Chapter 160: At the Tavern
The leader of the Hero’s Party from the northern Garcia Kingdom.
Though still a student, he had already stood at the very pinnacle of Japanese swordsmanship.
A boy who carried within his veins the bloodline of warriors once praised as the greatest samurai in Japan’s history—
and by a strange twist of fate, he had been given the very same name as that legendary figure.
——— Takeshi Miyamoto.
Two years had already passed since he had been summoned to this other world.
And now, at long last…
he finally came face to face with Ryu Arden.
The headquarters tavern was lively and loud, filled with the clatter of mugs and the roar of laughter from adventurers unwinding after their latest quests. The smell of roasted meat and strong ale hung thick in the air.
Into that bustling space stepped two samurai and a young knight girl.
“Ooooi, Ryu! I’ve brought a guest, I have!” Ryoma called out cheerfully, waving a hand high above the crowd.
“A guest…?”
Ryu paused mid-meal, slowly setting down his utensils. His sharp gaze shifted past Ryoma and settled on the boy standing behind him.
The youth stepped forward calmly.
“I am Takeshi Miyamoto, leader of the Hero Party,” he said in a steady voice. “You are the one known as Ryu, correct?”
“That’s right,” Ryu replied without hesitation. “I’ve heard about you too. Mostly from those two over there.”
“…Why are Amane and Kaito here?” Takeshi asked, confusion flickering across his face.
The two in question exchanged awkward looks.
“U-uh… well,” Amane began, scratching her cheek nervously, “the truth is… this idiot Kaito started talking to the three beautiful ladies traveling with Ryu, and then…”
“Seriously, I’m really sorry!” Kaito blurted out, bowing his head. “They were just so beautiful that I couldn’t help myself and ended up striking up a conversation!”
“I see,” Takeshi replied calmly. “But you shouldn’t be apologizing to me. You should apologize to the ladies.”
“I already did!”
“Is that so? Even so, as their party leader, I must offer my apologies once more.”
With surprising sincerity, Takeshi bowed his head toward Esther and the others.
Esther waved her hand lightly with a gentle smile.
“Oh, no need for that. It wasn’t as though he truly harassed us. He was merely trying to explain his clan to us. It’s hardly something worth making a big deal out of. Let us consider the matter closed.”
“Thank you,” Takeshi said politely. “Kind and beautiful elf whose name I have yet to learn.”
Ryu’s eyes shifted slightly as he observed Takeshi more carefully now.
“So the leader of the northern Hero Party actually has his head on straight,” he remarked.
“I’m still inferior to her.”
“Her?”
“I can’t say her name… but she is one of the heroes who remained in the kingdom.”
“…………”
(Well, considering she’s the kind of genius who can build a flying vessel… I suppose she would be reliable.)
Hero Saionji.
Ryu had… certain conflicts with her.
…Though she had yet to realize that Ryu even existed.
“Well, whatever,” Ryu said, shrugging slightly. “If Ryoma calls you a guest, you must have come here for a reason.”
“That’s correct,” Takeshi replied. “Allow me to be direct.”
The moment his tone changed, the atmosphere shifted.
Not only Amane and Kaito, but even the nearby adventurers who had been casually eavesdropping found themselves swallowing nervously.
Then Takeshi spoke.
“———I would like to scout Ryoma-sama into our party.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the tavern erupted into whispers.
“Hey, did you hear that?!”
“Yeah! The Hero Party is recruiting someone for the first time!!”
“Who’s the target?”
“He said Ryoma… wait, don’t tell me that’s Sakamoto Ryoma?!”
“No way! That’d make them unstoppable!!”
“I heard the other heroes died… maybe the Garcia Kingdom is about to become the dominant power!”
Even Amane and Kaito reacted in shock after hearing the murmurs.
“The Ryoma that Ryu mentioned earlier…”
“Is that really Sakamoto Ryoma?!”
Nearby, Esther chuckled softly.
“Wherever he goes, Ryoma seems to be famous.”
“Of course he is!” said the knight girl proudly. “He’s my brother’s best friend!”
“After all,” another added with admiration, “he’s the dream of swordsmen all across the world!”
“Gyaau.”
(And he’s one of the dragon-kind as well!)
Once again, everyone present found themselves reminded of just how extraordinary Ryoma truly was.
However—
There was one man whose expression had grown unmistakably severe.
“………………”
It was Ryu.
Takeshi waited silently for Ryu’s response.
“…………”
(If Ryoma-sama were to join the Hero Party… many people—including these adventurers—would welcome it. If we succeeded in recruiting him, our party would advance to an entirely new stage. So please…!)
(Please nod…!)
At some point, the entire tavern had fallen silent.
Every single person present waited for Ryu to speak.
And then—
he did.
“Ryoma belongs to me. I’m not handing him over to some small fry like you.”
A sharp crack seemed to split the air itself.
The atmosphere shattered.
The hero, the adventurers—everyone else stared in stunned disbelief.
Meanwhile, Ryu’s companions simply smiled brightly as though they had expected nothing less.
As for Ryoma himself…
“Hehehe…”
He scratched the back of his head bashfully.
(Ahh… those are the nicest words one could hear.)
But Takeshi did not give up.
Instead, his mind began rapidly searching for another approach.
(Ryoma-sama did say… either persuade him, or prove it with the sword. In that case…!)
“In other words,” Takeshi said slowly, “when you said you wouldn’t give him to ‘a small fry’ like me… I may interpret that as meaning: if I defeat you in battle, then I may recruit Ryoma-sama. Would that be correct?”
Ryu snorted lightly.
“What wonderfully self-serving imagination you’ve got there.”
He leaned back slightly before continuing.
“…But fine. I’ll accept that. I’d like to see the swordsmanship of Japan—the origin of Hinomaru—myself. You’re carrying a katana, so I assume you’re at least some kind of samurai.”
“Indeed,” Takeshi replied calmly. “In my previous world, I stood at the very top of a sport closely related to swordsmanship. I promise I won’t bore you.”
“Hm… though even then, the benefits seem a bit one-sided.”
After all, if Ryu won, the only reward would be seeing Japanese swordsmanship.
But if he lost…
He would lose his friend Ryoma.
Naturally, he would want something more.
Takeshi seemed to have already anticipated that.
“Then if you win,” he said, “we will hand over all the dungeon information we have gathered within the Federation.”
Ryu’s lips curved slightly.
“Alright. That works for me. Where do you want to fight?”
“I will ask the Grandmaster to reserve either a suitable dungeon or a training ground.”
“And the date?”
“I’ll inform you later.”
“Got it.”
And just like that—
Ryu had agreed to battle the leader of the Hero Party.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile…
Far to the north of the Gran Federation, across a vast and endless grassland—
“Captain Lily!! Please don’t suddenly speed up the horses like that!!”
“What’s wrong, Captain?! Did something happen ahead?!”
“Nothing happened! Nothing at all…!”
Lily shouted over the pounding hooves as the wind whipped through her hair.
“But for some reason… I just have this feeling we need to hurry!!”
She urged her horse forward with urgency.
“Come on! Let’s go faster, Subordinate-chan! Louise-kun!!”