第６４０堀：各々方、討ち入りでござる (Part1)
### Chapter 640: Everyone, It’s Time for the Raid
**Side: Yuki**
The long days of humiliation have passed. To honor our fallen lord, we shall raise our banner.
"Everyone, it’s time for the raid."
As soon as I said that, Taiki-kun immediately interjected.
"No, no. This isn't the *Chushingura*. Besides, that’s a total death flag, isn't it? I don't like it. Ending with everyone committing *seppuku*?"
"It’s about the mood, the mood. Look, the situation is basically the Forty-seven Ronin, right? The Haire Church is still the largest power in this region. If we try to appeal through normal channels, they’ll just bury it. So, we have no choice but to storm the enemy's headquarters and make our case. You know, like 'I am here in the palace!'"
"That sounds more like a direct confrontation than a revenge mission. Isn't that more like *Run, Melos!* or something?"
"That’s a story about friendship, isn't it? If you’re risking your life to speak to someone in a higher position, isn't that like when Hirate Masahide, the tutor of Oda Nobunaga, committed *seppuku*?"
"However, it’s not strictly confirmed that he did it to admonish Lord Nobunaga, you know? Well, it is generally said that Lord Nobunaga calmed down thanks to Lord Hirate. It’s a beautiful story, so it likely spread easily."
Taizo-san finally joined the conversation.
Damn it. I forgot that if I threw in careless period-drama references, opinions like this would start piling up.
"Anyway, let’s leave that aside. The others aren't following, so let’s get to the main point."
I said that to cut the conversation short.
In truth, Princess Carrie, Princess Stasia, and Kagura were completely lost.
Incidentally, Ria was tilting her head, but surprisingly, Deryu and Rurua were nodding, smiling bitterly, and understanding what I was talking about.
Well, since both Deryu and Rurua were people who stood above others, they had read up on Japanese history and knew about famous things like the *Chushingura* and the *Shinchō Kōki*.
But that doesn't matter. There are things I need to say now.
"Now, it’s been a week since it was decided that Kagura and the others would participate in the operation. As you all know, we’ve already scheduled a visit to the Haire Church headquarters in parallel. Actually, since we had Steve and his team install a gate dungeon in the forest at the foot of the mountain, we can reach the headquarters in a day’s walk at any time."
That’s right. Today is the strategy meeting for the "Visit the Haire Church Headquarters & Annihilate the Enemy & Make Them Our Allies" operation.
Since the name is long, I wrote the long version on the whiteboard and wrote "Haire Friendly Operation" below it as a shorthand. Further abbreviated, it’s Operation HF.
"By the way, the visit schedule was coordinated by Duke Kamishiro and Georgin-dono. The content of the visit is what they proposed: the swearing of the reconciliation treaty between Haiden and Findal and the dedication of the pledge. Princess Carrie and Princess Stasia will perform this. Along with that, Kagura and the others will accompany them as attendants. Since it includes a personal greeting as members of the Kamishiro bloodline, you will first use that opportunity to deeply probe the Archbishop's situation. If you confirm they aren't enemies, you will join Princess Carrie and Princess Stasia, explain what happened in Onock, and if there are any suspicious areas within the headquarters, you will expose them together. Any questions so far?"
When I asked that, Kagura raised her hand.
"What if there aren't any suspicious areas? They might think we’re just making things up, right?"
"There shouldn't be any, but I’ve already marked the suspicious people. We plan to use the 'Summon-kun' we made to resemble the recovered Magic Gear, have the Lizardmen who helped us at Haiden Castle guard it, and have them cause a moderate amount of chaos within the Haire Church."
"..."
The students were speechless.
There’s no need to show mercy to people who have skeletons in their closets.
If they say there’s no evidence, then we’ll provide it for them. That’s the idea.
Well, I did tell them we’d investigate thoroughly so they wouldn't have to worry about false accusations, which seemed to put them at ease.
In a society like a nation, false accusations are one of the things you must never do.
It causes the trust in the nation and society to plummet significantly.
This leads back to what I said before about "not punishing the doubtful."
We gather evidence properly, and once everyone is convinced, we decide on the punishment.
However, even so, false accusations don't disappear in modern Japan or on Earth.
It’s difficult to reach zero in these matters, but in this other world where we are, if we were to commit false accusations, the country would undoubtedly become unstable in an instant.
If things go poorly, it could even become a cause for foreign intervention, so we will proceed with caution.
"But that’s the worst-case scenario. Since we’ve been moving so openly, it’s impossible that there’s no evidence. Furthermore, Steve and his team have already infiltrated and searched the place, so there’s no need to worry about that. The scale is a bit too large for them to hide the evidence."
"Eh? You mean... the Magic Gear was found?"
"It’s not that one. It’s the one we saw in the basement of Onock."
"..."
We’ve already found the torture chamber.
Well, there are more people there than in a typical local church, so they find promising believers gathered from the provinces, take them away for "special guidance," and bury them after using them as fuel.
Man, it’s convenient, isn't it? Churches come with graveyards.
"On paper, it says they lost their lives due to excessive training. Well, it is on top of a snowy mountain. In fact, there are a few people every year who freeze to death walking the so-called 'training paths,' and others die from illness or accidents, so they probably wouldn't notice even if it was reported to the higher-ups."
If this were Japan, it would be a huge problem, but this is another world, and medical care isn't exactly well-developed.
It seems that people are prepared to become corpses the moment they step outside, so deaths aren't that rare.
In fact, the idea of gaining enlightenment by overcoming such hardships exists in the Haire Church, so it’s not even considered a problem; it’s actually encouraged.
Well, many people give up and run home, so it’s ultimately up to individual judgment.
Running home isn't exactly punished, but there is a rule that if you flee from such special training, you are banned from that training for one or two years.
I don't think it’s right to challenge it repeatedly and get a pass on one of them, either.
You can think of it like the Olympics on Earth.
"The people who are alive in that torture chamber..."
"They are there. But saving them in secret won't mean anything. We have to make them stop. That’s why, Kagura. You guys save those people. Expose the evil deeds of the Middle-Class Divine Faction by bringing the Archbishop. That’s the reason for the short one-week training period."
According to Steve’s assessment, they were just replaced, so they should last for a while, but vitality and mental strength vary from person to person.
We don't know when they might go into shock and lose their lives, or lose their minds and become husks.
And yet, Steve and his team can't sneak in to treat them.
That’s why we need Kagura and the others. Princess Carrie and Princess Stasia alone wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Of course. Once Kagura and the others secure the scene and get the Archbishop’s permission, Rurua and the others will immediately move in to provide support."
"Leave the treatment of the injured to me."
Rurua said that with a bow.
As one of the best healers in Weed, she’s the best backup we could ask for.
Vilia, Dressa, Hiiro, Amanda, and Agil are also scheduled to be added as escorts.
"Eh? But, with only women..."
"If they underestimate us and attack, that would be all the more convenient, wouldn't it?"
"..."