Chapter 323 A Calm Before A Storm (Japan Arc)
However, Gluttony and Pride caught sight of Daniel's lean, muscular, naked upper body revealed through the bathrobe. The two blushed—Gluttony a little, but Pride turned as red as a tomato. She clearly fidgeted and seemed embarrassed at such a scene.
"Oooo ho hoooo! You're damn hotter than you look, Magitek. No wonder Wrath was so crazy for you."
"Get your ass out before I kick your ass out, Gluttony," Daniel said sternly, continuing to check the communication device the metal scarabs had just made.
"Oh! Right, nearly forgot. Don't forget to come to the executive meeting room yesterday; someone's waiting for you," Gluttony said before leaving the room with Pride, teasing her nonstop.
Daniel nodded in acknowledgment and continued checking.
After a brief check, he found out that his communication device was working as intended. However, the device on the other side seemed to have some problems since he detected it working, but the other side couldn't seem to communicate here.
Daniel put this matter off and quickly got dressed. Gluttony mentioned someone wanted to meet with him at the executive room.
After finishing all his preparations, including a brief check of his weapons to ensure they were in working condition, he proceeded toward the executive meeting room they used yesterday.
In the meeting room, other than Gluttony, Pride, and the manager of this Syndicate Union Branch, there were three more people. The first one was the Kuroki gang leader, then the man who wore a western suit with a noble demeanor, and the last one wore a black Hannya mask.
As the people in the room, other than Gluttony and Pride, noticed that Daniel had arrived, they immediately stood up and politely bowed toward him.
"Greetings, Lord Emberweave. My name is Takaki Matsuo, or it should be Matsuo Takaki in the Western order. We came here because of three matters we need to discuss with you," the man in the western suit greeted Daniel in English, but his accent was heavily Japanese.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Takaki," Daniel said with a slight bow, then asked, "How may I help you?"
Takaki bowed in return according to tradition, smiling and nodding in satisfaction. He knew how much power Daniel wielded, but this Western mage remained humble and followed the traditions of their homeland, which raised Takaki's impression of Daniel by a notch.
"There's no need to be so polite, Lord Emberweave. The pleasure is mine. I'm the one who came here to ask for a favor," Takaki said before sitting down along with the Kuroki gang leader and continued.
"The first is that we've come to warn you. The Kuroda clan Patriarch, Goro Kuroda, will call all of his forces to attack you. There will be an army that aims to hunt only you," Takaki warned.
"Oh... That was a little bit unexpected. I thought that he would continue to send more Onmyoji or the people in the Curtained to hunt me down," Daniel said, his hand on his chin, as he tried to think of the reason for this outcome.
Takaki nodded and explained, "Yes, that's what I had anticipated as well. Unfortunately, the Kuroda clan doesn't have any more Onmyoji to use. There are only regular army forces now. Also, the rule about concealing the Curtained World isn't enforced here that much, since the Hightower influence here is negligible, and many people also know about the Onmyoji. So, you could say that here in Japan, normal people are more aware of the Curtained World than the rest of the world."
"I see, so does this mean he can openly send a big army after me without being afraid of any consequence?" Daniel asked again.
"Yes, you could say that. The only consequence that the Kuroda clan is afraid of is losing power as a ruling party. Otherwise, even the Shogun needs to be cautious when it comes to the Kuroda Clan. I think the reason why Shogun Hojo commanded the Kuroda clan to hunt you down is that he also wants to eliminate the Kuroda clan from the political theater too. Since the Kuroda clan has too much influence more than the newly minted Shogun is comfortable with," Takaki added.
"I see… so what about the second and the third?" asked Daniel.
"The second," said the Takaki clan patriarch as he stood up along with the Kuroda Clan leader and continued, "We want to serve you, Lord Emberweave. I believe that after you're done with the Kuroda Clan, we will need a new regime to look after this place. That regime can be you, and we will look after this place in your stead." The Kuroki patriarch said directly without bothering to conceal it with beautiful words, such as justice, morality, or even pretending to be a good guy. There's only interest here.
"Oh? You're so direct, Lord Takaki. Aren't you afraid of being in the wrong in a moral standpoint? Betraying one's own homeland? I'm still a foreigner, you know?" Daniel asked with a teasing smile.
Lord Takaki didn't find this question offensive or grating to his ear. In contrast, it's good that Daniel asked this question since it showed that Daniel just wanted to test him to see if he's bothered by those concerns.
"Lord Emberweave, please don't speak about patriotism here. That is a concept the rulers invented for their convenience for the peasants to not resist their rule and for the peasants to try resisting foreign invasion. Think about it, Lord Emberweave. In case the foreign invasion succeeds, who would stand to lose the most?
It's none other than the rulers themselves. As long as the new ruler rules with more skill and insight than the old ruler and makes the people gain comfort, who would want to resist their rule? In conclusion, as long as the new ruler's policy doesn't affect the local people's way of life, they don't care. Moreover, if you could bring them prosperity, they would even sing praise for you, the so-called evil foreign invader," said Takaki.
Daniel nodded, acknowledging what Takaki said. Moreover, he didn't plan to rule this land himself; he would just let the locals govern and allow them to sell things to him at a friendly discount. That was his plan.
"That's fine. I don't think I would stay here after I rescue my wife. I also need someone to look after my assets here anyway," Daniel nodded, agreeing to the second condition that Takaki presented.
"Then, what about the third reason that you came here, Lord Takaki?" Daniel asked.
"The third one is not because of us, but this man," the Takaki patriarch said, gesturing toward the man in the black Hannya mask, and continued, "He wanted to meet you," said the Takaki clan patriarch.
Daniel looked at the man in the black Hannya mask as he unmasked himself, revealing the face that Daniel knew. It was Momotaro, who had been missing along with Heracles.
"I'm sorry to come here so late, my lord! We ran into some problems, that's why we couldn't contact you for so long," Momotaro said as he knelt toward Daniel in apology.
"Huh? What kind of problem?" Daniel asked. He wanted to know what happened after they had separated. Since last night, he didn't have time to ask Heracles before he and Heracles went to sleep. He also wanted to know what had happened.
"It's like this, Mi'Lord," Momotaro said, then began to explain the challenges that both he and Heracles faced after they had separated from Daniel.
It turned out that, after they had separated, the VTOL fell into the sea near Okinawa, and Heracles was the one who held the VTOL and swam along the way for more than 20 nautical miles to guarantee the survival of all the crew in the VTOL.
Momotaro, who stayed in the VTOL, commanded all the crew to grab their own life jackets, and the life jackets weren't enough since this time there were more people within the VTOL than the number of life jackets.
Then, a storm hit before Heracles could safely arrive at the shore. Heracles tried to hold on as long as possible, but his stamina reached its limit. So, he quickly threw the VTOL toward the shore while his body vanished under the mad waves.
Then, Momotaro and the crew were rescued by the Takaki Clan since they landed within the Takaki Clan territory. Meanwhile, Heracles was rescued by the Kuroda clan, and the Kuroda clan took the opportunity while Heracles was still unconscious to put many seals on him and turn him into their exclusive mad warrior with the power of the Kuroda clan cursed armor.
"I see," Daniel nodded in understanding, then turned toward Takaki and bowed. "Thank you, Lord Takaki, for helping my men. I'll make sure to repay this favor," Daniel thanked with sincerity.
"Oh! I'll be waiting for it. I hope this will be the start of our prosperous future and a long relationship between the Emberweave Family and Takaki Clan," Lord Takaki jubilantly said as he shook hands with Daniel.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