By the way, what are those men in the enemy's midst wearing demon masks?
'I don't know. Until you break that mask, you won't stop moving, whether you're stabbed with a spear or slashed in the arm. It's like the living dead.

　Shaking his head, Shigetaro answers. I wonder if they are zombies after all.
　And leaning out from the city walls, Lean glared at the masked soldiers.

''Hmmm....
Artifact?
'I'm talking about the legacy of an ancient civilization, a powerful magical tool. Isn't yours an artifact too?

　He points to the phone in his hand, fooling himself and smiling bitterly.
　A magic tool from an ancient civilization, an artifact? If there's something like a controller that controls the corpse, maybe that mask is like a receiver.

Well, whatever it is, those masks are cumbersome. It's not like they can't paralyze you, so it's best to destroy them all at once.
...what?

　While Shigetaro looks at me curiously, I search for "Masked Takeda Soldiers" on my phone's map app. Pins stot-toot around the forts on the screen, and when I touch one of them, all of the targets are locked on.

'What the hell was that...?'

　When I turned my attention to someone's mumbling, I saw countless small magic circles floating in the sky, shining light. The lock-on by 'Multiple' is complete.
　Holding his hand to the sky, he concentrated his magic power and released it all at once along with the spell.

'Light, pierce me, shining holy spear, Shining Javelin!

　Kah! and spears of light poured down from all the magicians to their respective targets. Like a rain of light.
　Dodo-dodo-dodo-dodo-dodo, the earth shakes, and the dust and grains of light flare up like sparks. The dazzling glimmer of light from the dazzling luminous coloration of the land, bouncing in and out, bouncing in and out.
　Eventually, after the rain of light had lifted, almost more than half of the Takeda forces had fallen and were unable to move.
　I locked the search target as "Takeda Soldiers" again.

'Yes, "Paralyze" and...'

　The rest of the civilians suddenly went numb and collapsed on the spot. A few of them seemed to be carrying protective amulets and didn't go numb, but seeing the devastation in their own ranks, they fled in a flash.

''And that's about it,''

　The Tokugawa forces in the fort were stunned for a while, but as the situation became clearer, they all shouted a battle cry of victory in unison. Voices mixed with joy and relief could be heard from all over the fort.

''That was........you did that.......?''

　Shigetaro asks in a snatched voice. He looked at the fallen Takeda soldiers around the fort with eyes like he was seeing something incredible.

'Well, just in case. I don't want to make a scene, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't make too much of a fuss about it.''

　I replied, and Else, who was beside me, put her hands on her hips and exhaled heavily.

'It's starting to feel kind of silly to be surprised already, isn't it?
I know it's a little late for that, don't you think?

　Linse also agreed with her sister's statement. Ummm, I just multiplied what I could and this is what happened....... Do you think it's worth mentioning that much?
　I looked at the victorious soldiers of the fort in a strange mood.



'First of all, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help.

　In the keep of the fort (though it's a 15-tatami-mat room), a well-formed man in his early 40s with a choppy mustache, sitting on the top seat, bowed deeply. Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is the lord of the territory where this fort is located, and one of the nine lords. Ieyasu. It's pronounced the same, but the kanji is different.

No, it's just a coincidence that I came here. I hope you don't mind.

　The one sitting in front of us, facing Ieyasu is Yumina. I've decided to take on the role of Belfast's princess, and that we are her bodyguard. It's because we thought it would be easier for them to understand, but Yumina's sociability always helps.
　We've decided that Yae is one of Yumina's bodyguards. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. In fact, that's exactly what it is, so there's no mystery there.

I'm sure you'll be surprised to learn that Yae is the bodyguard of Yumina.

　Sitting beside Ieyasu is a stocky man in his late forties, Kuju Shigebei, Yae's father. He is said to be the Tokugawa family's swordsmanship instructor now. I heard that he used to be an instructor for the Viscount Swordleck family in the royal capital, so he must be familiar with Belfast.

''And the man who saved your.......my fort?

　Ieyasu-san turns her gaze to me, who is standing behind Yumina. Could you please stop that look of interest?

''This person is Mochizuki Fuyao-san, my bodyguard ... or rather, my future husband.

　Yumina's cheeks colored and writhing as she yelps. Oi! I'm not listening to you! You don't have to say that!
　The lord and the instructor let out a voice that could be taken as both admiration and surprise. No, no, no, no, how about that reaction?

I see. I'm sure it's not hard to understand why, if you're the bride of Princess Belfast. ''It's quite impressive.''
Yes, I'm very proud of him, too.

　Youmina is beaming at Ietai's praise as if it were her own. I feel like I'm being tortured by my mind.

'By the way, I would like to ask you one thing, do you know of a place called the 'Ruins of Nirya'? We came to Yisheng to get there...
Nirya...?

　Ieyasu was often pondering Yumina's question, but eventually an idea struck him and he popped his knee.

