Imagine my relief that I finally got to eat so beautifully cooked dishes. At this point, I didn’t care if the at ca from a monster, as long as it was presentable and delicious! And it was! Ah, the food the rich get to eat, truly exquisite. The crew finally got to eat sothing delicious.
And the drinks… Well, apparently, it was juice from so kind of cactus or sothing. It was not the liquor kind, though, which was nice. I don’t drink — never again. That shit takes the sanity out of . Anyway, the juice was decent. However, I preferred it cold. Any refreshnt is good when it’s cold. So I poured so magic ice into our drinks. Which was a surprise to both Miyako and Satomi. Which was unsurprising, as it would seem it never snowed here on this archipelago.
The cold really made the refreshnts more delicious.
I took my sweet ti to enjoy the decent food I finally had after so ti. Until so ti later, the person who Miyako had been waiting for had arrived. It would seem they waited until all of us were done eating, which was good — it would be rude otherwise and I would have crashed out, kidding. I stood at a corner, by the window, and leaned on the wall. The rest of the gang spread out all over the room, setting up a periter, but Miyako and Satomi remained sitting at the center to et the visitors.
And then they ca in, n wearing so formal clothing unique to Nishinoa. They had swords at their waists. In front of them, leading the way, was a muscular and tall man with short, dark hair. He glanced around, his eyes sharp and scrutinizing, and his eyes t mine. His gaze lingered for a mont before a curious look montarily appeared on his face, then he turned to Miyako.
He and his n bowed deeply. “Lady Miyako, Naval Commander Yasuteru Nagao, at your service. It is great to see you well.”
I observed Miyako, she had a blank expression on her face. Which almost seed familiar to .
“Commander, my thanks for eting up with despite my unannounced visit.”
“Please think nothing of it. But I do wonder what you are doing here. What happened to your escorts and ship?”
Miyako leaned back in her seat. “We fell victim to an enemy sche.”
“Sche?”
“My convoy was ambushed, and my escorts all perished, except Satomi. We managed to escape and reach Hokunoa’s capital city to join the assembly of lords.”
“They tried to assassinate you?” His eyes widened. “How despicable of them! Who did it? Is it Hokunoa? Those damned cretins have been piling up their forces for a while now.”
“It’s more complicated than that. Sothing more despicable is behind it. But worry not, I have done so work that will give us ti.”
“What do you an?”
“Before that… You’ve been working for us for a long ti now, right?”
The commander was puzzled. “... Basically my whole life.”
“How did you begin?”
“... I began as a soldier. But before that, I was a monster hunter.”
“You’ve been loyal to us, to the island, and to its people.”
“I am.”
“Can you say the sa to the people around you? Those who work closely with you.”
“I don’t understand. Of course I do.”
Miyako leaned forward and picked up the dagger that had been on the table this whole ti. “I want to do a little test.”
“A test?”
Miyako took a deep breath and used the blade to make a small cut on her finger. It was the blood art she knew. During our travels, she had been practicing such magic to improve. And we even asked Taneva about it. However, he never knew that such an art even existed in the first place. Or, to be precise, humans that could use their blood to enhance their weapons. Which was a little disappointing, it would have been nice if he knew about it and taught Miyako how to properly use it. If he didn’t know about it, just how much of a secret was this art?
That being said, Miyako, including Satomi, kept practicing the art. Taneva gave so insights to help, of course. As it shouldn’t be that too different from the holy magic he’d been using. Miyako had yet to master it, though, and she was going to use it here. For the simple reason of exposing demons that may be lurking around, hidden in plain sight.
You didn’t have to master the blood art to expose them. One cut from a holy blade will be enough to expose them, and it would be pretty obvious. There was even a chance that a disguised demon would outright refuse to be tested.
Now the concern was after exposing the demon. The demon would certainly fight if his identity were exposed. That was precisely why we were here. Taneva and I could easily take down an imp. Hartwin and Velar were still works in progress in that regard.
Miyako gently wiped the blood on her blade.
The commander and his n were in shock upon seeing what she did. Their lady just cut herself after all. “L-Lady Miyako, what are you doing?!”
Miyako looked down and began muttering the prayer. “I pray for your blessing, a drop of your divine blood. I pray you grace us with your compassion… May your presence protect , may your touch drive away evil. Oh goddess of beginnings and providence, may your divinity shine on , and I pray you lend your strength. May your blood bless mine and sharpen my blade. Glory and honor to you, an.”
Unlike before, the glowing blood on her blade started shifting, gradually forming into vein-like formations, wrapping around the sharp edges. Reminiscent of my own blood weapon enhancent magic. Miyako used my innate ability as a reference. However, she was still slow in doing it.
“L-Lady Miyako, what is that?” the commander asked warily.
With the spell done, Miyako stood up. “Did you know, commander, there are monsters lurking among us, taking human forms.”
“What?”
