kscans

Chapter 271 - Gekokujo

On the morning of the Suzaku subjugation, Hayato saw everyone, including Simon, off.

He had prepared more than enough equipment and items, so there was no way they would lose. Barring any major irregularities, they should be back by noon. Hayato thought this as he watched them go.

And when that was over, the subjugation of Genbu in Ryugu awaited.

To prepare for that, he planned to go mining in Amano-Iwato again. After getting everything ready, he called out to Diite and Maris, who were in the great hall.

"Shall we head to Amano-Iwato soon?"

Hayato said this to Diite and Maris, but for some reason, both of them were frowning and looking outside the mansion.

"What’s wrong?"

"It seems we’ve been surrounded, Hayato-kun."

"What? Surrounded?"

Maris put a hand to her forehead and made a gesture as if looking into the distance.

"I wonder if they were waiting for everyone to leave? Oh, maybe they were waiting until they used the transfer device for Takamagahara?"

"Huh? What are you two talking about?"

"Hayato-kun, look outside carefully. It seems samurai have surrounded this mansion. It appears they found out you have the cursed blade fragments."

Hayato hurriedly looked outside the mansion.

The garden was elegantly designed, but the problem was what lay beyond it.

The mansion itself was enclosed by fences made of woven bamboo and hedges, but these fences were not very high. On the other side of them, people in samurai armor had surrounded the residence.

And it seemed they had spotted Hayato from their side, as there was some kind of movement.

After that, a lighthearted voice, unsuited to the tense atmosphere, came from the entrance. "Pardon the intrusion!" It was clearly Benitsuru.

Hayato could hear the sound of someone clattering down the hallway. Then, the fusuma of the great hall slid open with force.

There stood Benitsuru, dressed in a patterned kimono, and two armored warriors. For some reason, Benitsuru had a wide grin on her face, but the armored warriors’ mouths were hidden, making their expressions unclear. They certainly weren't smiling, though.

"Hayacchi, morning!"

"…Morning, Benitsuru-san. What’s all this? It’s not a welcome party, is it?"

"I like that about you, Hayacchi. Which makes this a total bummer. I like you, Hayacchi, but I can’t exactly approve of you taking the Eastern Country’s treasure."

"Treasure?"

Hayato played dumb for the time being. It was possible this had nothing to do with the cursed blade fragments. He wanted to gather information before saying anything unnecessary.

"Don’t play dumb. You got the cursed blade fragments, didn’t you? I heard it from my Ten Swords and ninjas. Care to explain yourself?"

"Well, about that—"

"And trying to overthrow me by seducing Simon, isn’t that a little too wild? As the princess, I can’t overlook that. The princess is super mad."

"What? What’s that about?"

"Gekokujo itself is fine. It’s not a bad thing for the strong to rise to the top. But seducing Simon and starting a rebellion, that’s seriously not cool."

"Hold on a second. Benitsuru-san, you’ve got something wrong. I admit it was bad of me to keep quiet about the cursed blade fragments, but I’m not thinking about gekokujo or rebellion."

"Huh? Then why didn’t you say you got the cursed blade fragments?"

"I heard from Simon that these are materials for making a legendary sword, right? It seems there was talk of having me make it, but he was just worried that if I learned the manufacturing method, I might not be able to leave this country."

"Oh, there was talk like that. Yeah, it’s true that if I taught you the manufacturing method, I might not let you leave this country. It would be a problem if you started mass-producing legendary swords, after all."

(Did she understand…?)

"Princess, you must not be deceived. These people have been suspicious from the very beginning. They spoke of wanting to go to sacred places in our country like Takamagahara and Ryugu, and it is unclear what they are doing there. It would be best to lock them up until their innocence can be proven."

"Hmm? Hmmmm? Now that you say that… is that so?"

At the words of the armored warrior beside her, Benitsuru crossed her arms and fell into thought.

"It seems Benitsuru-kun has been fed all sorts of things by that armored warrior. I can’t see his face, but he’s probably one of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords. For all we know, he might be the one plotting a gekokujo or rebellion," Diite whispered to Hayato.

Hayato whispered back in a similar low voice.

"Then what should we do? There’s no point in fighting here. Would it be better to let ourselves be locked up and wait for everyone to return?"

"No, that won't do. I think there’s a reason that armored warrior is going so far as to feed Benitsuru-kun false information to secure you, Hayato-kun."

"I see. Then we have no choice but to escape."

"I recommend the west port. I have a feeling something interesting is about to happen there."

"Something interesting?"

"That’s a surprise for when you get there."

Hayato thought there was no guarantee they wouldn’t be caught if they went to the west port, but it was also around the time the ship from the Royal Capital was due to arrive. Perhaps the plan was to escape on that. He decided to trust Diite.

However, to do that, they had to break through Benitsuru, the two armored warriors in front of them, and the group of samurai surrounding the mansion. Benitsuru aside, having two of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords, who were on par with Simon, was a problem.

Diite had magic, but Maris didn’t have Lancelot nearby. If the opponents were as strong as Simon, it would be tough to win.

Just as he was wondering what to do, Diite whispered to Maris.

"Maris-kun, could you ask Sieg-kun to do that thing? Sieg-kun became the boss here, didn’t he?"

"You know a lot, don’t you? I’ll ask him through voice chat. Lancelot and Max are outside, but I’ll tell them to head to the west port. The people outside have bows, so it’s dangerous to fly from here."

"That’s right. Once we’re outside this mansion, we should be able to run to the port. Hayato-kun, will your legs be alright?"

