The Final Showdown And Motsunabe - Part Two

There is no time left.

I, Ecres, sent Garn to Shuri’s place, and headed toward Gings alone.

This incident must be brought to an end immediately.

The trigger was simple.

When information leaked to Lord Gungrave and I was agonizing over what to do, a letter arrived.

The sender of the letter was the princess of the Niewbist royal family, famous as the “Gourmet Princess.” Though young, she possesses extraordinary talent and is a genius deeply involved in the kingdom’s politics.

It was from Tebis Niewbist.

She possesses a special intelligence network and is extremely well-versed in the affairs of foreign nations. The network’s breadth is so vast it feels like there is nothing she does not know, to the extent that even when Garn tried to probe, he could not pinpoint it.

Looking at that letter from her, cold sweat ran down my spine.

It stated that the prisoner being held on our end is someone on intimate terms with the royal family.

Therefore, since our side will take custody of him, proceed with the formalities.

Regarding the charges, the royal family will take responsibility to resolve the truth.

Well said. Even though our side is avoiding falling into bad terms with Niewbist.

Niewbist is a major power that underwent rapid growth after overcoming the war with Yuyubi.

Where it excels in particular is food.

Its self-sufficiency rate is exceptionally high, and the quality of the food is top-tier.

And after obtaining Yuyubi’s mines as reparations, it implemented the enrichment of carriages and transport mechanisms for food transportation. As a result, it gained wealth through food exports.

That went far beyond an ignorable degree, to the point where before we knew it, we had to rely on Niewbist for our food supply.

Therefore, if we refuse this offer, economic sanctions will likely be executed, placing restrictions and high tariffs on food exports.

That would become a terrifying blow that would worsen—or rather, mire—the food shortage in the territory.

However, what kind of relationship existed between Shuri and Niewbist?

For the princess of a major nation to personally travel here to take custody of a prisoner is no ordinary matter.

At first, I thought Shuri was some kind of spy serving Niewbist.

However, when investigating the belongings Shuri possessed for the sake of organizing information, I learned all the facts.

Engraved on the kitchen knife was the coat of arms of the Niewbist royal family.

It means he was an exceptional cook whose true strength was acknowledged by Niewbist, and who is still eagerly sought after for official service even now.

We on the Sunity side went and threw such a person into a dungeon on fabricated, groundless charges.

Of course, we of the First Prince faction did not do it. Strictly speaking, it was something Gings, who leads the Second Prince faction, did. And I was moving for his release.

However, such a thing is a story completely irrelevant to the Niewbist side, isn’t it?

Their side’s claim is strictly limited to “demanding custody of Shuri, who is thought to have committed a crime.”

In that matter, the facts of the crime do not matter.

They simply want custody of Shuri, that is all.

If we yield to this, it will affect our authority as the feudal lord.

If we refuse, economic sanctions are waiting.

It is a dead end on all sides. To break through this, our side must unite as one, judge Shuri to be innocent, set up a person to take responsibility for this incident, and make sense of it inside and out. And when Lady Tebis visits, we have no choice but to show that “the issue has already been resolved, and the parties involved are also satisfied.”

Therefore, to bring this issue to a settlement, I have no choice but to confront Gings.

“And that is how it is, Gings. How do you intend to explain yourself?”

I was facing Gings in his private room.

Seated in his study chair, he was glaring at me with a sullen face.

On that desk lay the reports summarizing the information I had acquired so far, along with the acquired wine glass.

Every single piece was backed up to the point where excuses could not be made.

“Let’s stop making excuses and evasion now. I want you to tell the truth.”

“Huh? Why does a guy like me have to say something like that to Brother?”

“What you did is something unforgivable. As your brother, I must settle this responsibility.”

“…”

“Right now, matters can be settled with just the revocation of succession rights. Niewbist is already stepping in. Hurry up and bring the incident to an end…”

“SHUT THE HELL UP!!”

Suddenly, Gings bared his eyes and roared.

At his overly terrifying appearance, my body froze up.

What is this, all of a sudden?

“You’re annoying! Don’t go giving me orders, you woman posing as a man!”

Wha…

In my shock, my mind went completely blank.

