Volume 1 Chapter 25 The Great Villain Of The World, Learning His Senior's Secret
"I'm glad we could start a fire."
"...Yeah."
I was sitting with Shikei at the entrance of the cave, with a campfire between us.
There were dry branches scattered around the cave.
Maybe this place is used by travelers to take shelter from the rain.
No... maybe this is a 'save point.'
In the game 'History of Swordmaster,' there were places where characters rested around a campfire. That was the save point.
At those spots, you could change equipment, talk to other characters, and check your status.
The same place is probably a resting spot for travelers in this world.
I should be grateful and add some dry branches on the way back.
"Still... it's amazing that you can start a fire with 'ki' energy."
I said while adding dry branches to the fire.
"With 'Seiryuu Four Sword's 'Suzaku Flame Dance (Suzaku dances grandly with flames),' you need to chop the wood first. It's impressive that the fire starts from that."
"...Yeah."
"......"
"......"
Shikei was sitting in front of the campfire, hugging her knees and looking down.
It was awkward.
...Anyway, we finally got the fire going. I should dry my clothes.
I loosened my belt...
Oh, my clothes are really soaked.
I got caught in the rain and rolled in a puddle.
First, I should take them outside the cave, wring them out a bit, and then spread them near the campfire.
"Shikei. If you stay in those wet clothes, you'll catch a cold."
"...Huh?"
Shikei finally looked at me.
"...Clothes? Should I... take mine off too?"
"Yes. If you don't, your body will get cold."
"...I see."
"Shikei?"
"...Yeah. If it's Tenhou, then... I guess it's okay."
There was a slight pause.
Kaou-shikei glanced at me, then quickly looked away.
Slowly, he untied his belt and let his wet outfit fall to the ground.
I could see his white skin.
Kaou-shikei's face turned bright red, and he hugged his knees again.
What I could see was Shikei's slim waist and... the cloth wrapped around his chest... Huh?
Is it just me, or does Shikei's chest look a bit... fuller?
"...Shikei. Um..."
"It was hard to keep a secret from my friend."
Shikei let out a long sigh.
"Let me introduce myself again. My real name is Sou Ouka. I'm the youngest daughter of King Souma..."
Shikei said this while keeping her face down.
"...I'm sorry for not telling you until now, Tenhou."
Hugging her knees in front of the fire, Shikei... Sou Ouka said.
"The only ones who know I'm a girl are my family, His Majesty the King of Aika Country, Ryougen-kun, and Master Raikou. I couldn't tell you, my friend. I'm sorry... it must have surprised you, right?"
"......Yes."
"Well, you know, Tenhou is also at fault, right? You look up to me as Shikei. That makes me happy... comfortable... and I really wanted to tell you the truth."
".........That's true."
"But when I think about the secret getting out... I couldn't say it. It's not that I doubt you, okay? I know you're on my side. But you never know where a secret might leak from..."
"............Right."
"That's why I thought Master Raikou's 'duty' was a good opportunity. If I work for Aika Country, it means that the princess of Souma Country has served Aika Country. With that achievement, I might be able to return my mother to Souma. Oh, I hadn't mentioned it, huh? My mother dislikes that I'm a girl. If I were a boy, I could have been His Majesty the King's heir. I wouldn't have been sent away from the country..."
"............No... yes."
"Tenhou? Were you really surprised?"
"...I was surprised..."
"I thought so. You looked up to me as Shikei..."
No. What surprised me isn't that.
Well, it's not that I'm not surprised by that. But that's not the issue.
The princess of Souma Country, Sou Ouka, is the main heroine of 'History of the Swordmaster.'
In ten years, by the time the game starts, Souma Country will have developed greatly.
They will mine the mountains and open up mines, cultivate fertile land, and become a country that can stand equal with Aika Country.
But Aika Country, which looks down on Souma Country, keeps throwing unreasonable demands at them.
They ask for iron and ore, or for them to provide food.
Unable to endure such treatment, the second princess, Sou Ouka, sets out to defeat Kou Tenhou.
She gathers allies with the protagonist to take down Kou Tenhou.
Her catchphrase is, "I will take the head of Kou Tenhou, the enemy at your side!"
In other words, Kaou-shikei――Sou Ouka is my arch-nemesis.
