Volume 13 Chapter 306 Shirogane Kingdom Guardians
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
It had been three days since Aqua and the others’ presidential plane went down.
The Shirogane Kingdom, usually bursting with noise and laughter, now felt like a wake—silent, heavy, and impossible to ignore.
”Seriously, that baka—if you’re alive then hurry up and show yourself already!”
I stomped down the corridor, heat bubbling in my chest, only to freeze when I spotted Ayana-chan and Inko standing in front of Yui-san’s door. Curious, I slipped behind a pillar and watched.
”Ayana here. Yui-san, are you in? I brought you dinner,” Ayana-chan called, her voice soft.
”Yui-san, even if it’s tough, you still gotta eat,” Inko added, her Kansai twang wrapping strangely warmly around the words.
Ah… so that’s it. I’d been too wrapped up in the chaos of the harem to notice, but now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen Yui-san in the living room lately. Those two must have noticed before me and come here worried.
”And if you skip meals and your chest shrinks, Aqua-kun will be the saddest of all!” Inko blurted.
I nearly toppled over. True—absolutely true—but could she have phrased it any worse!? Honestly, the rest of the nightmare generation had zero delicacy.
In my head, an imaginary Aqua appeared, glaring at me with dead eyes. What!? If you’ve got something to say, come out and say it to my face already!
”Yui-san… when I first heard the news, I was crushed,” Ayana-chan said, voice trembling. I leaned closer, ears sharp. “But then I thought—I can’t just lose to something like this.”
Her small hands clenched tight. Her eyes locked on the closed door, shining with resolve. “I don’t know much about politics or countries fighting— I’m just a high schooler. But even I can say this. This way of doing things is wrong. It’s cowardly.”
I nodded silently, pride swelling in my chest.
”That’s why I decided I won’t give in to whoever wants us broken like this. For Aqua’s sake, for everyone’s sake, I’ll do what I can. Crying can wait until later—crying when Aqua’s back, when I can hug him and cry from happiness, not grief.”
Ayana-chan… she’d grown strong. Arms crossed, I nodded again, satisfied. Not bad at all for a girl I’d trained myself. If only a certain other hopeless disciple would drink down even a fraction of her strength.
”Ayana-chan’s right,” Inko said, nudging her. “Right, Yukari?”
”Hm, mhm—hey!” I jumped out, glaring. “You knew I was here all along!?”
”Of course. Wild Kohina Yukari from that otome game is always hiding somewhere,” Inko teased with a grin.
”You’re still playing that trash game!?” I groaned. Probably the last person on earth still running the pre-update version.
Ayana-chan flushed red, embarrassed. I patted her head; she really was too cute. Way too good for that idiot.
I stepped up to the door. “Yui-san, can you hear me? It’s Kohina Yukari. I was shocked too when the news hit, and I get why you’d be depressed. But like Ayana-chan said, giving in now is losing! I hate losing more than anything—whether it’s about me or someone else. So Yui-san, you can’t lose either!”
Even I knew how reckless that sounded. But if she was Aqua’s wife, she had to be strong. He’d always be targeted, always pulled into danger, and the girls by his side had to be able to hold him up. Like Kanon-san, already moving while the rest of us froze.
”Besides, the man you—our man—loved isn’t the type to die from something like this, right?”
Inko smirked, and I snapped at her with a glare. What!? I never said I hated him completely. Ugh, keep staring and I’ll stomp your foot flat!
”And even if, by some insane chance, he was dying, I’d swim the Sanzu River [t/n: mythical river to the Japanese afterlife] with a kickboard, bite Enma himself [t/n: judge of the dead], drag his body out of Hell’s boiling cauldron, pump his heart back to life on the Needle Mountain, and kick down every demon on a spider’s thread until I got him back! So don’t worry!”
”Oh, scary,” Inko muttered under her breath.
I glared sharp enough to slice. You, Emily-chan, Kaede, Aqua—too many unnecessary comments! It was a joke, obviously!
In my head, imaginary Aqua sighed. That doesn’t sound like a joke…
Shut up! Just hurry up and come back already, you idiot!
