People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 556 Young Master: To be able to fight a powerful enemy before being captured... Wait? Where did this cabbage come from?

Outside Inazuma Castle, in the White Fox Field.

As the main battlefield during the Abyss War, this area, located outside Inazuma Castle and Hanamizaka, was once barren.

But now the war is over, and thanks to the purification and restoration by foreign deities, the damaged ecosystem has been rebuilt.

A wide variety of flowers and plants grow freely on the vast plain, adorned with glistening dewdrops at the rising sun.

Near Hanamizaka, a temporary special operations team camp was set up.

The traveler team, who got up early, were all ready to go and were unusually energetic since arriving in Inazuma.

—I've been thinking about the bounty on the Fatui Enforcer for a long time, but I just haven't had time to deal with it.

I originally planned to go to Xin Hai or someone else to get the information myself.
But to my surprise, a fox priest came to my door early in the morning with an urgent mission. The mission not only specified the location and number of the Fatui enforcers, but also the exact time and place of their planned escape.
"Hmm, where did they get this information from? They know so much. If the Divine Child went there himself, he should be able to capture the Fatui, right?"

"But it's also possible that Ying and Paimon's reputations have become too great lately, which is why they came to find us so early in the morning."

They felt that the information they had was not something that could be obtained in a short time. It was obvious that the goddess who issued the commission had already conducted very detailed observations on the island a long time ago.

If I had to point out an advantage, it would probably be that the interference of the abyssal power in the ley lines has disappeared, and the two of them can now use the anchor point to teleport again, which is much faster than running there.
"Probably because they were afraid of alerting the enemy."

"Our mission is not just to capture those two Fools' Enforcers; the real focus is on finding out the hidden wealth of the Enforcers."

"Judging from what the Divine Child said, it seems that he thinks our mission completion rate has always been very high, so he hopes we can go and try our luck."

She was also pleased to receive the current request, since the two Fatui Enforcers from Inazuma shouldn't be considered insurmountable enemies for her at the moment.

The first one was manageable, but for the later treasure hunt quest with absolutely no clues, Ying could only say that she wasn't some kind of omnipotent quest-granting machine.
"Let's go, get there as soon as possible. To prevent the Kansei Magistrate from hiding the current Mora as well, we can choose an anchor point around the outlying islands."

“The Divine Child said that the cleanup of the Imperial Censorate and the Fools was to prepare for the upcoming Imperial Censorate procession. If we do a good job, it might be beneficial for us to go to Mount Sumeru to seek an audience with the gods later.”

Feeling that Inazuma's adventure was nearing its end, Ying felt that she and Paimon should make some preparations for their next country.

As one of the countries that the two women had the most contact with, Sumeru's presence and special nature as a deity were unparalleled among the seven kingdoms.

The idea that Inazuma fought a war that was a matter of national survival was already outrageous to the extreme.

Theoretically speaking, in any country in the future, it should be much easier to request an audience with the gods than in Inazuma.
"Hmm, but I remember we found traces of the Fatui's activities in the area a couple of days ago, right? And Miss Gendou Ringo also said that she feels like she's been followed recently."

Paimon had become quite familiar with the gentle shrine maiden because she frequently visited the shrine to draw fortune slips. Before receiving this mission, they had actually planned to first catch those stalkers whose origins were unknown.

"I asked the Divine Child, and she said there's no need to worry. It seems that those who are tracking Miss Gendou Ringo are the Fools' spies, and their whereabouts have now been discovered by the ninjas of the Final Brigade."

"Although these elite members of the Fools are very strong, they don't seem to know that Miss Gendong Ringo recently obtained the Eye of God, so their operation was completely exposed. We shouldn't need to handle the follow-up work."

Surprisingly, even the Yae-no-miya priest knew about such things. Ying could only conclude that she cared about the shrine maidens in her shrine far more than she seemed.

Although I don't know why, the other person's expression was a little strange when I mentioned that the spies planned to make their move at the dessert shop that Ms. Gendou Ringo frequented.
But since even the operation plan had been exposed, Ying felt that nothing unexpected should go wrong here.
"...No one from the Shogunate really came to the island? How could their reaction be so slow?"

"Hmph, do you think the Hiiragi family will surrender without a fight? I'm not going to be like that old man Kujo, doing all the work for someone else. Even if the Hiiragi family has accumulated wealth over generations..."

The outlying islands were surveyed and the magistrate's office was established.

Having received reports from both his confidants and the Fools, he discovered that the shogunate seemed to have no intention of mobilizing troops to surround the remote island.

