Yuira began to introduce himself, "My name is Yuira Frontsent, and the person beside me is my personal maid, Nurveus." "It's a pleasure to meet you," said Hikari. Not long after, they heard a knock at the door. Hikari immediately opened the door and saw a soldier with gray hair.
The soldier looked at Yuira, "Naoya, you're al—" before Hikari could finish, the soldier quickly drew his katana from its scabbard and swung it diagonally toward the lower left. Yuira then said, "Nurveus." Nurveus stopped; her fingers were in front of the soldier's eyes, and though the soldier's katana struck her neck, she was not injured in the slightest. The soldier was shocked. What? She isn't wounded at all? Then they heard Hikari's voice, "Naoya!" Hikari said in an angry tone.
A few minutes later, the soldier prostrated himself and apologized. "My name is Naoya, I am a servant of Lady Hikari," said Naoya.
Outside the city, there was a horse carriage and five people including the driver. They wore black robes with an emblem resembling an inverted city; they were members of the Doom Bringers. When the carriage stopped, a man stepped out. He had black hair, bright red irises, pale skin, and appeared slightly thin. He was one of the Doom Bringer high-ranking officials and a user of one of the ten Forbidden Weapons possessed by the Doom Bringers. "Ah~, it seems we have arrived in this city," said the man. He then walked forward toward the clan castle, followed by the others.
Inside the house, Yuira asked, "I-I want to ask, exactly what city are we in?" Hearing that, Hikari was surprised and let out a sigh. "Hah~, I can't believe it; you came to this city but don't know its name." Hikari continued, "This is a city led by the Raijinryu Clan; Shiozakura is the name of this city. I'm sorry we cannot welcome you grandly due to the current situation." "Exactly what kind of trouble is this city facing?" Yuira asked. Hikari and Naoya looked at each other, then Hikari answered, "Three months ago, there was a coup inside the castle, and the perpetrator was my twin sister, Akane Raijinryu."
Inside a Private Room, there was the woman who had performed the sacrifice earlier. She was standing on the balcony looking at the blooming cherry blossom trees in front of her. Not long after, she heard a voice from behind the door, "Lady, there is a guest who wishes to see you." "Let him in," said the woman.
The door opened and the man from before walked in, saying, "You haven't changed at all, Akane. Ah, in this city, I should call you Lady Akane Raijinryu." Akane smiled and took off her mask; she had the same face as Hikari, but her irises were purple. "Shut up, Ferrey," Akane said.
The two of them sat down. "Did you bring the items I requested?" Akane asked while pouring sake into a cup, then she handed the Tokkuri to Ferrey. "Of course, 30 slaves for a week," Ferrey answered. "Good, I will order my soldiers to take them," said Akane.
Inside the house, "So, just because she is your twin sister, you can't fight back?" Yuira asked. Hikari answered, "No, the reason we cannot fight back is because she possesses the Raiden-no-Tō, or as outsiders like you call it, the Lightning Wanderer Katana. It is a hereditary heirloom weapon of our clan." "Raiden-no-Tō, huh~... can that weapon release the lightning element?" Yuira asked. "Of course, that weapon is extremely powerful. In fact, the requirement is that one must have strong Lightning Magic to use its power," Hikari answered.
"Therefore, Master Yuira, as a member of the Raijinryu Clan... I beg of you, help us conduct a rebellion," Hikari said while prostrating before Yuira. Hearing that, Yuira let out a sigh and said, "Enough, raise your head. I will help you." Hearing this, Hikari raised her head and felt delighted.
"Alright, I will go now," said Naoya. He stepped out the door and a voice from another soldier was heard, "Hey, did you find them?" Naoya immediately looked to the left and saw another soldier approaching. He shook his head while closing the door and replied, "No, I still haven't found them." "I see. Lady Akane has asked us to return; we'd better head back to the castle," said the soldier. Naoya nodded and followed the soldier back to the castle. "So, what should we do?" Yuira asked. Hikari answered, "We will wait until night so we can go to our headquarters."
In front of the castle gate, Naoya saw a horse carriage and three Doom Bringer members waiting. Several soldiers approached them and brought slaves into the castle. Who are they? And why are the soldiers bringing slaves from foreign lands?
Inside the castle, Naoya saw two Doom Bringer members standing guard in front of Akane's private room. Now, why are they in front of Akane's private room? Naoya saw the door slightly ajar and saw Ferrey talking with Akane, which made him stop in his tracks. Then he heard Ferrey's voice saying, "In that case, I will return next week." One of the Doom Bringer members looked at Naoya with irritation, then drew his sword and pointed it at Naoya. "What are you looking at?" the person asked.
Shortly after, Ferrey opened the door. The person who had drawn his sword earlier hurriedly put it back. Naoya looked at Ferrey; his body couldn't move and his breath felt tight. H-He is strong, just like when Lady Akane used the Raiden-no-Tō during the coup. Ferrey looked at Naoya and walked toward the exit followed by the two Doom Bringer members. I must tell Lady Hikari about this.
At night, Hikari opened the door, then she, Yuira, and Nurveus went out. They all avoided the patrolling soldiers, but in front of them was a wide road with many soldiers on patrol. "How do we get thro—" before Yuira could finish, Hikari used Lightning Magic. Blue lightning appeared around her and she ran forward so fast that no one noticed her. Hikari immediately looked back.
Yuira, seeing that, gave a small smile and uttered, "Lightning Step." He was quickly in front of Hikari as purple lightning appeared around him and vanished. "In that case, Nur—" Before Yuira could finish his sentence, Nurveus was already beside him.
A few minutes later, the three of them were in front of a large building. "Hey, isn't this building too conspicuous for a headquarters?" Yuira asked. "Don't worry, this is a slum area, and the soldiers rarely come to this district," Hikari answered with a smile. When they entered, they saw people who seemed to be residents; they all looked pitiful. Some wore ragged clothes, and others were sick. "Who are they all?" Yuira asked. "They are all city residents. They look like this because Akane conducted a coup and took over the city; she began kidnapping residents to be used as sacrifices," Hikari answered. Then Yuira asked, "How many residents are left here?" "Originally this city had five thousand residents, but now there are only three hundred," Hikari answered. Not long after, one of the residents pointed a katana he had taken from the soldiers at Yuira. "Who are you?" the person asked. "Stop, they are the ones who will help us carry out the rebellion," Hikari said firmly. "But Lady, what if they are spies?" the person asked. Hikari then said, "If they were spies, why would the soldiers be chasing them?" The person was speechless and began to apologize. Then Naoya opened the door and shouted, "Lady Hikari, there is one thing I must tell you!"
A few minutes later, Hikari let out a sigh and said, "Alright, I understand. Naoya, keep spying on Akane." Naoya nodded, "Understood. In that case, I will go." He opened the door and left.
"You said the rebellion plan is for next week?" Yuira asked. "Yes~, but it's because someone has arrived who will likely help Akane when we carry out the rebellion," Hikari answered. Yuira asked again, "Are you sure? The residents don't look well, either." Hikari looked at the sick citizens and said, "Yes, it is to end their suffering. Unless we have another way... do you know a way to overcome this?" Yuira gave a small smile and replied, "Of course, but there is one thing I must do."
To be continued...