Arms folded, I fixed my eyes on the door. “Fine then. If you won’t come out, I’ll—”
Footsteps came from the right.
”Everyone, what are you doing in front of my room?”
”Yui-san!?” we all gasped.
We froze, staring at her face. Wait—she wasn’t locked inside? What was all that, then!? My cheeks burned, remembering every dramatic line I’d just thrown.
”Uh, um…” Ayana-chan stammered. Inko, do something!
”Ah, well, you hadn’t come to the living room lately, so we all got worried and came to check on you,” Inko said smoothly.
”I see. Thank you, Inko-san, Ayana-san, Yukari-san.” Yui-san bowed with a soft smile. Her eyes curved gently, though under the makeup I spotted swelling. She hadn’t been hiding, but she had cried.
”But I’m okay now,” she said. “I realized I can’t stay weak like this. So I’ll do what I can, in my own way.”
”Yui-san…” I hugged her tight, because I could feel how hard she was forcing herself. “Thank you. But when it’s too much, you’re allowed to cry.”
”Thank you… really,” she whispered, hugging me back.
Ayana-chan and Inko pressed in too, silent, warm, holding us together.
Honestly. That baka. Making such amazing girls worry this much. Knowing him, he’d probably crawl out of a human-shaped hole in the ground, scraped but fine. And when he did, I’d fix him with a kiss—or even spit—if that’s what it took. So hurry up and come back already!
BEEEP, BEEEP!
The shrill alarm from the speakers made us all jolt.
[Intruder in the Harem! Intruder in the Harem!]
The Harem!? My heart jumped. I spun on my heel, ready to run, but glanced back at the others first.
”Inko! Get Yui-san and Ayana-chan to the shelter! Kanon-san put me in charge of the Harem, so I have to go!”
”G-got it. Leave this side to me!”
”Yukari-senpai, please be careful!”
And with that, I sprinted down the corridor, determination pounding in my chest.
I gave Ayana-chan a sharp nod, then took off running toward the Harem.
Wait—what!? Yui-san!? Why are you following me!?
”The Harem is under my jurisdiction too. I am head of the palace.”
Ah, right. I’d almost forgotten. Yui-san knew, just like Marin-san, Akocchi, and Kanon-san, that I was serving as head of the palace.
We sprinted down the corridor together, and when we arrived, I saw some familiar faces surrounded by the Harem’s maids.
”…Mayuzumi-kun. And Toa-chan, Tenga-kun. Do you even understand what you’re doing right now?”
I steadied my breath and let my acting skills loose, glaring with all the menace I could muster.
”The only man allowed inside the Harem of Shirogane Kingdom is Shirogane Aqua. You know what that means, don’t you?”
Security issues, diplomatic issues—no matter if they were BERYL, the unspoken rule was absolute: no man but Aqua steps into the Harem. My words made even the maids bead with sweat.
”Yeah, but that’s why we only tried to approach the Harem. We haven’t stepped inside,” Toa-chan said calmly.
I glanced around, checked the line they were standing on. True enough. If you twisted it, they were technically still outside.
”Even so,” I said, narrowing my eyes, “that doesn’t give you the right to sneak in.”
Mayuzumi-kun stiffened, his eyes blazing. “I know that! But even so… we have something we must accomplish!”
He stared me down with a strength that surprised me. Honestly, both he and Toa-chan had changed. There weren’t many men who could stand their ground against me when I got serious—other than that one hopeless idiot, of course.
Tenga-kun stepped forward, gently pushing Mayuzumi back with his arm. He approached me slowly, then bowed his head.
”Please. Kohina Yukari-san, let us speak with Her Majesty Su Shenliu and Her Majesty Queen Shams, who are both inside the Harem.”
So that was their aim—Su-chan and Shams-san. But why those two in particular?
”No. After the crash, the Arabian States’ government requested through their embassy that we give Queen Shams the highest level of protection. And Japan also asked us to make sure the exiled Su Shenliu never leaves. Those are orders from two governments. I can’t break them.”
Not even Aqua could overturn that. Still, these three weren’t reckless fools. If they’d come this far, there had to be a reason.