He shouldn’t know. Because by the time Gings was old enough to understand things, I was already taking on the appearance of a man.

Without being known, deceiving, and living while acting as his brother.

Even so, why?

Why does he know?

“I know. The very first thing I did when I brought the intelligence department and military under my control was investigate Brother’s background. Hearing the news back then, I doubted my eyes and ears. I didn’t want to think that the reason I had to live as a second-hand copy was because of a sister posing as a man! Was it because I was born later? Was it because I wasn’t dependable? Everything was so hateful, so hateful I couldn’t help it! If there is such a thing as destiny, I’ve never found anything so hateful! What’s most hateful is that I myself am so pathetic I can’t help it!”

Gings stood up from his chair and slammed the desk.

Slamming, slamming, slamming it.

Before I realized it, he was crying.

“What is this…? Where and how did we go wrong…? I know… That Garn is actually Brother, too.”

…!

“I heard Father muttering when he was drunk… But at this late stage, how am I supposed to interact with Garn…?”

“Gings…”

“It’s already too late.”

Wiping his tears, Gings raised his head.

“Brother, don’t leave this room.”

Gings drew the sword at his waist and pointed it at me.

There is no bloodlust. I think…!

“Gings?!”

“Lord Ecres. I want you to stay in my room. From here on out, a storm of violence will blow wildly through this castle.”

“What?!”

“I summoned the captain-class members of the Gungrave Mercenary Band to the castle. I am going to round them up all at once.”

What?!

“Foolish! What good will come out of doing such a thing! Rather, there is a danger of causing the subordinate soldiers to erupt!”

“I told you there’s no time, didn’t I? Brother, too. Before Niewbist arrives, we secure those guys and report that this incident was their fault. As for the cook, we hand him over quietly.”

“Even if you do such a thing, the Niewbist side won’t be convinced!”

“They will.”

Gings picked up a single sheet of paper from atop the desk.

“If my investigation is correct, Princess Tebis is obsessed with the cook. Preparations to invite him as her own court chef have been underway since quite a while ago. To such a princess, the other captain-class members are rather in the way. They are existences that hold back her favorite cook, you see. Therefore, using the cook’s person as a bargaining chip, we will settle the situation.”

“Something like that…”

There is no way something like that will work.

Thinking about it normally, there’s no way it would work.

Even if Princess Tebis desires the cook, to be sure.

I don’t think the custody of a single cook can improve the trade negotiations that will happen from here on out.

In the first place, the reason Princess Tebis is visiting this time is strictly to “demand Shuri’s custody.”

We don’t even know if trade negotiations will happen, and trying to confine or harm the mercenary band’s captains to secure the cook’s person is out of the question.

If you do that, it pledges to the Niewbist side that if it is for what they want, we will undertake even the dirty work.

If it turns into that, it’s over. There’s no telling what unreasonable demands they will make using food trade as a shield.

If that becomes customary, Sunity will become a complete puppet of Niewbist.

“There’s only this way.”

Gings spoke as if to cut off my thoughts.

With a faint, raspy voice.

“If it’s smart Brother, you can probably think of holes in my plan, too. And that, too, dozens of moves ahead. However. Even a guy like me who can only see a little ahead understands. We are checkmated. In that case, no matter what means we use, we have no choice but to break the board. Am I wrong?”

Yes, we are already checkmated.

We were checkmated from the stage when Gings tried to harm Father.

No, even then, we might have managed somehow.

In the end, that boy.

Getting involved with Shuri itself might have been our end.

His relationship with Niewbist.

His position in the mercenary band.

To places we don’t know yet, without realizing it, he might be extending his hand and building connections.

“They should be arriving soon.”

Sheathing his sword, Gings sat back down in his chair.

“It is time for the captain-class members to arrive at the castle. No matter what moves Brother exhausts now, no twist of events will happen from here on out.”

“Gings…!”

“We have no choice but to watch the turn of events from here on out. Come, let’s watch too, Brother.”

Gings looked up at the ceiling and spoke.

“Ruin, or breaking the board. The decision of our destiny, that is.”

Yes, I no longer have any moves to play.

I was so frustrated that blood dripped from my clenched fist.

There is nothing left that I can do.

What should I do…!

