“In fact, I’m goin’ to have to say hells no,” Shacklock continued, almost conversationally so. With every word that came out of the old madman’s mouth, the expressions on the younger Imperials and the two flag bearers' faces darkened. On the other hand, though, the elder Imperial’s face looked carved from stone, not a single muscle twitching out of place.

  Meanwhile, Masayuki looked like he was barely paying attention to Shacklock. Instead, his eyes had never budged from their place locked onto me. Strangely, though, the more he looked at me, the more I got the impression he was staring into my soul. It looked more like he was studying me like I was a specimen in a lab than I was a potential opponent.

  “Me and my men fought and died for this gods-forsaken hunk of rock, fixin’ your damned problem, and I ain’t intending to step another foot off of it. Possibly ever,” Shacklock mused, rubbing his ancient, bare chin in mock thought. “I might just decide this is where I’m goin’ to live out the rest of my days. What’s not to like? Beautiful beaches, balmy weather. Hells, I even got me some friendly neighbors. They’re a bit furry, but everyone has flaws.”

  The younger Imperial lurched forward in his saddle, hand flying to the hilt of the sheathed katana at his waist. “If it’s death you seek, you disgusting old relic, I’ll be happy to oblige you,” He snarled. He stopped, though, when the older Imperial raised his hand to stop the young man without even turning to face him.

  “Peace, Haruto,” The old man said calmly. “He is provoking you.” With one last glare, ‘Haruto’ let go of his weapon and sat back in his saddle. In the meanwhile, his superior was studying Shacklock with even, steel-grey eyes. “You mock us, Grand Marshal Shacklock. However, I sense it is not without reason. You…you are not the guiding force behind this meeting.”

  What a sharp guy.

  In response, Shacklock snorted almost disappointingly. “Old General Greybeard, eh? I thought you were dead, honestly. What hole did they drag you out of, that you’re here right now?”

  I swear I thought I saw ‘Old General Greybeard’ roll his eyes at Shacklock, entirely unmoved by the other man’s provocations. But if he actually did it, then it was such a slight movement as to be nearly imperceptible.

  Kazuma suddenly stepped forward, interposing himself in the space between the two men. His movement drew the eyes of the entire delegation. In particular, I saw a spark of recognition appear in the General’s eyes at the sight of the young samurai. “Please, ignore Grand Marshall Shacklock’s words, honored delegates, General Hisakane. It is his way to poke and prod. I am afraid old age and the onset of Core Collapse has rendered his tongue especially impolite.”

  That certainly drew their attention, in the way we had suspected when I advised Kazuma to let ‘slip’ that fact. I was careful to regulate my body to not let any tells through, but Kazuma was downright stiff in his delivery, despite how I’d coached him.

  Masayuki must have noticed, because he suddenly met my eyes almost curiously from across the distance. He tilted his head and, all of a sudden, smiled at me. A great deal of the tension in his tall frame eased, and he relaxed in his saddle.

  I resisted the urge to smile at him. I was starting to suspect that ‘Master of Ceremonies’ was the least of Masayuki’s roles in the court of Emperor Seimei, and that he ran in similar circles to my old one in the Nocturne Division.

  He could see that something was up here, I could tell.

  Meanwhile, General Hisakune had reached up in order to stroke one end of his enormous mustache. “Oh, I see,” He mused, staring at the stiff form of Kazuma. “You are…Kazuma, of the Higanashi Clan, are you not? I can recognize some of Gozen in you. It’s the nose, I think.”

  Kazuma gave the General a strained smile at the odd compliment. “Ah…thank you, my lord. It’s an honor to meet your esteemed self, despite the circumstances. The tactical acumen of General Tsutomu Hisakane is renowned throughout all the Land of Rivers.” With the ceremonial compliments over, Kazuma finally got around to enacting the plan I’d concocted with the help of a pair of old monsters. “Perhaps we should introduce our companions before talks resume?”

  The General inclined his head. “Very well. I am General Hisakane, Head of the Imperial Guard and strong right hand of his eminence, Emperor Seimei. With me I have my aid, Captain Haruto Tanigawa,” He gestured towards the younger Imperial at his side. At our regard, the Captain just narrowed his eyes. “And Lord Masayuki Ashiwara, Master of Ceremonies to the River Court. He is here on request of the Emperor, to act as his eyes and ears.”

  Eyes and ears, huh. That might as well have confirmed my suspicions.

  Masayuki languidly inclined his head, curious eyes roaming over those gathered in front of him. “Truly, it is an honor to be among such esteemed company.”

  Kazuma took a deep breath as it came time to introduce us now. First, he gestured towards the one person that I don’t believe any of the gathered Kawamarans likely knew.