”So why those two? What’s your reason?”
It was the only rope I could throw them. If they wanted this, they’d have to convince us all.
”Because it’s wrong,” Mayuzumi said, his jaw set. “Isn’t it strange that two heads of state aren’t even present, yet a vote is being forced on the future of the World Union? That’s why we must speak with them.”
…He had a point. With Su-chan in exile, that part I could understand. But Shams-san’s case was odd. Normally her country would have demanded she return home immediately. Instead, the Arabian States rushed to ask us to shelter her here. At first I thought it was just because of the plane crash. But maybe… maybe there was something more.
”I see. I understand your argument. But unfortunately, guests without appointments are refused. That’s also a Harem rule. I can’t break it.”
”No,” Tenga-kun said with a grin. “You can. Kohina Yukari-san, if it’s you, you hold the right—second only to your junior, Aqua.”
My breath caught. …Did this boy realize I was head of the palace?
No, impossible. Only a handful knew that truth. Could information have leaked?
”Forgive me,” Tenga-kun said, “I should’ve phrased it better. What I meant is—you can contact the person who has that authority.”
So he really did know. He’d pieced it together. Keeping my face neutral, I stepped close until only he could hear me.
”And why does Tenga-kun think that?” I whispered.
”By process of elimination. If it’s not Kanon-san or President Atori, then there’s only one woman who could be trusted with something this important.”
Heh. Sharp boy. Way sharper than that useless Aqua, at least when it comes to reading girls.
”But even if you meet them, what then? They can’t leave,” I warned.
”Yes, they can,” he said firmly. “Because they’re heads of state. Or are you telling me there’s someone who outranks them, who could order them to stay?”
There wasn’t. Perfect logic. If Su-chan and Shams-san themselves chose to walk out, nobody could stop them. That’s what he was aiming for.
”…Fine. I’ll contact the head of the palace to get permission for the meeting. But can you really persuade them?”
”We can. We must. For this world you, I, and Aqua are trying to protect.”
For a moment, Aqua’s words echoed in my mind.
Kohina-senpai, even when Driver ends, we’re Drivers until we die.
Now I finally understood, at least a little, what he meant. Looks like he wasn’t the only one who believed that.
In the end, the three met with Su-chan and Shams-san, and convinced them. Together, they left the Harem.
On the way back to the main estate, I glanced at Yui-san walking beside me.
”So, how does it feel, having your plan succeed?” I asked lightly.
”…You noticed, then.”
Of course I had. For those three to get that far, someone had to leak the entry path. Other than me, Kanon-san, and Emily-chan, only Yui-san could’ve done it.
”No matter the reason, what I did can’t be forgiven,” Yui-san said quietly. “So please, punish me as you see fit.”
Seriously. Always so damn earnest. Maybe she should take lessons from Emily-chan’s chaos or Kaede’s laziness.
”Why? I’m just Kohina Yukari. I’m not the head of the palace right now. So the truth stays forever in the dark… doesn’t it?”
”…Thank you. But I can’t forgive myself like this. So I’ll request a month’s suspension from duty, voluntarily.”
”A suspension!?” I choked. “Do you have any idea how sad Aqua will be if he can’t get his energy drained for a whole month!?”
I argued desperately until finally she agreed to lighten it—she’d keep working, just take on maid chores like cleaning instead. Whew. That should cheer that idiot up. He always had a thing for big-breasted maids anyway.
”Faaah… today really wore me out.”
Back in my own room, I collapsed onto the bed without even changing clothes, out cold in seconds.
Hours later, I woke groggy. The clock said past three in the morning. Still the middle of the night.
I padded out toward the living room to grab a drink. As I passed the window, I froze—was that… a shadow moving outside?
”W-wait. What was that!? Don’t tell me it’s a ghost!”
I whipped my head around, scanning every corner.
Nothing. Nobody.
”Tch. Don’t you dare try to scare me like that! Not me!”
I stomped my foot, cheeks puffed out, then forced myself to calm down and headed for the living room.
