Noblesse Oblige: to Protect the People.

"Order! Order in the chamber! Please, esteemed leaders!"

Three days after the presumed pirate attack in Naka harbor, all of the representatives of the noble houses in Kiko gathered today in Misao Pavilion under my command. As for why the chamber mediator is shouting for them to pipe down…

"This is preposterous! We cannot haphazardly declare war!"

"Then what do you want to do?! We have to respond to this act of defiance!"

"We'll be wasting our resources and men on another conflict! Are you mad?!"

The noble leaders are arguing about the appropriate course of action after they took the contents of my letter literally.

"Esteemed ladies and gentlemen…"

I spoke with a firm voice and raised my hand to garner their attention and silence.

"We cannot solve this problem by clashing our own individual gripes and concerns against each other. If I may request, I want everyone to calm down and tell their opinion about this attack without being interfered with by the others. Asada-san, please bring out the clock."

Asada-san nodded and instructed two servants to bring in a clock that ticks down from a set amount of time. A timer, if you will.

"Everyone can have three minutes to speak their mind and cast their votes. Now, let us start with the House of Tosa."

While it might be good to narrate all of their opinions one by one, it would be better to just tell the consensus of the Noble Chamber according to their political stance.

To put it simply, the governmental structure of Kiko is a simple chart of names and positions. There is me, the Daimyo, the highest executive power in the executive branch, next to me is the General Ministry comprised by Kurogawa Toshinori, the Trade and Industries minister. Nagisa Masami, the Internal Government minister. Shimura Nobisuke who is both the General of the Kiko combined armed forces and Minister of War and Civil Defense and the Noble Houses of Aoyama, Hikigaya and Fumikage who holds the three main domains of Kiko.

The Noble House of Misanagi holds the Judiciary Courts of Kiko. Being an ancient clan renown for mediating in treaties and law-making, I've given the members and scholars of the clan the special work of making and upholding the law in Kiko.

Below that are the two Legislative Chambers. The Noble Chamber, a congress of representatives from every noble house in Kiko and the Common Chamber, a senate of elected commoners that speak for the normal citizens who voted for them.

The Noble Chamber has… quite a problem with their stances on things. They are usually split into three groups. First, there is the pro-war group who pushes for military intervention and domineering diplomacy. Second, the pro-pacifist group that favors lenient measures and extensive brinksmanship. Lastly, there is the Isolationist group that aims to isolate Kiko from the chaos of the national civil war, which is the "mind our own world" attitude that they stand for.

Thus, the chamber is presently tied in their votes and opinions. 12 voted for a military action while 11 voted for a secretive investigation and negotiation with the attackers.

"This is useless…"

"I mean no disrespect to Iwasawa-sama, but yeah… this election is meaningless."

The Noble Chamber's voting was useless. Even though the pro-military side has the advantage of one more vote, if we count the vote of the Common Chamber who voted before our session, they unanimously voted for negotiation, making the vote a tie.

"I already foresaw this. I knew that with the division of the chamber, this would be nothing more but a useless election."

"Then why did you still go with it, Kou-sama?"

"Because I want to show you the problems that happen when you're all thinking about your individual gains in this kind of situation."

I stood up from my throne and walked towards the center aisle that halves the Pavilion's court of tables and chairs.

"The pro-war faction favors military intervention simply because they are investors in the Nagisa-Shouri military factories and also massive buyers of war bonds. If war breaks out and the army mobilizes, they can reap their gains from it, completely disregarding the damage on properties and loss of lives during the battles."

"T-that is…"

"Did I hit the mark?"

Hearing what I said, the pro-war faction looked away while some forcefully gulped down their tea to hide their embarrassment.

"At the same note, the pro-pacifism group isn't any different. If negotiations with the enemy starts, they can slip in their own agendas like trade deals and labor programs at the documents and lengthen the discussions to almost a halt in order to siphon money from us and the enemy."

"Y-your Highness, that claim is-"

"Untrue? Didn't the House of Kashima gain thousands of Kan from our negotiations with the dissolved ministry of Fuku province? Simply because I gave the work to their officers who then lined their pockets by making the negotiations grind to a halt all in order to justify their request for financial support from us?"

"Kh-!"

Having spoken my mind, I walked back to my throne to give my statement.

"Don't challenge me. Just like how I made the Noble Chamber to give all of you the authority and obligation to serve the people of Kiko, I can also take it away if your aim is just to make them suffer more for your gain."