“They’re everywhere and anywhere, manipulating everything behind the scenes. They could very well be within our forces. That, I absolutely cannot allow.” She slowly approached the commander. “I would like to make sure you are not one of them.”
The commander and his close confidants were confused.
“What manner of monsters?” he asked.
“Demons. And there is a way to expose them.” She pointed her blade. “Hold out your hands. Just a little cut will be enough.”
The n traded glances, confused and hesitant. However, the commander held out his hand towards Miyako. And thus, Miyako made a small cut on his palm. Blood ca out of the wound, and yet that was all. The commander was human.
“Is that all?” the commander asked.
“Yes.” She turned to the other two confidants. “Your turn.”
“Is this necessary, Lady Miyako?” one confidant asked.
“Yes. Demons are incredibly weak to holy magic. Wounding them will expose their true nature.”
“Holy magic?” the commander muttered, surprised to hear such a type of magic.
“Now then, your hands,” Miyako frowned, pointing a stern gaze at the two.
“Do it, you two,” ordered the commander. “Do as she says.”
And thus, the two slowly held out their hands. Miyako swiftly cut their palms. And to her relief, there was no strange reaction to the wounds. She let out a sigh.
“Good. None of you are demons.”
“... Are demons truly among us?” the commander asked.
“Yes.” Miyako returned to her seat and put down the blade. “I fought a demon back on Hokunoa. He was a bandit leader, pretending to be human. He was such a strong foe that even I and Satomi could never hope to defeat him.”
“And yet you survived.”
“Thanks to a friend.” She glanced at , and the soldiers followed her gaze.
I smiled. Yeah, there’s an extrely beautiful girl just standing here in the corner. So silent, enigmatic, full of mystique. Who could this person be that their Lady Miyako seed to respect?
“Without holy magic, there’s no hope of defeating a demon,” Miyako added. “And the bandit leader we fought was only a low-ranking imp. I dread to think what a higher demon would be like.”
“... Are they more of a threat than the other islands?” the commander inquired.
“They are also part of it. There is, I suspect, a demon working closely with the lord of Tobunoa. And the lord does not seem to even know it. It’s because of this demon, and Tobunoa, that everything is a ss right now.”
The commander was astonished. “A demon is manipulating Tobunoa? Are demons so close to those in command? Then what about ours?”
“That’s what I’m planning on figuring out. From what I could guess, these demons are not as coordinated as we’d think they are. But let’s set that aside for now, as there’s another important matter you need to know.”
“More important than demons?”
Miyako briefly sighed. “... Hokunoa may be on the brink of civil war, or it is already in one.”
The n glanced at each other, surprised to hear such a thing. They have never even heard of any signs of such civil war, no prior signs of it. Well, that was because it was sudden. “How…? What happened?”
“... Both their lord and his son are dead.”
The n’s eyes widened in shock.
“How the hel — what happened? Both of them just died?”
“... The lord’s son fell to Tobunoa’s sches… And Hokunoa’s lord was assassinated. Without an heir, the clans will fight against one another to beco lord. Therefore, we don’t have to expect an invasion from them so soon.”
“... They’re in disarray… This could be a chance for us to erase the threat once and for all.”
Miyako didn’t answer that remark. “I would prefer that we clean ourselves up first. With this newfound imminent threat among us, it is my priority to handle it. This of course includes cleaning up the corruption on our island.”
“Corruption?”
“We used the smugglers’ services to reach Nishinoa. And I discovered a few things. But most I’m irritated by is that the navy is involved.”
“... I don’t understand.”
“Commander, will you swear you are not involved in allowing these criminals to smuggle their illegal and horrid products? Including slaves?”
“What…? I swear I’m not involved in any of that.”
“... Then, before my departure from this city, I task you with investigating this corruption, such as finding the officials being paid by criminals to cooperate with them.”
“? You want to investigate the navy?”
“It is your army. It is your responsibility to clean it up. I expect results. Actual discoveries. If you find none, you will be put into question.”
“What…?! But my lady, there’s no certainty that there’s even corruption among my forces.”
“There is. So do a good job, commander. I’ll give you the information I have.”
The commander pursed his lips. That would certainly put a lot of pressure on him. If he couldn’t find the real corruption, he would be suspected himself. Because it would be so strange that no corruption was found despite Miyako herself discovering it while in the smugglers’ care. If none was found, then soone was protecting them. And this commander would be among the top suspects.
The commander nodded. “Very well, Lady Miyako.”
Then after so ti of talking, the commander and his n left. Once the door closed, Miyako let out a long tired sigh. The tough exterior she was showing had finally diminished.
“I’m glad that’s over…” she muttered.
“Good job,” I said as I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“It is a bit cruel though, putting that weight on him and giving him a threat.”
“That’s fine. At least he’ll take it seriously. Of course, you have to be careful of false accusations. Pressuring has its good and bad sides.”
She lowered her head. “Y-Yeah…”
It would seem she was learning from . I didn’t mind. But I was not exactly a good role model.
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