Volume 1 Chapter 9 The Great Villain Of The World, Meeting The Crown Prince
──Tenhou's Perspective──
A few days later, I was at my father's workplace.
The place was the barracks in the general's office.
I was asked by my father to help write letters and reports.
Usually, a secretary takes dictation, but today he was on leave.
So, I was called in to write some urgent letters.
"I've finished writing all the letters. Well then, I'll take my leave now, Father."
"Yes. Good work, Tenhou."
After checking the contents of the letters, my father nodded.
"Be careful on your way home. There are a lot of people because the festival is near. During such times, suspicious people tend to come into town."
"When you say festival, you mean the celebration for the king's birthday, right?"
"That's right. Be very careful."
"I'm fine. Hakuyou is coming to pick me up."
I suddenly thought of something and asked,
"Can I look around the barracks while I wait for her?"
"That's fine, but don't disturb everyone."
"Thank you, Father."
I left my father's office.
As I passed through the hallway, I entered the soldiers' training area.
With shouts, the soldiers were swinging their spears.
My father, as a general, is in charge of the troops.
In early summer, they will head north for a defense mission at the border fort.
Right now, they are training for that.
"By the way, brother is going with them this year, right?"
I think my brother is quite strong compared to others his age.
But, my brother doesn't appear in the 'History of the Swordmaster.' I can't help but be curious about that.
From now on, what's going to happen to my brother...?
"Let's go, my friend! Kou Kairyou, take this one's sword!!"
Suddenly, I heard someone calling out to my brother.
When I looked to the side, I saw my brother and a young man with expensive-looking armor standing in the middle of the training grounds.
The people surrounding the young man were... definitely the Imperial Guards who serve the palace.
So, the young man who was training with swords with my brother...
"This Airouen's sword has no flaws!!"
...is none other than the Crown Prince of Aika Country.
In the game, Airouen becomes the King of Aika Country.
But that's a story for 10 years from now.
Right now, the Crown Prince is the same age as my brother, 18 years old.
That's why they're getting along and practicing sword fighting together.
"Crown Prince, you're making too many unnecessary moves."
My brother is correcting the Crown Prince's sword techniques one by one.
"Focus on defending yourself instead of attacking. Prince, you should only draw your sword in extreme situations. As a commander, it's your duty to protect yourself until your allies arrive."
My brother learned martial arts from our father.
He's skilled in practical sword fighting that doesn't waste energy and can take down enemies with minimal movement.
It requires a strong body and powerful 'ki' energy, which I couldn't master.
On the other hand, the Crown Prince is jumping around, flipping, and doing all sorts of flashy moves.
It looks cool, but my brother isn't impressed.
"Let's do this, my friend! I'll show you my strongest attack――"
"No, that's enough. Your Royal Highness."
My brother parried the Crown Prince's sword and pointed his own sword at the Crown Prince's chest.
It's game over.
"Ha. I still can't beat you, huh?"
The Crown Prince lowered his sword with a frustrated expression.
"I've heard that the eldest son of General Skybear is a swift horse, and indeed, that's true."
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness."
My older brother clasped hands with the Crown Prince.
"However, Your Royal Highness is in a position to command soldiers. There's no need to be fixated on martial arts."
"That's not true. If you're not strong, you can't earn the soldiers' trust!"
"You are strong enough, Your Royal Highness. Besides, people grow. You will surely grow even more from now on, far beyond what I can imagine."
"Is that so, Kairyou?"
The Crown Prince looked at my older brother with a probing gaze.
"While you say that, aren't you also looking down on this Airouen?"
"You're joking."
"Then, is it true that this Airouen is strong enough?"
"Of course."
"Then, let's test it with that boy over there."
The Crown Prince's gaze turned to me.
...Wait, what?
"Tenhou!? What are you doing here!?"
"So that boy is Kairyou's younger brother. Perfect timing!"
The Crown Prince's face twisted into a distorted smile.
"Let's compare 'ki' energy with that boy. If this Airouen wins, it will confirm that Kairyou's words are true, right?"
"""Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince has summoned you. Come here!!"""
A guard shouted from behind the Crown Prince.
Hearing that, my older brother's face turned pale.
"Please stop! Tenhou hasn't learned martial arts! And comparing 'ki' energy too!!"
"It's just a game. I won't go all out."
"S-someone! Please call Father! Tenhou needs to leave this place──"
"He is not allowed to leave!! Kou Tenhou, come here under this Airouen!!"
...I have no choice.
If I run away, it will cause trouble for Father and my brother. That could lead to the downfall of the Kou family.
I should buy some time and wait for Father to arrive.
"It's my first time meeting you. I am Kou Tenhou, the second son of General Skybear Kou Eishin, and the younger brother of Kou Kairyou."
I approached the Crown Prince and bowed.
"I am honored to have this audience. I hope Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in good spirits."
"Yes. Now, extend your hand. We will compare 'ki' energy."
"I am still inexperienced. I cannot possibly match Your Royal Highness."
"It doesn't matter."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Then, please wait a moment. I will wash my hands."
"...Hands?"
"I was just doing paperwork until a moment ago. My hands are dirty with ink. I believe it would be rude to touch Your Royal Highness like this. Please allow me to clean my hands."
"...I understand. Hurry up."
