Il Cielo dei Tre Regni
by Lunar Wave
Disclaimer: This story borrows the setting and characters of the Koihime†Musou series and borrows multiple elements from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I own neither series as they both belong to their respective owners. Also, considering Koihime†Musou could be considered a fanfic of the Three Kingdoms, I'd like to say I don't own anything related to the stories of the Three Kingdoms.
-()-
The Lord's Cousins and the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters
-()-
"… WHERE ARE YOU, RYOFU?!"
"Kayuu-sama, please, calm down!"
"HOW DARE SHE!? HOW DARE SHE HIDE FROM ME AFTER DELIBERATELY DRAWING ME AWAY FROM THE FRONTLINES? WHERE IS SHE?"
"We are working on it, ma'am!"
"An army needs food! Where is she getting her supplies?"
"… Stolen from army warehouses."
"… DAMMIT!"
By this point in time, all soldiers that had fled from the grueling campaign in Joshuu had either deserted completely or returned in disgrace. Enshou had immediately ordered them to join the frontlines against Sousou, while she had her more elite troops safeguarding the border with Seishuu. There are around two hundred thousand soldiers, give or take a few thousands, but even with that force, they still can't find Ryofu.
"There hasn't been a report of raids on our warehouses since a week ago… maybe Ryofu fled?"
"So all it was was an elaborate distraction? Who are you kidding!? That Ryofu? The strongest warrior of the empire, flee like a coward?" Kayuu growled.
"R-remember! Ryuubi's army is apparently rather pacifistic in nature? And Ryofu's raids didn't harm any civilians. Maybe?"
"… If Ryofu has been tainted by the cowardice of the Ryuubi Army…" Kayuu bit her lips. "… Fine. Let's march back south. Bunshuu should already be there, right?"
"I believe she has joined the frontlines, yes."
"Then I'll head out."
Kayuu replied. However, mark her words: she was not happy about it.
-()-
"… Ren-san did something bold." Shuri laughed a bit hollowly.
"What did she do?" Touka asked.
"… Here." Shuri passed the note to Touka.
Touka's eyes scanned through the page before exclaiming: "… Wh-wh-what!?" Touka blinked, as she read all of it. She then looked around and instantly grabbed the arm of the first person she laid her eyes on (that wasn't Shuri), "Aisha-chan, look!"
Aisha, for her part, looked unfazed, although she was rather interested. She moved to look at the message as well, before… her eyes widened and her mouth was left agape. After a bit, she closed it with a sigh, "… Well now…" Aisha didn't know if she should be shocked, annoyed, worried, or relieved. It feels as though her mind is cycling through all at once.
"… This… this should speed up our timetable." Shuri's eyes gleamed.
"I'll tell Pairen-chan about it!" Touka stood up.
"Touka-sama, please contain yourself!" Shuri said, "If this information is leaked, it'll ruin everything!"
"B-but…"
"I can simply call her here, Touka-sama."
"… Ah, right. Thank you, Mifa."
"My pleasure to serve."
"Still, what should we do?" Touka asked.
"… Accelerate negotiations with Seishuu. We need soldiers ready to march into Keishuu, and we need them as soon as we can." Shuri nodded.
"Aren't they still holding out for supplies?" Aish frowned.
"Have you forgotten what we decided when we do give aid?" Shuri smiled, "Still, it'll take a bit for us to gather a large enough army."
"Right." Aisha nodded, "We did send home a large portion of our non-career soldiers…" Specifically, the part-time soldiers whose main jobs are tending the fields to the north of Kahi. They were sent back to help with the revitalization of the northern fields. While it is guaranteed that the north will have a bad harvest, that doesn't mean that the harvest itself is not salvageable. They, of course, sent Suu to help with that process, along with enough soldiers as needed.
"We'll make do with what we have," Shuri replied. "Even if the northern non-career soldiers returned to their fields, the southern ones and the actual career soldiers are still enough."
"I admit it'll take a bit of extra time to call them here, but is that wise?"
"With the board set for us by Ren-san? An imposing enough presence is all we'll need."
-()-
"… Hard to believe it's been two months." Kazuto hummed, "It felt like so much yet so little has happened since we came here."
"I think that day of you playing the zither on top of the guard tower will forever be memorialized as the day the Heavenly Messenger fell." The younger replied
"And climbed back up. And fell again." The elder hummed.
"And again, and again, and again," Kazuto finished wistfully. "Still, are you two sure you want to be with me for this?"
Soujin Shikou and Soujun Shiwa looked at each other.
"Karin-sama said that we have to keep you company to prevent a similar incident from happening." Soujun replied with a wince.
"I suppose more than a few civilians found the situation more scary than amusing, I suppose." Kazuto winced. "Still, Reborn generally stops caring about my reputation once he starts training, so I just let things like that go…"
Soujun shook her head without saying a thing. But…
"I thought it was pretty cool." Soujin's thoughtless words were said out loud. Soujun grimaced, knowing that this was pretty much the general belief of the populace when it comes to the Heavenly Messenger now. Such an eye-catching method of training to play the zither… not to mention his paintings and calligraphy, which were also relatively public affairs, most people found themselves familiar with Kazuto, and in turn, have become significantly more aware that he's also the one in charge of the city security. Most civilians would've been happy to just label Sousou as the one in charge as she was the top brass. But now that they can pin a face and something that makes that person memorable, to a name, people are now attributing the current security of the city to him, rather than Sousou.
