--section 8, northeast of King's Landing.

Mr. Ocean Big Wave, are you at ......?
Hey!　He's really into it, isn't he?　Yee-haw!

　The barrier reef salutes him with a grilled chicken skewer in his mouth.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

I'm sure you'll find it useful. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
"............ Ah.

　The barrier reef scratched his short, cherry-red hair, raggedly.
　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few things to do.

　The way the clouds flowed across the clear blue sky reminded me of the free, refreshing waves of my favorite ocean.

　A little silently, Barrier Reef shook his head.

　--I don't know why, but apparently my real name is known to this old man.

　It's just... I'm not sure why, but it seems that the old man knows my real name, but when I say "Mr. Ocean," he seems to let it slide for now.

　Then it would be foolish to question him about the revelation.

"Well, whatever. What are you going to do now, Winn?
"What are we going to do? I think it's best to stay out of the public eye until things cool down.
"Hey, hey, that's crazy. You can't take on a bunch of people who are really trying to kill you by themselves, no matter how much time you have. It'd be better to have the guards hide you, wouldn't it?
"Haha. If it was just me, it would be fine.

　He sat down on the ground, leaned his back against the wall, took a cigar out of his pocket, lit it, and puffed loudly.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
"Haha. I've been a non-smoker for six years now.
"Hmm?

　Barrier Reef is leaning against the wall next to Wind.
　With his hands clasped behind his head, he looked down at Wind, waiting for him to continue with what was probably more than just small talk.

"My daughter's name is Luli. Her mother's name is Azalea.
Her mother's name is Azalea.

　Barrier Reef's eyes narrowed.

　Wind's violet smoke faded into the sea-like sky, wavering between the waves.

I was her bodyguard. An escort protects his employer. And yet... I couldn't protect her, not once.

　Wind shakes his head pathetically.
　I've never been able to protect her, not even once," muttered Barrier Reef, gazing blankly at the rising smoke.

"That Azalea?　How was your marriage? How was married life?

　I didn't ask her about her marriage to you.
　I already knew that. This man is not Luli's father.
　Well, maybe he is. More so than her own parents.

　But the blood.
　I'm sure the bond between him and her isn't by blood.

　Barrier Reef has figured it all out.
　That he'd mentioned the name Azalea in front of her.
　And that she was probably aware of her identity.

　Because a woman named Azalea--

"Well. I've never heard her complain. Always, yes. She had a smile on her face, just like my daughter. --only.

　Wind muttered, spilling.

　I can still see it clearly in my mind, six years ago.

　A woman with Azalea pink hair, much like Ruri.
　A sickly woman like Ruri, with a soft smile that suited her well.

　She was always smiling and saying, "It's okay, it's okay," while coughing in her sickbed.

　As she grew weaker day by day, she always looked up to the man she had married.

　But...

　But then Wind heard it.
　The conversation going on inside the diner as she passed by.
　It was her husband's voice, laced with a sneer.

"Once she's related to the emperor, she's no longer useful. You can go f*ck yourself now.

　--Thinking about it, from that moment on, Wind...

　I can't stand the thought of her being used by that man.

"If I'm dead, you take care of Ruri, Wind. I'll ask you to take care of her.

　Those words were Wind's excuse.




"I just couldn't forgive him. I just couldn't forgive a man who used and threw away the man I loved so much.
......
I don't mind if the punishment for my selfishness falls on me. Rather, it's time for a good judgment. But Ruri has nothing to do with this. We just have to make sure it doesn't come back to haunt her.

　Yes. This is her punishment for her selfishness.

　I can't cause trouble for anyone.
　But if I can make it through this time, I'll use my life again for Ruri.

　For Wind, it's just that.

...... So you were in love with Azalea.
Yeah. I knew we wouldn't get along.
I see. ......

　Barrier Reef let out a big sigh.

"...... Marriage is difficult.
Haha. I don't know about that.
But you're the type with kids.
That's .......

　Wind's eyes widen in surprise.
　I'm sure Barrier Reef is fully aware of the situation.
　I've told him so much, he can probably guess.

　The name "Azalea" is not an alias.

　--The one thing she can't hide is her homeland.

　And yet, he easily recognized Luli as Wind's daughter.

I'm going to marry a beautiful girl if this keeps up.
"Well, congratulations on ...... that.
"Well, look. We don't really like each other or anything, do we?
......
Maybe, like, with Azalea.

　I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you have.

I'm not sure what to make of this. I'm not sure what to make of that.
"............ Well... I don't know.
I'm not sure. I'm so curious!
If there's a good reason, then I guess it's inevitable. --Just...

　Yeah, just...

It's hard to watch loved ones use each other for profit or loss. It's human nature to want our loved ones to enjoy the greatest happiness.
"The greatest happiness.
You can dismiss it as the ramblings of a commoner.
"No.

　Shaking his head, Barrier Reef said.

Thank you.

　Then he turns away and walks away.
　Wind watched quietly as he walked away.

