Mission Progress: 22%

He read out the first name.

Someone in the crowd covered their mouth.

The second name.

An old man crouched down, his shoulders shaking.

The third name.

The woman who ran a market stall rushed out of the crowd.

She stood below the platform, looking up at the old file in Shikaku's hands. Her whole body trembled as she stared at it.

Her lips moved for a long time before she managed a sound, her voice so hoarse it hardly sounded human:

"That's my husband."

She reached out and pointed to a line in the file. Her fingertip shook, and so did her voice:

"I was only twenty when he left. He told me he'd come back after this battle. We'd build a new house and have a child."

She whipped her head around and stared at Mitokado Homura on the platform, her eyes bloodshot.

"He died at the River of Rain! He died on the day you stood by and did nothing!!"

Cries erupted across the Square.

Some remembered fathers who had never returned. Others remembered brothers who had left nothing behind but a letter home. Still others thought of the lame old man next door, who sat by his door and watched the village entrance whenever it rained.

"My dad died that year!"

"Give me back my dad!"

"Three Clans! How many lives do you owe us?!"

Curses, sobs, and screams merged into a single roar, washing over the entire Square like boiling blood.

Mitokado Homura stood on the platform as the color slowly drained from his face.

He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but the curses crashed over him in waves, shattering his words before they could leave his throat.

Utatane Koharu buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook, and tears seeped between