And frankly, the Hongou Squad actually did improve on the safety of the city; even though it's mostly just kicking off of Sousou's prior methodology, this improvement is being attributed to Hongou, now that they can name him.
In a sense, Sousou's fame in the city is getting overtaken. Not declining, of course; Sousou is still as well-known as she was before the Emperor's arrival, but because another person's fame, Hongou's, is rising, while hers is stagnant. And Sousou generally doesn't appear in the streets of the city, aside from visiting a few shops, while Hongou often patrols with his soldiers, so the citizens are starting to be more familiar with him than Sousou.
This wasn't good, at all. So, Sousou instituted a silent rule that assigned a member of her court to be present when Hongou does things outside his business with the Hongou Squad. That way, some of his fame could be attributed back to the Sou Family, and in turn to Sousou as the head of the Sou Family.
"Thank you, Soujin."
"Boo! I said call me Karon, didn't I?"
"And Soukou yelled at me for it."
"Eika-chan doesn't get to decide who can call me by True Name."
"Right, right, Karon it is." Kazuto laughed.
"Un, un!"
"… Haah…" Soujun sighed. "… Call me Rurin as well, if you don't mind then."
"Thank you, Rurin, but I feel worried by the fact that a majority of your group has already entrusted True Names to me. You all do remember that we were pretty much hostile a year before, right?"
"Who else hasn't? Aside from Karin-sama?" Karon hummed.
"The Kakou Siblings… And anyone in the frontlines of the war."
"So Shunran, Shuuran, Keifa, and Shia, then?"
"Pretty much?" Kazuto thought back. He's been entrusted, in order: Eika, Shanfu, Nagi, Mao, Sawa, Fuu, and Rin. Karon a bit ago, and Rurin today.
"Does that mean Eika has entrusted her True Name to you?!" Karon blinked.
"I HAVE NOT!"
"Yo, Soukou." Kazuto greeted.
"… Why were you talking about something like that in the middle of the road?" Eika huffed.
"Why were you listening in? We weren't particularly loud… I think."
"…"
"Were you hoping we were talking in public about some state secret so that you can accuse me of treason?"
"Get off your high horse; I don't think about putting you in jail as payback for my time in your prison every day."
"That is an oddly specific denial, but very well." Kazuto shrugged. "So how are they?"
"… Speak to them yourself." Eika begrudgingly said, turning away. She stepped aside so that Kazuto can see the three members of the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters who were resting up behind her.
"Ah, Kazuto-nii!" Chihou cheered, "It's been a while~"
"Kazuto-kun~" Tenhou called, "Come, come!"
"… Hello, Kazuto-san." Renhou nodded.
"… When I told them that you were coming today…" Eika began before biting down on her instincts, hard. "Never mind." She refuses to admit defeat; that even though she spent more time with Chihou, Kazuto still reigns as the more important person in her life.
Kazuto respectfully ignored her little tangent (which annoyed her more than if he had just acknowledged it), "Sorry it took a while. It was hard work looking into the rumor mill to see what's going wrong with the group."
"Not to mention your training and the workload." Chihou frowned, "You should have just quit the whole city guard thing and focused on us. Your position as police chief just makes it harder to meet you. At least back in Yuushuu, you were either in your office or around the palace, and I could visit you whenever."
"But it's thanks to my position as Police Chief that I got all the data points, though?" Kazuto teased. "Because I interacted with the common folks as a guard, I was able to piece a few things together…" Kazuto smiled. Then, as though an afterthought, he added, "Sawa was also a big help."
"… Still sucks. So? What do you think?" Chihou frowned.
"For one, the 'idol as girlfriend' system you have going on… Unless you're invested in being single until retirement, that's going to cause a significant backlash. Hell, even me talking to you, if your more diehard fans figure out, they'll either condemn you as a traitor of their 'pure feelings'" Kazuto mockingly said, "or try to kill me for corrupting their beloved idols."
"I see no problem there." Eika rolled her eyes.
"Of course you'd say that, you lesbian." Kazuto rolled his eyes.
"What does that mean, exactly?" Rurin asked.
"That Soukou likes girls?" Kazuto asked.
"Not that!" Rurin corrected, "I mean, what should we do as a precaution if it happens?"
"One, put a strong guard detail on the idol whenever out of the safety of the palace. That way, no jilted idiot could get even close enough to harass them."
"I refuse that on principle?" Chihou raised. "I fought hard to keep my freedoms. And one of those is not having a guard detail on me at all times in the city." Chihou huffed.
"Good girl!" Kazuto nodded.
"Everyone's Little Sister, Chihou, present!" Chihou smiled.
