Kapitel 148: A Storm that Leaves Nothing Behind
The rumors surrounding the First Combined Group of the Southern Alliance Army started out as nothing more but drunken ramblings and baseless statements from both the common people in the provinces covered by the Southern Quartet Alliance.
"I heard they are doing much more than just ferry supplies past the Onnoki gulf. Haven't you found it weird that General Himeji insisted to advance alongside the General Ayanami's First Allied Army Group and General Ishigawa's First Allied Auxiliary group even though her force is a supply force?"
"Well, I know a tad too little about the army myself, but it did sound weird for them to be alongside those who advanced nearer to the Imperial capital. I heard they did stop their advance once they reached Furuya province, which is mostly uninhabited, but that still makes me question why they are risking their selves to a surprise enemy attack."
"Right? It was strange for that kind of thing to happen in war. Especially now that we have the industrial capacity to transport them quicker than before. It's not like those food and ammo supplies would rot when it stays behind the frontlines."
However, the rumors spread from the tea houses and Sake bars to the Imperial capital where the bulk of the Allied forces are staying back in a cycle of deployment and recuperation from the frontlines.
There, clearer and more legitimate information passed from one lip to another and back to where they came from in the Allied lands from both wounded soldiers sent back home to receive better medical treatment, and train crews who pass time in public areas while their locomotives are being restocked and refueled. These two groups would speak about what they know and what they heard back at the battlefield.
"I am telling you guys! There really is something shady going on with those people! The mission to open up the Megumi river to our boys was successful and the route along the river was given to the Combined Corps, and suddenly, rumors about desolated river villages and burned down settlements around the river route started coming up after a week or so."
"You think they are raiding the places there?"
"I think that isn't even all of it. At the first place, why do they have to raid those villages when they are literally the supply group of the allied army and there is little to no problems in our supply needs?"
"Are you saying that…?"
"Right. I think they are attacking the settlements there just for the sake of attacking it. There's no need to take anything, just attack the people there and make sure that they wouldn't be seen around there anymore."
Slowly, the rumors in the corners of public areas became more and more inflated and believed to by other people who would soon elevate the still unproven claims into public concern.
"What is the allied army's opinion about the matter, Colonel? It seems to me that the people are being really concerned about what these things means for all of us and how we are being viewed by our allies and trade partners nearer to the Imperial capital. And with no one but the military journalists and media people allowed to cover the war, some are questioning if these claims that we are doing overly cruel things to our enemies is a legitimate cause for concern."
"Well, the Allied High Command is still investigating the legitimacy of these rumors that you speak of, especially with the claims that these came from discharged wounded soldiers who came back from the frontlines or from other off-duty soldiers having their rest rotation in Hitachi province."
"Uh-huh…"
"For now, all that we can say for certain is that these are currently baseless rumors that even to us in the allied army office seem to see as nothing but an absurd and bogus claim. After all, the said Army group isn't a true frontline force unlike the Allied Army group or the Auxiliary group that are equipped for battle."
"Would that mean that the force under suspicion is an unarmed force?"
"Not necessarily. But compared to the firepower of the three other forces, and the fact that the rumors are giving it far too much credit than what its firepower capability is supposed to have, I believe it is only right for me to say that this still needs a true and systematic investigation from properly capable professionals."
Radio interviews would later come with a request for the public to wait for the official investigation of the army and avoid adding more ridiculous claims to the rumors.
Of course, the public mostly obeyed… but there are also those that didn't heed the request and went straight to work in order to use this opportune moment.
"Alright. Write down that we interviewed female villagers from the Megumi river who survived the massacres, and they can vaguely remember the appearance of the people who killed their husbands and fathers before their houses were burned."
"Should we also add that some of them were assaulted by their captors?"
"Nope. That would be too much to be believable. The allied army has strict rules on sexual assault and things like that. So much so that capital punishments are done in public and rarely hidden under wraps. If we add that kind of thing, it would be too much to be believed by the readers."
"I see! Hehe! This would be an easy and quick way to earn a lot of cash!"
