"Keep me informed of any progress regarding Shira's trial."
This was unlike his forceful insistence last time that he would not interfere in internal affairs.
A few days earlier, during a court session, the Revolutionary Army had cut off the Imperial Capital's supply routes, causing a series of losses.
Several ministers who had originally opposed Honest were collectively impeached by the civil officials in court.
They were dismissed from their posts for dereliction of duty.
Yet those officials had not actually had much to do with the matter.
After witnessing how, once Honest spoke up, all the civil officials swarmed forward together—
General Budou could not help but feel a chill in his heart.
What worried him most was the Young Emperor, in whom he had always placed such high hopes.
The boy obeyed Honest in everything.
He had no opinions of his own whatsoever.
This greatly shook General Budou's previous belief that he only needed to wait for the Young Emperor to mature.
Before I knew it, the court had become Honest's court.
And the new emperor was more like a puppet.
At that thought, General Budou's brows furrowed even tighter.
He had always adhered to the ancestral rule that military officials must not interfere in internal affairs.
General Budou rarely involved himself in court politics, but recently, after Yorii Tsugikuni's appearance had caused a huge disagreement between him and his subordinates—
The normally stubborn man had begun to waver slightly.
Thus, Budou began turning his attention toward the internal affairs he had previously paid little heed to.
Only then did he discover that the state of the Empire's internal administration was far worse than he had imagined.
"Send a letter to Jolie for me. This must be handled in secret."
After most of the people had left, General Budou kept behind several of his most trusted subordinates.
Having realized the seriousness of the issue, General Budou decided to make some arrangements.
He thought of Jolie, a former Imperial minister. Compared to Honest's insatiable greed, General Budou still vividly remembered how diligently former minister Liva had served during his tenure.
After eating something simple—
Yorii Tsugikuni returned to his room.
The wooden doll-shaped protective charm Sayo had prayed for him at an Anning Dao church a few days ago was coated in a faint silvery glow beneath the moonlight shining through the window.
Yorii Tsugikuni's gaze fell upon a sheet of paper pressed beneath the charm.
Over this period of contact, he and Night Raid had gradually developed the habit of communicating through letters.
Whenever Night Raid had something to tell him, or whenever he had questions—
They would leave their respective messages on paper.
"Regarding the nautical books Mr. Yorii Tsugikuni requested, we are already gathering them..."
Yorii Tsugikuni placed the charm Sayo had given him beside his pillow, then picked up the letter and began reading.
After shifting his focus toward the sea, Yorii Tsugikuni had begun considering how to reach the other side of the ocean.
Thus, after offering suitable payment, Yorii Tsugikuni had asked Night Raid to keep an eye out for books related to seafaring.
"I may not come by for some time. If anything comes up in the future, Sheele will take my place and contact you..."
After reading the first page, Yorii Tsugikuni looked at the second. The familiar handwriting, along with the cat paw print at the end, made it obvious that Chelsea had left it.
Did something happen to Chelsea?
After reading Chelsea's letter, a faint crease appeared on Yorii Tsugikuni's usually cold face.
Though he had only met Chelsea a few times and they stood on opposing sides, his impression of her was not particularly bad.
Chelsea had also helped him quite a few times.
Thus, Yorii Tsugikuni recalled how Chelsea had chatted with him at the orphanage a few days ago, mentioning that she intended to tell some of her Night Raid companions about matters concerning the Revolutionary Army and the Foreign Tribes.
Though he did not know why Chelsea would not appear again for a while—
Yorii Tsugikuni had a vague guess.
Perhaps some of Chelsea's remarks had led to restrictions being placed on her within the Revolutionary Army.
Sheele is the girl in purple, isn't she?
After handing the two finished letters to Adai beside him, Yorii Tsugikuni recalled the people he had seen during his past encounters with Night Raid.
A girl wearing strange transparent ornaments and carrying a huge pair of scissors appeared in his mind.
"Little bunny, be good... Eat, eat..."
As Yorii Tsugikuni was thinking—
Adai began disposing of the letters Yorii Tsugikuni had handed over.
The little rabbit at his waist jumped down, appeared before him, and grew to the same size as itself.