“Now then, what do you think of this situation?”

“Gungrave. I think it is a trap.”

“Me too. For the guy who ordered house arrest to deliberately send a letter like this, he’s gotta be hiding something under his belt.”

“I think so too. I think the other party got panicked because I grabbed information.”

We were holding a meeting in front of a single letter delivered to the inn.

I, Gungrave, who had arranged the Gungrave Mercenary Band’s communications network and was deciding the date and time to act, was reworking the operation after reading the letter from the royal castle.

That letter came from Second Prince Gings Sunity, and its contents were:

“I wish to consider the disposition of the cook in question. Consequently, I order all captain-class members to present themselves at the castle as witnesses.”

Written from quite a condescending perspective, while feeling angry at the contents which could be considered nothing but a trap no matter how one thinks about it, we considered this an opportunity.

“Think about it. To be sure, this letter smells fishy. For the castle side, which locked up the prisoner and should hold full authority regarding that management, to deliberately send us a letter is suspicious. Normally they would decide the disposition quickly and call us to the spot. It’s a text that shows compromise while making one impulsively want to jump in. It’s full of suspicion. Most likely, if they said to come because the disposition was decided, they thought we would take action out of anger, so it became contents like this. However, if we take this letter, we can enter the castle without any hesitation. Let’s find an opening, rescue Shuri, and escape from this shitty territory.”

“That idea ain’t bad either, but we don’t know where Shuri is located, right?”

“It only says the dungeon. Whether it is a special cell or a general cell has not been determined. Because it is a castle. It is different from the prison at a guard station. Having said that, we don’t even know if there is a special cell.”

“Should I erase my presence along with entering the castle and scope things out?”

Teg’s proposal is appealing, but we cannot adopt it as it is.

“That’s dangerous, Teg. If even one of us who went as witnesses is missing, the other party will suspect whether we moved for Shuri’s rescue.”

“That is true. If possible, if an instruction like ‘wait in the conference room’ comes out, we could ask that of you, but…”

Arius spoke with a troubled face while agonizing.

To be sure, Kuuga’s and Arius’s arguments are correct. If one person disappears inside the castle when everyone was assembled, it is nothing but suspicious. If waiting in the conference room, it would work out somehow with Teg’s scouting art, but that is wishful thinking. It’s not impossible, but it’s also an impossible story.

Sorting it out, we do not know the crucial information of Shuri’s location.

This can be called fatal in a rescue operation. If the rescue target’s location is unknown, we cannot plan from route arrangements to rescue to escape.

However, thinking about it now, this is strange.

A door cannot be built on people’s mouths. This is a truth that applies in any territory, castle town, village, or city.

After all, human beings originally lack the toughness to hold major secrets.

While there are those who can through training or education, normally people want to talk to someone.

By the way, this is not for providing topics of conversation. Nor is it for passing the time with a pretty beauty in a tavern on the outskirts of town.

In short, it is because the more major a secret is, the more one wants comrades who can share it.

If one cannot carry it alone, one should just have others shoulder it too. And if it leaks, blame it on that guy.

Dispersal of mental burden. It’s one form of self-defense that humans possess.

Therefore, the answer drawn out is one.

The one who actually manages Shuri in the cell is only one person.

That guy is operating so that no information spreads to the outside at all. The opponent is quite capable. It can be said that he has reached the realm of a veteran in information warfare.

Most likely, the man Teg saw having an audience with the First Prince. That guy can be considered Shuri’s jailer and an elite of the intelligence department.

Now then, what to do.

Honestly, as long as we grab Shuri’s location, the game is ours.

The stepping stone for that. In other words, we agonize over the method of information gathering.

Time is limited, and an excuse to send Teg out in an un-suspicious manner.

While agonizing, the hem of my clothes was pulled.

“Hmm, what’s wrong, Rir?”

Releasing her hand from my clothes, Rir tilted her head wonderingly.

“Why agonize so much?”

“Because there isn’t a good way to probe Shuri’s location. You understand, right?”

“Don’t understand.”

Rir shook her head horizontally.

“Rir thinks difficult tactics or operations aren’t necessary this time.”

“Huh? That is…”

What does that mean?

Before continuing those words, Rir speaks.