  Shurenga.

  I don’t know what they were suspecting, but it wasn’t for Kazuma to sweep his hand over to the large, flaming cat sitting patiently on its haunches, watching with knowing eyes. Perhaps they had thought she was merely some strange, wild beast that Shacklock had found and tamed on the isle. After all, Venix had told me just after our arrival on Goryuen that the Imperials didn't actually know what was up with the Shurengans, merely that they existed.

  They were...a bit more than mere animals, though.

  “I have the honor of announcing the Lady Shurenga,” Kazuma said heavily. “Mistress of Mt. Umetsuji, progenitor of her people…and only daughter of Lord Tarus, He Whose Light We Walk In.”

  Proving once again that Tarus was a nosy, spying bastard, the sunlight in our immediate area intensified. Flicking my eyes up, I was unsurprised to see that the star of the Vereden system was sitting perfectly poised at the tip of Mt. Umetsuji looming above us, and casting visible, directed rays of sunlight down onto Shurenga. Likely long used to her father’s antics, Shurenga stood up and padded forward to join Kazuma with long-suffering patience.

  I think the Captain and the two flag bearers almost had a heart attack when Shurenga actually spoke to them. “Greetings, River Lords, and be welcome on the slopes of my home. You stand on the stone of Umetsuji, the Hissing Lord, and the ancient meeting place between Sun and Earth. I have allowed these proceedings to commence here, in a mirror of ages past, as payment for services rendered onto the House of Tarus.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  While a smile crept onto the face of Masayuki at the drama and absurdity that had just crept into this meeting, the General seemed far more cautious. “I was unaware that the Lord of Light possessed any fruit of his…spiritual loins,” He said, eyeing Shurenga like she was a snake about to reach out and bite him. “As far as I’m aware, you do not feature into the scripture of the Temples. Lord Tarus has not enlightened us as to your…existence.”

  Shurenga’s furry lips stretched into a feline smile. “Because I asked him not to, of course. Allow a family its secrets, my lord.”

  As the gathered Kawamarans adapted to the reality where one of the prime objects of their worship possessed a semi-physical daughter, Kazuma had already moved on. “I’m sure you’re familiar,” He started loudly, drawing attention once more. With one hand, he gestured towards a visibly bored Shacklock. To my disgust, the old man was picking at his nose with one pinky and barely reacted when his descendent pointed to him. “With Grand Marshall Shacklock, of the Order of Solstice’s Flame. What you are likely not aware of is my relation to the man. He is…the pater progenitor of my clan. It was the man who would come to be known as Shacklock who fathered the Lady Higanashi, the Crimson Lily of War herself. It was with the help of Grand Marshall Shacklock and Lady Shurenga that I retrieved this!” He finished with a shout, reaching behind him and retrieving a wrapped package. A few people of the Kawamara party tensed at the move, but all of them, including the General and Masayuki, outright gaped at what happened next.

  Kazuma channeled the smallest, most imperceptible amount of Ki into the package, and the entire length of canvas instantly vaporized.

  Revealing the full length of his ancestral blade, pulsing with an empty, razor-sharp might in the light of Tarus.

  “Behold!” Kazuma shouted. “The Shōmetsu no Kiba, returned to the service of Kawamara once again!”

  Funny thing, about the bond Shurenga had placed on the sword. It had stabilized enough by this point, that Kazuma could activate a haze of the erasure effect to manifest along the length of the blade. He still couldn’t risk fully activating it, even if he was strong enough to do so. But for a dramatic purpose like this, well.

  It worked in convincing those it needed to.

  General Hisakane gazed at the legendary blade with a small, wistful smile on his face. “That is indeed the Shōmetsu no Kiba,” He said. “I would recognize it anywhere. Congratulations, young man. This alone would likely see your Clan restored to its place within the court. We were all under the impression that it had been destroyed in the previous campaign. But you were saying some-”

  “And with it,” Kazuma continued in a raised voice, speaking over the General. “And the help of my last companion, together we finally accomplished the fervent dream of every last Kawamaran man, woman, and child. My lords, may I introduce Sir Nathaniel Hart, Apprentice of Grand Marshall Greycton of the Shattered Sun. The man…who assisted me in finally slaying the Dread Wyrm Tatsugan, once and for all.”

  I stepped forward to join Kazuma and the others, as silence descended on the plains before Mt. Umetsuji. Not only were the bearers and the Captain gaping at us from Kazuma’s audacious announcement, but we’d finally managed to shock General Hisakane from his stoic countenance. The old man’s mouth had fallen open in his surprise. In one swift movement, the older Kawamaran man swung himself out of the saddle of the horse he’d been sitting in the entire time, and started his way towards Kazuma. Masayuki followed suit, and the rest of their retinue followed.