There were tabloid newspapers that survived the initial purge performed by the Kusanagi lordship in Shinka. To this day, their underground printing operations where they spread non-verified information for the sake of a quick profit both damaged public trust and divided the people's resolve about whatever topic they slandered.
"This is the truth that our so-called "esteemed leaders" are not speaking about! Listen, my countrymen! Listen to me before you fall victim to their lies, and they convince you to give up everything for the sake of their senseless slaughters! Rise up and overthrow them! Don't hang your head and let these people to just send your loved ones to their wars! We, the people, will oppose them to our last breaths!"
There are also those who have either stolen or created their own radio transmitters and used them to spread bogus information and appeal to their listeners' innate doubts. Some of them even have political undertones where they either request a rebellion leading to anarchy… a rebellion that just so happens to be asked at a time when the allied provinces and leaderships are at a war.
"Hands in the air and do not make any shifty movements! One wrong move and we're cleared to shoot!"
"Khh! Not again!"
"Hit the other room too! These guys are holing up in the same building!"
"So that's why their false claims seem to be working in tandem, huh? Same ideas presented in a different way…"
"Cuff them and send them to the Land Guard prison! Take their equipment too as evidence!"
"Aye, sir!"
Of course, it only took a matter of hours at the very least, and a couple of days at most, for these people to be tracked and arrested by the Land Guards of their respective lands.
"Wait… is this…?"
"Right. It seems like they're connected with those guys too."
"I see. They're operating by themselves, but they are also using tactics from those people."
"Uh-huh… Can't beat the style of the enemy that has evaded us for years."
On one of their raids, the Land Guard officers found a few books that belonged to their once close ally that turned into an enemy. A book that contained instructions for their spies about how to mingle well with the locals and spread malice and misinformation wherever they go.
And yet, back in the Central Plain provinces where the war is still raging, there is a possibility that these kinds of accusations by these destructive reporters might becoming the undeniable truth.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
I once had the opportunity to hear and put to my mind and heart the teachings of a foreign woman who brought to this country a foreign faith. A religion so strange to I and many other people that only a few stayed to hear more about it from her.
I have always seen myself as someone who didn't have the closest connection with what I may call as a divine being or some kind of heavenly providence. After all, I came from a country that was literally at a civil war for a few hundreds of years. There, two kinds of people exist regarding this topic.
There are those who pray solemnly and wish for salvation and apology for the misdeeds that they have caused… and those who would often tell themselves inwardly these words:
"If god exists, why would such a being let us live in this terrible place and be stuck in here until our eventual deaths? With that in mind, I believe that it is better to believe that there is no god nor any divine providence… For it is more comforting to us in our last moments to think that our death is our own fault, than a cursed fate written down by a supposedly benevolent divine being."
And yet, all of the doubts, pain and misery that those who has no faith whatsoever, such as I, had at first, was dispersed with a single statement from this woman with deep azure irises and a golden-tinted hair.
"I believe that the Almighty God did not give us life and let us live for this long, even though each and everything in this world could end our lives, only for us to wallow in despair and plant in our hearts and minds the idea that a meaningless life is what we should lead."
Despair.
That word has been in my vocabulary ever since I became aware of myself. It is a word that perfectly described every single thing in the province where I came from. A land where the discord of our leaders has literally shaped our lives to the point that it becomes inescapable.
"I understand that this country has been ravaged by a great deal of calamities, both natural and man-made for the past hundreds of years… But I believe that accepting that this is how things has been since we have been born, and this is how it all should be until we die, is a greater calamity for not only us in the present but also those in the future."
What she said back then was right… It is one of our greatest flaws as the people of this ruined nation. We oftentimes find ourselves simply accepting that we should ask for no changes because what is the point of changing anything if there is a possibility of failure and a waste of effort.
And yet, here she is… Asking us to question if thinking in that kind of way is the right thing to do.
"I know that deep in your heart and mind, there is still a bright corner that wishes to hope and work towards a better future not only for yourself but also for those who will be here in the future. I am not asking any of you to see the world as how I see it or worship the God that I serve as I do. All that I ask is for all of you to change your point of view from one that has just accepted despair into one that wishes to change it."