"…"

"Once I dissolve the Noble chamber, all of you will become voiceless and cannot have the power to sweep this nation according to your will. Would you prefer that? Being a noble simply by title? Unable to serve your nation as working officials? Unable to put substance on your noble titles and being called "useless" by the commoners?"

The entire place was silenced with my statement. They knew that they cannot take my threats lightly or else, they will surely regret it.

"Iwasawa-kou-sama… If I may…"

Someone spoke and stood from her seat that is a step below the level of my throne.

"Esteemed ladies and gentlemen. Although I understand your reasoning about having to gain as much as you can in the things you find yourself working with, it cannot justify the fact that all of you are sacrificing the welfare of the people for your own advantages. We are-"

"That… wait, aren't you-?!"

"The Akizuki princess?!"

"Why is she here?!"

*BYAK-!*

However, instead of verbally reprimanding them, I drew my pistol and fired a warning shot to those who immediately opposed Hisako's right to speak.

"A-Ahh… K-Kou-sama?"

"Didn't I tell everyone to honor someone's right to speak while his or her timer is running? Why did you cut her off?"

They were shaken by my action, but one stood from his seat in clear show of defiance.

"I… I apologize, my lord! But I cannot allow this! Her father has caused more devastation to Kiko than anyone else! She has no right to be here!"

"Ah…"

When the noble man shouted that, Hisako was clearly shaken. She clutched her chest lightly and placed a hand over her eyes to try and hold back her tears.

"Calm down… Don't worry about it…"

I whispered as I lightly patted her back to comfort her before looking straight at those who were clearly against her attendance in the meeting.

"A child must not inherit their parent's crime, nor should a parent be held liable for their able-minded child's wrongdoings. That is a law that disconnects all of our crimes from those who belong to our family. A safeguard for the innocent family of a true criminal."

"But still, her father was exiled, and their noble house was ruined. By this, she has effectively been removed from the nobility and cannot interfere with the affairs of the Noble Chamber."

"T-that's right!"

"Yeah! We oppose of her presence in this hall!"

These highfalutin nobles… they're annoying me…

"That is simply untrue, esteemed gentlemen."

"Huh?"

While I was thinking of a way to validate her status, Nagisa must've known my intentions and stood up by her own.

"According to the mandate of Misanagi clan leader, Jirou-sama. The Akizuki Noble House was never removed nor ruined. It's clan head, former lord Akizuki Godan, was exiled for his crimes, but the Noble House of Akizuki still stands as a noble clan due to another contract that is signed by the noble family with the great priestess Narukami Ayaka."

"Minister Nagisa. We know that Kaiho Sanctum has been burned and the profession of this girl as a Shrine maiden is currently suspended. Even if you use that technicality, it will convince no one in this room to accept that that girl is still carrying a noble's title!"

"Oh? So, you're telling us to disregard the contract, Tosa-sama?"

"W-what-?"

From behind her eyeglasses, Nagisa shot a discerning look at the old man who's been stubbornly going against us.

"What's wrong, Tosa? Why can't you answer back?"

"Eeek!"

He seemed to be asleep all this time, but when he heard about our discussion, the head of the Misanagi clan spoke with his raspy voice and directed his gaze on the noble man.

"The contract signed by the Akizuki clan gives them a noble name not just in Kiko but also in other provinces. This girl might be the sole member of the clan, but a contract must be fulfilled. Unless she herself abandons her name or her side of the contract, I will not allow anyone to lower her status just as how they please."

Hearing the domineering stance of the most influential person in the room, the opposition gritted their teeth and sat down on their chairs.

"Hisako-hime. Continue with your speech. Asada-chan, wind up her timer again. I can't believe that the nobility of this generation would be so disrespectful…"

She was still shaken, but as I patted her shoulders and told her that I am just behind her, she exhaled before continuing her speech.

"Are we not nobles of this land? Aren't we mandated by heaven and our ancestors to stand and defend the people? How can we call ourselves nobles of Kiko if the subject of our service is ourselves and not the common folk? Is this the obligation of us who carries higher blood? To line our pockets with money that could've served a better use to other people? Tell me, esteemed men and women, are our noble titles a sign of our desire to serve? Or are they just names that we use to obtain a higher comfort in the expense of those around us?"

"That…"

"She's right…"

There were murmurings after her statement aimed to show the problem that we face with this kind of division and selfish desires.

"If I may add into that…"

Now, it was Chiyo's turn to speak. She stood next to Hisako as a representative of the Aoyama clan and held her hand firmly to calm her down.

