Akatsuki Translations

“Welcome back, Lord Ba Ryouki!”

Ba Ryouki nodded from atop his horse in response to the greeting from the gate guard who had come to receive him.

It felt strange to be called “welcome back” by someone from another country, but it didn’t feel bad to think that he was being welcomed.

After handing his black helmet to the military officer who had accompanied him from his home country, Shanoa, he quickly searched for Libi’s figure.

Unable to spot him in a conspicuous place, Ba Ryouki headed to his borrowed room and found his nephew lying sloppily on the bed.

“What are you doing in the middle of the day?!”

Scolded, Libi immediately sat up and stood.

“I-I apologize! I didn’t expect your return today…”

Libi’s face was gloomy as he apologized and bent his waist. Ba Ryouki, sensing a change in his nephew, swallowed his lecture and sat down on a chair.

Patting Libi’s shoulder, he asked, “What happened?”

“Well, nothing really…”

“I’ve been watching over you since you were wetting the bed. Do you think you can deceive me? Speak honestly.”

Standing still, Libi moistened his lips as if resigned and began to speak.

“Actually—”

Upon hearing the whole story, Ba Ryouki let out a cheerful laugh.

“So you were sulking alone because the princess disliked you?”

“W-Whether she dislikes me or not is still… I just made her angry in a flashy way.”

“Goodness… I wasted my concern. The men of our clan have been inept at love affairs for generations. Don’t fret over a single woman.”

“Yes…”

While he could teach the mindset for battle, it was difficult to advise a young man troubled by love. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses.

“Well, never mind that. More importantly, about the matter I entrusted to you—”

Libi hurriedly interrupted Ba Ryouki’s words with a different topic.

“I’m curious about what happened with the Sanro incident. You wrote in your letter that you would tell me as soon as you returned.”

“Huh? It was nothing serious. One of the exiled princes had gathered an audience and spread rumors that the current king’s enthronement was unjust. The queen learned of it and made a big fuss, calling it a sign of rebellion. I sent someone, and the matter has already been settled.”

“I see.”

Despite his curiosity, Libi ended his response with a quick remark.

“Libi, you’re evading.”

Seeing his nephew’s trembling eyes and swallowing saliva, Ba Ryouki confirmed his suspicions.

He grabbed Libi’s shoulders and interrogated him with a voice resembling a beast’s growl.

“Before your lies become mere falsehoods, spit out everything you’re hiding.”

*

“Hey…”

At the voice lazily calling out to him, Shuou raised his head.

“…What is it?”

“What the hell… You’re still alive. You didn’t move a muscle for a whole day, so I thought you had croaked.”

“Even if I’m awake, it only drains my energy.”

Shuou had established a relationship with the man who introduced himself as Shiga of the Ga tribe, open enough to have occasional conversations.

Listening to the fate that befell the Ga tribe, which had once held great influence in the south, and the circumstances of their fugitive life in seclusion after narrowly escaping, Shuou learned that after the death of Shiga’s only foster parent, his grandfather, Shiga had taken his meager savings and headed to the city, where he indulged in extravagant gambling and became penniless. Afterward, he revealed his true identity, which he should have kept hidden, and while being tossed around among those who sought to exploit him, he ended up being confined here in Coral’s castle after being intoxicated, bringing the story to a close.

The life story of a man who had lived carelessly in the moment was not particularly interesting, but in this situation, it served as entertainment that could somewhat alleviate boredom.

A low rumbling sound from Shiga’s stomach echoed in the prison cell.

“How many days has it been since I last ate…?”

Shiga spoke in a voice that sounded like a rag being wrung out.

“Four days, or five…”

Perhaps due to Shuou’s attitude towards A Zan, there had been no food supply from that day until now, and the twice-daily water rations had become their lifeline.

Accustomed to hunger, Shuou knew well that in situations like this, the best thing to do was to remain still without thinking. However, Shiga seemed to lack tolerance for enduring hunger, and his exhaustion had worsened with each passing day. Likely unable to sleep much, dark circles had formed under his sunken eyes.

“If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have rejoiced when you drove away that pig.”