  I bowed at the waist in the ensuing silence, as the retinue came to a stop before us. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lords." To my amusement, most of them entirely ignored me, still shocked by Kazuma's words. The only one who acknowledged me beyond a brief nod was Masayuki, and that was only a raised eyebrow before he focused back on the young Lord of Higanashi.

  “How…can you possibly know that?” The General asked, half wonderingly. “It is a grand deed that you have done indeed, if you have slain Tatsugan once more. But to say you have slain him permanently?” He shook his head slowly. “How is that possible?”

  Kazuma smiled broadly, to my eyes looking half relieved that our plan seemed to be working. “Let me tell the tale, my Lord of Hisakane!”

  With that, Kazuma launched into the somewhat…doctored tale of what had truly happened at Goryuen that we’d workshopped in the last few days. In this version, there was no Netherim bunker, no ancient, cursed trap laid by a distant goddess. There was no Harlow, and we were keeping the existence of Aveline a closely kept secret. As far as the Kawamarans were concerned, if she was discovered, the cover story was that Aveline was the stranded child of a pair of Herztalian merchants whose ship had crashed upon the shores of Goryuen. Shurenga had chanced upon the poor child as the only survivor, and I had decided to…

  Ah…big word time.

  Adopt her in the aftermath of the fight.

  But we were leaving the…broad strokes of the story intact. The mountain of Gorenzan had been hollow all this time, and with help from the bag of tricks taught to me by Grey, I had opened the secret door that lay upon the mountain. Once inside, Kazuma and ‘his’ companions had fought their way through the guardian left by one of the banished gods to find the true form of Tatsugan, who, wouldn’t you know it?

  It turned out that the Tatsugan everyone knew was just a projection.

  With Shōmetsu no Kiba in hand, and his living ancestor keeping the projection busy outside the mountain, Kazuma had slain the disgusting true form of Tatsugan, thus ridding Kawamara of its ancient foe.

  Once and for all.

  I had to give it to Kazuma. I knew what he was saying was bullshit, and even I was tempted to fall for it. It certainly looked like he was convincing even General Hisakane. However, halfway through Kazuma’s rendition of the story, Masayuki sidled my way, all but looming over me. A twitch of his finger saw an imperceptible veil of silence descend between the two of us.

  I was impressed. I’d only seen something like this once before, and Hook had needed to use an artifact to do it-

  Ah, wait. There it was. I could feel a spell originating from a ring on Masayuki’s finger. Pretty smart, I had to say.

  Yoink.

  I’ll just take that idea. My Core ring filed it away neatly to explore at another time, as Masayuki smiled at me in amusement. “What a grand tale young Lord Higanashi is spinning,” Massyuki mused out loud before his smile transformed into a grin. “I wonder, how much of it is truthful?”

  I smiled back at him, perfectly prepared for this. After all, the point of this plan had been to construct a heroic tale that the River Throne could tell its people in the first place. We needed there to be popular support for welcoming in the Order of Solstice’s Flame among the people, after all.

  The point to subterfuge, I’d discovered, was layers.

  “Oh, about fifty-fifty I’d say,” I replied to the man I was starting to suspect ran the Kawamaran intelligence bureau. I didn’t elaborate on what was fudged, though. Only on what wasn’t. “But Tatsugan really was just a projection, feeding on an ancient source of power in the heart of the mountain. It was left there from before the War in Heaven, we think. Probably from just as the reign of the gods began.”

  Masayuki nodded thoughtfully at my words as Kazuma continued his doctored tale in the background. “Yes…that sounds believable. Records indicate that Tatsugan’s first appearance was only a few years after the end of that conflict and in the middle of the Initialization Wars. What else are you willing to tell me, Sir Hart?”

  This time, my smile had a sheepish tinge to it. “Ah…I’m afraid that the artifact powering Tatsugan…exploded with his death. Rather intensely so, in fact,” I coughed into my fist. “Gorenzan is…gone.”

  The painted man blinked at me, not understanding. “Gone? As in…destroyed?”

  “Completely and totally,” I nodded. “I…wouldn’t recommend venturing into the crater, either. The heat is a bit…intense.”

  Masayuki blinked rapidly, staring over my head in the direction of where Gorenzan used to dominate the skyline. “The tallest mountain on Vereden….” He said slowly, almost tasting the words. “Gone.” He shook his head wonderingly before smiling at me in an almost teasing manner. “Remind me not to set impossible tasks before you again, Sir Hart.”

  “You’ll deliver impossible feats.”