Volume 5 Chapter 20 The Great Villain of the World, Heading to Investigate Kiryou's Town (Part II)
A few days later, we arrived in Kiryou's town.
The hot topic during our trip was about Moukou's daughters.
'Moukou has 2 daughters,'
'Both the same age,'
'He's looking for suitable marriage partners for them,'
'Moukou likes martial arts.'
That was the info me and Shouou gathered.
But for now, it's just hearsay.
Not necessarily the truth.
But one thing's for sure, Moukou definitely loves martial arts.
After all, he's supporting martial artists as his guests.
Maybe because of that, as we got closer to Kiryou's town, more people were talking about it──
And the stories were slowly changing too.
'Moukou intends to marry his daughters off to strong martial artists,'
'That's why he has martial artists as guests,'
'He probably plans to choose his sons-in-law based on their strength.'
──Before we knew it, that's how the rumors went.
I don't know why it turned out like this.
But rumors have a way of evolving, you know?
(1) Moukou likes martial artists.
(2) Moukou is looking for husbands for his daughters.
(3) Since Moukou likes martial artists, he'll definitely pick martial artists for his daughters' husbands.
(4) If they're strong martial artists, they should be able to become Moukou's sons-in-law...
──I think that's how the story snowballed.
During our travels, we also exchanged info with Yuuri-san through Seirei's cat.
When we told Yuuri-san about the rumors, she replied, "A nobleman couldn't possibly consider marrying his daughter to an unknown martial artist."
So, we were also suspicious about the credibility of the rumors.
But there are all kinds of people in the world.
There are people who believe the rumors and are considering becoming Moukou's sons-in-law──
Because of that, the town of Kiryou is overflowing with martial artists.
"...Look, there's someone getting ready to throw a punch in the street."
"...There's also a banner that says, 'I am unmatched in the world. I accept challenges at any time.'"
We just passed through the gates of Kiryou's town.
The main street ahead is packed with people.
On the side of the road, there are vendors setting up mats and stalls.
Passersby are checking out the stalls as they walk by.
Some are walking alongside carts, just like us.
Among all this, the people posing with sticks or swinging their legs around really stand out.
"That stance over there is from the Rizan school. I've seen it before when I was traveling as a wandering doctor. They probably pretend the stick is a sword. At least they have the common sense not to swing a real sword around in the street."
Shuu-sensei nodded in agreement, looking satisfied.
"Those showing off their kicking techniques over there are from the Suukoku school. Their style is all about using rapid kicks to control the enemy's movements. The person with the stick on their back──"
Shuu-sensei goes on to explain the martial artists in sight.
As expected of Shuu-sensei.
She seems to know just about every style and technique of the martial artists here.
We continue down the main street of Kiryou with our cart.
Next, we'll get the necessary permits from the office and set up our stall.
The purpose of setting up the stall is to gather information.
Many people are gathering on the main street.
If we open a stall and do business there, we can hear stories from the locals.
We can also chat with others in the trade.
That's what I was thinking, but──
"It's a hassle for them to be performing in the middle of the main street, right?"
"Right?"
"It seems they're trying to show off their skills to everyone around. They look a bit too eager. They probably...really believe the rumors."
Me, Shouou, and Shuu-sensei nodded.
The people from the Rizan School held sticks in their hands, slowly showing off their martial arts moves.
Across the street, the Suukoku school folks were jumping and kicking in a frenzy.
The sound of wind slicing through the air echoed over here.
Oh, the food stall people nearby are starting to pack up.
...Well, that makes sense.
If sticks are swinging around and kicks are flying, it would be hard to stay calm.
You wouldn't know when a technique might come flying at you.
Still, the demonstration draws people in.
A crowd is beginning to gather around.
That's probably why.
The gutsy merchants are calling out to customers near the martial artists.
The martial artists notice and... oh, they're glaring at the merchants.
They must think they're getting in the way of the demonstration.
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