...I can somewhat understand why Shikei was pretending to be a boy.
Aika Country is a powerful nation. There are those who look down on Souma Country, like Crown Prince Rouen.
If a princess comes as a hostage from that country, there might be those who plot something sinister.
But if she's a boy, and especially if she's a disciple of Ryougen-kun, they can't make a move.
It's a perfect way for a girl to protect herself in a foreign land.
"...Tenhou... I wish you would say something."
Before I knew it, Shikei... Sou Ouka was looking at me with a worried expression.
Her big eyes were glistening.
Her damp chestnut hair clung to her white skin.
Why did I... misunderstand that Shikei was a boy until now...?
No matter how I look at it, Shikei is a girl. In the game, she is the stunning beauty who pairs with the legendary Ryuu Seirei, a true beauty, Sou Ouka. She risks her life to defeat the great villain, Kou Tenhou... one of the heroes――
"After all, as a girl... I can't be your friend...?"
Tears fell from Shikei's eyes.
"...That's right. What you were looking at was Sui Kaou of Shikei. Even if I say I want you to stay by my side like before... it might be difficult."
"N-no, Shikei... um."
"I'm sorry. Recently, I've been a little... strange."
Shikei sighed and leaned back against the rock wall.
"I pushed myself too hard during the exam. I wanted to show you my best side as Shikei, and I also wanted to take on my 'duty' for my mother... After I sent her back to our hometown, I wanted you to know the real me, and all those feelings got mixed up, making my head a mess. So I thought, 'I have to win no matter what'... and I overdid it... In the end, I ended up causing you trouble."
"...Shikei."
"But I never thought it would hurt this much for you to be away from me."
"...No, I'm not away from you, Shikei."
"Is that so? I feel like there's a distance between us. You look like... you're afraid of me."
"I'm sorry. When I heard that Shikei was a woman named Sou Ouka, I was surprised..."
"Was it really a problem that I wasn't Shikei?"
"That's not it!"
"But you were surprised when you found out my true identity, right?"
"Yes. I was surprised to learn Shikei's true identity."
"That's because I was a woman named Sou Ouka, right?"
"Yes, but! That's not the point!!"
...How should I explain this?
The person in front of me is my Shikei.
And she is also the enemy of Kou Tenhou, Sou Ouka herself.
In the game, she leaves her hometown to kill Kou Tenhou and fights through the chaotic world with just a sword.
Shikei is a sword princess who uses sword techniques shaped like the Suzaku bird, easily cutting down weak enemies.
Now that I think about it, the technique Sou Ouka used in 'History of Swordmaster' was probably one of the 'Seiryuu Four Sword' techniques.
In the game, she only mastered the Suzaku bird among the 4 divine beasts.
But Shikei is not just good at Suzaku bird sword techniques. She can also use the Byakko tiger and Seiryuu dragon swords.
Also, in the game, Sou Ouka hated men.
She didn't like anyone seeing her skin and covered herself with clothes and armor.
The Shikei who is showing herself to me and getting teary-eyed is a different person.
The one here is not the sword princess Sou Ouka from the game.
She is my friend... serious, clumsy, and trustworthy Shikei.
"Shikei is Shikei. Nothing has changed. You're still my friend."
I took a deep breath, looked straight at Shikei's face, and said.
"I'm sorry. I was just a little surprised. It's okay now."
"Really? Tenhou."
"Really. Oh, but is it weird to call you Shikei? Should I call you Shijou (lady master) from now on?"
"...Tenhou."
Shikei looked at me with a worried expression.
I held her gaze steadily. Shikei slowly moved closer.
I noticed her wet underwear sticking to her skin, and I could see the cloth hiding her chest was about to come undone, but right now, it didn't matter.
Shikei is my friend.
In this world, Sou Ouka is not my enemy.
She is someone I respect, Shikei, and we train together under Master Raikou, doing 'Beast Body Guidance' every day. She's confident and proud... but she's also kind to the new junior disciple. That's the kind of person she is.
Honestly, I'm still a little scared.
──Being by Shikei's side might mean I can't avoid the 'Kou Tenhou Destruction End.'
──An unavoidable incident might happen, and as a result, Shikei could come to kill me.
Even so──
"......If Shikei takes my life, I guess it can't be helped."
