Chapter 99: Those Words

The night after Ryoma arrived in Edo—deep past midnight, in Edo Bay.

“What are you doing?! Set sail already! If you keep dawdling, the pursuers will catch up to us!”

“Quiet down. The special envoy hasn’t arrived yet.”

Dozens of men from the Principality had gathered aboard a trade vessel flying their nation’s flag, their faces pale under the dim lantern light, their whispers sharp with fear.

Just days earlier, the Tokugawa had obtained intelligence that a hero of the Principality was embedded within the Chōshū forces.

With undeniable proof in hand that the Principality had turned enemy, the shogunate formally resolved—at that very day’s council meeting—to sever diplomatic relations.

As a result, nobles would be taken prisoner.

All other citizens of the Principality found within Edo would be executed without exception.

The men aboard this ship were not fools. They sensed the shift in the shogunate’s movements and gathered at Edo Harbor under cover of darkness, hoping to flee before the blade fell.

“Even if the Principality’s been swamped because of that red dragon, they could’ve at least warned us before betraying Hinomaru…”

“You still don’t get it, do you…? We’ve been abandoned.”

“Damn it… Either way, we have to get out of here first. Hurry, Your Excellency!”

They were waiting for their superior—the special envoy of the Principality.

But—

“Unfortunate. The envoy has already been apprehended.”

From the darkness emerged Sakai.

In a single flash of steel, the captain’s head was severed cleanly from his shoulders.

It rolled across the deck with a dull thud.

“S–Captain?!”

“Gyaaaaah!!!”

“Of all people… Sakai?!”

Moments later, Tokugawa troops under Sakai’s command stormed the ship and subdued it completely.

“Sakai-sama. The confiscation of the Principality’s cargo is complete.”

“Good work. We’re returning.”

“““Yes, sir!”””

As she turned to leave, Sakai glanced up at the night sky, where clouds drifted across a pale moon.

(I knew it would end like this. If so, we should have severed ties the day the Imperial ambassador visited Edo Castle a month ago… Well. No use dwelling on it now.)

That day, Sakai’s proposal had been rejected.

Tōgō’s had been adopted instead.

The following morning, the shogunate officially announced the severing of diplomatic relations with the Principality.

Several merchant houses cried out in despair, but when it was simultaneously declared that the Empire would step in as a new trading partner, widespread panic was avoided.

Two weeks before the outbreak of war, evacuation orders were issued.

Most residents relocated to nearby towns.

The inn district was closed, and so Ryu and the others took up residence once more in the familiar guesthouse.

In the early evening, within a tatami-floored room.

Ryu, Esther, Homura… and Ryoma sat together, quietly sipping tea.

“Why are you tagging along with us?” Ryu muttered.

“When I remain among the Tosa troops, everyone treats me with excessive consideration. I find it rather difficult to relax.”

“Being the hero of Hinomaru must be exhausting… slurp.”

“Gyau.”

In Tosa, Ryoma was even more popular than Itagaki.

Eyes followed him everywhere.

Perhaps he felt as though every gesture was being scrutinized, every breath weighed.

In the guesthouse, by the way, Esther had been specially served tea without bitterness.

She reached for a stack of colorful wagashi sweets piled neatly on the table and popped one into her mouth.

“By the way… are you two fighting this time?” munch munch

“I don’t plan to, for now.”

“I shall be facing the hero.”

“Oho? Do you know what kind of magic he uses?”

“Not yet.”

During the western campaign, they had known their enemy’s magic in advance and prepared countermeasures.

This time, they knew nothing.

“Well, you’ll be fine, Ryoma.”

“Agreed. If there’s someone who can defeat this monster, I’d like to meet him.”

“I was thoroughly beaten by someone not long ago…”

“You have the advantage in close combat. Stand tall, you lecherous samurai.”

“As always, you speak wisely, you black-hearted sister-obsessed dragon.”

These days, Ryu crossed blades with Ryoma every morning—only to be reminded, again and again, of the gulf between their swords.

After morning training with Ryoma, Ryu attended council meetings.

At night, he dined with Esther and the others.

The days were full—rich, even.