Perhaps it was because of how she showed her resolution and devotion to what she is speaking about that in the end, all of those who heard and planted her words in their hearts and minds ended up converting to her faith as well. Some did it simply to know what kind of faith and hope it gives to such a person for her to speak bravely and see life with optimism, while there are also those who used to have no faith at all and now, wished to lead a life that has a meaning greater than one would receive from the wishes of the physical body.
"Good morning, Sister."
"Is… that you, General Himeji? I'm surprised that you are here only a day after you returned from Hitachi province. Have you rested properly already?"
"Yes. I have rested properly and was dismissed by General Shimura earlier. Don't worry about me too much, sister. I am taking good care of myself. Another thing, General Himeji would be too formal to me. Please just call me Kotori."
"I see… Well then, may I ask what your reason is for coming here, Kotori-san?"
Of those two kinds of converts, I was in the latter kind. The ones who wish to attain a new purpose in life that is greater than what this world can ever offer.
"I wish to ask about how your religion sees revenge, Sister."
"Revenge?"
"Yes… I once heard your speech at the town square here in the western wharf of Naka harbor. I learned about the teachings of your religion that values compassion, kindness and a resolute faith, but I wondered how such a faith sees the pursuit of justice by someone who is wronged."
For a moment, Sister Camilla became silent as she seemed to be thinking about my question. After a few pondering moments, she finally gave her reply.
"My faith is rooted in the belief that a good and faithful person is one who sees past the errors of the world that they are in and lives day to day with a set of virtues that denies the evil side of the human heart and yearns to live a life separate from the wiles of the world."
"Does that mean…?"
"I remember reading in the Bible that God wishes for His children to leave vengeance unto his hand. That instead of us being the ones who would chase after that justice, it is better for us to move on with our lives and let Him and his plan to reach out and punish the ones who did us an injustice."
"I see…"
I am going to be honest. I was a bit disappointed that it was like that for her and her kind of faith. But then, she said something that caught my attention.
"You know, someone asked this to me once."
"What was that, Sister?"
"A Land Guard who lost his wife and son to the pirate attack here in Naka harbor a couple of years ago… He once asked me something like this after he confessed that he is feeling hopeless after he is unable to do anything to chase after the ones who took his family's lives. Like you, he asked me about how I view revenge because he wanted to see if he will be doing the right thing."
"…What did you tell him then, sister?"
"I told him what I just said to you. I said that he should just leave it to the wind and move on with his life… but…"
"But?"
"I also told him about the possibility that God may use him as a way to enact said justice. That if he will leave himself open to the possibility that he may one day be a part of that process of justice and separate his personal feelings from it for it to not be a cycle of revenge, he will surely receive the justice he wishes to attain."
Be a part of the process of justice… and not let your personal feelings to be a part of it.
As humans, this might've been difficult to anyone, but if anything, that opened a route for me to take in order to handle this desire to chase after the ones who has wronged my master and harmed those that he loves.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Attention, attention! To all who are in attendance, the court will soon be in session!"
It is November 19, 1545. The venue was in one of the large meeting chambers of the Imperial Palace in Hitachi province that was arranged to look like a court room as much as possible.
"The prosecution camp is in presence, yes?"
"Yes. We are ready."
"The defendant camp is in presence, yes?"
"Yes. We are prepared as well."
At the prosecuting group were lawyers from the lands that the Alliance has took over and came there to represent their people that was supposedly unjustly persecuted by the reported attacks along the Megumi river.
"Well, well… You two love birds sure have a weird taste on where to go on a date."
The audience was a mix of people from both the Allied lands and the newly conquered lands. Among them, were a few personalities that anyone would immediately notice and identify.
"With all due respect, Kusanagi-sama. We are here as representatives of our lands. We're not here on a date…"
"R-Right! Please don't tease us like this, Kyoko-san!"
"Haah… I was just kidding, you two…"
There was Ayanami Mitsuha, the lord of Yukonami and her sister, Ayanami Mitsuhide. They were seated, flanking their master, Kusanagi Kyoko, who is dressed in a formal kimono instead of her formal military uniform.