“Frontal breakthrough. If we rescue Shuri with a high-speed operation, it’s fine. If we contact subordinates and secure transport for escape, after that, with everyone’s power, kaboom.”

At the kaboom part, Rir spread her hands to show the size.

However, simple.

Simple, but… kukuku.

“Haha, indeed. There’s no need to agonize.”

I looked at my comrades’ faces once more.

Everyone has an expression convinced by such a simple answer.

And it is a face that wants to go wild so badly it can’t be helped.

A high-speed operation, huh.

I see, if we borrow the power of everyone here, won’t it work out somehow?

The master of the sword, Kuuga, opens the path.

The veteran of bow and scouting art, Teg, quickly rescues Shuri.

The master of magic, Arius, annihilates the enemy.

The child prodigy of magi-engineering, Rir, gathers attention with her inventions.

Lastly, if I, the operation planner, squeeze my wits, it will work out somehow.

“Gungrave.”

Now then, just as I tried to think of an operation, Rir spoke to me once more.

“Rir, to speak honestly, has a concern about the rescue operation.”

“A concern? With all the matchless warriors gathered here, what concern could there be?”

“About Shuri.”

“Shuri? We will definitely rescue that guy. All the castle people…”

“If we hurt the castle people, surely Shuri will be hurt.”

Rir turned her face downward.

“Shuri is kind. Up until now, chalking it up to work, he did what he could and supported Rir and the others. However, if he gets reckless and injured in this operation, or if castle people get hurt… Surely, Shuri will be hurt thinking it’s his fault.”

Rir’s downward-turned face was full of that worry and anxiety, as if to say it all.

At those words, all of us were made to think a little.

Kuuga crossed his arms with a difficult face.

Arius placed a hand on her chin and pondered.

Teg looked up at the ceiling with a grimace.

I, too, switched my thinking to reworking the operation.

To be sure, Shuri is kind. Caring for us, he thinks of menu plans for meals and tries to build good rapport with subordinates.

Kind to a fault.

He might be too kind to live inside a mercenary band.

Even so, the mercenary band’s workplace is on the battlefield. Shuri accepts that too. That’s why he doesn’t tell us to stop.

How about this time?

If you put it that way, this battle ends up boiling down to a single word: mere revenge.

The cause is that Shuri was captured.

The victim is Shuri. However, if we get hurt in a battle unrelated to work, a situation arises where many castle people die, and we return to a wandering mercenary band again, how will he feel?

He might blame himself thinking it’s his fault.

Far from that, staring directly at the taking of lives unfolding before his eyes, it would be troublesome if something happened to Shuri. The reason we have avoided sending Shuri to the front line until now is also out of that kindness.

I have seen it several times until now.

Until going to the battlefield, that guy was a kind fellow. His sword skill wasn’t bad, and there were no issues with his character either.

However, killing people on the battlefield, letting the smell of blood stick to his body, and having the battlefield of piled corpses burned into his mind, that guy ultimately broke down and quit. A kind fellow cannot follow along with our trade, which is involved in—or rather creates the cause of—people’s deaths.

That applies to Shuri as well.

Shuri is kind. Originally, without making him stay in a mercenary band, it would be fine to have him hired at a tavern in town.

However, after meeting that guy and eating his food, I thought. I ended up thinking.

This guy is necessary for the mercenary band, I thought.

That’s why I dragged him around and held him back.

If I truly think of that guy as a comrade, I know he should be yielded to Niewbist. If it’s there right now, without bringing Shuri to the battlefield, he would be heavily relied upon for his cooking skill, and it’s not hard to imagine him achieving success. It is safe and reassuring.

The fact that I didn’t do so was my selfishness. It is nothing but a self-centered judgment.

That is something I must continue even now.

“That’s right. That guy is kind, and understands people’s feelings. I don’t really want to show him such things. In that case, then.”

To continue, I have no choice but to squeeze my wits.

To protect my comrades, my family.

Spinning this brain at full power, I construct tactics.

“Wounding not a single person is impossible, but… Killing not a single person, we can manage somehow.”

At my words, all the captain-class members paid attention.

Wait for us, Shuri.

We’ll settle this and come get you!