第４６７堀：秋天と童子切 (Part1)
**Chapter 467: The Autumn Sky and the Dojigiri**
**Side: Yuki**
For the time being, I’ve hidden away the massive bomb known as Shuten-doji—or "Shuten" for short—and decided to let some time pass. If we tried to do anything on the spot, Nogosh would likely intimidate her, and there’s no telling how that would end.
Fortunately, Shuten is glued to Seraria and is behaving quite docilely.
"Look, Shuten. This is your new father."
"Toto-sama? Shuten... Shuten doesn't have a Toto-sama. But this is strange. You have the same aura as Kaka-sama. Are you Kaka-Toto-sama?"
What kind of new biological entity is that?
I’m grateful she’s taken a liking to me, at least. She accepted the designated protection status without a fuss, so on the surface, everything is fine. But considering she’s an ancient, legendary demon, I wouldn’t be surprised if she broke those rules in a heartbeat.
"Mama? Who’s that?"
"Sakura. This is your new big sister, Shuten."
"Shute-onee?"
Sakura is only two and a bit, so her speech is still shaky, but the girls are starting to communicate with each other. It’s incredibly cute.
"Ye-yeah, onee."
"Kaka-sama. That girl... she looks like Kaka-sama."
"That’s right. She’s my daughter, Sakura. She’s your little sister, Shuten."
"Little sister... like Ibaraki?"
So Ibaraki-doji actually existed!? I’d heard rumors that she was a female demon, but damn it, I hate it when these half-baked legends turn out to be true!
"Shute-onee!!"
"Yeah. I’m Sakura’s big sister!!"
"Onee!! Let’s play!!"
"Kaka-sama?"
"Yes. I’d be happy if you played with Sakura."
"...Sakura. What shall we play?"
"With everyone~"
"Everyone?"
Just like that, Shuten became the pinnacle of the children—the eldest sister. "Pinnacle" sounds a bit harsh, though. The other children simply accepted her as their big sister, and it’s heartwarming to see them playing together before eventually falling asleep.
"Shute, onee."
"Mm... Sakura..."
They’re exhausted from playing and are fast asleep now. Physically, she’s just a bit taller than Hiiro. Mentally, she might actually be younger than Hiiro. It’s hard to believe someone once tried to cut the head off a child like this. Perhaps it wasn't Shuten who was fed the poisoned sake, but Minamoto no Yorimitsu and his men. It’s a classic tactic, both then and now, to force someone else to do the dirty work. Alcohol is the best way to cover up all sorts of things.
"They’re sleeping soundly."
"Mm. As expected of my child. Cute. So very cute."
Seraria and Cleena are the ones watching them sleep. I understand Seraria, since she met her from the start, but why is Cleena calling her "my child"? Let’s just say they had a fated encounter when I brought Shuten home.
The guards for the execution day were focused on physical strength, so Ria and Jessica were on duty, while the magic team of Cleena and Samantha were kept on standby. Cleena has short red hair and excels in fire magic. Shuten, meanwhile, has hair dyed the color of an autumn mountain and was once called the incarnation of flame arts.
In other words...
"My real Kaka-sama!!"
"My long-lost child!!"
Perhaps feeling a deep sympathy, they hugged each other tightly. Shuten became convinced Cleena was her birth mother, and Cleena, not wanting to deny it, simply accepted it. Before I knew it, Cleena had become Shuten’s mother.
I mean, it’s a bit of a stretch for a student like Cleena to have a child. I thought Cleena’s grandfather would flip his lid, but apparently, adopting children isn't that uncommon, so it shouldn't be a problem. As long as she can provide for her, that is. And since she’s my wife, she doesn't need to worry about money. Besides, since Shuten is a target for surveillance, this actually works in our favor. There’s almost no chance of her going on a rampage.
"I’ve learned pretty much everything I need to know about Shuten over the last day or two."
"Mm. No need to worry about Shuten. The scum who drove her away were the ones in the wrong. She’s a very good girl."
"That’s right. She’s like my own child now. You think so too, don't you?"
Seraria and Cleena look at me as they say this. To put it simply, they’re warning me not to do anything to Shuten.
"I know. Shuten is fine as she is. The problem is Nogosh."
"Did that idiot do something?"
"Who?"
It seems Cleena doesn't even recognize the name anymore.
"The God of Swords."
"...Ah. The 'wanna-be' who got sliced up easily by someone named Arwin?"
"...Don't say that in front of him, okay?"
It would definitely cause a scene. The history is that he was sliced by Arwin before he even realized it, and then he was left behind after being used as a magical power source to revive Shuten. ...Yeah, if someone asked me where the "God of Swords" element was in that, I’d want to call him a "wanna-be" too.
"It’s fine. I won't cause him any trouble."
"Oh? Is that so? I mean, he and Bicks were the source of this whole commotion, weren't they?" Seraria asks, looking puzzled.
"Mm. I have complaints about that, but he did let me meet Shuten, and there was no real damage, so I don't intend to do anything more."
"I see. It’s true that this whole thing happened because we underestimated the fact that there were other Dungeon Masters besides us. And we also underestimated that there was someone blinded by jealousy."
"Mm. We were busy with many things, but relying too much on you, Yuki, was also a cause. We left it alone until you said you’d handle it."
"That’s true. Even though we were short-handed, we could have at least diverted some intelligence personnel."
"Mm. We have a lot to reflect on. We had facts obtained from Dressa’s small-scale intelligence activities, but it was clearly our negligence. Since we don't want to blow this incident out of proportion, I don't intend to seek any further punishment for No-No-Nogosh and Bicks."
Well, it’s clear that for Cleena, Nogosh’s impression is so faint she can barely pronounce his name. He basically self-destructed, anyway.
"Punishment is a matter for Taiki of Ranks, and since there was no official declaration of war, we can't just do whatever we want to Nogosh. As for me, I was just busy, and there was no real damage, so I have nothing to add. How do you intend to handle it, Yuki?"
"The only real damage Weed suffered this time was through those small-fry from Roschur, and the incident where Dressa and the others were chased by the magic kingdom. I’ve already reconciled with Nonoa, their leader. If I can reconcile with Nogosh, that should be the end of it."
But reconciling with Nogosh is the hardest part.
"That’s going to be difficult. That muscle-brain... wait, Yuki? Why are you looking at me?"
"No, it’s nothing."
You clearly know you’re the type to go and "nail" someone, my battle-loving wife. The fact that you’re warning me means you were probably thinking of handling it yourself. Likely with a physical sword.
"Ah, that reminds me. What happened to the Dojigiri that got sliced in half along with Nogosh? You were screaming quite loudly about it, weren't you?"
"...Ah, that."
The one thing I didn't want to be reminded of. After securing Shuten, Nogosh, and Bicks, I checked on it immediately, and it was confirmed dead. The blade was sliced in two. It felt like if we tried to reforge it, it would become something entirely different. Narjia-san asked me, "Can I have it?" but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Even broken, it’s a national treasure of Japan—one of the Five Swords under Heaven. Since we know that, we have a duty to do something about it.
The only saving grace was that the Shimazu Ichimonji returned unscathed, so Taizo-san’s "Destroy Mode" was averted, but he turned as pale as I and Taiki-kun did when he saw the broken Dojigiri. I’ve recovered it for now, and I’ve called for Luna, but...