A few seats away are another pair of big names, Shimura Nobisuke and his fiancée, Mizuki Rin. Like Kyoko, Nobisuke is dressed in a traditional attire rather than his officer uniform, probably as an overt display that he isn't there to represent the military, but rather, just a normal citizen.
"Are you comfortable with your seat, Kaede-ojou-sama?"
"Y-yes. The pillow helped me see above the others' heads."
A row behind these two are the two young royals of the province of Fuku, Yamaguchi Koshiro and Kaede. Sitting beside them are their caretaker and chamberlain, Kocho Nayoko.
As for the rest of the allied leaders such as the representatives of the Hashidate consulship, or Kirin Lord Iwasawa Hiroshi himself, they were not in presence for unknown reasons.
"May we request for all to stand as we start the court session!"
Everyone, even the leaders of the Alliance, stood up and gave a bow as it wasn't only a judge from the Misanagi clan who entered the court room, but also a person, who although has given up much of his authority to the Shogun, is still effectively, the highest power in the country.
"Please be seated now… As you can see, His Imperial Majesty has decided to also preside over this case. Though he requests that no one mind his presence, we still ask that we conduct ourselves properly as a sign of respect."
"""It is our pleasure to be blessed by your presence, Your Imperial Majesty."
With the ceremonial actions now done, the court martial case for the lone defendant commenced.
"Fourteen settlements razed, tens of thousands of square meters of farmland ripe for the autumn wheat harvest either stomped or burned, two hundred men of ages sixteen to forty-five taken from their villages before being executed on the roads leading into and out of their settlements… there are even testimonies of ransacking and kidnapping of children from both the bereaved and third-party eyewitnesses. I believe saying more would only overinflate the severity of our case against the defendant, as such, I shall leave it to our witnesses to enlighten us about the events that transpired."
The prosecution didn't waste any time in handing out the accusations they have against the defendant, as for who it is, it didn't take long for her to speak her identity and her plea towards the accusations.
"What is your plea, Brigadier General Himeji?"
"I, Himeji Kotori, Brigadier General and the commanding officer of the Allied forces stationed along the Megumi river, give a non-guilty plea."
There wasn't any whiff of weakness or doubt in her statement. It was as if she spoke what is an obvious fact towards the others and never seemed to hesitate about it.
"Well then… With that, the prosecution can proceed to the questioning of the witnesses."
"Thank you, Your Honor… May I call to the stand, Ayumi-san from Yado province, a villager who has become victim of one of the raids of the allied forces under-"
"Objection! This case is set to decide whether the Allied forces under our defendant's command is indeed the perpetrator of these horrible events! The prosecution must watch their language!"
"Accepted. Prosecutor, I am aware that you are new with the legal system exercised by our country, but I implore you to avoid assuming the defending camp's guilt by your own words. If it works like that, someone like me wouldn't have a job anymore, yes?"
"I-I apologize, Your Honor. I was just carried by the momentum of my words."
After the middle-aged woman who is dressed in a common kimono sat behind the witness stand, the prosecutor proceeded to ask her about the event that brought her here as a vital person in the case.
"T-They… They just came out of nowhere. W-We didn't even hear a horn or a battle cry. They just strutted into our village and proceeded to break our stalls and beating up anyone near them."
"What did they use to beat up your fellow villagers?"
"They were carrying rifles and swords. It first, we thought that we would immediately be shot, but they began to hold it like clubs and used it to beat them up."
"So, there was no shooting?"
"N-No! It came after more of them arrived in our village square. Those that came after began to kick down our doors and drag out the young and old men out into the road outside our village… and they shot them dead!"
"I see… what of the attackers left in your village?"
"The ones who remained in the village easily broke into our homes and stole our food and valuables… My daughter… my daughter could've been taken too if I didn't force her to climb up and hide at our roof."
"How horrible…"
"So, this is what they do when they're not deployed?"
Hearing everything that the woman narrated made the spectators mutter about the event and question their idea about the Allied army.
"Defense, do you wish to also question Ayumi-san here?"