Very quickly, it devoured all the letters Adai fed it.
Chelsea had instructed Yorii Tsugikuni to dispose of the letters this way.
After hearing her explanation, Yorii Tsugikuni had followed her instructions.
Chelsea's reason had been simple: keeping those letters might bring Yorii Tsugikuni trouble.
Ran's Arrival, Esdeath's Gift
The night quickly passed.
Although they had captured the former minister's son the day before—
Yorii Tsugikuni still led everyone through morning training as usual.
Aside from Tatsumi, who had returned to his hometown, Sayo, Sayo, and Ieyasu were all present. Naturally, Adai was there as well.
After mastering the Breathing Techniques—
Everyone's practice gradually shifted from breathing exercises to swordsmanship training.
Yorii Tsugikuni began teaching several simple sword forms.
"Hello, everyone. I'm a new Security Force member. My name is Ran."
Just after the morning training ended—
Yorii Tsugikuni and the others spotted a handsome young man by the training grounds.
Among the newcomers recruited after the Security Force began hiring, he was the strongest. Since he was an Imperial Arms User—
Following Security Force custom, Ran had temporarily been assigned as the vice-captain of a squad.
For the time being, Yorii Tsugikuni had placed him in the same group as Ieyasu.
"Hello."
Yorii Tsugikuni nodded.
He had already reviewed Ran's background when he arrived at the Security Force that morning.
Ran had originally been a teacher and had only recently come to the Imperial Capital from Ruyue in the Empire's central region.
However, whether Ran could become a qualified Security Force member would depend on his future performance.
"Your Security Force is much livelier."
"Looks like there are some new faces again."
Kurome walked over from afar, surveying the newcomers training hard in the field.
She smiled as she approached Yorii Tsugikuni. "These people look weak, but they're working quite hard."
"Mm."
Because a large number of Security Force members had left, Yorii Tsugikuni had recruited another batch from the slums.
Many of these new recruits were quite frail.
But compared to the previous people who had merely gone through the motions in training, they were much better.
Moreover, Yorii Tsugikuni had discovered several among them with considerable talent for cultivation.
"I came this time at General Esdeath's request."
"To bring some things to you, Captain."
Kurome directed Yorii Tsugikuni's gaze toward the Security Force entrance.
People were continuously carrying supplies into the Security Force.
"Bringing things?"
Yorii Tsugikuni looked at Kurome in confusion.
He did not understand why Esdeath had suddenly sent him anything.
"Captain, don't tell me you've forgotten that your decisive battle with General Esdeath is only a little over ten days away?"
"Several roads destroyed by the Revolutionary Army are currently being repaired, and food supplies in the Imperial Capital have become a problem."
Kurome casually opened a box brought by her subordinates, revealing dried meat and other necessities inside. "General Esdeath was afraid your condition would be affected when the time came, so she had me bring this food over."
"It's dried meat—and fruit, too."
Ieyasu stared wide-eyed at the steadily arriving supplies.
These things were scarce goods in the Imperial Capital now.
Fruit in particular could no longer be bought anywhere on the market.
Even the most ordinary fruit, such as apples, had been driven up to a full gold coin apiece on the black market.
Looking at the supplies piled into a small mountain, Yorii Tsugikuni had originally wanted to refuse.
But before he could speak, Kurome had already tossed out a sentence and left with a smile. "Captain Yorii Tsugikuni, General Esdeath said she won't accept refusal!"
Yorii Tsugikuni said nothing further.
Although Esdeath's methods were somewhat domineering—
There was no doubt that she had shown him goodwill.
"Master, this afternoon's trial will be held at the East District courthouse."
"I wonder what the final verdict will be."
Sayo relayed the notice she had just received to Yorii Tsugikuni.
After Shira had been captured, Imperial legal procedure required that he be tried first.
Only then could his crimes be determined.
Sayo was somewhat worried about the coming trial.
"Let's go take a look first."
Yorii Tsugikuni gently rubbed Sayo's hair, signaling that she need not worry too much.
Whatever was meant to happen would happen.
All he could do was remain true to himself and do his utmost.
Before you continue