Chapter 30: The Elite Assassin

Page (1/3)

“No.”

Hyakusuke did his best to steady his emotions.

“Good day, Miss Yamei… May I ask, what brings you to seek me out today?”

“It is nothing important, but am I not allowed to come and see you?”

The original male protagonist—in other words, Miss Yamei—winked with one eye and gave a light laugh.

“By the way, Sir Hyakusuke, would you accompany me for a little stroll through town?”

Would objecting now even do any good?

…

The local post town had a modest marketplace consisting of a single street. Though small, it had everything one might need: inns and teahouses, of course, as well as lending libraries, barbershops, apothecaries, general stores, and little stalls selling dried goods and fruit.

The street of the post town served as a commercial district. People streamed along both sides, while the buildings were all wooden townhouses. These rows of wooden structures could serve as homes or shops.

“The weather is truly lovely today. Perfect for going out and taking a stroll…”

“She” giggled.

“Come to think of it, what should we buy?”

“Big Sister, stop staring at the confectionery shop. We came out to take care of something important.”

The speaker was a girl dressed in a maple-colored short-sleeved kimono. She was still quite young, perhaps thirteen or fourteen.

Her name was Ayaka, and she was discreetly tugging at Big Sister’s sleeve with an embarrassed expression.

Though she had asked what they ought to buy, her eyes were fixed entirely on the sweets sold by the teahouse.

“Y-yes, quite right.”

Gekara Yamei withdrew her gaze with considerable reluctance.

“Come to think of it… We are here on serious business today. We need to prepare offerings for visiting the graves and such…”

Listening to the sisters converse, Hyakusuke’s feelings were complicated.

He still had no idea how he was supposed to deal with the male protagonist.

Of course, it would be a good thing to establish a favorable relationship with the future savior of the world.

But the protagonist had turned into a girl.

Hyakusuke knew the story well. He understood how important Gekara Yamei was as the protagonist, and seeing Yamei feminized drained all his enthusiasm as though it had been sucked away by a sponge.

*Although I knew about it from the beginning, seeing her with my own eyes is an entirely different matter…*

His feelings were a mixture of shattered dreams and exasperation at someone who had utterly failed to live up to his potential.

—You are the male lead. Why in the world did you have to become a woman?

The instant he formally met her, Hyakusuke’s face had gone somewhat green.

It felt as though he had been struck by lightning from above. It was awful—simply disastrous.

Feminized Gekara Yamei looked even more delicate than her adopted younger sister Ayaka. Her figure was as supple as a willow, her skin as white and lustrous as jade, and her features were the very embodiment of a woman of refined Japanese beauty.

“I wonder whether there are any shops selling the things we need.”

Her eyes shone brilliantly, like stars at dawn. Her snow-white cheeks were touched with red as she curiously examined the shops around them.

—Pull yourself together! Wasn’t your future supposed to be that of a man who stood up time and again to protect the girls, crossed hardships hand in hand with the women he loved, and fought the forces of darkness to the bitter end?

More than disappointment, Hyakusuke felt betrayed. At that moment, he could not find even the faintest remnant of anything masculine in Miss Yamei.

“Oh! Right—I nearly forgot.”

The girl turned her attention toward him.

“Sir Hyakusuke… I intend to buy some gifts for everyone in the lower ninja corps.”

She parted her cherry-red lips.

“They have all worked so hard these past few days. I simply do not know what everyone might need. Could I ask for your advice?”

Page (1/3)

What?

Hyakusuke could not help staring in surprise.

He had never expected Gekara Yamei to want to buy gifts for the lower-ranking ninja, saying that they had worked hard in recent days.

“No, this is merely our duty.”

Hyakusuke was astonished by her thoughtfulness, but after a moment’s reflection, he realized that this was precisely the sort of thing a protagonist would do.

In this feudal society, where any awareness of human rights was sorely lacking, the hierarchy between those above and those below was rigidly enforced. Strict distinctions of rank and status governed society. At the very bottom were the townspeople and commoners, as well as wandering groups detached from society who were subjected to discrimination and branded as outcasts.

The lower ninja were scarcely better off. Hyakusuke had hardly ever seen anyone of elevated birth—anyone with a noble status—make a deliberate effort to show consideration toward those beneath them.

“This is simply a small gesture from me.”

She broke into a radiant smile.

“Or, rather, a gesture from the Gekara clan.”

Now that she had invoked her family name, Hyakusuke could hardly refuse. Besides, his remark had merely been an attempt to demur.

If he brazenly accepted her kindness, after all, he would certainly be held accountable later.

“I understand.”

Hyakusuke inclined his head.

“I am sorry to trouble you,” she said with a bright, toothy smile, then sought his counsel. “That is why I came to find you today, Sir Hyakusuke. I hoped you might offer some good advice.”

“Advice?”

Hyakusuke considered what the lower ninja under his command might need.

No. They lacked everything. They needed everything.

But what was wanted here was a gift. In that case, all that mattered was making everyone happy.

The most convenient gift would surely be food.