I don't know much about the ruins of the heritage of Nirai Kanai. I don't know much about it, but.... What about Shigebei?
As I recall, the ruins of Nirya were located in Shimazu's territory. But that is the bottom of the sea. I don't think you can even enter there...
Bottom of the Sea!

　What is that, an underwater temple? Or maybe the entrance appears with a rising tide?
　Well, I don't know if I'm going to go there or not. Anyway, since we know where it is, we can't just go there right away, right?

Do you think they will back down with that?

　When I asked Ieyasu-san, he crossed his arms and began to grunt.

It's true that they may attack us again, preparing themselves. They might bring out more of their demon faced soldiers and bring out their cannons...

　I don't care how many more soldiers we have, though, we'll still destroy them the same way. Cannons and such are troublesome, but I don't think it's impossible to crush them.

But this demon masked soldier, this sudden invasion, it is incomprehensible. Although the lord of Takeda, Shingen-dono is a fierce leader of the four generals known as the Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda, this battle seems somehow uncharacteristic of Shingen-dono. Is that rumor true after all...?
"Rumor?

　You can't help but ask at Ieyasu-san's mumbling. It was Shigebei-san who replied.

It is rumored that Shingen-dono is already dead. And the man who controls his corpse and keeps Takeda's forces in control is the dark warlord Yamamoto Kansuke.
Yamamoto Kansuke...
'Looking at that demon faced soldier, it's not impossible. Maybe he's a magic or artifact user who specializes in controlling corpses.

　After listening to Shigebei-san's story, Lean expresses his own thoughts. It's certainly possible if they were controlling that many corpses. Are you going to take over Takeda and try to unify Yisheng?
　If we don't do something about Takeda's army, we won't be able to leave without worrying.

If we can capture this Yamamoto Kansuke, will we be all right?
''That may be true, but.... It's only a rumor that Shingen-dono is dead. Besides, it seems that Kansuke has been holed up in the mansion of Tsutsujigasaki, Takeda's headquarters, and has not come out. There's no way I'm going to sneak out and catch him...

　Mmm. I was going to do that, but is that indeed reckless? I think it's possible to just sneak in with "Long Sense" and "Gate". To avoid detection, some kind of disappearing magic would be useful... oh.

"Lean. I'm pretty sure the wings on your back are hidden from view by light magic, right? Does that also make the entire body invisible?
'You can do it. I'm just bypassing the light to make the object invisible, though, so they'll know if they touch it.

　I see. I knew it was possible to make a person invisible, didn't I? Then it would be easier to infiltrate the city.
　At this point in time, I was already thinking about infiltrating the opponent's main camp. Whether it's a friend or foe, the less damage we cause, the better.

Are you trying to get in?

　Linse opens her mouth as if she's read our thoughts. That's not surprising.

''If that Kansuke Yamamoto is really the mastermind behind this, I think it's the easiest way to go about it.
'That's true, but...'

　I know you're worried about me, but it's probably safe to say that. We'll just roll out the gate when it's necessary.

"What's the problem with this Tsutsuji Sasaki? And how do we get to the "and. Have you ever been to Yae?
No, I'm not. And your father?
Neither am I but what does it matter?
'If anyone has been to Tsutsuji Gasaki, that is, if they have been to Tsutsuji Gasaki, they can be transferred in an instant by the magic of Lord Fuyuya.
Oh my...!

　Shigebei and Ieyasu-san, who looked surprised, paid attention to me again. I didn't want to stand out too much, but I decided to reopen the door and leave Yisheng alone, as long as I had my own business to attend to.

I'll take you to Tsutsuji Gasaki.

　Out of nowhere, a voice echoes through the keep. It's a voice that doesn't belong to anyone here. I quickly drew my new model army and pointed my gun at the corridor around the castle tower with a railing.

"Who's there!

　Oops, they took my line. It's not me who did what, it's Mr. Shigebei.
　A figure emerges from behind a balustraded rim.
　Wow, it's a ninja. It is recognizable at a glance, but in the middle of the day, it's quite conspicuous. It's also us who didn't notice it, but is it possible that they are using some kind of recognition inhibition magic?
　When I removed the black cloth covering my face, a beautiful woman with a well-defined face appeared there. Is she a kunoichi?

My name is Tsubaki, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda, under Lord Takasaka Masanobu. I have a secret letter addressed to Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu.
What, Kosaka-dono's?

　Kneeling on the floor, Kunoichi took out a secret book from his pocket and placed it in its place, and then stepped back from it. Even if it was, it was the enemy he had been fighting earlier. You can't be too careful. Without looking away from Kunoichi, Shigebei-san took the secret book on the floor and handed it to Ieyasu-san, without looking away from Kunoichi.
　In the meantime, I kept my gun barrel pointed at Kunoichi. Well, just in case something happens.
　Ieyasu-san opens the secret book and his face changes from surprise to a stern one as he reads it. What on earth is written in it?

Sir. What does it say in the secret book?
Apparently, the rumors were true. It seems that Takeda's army is now a puppet army.