"Hoy! Are we supposed to keep them safe, or are we supposed to be leaving them be?" Soukou frowned.
"First of all, Chihou has a knife to stab the idiots with if they get too close."
"… Murder is wrong, you know?"
"Coming from the culture where it is justified to kill someone by simply saying someone else's True Name?"
"The common method of dealing with that sort of thing is to demand the other side to take back their words first. If they refuse, then you can give retribution."
"Yeah, people of this country won't last in mine." Kazuto chuckled.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me anymore, the True Name thing." Chihou shrugged. She's already abandoned her old name after all.
"Yeah. Besides, we always introduce ourselves by our True Names nowadays…" Tenhou shrugged.
"Well, your True Names are your stage names; getting angry at that point is like giving your opponent a free hit, and getting angry when they hit you."
"And honestly… unless you have a good enough upbringing, something like True Names really can't be enforced." Renhou replied, "Only the rich or the powerful have any ability to enforce it."
"Really?" Kazuto frowned.
"If a rich man approaches a poor girl and started calling her by her True Name… can the poor girl try to kill the rich guy? He'll just deny it happened, and charge the girl for assault."
"And he probably would have bodyguards…" Kazuto nodded.
"Let's quit this topic here, and focus on the important thing:" Eika interrupted, "What else do you have?"
"Right. Anyway, advertising the girls as lovers for the loveless is basically curtailing their freedom to love… which I expect you wanted."
"…"
"Wouldn't be surprised." Chihou huffed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Eika barked.
"Enough." Kazuto cut in, "No catfighting. Chihou, remember that she still holds the pursestrings. Soukou, remember she's one of the reasons why your purse feels heavy.
"She started it." Eika unrepentantly said.
"And I'm ending it. Now, moving on." Kazuto replied.
"You're siding with her?" Chihou demanded.
"You get a turn tonight."
"Shutting up~" She immediately accepted the bribe.
"No!" Eika interjected.
"As long as I'm in the city, I'm free to do as I please, remember?" Chihou reminded her of her deal.
"Urgh."
"NOW THEN! The crucial point of the matter." Kazuto huffed, "Here's the basics: Chihou's popularity far exceeds Tenhou's and Renhou's. Strictly speaking, it's not the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters, it's Chihou and her sisters."
"Ah, right…" Rurin nodded, "A lot of people do seem more familiar with Chihou…"
"She's been active longer than they are, and she knows her way on the stage more than the other two." Kazuto replied. "And naturally, that's a problem. You're basically feeding three people only for Chihou to do all the work."
"We're working hard too!" Tenhou interjected.
"I don't deny that. But right now, since Chihou got a headstart and joined the group, it's only natural that she outperforms you. In a sense, you're having a hard time keeping up with her."
"… I see." Renhou grimaced. It must hurt for the usually more put-together sister to admit that she's not matching up with the more reckless sister. She has long accepted being second-best to Tenhou and her natural musical talents, but Chihou must sting, even if she doesn't think so.
"So I have a proposal. In a sense, I want to force Tenhou and Renhou to catch up to Chihou."
"What?" Eika asked.
"Mini-concerts, where only Tenhou or Renhou perform. One day, Tenhou will perform. Another Renhou. Chihou would of course perform on her own as well. Basically, I suggest that all three of the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters do solo stuff for a good chunk of time."
"How would this help?" Rurin asked.
"In a sense, it would still put Chihou in a spotlight; I expect Chihou's numbers to still dwarf the other two, but Tenhou and Renhou have their own charms. They just need to be able to show it off more. And a solo-live should allow them to experiment. For instance, Chihou's current strategy of agitating the crowd into paying attention to her? Tenhou, you really shouldn't do it. It doesn't fit your character."
"Eh?" Tenhou blinked. "But why?"
"… A reminder? Who was the chief reason that the Yellow Turbans got as big as they are?" Kazuto asked.
"… Eh?" Karon frowned. "Uhh…"
"That's Choukaku. Choukaku and her natural ability to draw people in."
"Really?" Tenhou tilted her head, unsure about that.
"You shouldn't compete with Chihou to get a crowd hyped; just let Chihou do it. Your job is to stand at the center and keep people's attention by simply being yourself. In a sense, make them fall in love with you, not by pestering them into liking you, but by simply showing off your talent as a singer. This solo-live system will help you find that footing."
"And me?" Renhou asked.
"Honestly, compared to your sisters, you are even more difficult to pin down." Kazuto winced. "Your niche is basically those who find Tenhou and Chihou a bit overbearing. In a sense…"
"The leftovers," Renhou admitted. "I figured." She wasn't too happy about that.
"You do realize that's a good thing, right? It means you don't have to compete with them in their spotlight." Kazuto pointed out. "If anything, the responsible sister niche is really suitable for you."
"But if the people who like Tenhou and Chihou don't care about Renhou… wouldn't that cut into profits?" Eika asked.
