Chapter 16 Shizu’s Request

After sending her soldiers to rest in the village barracks, Shizu made her way to the village chief's house and began to look for her father. After being told by a servant of the house that Ozen was in the study, she rushed over to see him.

While Yashimu was supposed to be in charge of giving the final report, Shizu wanted to give the report so she could make a request of her father.

Opening the door to the study, Shizu saw that her father was sitting at a table as he was going through and reading reports. Her mind went back to remembering Azi's comment about kings sitting on their thrones as other people did the work in the field. She didn't want to admit it at the time, but Azi was right.

During Ozen's initial appointment as King of Kujyuri, he was an outgoing man who fought wild monsters to reclaim land for their nation in the years before his next appointment as a Great General. With his accomplishments he was given the alias of Land Reclaimer by the people.

Ozen was also loved by the people of Kujyuri as he was originally just an ordained knight of Yamato from a peasant family. The love of the people was only furthered as not only did Ozen become a great King, he was awarded the title of Great General from the merits he earned as King of Kujyuri.

His Great General title also came with the official title of Great Reclaimer from the Emperor who had offered it after he had also reclaimed a very large swath of land that had an enormous ruin in its area.

The title had the authority over other kings who were not given this title and with it, he was considered one of the hands of the Emperor's will. The name for the collective hands of the emperor are then known as the 8 Pillars of Power and each held a great amount of merit and expertise.

In any situation, the Great Generals only acted at the order of the Emperor and it was an honor to be given this title as it represented that the awarded person was considered a trump card of the divine god of their nation.

Shizu, witnessing her father doing paperwork, could only admit that Ozen was now like a sheathed blade that would only be brought out at the call of the Emperor. With her mind only briefly distracted by the memory of Azi's words, she recomposed herself and moved to stand across from her father. She approached in a formal manner and stood at attention as she could not break etiquette.

"My King, I have returned with news."

Keeping his eyes on the paperwork Ozen motioned her to come closer to the desk.

"I am glad you have returned Shizu, make your report."

Taking out a map, Shizu then laid it out on the table and began pointing at certain areas surrounding the western mountains of Shisayama.

"Firstly, our team found a kengiri in the western forest and we are still waiting for the eastern forest teams to return. We suspect that the cause of the increase in monsters was due to the kengiri scaring off other monsters away from the nest it built in the forest. With its death we believe the monster attacks will lessen as they will no longer be driven out of the forest by the kengiri."

Shizu then continued to inform him of Yashiumi's current object and then took out a piece of the Kengiri's carapace from her bag and laid it on the table as proof of her findings.

"Secondly, as we have found evidence of a kengiri nest which entails that there may be more. We should mobilize more soldiers from Shisayama or Yamato to exterminate any remaining kengiri or anything of equivalent strength when you depart."

Taking a pause to allow Ozen to examine to kengiri carapace thoroughly, Shizu continued when he looked up and made eye contact with her.

"Thirdly, Yashimu will be returning with the spoils of the western forest in a day after he finishes his final sweep. Additionally, there were no casualties in the western parties."

Ozen's brows twitched as he thought he heard wrong and was confused by Shizu's last point. He had received different news from Yashimu and believed that Azi was fatally wounded. His gaze became questioning and he asked.

"What of Azi? Did he not pass on?"

"Initially, yes, we believed that Azi would not recover, but the apothecary and thaumaturge believe that their initial examinations were incorrect since Azi recovered on his own. I don't know how it happened but I believe they were on time with their treatment but missed the signs that he was on the road to recovery."

A relieved smile returned to Ozen's face as he was delighted by the good news but frowned a bit when he found some fault in the matter. "That is good.... BUT!! Why did you bring an amnesiac boy on a hunt to fight monsters?! Just how reckless can you be with the lives of others?!"

Shizu flinched back at Ozen's tone but nonetheless remained resolute.

"I believed we would be fine. Kajima suggested to teach Azi about forest survival and because Kajima and I would be with him, his protection was of no concern."

While Ozen thought to berate Shizu for thinking so highly of herself, he also knew that her skills in combat had no equal to any other Ordain knight of Kujyuri.

Shizu had bested even himself in a sparring match, so he knew that Shizu's failure did not have a correlation to her combat strength. He inquired about Yashimu to test a hypothesis he came up with concerning this incident.

"Did Yashimu not inform you of potentially encountering a strong predatory animal and monster while on this investigation?"

"No, he did not, Yashimu said we were short on time so he only told everyone that we were to only investigate."

"That damn boy." Whispered Ozen, he then sighed and placed his hands together to steady his hands that trembled in anger. "In any case I understand your situation Shizu, but this does not dismiss the fact that the boy you were to protect was harmed. I will give you a fitting punishment for your failure in taking care of him. You will not be given leadership on the next hunt or any operations for the foreseeable future. Instead, I will have one of your younger siblings have a chance to prove themselves."

