—How did it come to this?

Yasujirou—no, Yasushi was thinking in his prison cell.

Yasushi, sitting in the formal seiza position, wore his usual composed expression.

Facing him from beyond the iron bars was the magistrate, Chester.

"You really had me fooled, Yasujirou. Or should I say, Sword God Yasushi."

He had thought that by casually using a fake name, no one would find out, but his opponent was a magistrate.

If one were to check the procedures for entering the planet, they could trace Yasushi's identity.

It seemed they had done a background check, as they were planning to make him a swordsmanship instructor.

"Seeing the techniques of your disciples, I thought you were the real deal, and I hit the jackpot. It was the right call to have you investigated. With you here, it should be possible to perform that battleship-slicing feat that Banfield did."

On the capital planet, Liam had sliced a battleship.

News of this fact had spread, and rumors were circulating that the Issen-ryu school could even cleave a battleship in two.

The magistrate, Chester, seemed to want that power for himself.

(What the hell does he mean, slice a battleship?! There's no way a human could do that! Use some common sense!)

Slicing a battleship was not something a human could do.

In Yasushi's mind, the three of them—Liam, Rinho, and Fuuka—were already inhuman.

But Chester was too excited to notice Yasushi's feelings.

"I'm going to have you teach me everything. Let's start with the ultimate secrets of the Issen-ryu."

Even if he was told to teach everything, Yasushi had already taught everything he knew.

"This humble one is not a man worthy of being called a Sword God, and I have already taught you everything I can. The rest is up to your own efforts, Lord Chester."

He tried to talk his way out of it, but his opponent was Chester, not Liam.

There was no strange kindness or earnestness in him.

After all, he was a genuine villain.

"—Yasushi, I hate the word 'effort.' If there are ultimate secrets, teach them to me now. To me, martial arts are nothing more than a tool. Eventually, I will surpass Banfield and achieve ultimate glory. It's just a tool for that purpose."

Facing Chester, whose eyes were becoming fixed and intense, Yasushi couldn't stop the cold sweat from pouring.

(No, it's impossible! If you could solve everything in this world with just military might, no one would ever struggle!)

If you become a Sword Saint, can you defeat the Emperor? Everyone would shake their heads.

Just because one has mastered martial arts doesn't mean they will succeed as a noble.

Besides, even from Yasushi's perspective, Chester and Liam were far too different.

He couldn't imagine them being capable of the same things.

"No, um, Lord Chester? If you wish to achieve glory as a noble, shouldn't you be focusing on things other than the Issen-ryu? How about putting effort into developing your domain?"

(In fact, it's because you don't do your job properly that our lives are so poor! You need to work harder as a magistrate!)

He told him that mastering the Issen-ryu would not bring him the glory of a noble.

In response, Chester gave him an exasperated look.

"This planet is managed by my family; it's not mine. So, isn't it only natural to squeeze it for all it's worth and increase my own wealth?"

"Huh? N-no, no, but sir. If you oppress the people, the territory will not develop."

"A domain will develop even if you leave it alone. Just keep them not-quite-alive and not-quite-dead, and keep siphoning off their wealth. Even if they die, so what?"

"No! The people are living beings, you know!"

"The commoners are nothing but numbers! The word 'human' truly refers to nobles. To me, the commoners are no different from insects crawling on the ground."

Hearing Chester call the commoners insects, Yasushi thought, This guy is a lost cause.

But then, Yasushi had a flash of inspiration.

"What will happen when you, Lord Chester, master the martial arts and become the head of the count's house? If you continue like this, the domain will be exhausted. That means your future wealth will decrease. A heart that cherishes the commoners is important."

Yasushi thought he had said something quite clever, but Chester was one step ahead.

"The count's house is nothing but a stepping stone. I'm aiming for much higher. The commoners who get stepped on for that purpose should actually be proud. They get to be my stepping stones and help me achieve glory."

Yasushi looked at the noble before him and thought.