Meanwhile, Rin-chan’s POV
Just as Mary-sama predicted, uninvited intruders slipped into the Shirogane Kingdom under the cover of midnight. The streets were silent, but I noticed them before anyone else. Together with my allies, I intercepted the raiding force in the castle town.
”You two are handling yourselves well, de gozaru.”
”Fufu, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
”Honestly, close combat isn’t even my specialty…”
With the help of my fellow Twelve Bishops—Observers Kagari Rinon-dono and Pegonia-dono—we pushed the attackers back with overwhelming force.
”It’s about time I finish this, de gozaru.”
I left the mop-up to them and moved alone toward the enemy commander. Leaping from roof to roof, I reached the outer wall and sprinted up to the walkway at the top. As expected, someone was waiting.
”Damn it… how did you know I’d be here!?”
”Knowing your personality, it was obvious, de gozaru.”
Kazami Ranse—my cousin from the Kazami branch family. With her cruel taste for torment, it was only natural she’d perch somewhere high to watch us struggle.
”Failure of the main family!”
She hurled a kunai, but I caught it between two fingers. Compared to the strike of that woman, this was nothing.
”Don’t think a little strength makes you special, you failure!”
I sidestepped each swing easily. Once her emotions flared, her attacks grew sloppy. Fighting her like this was laughable.
”You didn’t learn anything from the castle town ambush, de gozaru? Even Kazami’s eldest, Ichi—the so-called strongest—couldn’t defeat me.”
”Don’t you dare call yourself the strongest, you useless failure!”
With a flick, I knocked her kunai away. She leapt back to gain distance. A mistake. When disarmed, the right move is to close in, seize the arm, and end it instantly.
”I’m not boasting, de gozaru. Calling myself the strongest is my vow. What about you, Ranse? Do you lack the resolve to claim that title?”
”Tch…”
In the moonless dark, I narrowed my eyes, their glow cutting through the shadows. Step by step, I closed the gap. Then, a sudden chill grazed my throat.
I leapt back without hesitation. Wrong choice.
Before the katana could pierce my back, I dropped forward, kicked the blade away, and rolled to my feet.
”Well… you really have grown stronger, Rin. More than I imagined.”
I turned past Ranse. There stood Kazami’s eldest daughter—my sister, Ichi. In her hand gleamed a katana I knew too well.
”That sword…”
”Oh, this? I took it when I cut down the clan traitor.”
Calm down. Calm down. That was my mentor’s blade. She couldn’t have lost to Ichi. She wouldn’t.
”Oh? Curious how? It was easy. I grabbed some brat off the street as a hostage. That woman was pathetic. No matter her talent, her emotions made her weak.”
I steadied my breathing, forcing anger down.
”…And the child you took? What became of them, de gozaru?”
”Heh. She snatched the kid back, then fell into the abyss with them. I’d already slashed her eyes—she couldn’t even see! It was hilarious!”
Ichi’s laugh echoed, and Ranse joined in.
Fine. Laugh. I let a sharp grin stretch across my face.
”I see. Then she won, de gozaru.”
”What?”
”Are you insane!?”
As if falling into the abyss would kill that woman. No. She and the child were alive.
”What did you just say? That woman won!?”
”That’s right, de gozaru. Ichi—you never saw a body. Claiming victory without proof makes you second-rate. No… third-rate.”
Provoked, Ichi lunged with a furious slash.
Good grief. Beating a woman who’d lost her cool would be too easy. But that wasn’t the point.
”What—!?”
I slipped inside her guard and wrenched the katana from her hands. No mistake. This was my mentor’s blade.
Letting Ichi wield it was disgusting, but I couldn’t let her twist it into an excuse.
I tossed the katana at Ichi’s feet, then flicked a kunai to land before Ranse.
”Ichi. Ranse. Pick up your weapons, de gozaru.”
”What’s the meaning of this?”
A slow smile tugged at my lips. Saint once said a woman who can’t take a hint is no good, de gozaru. So I made sure my gesture was as obvious as possible, daring them to react.
”Do I really need to spell it out, de gozaru? Even if you hide, I can see you. Or are you too scared to come out?”