"I understand." Gritting her teeth, Shizu knew that she was going to miss out on a chance to earn more merit for her own goals but kept her intentions hidden behind her stoic front.

"There is more to the report, may I continue?"

Ozen nodded to Shizu and he heard her observations of how intelligent Azi was when it came to learning as he seemingly dove headfirst into studying. She then continued about how he had a wild side as he went berserk during the fight with the kengiri and managed to kill 3 gengiri on his own. She then embarrassingly told about how he had protected her from a fatal strike from the kengiri.

This impressed Ozen, as he began to think that his decision to help this unknown boy was already paying off.

"Astounding. For a boy that young to do that much, he has much potential. Perhaps I should find him a wife from the village as I would prefer to have him grow up here in Kujyuri."

Realization dawned on Shizu as she forgot to mention her finds on Azi's age.

"Ummm father, Azi is actually 27 years old."

Surprised by her words, Ozen choked on the water he was drinking and he coughed reflexively to get the water out of his system"

"*Cough Cough* 27 *cough* years old. Are you sure?"

"Yes I heard it from himself, and Kajima was there as a witness."

Slight disappointment overcame him since if Azi really was 27, then his idea to get him married to a citizen of Kujyuri had no chance of happening. The women of the Empire of Yamato only married men that were between 15 to 25 years old as this was considered the prime age to marry. Anyone married after 25 chooses to marry for circumstance rather than actually familial bonds.

While he thought that Azi's young features could be used as a way to fake his age, he knew that doing so would erode the relationship Ozen wanted Azi to have with a citizen of Kujyuri. While his agenda was to use Azi for his potential and skills, he at least wanted him to have an uninterrupted or fabricated relationship.

Ozen then tried to think of a different way to keep Azi in Kujyuri, but his thinking was broken by Shizu.

"Father, there is no need to worry about trying to keep Azi in Kujyuri. Kajima has taken an interest in the boy and they seem to get along well. They constantly talk about medicinal herbs, foods, and a variety of other topics as well."

"That's good to hear, but it would be better to have something more concrete to keep him here. Someone other than Kajima would be preferable since Kajima needs to stay in Shisayama to continue his work as a blacksmith and his duty to the nation."

Ozen then looked at the nearby map on the table.

"I expect that Azi will want to visit other nations to figure out his past. Additionally, I want him to gain experiences and skills that can't be found in Kujyuri. This way he will be able to return to share what he had gained from his foreign experiences. We would need someone we can trust to keep an eye on him but since Kajima cannot travel due to his work, I will have to think on who to send."

"I think I have an idea on how we can get Azi to stay and to return."

"Enlighten me."

"Father, I would like you to station me in Shisayama as Azi's combat instructor. He will be my apprentice and I would like to nominate him as a potential candidate for my hand in marriage."

Ozen was again surprised as his eyes snapped open. While he did not expect her to offer to become Azi's combat instructor, never could he have predicted that she would choose him as a marriage candidate.

He believed the two got along like water and oil after their first interactions, but his surprise subsided as he remembered that Shizu had witnessed Azi take a hit for her. With his surprise subsiding, Ozen clasped his hand together and closed his eyes to think on if he should really humor such a plan of action.

After a few moments, Ozen opened his eyes and looked sternly at Shizu. "Are you sure? He is only a peasant. If you marry him, you will be giving up your chance for higher prestige. In addition, this will cause friction with the other ordained knight families. Are you sure you can deal with the backlash of your actions?"

"That is why I will train him. If you remember, there are trials my potential candidates must pass to have my hand in marriage. First is a trial of survival, the second is a trial of strength, the third is a trial of wisdom, and a final fourth is a trial of character. Each trial is based on my own opinion and since I set the bar high it is likely that the candidates that can pass these trials would become an ordained knight at the least."

Ozen sighed at the whimsical and picky nature of Shizu's standards. "I have forgotten just how picky you are with men, but you make a good point. If you transfer to Shisayama you can keep a closer eye on Azi. If you win his heart, you will also make yourself his reason to come back to Kujyuri should he decide to travel. In addition, should he intend to travel to dangerous places you can go with him to ensure that he comes back alive."

Ozen then took another few moments to deliberate on the pros and cons of Shizu's proposal and after another few seconds he came to a decision. "I will allow it, but the work you left in Kujyuri will be sent to you here in Shisayama. Make sure you take care of that and be sure to not get the boy killed from here on."

Somewhat giddy that her request was accepted, Shizu let a small smile creep onto her lips as a building excitement welled up in her chest.

"Thank you, father, I will do my best."

Seeing the anticipation in her eyes, Ozen prayed that Azi would survive her combat training as he knew of absurd lengths Shizu would go to hone her candidates into "capable" men.

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