"Thank you very much."
I went to the well in the training area and started washing my hands.
Splash, splash. Splash.
Splash, splash. Splash.
Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash...
"How long are you going to take!?"
"The ink just won't come off."
"That's enough. Hurry up and let's get to the match..."
"Then, may I have some sake?"
"What now!?"
"I'm going to touch the hand of a noble person. I must not be rude. I need to purify myself."
"It's just a game. I'll allow the rudeness."
"But..."
"Shut up. Just show me your hand!"
"──What do you think about the world, Your Royal Highness?"
"────!?"
The Crown Prince froze.
What I said was from 'History of Swordmaster,' a line the protagonist says to the king of Aika Country.
This line comes up when the protagonist meets the king in the game.
So, I thought there would be a reaction.
"...The world... the world, you say? What are you talking about?"
"The Crown Prince stands above all the people in the world. Someone like that shouldn't neglect important things just to achieve small accomplishments. Comparing 'ki' energy is a small thing compared to the whole world, isn't it?"
...Was it like this?
I think the line from that event was, "You lost your destiny because you neglected the important things for small gains."
But whatever. The Crown Prince's movements have stopped.
"Stop with the nonsense!! Just do it!!"
The Crown Prince grabbed my hand.
He forced our hands together and started sending 'ki' energy into me.
I felt pressure.
My knees started to shake. The prince was using 'ki' energy to strengthen his body.
I could feel the weight traveling through my arm.
"How is it? Do you understand the power of this Airouen?"
"I understand. I understand, so please let go..."
"No way. You still don't get it!"
The Crown Prince's 'Ki' was rising.
In 'History of Swordmaster,' Crown Prince Airouen is an excellent character.
All his stats are above average, and he has many skills.
He was so good that he didn't trust others, but there's no doubt he's strong.
So, his 'ki' energy is also quite powerful.
The pressure from the Crown Prince's strength and 'ki' made my knees shake.
This is bad. If this keeps up...
"So, you're talking about the world? Someone who can't even handle this level of 'ki' energy is incredibly foolish to speak of the world. You need to understand your place――."
"Tenhou-sama! Is Kou Tenhou-sama here!! Seirei-sama... Seirei-sama!!"
"──Hakuyou!?"
I instinctively activated 'Beast Body Guidance.'
My arms and legs, my spine became soft, taking on a 'snake form.'
It was unconscious.
The technique I used was 'Beast Body Guidance' in snake form. 'Immortal Snake (Snake Does Not Die Instantly).'
With that, I softly caught the prince's 'ki' energy and redirected it.
"────Whoa!?"
"""Your Royal Highness Airouen!?"""
The Crown Prince's feet slipped. His breathing became erratic, and his hand slipped away from mine.
Losing balance, Crown Prince Airouen rolled onto the ground.
"──Excuse me. Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
I bowed to the Crown Prince and then rushed over to Hakuyou.
The Crown Prince had just said, 'I'll forgive your rudeness.' My brother and the others heard it too.
I think it's okay... I hope. But right now, it's about Seirei.
"Hakuyou!? What happened!?"
Hakuyou was standing at the entrance of the barracks.
I hurried to support her body. Hakuyou was holding her arm.
She was breathing heavily, leaning against a pillar, barely standing.
"...I'm sorry, Tenhou-sama. Seirei-sama has... been kidnapped. Someone claiming to be Seirei-sama's uncle came to visit..."
Hakuyou began to speak, her words coming out in fragments.
A little while ago, an unknown man visited the Kou family.
He claimed to be Seirei's uncle and asked to speak with them.
When Hakuyou asked what he wanted, he replied, "About Seirei's mother," and handed over a letter.
When Seirei came out... she called the man "uncle."
The man's name was Ryuu Gen.
He was definitely Seirei's uncle.
For a while, Seirei and her uncle were talking.
Hakuyou also felt at ease, thinking he was family.
But suddenly, the man grabbed Seirei's arm and tried to take her away.
Seirei was resisting, but the man's strength was too much.
Hakuyou jumped in to stop him, but the man had accomplices.
While fighting them, Hakuyou got hurt.
Still, Hakuyou came this far because he wanted to inform us.
"The men took Seirei-sama and headed towards the town. I chased after them, but... the crowd was too big, and I lost them... so... Hakuyou is here..."
"I understand. Hakuyou, please rest."
I looked at my older brother.
"Brother, please tell Father about this. I'm going to search for Seirei!"
"W-Wait, Tenhou! You can't go alone..."
"This is a crisis for the Kou family!"
"Just listen! Isn't the issue about Seirei's mother!?"
My brother rushed over.
He leaned close to my ear and whispered,
"This is recent information, and Mother and Seirei don't know... no, Father kept it from them because he didn't want to hurt them――."
My brother quietly told me about Seirei's mother.
My mind went completely blank.
Seirei said it.
He has an uncle. But he was cut off because of his bad behavior.
That man――Ryuu Gen――came close, saying he would tell Seirei about his mother's whereabouts.
There's no way he knows that.
"Thank you! Brother!"
I started running toward the town.
Wait for me, Seirei.
You are my――Kou Tenhou's little sister.
I will definitely bring you back. I won't let those suspicious guys take you. Absolutely not.
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