Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars: Volume 5 (eBook)

Riku Nanano (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-1568-6 (ISBN)

Infos

With the help of his friends, Sekiei successfully manages to defend the city of Butoku from a sustained attack by Orid Dada, a Gen noble who is a powerful general in their army, but Rinkei remains in grave danger as the White Wraith and his troops continue their advance on the capital. Emperor Adai isn't the only threat to Ei, however; having fallen for the machinations of an organization maneuvering in the shadows, Jo Hiyou prepares to make his move as well.

But now is the time for a counterattack. After deciding that their next move should be to liberate the Chou army's homeland of Keiyou from Gen control, strategist Ruri comes up with a plan that will fully utilize the Princess Imperial, Kou Miu, and the Heirloom Seal of the Realm. The naive princess's time with the Chou and U armies has revealed the reality her people and country face, and her resolve may turn out to be the only thing that can stop Ei from being totally destroyed.

Textauszug

Prologue

“Lord Hiyou, how auspicious that you’ve returned safe and sound! What is the situation at the front?”

“Instead of invading the southern regions as predicted, the Ei army approaching the border suddenly turned and marched northward. The city is abuzz with rumors that the Ei army has returned to the capital, Rinkei, though there is no telling how accurate such rumors are, for we haven’t received much in the way of intelligence lately.”

“I hear that a group of salt bandits who had been making trouble on the central plains fled without a fight when horsemen descended on the area. They say these bandits follow a strange religion, and rumors abound that they plan to launch an attack on the southern regions. The people worry for their safety.”

Ever since my return to my manor in Nansui, a major city in the southern regions, I—Hiyou, the interim head of the Jo family—had found myself swarmed by elderly attendants and civil officials. The sun had long since set by this point, drawing a veil of darkness over all of us, but they must have been far too anxious to return to their own homes. I couldn’t blame them. After all, the Jo family had made an enemy of the powerful Ei Empire.

Several months earlier, the grand chancellor, You Bunshou, had summoned me to Rinkei. The moment I arrived, they locked me away in an underground prison and tortured me. With the help of the wise and patriotic Sir Denso, I managed to escape, whereupon I killed You Bunshou and returned home to Nansui. Yet despite my accomplishments, the elderly attendants of the Jo family still viewed me as an immature and inexperienced youth, and it would be a long time yet until I attained the same status as my father, Jo Shuuhou, the Phoenix Wing, who had been killed on the field of battle.

“There is nothing to worry about,” I said in as severe a voice as I could muster up. I brushed my military uniform, cleaning off all the dirt that had accumulated on it during battle, and this downwards movement made the sword hanging from my belt knock against my thigh with an audible thud. “The Ei army feared our might and fled to the north. As for those salt bandits attempting to invade our lands, I already took care of them.”

Murmurs erupted from the crowd of attendants and officials that had gathered around me and there were lots of smiles of relief.

“Amazing!” exclaimed a voice from the crowd.

“I should never have doubted Lord Shuuhou’s successor,” added someone else.

“How lucky we are to have such a reliable leader in these tumultuous times!” another lauded.

“That’s why refugees from all across the continent are flocking here in search of peace and stability,” yet another person pointed out.

With a great deal of effort, I managed to school my expression into a more neutral one in an attempt to hide my bitterness. In reality, I hadn’t accomplished a single thing. It was true to say that after I had returned to my homeland, I had made the decision to rebel from Ei, ignoring the protests from my sickly mother and talented younger brother, as well as the warnings from my grandparents who were protecting the southern borders. And I did indeed force everyone to follow suit. Yet the only enemies I had actually fought since my defection were the odd gang of bandits or whichever unorganized military squad decided to threaten our borders.

While I wanted to launch an attack on the north, we were suffering from a serious lack of ships and horses at present. Without those, we couldn’t solve our problems militarily, despite having more than ten thousand soldiers under my command. I simply had no way of expanding the territory I had inherited from my father. Worse still, the Jo family’s dwindling funds and supplies continued to drain away every time I ordered the army to do anything. How could I possibly relax under such circum—

“Lying is part of a general’s job. Keep a confident smile on your face, even when things aren’t going well.”

“You smile too much. It isn’t healthy to push yourself so hard; moderation is important.”

The advice I had received from Lord Chou Sekiei and Lady Chou Hakurei echoed in my head and I thought back to their smiling faces. I had fought alongside them in that ridiculously reckless Seitou invasion. Their father, Chou Tairan, the National Shield, had been one of the pillars supporting the Ei Empire, alongside my own father and the Tiger Fang, U Jouko. What happened to them after their father was executed? I really hope they survived, but...