"The damage in Naka harbor can be fixed, but the trauma and lost to our people cannot be healed. The stone and wood that composed the city will eventually be replaced, but what about those who died in the attack, what about the people who shed their blood to delay and subjugate the attackers of the city? Will we sit down in front of those who has offended us, begging for them to stop attacking while reveling on the finances given by the people who wish to live in peace? And what if we did attack? Will you send soldiers to die in the field while you and your friends are sipping tea on your estates without any care for the world?"

As it was another influential representative, the nobles were speechless. More so after they heard her strong and direct remarks about them.

"Lord Iwasawa wishes to fight, not for a gain or glory for his name. He saw the plight and pain of his people and he wishes to show that we will not sit in here like swine awaiting slaughter. I do not like war, esteemed nobles. But if it is the only way for our enemies to see our desire to stand our ground, I do not think that we are in anyway, ruining our names by waging war."

When she concluded her speech, I decided that this has to be settled now.

"My desire to fight this out is absolute. I don't care if this will hurt our other pending projects, nor do I care if this would sow dissent upon you who has nothing to gain from this. But I am the lord of Kiko's people and it's my obligation to serve them. If they are hurt, I will protect them and thus, I officially declare…"

As I spoke, everyone who supported my plan stood up. Surprisingly, all of them stood and the only thing I can think of that became their reason to have a change of heart would be that their obligation as nobles was rekindled by our words.

"After the mastermind of this attack is found, I will declare and wage war upon them! I will not allow anyone to harm my people and get away with it!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At a certain snack house in Shinka, a hooded man sat on a chair before purposefully dropping a pouch that has a certain insignia.

"You're late. I thought my stomach would burst after eating mochi and drinking too much tea just to keep this seat.

From behind him on another table, another hooded man spoke before picking up the pouch for the other one.

"Sorry. Kiko immediately ramped up their security after the attack. I had to swim across the river and swerve through the patrols just to get here."

"It's alright. Do you have it now?"

When the other hooded man asked him, he covertly slipped a scroll towards him and looked around as if nothing happened.

"All of them sank and the slave warriors were caught… Excellent. For a surprise attack, even those maggots had their use."

"Does the master have new orders?"

"Nothing that I'm aware of. Reiki is having another harsh late autumn snowstorm. It's making communication with the headquarters a bit hard to that point that the local garrison in the capital is just giving us wild guesses of what our orders would be."

"What the hell are those old farts doing?"

"I know the feeling."

Both of them sighed in disappointment before the hooded one who just came spoke something strange.

"By the way, did you try the sugar-coated mochi? They're good."

"Huh? Sugar? What's that?"

"A product from my lord's brilliance in commerce and trade."

Just as he said that, a woman dressed as a waitress approached him and asked

"We've been waiting for you. I wish you enjoyed your last meal."

"H-huh?"

"I believe that introductions are necessary. My name is Ayanami Mitsuhide. And for the past few weeks, we've been watching after you and your group of spies here in Fumetsu."

Hearing that, he shot up from his seat and drew a knife to mount a surprise attack. But the young woman was ahead of his reaction.

"Hiyai!"

"Kak-!"

In one fluid Iaido technique, she drew her wakizashi, slit his throat and swept off the blood before sheathing it.

"Well… that settles it."

"Thank you very much for assisting us, Lady Ayanami."

"It's nothing to be bothered with, Captain Kuro. If I can help, I will help."

She replied and motioned to the rest of the customers there, who are actually Shinka soldiers, to clean up the mess she made.

"I've been away from Kiko for a while since the crowning of Lady Kusanagi and Iwasawa. And just before I get home, I've been tasked to handle the spies here."

"There's no rest for the weary, huh?"

"Indeed. Urf-!"

He took off the hood and the scarf that hid his face, but to Mitsuhide's surprise, what she saw underneath wasn't his actual face but his usual plain cloth mask that only exposes his eyes.

"Can I ask why you never remove your mask, Captain?"

"Huh? Oh… Well, I get to do my job better when I wear it."

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm… I guess it's something unique to us Shinobi. To some extent, our masked faces are more well known than our actual skin. So, I guess that's quite the identification in the field if you may call it as that."

"Uh-huh… I don't really get it but I get the gist of it."

Mitsuhide simply nodded and took a scroll from her sleeve pocket.

"Anyway, I have the invitation for Iwasawa-sama written by Lady Kyoko. The officiation of the alliance and the festival afterwards will be held here in Fumetsu in two weeks from now. She sent his invitation first because he's the one living furthest from Shinka."

