Chapter 60 Brother and Sister

Shizu, Nosuri, and Ougi had left Kajima's house and made their way into the village chief's office. Inside was Yashimu and his 4 younger brothers that were standing around a table with a large map with numerous markings and notes attached to its surface.

The map showed the surroundings of the village, from the nearby forest, mountains, and main roads. The marking denoted the location of the past and recent investigations with their accompanying reports.

Turning their eyes up from the papers they were examining, all 5 brothers turned to the entrance and greeted the timely arrival of their older sister and co. Yashimu called out to her first.

"Shizu, it's good to see that you are well rested. How is Azi, is he alright?"

"He has a mild fever. He is resting in bed right now."

"Speaking of this Azi boy, just who is he? He can't be just some normal villager. Is he a foreigner from another nation of Yamato?" Asked the youngest brother.

"We actually don't know much. He was found by our father in the mountains and we have confirmed that he has amnesia. He doesn't know of any family, friends, or even the place he came from. He also seems to have a troubled past, the Thaumaturges report that he might be going through some personal trauma."

The 4 youngest brothers gave a grim expression, they could not fathom how a person could endure the idea of not knowing of their past and wondered what Azi had gone through in his past. From their recent time when they saw Azi making out with Shizu, it seemed that the boy was alright.

Placating her brother's worries, Shizu added.

"He has taken residence with Uncle Kajima, they get along well and I sometimes think they are like father and son. He has also gotten to know some of the villagers and seems to be adapting well."

"That's a relief." Said the second youngest brother. "But what was with that show you gave us yesterday?! OUCH OUCH OUCH!!"

Suddenly feeling his legs dangling and a pressure on his face. The second youngest brother quickly tapped on Shizu's arm that had gripped his face with a death claw.

With a stern and cold tone of voice, Shizu explained as her grip began to tighten.

"If you must know, he is my apprentice and potential fiancé. We will leave it at that, AM I CLEAR?"

The grip Shizu had on the 2nd youngest brother's face started to make a disconcerting sound which caused the 3 other younger brothers to nod their heads vigorously in affirmation. They did not want to suffer Shizu's wrath as they had already been somewhat traumatized by her during their childhoods.

Yashimu gave long sigh at the subservient attitude and lack of spine his younger brothers had. After Yashimu placated her, Shizu released her death claw on her 2nd youngest brother. The man fell onto the ground where his fellow brother then tended to his now bruised face.

Walking past them, Shizu stood across from Yashimu and reported her finds.

"During my investigation, we found 2 suspicious individuals in the nearby forest to the mountain path. One had a red bandana around his lower face and the other looked like a nobleman. The noble looked to have cursed bait in his possession so I believe this man might be in contact with our western foreign neighbor."

"Uzuru. You think the noble came from there?"

"Maybe. His attire was of the traditional style but what is certain is that Uzuru is involved the cursed bait made that a certainty. This was banned in Yamato by the Emperor and was made apparent when he mobilized his royal guard to investigate the whole empire. While this was centuries ago, the routine inspection makes it impossible for cursed bait to be in Yamato."

"Ah, I think I understand now." Yashimu's mind clicked as he remembered the history of the nation of Uzuru. This nation had no allegiance to the Emperor nor do they respect him. The people of the nation instead thought of the Emperor as a tyrant and a false god to their own.

Uzuru believed in an unknown God with no name but had a title of Divine Beast. It was believed that the emperor was just the usurper of the Divine Beast's authority who stole their power and enslaved mankind. The people's resentment was rooted deeply, so with that line of reasoning it would make sense that they would possess and use such an item against the emperor to harm and spite him.

Shizu nodded and added to her reasoning.

"Exactly, they have also used it in past wars. They would thin our army down with monsters and then capture the survivors to use as slaves."

Yashimu grimaced in disgust at Uzuru's tactics and Shizu did much the same.

The Nation of Uzuru, was the northern and western neighbor to the Empire of Yamato. Their nation consisted of a scarce forest and mainly had inhospitable deserts.

The people were nomadic in their lifestyle as the scarce forests could not sustain them forever. So the people were divided into clans that laid claim to different stretches of forested land to live out their lifestyles.