"Which is why Renhou can also benefit from a solo-live. If she does a few, she can probably figure out what kind of people like her from the crowd of Chihou and Tenhou fans. Once she fills that role… well, what do you think happens once we put them all together?" Kazuto hummed. "People who don't care much for Chihou and Tenhou, who like Renhou, will come to the concert with all three. And besides; everyone knows this as well: all Three Kazoe Yakuman Sisters shine brightest when they're together. While they might not care for everyone individually, they'll like to see their favorite in their best spotlight."
"… I see…" Renhou nodded. "Got it. I'll work hard as well."
"Hold it!" Eika interrupted, "And how would the costs look? This is basically me scheduling four times the work, here?"
"Two options: make solo lives cheaper, or make group lives more expensive." Kazuto shrugged. "Once people are familiar with all three girls, it won't matter how much they have to pay, they'll pay the higher price for the group lives."
"Three times the price?" Eika blinked.
"Two maximum. I'd even argue to just increase it by half. Make sure that the concert-goers won't feel ripped off. In a sense, think of it like this. If there's a person here who likes only one member, wouldn't they feel ripped off if they had to buy twice the amount for two other people that they don't care about? They'll just go to two solo lives instead. But if it's just a half more, then they'll accept it because: [I'm paying half more to see my favorite with two other people. That's reasonable enough.] Still, you can do a sort of experiment to see how much people are willing to pay for certain events. Remember to take into account that our audience does have proper jobs and can't afford to go to every event, so you need to properly schedule them so that they know if they could set a time to come."
"… You're really into this stuff," Rurin remarked.
Kazuto closed his mouth, wondering how he should rebut that. "… Chihou's fault?" He decided.
"I take the blame with pride?" Chihou smiled, slightly unsure. But she gets the spirit.
Kazuto nodded, "So yeah, you can't just slap a price and call it done."
"I know how economics work, Kazuto." Eika harshly harrumphed.
"Is that so… but the prices you set… only rich kids with too much spending power would afford it."
"We have two types of events; revenue events and recruitment events."
"Recruitment drives. The term is recruitment drives."
"No pedantry! Anyway, generally, the revenue events are for the paying, as you call them, rich kids with too much spending power. The recruitment drives are meant for the soldiers; as a sort of bonus for sticking with us, and invite soldiers to come along."
"No middle ground between the two?"
"We're not fleecing money off of the farmers, Hongou."
"You're a central city of the state; you have mostly merchants, traders, and scholars. Your farmers are mostly to supplement the produce from the rural areas, to make sure fresh food is part of the diet of the city." Or experiment to try out new agricultural methods; as Suu generally does.
"Maybe in a rich state like Joshuu." Eika rolled her eyes.
"Can we cut in here, you two?" Rurin sighed, "Focus on the task at hand? We don't have infinite time, either."
"Thank you Rurin, for being the only calm person here," Kazuto replied. "… And where did Karon go?"
"She got bored and started looking around the venue." Rurin helplessly shrugged. "… Please don't mind her."
"… Is it me or are the younger sisters seem to be the most responsible of the sisters around here?" Kazuto frowned. "You, Renhou, Kakouen…" In his mind, he added, Paitan, Bakyuu, Sonken… Denden didn't count, since she's a twin. Aisha… might count? She's technically their sworn younger sister… "They don't have to be the youngest, but just being younger seems to work… At the very least, most of the eldest sisters I've seen around here seem to be…"
"Please don't finish that thought anymore." Rurin winced, "I'm… not comfortable with the implications."
"… That's mean! I'm not that bad… am I?" Tenhou turned to her sisters.
Chihou and Renhou looked at each other for a bit before…
"Chi-nee is worse." Renhou replied to Tenhou in a comforting manner.
"Renhou!" Chihou exclaimed, betrayed.
"You can't deny it, miss one-of-Aisha's-four-headaches." The other three being Rinrin, Denden, and Rairai.
"You cause her more headaches than I do!"
"I resent that." Kazuto replied, "I give her worse headaches, not more." A slight but notable difference.
"… Dammit!"
"Language, miss Idol. You're supposed to be above cursing."
Chihou's eyes gleamed before…
"I can take it away just as easily as I gave." And by 'it', he meant her turn.
"I'll be good."
"Good. Now that we established that you three are going to work separately for a while, let's start working on each of your performances, shall we?" Kazuto smiled.
"I don't think we've decided yet!"
"For the sake of getting more profit, just help me out, you whiny penny-pincher."
"I'm not a whiny penny-pincher! I just don't see the profits from this!"
"You're not losing money. As I recall, the group's main job is to serve as your recruiters anyway; all the money it gains is a bonus."
"Do you know what the biggest money-waster by our palace?"
Kazuto thought on that for a bit.
First of all, Soukou is the economic advisor of the territory. Anything related to the treasury goes through her. And considering her nature, she would want to cut down on unnecessary costs. So the money waster in her eyes has to be something she couldn't refuse or is rather essential.
"… Feeding Kyocho?" Rinrin's food costs did triple everyone else's back home.
"… Close but no. It's related to food." Eika grimaced.
If Kyocho, the biggest eater of the court, isn't the problem, then it has to be the one person above Eika, "… Sousou's then."
