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CA : 84 First Use
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 16:00:02 +0000 UTCTo be honest, Altair didn't actually know whether Fusoujo was part of Amatori Biba's plan, but he did know that the train was filled with Kabane. In fact, it was Fusoujo that broke through Aragane Station, leading to its fall. And since Amatori Biba was indeed a villain, Altair figured pinning the blame on him wasn't an issue. He doubted Amatori Biba would mind being saddled with the responsibility for this disaster.
The people of Aragane Station didn't need to know for sure if Fusoujo was orchestrated by Amatori Biba. All they needed to understand was that the train was full of Kabane and that Altair had helped stop them. That alone was enough to make them swear allegiance to him.
With Mumei as the witness, the Kabane from Fusoujo as evidence, and the now-deceased Shimon as another key witness... at least based on what he said while alive... Kenshou could see that Altair had been telling the truth.
Furthermore, after Altair had defeated all of them, it was easy for him to become the savior of Aragane Station.
"It was Altair-sama who thwarted the treacherous plot of Amatori Biba. It was Altair-sama who prevented the attack of Fusoujo on Aragane Station. Altair-sama has saved us!"
"And I, Yomogawa Kenshou, failed to govern properly! I did not foresee the collusion between the six captains and Amatori Biba, nearly allowing Aragane Station to fall because of their schemes. I am a sinner! I am unworthy of continuing as the Lord of Aragane Station. Therefore, I, Yomogawa Kenshou, hereby relinquish my position as lord to Altair-sama. I trust that under the wise and powerful leadership of Altair-sama, Aragane Station will flourish and have a brighter future!"
The morning after Fusoujo was obliterated, Kenshou gathered the people of the station and held a meeting. There, he exposed Amatori Biba's treachery, ensuring that everyone in Aragane Station knew the truth about Amatori Biba's wicked ambitions.
Under normal circumstances, some might have doubted this, as Amatori Biba was still widely respected by the public for his efforts to battle the Kabane. After all, he was the only one daring enough to fight them outside the walls. However, once they heard that Amatori Biba's campaigns were nothing more than a way to weaponize the Kabane for his own murderous goals... and that Fusoujo, full of Kabane, had almost overrun Aragane Station the night before... they were furious.
Some were even demanding that Amatori Biba's crimes be reported to the Shogun so that military forces could be dispatched to hunt him down.
Kenshou, however, paid no attention to such people. It wasn't his place to decide what to do next; that was now up to their new lord.
As for Kenshou's decision to hand over leadership to Altair, the common folk didn't have much to say about it. They were too far removed from the affairs of the nobility to care much about power shifts. What mattered to them was survival... whether they had enough to eat. The nobles, however, were much more cautious. With the six captains branded as traitors, their subordinates were terrified of being associated with them and possibly facing execution. And since everyone in the lord's office had already been beaten by Altair, there was no opposition to his ascension.
And so, Altair became the new Lord of Aragane Station. Everyone knew that the lord of the station was no longer Yomogawa Kenshou, but a blond-haired youth named Altair.
The transition of power at Aragane Station was peaceful and without any significant disturbance. After assuming his new role, Altair moved into the lord's manor, while Kenshou became his vassal, continuing to manage the station's day-to-day operations just as he had before... only now, he had a new lord above him.
Altair didn't need to personally handle every matter. If he had any requests, he simply relayed them to Kenshou, who took care of the rest. Kenshou and his daughter, Ayame, remained in the manor, though Ayame was no longer a lord's daughter in name. However, her status remained high since her father was now the station's second-in-command, only answering to Altair.
Kenshou, for his part, was quite an interesting fellow. After Altair became the lord and he voluntarily became Altair's vassal, he even suggested that Ayame should serve as Altair's personal attendant.
Altair didn't object to Kenshou's suggestion. After all, Ayame was a beautiful girl, and surprisingly, she adapted to her new role quickly. Altair had assumed that as a former noblewoman, she might struggle with the transition to being a servant. Yet, on her first day, she proved herself competent, executing all of Altair's commands with precision. Despite being a noble, she was unexpectedly skilled.
Then there was Kurusu, who continued to follow Ayame wherever she went. According to him, he was now the bodyguard of Altair's personal attendant. Altair couldn't help but find that amusing.
Thus, Altair found himself with a rather peculiar bodyguard, who, in times of danger, would protect Ayame instead of him. It was absurd but also oddly fitting.
Not that Altair minded. He had no real interest in Ayame, despite her beauty. She simply wasn't his type. And if a real danger ever arose, Altair was confident he wouldn't need anyone's protection.
Aragane Station remained largely the same as before, but a few key changes were underway. By Altair's orders, the station began smelting large amounts of metal. Altair needed a variety of metals to construct his flying machines. However, Japan still lacks resources in that regard. While there were plenty of silver mines, iron, and copper... two of the most commonly used metals... were in short supply.
Still, Altair ordered Kenshou to smelt whatever metals they could find and to focus on improving the samurai training.