As Shiga grumbled, Shuou coolly retorted, “Would it have been better to silently let him do as he pleased?”

“Yeah, that might have been much better.”

Shuou fell into a sullen silence.

“Hey, wait a second, he’s coming… It’s him!”

As Shiga spoke in an excited voice, the sound of the prison entrance door creaking was heard immediately after.

Seeing A Zan appear shirtless for some reason, Shiga grinned happily. Witnessing such a contradictory sight, Shuou had to suppress the urge to burst out laughing inappropriately.

“Hey, what’s the meaning of this?! I haven’t eaten anything in ten days!”

Ignoring Shiga’s exaggerated statement, A Zan glared at Shuou.

“How is it? Are you hungry? With an empty stomach, you won’t be able to run your mouth like before. You should have realized who holds the power of life and death over you.”

Shuou suppressed the impulse to retort at the last moment. As Shiga had said, angering A Zan could potentially worsen the situation further.

This man took pleasure in tormenting others. In other words, as long as they played along, he wouldn’t directly try to take their lives.

After some calculation, Shuou pretended to groan and act weakened.

Receiving that response, A Zan gleefully snorted.

“That’s right. Everyone should fear me. Who is the one who governs this Uzumi? Who is the one who climbed to the rank of Black Monk General and married into the royal family?! It is I, A Zan himself, who is the hero! Not that old general, nor my daughter who only boasts of her martial prowess. And certainly not a cheeky prisoner who is merely skilled with a sword!”

A Zan’s words of self-exaltation sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

In an agitated manner, with steam rising from his shoulders, A Zan gripped the short whip at his waist and barged into the cell where Shuou was held.

“Merely whipping you is too lenient. You dared to rebel once, after all. I’ll make you suffer using the method that made many others cry, scream, and beg for their lives.”

Saying that, A Zan threw away the whip, grabbed Shuou’s suspended right hand, and tightly gripped his index finger.

“Have you ever experienced the pain of bones? It’s different from the pain of being hit or cut. The pain that originates from the core of the body brings unbearable agony to humans. I’ve tortured many people, and even those with strong spirits, once their bones are broken, they end up crying and begging for forgiveness before finally submitting. What about you? Try your best to stay sane. If you wail like a little girl, like someone else, it’ll be a real mood-killer.”

As if aware that he fit the description of “someone else,” Shiga scattered his voice in protest.

A Zan ignored the voice cursing him and concentrated all his consciousness on Shuou. Breathing heavily in short breaths, with a face of ecstasy, he bent Shuou’s gripped index finger sideways.

“What’s the matter? Can’t even make a sound from the pain of having your finger broken? Don’t hold back, go ahead and scream, wail, let me hear the voice of defeat.”

However, without fulfilling A Zan’s expectations, Shuou simply raised his head quietly.

“There’s no way I’d cry and scream over something like this.”

As he spoke in a low voice, the sadistic Commanding General staggered back in astonishment.

“…Huh?”

“That just dislocated the distal phalanx. Finger dislocations aren’t as painful as they look.”

A Zan’s eyes widened in confusion.

“Wh-what are you saying?”

From behind, Shiga’s laughter rang out.

“He’s saying it’s not broken, you idiot.”

Mocked by Shiga, A Zan’s face turned red.

“You were making all those threats without even knowing something like this—”

A Zan was flustered. Despite showing such a strong attitude earlier, he now looked like a scrawny stray dog, cowering and unreliable. Shuou even felt irritated by his appearance.

Forgetting his own position and situation, Shuou crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

“Everything you do is half-baked. You just want to feel strong by unilaterally hurting others, you’re nothing but a coward… The loser is you.”

These words had more than enough power to shatter A Zan’s last remaining self-esteem.

Trembling with anger and breathing heavily, A Zan shouted, “Y-you bastaaaaard!”

While screaming in a half-crazed state, he drew the short sword he had at his waist. The moment he stepped forward to slash with the sword raised above his head, Shuou’s eyes didn’t miss it.

The slight slack in the chain restraining his feet. Within that limited range of movement, Shuou lifted his right heel and crushed the area below A Zan’s left ankle as he stepped in.