The war the Empire had to deal with 2 years ago was perpetrated by this nation. They would come to pillage the resources of the Empire to help fill their greed and bellies.

They would not only take whatever was not nailed down but took any woman and child as slaves. The men were killed for sport as they offered too much resistance to be of any benefit to them.

Shizu and Yashimu then hypothesized that the recent use of curse bait was likely a sabotage tactic made by Uzuru to stagnate trade between Kujyuri and Yamato so that it would hinder supply lines during the next invasion.

When they looked over the map, they realized that it would have worked as the forest around Shisayama were vital in the supply lines that connected the empire's capital, to Kujyuri's western border with Uzuru.

Kujyuri had its own standing military, but the nation was in a weakened state due to a lack of manpower and while the issue of the monster attacks was solved, there was still an issue of the remaining monsters. It would likely have to request for reinforcements from the capital of the empire, but if the routes were infested with monsters they would be easily isolated from Uzuru.

With what Shizu found during her expedition, they were able to prevent a horrible outcome for their nation. Yashimu then suggested.

"Sister, I think we should report this to our father. He can make an appeal to the emperor for aid. Maybe with the royal guards' help we can avert another war or possibly set up fortification ahead of time?"

"While I loathe the nobles in the capital and find it hard to believe that they would give their support, I have to agree. We have the evidence and reports to back up our claims, so getting the Emperor's aid has a high chance of success. The emperor does not take kindly to the nation of Uzuru."

Shizu took a few moments to consider what other options she had but turned up with no other better action. Kujyuri had limited options right now and the other neighboring nations were not willing to provide aid due to a sorted history.

Sighing, Shizu nodded in agreement with Yashimu and began writing up a letter to Ozen. While Yashimu was writing up the expedition report and gathering the previous reports from the past investigations, Nosuri and Ougi were told to stand guard and help organize the reports in the office.

Shizu had been gone from her office for a few days so there were many correspondences that needed to be put in order. The 4 younger brothers all helped with the ongoing work in the office after they helped patch up their bruised 2nd youngest brother.

By the time they were finished with their work, the sun had already set, and the moon was beginning to rise.

Sealing the letter with a wax seal with the emblem of the nation, Shizu handed it to the oldest of the 4 brothers.

"I need you 4 to get this letter to our father with due haste."

"Aw come on sister we just got to Shisayama, can't we send someone other than us?" Complained the Eldest of the 4.

To this complaint, Shizu sent a wave of intimidating pressure through her gaze which caused the 4 brothers to stiffen up. She then stated curtly.

"When you deliver that letter, you are welcome to come back but do your job first before you go slacking off. And bring your work from Kujyuri with you, I will not tolerate slackers in our family."

"Wait how did you, ugh never mind. Alright we'll go."

They sighed in defeat and the 4 brothers left Shisayama in the dead of night to travel to Kujyuri with Shizu's letter and Yashimu's bundled evidence in hand.

After instructing Nosuri and Ougi to head home first. Yashimu and Shizu saw off their younger brothers at the southern exit of the village. They waved goodbye to them as they departed on Hororon mounts.

Since they intended to return soon, they chose to ride the Hororon as they were faster than the Kibusanshou and because they traveled light, they would only be gone for about a week.

"So Yashimu, Kajima said you can room with Rulu if you want?"

"I appreciate it, I'll be sure to give Kajima my thanks. I hope I don't impose too much of a burden on him."

"Have some spine brother. Kajima already told me that he does not mind the company." Shizu gave Yashimu a slap on his back which made him wince in annoyance at his sister's attitude and behavior. Before he could retort, Shizu added. "

Alright then let's head back, this is about the time Kajima has dinner ready. I am quite hungry after all the work we have done these past few days."

An audible growling could be heard from Shizu's stomach. As if agreeing, Yashimu's stomach did the same.

To this, both brother and sister looked at each other and laughed. The noise of their laughter helped to warm up and brighten the cold night air.

While Shizu and Yashimu did not have many nice moments together as they mainly argued about trivial things, they did have a few that they could enjoy together, and this was one of those rare moments.