"Karin-sama is not a glutton!"
"But that doesn't mean it's not her food, right?" Kazuto nodded, "… She's a gourmet."
All the food that they are served in the palace is all gourmet food; designed to look good and taste great. Even normal meals are so. While some could argue that that's normal for an Emperor's meal, even Paitan was surprised by the offerings in the palace. No wonder Sousou didn't recommend any shops in the city; she probably recruited every chef in the city worth a damn.
"… Yes." Eika sighed, "If we're talking about money spent, it's on Karin-sama's cuisine. Specifically, acquiring the best ingredients for her cooking."
"She cooks?" Now that's a surprise. He almost expected Sousou to spend more of her time tasting the food, than being hands-on in the kitchen herself.
"It's her favorite pastime." Eika replied, "But with the increase in spending into military matters," Soldiers needed to be hired and trained, weapons and armors needed to be made and forged, flags needed to be sewn, "we've had to cut down on the budget in other areas, but because of the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters, we were able to avoid having to cut down completely. And, even though I think it's a bit wasteful, Karin-sama's little hobbies are rather important for her mood."
"The thing is, in wartime, all prices go up." Kazuto frowned. "And since we're currently descending into an era of war…"
"I can only imagine that the price of premium products also goes up." Eika nodded, "Taking a dip in funding here might result in us having to cut down on things like that."
"… Have you told her?"
"… No."
"Then I'll just go up to her and tell her the reason to separate the trio for a while."
"Don't!"
"I'll serve as your scapegoat. I want this Idol Group to be a group of three idols, and I want it yesterday." Kazuto replied.
"You would really put yourself through that much trouble for them? They're not even benefiting your army in any way!" Eika frowned.
"Chihou is my Family. In turn, Tenhou and Renhou are mine, too." Kazuto replied. "I don't care about faction divisions."
"Kazuto-kun!" Tenhou yelled.
"Kazu-nii!" Chihou's term of endearment has changed once again.
Renhou hid her face, although her ears are clearly red.
"Besides, if they're doing well, then you won't ever have an excuse to just kill them." Kazuto grinned.
"… Since when were we that kill-happy?" Eika rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, I won't say a thing about your budgetary problems, anyway. Just on the management of the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters." Kazuto waved off, "I'm heading back then."
"Weren't you going to watch us perform for a bit?" Chihou frowned, "Maybe there are other things we can improve?"
"You really want to show off?"
"Of course!"
"Fine." Kazuto nodded. "Make it good."
And so the three did a performance for Kazuto.
-()-
"You didn't need to come with me."
"It sounded fun, so here I am, I guess?"
"Thank you, Karon, but you sure you want to be here for this?"
"I wanted to talk to Karin-sama about something~"
"Okay, but try not to talk over us, okay?"
"Ehh? Didn't you already talk, and talk and talk over there?"
"It's probably just going to be talking, talking, and more talking here too."
"Boo. Make it more fun."
"More fun… when I'm going to talk to Sousou?" Kazuto frowned. "Why'd we leave Rurin again?" Kazuto needed this one's minder.
"Uhh… Eika wanted her help?"
Right, Karon wasn't paying attention. "… Anyway." The duo finally reached the door to Sousou's office. He made a few quick raps. "Excuse me, Sousou. We need to talk to you about something."
"… Enter." A muffled sound came from inside the room.
Kazuto entered to see Kakouen, Kyocho, and Ten'i standing there.
"What is it Hongou? You don't usually do visits." Sousou sighed.
"Soukou wanted me to talk to you about something regarding the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters."
"… Whatever it is, I'll approve. The Kazoe Yakuman Sisters is her responsibility. She doesn't need my permission." Sousou frowned. "… No. The fact that she isn't here, and sent you instead… It's your idea, isn't it?"
"Yep."
"And she's uncertain about something? Oh, and hello, Karon. Where's Rurin?" Sousou belatedly noticed her cousin.
"Rurin's staying to help Eika~"
"Something about beginning the arrangements." Kazuto shrugged.
Sousou shallowly nodded, "… Then Eika already approved it. Then why come?" Sousou frowned, "Like I said, Eika is the one in charge of those matters."
"Only that the revenue stream from that side will become rather unstable for the next coming weeks." Kazuto shrugged. "So she might have to cut some costs from certain budgetary expenses."
"I see. I suppose she would have to restructure the budget a bit." Sousou nodded, "She just wanted you to deliver some news that would affect me, specifically."
"She said that you might have to cut back on some of your more expensive hobbies," Kazuto replied.
Sousou blinked as she processed that thought, "… Ah, so that's how it is. She wanted you to be a scapegoat for my ire?" Sousou looked annoyed at him.
"My idea, after all."
"Yes, I know. Your idea, so it's your fault."
"I believe that it would be better for the trio in the long run," Kazuto replied. "Just accept a dip in returns for a bit."
"… You do realize that a lot of that budget is for the Emperor's food?"
"Huh? Fair. But I don't think Paitan cares much for food as much as Kuutan does."