"Yes, Your Honor… If I may, is it possible for me to produce one of our physical pieces of evidence and present it to the witness?"
"You may. Please take it from the storage bin."
The defense lawyer took out a lacquer box which he opened and placed on the stand in front of the witness.
"These are…"
"The bullets that we have recovered from the corpses that our investigation team has found… As you can see, Ayumi-san, these are squashed lead balls, something that our Allied army has long discontinued the use of. As such, I wish to present an alternative possibility. One that removes every crime away from our force."
There wasn't even any need for the multitude of other witnesses brought by the prosecution to speak. For even if they have the people who were there, the defense team has brought evidence that was from in there.
"T-they burned our houses with firebombs! I-I heard that the allied army uses them as well!"
"I wish to correct you. Although it is true that firebombs were used in the razing of your shelters, it isn't the firebombs that the allied army use. As seen in this glass bottle firebomb that we managed to partially reconstruct from one of the razed towns, this glass is too thin and fragile to pass even the basic tests for the force's equipment."
"T-Then what about the fact that they were wielding guns like your army does?!"
"I wish to kindly correct you, but all of the provinces in the Central Plains have already wielded gun in a mass scale. Although the allied army has firearms much more advanced than their counterparts."
From the bottles that was used in the burning of the villagers' homes, to the appeals that the raiders and the allied soldiers are using rifles, all of it was cleanly turned down by the defense team of Kotori who seemed to not even be bothered by what is happening around her.
"Well then, since both camps have exhausted their witness resources and their stock of physical evidence, I believe it is just right to settle this with one last exchange before I and the presiding juries enacts their judgement. Prosecution, state your final words."
"Thank you, Your Honor… Well then, since our witnesses' confessions and recollections seemed to have been neutered by your evidence, may I ask the defense team to finally state their hypothesis about what really happened here?"
"A request that we will oblige on… Without any of the unnecessary quotes and roundabout narrations, all of our evidence points towards three possible causes where one can either be the truth and other two false, or all three of it being the truth simultaneously."
"And what are these three causes, attorney?"
"First, this was done by their ruling lords as a way to punish the settlements that didn't provide manpower for the war. Second, these are bandits who assumed the look and armaments of soldiers to hide their true identities. Third, this was done by the Northern Coalition's Greenhood terror groups."
"Preposterous!"
"Are you saying that Lord Ichinose will do something as evil as this to us?!"
"How dare you!"
The defense attorney's words gathered both the frustration and pure ire of the spectators from the Central plains and the witnesses. This wasn't an unwarranted reaction though, as these are the people who lost their loved ones and possessions to the attacks, only for the lawyer to fully invalidate what they believed to have truly happened.
"Order! Order in the hall! What did the chief eunuch tell all of you earlier?!"
"Kh-!"
"If only the emperor isn't here…"
There are some who were seething in anger after that statement and whispered curses beneath their breaths.
"I wish you will be keeping an open mind about this subject, but I have not made this claim without any evidence to back it up. It arrived before we can accredit it as our evidence due to its process taking longer than the ones present in our storage bin, but as they have already passed the public attorney's inspection, I wish to appeal for these to be accepted even in the midst of our session."
"What are these?"
"They are audio records and recently declassified documents from the Allied High Command Office, Your Honor. Evidence that took us a while to procure and present to the public attorney for guarantee that they are legitimate evidence."
"Hmm…"
The defense lawyer took a few folders and an audio record with the shape of a cylindrical can, a form of a vinyl record that is different from commercial ones which is made in such manner to denote where they came from.
"Alright… I see nothing wrong with it being used if they have already passed through the public attorney's office."
"Objection, Your Honor! This is an illegal thing to do! Each of our camps are supposed to only able to use evidence and witnesses that we have presented before the court has been set into its present session!"
"Sustained, prosecutor! You are speaking about a legal case between two private individuals. However, a court martial case runs on a different set of rules. One of them is an amendment that states that any evidence or witness that has entered the court mid-session are still valid to be used due to the fact that in martial courts, there is a real possibility that field reports and military police records need time to be cleared for use outside from their respective organizations."