"If you're going to be judged, Wynn.

　Barrier Reef thinks that the thought of being judged is noble.
　It is true that what he did was selfish and caused trouble for many people.

　But it's true.

　A woman's wish and a girl's happiness have been won.

　So...

　Stopping and half-turning his head, Barrier Reef said.

It's not just punishment. You will be rewarded for your service as well.

　Barrier Reef's visit was neither a crime nor a merit, but a coincidence.
　That's why Barrier Reef is leaving this place. Therefore, Barrier Reef will leave this place because his actions are contrary to the retribution he is going to receive.

　But there must be someone who sees his good deed, his righteousness, and reaches out to him.

　Take that hand, he said.

　Through the alley, out of sight of Wind.
　Stopping once, Barrier Reef looked up at the sky.

　There was no purple smoke in the waves of the sky.

...... What are you making me do, sister?

　I'm not sure what to do.















　--Northeast of King's Landing, Section 8.

I'm sure it's strange.

　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's a good idea.

　I'm not sure what to make of it.

What do you mean, "strange"? Does that mean I missed?

　The people around him are startled when he replies without a single breath disturbing them, as if it were a matter of course, but for Pasta, there is no point in being surprised.

"Oh, that's another story. I was just going through the ledger and noticed something. It has to do with a merchant company from the empire.


"The Imperial Merchant Marine ......?　That really has nothing to do with Mr. Wind.
I doubt it. We can't rule out the possibility that the guy who's targeting Wind is from the Imperial Kingdom. The timing's perfect. He's from the Empire.
Is that so?
Well, I don't know if it's connected to that. We didn't get as much as we thought we would. Imperial goods.
What's ......?

　I don't know," said Futa.
　Pasta doesn't really want Futa to understand him.

　It's impossible for Pasta to find Wind when he's running at Futa's speed.
　So I left that to him and the guards he had brought with him, and thought back to the ledger I had seen in the office earlier.

　It was no more difficult for Pasta than memorizing a pile of ledgers for a day.

　It was only in the course of double-checking for omissions and omissions that he noticed something else suspicious.

　That was the amount of the purchase from the imperial merchant corps.

　The Orba Trading Company had been handling all the wholesale operations for the merchant corps from the Imperial Kingdom.
　It is also true that they are selling off Imperial goods, including those that they have accumulated up to now, under the guise of a sale.

　The amount of sales is as expected, but the purchases are not so good.

The imperial goods are quite good. That's why they're expensive. It's annoying. It's one thing to buy their specialties at a reasonable price, but ...... it's a bit of a let down. We knew that the imperial envoy was coming.　I was prepared for it to some extent.
"Well, if it's a failure, then it's a failure.
What good is a failure if you don't know the reason for it? You're an idiot.
"If you know why you made a mistake, you can make a better one.
If you can see it, you can see it. Can you stop responding without using your head?
I'm taking you down.
Gosh, ...... you know exactly what people don't like. ......
Thanks to someone else.

　"Thanks to someone," Pasta continued, sniffing.

"Rumors, you know, are only effective when they're there. That's why I really stocked up on it and bought a lot of it just in time for the Imperial Prince's visit.
Isn't that going to raise the price?
It's information. See, there's a civil war going on over there. That's why they're lowering the prices, because production is down and there's a lot of inferior products. For about two years now, other countries have been ordering goods that can be bought in the Imperial Kingdom and lowering their value.
"Wow, ...... very careful .......

　When Pasta learned of the civil war two years ago, he began to make a lot of preparations to buy imperial goods at low prices.
　It's a good idea to buy cheap goods from the empire that have come all the way from far away to sell, including manipulating information with a mixture of falsehoods.
　Because they were able to do this, they were able to sell the good quality goods of the Imperial Kingdom at a certain low price now, and sell them as luxury goods when the time was right.

Then why did you fail to buy?
They didn't bring what we wanted, they didn't bring what we wanted.
I see. ......
That's why we have a bit of a backlog. Spices, incense, silk.
Things they were supposed to restock, but they didn't.
Something like that.

　We're prepping for the coming merchant fleet.
　--That's why they're selling off the witches in time for the arrival of the law, but that's the point.

It's going to be tough if they don't sell what they can. I'll ask about the details tomorrow at the Chamber of Commerce.

　Instantly. A dull rumbling sound like the earth.

Let's start with Mr. Wind.
"Right.

　Pasta jumped off Futa's back with a pop and hid behind one of the guards he had brought with him.

"Hey Futa. You're not afraid of a group, are you?
"Hmm?　Yeah.

　Mimicking your opponents.
　Futa nodded at Pasta, who raised an eyebrow, probably because he had been talking about it.

　It's true that in the performance hall, he ran in a straight line, and he's never shown combat against a large number of opponents.

　But Futa smiled and said.

But Futa smiled and said, "It's easier when there are more of us.

　In his hands, he held an iron knife handed to him by one of his guards.