This made Shira, who aspired to surpass his father, take an interest in the man called Yorii Tsugikuni.
Smack!
Smack!!
Smack!!!
Three crisp, resounding slaps rang out across Shira's face, especially clear and pleasant in the vast hall.
"My foolish son."
"When will you finally learn to be smarter?"
Honest continued smiling amiably at his son, Shira.
He gently patted Shira's face, already swollen from the blows, though his tone was full of chill.
For so long, he had painstakingly worked to win Yorii Tsugikuni over.
Yet his son Shira had only just returned to the Imperial Capital and had nearly reduced all his previous efforts to nothing.
If Shira had not been his son, what Honest had used just now would not have been slaps, but a knife.
"I didn't leave behind any evidence."
"He has no way to convict me, nor can he arrest me."
Feeling the burning pain on his face,
Shira's words were full of defiance.
He could not understand why Honest had reacted so strongly to this matter.
Or why he had hit him over an outsider.
"No evidence, no conviction?"
"If I could, I'd really stuff you back into your mother's womb."
Honest shook his head.
He was deeply disappointed in this son of his.
Not a trace of his excellent genes had been inherited, and everything else about him was a complete mess as well.
He simply did not understand what the real issue was.
Over this period of time, through his observations of Yorii Tsugikuni,
Honest had already figured out Yorii Tsugikuni's temperament. So long as no one provoked him or trampled on matters within the Security Force's duties before his eyes,
that man would not interfere too much in other affairs.
The reason he had warned his subordinates to restrain themselves was to avoid clashing with Yorii Tsugikuni.
Even if he could not bring Yorii Tsugikuni into his camp, he still had to avoid making an enemy of him.
But now, Shira had directly shattered the balance he had worked so hard to maintain.
I hope Esdeath can keep him in check.
When Esdeath returned this time, she had quickly sent Yorii Tsugikuni an invitation. Honest had played a part in guiding that.
In Honest's view, Yorii Tsugikuni was beginning to feel somewhat beyond his control.
Thus, his purpose in steering Esdeath into fighting Yorii Tsugikuni was simple: to suppress Yorii Tsugikuni a little.
After all, compared to Yorii Tsugikuni, his relationship with Esdeath was much more stable.
Naturally, he had also anticipated and prepared for the worst-case scenario.
But the chances of that happening were extremely low, and its impact on him would be very limited.
"Stay put and don't provoke that man."
"If you die, I'll be very happy."
As he patted Shira's face, Honest's tone was full of warning.
A Battle That Drew All Eyes, Sayo's Disappearance
News that Esdeath and Yorii Tsugikuni were going to fight soon spread everywhere.
Because both of them were far too famous, the battle drew the attention of every faction within the Imperial Capital.
Although the battle had been set for one month later,
speculation over its outcome quickly became the Imperial Capital residents' favorite topic of conversation after meals.
The major gambling houses also began taking bets on the outcome of the fight.
While the outside world was in an uproar...
"If there's anything you need us to cooperate with, Yorii, just say the word."
"As for Shira, he's currently traveling in the south. He may return in a few days."
Outside Honest's residence,
Honest was extremely welcoming toward Yorii Tsugikuni, who had come to investigate.
After leading Yorii Tsugikuni and the others through the residence for an inspection, he reluctantly saw Yorii Tsugikuni's group off.
"Master."
"I feel like Honest is obviously lying, but I can't see where the problem is."
Although Honest had been extremely cooperative throughout the inspection,
and had not put on any airs at all,
Ieyasu still felt that something was off.
"Whether he is lying or not,"
"at least it is true that Shira is not in his residence."
Yorii Tsugikuni led the group slowly down the street.
Honest was like a loach, leaving no opening for anyone to seize upon.
He maintained a completely businesslike attitude throughout.
"What should we do next?"
Sayo looked at Yorii Tsugikuni. They had already been investigating this matter for a week.
Yet they had not found a single clue.
"Wait for him to appear."
"For now, focus our efforts on other matters."
Yorii Tsugikuni considered it for a moment before quickly making his decision.
Although Shira was currently the prime suspect, they had been unable to find him at all.
There was no point in letting things continue like this.
The Security Force still had many matters to handle. They could not keep wasting time on this indefinitely.
Did he disappear?
Yorii Tsugikuni walked forward slowly.
He had just sensed someone spying on them, but that presence had quickly vanished completely.
"All right, then."
"We got paid today. Come to think of it, we still owe Sister Sayo a feast."
Sayo nodded.
She temporarily put those troubling matters aside.
In the blink of an eye, the few of them had already spent a month in the Security Force.
A month was not long, but they had still done a great many things.
Taking out her purse, Sayo smiled happily.
Over the past month, Sayo had taken great care of them.
They had long agreed to treat Sayo to a grand meal.
"I already told Sayo about it this morning."
"She said she would come find us after delivering food to the orphanage."
At the mention of a feast, Ieyasu was the first to raise both hands in agreement.
And after mastering the Breathing Techniques, he felt hungry much faster than before.
Inside the restaurant they often visited,
after ordering all the dishes,
Yorii Tsugikuni, Sayo, and the others began waiting for Sayo to arrive.
While they waited, they began chatting.
"Master."
"I want to return to my hometown. The Empire is too chaotic now, so sending money back simply isn't realistic."
Tatsumi poured Yorii Tsugikuni a cup of hot tea. According to their original plan,
after finding a way forward in the Imperial Capital, they would regularly send supplies or money back to the people in their hometown.
But recently, because of the famine, many refugees had begun following members of the Revolutionary Army to cut off major transport routes and seize food.
With supply routes into the Imperial Capital being cut off recently, food and all kinds of goods had begun rising in price.
Therefore, Tatsumi wanted to make the trip himself and deliver some things to the people in his hometown.
"Mm."
"Be careful on the road."
Yorii Tsugikuni nodded.
Under the famine, conditions within the Empire had grown increasingly worse.
During the past week, they had taken part in investigating at least three or four cases of food being stolen.
"Why hasn't Sister Sayo come yet?"
"Could something have happened to her?"
Sayo looked out the window. The sun in the west had already sunk low, yet Sayo still had not arrived.
She could not help but grow worried.
"I'll go take a look."
Ieyasu set down the teacup in his hand and headed for the door.
Yorii Tsugikuni, meanwhile, took out the tracker.
"Is this Sister Sayo?"
"She's still at the orphanage... She disappeared?"
Seeing Yorii Tsugikuni take out the tracker, Sayo and Tatsumi leaned over.
At first, seeing that the dot representing Sayo was still there, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But suddenly, the dot representing Sayo vanished.
"Adai, let's go!"
Before you continue