"After spending all this time here eating gourmet food, do you think she'll be satisfied with normal food?"
"She seems fine." Kazuto shrugged. "I sometimes sneak in some street food for her, and she seems to prefer it."
"… What?" Sousou blinked. Okay, she didn't know that.
"The dinner table here is really stuffy; she doesn't feel as if she can relax at all." Kazuto shrugged.
Sousou frowned, "She could've said something."
"You are our host; we can't just air all our grievances when the only real solution is beyond us." Kazuto shrugged. The main reason why Paitan can't relax is less to do with the table or the good food; it's more to do that she feels as if she has to act as formally as possible even when she's supposed to be eating.
"Real solution?"
"If Touka and the others were here to joke around with her."
"And you and Josho can't take care of that?"
"We take care of it at night. Not in a public setting such as the palace's dining hall." Kazuto replied.
"The dining hall is not a public place."
"But it does have servants who we generally couldn't trust." Kazuto shrugged.
"And you had them at Joshuu?" Sousou frowned. Likely she was linking the fact that they generally don't have such good relations back in Joshuu; there was a minor civil war just a while ago.
"Hired by the Bi Family~, trained by our most elite." Kazuto grinned. "You can't do better than that for a mark of approval in trustworthiness, as far as we're concerned. At the very least, the common help isn't a problem for us back home."
"… Now if you could hire someone to help with your paperwork." Sousou remarked.
"You caught onto that, did you? Yeah, well, that's just how life goes." Kazuto shrugged. You win some, you lose some.
"Taking a soft-hand approach when you took over the state is the issue."
"I won't deny it. Still, we did pretty well for a skeleton crew." Kazuto shrugged. "Anyway, we're not really here to talk about Joshuu, right?"
"… I already said I'll approve it. If Eika believes it to be worth it, then I also think the same."
"Fun. Then I'll be heading out." Kazuto shrugged.
"Wait! I need to talk about something too!" Karon interrupted.
"… Go on, Karon." Sousou nodded, slightly unsure what her more rambunctious cousin wants.
"You see! Since the Three Chou Sisters are doing well… shouldn't we Sou Cousins also do a show?"
"… Hongou?" Sousou turned accusingly at Kazuto.
"All her." Kazuto shook his head. He's not getting blamed for this. "She probably had a lot of fun at the rehearsal the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters did."
"… Karon." Sousou frowned. "Did you get approval from the other two first?"
"Well, if Karin-sama approves it first, I'm sure I can convince Rurin and Eika to do it too!"
"… She's not wrong." Kazuto pointed out. Sousou's pretty much the word of God around here; if Sousou wanted to do a show, they'll do a show.
Fortunately for the other two, Sousou's also the pragmatic type, and could only see the suggestion as a waste of time, "We're a bit too busy to do a show, Karon. We're still at war."
"Aww… how soon can we end this war then?"
"… That's the thing. Hongou. Have you heard from Joshuu about their movements?"
"That they're entering Seishuu to help with feeding the northern villages, right?" Kazuto replied, "Because Enshou ate up their resources." He received the report last night from Josho. Of course, he got a better picture than Sousou's informants, as it was pretty much an official letter.
"… If that's what they're doing, then they're hopelessly idealistic." Sousou scoffed.
"That's our motto." Kazuto cheerfully replied.
"Don't be proud of it!" Sousou snapped, "The northern lords were the ones who allied with Reiha first!"
"But the people don't have to suffer for it," Kazuto replied.
"And how would you do that?" Sousou frowned.
"That's all I know. It's not as if I was at the meeting. I just know their goals." Kazuto shrugged.
"… Then." Kakouen stepped forward. "Why is the Ryuubi Army marching?"
"Hmm?" Kazuto smiled in amusement.
"The Ryuubi Army… the Joshuu Army has mobilized and is beginning to enter Seishuu."
"To help distribute food, of course~" Kazuto replied.
"… Are you hiding information from your ally, Hongou?"
"Have I received any reports from you about the state of the war up north?" Kazuto retorted, "It's not like you bring me in for those things, either."
"We are currently at a stalemate." Kakouen replied. "Even though Enshou's forces are weaker, they're also numerically superior. Furthermore, Kayuu has reentered the frontlines, alongside Bunshuu and Ganryou. Those three, while not stronger than Aneja, still pose a significant threat to the forward momentum of the war."
"I question the idea that Kayuu, who matched blades with Aisha, is any weaker than Kakouton, but sure, if you say so." Kazuto nodded. "Then, I suggest this: start pushing for more aggressive tactics once Touka's Army is in position."
"… Are you suggesting we become bait?" Kakouen frowned. " You want us to keep the stronger soldiers on the Enshuu Front rather than the Seishuu front, so that the Joshuu Army can mow down an undefended capital?"
"Forgive us if we aren't willing to play second fiddle in this war." Sousou nodded.
"Wait!" Ten'i spoke up. "Weren't the Joshuu Army supposed to just be delivering food up there?"
