Hey!　Hi!　TOO!


　In the center of Hiiragato, the only city in Onigashima, a young child's call echoes in the courtyard of the mansion where Kensei and his family live.

　The one wielding Goz's hand-made wooden sword is 4 year old Miken Ibuki. Of course, the sword is not a real one like the one wielded by the Seirin Hatakushi, but a toy in the shape of a sword.

　The sword that Goz presented to his nephew for his fourth birthday was a masterpiece, carefully crafted by the swordsman Shibama, with meticulous care and attention to detail, from the decoration on the handle to the pattern on the scabbard.

　It is Ibuki's one and only treasure, and she even takes it into her futon to sleep with it at night. His mother, Cecil Sima, tells him to keep it under his pillow when he goes to bed, but Ibuki stubbornly refuses to nod, much to his mother's annoyance.

　That Cecil, however, is not here because he has gone to get a change of clothes for Ibuki, who is sweating. The people here are Goz, Ibuki, and the female flagman (Kishi) who is working with Ibuki. And one more--.


Hmmm, you're taking the plunge, Ibuki.


　The name of the woman who smiles at Goz is called Miken Emma.

　Her eyes are like sapphires, and her hair, which reaches to her waist, is like golden thread. The beauty of her beauty and the beauty of her body make her look more like a spirit or a goddess than a human being.

　Emma is the wife of the Swordsman Miken Shikibu, and the mother of the next head of the swords family, Miken Laguna. Her family is one of the greatest noble families in the Ad Astera Empire, the Palladys. In addition, Goz's younger sister Cecil is a concubine to Shikibu, and is placed in the inner pecking order under Emma, the first wife.

　To Goz, she was someone who was double and triple-headed.


'Ha. He's a bit of a wannabe, that I'm afraid.

'Children are children of the wind. It's good that they are armless. When Laguna and Sora were about Ibuki's age, they would run around outside forever, annoying Shizuya and me by not coming back.

Ha, you're right. I can't tell you how many times I've run around the outside of the house looking for the two of you.


　Emma and Goz are reminiscing and reminiscing with a friendly expression on their faces.

　If a third party had seen the occasion, they would not have been able to stop themselves from being surprised.

　From Emma's point of view, Cecil is a love interest who competes for the favor of Shikibu, and Cecil's son, Ibuki, although still young, is someone who could threaten Laguna's position if he goes on too long. As for Goz, he is an ambitious man who wants to send his sister to his lord to seize power.

　In fact, people around Emma are wary of Goz and Cecil. Neither Goz nor Cecil are interested in the internal power struggles within the Gokens, but the people around them are suspicious of them simply because they are "qualified".

　A prime example of this is last night's Gilmore Berch. The Berch family is aggressively approaching Laguna in an effort to maintain the authority they have built up in this generation in the next. If they can kick Goz to the curb, they can take away the position of the magistrate and, secondly, they can nip the future power struggle in the bud. That was one aspect of last night's act.

　However.

　Contrary to the enthusiasm of those around her, Emma was very friendly to both Goz and Cecil. As for Ibuki, she seemed to love him so much that she even came to visit him herself, as she does today.

　Originally, Emma Paradies was that kind of woman. Perhaps because she was brought up to be a "butterfly and a flower" from childhood, she was notoriously ignorant of malice, to the point where she sometimes seemed to be "naive" in the eyes of others. It could be said that she has such deep pockets that she doesn't care about the slightest bit of malice.

　When Emma first married into the swords family, she was forced to take on the role of second wife of a great nobleman's princess, since Shikibu's first wife was Shizuya. The child born to her was also removed from her legitimate child.

　An ordinary daughter of a nobleman would have harbored strong enmity toward Shizuya, and possibly planned to drag her away from her position as the first wife.

　However, instead of dragging Shizuya down, Emma actively exchanged words with her, and before she knew it, they had become a relationship that could be called a friend.

　Because of such a thing, she would never harbor enmity toward Cecil, Cecil's son Ibuki, and of course Gozu.

　Gozu knows that, too, and so is able to talk to Emma without hesitation.

　Just then, the vivacious female flagman's voice rang in their ears, "Yes, we're done for today.


'Yes, that's all for today, Ibuki.

'What?　I can fight better, Ayaka!