Feeling both relieved and angry at the outcome, Shinsuke Hiiragi, though equally unwilling to cause any more trouble, felt extremely slighted.

—Without a doubt, the shogunate seemed convinced that he would sit idly by and wait for his doom in such an unfavorable situation, which was very much in line with the shogun's arrogant and conceited character.

"Go to winter, and start anew."

"That's fine, it's just a matter of enjoying wealth in a different country."

"As long as that so-called empress and those executives haven't lost their minds and see the weight of this small portion of wealth, they will naturally understand the value of the Hiiragi family."

At first, I hesitated about whether to accept the Fools' proposal, since once power and status are lost, it is difficult to regain them even if you have wealth.

However, the castle tower's purge of the Kujo family was far too thorough. No matter how lofty the status, only a select few can enjoy it. Shinsuke Hiiragi knew very well that going to Shifuyu had become the Hiiragi family's only option.

"The only pity is Chisato. I guess I spoiled her too much. She actually believed in those empty slogans and wanted to stay here with that kid from the Kujo family."

"Hmph, even if he doesn't deserve to die, he can still get out of prison in the future. But if a mere adopted daughter takes over the position of head of the family and he loses his status and position, what difference is there between him and being dead?"

He has already sent people to forcibly take his daughter away, and at the same time, he has moved what he considers to be just the right amount of Mora and treasures.

Naturally, it was impossible to fully trust those executives, so they didn't stake all their accumulated wealth over the years.
But wealth, while a death knell that ignites greed, is also the greatest guarantee of the Hiiragi family's safety.

As long as they understand that, apart from themselves, the remaining hidden portion of their wealth will forever remain unknown to anyone else.
Even in the worst-case scenario, driven by greed for the remaining wealth, the Hiiragi family still has a chance to turn the tide.

"It's time to leave, to leave this land that I've cultivated for hundreds of years."

"If it weren't for this damned abyss and those two troublemakers, how could my Hiiragi family have ended up like this?"

Finally, he took the most valuable treasures with him and removed his two favorite paintings and calligraphic works from the wall.
Shinsuke Hiiragi glanced back at the mansion that had been continuously repaired and maintained by his ancestors, lit a candle on the pile of books and documents beside him, and then resolutely left.

"Oh? You're finally ready? That's quite a determination."

"I'd rather burn it than give someone else the chance to profit from my loss. If that conspirator saw this, he might even praise him as a shrewd businessman."

In the distance, wisps of smoke rose into the sky. Although they were just thin streams at the moment, it would not be long before the flames burned down the residence of the magistrate and even half of the island.

Having deeply felt that unique mindset of "I can lose money, but others can't profit from it," D'Artagnan felt that people who spend a lot of time with Mora would probably end up like that.

"Hmph, let's go. It seems those who went to deal with the traitors won't be coming back."

They looked into the distance for a long time, but still received no signal of anyone returning.

Rosalyn finally shook her head, deciding not to waste any more effort.

"Speaking of which, although I also absolutely obey Her Majesty the Queen's will and orders, you've always been the most enthusiastic about 'plans,' haven't you?"

"Just by thinking about it, it's clear that collecting the Heart of God is almost impossible. So what are your plans after that?"

I know very well that this colleague of mine has always been the type who is most loyal to the task, which is quite different from some colleagues who prioritize their own interests.

The young master thought of the Inazuma Plan, which had been progressing very smoothly but had come to an abrupt end, and felt that since it had failed this time, there would probably be even less chance of success in the future.

"."

"Failure is only temporary, and Her Majesty's lofty ideals will surely be realized."

"The purpose of keeping ashes is to burn them again. I won't give up as easily as you do."

"--If you could avoid being knocked unconscious a few more times and not be thrown into jail again, that would be even better. It would be best if the Sixth Seat's assessment of you didn't become a reality." He paused slightly, then successfully maintained his usual indifference and domineering demeanor.

No matter how unreliable her other colleagues may be, Rosalyn would never give up as long as it was Her Majesty's wish.

"Oh? Scaramucci actually commented on me? What did he say?"

Knowing that his colleague looked down on everyone, the young master was curious about how he would be evaluated.

"Simple-minded and physically weak, his position at the bottom only lowers the overall level of the Fool's Enforcers. He might as well stay in jail."

"These are his exact words. Do you perhaps enjoy hearing such things?"

Having not forgotten the evaluation that the young master had relayed to her, Rosalyn naturally did not mince words.

"."

"Ha, this guy is really interesting. Looks like I have to find him and have a fight."

He paused for a moment, then realized that such an assessment perfectly matched that guy's despicable character.