"T-that…"
"Am I understood now, prosecutor?"
"Y-Yes, sir…"
With that cleared, the defense attorney proceeded to present the rest of the evidence that just came through. First of which is the cylindrical vinyl record with the label of "September 23 (19th Expeditionary Battalion – MI-212)".
"What is this record about, attorney?"
"This is a record of the debriefing of the 19th Expeditionary Battalion that has jurisdiction over the patrols along the Megumi River. While searching for records about the allied forces stationed around the area of interest, we found out that the Battalion's patrols coincided with one of the estimated dates of an attack in a nearby village."
After stating that, he placed the pin on the record, and it played a conversation between a debriefing officer and the battalion's commanding officer.
{"State your name and identification code."}
{"Major Sugiyama Sanaemon. ID code 904-362. Reporting for mission debriefing, sir!"}
{"Nicely done, Major. You may be seated now… Well then, may I ask you to narrate as concisely as possible the details of your mission and what it has achieved?"}
{"Under Mission 212, we were sent upstream along the Megumi River to investigate several reports of other patrol teams that the area around the waters has been teeming with unidentified human activity. Riding our rigid-hull boats along with 48 of my men that has experience in nighttime patrols, we sailed against the current and arrived at the target area by 7'o clock in the evening."}
{"And what did you and your men find there?"}
{"Burned down settlements and traces of a recent mass evacuation, sir. It was clear to us that after the houses was burned, the inhabitants of the village left in a hurry and without their carts, because we found in the razed settlements several casks of clothes and other non-essential belongings. Ah! We have also found some dogs tied to the houses where there are still some hidden bags of rice and gold Kan. It seems like it has been a few days since the settlement was torched and left by its inhabitants, since the guard animals are barely holding onto their lives when we arrived."}
{"Well, that hurts me as someone who likes dogs… In any case, what did you and your men do after this?"}
{"We went deeper into the river, finding more and more villages and towns that are in the same case. Razed buildings, traces of fighting, the place being rapidly evacuated from by its citizens, and lastly, a few more guard animals that are either barely alive or is no longer alive, sir."}
{"Hrm… I see. Well then, did any of you have a clue about who it was that did this?"}
{"It is unconfirmed, sir. But given the direction of the attacks that came from deep inside the enemy territory and led back out into our lines, I believe this is a work of the enemy army. I believe the term that was used for this is "Scorched earth tactics".}
{Scorched earth tactics, huh? They're destroying settlements and culling off their people so that once we make our move, we can't resupply from the places we get ahold of, and their people won't be used against them.}
{"Exactly, sir."}
With that, the defense attorney turned off the record player and handed out folders to the judge and juries before telling them what the documents are about.
"These are investigation reports done by a third-party detective agency from Hashidate province, Your Honor. To ensure proper transparency, we hired them to study the case by themselves and present their findings without any biases. Please peruse them as you wish."
"Will do. Give me and the juries some time."
With the presiding powers needing some time to read the concise summary of the report, the two camps and the spectators sat in relative silence, only exchanging a few mutters and whispers about the case to each other.
"The evidence they presented has been consistent all this time."
"Is it possible that the ones who attacked us really aren't them?"
"It is possible… now that we know that the attacks came from inside and radiated towards their lines, it is possible that this really was done by Lord Ichinose and the other nobles."
For the ones who became the victims of these attacks, the possibility that instead of their conquerors, it was their former leaders who caused all of that death and destruction, became more and more believable as time in the courtroom passed and more information incriminating their leaders came to light.
"Juries, have you come to a decision."
"Yes, Your Honor. We will be forming a vote now."
"Good. Well then, the two sides, please stand as my and the jurors' verdict are being stated."
""Yes, Your Honor.""
Finally, the ruling decision came and with both sides holding their breaths, the representative of the juries reached for their vote and the judge's decision that will form both the ruling and the possible punishment if the statement would be "guilty".
