Chapter 535: What Is Courage?
Kian strode toward the Son of Heaven's palace. The palace was an enormous complex of buildings with walls of its own.
When he reached the palace gate, two samurai stopped him.
When they saw Kian's powerful build, they exclaimed:
"You... you must be Lord Minamoto's brother! You're just as strong as he is!!"
"From a distance I thought Lord Minamoto had come back. Please come in, sir. We'll take you to Lord Minamoto's quarters!"
The two samurai let him through and led the way.
Seeing how eager they were, Kian asked, "You two seem to really respect Hei. What's he been up to lately?"
The two samurai said yes and told him what Hei had done over the past few days.
Kian was deeply impressed. Hei was very tall, but really he was only a big, strong ordinary man.
His bone density and muscle density were both at ordinary human levels.
If a Space Marine fought Hei, the Marine could probably burst his head with a single punch.
A Space Marine's bones really were as hard as steel in the physical sense, and when their muscles tensed, they were about as tough as steel cable.
And yet Hei, with an ordinary mortal body, had gravely wounded a Giant Yōkai over six metres tall!
Among the Imperium's mortals, that was absolutely sword-saint level!
The samurai leading the way said with a smile:
"Lord Minamoto was injured last time, but he's fully recovered now. Tomorrow morning he'll lead three thousand samurai against Peach Blossom Mountain to slay every last demon and restore peace and light to All Under Heaven!"
"That's right! We'll be going too, as pikemen, marching at Lord Minamoto's side to wipe out the demons!!"
As the two chattered on, Kian's eyes suddenly lit up.
He looked up at the tall castle keep in the distance.
There were a great many books in the castle keep. The Son of Heaven's family had hidden every book they'd found there for three hundred years, and had even sent ninja to steal the inherited texts of other special factions.
The Son of Heaven, the Chaos God Tzeentch, and the secret of why this planet was shrouded in Warp fog: Kian had a feeling he'd find all of it in the castle keep!
When Hei led the troops out, the whole palace's attention would be on the battlefield. That would be his chance to slip into the castle keep and search it thoroughly!
With that thought, he made up his mind. Undercover Investigator Kian Voss would get to the bottom of this evil organization's secrets and expose them to the world!
"Sir, this is Lord Minamoto's courtyard. Please go in!"
The two samurai bowed to Kian and went no further, leaving on their own.
Kian went up and knocked on the door. It opened, and it was Tarō.
When Tarō saw Kian, he looked surprised and quickly invited him in.
"Sir, where have you been these five days? My father's been talking about you nonstop."
They sat down, and Tarō made Kian tea and set out some snacks.
Kian took a sip of tea and said:
"I went out to the Snowflake Domain to take care of something.
"Where's your father? I hear he's leading troops tomorrow to wipe out the demon army on Peach Blossom Mountain. Is he confident?"
Tarō said:
"My father was invited to dinner by one of the lords. He won't be back for a while.
"You can rest in your room for now, sir. When my father comes back, I'll come get you."
Kian waved a hand and stood up.
"No, no need. I'm worn out from the road, so I'm going to sleep.
"It's late, and your father's heading out to battle tomorrow. Don't tell him I'm back. I don't want him distracted by anything. Let him focus on the fight."
With that, Kian waved and went into the room Tarō had prepared for him to sleep.
But as soon as Tarō left, Kian turned cat burglar. Under cover of night, he slipped out the window and crept toward the Son of Heaven's private quarters.
He planned to find a spot to lie low until morning. Once everyone's attention was on Hei marching out, he'd sneak into the castle keep and carry out his big investigation.
Meanwhile, Hei was drinking tea at a noble's house. It was the old noble whose whole family had been eaten by the Big Yōkai, leaving only him.
The two of them sat facing each other with fragrant tea before them.
The old noble said:
"Hei, I ask you: do you know what courage is?"
Hei said, "I do not."
The old noble asked again:
"When you faced the Giant Yōkai, was there fear in your heart?"
Hei thought about it and said, a little embarrassed:
"My lord, the Giant Yōkai feeds on human flesh. He's bloodthirsty and savage, huge and powerful, beyond what any mortal can face. Of course I was afraid."
The old noble shook his head.
"No. You weren't afraid of him!
"If you had feared him, you could never have wounded him!"
A puzzled look came over Hei's face.
"My lord, what do you mean? Please teach me!"
The old noble fingered his teacup, a strange light in his eyes.
"When my son and I were caught in the Giant Yōkai's hands, he ate my son and not me. Why?
"When I went over it afterward, I realized that my son was out of his mind with fear, babbling nonsense.
"The Giant Yōkai feeds on fear. My son's courage had shattered, which made him the finest food of all, so he chose to eat my son!
"Hei, you were able to wound the Giant Yōkai not because your weapon was sharp, but because there was no fear in your heart!
"Other generals have gone after the Giant Yōkai before, and every one of them was defeated, because there was fear in their hearts!"
Hei thought it over, then asked:
"But my lord, there truly is fear in my heart. The Giant Yōkai stands on the earth like an iron tower. His bones are thick and his arms strong as a raging bull. A single blow could tear me apart. I truly am afraid!"
"No!"
The old noble cut him off.
"A man who fears cannot wound the Giant Yōkai!
"Maybe you feel fear on instinct when you see the Giant Yōkai normally. But think carefully. In the barbican, when you were able to wound him, what was in your heart?"
Hei thought back to the moment he'd gone out and fought the Giant Yōkai, and his eyes flew wide.
He remembered. He'd heard the crying of the children and their parents behind the barbican gate.
Eat the child and make the father watch. Eat the father and make the son watch.
When he'd thought of the Giant Yōkai's demands, there had been only one thing in his head: fury! The Giant Yōkai had to be cut down!
The old noble saw that he understood. He nodded and raised his teacup to signal that the visit was over.
"When a man's fury reaches its peak, there is no room left for fear. He who draws his sword in fury for the sake of all living things, that is courage!"
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you