(So he was a noble through and through.)

An existence like Liam was the exception to the exception.

Chester said.

"The value of those who aren't nobles is determined by whether or not they're useful to me. Anything else is the same as trash. Yasushi, are you kind to trash? Of course not, right?"

Looking at Chester, who didn't see people as people, Yasushi felt as if he was looking at something terrifying.

(It's no use. Nothing I say will get through to this guy.)

Compared to this, Liam was still better.

He thought so, but right now, Yasushi was a captive.

Chester threatened Yasushi.

"Yasushi, you have a family, don't you? If you don't teach me the ultimate secrets of the Issen-ryu, I have my own ideas."

"Wha—?! S-stop. Just leave my family out of this!"

It seemed even Yasushi cherished his family, as he lost all composure.

Seeing this, Chester smiled.

"In that case, have a favorable answer ready for me by the next time I come here."

With those words, Chester left.

Yasushi hung his head in the prison cell.

(There are no ultimate secrets to begin with! The Issen-ryu itself is a lie I made up!)

◇

Rinho and Fuuka arrived at the small apartment.

I had heard they had encountered some fellow disciples and crossed swords, but I had summoned them here by force.

Because of that, Rinho was clearly indignant.

"Showing your back to the enemy, what kind of Issen-ryu is that? You're pretty soft too, Fuuka. Wouldn't it be better to just die?"

"What the hell do you mean by that, you bastard!"

Watching the two of them bickering in the cramped apartment, Ellen shot me a look as if pleading for help.

I was probably the only one who could calm this situation.

"Rinho, since when did you get the right to voice your opinion to me?"

"Ugh! Y-you understand, don't you, senior brother?! I showed my back in the middle of a fight! Me! I, a disciple of our Master, ran from the enemy! Even if you're my senior brother, I can't back down on this!"

Though frightened, he pleaded with teary eyes that this was one thing he couldn't concede.

Rinho's anger was understandable.

If I had been told to run from an enemy, I would have absolutely refused.

Fuuka, for her part, seemed to have reluctantly obeyed my order, but she was probably bothered by it deep down.

"Rest assured. I will kill all our enemies."

"Senior brother?"

"—The members of the Original Issen-ryu have kidnapped Master Yasushi."

When I told them the truth, both Rinho and Fuuka's eyes widened, and they fell silent.

They were probably too shocked to speak.

"It seems the magistrate of this planet is also a disciple of the Original Issen-ryu. He's hired his fellow disciples as knights and has been rampaging around quite flamboyantly."

Fuuka tried to bolt, so I grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

She glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

"Let go! I'm going to kill them all and get Master back!"

"Calm down. There are a few things that are bothering me."

After calming Fuuka, I turned my gaze to Master's wife, Nina-san.

I sat down, straightened my posture, and asked.

"My lady, why was Master taken away by those from the Original Issen-ryu? Surely Master could have resisted?"

In response to my question, the lady looked troubled, her gaze wandering.

"Ah, um, Yasu-kun—I think my Yasushi is a different person with the same name. Because, well, he's not strong."

"Do you have any pictures or videos of your family?"

"H-here."

When she showed them to me, Master's figure was certainly there.

Rinho and Fuuka started to make a fuss.

"It's Master! Has he lost a little weight?"

"No doubt about it. It's Master Yasushi. But he does look thinner, or rather, skinnier."

It had been a long time since I'd last seen him, but Master certainly looked smaller.

Was it because I'd gotten bigger, or some other reason?

But there was no doubt that the person in the pictures and videos was Master.

As the three of us tilted our heads in confusion, Ellen gave us a suspicious look.

"Master, is this person really Lord Yasushi?"

"Of course he is! There's no way we would mistake our own Master!"

For my own disciple to not recognize Master Yasushi was the height of disrespect.

But Ellen remained doubtful.

"It does seem he has studied the sword, but his movements are strange. Is he truly a martial artist?"

She declared that his movements were not those of a master who had perfected the martial arts, and we retorted.

