I'm a Fleet All by Myself!

Ch'en Huijie.

She was a meteor streaking across the sky, throwing every challenger's plans into disarray.

And all she had done was set up a small tent at the shrine entrance. Nothing more.

Starting with Shingen, whenever a challenger arrived at Yae Shrine, Ch'en would slowly emerge from the tent with Chi Xiao slung over her shoulder. Its crimson killing intent was tightly sealed within its pitch-black scabbard, which looked like a heavy sword of black iron when swung.

Nothing in Lungmen was more terrifying than an enraged Constable Ch'en.

Hoshino sighed with relief. Good thing she had not transformed into Yae Sakura; otherwise, that little broken wooden sword would have been reduced to ashes by Chi Xiao.

She had been hired to protect the Shimada Family's secret and could not let outsiders discover that Flood Dragon Cutter was merely a wooden sword painted silver. With Yae Sakura's swordsmanship, it was more than enough to deal with top swordsmen. But Ch'en was different. A wooden sword would burn upon meeting Chi Xiao, crackling away, and then the truth would be impossible to hide.

Why did she have to show up at a time like this?!

Thirteen challengers had come today, of every race: sturdy young Forte men, nimble Cautus, clever Feline casters. Most of the time, Ch'en intimidated them into retreating with a glare. For those who failed to take the hint, she smashed them with her scabbard.

And she kept talking while doing it, ruining her opponents' moods.

"Fighting and causing trouble in Lungmen's urban district, and resisting arrest. Take them in!"

The challengers then slunk away in defeat. Martial arts, jianghu rules, a swordsman's honor—none of it was as tangible as a pair of handcuffs.

Hoshino stared in astonishment.

At dusk, the final challenger arrived. She rode a motorcycle with Hannya Shield over her shoulder and a lunch box hanging from the handlebars. The scent of cheese filled the shrine as the motorcycle came to a stop after a beautiful drift.

"Who's next?"

Ch'en shouted on reflex, then rubbed her eyes. "Hoshiguma? What are you doing here?"

"I brought you dinner." Hoshiguma handed over the lunch box. "A new Italian cheese pasta place opened beside the Guard Department. I had the tomato meatball one and thought it was pretty good, so I brought you the grilled eel with cheese."

"Uh... thanks."

Ch'en truly had not expected her friend to quietly come all this way just to bring her food.

Ch'en set down her scabbard, leaned against the vermilion torii gate, and began eating. Hoshiguma knew her habits, so instead of a fork, she had packed a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks. The split chopsticks snapped crisply apart. Taking the opportunity, Hoshiguma stepped into the shrine grounds, intending to have a look around.

"Pretty nice."

She looked around. The long row of dark-red torii gates gave Hoshiguma an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Until she saw that god.

Three heads tall, five tails, big eyes—the adorable Hiyumaru god.

"What is that?"

She turned back and asked, "Where's the shrine maiden? Why are you worshipping a giant figurine in there?"

Hoshiguma did not see the pink-haired fox. There was only a white-haired girl, whose racial traits had been concealed by Originium Arts, making it impossible to tell what race she belonged to. But judging from her face, she was a complete stranger.

"Kallen."

Hoshino pretended they were meeting for the first time.

"You're Hoshiguma, right? Sakura mentioned you before, so I suppose we can be considered acquainted. As for why we put a figurine there, we specifically looked into it."

"?"

"Yae Sakura's title is Gyakushinn Miko. There was never a god in her heart to begin with. So-called service to the gods is really just service to one's true self. Many people in our shrine follow different beliefs too, so it did not seem appropriate to put anyone else there..."

Hoshino spun nonsense off the top of her head.

"So you just openly put a figurine there?"

"It's not a figurine."

In her normal state, Kallen was the Light of the Knight. Her words carried a gallantry entirely unlike that of a shrine maiden, yet they were utterly convincing. She gave people the sense that she always lived beneath the sunlight, making them involuntarily wonder whether her nonsense might hold some deeper meaning.

In that regard, she had something in common with a shrine maiden.

"You see her as a figurine because when you worship, your eyes are closed. What you worship is the god in your own heart."

"..."

"Here, I place more faith in Buddhism—gods and Buddhas have no form."

"..."

Hoshiguma was genuinely surprised by this eloquent speech. She was merely an Oni girl passing through and did not care much about religious matters, so she was easily led in circles. She could only cut the conversation short, close her eyes, imagine the giant Hiyumaru figurine as the Oni in her heart, and bow devoutly twice.

"Please let Old Ch'en get out of this predicament..."

She murmured, then opened her eyes.

Before Hoshiguma, Kallen held out a donation box and gently shook it. There was not a sound; it was completely empty.

"?"

"Don't look at me like that. How much you give is a matter of fate."

Hoshiguma was stunned. "I've never heard of a shrine actively asking visitors for money. What kind of shrine is this? Is it even legitimate?"

"Yae Shrine. A five-hundred-year-old establishment. Honest to children and elders alike."

Hoshino continued shaking the donation box. "Once you give money, you've formed a bond. Believe me, I might make a small profit, but you'll never lose out."

"..."

Oni could sense people's malice. Hoshiguma felt no malice from this white-haired girl; even asking her for money seemed filled with kindness.

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Hoshiguma put in five hundred.

Five blue banknotes drifted down as lightly as feathers. Hoshino set down the donation box, then, while Rope was watching Constable Ch'en eat noodles at the entrance, called Hoshiguma over to talk. This was an exchange of information; they needed to trade intelligence on Rope and Ch'en.

Hoshino spoke first. "I heard someone say that you're handling Rope's assessment. Give me a clear standard. You can ask me some questions, and I'll ask Yae Sakura to discuss them with you. I guarantee that anything I agree to is the same as her agreeing to it."

Nonsense. She was Yae Sakura herself.

This was to create the impression that she had many companions, all of whom had exceptionally close relationships. Such a force would surely be terrifying. But in reality, Hoshino was the only person in the entire shrine. By herself, she was the whole Hyperion Fleet.

Sure enough, Hoshiguma fell for it.

Just as Hoshino had expected, Hoshiguma asked, "How many members does Yae Shrine have?"

"Fourteen."

She answered truthfully. In fact, that was only the number of characters. If it came down to the number of armors, there were too many to count. These were all characters she had already unlocked or would soon unlock, and they were very effective for bluffing people.

Hoshiguma fell silent, though Hoshino could not tell whether she had been frightened or had finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"My turn. Give me a specific requirement. What exactly does Rope need to do to pass your Guard Department's secret assessment?"

"Rope is already doing very well, but my standards are strict. In my view, she needs to have at least one instance of disregarding her own life and trying to sacrifice herself to save someone else."

"Does your Guard Department only recruit saints?"