Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 2: The Red Devil's Curiosity

For the first time in his life he was free. Free to do as he like, free to pursue his curiosity of the natural world, no more days of being stuck in an office being told what needed to be done and documents needed to be gone over. Koushiro was finally happy, he almost thanked the man who had defeated him. The same man who had given him freedom to do as he liked on the ship, he had free access to almost any cabin and any where he fancied to go. He had taken this order to heart, spending numerous hours in the ship's small cozy library reading books that peaked his interest.

Koushiro never wanted the title of Manchester, it had been given to him because he was from the only noble family in Manchester that people trusted. It all came from the ordeal which he had suffered through when he was a little child, when citizens of Manchester and its noble families had decided to stage a coup against the old Manchester house. His family somehow was voted into the position of the new Manchester house, of course he had soon learned it only for show and the real power lied with noble houses that controlled the city from its undergrounds. He never really understood why people had given him the name, the Red Devil. He wasn't a warrior like most people though, sure he was excellent at planning and creating strategic tactics but he was never the one who opted to fight hand to hand. Sure MegaKabuterimon was red-ish and the horns were devil like, but that still didn't convince Koushiro. It was simply a name that appeared out of no where and some how stuck with him.

He was currently in the library with Takato, a young orphan boy near the age of Davis who had been with Koushiro since his appoint as Lord Manchester. Now that Koushiro thought about it, Takato was very similar to Davis, even though the two would never admit it, both were very rash, both wore their hearts on their sleeves, but Takato was not nearly as hot headed as Davis.

Koushiro remembered that just yesterday, Davis had entered their cabins in a fury; although the ship was quite large, enough to fit five heavy-weight Digimon, due to the large amount of prisoners and colonialist, Koushiro ended up bunking with three others, two of which were Takato and Davis. Davis had become quite a celebrity on the ship, girls traveling with their parents to the colony were all falling for Davis's flurtious nature. Koushiro laughed at this, he did wish that the young Lord of Liverpool would maybe find himself a young lady he could later settle with. Koushiro knew that there was very little chance they would ever return to the Empire, they had lost their lordship the moment they were captured and they were merely slaves owned by the captain now.

Speaking of the captain, Koushiro was taken back to the personality of the Terror of Death. At first Koushiro expected him to be ruthless similar to how he was when their Digimon had engaged in battle but that was not the case. He was very lax on how he ran the ship and had been trying to befriend Koushiro, although at first Koushiro himself thought the captain was only trying to find secretes about the Empire. The captain also seem apologetic at times about the many soldiers he had killed. Koushiro also noticed how the captain would almost become sick whenever the subject was brought to light as if any thoughts of killing a man made him sick to his stomach.

Koushiro was also very curious as to how the captain had the power to change his Digimon from rookie to mega. He remembered one of their conversations and Taichi had merely looked at him as if it were normal to, as Taichi called it, digivolve their Digimon. Koushiro had more then once seen the captain examining one of his medals, but this medal seemed thicker than most and he could of swore it gave off a orange light. The captain always kept it tied to his belt and Koushiro concluded it had something to do with this process of digivolving.

As if he had read Koushiro's mind, the door to the little nook of a library opened and in popped Taichi.

"Yo, Koushiro! You and Takato hear find anything interesting today?" Koushiro noted the lay backness of the captain, addressing them as if they had known each other their entire life.

"No sir, nothing interesting enough to worn further investigation." Koushiro replied not looking away from his book, too afraid to meet Taichi's eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Taichi and not sir. It'll be awkward since I'm appointing you my second in command when arrive in South Wales." Koushiro was utterly speechless at what he hear.

"Sir! Please do not make a fool out of me. An enemy cannot become your second in command, surely you jest."

"TAI-CHI!" He replied pointing to himself, "Anyways, I'll be the guy in charge at the colony, so who saids I can't make you second in command? If you don't want it, I can always give it to Davis or even Takato here."

Still unsure of what to say, Koushiro kept on looking Taichi blankly. He did not fully trust the new governor but if it meant a moment of freedom, then he would gladly take the post.

"Good, then it's agreed." A smiling Taichi left Koushiro still recovering from the shock.

O O O

December 12th, Year 1758 of our Lord Yggdrasil.
Dear Alice de Haute Normandie,

Sister I must tell you not to worry for my sake, the Nijeris would never dare to attack. The British have already sent their governor's daughter to deal with the tusk trade. The Empire is quite barbaric themselves to send a lady of virtue to deal with such beasts. However I must say, Ruki is quite the soldier even for a lady. I've met her numerous times when I've been invited to their monthly gatherings. She is truly fearsome, I've seen on many occasions where she would make those who wished to court her regret ever being male. I doubt many of them will ever have heirs.

Speaking of our cousin Taichi, his ship has been spotted in port and I will likely visit him very shortly. Rumour has been spreading that our dear cousin has already wed but I'm sure you would have mentioned this in your letter. Unless this was too much of a shock to you and you did not want to believe your beloved Taichi has already wed. If you were right in your last letter, I fear it is the run away wife of his Majesty. I would not dare go around a speak of such truths though and I warn you to do the same, the King has little influence in South Wales and if he were to send an entire army to bring back his wife to be, it would surely spark another war with the Empire.

As to your questions about the Nijeris, from stories I have heard around the plantation, they are a truly fearsome people. It is true they worship their Digimon as spirits of their ancestors. I heard they do not even have a summoning ceremony, rather they harvest eggs of wild and tamed Digimon alike. Sometimes they will even tame wild Digimon and tell them stories of their ancestor's past life, make even wild Digimon think they were once human. It is truly frightening prospect knowing such savages have such power over Digimon. One fantastical tale came from Ruki's father, he's heard stories from Araq traders thay've seen the Nijeris magically transforming their Digimon into ultimate, even mega level Digimon. I do hope these are just fairy tails and I do not believe Nijeris have such power over us civilized people.

Please wish father and mother a happy Christmas. I hope by the time this letter reaches you, you have all finally returned to Dieppe Manor. I hope to hear from you soon dear sister and please do not linger on our cousin too long, I do not want your heart broken.

With Love,
Catherine de Haute Normandie