"You just don't understand how amazing Master is! Y-yes, he might look weak at first glance. But he's my Master!"

Rinho, too, explained indignantly to Ellen.

"He certainly looks weak, but he's my Master. There's no way the Master who can unleash the Flash that we still can't achieve could be weak!"

Fuuka was the same.

"Ellen, there are things you should and shouldn't say. H-he does look weak, I'll admit. B-but, he wasn't like this before."

The three of us looked at each other, tilting our heads and wondering if something had happened.

His wife had said that Master wasn't strong.

But the members of the Original Issen-ryu had taken him away.

And the fact that Master was using the alias Yasujirou was also bothering me.

"—In any case, there's too much we don't understand. But it's a fact that those from the Original Issen-ryu kidnapped our Master. I will definitely erase them."

Hearing my resolve, Rinho and Fuuka seemed to suppress their anger for the time being.

As the two of them sat down, they looked at Yasuyuki, who was next to his mother.

They seemed curious, so I decided to introduce him.

"This is Master's son, Yasuyuki-kun."

Fuuka's unruly hair seemed to puff up, and her expression brightened.

"Yasuyuki, huh! Since you're Master's son, that makes you my little brother. You can call me—Shishigami Fuuka—big sis!"

Next, Rinho pushed Fuuka aside and began her own introduction.

"I'm Satsuki Rinho! Starting today, I'm Yasuyuki's big sister, so you can count on me!"

The two of them were competing to talk to Yasuyuki-kun, but the boy himself was just bewildered.

Ellen was giving the two of them an exasperated look.

"But that child threw a rock at Master, didn't he?"

Is she still holding a grudge? If he's Master's child, something like that is forgivable.

"Ellen, that never happened."

"Huh? B-but..."

"I don't remember it. Therefore, he cannot be held accountable, and I will not hold him accountable. Yes, this conversation is over. More importantly, our priority should be rescuing Master."

Why was our strong Master taken away by those from the Original Issen-ryu?

Ellen was looking at me with concern.

"This will be a conflict with fellow disciples. Master, what will you do?"

"It's simple. We just need to storm the magistrate's mansion."

◇

Meanwhile.

At the magistrate's mansion, Chester was receiving a report from his knights.

He had been training in the Issen-ryu, so he listened to the report while wiping away his sweat.

"What? Practitioners of the Issen-ryu other than us have appeared?"

"Yes. They called us fellow disciples. However, they also said they couldn't forgive a 'corrupted Issen-ryu' like us."

"'Corrupted,' they called us. —No, wait."

Chester recalled the rumors that had been spreading recently.

The ridiculous rumor that Liam was traveling around various regions, punishing greedy nobles.

At first, Chester had also thought, 'Punishing nobles? Is that guy an idiot?'

He couldn't believe that Liam, now the head of a major faction, would do such a thing.

However, corrupt lords and magistrates were actually being punished, and sometimes even destroyed, in various places.

Even if they were just rumors, he had no choice but to think that something was happening.

"Issen-ryu—they were women, weren't they?"

"Yes. They mentioned something about a 'senior brother,' so I believe there is one more person."

"When you talk about a man from the Issen-ryu, the only name that comes up is Banfield. So the rumors weren't entirely wrong, after all."

Chester began to chuckle, predicting that Liam and his group would storm the place.

"Connect me to the main planet. Tell my old man that a chance to kill Liam has arrived."

"Are you sure?"

"Our house is part of His Highness Calvin's faction. I'll have the surrounding lords notified as well. If we kill that Banfield, His Highness will surely be pleased. It seems luck is finally on my side."

Chester began to formulate a plan to counter and defeat Liam.

Chester picked up his sword and swung it.

As he did, a log ten meters away was sliced in two, though his technique was still unrefined.

"I will defeat Banfield and achieve the ultimate glory of a noble. There's no reason he can do something that I can't."

Even though Liam was coming, Chester was laughing.