"That's the excuse so that they can move soldiers into Seishuu," Sousou answered for Ten'i. "Seishuu, politically speaking, shouldn't be so open to letting soldiers from Joshuu in, even if they're the de facto Imperial Army. However, Southern Seishuu is supportive of Joshuu, and Northern Seishuu was diplomatically weakened by their previous alignment with Reiha. With the excuse of bringing food, they brought their army into Seishuu and placed it so that they have a direct line to take Reiha's seat of power, Kahoku."
"The Seishuu border is closer to Kahoku than the Enshuu border." Kazuto shrugged. "But if you don't want to play decoy… fine. May the first one to Kahoku win."
"… Excuse me?" Sousou blinked. She probably expected Kazuto to negotiate. Give her a reason to play decoy. To give something up that the Sousou Army will accept playing the role. But Kazuto just stripped that off without any warning.
"You aren't going to be disadvantaged," Kazuto replied. "Even though Enshuu is farther than Seishuu from Kahoku, it'll still take time for the Joshuu Army to be ready in Seishuu. And Kayuu does have a grudge against Aisha, so she will likely, once she knows Aisha is marching, will move to fight on that front. Meanwhile, both Ganryou and Bunshuu would prefer their capital not seized too, and with the Joshuu Army being in Seishuu, they'll choose to defend that front. So you'll probably steamroll through the soldiers of Enshou while we're dealing with their elites."
"… You're serious." Sousou frowned.
"Sure."
"… And what do we win if we win?"
"The glory of being the one to put the Enshou Army down, I guess? Sorry, but there's no prize pool here." Kazuto shrugged.
"… Is that supposed to be an incentive, Hongou?"
"No. And I don't really care." Kazuto replied. "I don't make any calls here. I'm just giving you a suggestion."
"… Fine. I'll accept your wager. But all territory we seize on our march through Kishuu is ours." Sousou replied. "And if we do take Kahoku before you, we take Enshou's entire territory." That includes Yuushuu.
"Deal." Kazuto nodded.
"… So we're going to war now!?" Karon blinked. "… Then I'll go get my swords!"
""Not yet, Karon!"" Kazuto and Sousou called. But it was too late; she's gone.
"… I don't get it…" Kyocho frowned, "But we're heading out soon, is what I understand."
"Someone's going to have to stay in the capital with me," Kazuto replied. "I mean, I'm not leaving Paitan alone."
"… I'm going to the frontlines as well." Sousou huffed. "I'll leave Eika, Kii, Ruru, and Shanfu to keep track of you."
"Mighty kind of you." Kazuto smiled. "Then pleasure to work with you, Kyocho, Ten'i."
"Can't we come too? I want to fight with Shunran-sama!" Kyocho asked. Ten'i looked at Shuuran sadly too. Right, the two are basically superfans of Kakouton and Kakouen.
"… Not this time." Sousou shook her head. "The number of people needed to be protected in the capital is far too many." Fair. And by protected, that also means keep an eye on. There's Paitan, himself, Joshuu, Tenhou, Renhou, Chihou. Then there's the normal protected, which is Eika. Shanfu, Nagi, Mao, Sawa would already have their work cut out for them if they had to keep track of all six. So an extra two would be the minimum necessary to lower the four's workload. "Besides, I still need someone here who can direct the cooks on making dishes fit for an emperor." Which is Ten'i.
"… Pleasure to work with you, Kazuto-san." Ten'I bowed. "I'm Ruru."
"I'm Kii." Kyocho bowed as well, still unhappy by being left behind.
"Mmhmm. Right. Then I'm heading out. Take care on your way to the battlefield, Sousou."
"Is your faction actually going to take the war seriously now?" Sousou sharply asked. "This isn't just a ploy to force me to move my army faster?"
"The Seishuu Food trick will only work once. We can't use it again. And even we recognize how much of a chore you will be if you were to win us the war."
"… Then, I hope you have a suitable reward when the time comes."
"You haven't won the race yet." Kazuto rolled his eyes.
"Strange. I would've expected you to have demanded your own reward if you win."
"Unfortunately, we're the Imperial Army; if you win us the war, we have to reward you. If we win us the war, demanding the opposite is tyranny." Kazuto walked out. "You're already aware of that, of course."
"Of course. Don't get too comfortable in my palace, Hongou."
"You're talking to the guy who spent one of his day-offs falling off a tower. I'd like to think you know how little comfort I can feel around here."
And with that, he closed the door.
Sousou looked silently at the door before turning to Kakouen, "… Shuuran, it's likely that Karon will be ready to leave soon. Please go to her platoon so that she can leave at her earliest convenience. Make sure to have a messenger go along with them."
"And what shall be the message?" Kakouen asked.
Sousou merely smirked, "It's time to stop wasting time and resources making threats. Make those threats real. By the time I arrive there, I want Choukou's old city under our control."
"As you wish, milady."
-()-
"What is the meaning of this, Ryuubi?"
"I'm distributing supplies to your villages," Ryuubi replied, oddly rehearsed.