Who's going to protect your mother when the demons come back after you're so tired?

Uh.....

It's a bannerman's duty to keep himself in good physical condition to fight at all times.

Yes, I understand!

Good. Now go to your mother and wipe your sweat off. You'll catch a cold if you don't.


　With that, the female flagman - Ayaka Azurite - points to Cecil, who has returned with Ibuki's change of clothes in her hand.

　After watching Ibuki run off to her mother at a run, Ayaka comes to Emma and Goz.

　Goz bobbed his head lightly at Ayaka.


'I'm sorry, Azurite. It took a lot of work.'

'What. Ibuki is a lovely little brother to me as well. It's nothing more than this, a handful of steps, Shima.


　Ayaka smiles at that.

　Ibuki is Laguna's half-brother, and as Laguna's fiancée, Ayaka can see that he is like a brother to her. As Laguna's fiancée, Ayaka, she could see that Ibuki was like a younger brother to her.

　If this was a matter of another family, even if he was the son of a concubine, he would be treated as a member of the family of the head of the family and would not be allowed to treat him as casually as Ayaka was. Even Goz, as an uncle, should be forced to kneel to Ibuki.

　But in the Gokens' family, only children of legitimate wives are treated as members of the family. Although the Mikens' surname is permitted, they are not entitled to inherit the family name. The same applies to the mother's side as well; for example, Emma, the legitimate wife, has changed her surname from the Paradis to the Mikens, while Ibuki's mother, Cecil, still retains her surname, Sima. In this sense, the distinction between legitimate wives and concubines was strict.

　However, because of this, the mother's wishes regarding the raising of her children took precedence. In addition, the family of a concubine or concubine's parents were paid an adequate monthly allowance, and the benefits of having the blood of a swordsman in one's family were immeasurable, both tangible and intangible. In the first place, it is safe to say that families that provided concubines knew this when they sent their daughters to the house, and no one complained about the treatment of the swordsmen.

　This is a complete digression, but since the current head of the family had a large number of concubines, as well as a large number of children born to them, the amount of money paid to them was quite large. Gilmore, who was in charge of the finances as a chaplain, would occasionally remonstrate with his lord about this. Gilmore was a Gilmore, not only in terms of flattery but also in terms of adulation.

　Anyway, Ibuki has grown up spontaneously and so far, his personality has not been twisted or distorted. The adults around her are watching her growth with narrowed eyes, hoping that she will continue to grow up straight.

　Ayaka looked at Gozu and opened her mouth.

'By the way, Shima. But this is a different story--

Hmm?

How are you doing, Sora?


　Ayaka's voice sounded natural, as if she was asking for yesterday's offering, and the look she gave to Goz showed no signs of agitation or nervousness.

　Ayaka, as a blue-linen flagman, had also participated in yesterday's House of Representatives meeting. Naturally, she listened to Goz's report.

　If you look at it, Emma was also giving Goz a questioning look.

　As mentioned earlier, Shizuya, the mother in the sky, and Emma were friends. When Shizuya took her last breath, she even asked me to take care of Sora for her.

　That's why Emma always paid attention to her deceased friend's forgotten memento and continued to talk to her gently.

　It was rather Sora who rejected Emma's attentions.

　After her mother's death, Emma became the first wife, and in the eyes of the young Sora, she was the one who took her mother's place. Combined with the conflict with her son, Laguna, the young Sora begins to show his distance from Emma.

　Emma understands Sora's attitude and decides to watch him grow up from a distance. This is also because she realizes that her attitude of only paying attention to Sora is affecting her son's (Laguna) words and actions.

　When Sora was banished from the Gokenshi family, Emma, who was ill when Sora was expelled from the house, was unaware of this fact, and Goz knows that a few days later, she changed her blood when she learned of the situation.

　Emma, who rarely gives her opinion to Shikibu, but for once, she did her best to call for the withdrawal of Sora's punishment.

　However, Shikibu's decision is not reversed, and Sora's whereabouts after leaving the island are unknown, and Emma ends up nodding her head at Shizuya's grave.

　The whereabouts of the sky have been revealed after five years. Emma is as curious about Sora as, if not more curious than, her former fiancé Ayaka.

　Ayaka and Emma, the reason they came to Ibuki in the morning was probably to ask him about Sora.