Sweets and snacks—especially treats they rarely had the chance to eat, or any other delicacies—would give the lower ninja a welcome change from their usual fare. Such things would undoubtedly be well received.

Hyakusuke himself had also intended to buy food to reward his subordinates.

“How about this… Miss Yamei, could you buy the lower ninja some new straw sandals? If they are constantly going out, their footwear must wear out easily. I imagine that is what everyone needs most.”

“Very well.”

Miss Yamei nodded readily.

“We shall follow your advice. Ayaka… Let us look for a shop that sells straw sandals.”

…

“At last… We can part ways for a while.”

Hyakusuke could not help muttering to himself.

After purchasing the straw sandals, Gekara Yamei had even proposed personally delivering them to the lower ninja at the Mokuchin House.

Her excessive thoughtfulness was proving rather troublesome. Perhaps she had forgotten that the identity she was currently playing was that of the eldest daughter of a branch family from a noble house.

A person of such high standing—especially a woman—could hardly go to a lowly place and “lower herself” in public. If word reached the ears of the ninja chief, Takamasa, Hyakusuke would suffer for it.

Fortunately, Old Man Matsudaira and Her Ladyship, his adopted younger sister, managed to persuade her to leave. She departed in a huff, puffing out her cheeks in anger.

Hyakusuke rolled his shoulders. His hands were empty now, but he had entrusted the straw sandals and the sweets purchased as a reward for his subordinates to the shop assistants, who would deliver them to the Mokuchin House.

“I should go find that non-player character. If I am lucky, I can take the first step today.”

Next, he had to find the wandering shrine maiden, Fuyuhotaru.

And Hyakusuke needed to help this non-player character resolve a certain problem afflicting her.

“Although it is a troublesome ‘curse,’ I know exactly how to clear this side quest. It should not be too difficult.”

Page (2/3)

After walking around the post town once more, he heard the sound of an argument.

“You harlot! How dare you!”

“Do you know who we are?”

“See this crest? Do you know who we are?”

A group of ronin, formerly samurai, were shouting loudly in the street as they aggressively surrounded a woman.

The woman was none other than the wandering shrine maiden, Fuyuhotaru. She looked frail and delicate, wore a grass-colored shawl, and held a kokyu in her hands. Several ronin had cornered her at the intersection.

One of them had even seized her by the hand.

“Do not pretend to have any pride. You are nothing but a prostitute who sells herself.”

The shopkeepers and stall vendors nearby did not dare interfere. They merely kept their distance while a crowd gathered to watch.

Samurai were worth little in these times, and ronin even less. Yet they were still not people an ordinary citizen could afford to provoke. For all anyone knew, these ronin might have been hired by one of the great exorcist clans.

“Make way.”

Hyakusuke pushed bluntly through the people blocking the roadside and walked forward.

“Gentlemen, hear me out.”

He spoke without haste.

“You appear to be men of warrior stock, and clearly of distinguished origin. But this is a post town. If you cause a disturbance here, you may well bring trouble upon your lord’s house. Let us put an end to this matter.”

“Who are you? Mind your own business…”

The ronin paid no attention to Hyakusuke, who had come forward to intervene—until he silently produced an inro.

The crest of a great exorcist clan appeared on the black-lacquered inro. Its design resembled a Hannya mask, the emblem of the demon women of the Kurohimeyama clan.

“…The Kurohimeyamas.”

The ronin’s faces stiffened.

“Gentlemen, my lord is resting here in the post station. Would you be so kind as to show me this small courtesy? If this matter reaches the ears of those above us, it will hardly reflect well on you. I ask you to let it end here.”

There was a hint of menace in Hyakusuke’s voice.

He was, of course, borrowing the authority of a powerful patron. But the Kurohimeyama name carried weight. The ronin exchanged glances, and faced with that inro, they no longer dared say much. One by one, they fled in disarray, their retreat almost comical.

“Heh.”

Hyakusuke smiled.

In the original story, the protagonist had behaved like a fool during this scene. He had stepped forward to stop the ronin himself without revealing his identity as a member of a great exorcist clan.

As a result, the ronin’s “associates” later took the opportunity to retaliate, and he had nearly lost his life.

In truth, all he needed to do was rely openly on his status. No one would have dared say another word. But because he had not wanted to make the matter worse, he had created trouble for himself later on.

Hyakusuke had no such qualms. If he could borrow another’s authority, why would he not?

At the same time, the onlookers wisely dispersed. It was then that the wandering shrine maiden, Fuyuhotaru, slowly spoke.

“My lord, I am deeply grateful that you saved me.”

She let out a soft sigh.

“No… This is already the second time you have helped me. The first was on the mountain road.”

…

No, no, I did not save you.

I really saved those ronin.

Hyakusuke could not help smiling bitterly. If he had not stepped in to stop them, she would certainly have taken revenge on the men one by one, waiting for an opportunity to stab each of them to death—with the short sword concealed inside her kokyu.

Who would ever have guessed that this delicate, wandering shrine maiden was in fact an elite female assassin specially trained by the imperial government’s Shadow Cage bureau?

Page (3/3)