Sure enough, my cheap little taunt worked. Ranse, the Kazami enforcers, all of them showed their faces from the shadows. Good thing I’d read Saint’s book, *Bulletin Board Strategies for Guaranteed Victory*. The part on mockery scripts for worst-case scenarios was really coming in handy.
”One against all, de gozaru. Even if it’s Ichi, who only wins by taking hostages, I’m not afraid.”
Her brow twitched. “…What?”
I pointed straight at her face, grinning sharp enough to cut.
”Ichi. You. Ranse…”
One by one, I jabbed a finger at each of their faces, calling their names in turn.
”All of you are small fry. None of you can match me. So I’ll make it simple, de gozaru—come at me all at once, so you can feel the difference in our strength.”
”Y-you bastard—!”
Her scream echoed with the others, a chorus of rage.
Even for me, taking on ten at once would be rough. But admitting weakness was never an option, de gozaru.
*Rin. Become the strongest. Gain a power no one can match. That way you’ll never lose anyone again. Surpass even me… surpass Momiji… and be the strongest woman in all of Hinomoto. It won’t matter if your enemies are the Stars, the States, or the Women’s Mutual Aid Society. For the things you must protect, sweep everything aside with pure strength.* [t/n: Momiji—椛—is remembered here as part of Rin’s vow, though she doesn’t appear in this raid.]
Those words—my mentor’s words—burned in my chest, making me stronger. Saint, Aqua-sama, everyone I had to protect, they all drove me toward the title of strongest.
”This is the Shirogane Kingdom, de gozaru. My master’s castle! You dare storm it with filthy feet? You bandits!!”
*BOOOOM!!*
Faster than sound, faster than light, I became a streak of thunder breaking through the enemy line.
”Gah!”
The limiter on my body shattered. Blood vessels burst under the strain, spraying red across the night. My speed and power tore past the limits of human flesh, past the very edge of what a body could endure.
”Gu—!”
”Urgh—!”
Three down. I hurled two unconscious bodies like ragdolls, smashing them into two more. Forward, only forward, I carved through my kin like a beast on the hunt.
”She’s… too strong…”
”I thought she was a failure—!”
With one headbutt I crushed three more, the impact strong enough to smash stone and bend iron poles. Then I twisted the limbs of six others, wringing them out like dirty cloth until they hung useless. I would never kill them—but I’d carve the truth into their bodies. The truth of who they had dared to fight.
”Aaahh! It hurts, it hurts!”
”M-my hand—!”
Ranse and another enforcer screamed, unable to withstand the pain. Only one remained. I walked slowly toward her—the eldest daughter, Ichi.
”H-help me…”
Her eyes rolled wide, her body trembling. Fear soaked her, urine spilling down her thighs as she stared at my blood-soaked figure.
”Ichi… be grateful that my mentor still lives, de gozaru. Because of that, I’ll spare you from death. Instead, I’ll grant you something worse—terror.”
”No—don’t, aaahhh!”
I seized a fistful of her long hair and dragged her toward the shadows. Then I remembered the drone hovering above us, its lens recording everything.
”Last time my words were too soft, de gozaru. So hear me now. Wash your necks and wait. I will crush the Kazami Clan—all of you. Those watching. Those hiding. Every last one. I’ll hunt you down one by one, make you understand, and then finish you, de gozaru.”
With that vow, I smashed the drone into pieces.
Maybe I’d gone too far. Then again, they had brought this on themselves. Their fault, their punishment. I turned back to Ichi and flashed her a smile.
The night had only just begun, de gozaru.
”Hi—!”
Her eyes rolled, her body crumpled. She fainted dead away, and once more, warm liquid spilled onto the ground beneath her.
Disgusting. She could at least consider the one who had to clean it up, de gozaru.
The night air still carried the stench of blood and ozone when I finally let my grip loosen. My hand slipped from Ichi’s hair, and her limp body dropped against the stones with a dull thud. She’d already fainted twice, yet somehow managed to dribble out another pitiful trickle as if to remind me just how pathetic she was. Honestly… disgusting. She should at least think of the one stuck cleaning up after her, de gozaru.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand, smearing blood across my cheek. My heart still thundered like a drum inside my chest, every beat screaming that the limiter was gone, that my body was still tearing itself apart to hold all this strength. Veins burned hot. Muscles trembled on the edge of ripping. And yet I stood, breathing hard, grinning sharp enough to slice the night itself.