“Hiyou!”

I was dragged out of my reminiscence of these unforgettable heroes of the Ei family by a young man calling out to me from the back of the manor before promptly running towards me, a girl’s hand clutched in his. His hair was a light reddish color and he was wearing the green uniform of the civil officials, while the girl’s hair was a similar shade to his. There was genuine joy on the man’s face at the fact that I had returned, and on seeing his expression, the tension I had been carrying in my shoulders faded away and my lips stretched into a grin.

“Yuushun, Karin,” I said, greeting them.

They were Jo Yuushun and Jo Karin, my younger brother and sister respectively. After all of the people I had lost on the battlefield, I would give my life to protect theirs. Although to be more precise, Karin was the only one fully related to me by blood. Yuushun was the son of my deceased uncle. However, that distinction had little bearing on how I felt about him.

When I became the interim head of the Jo family, my thirteen-year-old brother in turn became the overseer of the family’s internal affairs. “You can deal with what goes on outside, and Yuushun can deal with what goes on inside,” my mother would repeat over and over, constantly reminding me of the division of labor that was required to keep everything running smoothly. The gathered attendants and officials stepped aside to allow Yuushun and Karin to walk right up to me.

The mood now considerably lightened, I clapped my younger brother on his shoulder. “Have you been well?”

“I have,” he replied. “Congratulations on your safe return.”

“All I did was kick some bandit butt,” I said, and I wasn’t lying either. The Ei army didn’t seem to be up to much. Something was very wrong either on the central plains or in the capital.

“Karin, come on. You have to greet our brother as well,” Yuushun prompted.

My younger sister poked her head out from behind my brother. She looked adorable in her pale-green nightgown, and although she had only just turned eight, I could see the makings of a beautiful woman in her pleasingly symmetrical facial features. She must have gotten her looks from our mother.

“W-Welcome home, hi,” she said in a voice so soft, it was nearly inaudible.

She was such a bright and cheerful child when father was alive. Before I could respond, Karin bowed her little head, then turned and scampered away. The female attendants standing in the corner of the hallway hurried after her.

Yuushun stared after her for a moment before sheepishly scratching his cheek. “She was so excited about your return, she didn’t sleep a wink last night. I apologize on her behalf.”

“Don’t worry about it. While I might have left my helmet and armor back in the base on the outskirts of the city, my military uniform is still caked in dirt, as you can see. My appearance must’ve frightened her.” I had already dirtied my hands with blood, and while I wasn’t ashamed of that fact, I would never dare to embrace my younger sister and sully her with my sins. Turning to my attendants, I announced, “I’m sure you all have plenty to say to me, but I’d like to spend the evening with my brother. In private. I hope you understand.”

Even back during my father’s days, the office in the Jo manor didn’t have all that much in the way of furniture, making it look clean and organized. My little brother spent most of his time in here, due to his specializing in paperwork, though now that I thought about it, he seemed far too mature for a boy of thirteen. I sat down in the old chair my father had always sat in and a white porcelain cup was placed in front of me, the amber-colored tea inside giving off a fragrant aroma.

“Here you go, Hiyou,” Yuushun said.

“Ah, thank you,” I replied, picking up the cup and taking a sip. There was no hint of bitterness in its flavor, and I would even have described it as “pure.” The last of the tension in my body melted away and I blurted out my honest opinion of the drink. “It’s delicious.”

“It’s a special blend I ordered for you from Kuragejima. Due to the special circumstances as of late, the merchants in the city don’t really carry it anymore. But well, let’s just say I have my own ways of sourcing it.” With the exception of martial arts, my younger brother always performed tasks better and in a smarter way than I ever could. In this moment though, he was smiling at me like a child who had just pulled off a prank.

I took yet another sip of my tea and pondered his words. We were maintaining a cordial relationship with the foreign tribes in the south, but the central plains had been ravaged in the Gen invasion, leaving them in no fit state to trade. Unless the situation changed soon, our supply problems would only get worse. War was a...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.3.2025
• Reihe/Serie: Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars
• Illustrationen: Cura
• Übersetzer: Stephanie Liu
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: action • Historical • lazy male protagonist • Light Novel • Military • past Life • snarky heroine
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-1568-6 / 1718315686
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-1568-6 / 9781718315686