water from the stone pillars, and the girl takes her mother’s hand, walking towards the east of the road. Sigh~~ They went there after all.

“Anyway, that was my first impression.”

The crowd starts slowly moving to the east.

“But now I rely on you a lot, you know? Especially this mission this time, I’ve been relying on you since we were in Shou s.h.i.+maron.”

Even though we’re aware that the people are moving, we’re still standing in front of the fountain.

“And besides, since it’s come to this, there’s no reason for you to explain all this to me. In fact, your confession is kinda throwing me off-guard. Ah, could it be that you’re saying considerate things to comfort me and lessen my worries?”

Thanks so much, Gurrier. I punch his buff biceps. Even through the clothing, they have an enviable elasticity, the sound made by a punch rich and melodious.

Yup, even his body is full marks.

“That thing that my pops is always worried about, something like an ‘Employee Grading Chart’, if I was in charge of grading you, you would get A for everything. So there’s no need to suddenly feel guilty for something in the past, kay? Ah, or were you scolded by Gwendal? If you were, I can help you explain.”

“No, of course not~~ That person is an excellent boss, and never says anything to make me feel dejected.”

“Or did Conrad…?”

“That traitor has no right to judge me. Ah, geez~~ Young Master, don’t look so torn, or else Gurrier will be thrown off-guard too.”

Normally he can adopt that onee-san tone naturally, but today his voice is full of self-condescension, and it’s so rare to see him look shy. With the way the situation is spiraling, maybe a thunderstorm will start soon?

“I just wanted to apologize to you, and I thought that I just had to tell it to your face.”

Josak looks really happy saying that, his gaze moving from the fountain to me.

“How wonderful, now I feel much more at ease.”

“What do you mean by at ease, Josak?”

That orange fringe and half-hidden blue eyes peep out from underneath the grey hood. Even if I tell myself it’s impossible, I still ask, slightly uneasily,

“You wouldn’t be… going anywhere, would you?”

“Going where? I always have a lot of missions overseas, so I can’t always be by your side.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

I’m terrified that I may jinx things, so I don’t dare continue. If he were to disappear from my sight too, I really wouldn’t know who to call out to anymore.

“…I didn’t mean… It’s nothing…”

I rub my eyes with my fist.

“It’s nothing.”

“Young Master is so weird too—”

Josak releases my hand, chuckling with his back towards me. He’s really no different from usual, as cheerful as always, and even complaining, “If swords weren’t carried by your waist and instead strapped onto your back, it gets really hard to pull them out~~”

The music to announce the time starts up, and the people who were leisurely strolling starts striding towards the east in unison. Their destination is the square two streets away. There’s a special event to be held today, and no matter what it can’t be missed—The way the s.h.i.+nzoku citizens whisper is imprinted clearly into my mind.

“You brought that thing, right?”

I nod in lieu of a reply to Josak’s question, and sort of confirm whether the thing is on me, my sweat hands curling into fists. There’s the feeling of old paper and packets of powder between my fingers.

I will save you two.

I lower my voice, muttering to myself almost inaudibly.

I will definitely save you two.