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Chapter 140: Yasushi's Flash of Inspiration

—Things have gotten completely out of hand.

A single lie has ballooned out of control, and it's already slipped from my grasp.

The man who, before he knew it, had come to be called a Sword God—Yasushi—was living with his family of three in a cramped room in a cheap apartment.

Having fled the planet they used to live on, the three of them had now moved to a frontier planet.

“—This is a nightmare.”

Yasushi muttered as he looked at the meager meal laid out on the dining table.

Hearing this, his wife furrowed her brow.

It seemed she thought Yasushi was complaining about how terrible the food was.

“You should be grateful we have anything to eat at all! Whose earnings do you think are putting this food on the table?!”

“Eek! N-no, that's not it. I wasn't muttering about the food, but rather... I was just thinking about how we've been driven into this situation.”

Seeing Yasushi's submissive posture, his wife let out a small sigh.

A small boy pleaded with his wife—his mother.

“Mom, I want more.”

“I'm sorry. My part-time pay will be coming in soon, so please be patient until then.”

His wife, Nina, had long, silky black hair.

She was a gentle woman who wore glasses, and she used to support Yasushi and their child while working.

However, she hadn't been able to find a job on the planet they had moved to.

They had moved using her savings, and they were now living hand-to-mouth on what was left of it.

She was working part-time now, but her earnings were poor, and their life was one of poverty.

Nina glared at Yasushi.

“And why did you choose this place, anyway? It's an undeveloped frontier planet, there are no jobs due to the recession, and to top it all off, the heavy taxes just make life difficult.”

It was Yasushi's fault that they had moved to such a terrible planet.

“I-it couldn't be helped! If we went to a more developed place, they'd find us!”

The reason Yasushi had moved to such a terrible planet was—all Liam's fault.

On the e-paper placed on the table, a video was playing.

It was an official announcement from the Gudwar Hegemony.

“‘We shall welcome Yasushi of the One-Flash Style as the royal court's sword instructor! We promise a suitable reward to anyone who provides information. Find Lord Yasushi at all costs!’”

A short while ago, Liam had defeated Izel, the former crown prince of the Hegemony.

At that time, the name of the One-Flash Style had spread throughout the Hegemony.

In the Hegemony, which championed the motto 'Might is Right!', the news of an unknown, ultimate sword style had caused a great stir.

As a result, while they couldn't very well recruit Liam, the question arose: what about his master, Yasushi? That's how things had turned out.

And now, not just the Empire, but other nations as well, were thinking, 'If even the Hegemony is seeking him, he must be the real deal,' and had begun searching for Yasushi.

There was no end to the countries and nobles offering to hire him with favorable treatment, and on top of that, powerful individuals seeking to make a name for themselves were now after Yasushi's life.

“It's his fault. Because of him, I'm—damn it!”

Liam is a noble of the Algrand Empire.

Moreover, he had become a lord representing a powerful domain.

Rather than go after someone like Liam, wasn't Yasushi an easier target? That's what everyone thought, and they were searching for Yasushi with bloodshot eyes.

Nina, while tending to their child, shot him a cold look.

“From my perspective, it just sounds like a lie. Yasu-kun, being the master of an imperial noble? That has to be a lie, right?”

Yasushi was a yashi—in other words, a street performer.

And the sword style he taught Liam, the One-Flash Style, was a lie Yasushi had made up.

He had taught Liam swordsmanship using methods like a con artist, and as a result, a monster had been born.

And the two disciples he had raised as assassins had also grown to be monstrously strong.

Even though Yasushi himself was weak, he was the man who had raised three monsters.

“I don't want to believe it either! I don't even know what happened to the disciples I sent after Liam as assassins! I've had enough of this!”

The reason Yasushi had come to this frontier planet was to hide from Liam and the assassins.

No one would ever think I'd be on a planet like this! —or so he had thought.

But now that he had moved, he regretted it.

“—Hah, still, life is tough.”

Nina said coldly, her daily frustrations with Yasushi evident.

“Then why don't you get a job yourself?”

“Ugh!? W-well, that's, uh—I'm sorry.”

He did have part-time jobs, but they never lasted long.

The reason was the taxes.

After taxes were deducted, he only got to keep about thirty percent of a day's wages.

It was hard to stay motivated with that.

Furthermore, the hourly wage for part-time work was incredibly low, and he was overworked for it.

“I shouldn't have run away. This is all Liam's fault. It's because he spread the name of the One-Flash Style.”

As Yasushi was wallowing in regret, Nina finished her meal and started cleaning up.

“I guess you can be a good instructor even if you're not a master yourself. If that teaching ability of yours is real, why not just open a dojo? If it's real, that is.”

Hearing Nina's words, Yasushi looked up.

“Eh?”