"You should've just sent the supplies to us! There's no need to have escorted them yourself! I will have personally seen that the supplies be forwarded to the villages!"
"I'm here to distribute supplies to your villages." Ryuubi repeated, calmly. She pulls as much of her lessons from Reborn on how to keep her face as straight as possible. She can't afford to look weak here. She needs to be ready.
"I ask why not just send the food?"
"… I simply wanted to help." Ryuubi replied. "And I'm here to help."
"You are overstepping your boundaries!" The man snarled, moving forward only for two spears to cross his chest. "Are you threatening me!?" His own men move to attack, but another spear crosses them before they could even draw it.
"You were threatening my lady." Aisha scowled, being one of the two spears in front of the man.
"If you want to talk, just talk." Rinrin nodded.
"As for your men, I suggest for them to put down their arms," Chouun added, from behind the man. "We're here only to help; can your county really afford to reject our help? When you demanded it over a month ago?" Chouun savagely grinned.
"… But…"
"… When food supply is low, banditry becomes high." Shuri remarked. "By bringing our army here, we can mitigate that risk. Our own supplies are not infinite either, after all."
"Guh…" The man backed down. His soldiers too grimaced and sheathed their swords.
"… Your people are starving; you said. So, naturally, I am here to give aid. What is so wrong with that?" Touka asked.
"… I… After you're done, you better leave Seishuu!"
"… Can the turncoat who sided with Enshou three months ago really be demanding threats?" Chouun scoffed. "You are, quite frankly, on shaky ground, you smalltime lord."
"… What?"
"For all intents and purposes, you were an enemy last skirmish. Now you want to demand food and supplies, and you want it delivered your way? Do you think us foolish?" Sei laughed, "No. We can't trust you. For all we know, you intend to use this as a way to weaken us for Enshou."
"Enshou took our food and left us with nothing but empty promises!"
"But that still means you were on her side." Sei severely said.
"And what would you have done? My county borders Kishuu! If I were to oppose her, my county would've been overrun!" The lord pointed out. "Would you have run away like you did a year ago? I can't afford to do that! My clan has lived on these lands for generations!"
"You think we chose to leave Yuushuu lightly?" Aisha scowled, "You forget that our circumstances were vastly different from yours!"
"Oh, and why?"
"Because we're hosting the emperor," Chouun replied. "We had both Kentei and Reitei. Furthermore, our strongest are all in Joshuu at the time."
"So you're saying you would've stayed and fought if you were there? Don't lie to me! You would've run either way!"
Touka closed her eyes. She knew that to be true, of course. Her first instinct is to run if it happened.
"… Oh shut up already!" Rinrin groaned, "You've been saying all these stupid things. You've been making all your excuses but in the end? We're here to help, while you asked for help. Why do you care so much how we help you? Just be happy we're helping you anyway~"
"You could be here to invade us!"
"Just like you allowed Enshou to invade us before?' Shuri pointed out the flaw in his reasoning. "I disagree with Sei. You're not on shaky ground. You have no ground to stand on. The truth of the matter is this: you asked for help., we are giving you help. You have no say on how we're giving help. We could just as easily stop giving you help, right now, and we would be better off for it."
"… D… Dammit…"
"Go home. Like every other Northern Seishuu Lord. See if we care." Chouun scoffed. "You couldn't even offer us passage if we wanted to fight Enshou. You just demanded us to help you."
"… Guh…" The man growled, "I…"
"Actually, we should arrest him instead." Mifa entered the room with a smile, and a few documents.
"… Wh-what's that?" The man looked in fear. He recognized the seal.
"Oh, you know what this is."
"G-give it back!"
"Should've burned it." Mifa tutted. "This is a letter from him pledging aid to the Northern Joshuu Lords to help with the civil war against us."
"Why is that here!?"
"We got it from the nobles we put down, of course." Miifa smiled.
"… Sh-shit… I mean, I don't know anything about that!"
"Too late." Shuri replied. "Touka-sama."
"…. By the authority invested in me by Emperor Ken, you are under arrest, under the charge of Terrorism and Rebellion against the Emperor."
"No, no, no, no! Guards, defend me!"
"Guards. You are in the middle of our camp. Will you defend a now known criminal, who abetted the destabilization of another state?" Sei remarked. "… Choose wisely."
The guards looked at each other before closing their eyes and stepping aside.
"… Thank you." Sei smiled. "Guards! The rope!"
Once the man has been tied up and dragged away, Touka let out a sigh of relief. "… that was difficult."
"It was fortunate that the Northern Lords wanted insurance in case he turned on them." Shuri breathed. "Spending all that time scouring their documents was time well-spent."
"What will happen to the territory?' Touka asked.
"We can probably keep it as a staging ground for the duration of the war. But if Kouyuu comes to demand us return the land of Seishuu to Seishuu, we'll have to give it up then." Shuri replied.
"Still, we have our staging ground," Sei smirked.
"… Right." Touka nodded.
"Let's end this war."
-()-
Chapter End
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Chapter Release Date: June 10, 2022
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Beta Reader: Seraphius