　Goz nodded in response to Ayaka's question, feeling the pressure of their supposedly calm gaze.


I'm sure he was fine. There is no doubt that he was fine.


　After all, I was beaten to a pulp for putting out an empty armor.

　When Ayaka heard Goz's half-joking, half-serious words, she narrowed her eyes faintly and nodded her head.


'I was banished from the island and made it all the way to the mind suit on my own. Seems like you haven't changed the way you give up.'

It's true. I regret that I have to turn back. If only I had been able to lead you to your jacket when you were on the island, none of this would have happened.


　Ayaka gave a small nod of her head at Goz's lament, but she didn't speak her thoughts aloud.

　Instead, it was Emma who opened her mouth.


'I heard that Gokan-sama told you to call Sora on the anniversary of Shizuya's death, do you think Sora will respond to your invitation?

To be honest, I don't know. The old Sora-dono would have definitely complied, but how the current Sora-dono will judge--

The sky is coming, ma'am.


　In contrast to Goz, who responded hesitantly, Ayaka vividly determined Sora's actions. Emma's eyes widen in surprise at the force of it.

　Goz asks dubiously.


'Azurite, how can you be so sure?'

"Sora will not give up his vow to Shizuya-sama, no matter what else he may have given up, only his vow to Shizuya-sama. If Sora had abandoned his vow to Shizuya-sama during the five years, he would not have been able to reach the mind-dressing - the same source being (anima).

Hmm. If it is the anniversary of Shizuya-sama's death, I'm sure he will come to you no matter what.


　Goz crossed his arms and nodded. He remembered Sora's words when they confronted him in Ishqa.


'It's been five years since I was exiled from the island. I've been crawling on the ground to get here. It's certainly not what I once wanted. Your mother may be disappointed in you.


　The words "I may have disappointed my mother" cannot be uttered by anyone who does not remember her wishes.

　Sora, who had been disowned by the swordsman and banished from Onigashima, had been unable to visit his mother's grave until now.

　This time, Shikibu's words were nothing more than a temporary lifting of that prohibition. Ayaka's assumption that he would come rushing out, no matter what, seemed to be correct.

　Later, the conversation about the sky was cut short by the arrival of Ibuki and Cecil, who had finished dressing.

　The three of them chatted with Ibuki and Cecil.

　Although Ibuki sat quietly with the adults at first, it seems that he was bored for a child in the midst of his playfulness, and soon he began to wriggle around.

　Ayaka noticed this and chuckled as if to say, "Well, it's no use," she said.


Ibuki, now that you've had your day off, shall we continue where we left off?

'Oh, yes!　I do, I want to, Ayaka, sister!


　Seeing Ibuki stand up and raise his hand, the adults around him naturally smile.

　But the moment I heard Ibuki's next words, the smile faded into a different expression.


I'm going to be strong and fast and beat up the guy who bullied Uncle Goz!


　Goz looks at his nephew with a face like he has been drinking vinegar. Cecil, his mother, looks at her child with a similar expression.

　Emma put her hand to her cheek with a faint hint of confusion, and Ayaka blinked her eyes as if she had been struck by a lie.

　Ibuki is "the one who bullied Uncle Goz" - he doesn't know anything detailed about Mikenkuu. Whether it was Goz or Cecil, he didn't know how to explain to Ibuki about Sora, who was disowned by the Gokens and banished from Onigashima.

　In Ibuki's eyes, it was out of righteous indignation that he had avenged Goz, who had returned home covered in scars. I never thought that such a statement would upset the adults around me.


''........Ayaka big sister?　What's going on?

I'm sorry, it's nothing. All right, then, today I'll teach Ibuki a special technique. It's the ultimate secret sword that me and my friend invented.

'A s*xtet?　Is that good?

'It's strong!　After all, it's the ultimate!　It's called the Flaming Sword!　It's a sword that uses the power of a forbidden dragon to burn away demons and demon gods!

'Wow ... cool!　Tell me, sis, tell me that!

Okay. Well then, Ibuki, come along with me. The training will be tough, but you're ready for it, right?

'Yes!　I'll do my best!


　Ibuki replies with a twinkle in his eye. The strange air that had been in the air just before had already disappeared from the four-year-old's mind.

　Unbeknownst to them, a breath of relief spills out of the adults' mouths at the same time.