Somewhere above, broken drone parts still smoked, sparks dying out one by one. I tilted my head back to the sky, letting my words echo straight into the dark where the Kazami cowards were no doubt watching.
”Wash your necks, de gozaru. I’ll find every last one of you. Doesn’t matter if you’re hiding in the shadows, pretending to be noble elders, or cowering behind the name of family. You’re all next.”
The vow left my throat ragged, but it felt good—no, it felt perfect. That wasn’t weakness. That was a promise. I could almost hear Saint’s smug laugh in my ear, the way she’d tease me for overdoing the trash talk but secretly approve. And Aqua-sama too… his face flickered in my mind, calm but steady, always pushing me to go beyond myself.
I pressed my palm to my chest and whispered under my breath, words no one else needed to hear. *Mentor. Momiji. I’ll make good on your faith. I’ll be the strongest. Strong enough that no one I care about will ever be stolen again.*
The night wind stirred, carrying the iron tang of blood and the faint sweetness of crushed grass from where the courtyard had been torn up in the fight. Bodies of my clan—my supposed kin—lay sprawled, groaning, broken but alive. I’d made sure of that. I wasn’t a killer. But I would etch the lesson deep enough into their bones that even in their dreams they’d remember the terror of standing against me.
I straightened, rolling my shoulders, and let out a sharp laugh that cracked the silence. The battle was over, but my war with the Kazami Clan had only just begun. The castle walls of the Shirogane Kingdom loomed steady behind me, glowing faintly under the lanterns, as if to remind me where I stood—my master’s stronghold, my ground to defend.
I licked a streak of blood from my lips, savoring the metallic sting.
”Come at me again, Kazami dogs. Next time, I’ll break more than just your pride, de gozaru.”
I didn’t even notice when the lanterns started to gutter, their flames twitching low as if they were afraid of me. The courtyard had fallen so quiet I could hear the drip of blood sliding from my chin and pattering against the stones. One drop. Then another. Then another. Each sound sharp in the silence, like the tick of a clock that only counted down to more violence.
I bent down and brushed my fingers across Ichi’s face, and even in her sleep she flinched. Pathetic. Her lashes quivered, her mouth hung open in a half–moan, half–sob, and she smelled like shame. I almost laughed. Almost. Instead I straightened, wiped my hand against my sleeve, and left behind a dark smear that would never wash out. A fitting mark for tonight.
The wind carried faint voices from beyond the walls, distant gasps and hurried whispers of the Kazami onlookers. They had seen it all through their little drones, through the lenses they thought would protect them. I had already smashed one, and I’d smash more. No eye of theirs would be safe. Let them tremble. Let them wonder when I’d kick down their doors.
”De gozaru,” I muttered, low and steady, like a blade drawn slow from its sheath. My own words tasted hot against my tongue. “This isn’t the end. This is where it starts.”
My chest ached. Not from fear—fear had burned away hours ago—but from the strain, the raw tearing power I’d forced into my veins. Every nerve screamed, but I clung to that pain because it reminded me I was still alive, still moving forward. The limiter was gone. The old Rin would have stopped. This Rin only laughed at the warning signs.
I tilted my face up toward the castle towers, their silhouettes black against the night sky. Somewhere behind those walls was my master’s chamber, the one place I’d sworn to protect no matter what. The Shirogane crest fluttered faintly in the lantern glow, silver threads glinting as if to nod at me, to say, *yes, this is your ground.*
I pulled in a long breath, blood–stained air filling my lungs, and I whispered into it, “Mentor… Momiji… Aqua-sama… Saint… I’m still here. I won’t let go of this vow. I’ll crush them all, one by one, until no one dares touch what’s mine again.”
The words vanished into the night, but the vow kept burning in my chest. And when I finally stepped forward, boots pressing into broken stone and grass slick with blood, the sound rang louder than any war drum.
Because the night wasn’t over yet.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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