"Tenhou?"
"...Ah."
Oh no. Did I say that out loud!?
This is bad, bad, bad! I was more shaken up than I thought!
And what do I mean by "If I lose my life, it can't be helped"? That's too painful!
I wonder if Shikei thinks that's weird? Maybe she realized from that line that I'm her future enemy? What should I do? How can I cover this up...?
"...I also think that if it's Tenhou, I wouldn't mind losing my life."
That came out of nowhere.
Shikei pressed her hand to her chest and said that.
...Wait.
"No, I wouldn't kill Shikei, right?"
"I wouldn't do that either. Why is it turning into a story where I would kill Tenhou!?"
"No, um, that was... Shikei..."
"I understand. I was feeling a bit strange too."
Shikei put her finger to her lips,
"So, it's a secret. I won't tell anyone else what I just said."
"...I'm glad to hear that."
"Seriously. You're really unexpected, you know?"
Shikei sat down next to me.
"I'm always surprised by you. Seriously."
"I'm sorry. I called you Shikei again, didn't I? Um, should I call you 'senior sister'? Or is 'shijou' better?"
"You can call me Shikei in public."
"Right, because Shikei's true identity is a secret."
"When we're alone, call me Shouou. My mother used to call me that when I was little."
"Got it. Um... Shouou."
"Hehe. I'm relieved to see Tenhou is the same as always."
Saying that, Shikei――no, Shouou――let out a long sigh.
She rested her small head on my shoulder.
Then Shouou slowly started to talk about herself.
Since she was young, her mother had always said, "If you were a boy..."
Hearing those words, Shouou began to think, "If I become stronger than a boy, my mother will be happy."
So, she had been learning martial arts since she was in Souma Country.
When she wore boy's clothes and practiced martial arts, her mother was pleased.
"That's why, as soon as I met Ryougen-kun, I asked to learn advanced martial arts from Aika Country. But you know..."
After coming to Aika Country, Shouou's mother started to act strangely.
She became extremely afraid of disappearing from the king's heart and worried about other wives getting close to him, spending sleepless nights.
At the same time, Shouou's body began to change and look more like a girl's.
Then, Shouou's mother started to blame her, saying, "If Shouou had been a boy, a Crown Prince, being taken away from our hometown as a hostage is all Shouou's fault." It seems she even once clawed at Shouou's chest while she was n*ked.
...But Shouou, is it okay to tell me that?
Huh? The scars are gone, so it's fine?
That's not what I meant... No, you don't need to check right now.
"When I heard about the 'duty' from my master, I thought I could send my mother back to our hometown."
Shouou apparently learned about the 'duty' right after becoming a disciple.
She also checked if fulfilling the duty could possibly send her mother back home.
"But, my master is a guest of Ryougen-kun. She wouldn't assign such a duty to an inexperienced person."
"That's why we're doing this test."
"But... I lost the test. I was helped by Tenhou."
"We can start over from here if you want."
"That's not allowed."
"Right. I thought you would say that, Shouou."
"Hehe. After all, Tenhou really understands me."
Shouou and I looked at each other and smiled.
The rain still wouldn't stop.
But the campfire was about to go out. It seemed we didn't have enough dry wood or leaves.
"The rain... just won't stop, huh?"
"We should reach Horou's town by evening."
"That's true, but it's a bit cold. I pushed myself too hard and got a bit out of sorts... Oh, I know!"
Shouou clapped her hands.
"Let's do 'Beast Body Guidance' together. That way, our energy will circulate and warm us up, right?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. Just like usual――."
I was about to nod when I realized.
Shikei──Shouou is a woman, and she's in her underwear.
It's true that if you use 'Beast Body Guidance' to circulate 'ki' energy, your body temperature will rise. The underwear will also dry faster.
It's logical, but is it really okay?
"...meow. meow."
While I was thinking, Shouou turned into a cat.
She was scratching my back gently, trying not to use her claws.
It's the cat form from 'Beast Body Guidance.' It's called 'Silent Cat Hours' (Cats sometimes feel lonely).
Shouou completely became a cat and was snuggling against my back.
...What can I do?
"Meow! Meow!"
"Meow meow meow!"
""Meow meow meow......""
So, we became animals while listening to the sound of the rain.
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