"It’s just that I can’t move suddenly. As long as I know I have to run from the start, I’ll be fine. And recently, I’ve been able to run suddenly in the Necropolis, so maybe it’s been good rehabilitation."

"Alright, I’m asking Sieg now, so we’ll run to the port with his signal. Please match our timing. And please get your shoes ready."

"That’s fine, but what is Sieg going to do?"

Just as Hayato said that, Benitsuru clapped her hands together.

"Yup! I don’t get it, so let’s lock you up! I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself when Simon gets here, so just let yourself be caught for a bit, Hayacchi. Don’t worry, I’ll put you in a really nice cell."

"A nice cell sounds like a contradiction."

"I mean, I’ll put you in a good cell. What’s that sound?"

A faint noise had been audible for a little while, but it was gradually growing louder and approaching the room.

And in the next moment, a massive number of cats, led by Sieg, burst through the fusuma.

(A Cat Stampede!)

"Huh? No way, is this heaven? Fugya!"

Benitsuru said this as she and the armored warriors were swept up in the cats’ stampede.

The Cat Stampede dealt almost no damage, but its momentum sent Benitsuru and her companions flying.

"Now, let’s escape while we can! This stampede will take us all the way to the west port! There will be second and third waves, so let’s hurry!"

"Is Sieg secretly the strongest?"

Hayato and the others started running, following behind the stampede instigated by Sieg.

The cats stampeded through the capital city of Azuma toward the west port.

Hayato, Diite, and Maris ran along behind them.

The group of samurai who had been outside the mansion were also sent flying by the Cat Stampede, but they quickly recovered and gave chase.

However, those pursuing samurai were also blown away by another Cat Stampede. It was a number so large you could say without exaggeration that every stray cat in Azuma was participating.

(I feel like this alone could defeat any enemy… No, it deals almost no damage. It works against humans, but it’s probably useless against monsters.)

Hayato thought this as he ran behind the cats.

And a few minutes later, they arrived at the west port.

There was nothing special at the port, just a small ship visible on the western sea. It would probably take another ten minutes or so to get here.

"Diite-chan, we made it here, but what do we do now?"

"We have no choice but to wait for that ship. Our trump card is on that ship."

"Trump card? But don’t you think Sieg’s stampede could beat Benitsuru-san and the others?"

"It worked just now because we caught them by surprise, but it won’t work a second time. See, she’s already here. Let’s try to buy time by talking until that ship arrives. And let's try not to get Benitsuru-kun serious."

"Huh? What do you mean—"

"I didn’t think you’d use a trick like that to escape. But could you do that again for me personally sometime? That’s worth dying for!"

Just as Diite said, Benitsuru had arrived at the port before they knew it. And she was alone. The two armored warriors from before were gone, leaving only Benitsuru.

"Sieg!"

Maris called out to Sieg, and once again, a large number of cats charged.

"I’d love to, but some other time!"

As Benitsuru said that, Sieg and the other cats froze as if petrified.

Hayato and Maris were stunned.

"Is that… the Intimidation skill?"

The Intimidation skill, which repels weaker monsters. Benitsuru had used it.

All the cats except Sieg had already lost their will to fight and were showing their bellies. A pose of submission. In other words, the cats had acknowledged Benitsuru as their superior. They wouldn't move now, even if Sieg commanded them.

"Benitsuru-kun is a master of the Azuma-ryu sword style. In reality and in the virtual world," Diite whispered to Hayato.

"Does that mean she’s strong?"

"It doesn't ‘mean’ she’s strong. She is strong. She’s even the master of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords, who are just samurai fanatics."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. In fact, we were torn between making her or Lunaria-kun the Demon Lord."

A Demon Lord candidate, Hayato thought, as Benitsuru walked over as if nothing had happened.

"Hayacchi and friends, since you’re running away, does that mean you’re plotting a gekokujo? If Simon is strong, it’s fine for him to stand on top, but isn’t that underestimating the princess a little too much? Oh, or were you planning to have Simon equip the legendary sword?"

"Like I said before, we’re not plotting a gekokujo. Simon was just worried about me. It’s just a small misunderstanding."

"Then you should have just waited for Simon to come back."

"I trust you, Benitsuru-san, but I don’t trust the other members of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords. I just thought it would be dangerous if we got caught."

Benitsuru stopped walking at those words, crossed her arms, and started groaning, "Hmmmm."

"I don’t really get it, so could you just come back to the mansion for now?"

"What? No, that’s—"

"It’ll be a problem if you escape on that ship with the cursed blade fragments. If you come back to the mansion, I’ll believe that you’re not conspiring with Simon."

Hayato was wondering what to do, but Benitsuru spoke before he could answer.

"Oh, the ship’s here, so I’ll just defeat you first. You can resurrect at the mansion. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt."

Just as Benitsuru said that, she appeared in front of Hayato in an instant.

(Shukuchi!)

It wasn't high-speed movement, but the instant teleportation of Shukuchi. By the time Hayato realized it, Benitsuru already had a sword in her hand.

And with a single flash… she did not strike.

A high-pitched sound echoed around them, and Benitsuru’s sword never reached Hayato.

"I don’t really know what’s going on, but it looked dangerous, so I protected you. You may praise me."

Hayato looked to his side where the voice came from and saw a silver-haired woman in crimson armor standing there.

"Lunaria-san!"

"You forgot ‘Demon Lord.’ Redo it. For example, you should say something like, ‘All hail the great Demon Lord Lunaria-sama.’ Or you can offer me a Super Demon Lord Eclair later. In fact, that is recommended."

The perfect and complete Demon Lord, not a mere candidate, had blocked the attack meant for Hayato.