"Well, if you ride the train, you'd get to Fumetsu in just a day and a half. But-"

Suddenly, Kuro saw that Mitsuhide's eyes was carrying an underlying reason that she cannot easily speak out.

"Oh… I get it."

"Yeah… Kusanagi-sama is still a bit angry after that incident. I believe that you were there to hear it yourself, yes?"

"Yeah. I was hiding on the ceiling to guard Iwasawa-sama when she and Sir Ishigawa tried to knock on the door but overheard something that coincidentally made her think the wrong thing."

"Well… she tried to hide it during the entire event for the sake of keeping appearances, but it was quite hard to be left with her work during that time. She was just bawling in her room without facing the paperwork that piled on her office that even Ishigawa-dono asked me to help out."

Suddenly, Kuro thought of a question that he suddenly regretted after he asked it.

"How about you, Lady Ayanami? Aren't you going to make your move too?"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean "Huh?". Why are you asking me back?"

The young woman looked baffled for some reason, but Kuro noticed that slight change in her when he asked that question.

"Forget about it… I already have the answer."

"Umm… okay?"

Afterwards, Kuro and his men left to go home with many notebooks on their packs that contains the intelligence they gathered from their mission.

"Hachi, Ichi…"

""Yes sir?""

"Are women denser than men?"

""Huh?""

Confused with the question, his two subordinates were lost for words.

"She tried to hide it… but even my ears picked that up…"

Kuro can't help but chuckle in delight after thinking about it.

"Oh, lord Iwasawa… will you still stand your ground when the two flowers of Shinka are only blooming towards your direction?"

To Kuro, this might be the best thing that only he is aware of, that makes him this happy to serve his master.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At the Province of Yukonami, the new lord of the province walked through the courtyard as she was covered with armor from head to toe and on her right hand is a heavy polearm made of Spring steel from Naka.

"It is an honor to have you train me, Ayanami-sama."

"Don't bother with the pleasantries. Prepare yourself!"

The clash of the polearm and the soldier's spear echoed on the courtyard as he and the female warrior danced with the blades and sparks it made.

"You're wide open!"

"Ich-!"

He narrowly dodged the downward slash before pulling his arms back to charge in with his spear.

"Don't get so cocky!"

"Now!"

"What?!"

The female warrior raised a defense as she saw him going for a spear thrust on her side but the young man suddenly let go of his weapon and instead, drew his dagger to hit her other side that was left open.

"This is my-"

"Not so fast!"

But he failed. The female warrior twirled around by using the inertia of her heavy polearm and caught his outstretched arm before throwing him down to the ground.

"Aarrgghh…"

"You were quick-witted, but your attacks are too much of a gamble. You're not going to trick anyone in the battlefield with that kind of an obvious attack!"

"I apologize, Lady Ayanami!"

"Rubbish! Go back to the training hall and break your limits before challenging me! Now! Don't waste any second!"

This is Ayanami Mitsuha. Unlike her younger sister who exhibited more womanly traits after overcoming her trauma, the elder sister was still the same uptight and verbally-sharp warrior woman that she is.

"Lady Ayanami, let me help you remove your armor."

"No need. I can do it myself."

When she went back to the castle, a servant offered to help her remove her samurai armor but she turned it down straightly which made the female servant a bit surprised with her tone.

"Would you like some snacks, Lady Ayanami? We have mochi from Shinka's famous shop."

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

But for some reason, the female servants are… a bit too insistent to help her…

"Shall I draw a bath for you, Lady Ayanami? As you've come from training the soldiers, I have prepared one."

"Umm… sure. I'll go after setting my weapons aside."

As if… they're trying to win the favor of a guy that they have a crush on.

"Fuwaah~ It really is relaxing… good thing I brought some of those imported Sake here."

She spoke and poured herself a cup before sipping it.

"Haah… I can't believe that I'll be training louts in this uncivilized corner of the country."

To Ayanami Mitsuha, any other place except Shinka is a wilderness filled with savages.

"But for the sake of Lady Kyoko's orders and ambition, I have to endure this…"

She didn't use the cup anymore. She took the bottle by the neck and knocked it back straight to her lips.

"Still… it's pretty lonely in here. Not even Mitsuhide is free enough to visit me."

As she groaned and felt lightheaded due to the alcohol and the temperature of the bath, she stood up to dry herself and go back to her room.

"….!"

"-?!"

But she felt someone's eyes coming from the changing room and with a stick used to brush the bathhouse's floor, she ran into the room to confront the peeper.

"Come her, you peeping tom!"