Surprised by his reaction, Nina explained as she looked at him.

“I'm saying, if you can teach, you should run a dojo. With the One-Flash Style being so popular right now, wouldn't there be plenty of people willing to pay good money to learn it? You've raised three of them, so you'd definitely succeed.”

Yasushi had raised three people: Liam, Rinho, and Fuuka.

That was also proof that Yasushi had a talent for training people.

He had only raised three people so far, but his success rate was one hundred percent.

Could it be that he, Yasushi, had a talent for raising people?

—He had only just now realized it.

“I-I see! If I train a lot of them, they can become my bodyguards, and I'll get money too! No, wait a minute. If I do that, people will find out I'm here.”

Muttering to himself, Yasushi came to a simple conclusion.

“I'll just change my name! I'll call it the Original One-Flash Style or something and do business under a pseudonym! There are a lot of dojos with similar names recently, so people will probably just think it's one of them!”

Is that really okay for a master of martial arts? Nina's face showed her doubt, but she was happy to see Yasushi showing some motivation.

“I'm sure you can do it, Yasu-kun. I'll help too!”

“Yeah!”

This woman named Nina was what you would call a capable woman.

She was serious and good at her job—her only flaw was her attraction to useless men like Yasushi.

And so, on a desolate frontier planet, the dojo of the Original One-Flash Style was born.

“A meal you don't have to work for is the best.”

Breakfast time.

I, being served by Amagi and Brian, was eating an unnecessarily luxurious meal from the morning.

Before me was a simple breakfast.

To put it in terms of my previous life, it was something like fried eggs, toast, a salad, and soup.

However, every single ingredient was a high-class product, carefully selected from within my territory.

There was also an omelet made with a lavish amount of eggs that cost tens of thousands of yen each.

—However, the yogurt alone was Brian's homemade specialty.

These ingredients were prepared by chefs gathered from all over the territory.

In my past life, it would be like gathering a team of three-star restaurant chefs.

I have them cook for me on a daily rotation.

It's the kind of act where you'd make top-class chefs work alternating shifts in a cafeteria.

This is the breakfast of a corrupt lord.

In the spacious room, an orchestra was playing music suitable for the morning.

As Amagi cleared my finished plate, she asked about my earlier remark.

“Master, what has come over you so suddenly? In the first place, you perform your official duties every day, do you not?”

Even Brian was looking at me with a worried expression.

“Are you not tired from the excessive training day after day? Lord Liam, this Brian is worried. Will you be taking a break from your official duties today?”

From their perspective, I probably look like I'm working.

But from my perspective, it's all for my own sake.

It's not work at all; it's for myself.

“Did you think I was working seriously? That's just playing around.”

Amagi was expressionless as usual, but she seemed to question my statement.

“Recently, you have stopped acting like a villain and have been seriously engaged in managing the territory, have you not?”

“I don't have time to play around. Right now, I just want to get stronger.”

“—You are playing around, yet you don't have time to play around? Which is it?”

“Don't think too deeply about it. It doesn't mean much.”

Watching Amagi seriously ponder my reply made me feel a little guilty.

When I declared that managing the territory was just play, Brian's expression turned grim.

“I would like you to prioritize the work of the territory. In the first place, Lord Liam has no need for swordsmanship.”

Brian was admonishing me for being so preoccupied with my One-Flash Style training.

But I'm not the type to change my ways just because someone tells me to.

“I refuse. Besides, I feel like I'm about to break through a wall. At the same time, I'm also feeling my limits.”

I felt like I was close to breaking through the wall, but I could also sense my own limits.

I don't know what more I can do.

As I was eating my dessert yogurt, Kukuri emerged from my shadow.

Brian scowled when Kukuri appeared.

“Lord Kukuri, Lord Liam is in the middle of his meal.”

“I am well aware. However, I was ordered to handle this matter with utmost urgency. I thought it best to prioritize this report. —Lord Liam, please excuse the interruption during your meal.”

I spoke to Kukuri, who was kneeling beside me, while continuing to eat.

“Have you finished your investigation?”

“Yes.”

I stopped eating, pausing my meal, and turned to Kukuri to hear the report.

“Did you find my master?!”

I had used Kukuri to investigate my master's whereabouts.

Thinking I would hit a dead end if things continued like this, I had Kukuri search for my master.

“So, where is he? I'll go see him at once.”

At this rate, I won't get any stronger.

I had been planning to go to him myself to ask for his teachings, but—Kukuri's answer turned my excitement into rage.

“About that, there are a great number of individuals claiming to be Master Yasushi of the One-Flash Style, and we have not yet been able to identify the real one. We are currently hurrying to do so, but it will take time due to a shortage of manpower.”

Kukuri and his clan are extremely competent, but the problem is their numbers.