The young master clenched his fist, suddenly realizing he shouldn't have been curious about it.

"Alright, everyone's here now, there's no point in delaying any longer."

"That old man's stuff filled an entire ship, so much Mora and treasure. I'm worried that if we wait any longer, something might suddenly jump out."

"boom--!"

???

The words were interrupted, then a loud bang was heard.

Suddenly, a strangely familiar water elemental beam descended from the sky in the distance, landing precisely on the spot where the old man from the Hiiragi family had started the fire, extinguishing the flames before they could spread.

As if by instinct, a sharp pain shot through his chest. D'Artagnan vaguely remembered that before he last lost consciousness, he had been struck by a small, lizard-like creature with a similar attack.
"Tsk, I knew it wouldn't be that easy."

"—'Eighth Seat,' haven't you always thought the person who knocked me out was weak? Now that they're here, why don't you give them a try yourself?"

“If we can’t beat them, it won’t just be me; you’ll probably be in jail too.”

Having no intention of playing around with the bow, after the previous battles, Tartaglia directly unleashed the power of the Evil Eye.

He was prepared to unleash the Demon King's forces the moment the battle began, certain that he would not succumb to carelessness this time.

？ ！！

"—Waaaaah! How could this guy be so mean! He wanted to run away, fine, but he just burned down this nice house like that!"

"—Rice Ball, quick, put out the fire! I saw several paintings and calligraphy that look very valuable!"

On the other side, the traveler's team, which originally planned to infiltrate.

I was originally planning to gather some information, so I teleported to the ground from the teleportation anchor point outside the island.

But who would have thought that shortly after arriving, they would see thick smoke rising from the center of the island.

They hadn't forgotten that this was the first stop for receiving the missionary team; if the fire were allowed to spread, the entire island could eventually be reduced to charred remains.

After confirming with Paimon that the Fools' Enforcers hadn't escaped, Ying stopped trying to hide it.

Activate the elemental amplification device to enter combat mode, and at the same time have the rice ball drop a water jet from the sky to try to extinguish the flames.

"."

The fire was gradually dying down, but his own combat instincts gave him a vague sense of being locked on and in danger.

Ignoring the ordinary man, the head of the Kanjo clan, who was just a commoner, by the side of the ship...
Using the wind elemental force, I flew through the air and took the opportunity to observe the surrounding environment.

Upon spotting the two figures at the port, Ying tensed up and took a deep breath, knowing that she would likely have to confront two executives simultaneously.

The atmosphere in the port area instantly became tense.

Tartaglia was surrounded by a mixture of lightning and water vapor, and the power of the Evil Eye made his aura surge.

Thanks to his focus on his "arch-rival," he had prepared for the worst from the very beginning.

Based on their performance in the fight against the Abyss, the opponent most likely possesses the means to draw upon the power of the gods.
Although he was very confident in his progress during this period, if he were to face the power of that authoritarian god, the most likely outcome would still be that he would be imprisoned.
"Heh, so what? Fighting a powerful enemy before being captured isn't a bad outcome; at least it's an ending worthy of an executive officer."

"—Come on, let me see just how much you've improved. I won't be careless this time!"

In an instant, he summoned the Demon King's armed forces that had been ready to be unleashed. The young master also slowly rose into the air, pointing his massive lance forward.

As you said

".?"

She paused abruptly halfway through her sentence, and even though she knew they were in the middle of a battle, Ying still wanted to rub her eyes.

One could sense that the young master was more serious than ever before, and his aura was far stronger than ever before, but those things emerging from the ground around him seemed to be...
"Hmm? Not responding? Are you scared?"

"."

"The simple iron block is too weak. To surpass Lan Disha, we need to undergo a 'trial' with something even more powerful."

"Lanramo said that Nara was unreasonable, so Naranbalika used a great deal of effort to teach Nara to be reasonable."

???

I don't know where the sound came from, but I instinctively wanted to investigate.
But the young master, who had already deployed his demon king armor and made significant progress in the battle, saw nothing when he looked down.

The next second, he inexplicably found that his nemesis in front of him had put down his weapon and was showing a sympathetic expression.

"Boom--!"

The young master was struck hard on the back of the head. Before he could understand what had happened, everything went black. Just before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw several round, green little things.
???

Is this what knocked me out? Where did this cabbage come from?
I had fainted inexplicably too many times before, and I thought I could save face this time.

The remaining consciousness gradually faded.

With this unanswerable question in his heart, the young master, who originally wanted to fight his 'arch-enemy' with all his might, fell into a childlike sleep again before he could even make a move.

(End of this chapter)