"Kyaa! Lady Ayanami! This is just us!"

"Huh?"

As she saw who was inside the changing room, she sighed in relief and put down the stick.

"You should said that you're also taking a bath so I won't have to do this…"

"I-it's our fault. We're sorry, Lady Ayanami…"

"Bah… forget about it. Come on, I'm tired already so let me wear my clothes."

After she left the changing room though, the female servants whispered to each other.

"We almost got killed there…"

"We had a good and near view, didn't we?"

"Yeah. She usually wears an armor above it, so it's hidden, but I've never seen a chest that big."

"What do you think are the size of those?"

"D… no, maybe an E cup if I am estimating it."

That's right. For some reason, the tough and domineering personality of the female general ended up making almost all the female servants in the castle to see her as how they see a man. As for her awareness of this though, it would be a comedic analogy to say that her knowledge about this is the opposite of the size of her chest. In short, she has no knowledge about it at all.

"Huh? What's this?"

"A parcel from Lady Mitsuhide from Shinka. She sent it here through a messenger."

"Is that so? Well, thank you."

The afternoon after that day, a small box was given to her by a servant who said that it came from her younger sister in Shinka.

"Oh, it even has a letter… let's see…"

|To my beloved elder sister and local lord of Yukonami, Ayanami Mitsuha.

It's been a while since we saw each other. Are you gaining weight again from eating too much meat? I trust that you listened to me enough when I scolded you for it. Anyway, I apologize for this news, but I cannot visit you again after the successful enthronement of Lady Kyoko. It left me and Ishigawa-san with so many things to do that I can't even spare a day just to visit Yukonami. But rest assured, when I get a few days off, I'll make sure to get there and tell you all about the things that happened after you were deployed to Yukonami. In exchange for my absence, I want to give you these novels that I just finished reading. I know that you're not one to be interested in reading words, but if you really feel bored, try to read a few pages and I assure you, you'll get hooked on it.

With care and love, Ayanami Mitsuhide.|

After reading it, Mitsuha looked at the two books at the box that has the title "Silver Blade" written on it and a cover art where half of the page has young boy's innocent smiling face while the other side has his face drenched in blood and wearing a terrified expression reflected on a sword.

"Haah… it looks interesting, but books really aren't my type… wait, there's another note."

Behind the second book's rear cover, another piece of paper is attached with a short note.

|Once you get to this part, I bet my new year's money that you'll be bawling your eyes out.|

"Huh?! Is she trying to tell me that my tears are too shallow? Che! I'll read it since she's daring me. Oh… you're going to regret challenging me, Mitsuhide. You're years away from being able to make me cry about something."

That's what she said as she opened the first page and read the introduction. However, by midnight, small beads of liquid dripped on the final page of the novel's second volume.

|"Thank the gods! You're back! You're definitely back!"|

|"…"|

|"Sorry, Ray-kun… I'm so sorry for what I did! I definitely wanted to save you, but the dungeon was already collapsing and I didn't get to pull you up! But… you're back… I don't' know if this is a miracle, but you're finally back, Ray-kun!"|

"Wait… No! Don't tell me that-!"

|"I'm sorry, miss…"|

|"But… who are you and why are you calling me Ray?"|

|To be continued in the third volume.|

"Damn it!!!"

Even though it was the peak of night, she shouted as she rolled on the floor while embracing her pillow in frustration.

"Argh! Why? Why can't he remember her?!?!"

In terms of the dare, Mitsuhide won. While hiding her face on the pillow, the female general's tears were actually streaming down without her control.

"This is inhumane! Why did the author have to leave the conclusion on a cliffhanger?!"

(TN: I understand your pain, Ayanami-sama. The drafts given to us by the author is always like that, so we have to heavily edit it to avoid cliffhangers. If you are reading this, Author Chronia, I hate you and your habit of making cliffhangers especially in this project.)

No longer caring about her bet and the fact that she's bawling her first tears in years, she resolved herself to find the next volume.

"The first and second volume were published a month apart… if that is so…"

Tomorrow morning, a soldier was seen taking a horse out of the stable while carrying a messenger's flag.

"Take care, kiddo!"

"Don't drop the letter, okay?"

But this is just her disguising as one. She said that she's sick and don't want anyone to enter her room, but she snuck out to go to Shinka and find a bookstore where the new volume might be found.

"The third volume of Silver Blade? Ah… sorry kid. It was sold out yesterday during it's first day of release."

"Silver Blade? Oh, don't get me started on it. All the brats suddenly wanted a copy that I had to pull some strings just to get ahold of some, yet they got sold in literal minutes."