As for the training itself, things were going to be quite different from before.
In the courtyard of the lord's manor, all of the samurai had gathered, standing in neat lines, each looking rather tense. They had been informed that if they couldn't pass the training, they would be stripped of their status as samurai, just like the one who had previously shouted at Mumei... he was now back in the fields, working as a farmer.
"Do you know what kind of training this is?"
"No idea. We were all called here suddenly."
"I don't want to end up farming..."
"Hopefully, it's not anything too difficult."
"Silence!"
The samurai were whispering among themselves when Kenshou stepped out from the manor, sternly shouting at them. Immediately, the samurai fell silent.
"Altair-sama is coming out. Stay quiet!"
Kenshou had adapted quickly to his new role as a loyal vassal. After making the announcement, he stepped aside, allowing Altair to emerge from the manor.
The newly appointed lord, Altair, walked out slowly, flanked by Ayame, his personal attendant, and Kurusu, Ayame's bodyguard.
"Good morning, my dear dogs!"
Altair greeted the assembled samurai with a wide smile, raising his hand in a friendly wave. The casual nature of his words, however, left everyone speechless.
While it was true that, in theory, samurai were indeed the servants of the nobility, to hear it stated so bluntly...
Ignoring their reactions, Altair strolled forward with a grin.
"My dear dogs, you should already know why I called you here."
"Yes!"
The samurai responded in unison.
"Good. Now, it's simple. While the crisis of Fusoujo has passed, the threat posed by Amatori Biba has not. He's still out there, plotting to bring down Aragane Station. And considering that he controls Kabane, we need to strengthen our forces. If his men can fight Kabane, we must be able to do the same."
At this point, Altair spread his arms, pulling a pair of glasses from his sleeve, again imitating a certain figure from the past.
"To me, Kabane is nothing more than trash. But to you... I'm sorry, compared to Kabane, every single one of you is garbage!"
The samurai were stunned, their eyes wide with shock.
"Altair-sama!"
Kurusu, as one of the elite samurai, was immediately offended. Despite being young, his mindset was among the most traditional of the samurai, and he held their honor in high regard.
"I cannot agree with what you've said. While you are indeed incredibly strong, we samurai also have our honor. You cannot simply trample on our pride."
"Hmm, I knew you wouldn't accept this easily, so I've prepared something for you."
Altair gestured to Kenshou, who looked slightly uneasy at what was about to happen.
"Altair-sama, are you going to use that?"
"Of course, that's something I specifically prepared for these fools. I even made a special trip to get those things. If they can't handle it, they might as well go farm for me."
"But... will it be safe?"
"It'll be fine. I've made sure everything is carefully handled."
"Alright, I understand."
Kenshou gave a brief response and then turned to face the assembled samurai.
"Everyone, follow me!"
Altair led the way, with Kenshou following closely behind. The samurai trailed after them, arriving at the back of the manor. There, an enormous cage had been constructed using iron rods and wooden stakes.
"Alright, here we are. Who wants to go first?"
After Kenshou spoke, Kurusu was the first to step forward.
"I'll go!"
"Kurusu, huh? Very well, step inside."
Kenshou opened the iron gate of the enclosure, motioning for Kurusu to enter. Kurusu nodded seriously, gripping the hilt of his sword, and walked into the enclosure.
Once Kurusu was inside, Kenshou closed the gate and locked it securely. After locking it, he turned to report to Altair.
"It's done, Altair-sama."
"Good. Kurusu, you're brave to volunteer first. I admire your courage. However, my admiration doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. You still have to pass the training. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready, Altair-sama!"
Kurusu wasn't sure what the enclosure was for, but his samurai pride wouldn't allow him to back down.
"Alright, release the dog!"
As soon as Altair spoke, another iron door on the opposite side of the cage creaked open, drawing everyone's attention.
Clang!
A gloved hand gripped the iron door, followed by the appearance of a booted foot.
With light filtering in, everyone saw what was emerging; a Kabane, fully armored. It wore a thick mask, gloves, and boots, with its body wrapped in thick padding. Only its chest was exposed, revealing its heart encased in a steel membrane.
"This..."
Kurusu stared at the fully armored Kabane before him. He knew it was a Kabane, but strangely, he didn't feel any fear. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh...
"So, Kurusu, your task is to defeat this Kabane. It looks weak, has no real offensive power, and is slow, making it easy to kill. As long as you defeat it, you pass the training."
Altair sat in a chair that had been prepared in advance, placing his hands on the table.
"All I have to do is defeat it?"
"That's right, but you must not be hit by it. If it touches you, you automatically lose."
"Understood. I can do this."
Kurusu's eyes shone with confidence. As an elite samurai, defeating a Kabane that had been so heavily restricted should be no problem!
However, he had no idea who he was really up against. Though this Kabane had been limited in many ways, behind it stood Altair!
"Very well, let's see how this Kabane, which appears so weak and constrained, fares against the elite samurai Kurusu!"
[Professional Commentator activated!]