Letting out a roar from the sudden pain and losing the support of his body, A Zan fell forward towards Shuou.

Shuou bit down on the neck of that giant body falling towards him with all his might.

A Zan’s scream echoed throughout the prison cell.

Determined not to let go of the thrashing body, Shuou also desperately sank his teeth into A Zan’s neck. In a situation where both hands were restrained, using the only means of counterattack available to him, he was prepared to take a life. However, the flesh of A Zan’s neck, which was abundantly covered in excess fat, was thicker than expected, and Shuou, being human, lacked the jaw strength to bite and tear it off.

The guards and attendants, who quickly noticed the abnormality, came and punched the face of the prisoner biting their master’s neck.

Overwhelmed by the force, Shuou’s teeth dislodged from A Zan’s neck.

Spitting out the saltiness of sweat and the lukewarm blood with an iron smell that filled his mouth, staining his lips red, Shuou stared at the guards who were bewildered by the sudden event. Behind them, in the cell, Shiga had his mouth agape, looking dumbfounded.

“K-kill hiiim! Stop that man’s breath right nooow!!” A Zan howled while pressing on the fresh blood dripping from his neck, where tooth marks remained.

The soldiers, who still seemed unable to grasp the situation, nevertheless attempted to faithfully execute their master’s orders. One of them drew his sword and pointed the tip at Shuou. But at that moment…

“Wait!!”

An angry voice that pierced the air like thunder poured cold water on the chaotic atmosphere of the scene.

“L-Lord Ba Ryouki…”

As one of the guards muttered that, a familiar old soldier clad in black leather armor appeared as the owner of the voice.

The old soldier surveyed the situation and let out a sigh with a grim expression.

“What a ridiculous thing…”

Just as he spoke quietly, he strode past A Zan, who was sitting on the ground in astonishment, with a force that seemed to make the ground rumble, and thrust his fist into the stomach of the guard pointing his sword at Shuou.

Knocked out by a single blow, the guard dropped his sword and collapsed.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

A Zan angrily shouted, but the old soldier calmly responded.

“I’ll return those words to you. I’m not in a position to criticize your hobby of tormenting prisoners, but I have a connection with this man. If possible, I’d like to take custody of his life.”

At the sudden turn of events, Shuou’s eyes widened.

A Zan twisted his lips and rejected the old soldier’s offer.

“No… no, no, no, no, no! It cannot be, it must not be! Even if it’s a request from an old general, to pardon someone who killed many of our army’s Stellar Knights and even attempted to kill me!”

“…I wish to settle the score with this man, which I missed the chance to do during the battle. It would be too much of a waste to torture and kill such a skilled warrior. As a reward for the previous battle, I ask that you at least consider allowing us to determine the victor through proper means.”

At the old soldier’s proposal, A Zan flared his nostrils and pondered over something.

“I’m making arrangements to hold a victory celebration in the near future. If you promise to take that man’s life as entertainment at that event, Veteran General…”

The old soldier nodded firmly.

“I have no objections. Then, until that time, allow me to take custody of this man.”

The old soldier turned his gaze to Shuou. Noticing that the wrinkled eyes widened in surprise for a moment, Shuou averted his face as if to hide his festered skin.

The old soldier silently glanced around and picked up the eye patch A Zan had thrown away, solemnly returning it to Shuou’s face.

To the guards standing in a daze, the old soldier inquired, “Where is this man’s sword?”

But the man asked only shook his head silently.

“Libi!!”

As the old soldier shouted, a young man who had been standing in a corner at some point straightened his back with a strained face.

“Y-yes!”

“I’ll give you a chance to atone for your disobedience. Find the sword this man wielded. It should have a blade of moderate length, not too long or too short, with an engraved crest of a beast resembling a dog or wolf.”

“I-I will definitely find it!!”

With his restraints removed and new makeshift restraints attached, Shuou was urged to leave the prison with the old soldier. Along the way, the soldier quietly brushed off Shiga’s strong desire to also have a duel with him.

As Shuou followed behind the old soldier with a staggering body due to prolonged restraint and hunger, a girl with an inappropriately beautiful appearance stood alone in the long corridor, her mouth slightly open, gazing intently at him.