"That new novel? Hrm… take this with a pinch of salt, but I think no one in Shinka has it anymore. All of it got sold yesterday."

But as she asked from bookstore to bookstore and peddler to peddler, she was unsuccessful on getting her hands on one.

"Argh! I hate this! I wanna read it as soon as possible!"

Just as she said that, a young man tapped her back and she turned to him.

"I know a place."

"Huh?"

"You want one, right?"

He opened his bag and took out a new copy of the novel that is still covered in wax paper.

"Y-Y-Yes! Where can I find one?!"

"The library is selling them in the castle. I think Lady Mitsuhide are handling them out herself."

"T-Thank you kid! Here, take it and treat yourself with a snack!"

She spoke and gave a few coins to the kid before leaving in a hurry.

"Wow… that soldier sure is a fanatic. Whatever, I think I can buy some candy apples with this."

He spoke and pocketed the coins before going his own way.

"Come on, come on, come on!"

As if riding the wind itself, Mitsuha speeded to Fumetsu castle and when she arrived, a long line leading to the castle library was the first sight.

"What the hell…?"

That was actually an appropriate reaction. After all, not only kids but also adults and elderly people filed in the line just to get this book that was originally aimed for young teenagers.

"Are you as soldier? Why are you lining up there?"

"A-Ah. I-I'm-"

The castle guard commander approached her and knowing that he might recognize her, she raised a scarf to hide her face.

"Wait… oh, you're a soldier from Yukonami. Sorry for the bother, I've had some of the soldiers lining up too even when they are on patrol duty, so I mistook you for one."

However, he recognized the pattern of the armor she was wearing, and he didn't press to identify her anymore.

"It's quite the sight, right?"

"H-huh?"

"That book came out of nowhere. I think it was Lady Mitsuhide who was first seen reading it at a tea shop and because of its cover art and unique title, it suddenly exploded in popularity here until… well, this basically describes it."

He spoke and shrugged at the line with an amused expression.

"Well, we have a warehouse worth of copies of the book that was specially ordered by Lady Ayanami, so don't worry, you'll eventually get it at some point."

"A-Ah… yeah, thanks…"

She replied as the castle guard left and she took her place in the line.

After almost an hour, she was finally at the front and only then did she remember.

"This is Mitsuhide! She'll definitely know that it is me!"

She shouted internally as cold sweat dripped down to her chin.

"Wait… just calm down… pay for it, take it then leave… I can do this without being noticed."

She walked to the table and handed her pay and waited for Mitsuhide to wrap the book in wax paper.

"Thank you for your purchase! I'm sure you'll like it!"

"Y-yes… thank you."

She expected it to be a success but…

"Wait… you… you look familiar…"

"H-huh?"

"That height and armor… have we seen each other before?"

She's suspecting me! I have to speak my way out of this!

"I-I don't believe so… I'm a new recruit at Yukonami who is here to deliver a letter and just happened to want to buy a book, so I don't think we've met before."

"Is that so? Hmm… Oh! You're from Yukonami? Do you know about what happened to the books that I sent to Lady Mitsuha?"

Faced with that question, her pride won't let her speak truthfully.

"I… I think she placed them somewhere and they got drenched in rainwater… I heard it from rumors."

"What?! Argh! That meathead! Why can't she take care of her things except for her armor and weapons?"

Hearing the insults she said, Mitsuha actually wanted to clobber her, but she can't risk exposing herself to her own sister.

"I-I'll be going now…"

"Mm! Tell her that I won' stop sending her copies of the book until she starts to cry!"

Later in the castle, Mitsuha was embracing the book as if it was her child.

"Argh… I really want to read it now, but I can't bring myself to do it!"

It took a while, but after unnecessarily thinking about it, she finally opened the wax paper cover and spent the rest of the evening time to get to the last page.

|"I am not Raymond Morrisson, Miss Catherine. Stop forcing me to become the young man that you loved and left to die!"|

|"B-But… you are his perfect image and-"|

|"My name is Yohanne Asteria Chronia! I am not your friend, Lady Malchives! So, get out of my way and mourn for that boy who looks like me in another place!"|

|To be continued in the fourth volume|

"Damn it!!! Just tell the truth already! You love her too, right?!"

Yeah. Things sure had changed a little for the female general. Now, instead of spending her free time in idleness, she's been re-reading the novels she has her hands on while waiting for the next volume after a month.

Is this perhaps, the change that she will take? Her own unique key to her path to womanhood?