But they would soon come to an end.

A week passed like flowing water.

Seven days remained until war.

The air in Edo grew heavier, thick with tension.

Even the soldiers moved with a stiffness that had not been there before.

The once-bustling streets lay eerily quiet.

Plans had progressed smoothly—almost too smoothly.

Until one grave problem arose.

Princess Kagura had never felt such impatience claw at her heart.

“The Satsuma forces… have they still not arrived?”

They were meant to reach Edo Bay yesterday.

And yet—no sails appeared on the horizon.

“N–No. We have received no communication either…”

“Not even a message… That is unlike Tōgō. Could they have been attacked?”

Sakai entered the chamber.

“No, Princess. If it is Tōgō, he would repel any assault with ease.”

“Sakai, you’ve come at the right moment. Then… could monsters have attacked them?”

“Even if beset by a swarm of dragons, at least one ship would have reached us.”

“Then… surely not…”

The word betrayal flashed through her mind.

Cold sweat beaded on her brow.

“Sakai. Summon the ambassador and Itagaki-dono. I wish to hear their thoughts.”

“At once.”

They arrived swiftly.

“Has something happened?”

“It’s rare for Your Highness to call upon us.”

The princess inhaled deeply.

“I will speak plainly. The Satsuma forces may have betrayed us.”

“…Is that certain?”

Itagaki’s expression darkened.

Tokugawa, Satsuma, Tosa—

versus Chōshū, Hizen, the Principality.

The balance had only held because both sides commanded three major powers.

If Satsuma turned, the enemy’s strength would nearly double.

Worse—they would control the seas.

Ryu spoke calmly.

“Are there truly no Satsuma ships left in Edo Harbor? If even one remained, there might be someone connected to them.”

“Their fleet returned entirely to Satsuma domain.”

“Ah… Then we’ve been thoroughly played. That’s the textbook movement before betrayal.”

Information control so complete that even Ryu failed to notice.

As expected of the man called the War God.

Yet what unsettled Ryu more than the deception itself was something else.

‘Edo is in your hands, Ryu Arden.’

That final exchange.

(Was that a lie too, Tōgō Heihachirō?)

To betray one’s comrades—

and to cloak it in pleasant words until the very end.

As a dragon who placed his companions above all else, Ryu found such conduct incomprehensible.

“If he was going to betray us, he could have declared it outright. To attend meetings until the very last moment and extract all our information…”

“…He disgraces the name of samurai.”

In a faint voice, the princess murmured,

“But… we cannot be certain. They may still arrive tomorrow…”

“That may be so. However, Your Highness, we should conduct this council under the assumption that Satsuma has defected.”

“Yes… If they have merely withdrawn, that is one thing. But if they have joined the enemy…”

—There is no chance of victory.

She did not speak the words aloud.

She did not need to.

In that suffocating despair, Itagaki grinned.

“From advantage to overwhelming disadvantage… Yes. This is how war should be. My blood stirs.”

“I–Itagaki-dono…”

(He is right. Only by overturning this can we call ourselves the Edo shogunate. My late father would never have surrendered hope.)

Princess Kagura straightened.

“I too shall take up the spear and command from the front lines! We will win this war!”

For a fleeting instant, she resembled the Tokugawa shogun himself.

“Princess…”

Sakai and Itagaki both saw their former lord in her bearing.

(That’s a fine expression you’re wearing now, Tokugawa Kagura.)

Ryu’s lips curved upward.

…And then—

“Princess Kagura. Forgive me for saying this after letting you declare such resolve, but you must remain in the castle and issue orders as planned.”

“Eh…?”

Itagaki and Sakai swallowed nervously as they watched the exchange.

“I had intended to remain in the castle as well,” Ryu continued. “But I’ve changed my mind.”

“Do you intend to command the front lines in my stead? That is unacceptable. I cannot allow the Imperial Ambassador to face such danger.”

“Half correct.”

“Half…?”

She tilted her head in confusion.

“If the Satsuma forces truly attack—

—I will face them alone.”

For the next week, the Satsuma army did not appear.

And at last, the signal fires of war were lit.