They were so few that they had the disadvantage of being unable to use sheer numbers.

“I'll dispatch some of my subordinates to you.”

“We are already using them for the investigation. We are handling the confirmations ourselves, but there are too many fakes, and it is taking time.”

It seems the subordinates I dispatched can't tell the real one from the fakes.

Kukuri's clan could probably tell the difference, but their numbers are too small.

“—Those damn impostors are getting carried away.”

Because I had become famous, the number of impostors had skyrocketed.

Things like, 'True One-Flash Style!' or 'Original One-Flash Style!'

I had been ignoring them because new ones just kept popping up even if I crushed them, but I can't forgive the fact that they're preventing me from finding my master.

I slowly stood up.

“Summon Tia and Marie.”

Kukuri vanished as if being absorbed into my shadow.

“As you wish.”

A blonde beauty, dressed in a maid outfit, showed a beaming smile.

“Lord Liam, Tia-nyan is so happy you called for me, nyan!”

Lifting one leg in a deliberately cute pose and saying “nyan-nyan” was Tia.

Next to her, a beautiful woman with purple hair was twitching her bunny ears.

“Marie is happy too, pyon!”

Marie was imitating a rabbit in her maid outfit, but both of them had modified their uniforms.

Tia had cat ears, a tail, and other cat-like accessories.

Marie had bunny ears, a tail, and other rabbit-like accessories.

Wearing unnecessarily high-quality cosplay outfits, the two, having cast aside all shame, held hands and pressed their cheeks together.

“Lord Liam's maid, Tia, has arrived as summoned, nyan!”
“Lord Liam's maid, Marie, has arrived as summoned, pyon!”

Despite normally hating each other enough to want to kill one another, they were even pretending to be good friends because I had ordered them to.

Had they practiced many times? Their timing was perfect.

Beside me, who had summoned them, the Head Knight, Klaus, was averting his gaze from his two former superiors, who were now completely transformed.

It was understandable that he would want to look away when the two knights who once represented the Banfield family were now cosplaying in modified maid outfits.

Though they had been embarrassed until a short while ago, they had now improved the quality of their outfits as if to say they were proud of their current appearance.

They must have worked hard and struggled until now, but—that has nothing to do with me right now!

“Are you messing around in front of me?”

At those words, the two began to panic.

“Eh!? Was something not to your liking, nyan?”
“Would you have preferred a full-body costume, pyon!?”

I like these two trying to get on my good side, but right now, my master is more important.

“You are both dismissed from your duties as my maids. Return to being knights.”

“Eh?”
“N-no way!”

I thought they would surely be delighted when I told them I was allowing them to return to their posts, but both Tia and Marie had pale expressions.

“Are you dissatisfied?”

Tia gave a small nod.

“Yes. I am dissatisfied that I will no longer be able to take care of Lord Liam, nyan.”

Marie was covering her face with both hands.

“I'd rather die than not be humiliated by Lord Liam, pyon.”

—If these two weren't so competent, I really would have fired them.

Every last one of them is competent, but their quirks are so strong it's annoying.

“Stop complaining. And stop with the 'nyan' and 'pyon,' it's annoying! As of this moment, you are reinstated as knights. Klaus!”

“Sir!?”

Having called Klaus's name, I proceeded to tell these two about their new jobs.

“Send Tia to the border with the Hegemony immediately. I'm putting her in charge of the border. She's a disappointing woman, but she's also capable of governing. Send her off with a fleet of ten thousand ships.”

“Ah, so that's why you called me back.”

Until now, I had left the border in the hands of my right-hand man, Klaus.

This guy is truly capable and can do anything.

Klaus showed a relieved expression, but Tia was looking at me with pleading eyes.

“Lord Liam, you're going to the border too, right? Right!?”

“Are you an idiot? Why would I have to deal with those Hegemony folks? I'm just sending you so I can bring Klaus back to the main territory.”

“Noooooo!!”

Hearing she was being sent to the border alone, Tia held her head in her hands and cried.

Next, I gave my orders to Marie.

“Marie, you will lead a small, elite fleet.”

“I do not mind that, but... will I also be dispatched somewhere?”

I told the trembling Marie.

“You'll be my escort. I'm going on a journey for a while.”

When she heard that, Marie's face broke into a smile like a blooming flower. Then, she looked down at the devastated Tia with smug delight.

Seeing Marie's triumphant face, Tia gritted her teeth.

—And these two were wearing cosplay-like maid outfits.

Klaus, who hadn't been informed, pressed me for details.

“Lord Liam? Um, I haven't heard anything about this? What do you mean, you're going on a journey?”

“I'm going to be away for a while to search for my master. I'm leaving the rest to you, Klaus.”

“—Eh?”

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