"With the power vested unto us by the Southern Quartet Alliance, and the contract promised to by the Misanagi clan to the Great Kirin Lord, we declare Brigadier General Himeji Kotori, to be not guilty of any of the charges placed unto her. Also, the Court Martial has stated his interest in finding out if any of the surviving forces in the Ichinose clan's military has knowledge about these heinous crimes, as such, it promises to extend all of its resources and services to the beleaguered people of the conquered lands. With that, the court is now adjourned."
Although it was quite inconclusive, the court martial hearing was still something that cleared a lot of the confusion about the great misdeeds that happened during the war. There, it was proven that the allied forces had only become knowledgeable about the attacks far after it has already been done and it was partially proven that this might be a thing done by their ruling lords as both a way to punish the villages that didn't contribute as much as they wanted in the war, and also to hinder the advance of the allied troops.
"General Himeji…"
"Minori-dono…?"
"Please come with me for a moment."
And yet, there is still something that hangs above this tragic event. Something that not many people noticed or deduced from what has just transpired in the court hearing.
"My lord, she is here."
"…I don't know if I should congratulate you for clearing your name and getting rid of the suspicion that the people have for the military…"
"Iwasawa-sama…"
"…Or should I congratulate you for hiding everything beneath layers upon layers of redundancies so the truth will never come to light."
"…"
In one of the rooms of the Imperial Palace, the supposedly absent Lord of Kiko called for his subordinate who was surprised after learning that he was actually here all this time.
"Tell me, Kotori… Did you do this for my sake?"
"Iwasawa-kou-sama… this is-"
"Don't bother making up excuses, Kotori… I know everything. The Crows that I placed under your command has told me everything. So, please… at least tell me that you did this for my sake."
Kotori was wearing a resolute expression on her face when she entered, and yet, it was broken as soon as she saw her master barely holding back pained tears in his eyes.
"…Yes, my lord…"
"…I see."
"I sent my Crows deep into the Ichinose clan's lands along the Megumi River in order to sow discord inside the provinces. At first, it was just meant to be a replication of what you and Kusanagi-sama has done in the Satou territory long ago, but then, it garnered the attention of the nobles who thought that it would be better to dispose the people there and disperse their families to break a rebellion that wasn't even planned to happen there."
"…"
"In the end, it was our instigation that ended up causing all of the death and damages out there. It was already too late when we learned that all of the rumors of the attacks happened because of that mission I sent them to."
Though the fault can still be heavily placed on the Ichinose Lordship's nobles regarding the actual attacks, the beginning of it fell on her shoulders as it was her command that started it… This was a fact that none can deny to be hers' and hers' alone.
"There won't be a next time anymore, Kotori… I don't want to hear about anything like this later on…"
"…"
"I know that your intentions were right and proper, but you have to remember that you're not the only one who is moving the pieces in the board. No matter how much you calculate your moves, there is a real possibility that all of it would cause unimaginable damage to those around you."
"I understand, Iwasawa-kou-sama."
"…Send aid to those people and have the military police branch of your force assist them in hunting down the nobles and soldiers responsible for that massacre. Though you cannot stop it anymore, you can at least alleviate the pain and losses that it caused."
"I will, my lord!"
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My name is Himeji Kotori, and I am a general of Kiko and the subordinate of my master, Iwasawa Hiroshi-sama.
I once wished to be by the side of my master, not only as his loyal retainer, but also someone who can be with him through all the blessings and hardships of life. But as I learned later on, such a place is not for me to take.
"Himeji-sama… Here is the report we received from the Shogun."
"Thank you. Leave it on my table for now."
And so… I at least wanted to be of use to him and the attainment of his goals as much as I can.
"…For someone like him who has promised to fight cleanly and stop using these conniving methods, I find it hard to believe that he still manages to do some tinkering with our enemies."
Right… this is the best way to end this terrible conflict that is hindering my master's dream.
"I'm sorry, Iwasawa-sama… but this is all for the sake of this nation that you will one day rule."
I must do all that I can to avenge you and Chiyo-dono. Not because of my personal hatred… but as someone who is a part of the process that will one day bring down your enemies.
I am prepared to do anything… even if I must become the monster that you should never become anymore.
That is the shape of my loyalty to you... That is what my love is willing to do.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein