Ashes, who has been assigned the role of liaison, appears to be going to meet Toma.
Starks Vanguard, the commander of the Ringvolt Empire’s Knights, has a single daughter.
Her name is Ashes Vanguard. The Guardian Knight, known by her epithet “Divine Shield,” is the True Silver Shield that protects the Princess.
Her defensive swordsmanship, lauded as the empire’s finest, is formidable, making her a seemingly impregnable castle wall despite being just one knight.
However, her temperament, like her swordsmanship, is a bit too rigid, which is a minor flaw.
The Divine Shield visited the Grim Reaper’s private room in the detached tower of Rose Castle but found the newly appointed instructor absent.
“It’s not particularly urgent,” Ashes thought, considering putting it off until tomorrow, but then changed her mind.
Though unwillingly, she had been appointed as a liaison to the Ghost Brigade. She couldn’t betray Rose’s expectations.
Besides, if she didn’t whip him a bit, that degenerate man would surely become more and more lazy.
Clifford had said that if he became energetic and spirited, he wouldn’t be the same person, but now that he was Rose’s instructor, he needed to snap out of it a little.
Ashes Vanguard disliked lying, but she unconsciously lied to herself.
Her desire for Toma, the Grim Reaper, to snap out of it wasn’t solely for her liege, Rose, but also her own wish.
Byakuya Castle, where the Last Legion resides, is more accurately described as a small fortress city than a castle.
Byakuya Castle is divided into an inner and outer ward. The outer ward houses various shops run by ordinary people, including facilities that made Ashes frown.
This structure makes the outer ward quite spacious, and even the comparatively smaller inner ward is considerable in size.
That’s why bringing an entire small, abandoned castle posed no problem.
Rose Castle was built across a small forest facing the hills and a small lake.
Although she disliked used castles, the location suited Ashes’ preferences. She, with her unamenable personality, did not express her gratitude.
As Ashes strolls around the outside of Rose Castle, she contemplates.
If he’s not in his room, he’s probably over there. She surmised the man would be on the small hill that existed even before Rose Castle was relocated. The reason was that it was twilight, a beautiful time for the sunset.
Twilight, a beautiful time for the sunset… At that hill, he would be, gazing at the eastern sky… with an indescribable demeanor.
In fact, it was because of this that Ashes became interested in Toma.
The first time she saw the Grim Reaper standing on a small hill, with the sunset behind him, gazing at the eastern sky, Ashes thought he was “an unusual man.”
She wondered why he would turn his back on the beautiful, setting sun and gaze solely at the eastern sky, the opposite direction.
As she saw him on several occasions, her interest gradually grew.
Though his true identity was unknown, he was undoubtedly one of the Izuruha People. Did he stand on that hill with thoughts of his homeland? Was the loneliness emanating from the Grim Reaper’s back due to his longing for a homeland he could never return to?
One twilight, she decided to approach the Grim Reaper, who was, as usual, gazing at the eastern sky.
She intended to ask what he was thinking while looking at the eastern sky, but upon seeing the Grim Reaper turn around, she swallowed her words.
She was lost for words before his eyes, filled with an indescribable deep melancholy and sorrow.
Ashes, who had never flinched even when facing ten times her number of enemies, retreated for the first time in her life.
It was not her body, but her heart that retreated.
The events of that twilight were seared into her eyelids, and she could recall them clearly. The first words exchanged with the Grim Reaper.
“Do you need something from me?”
“No, it’s nothing important. I just wondered what you were thinking while looking at the eastern sky. But it seems I’ve disturbed you.”
“I’m not thinking of anything in particular. Just habit, I guess. If I had to say, I’m enjoying the beautiful twilight, perhaps?”
“The sunset is in the western sky, though? Rumor has it you are one of the Izuruha People; were you thinking of your homeland to the east?”
“I have no homeland. I might have had one, but I’ve abandoned it.”
“Abandoned your homeland? No matter how far away one is, the homeland lives on in everyone’s heart. Humans cannot abandon their homeland.”
“Perhaps. If that’s the case, then I’m no longer human. Hmph, I’d forgotten. I am a ghost, after all.”
“Is it because you are a ghost that you wear a Skull Mask? But your deeds are indeed beyond human. After all, you are the ‘Grim Reaper’ who has to this day never allowed a single survivor. You must be quite proud?”
“Is producing orphans and widows so prideful? You have peculiar tastes.”
She had intended to praise him. Yet, what came back were words of mockery and eyes filled with contempt.
Despite suffering the ultimate insult, she inexplicably didn’t feel anger. Ashes Vanguard was a proud Imperial Knight.
Instead, a mark was imprinted on Ashes’ heart.
On that day of the beautiful sunset, at that moment, from those words, the Grim Reaper’s existence was imprinted on Ashes Vanguard’s heart like a brand.
“As I thought, you were here.”
Ashes called out to the back of the man in the Military Coat.
As if recreating the memory she held, the Grim Reaper turned towards the Divine Shield who approached him.
“Do you need something from me?”
“The line is the same as that day,” Ashes thought but didn’t say it aloud.
The memory of that day was special only to her, and the thought that this man paid it no mind stirred a slight resentment within her.
The backlash of her resentment manifested in childish behavior.
“Do I need a reason to speak to you? We are supposed to be colleagues, are we not?”
Ashes emphasized “supposed to be” and “supposed,” but the man, who seemed to wear indifference like a Military Coat, paid no attention.
“Ah, that’s right. We were on the same train, weren’t we?”
“According to Rose, you intend to get off midway. Why not accompany us to the end?”
“It is the way of a traveler to alight when their destination differs.”
“Even though Rose wishes for you to travel with her to the very end, you will not comply?”
Ashes’ bad habit of short temper began to surface, and her tone grew rougher.
“Yes. Her destination is a world of peace, but mine might be the depths of hell.”
“Do you have a death wish! Why would you want to go to the depths of hell out of your own volition!”
Ashes’ purpose was to ascertain Toma’s true intentions for getting off midway, but the actual purpose seemed to have been placed on the train’s luggage rack. The matter was, quite literally, put on hold.
“It’s not that I *want* to go, but it might end up that way. Please don’t make such a fuss.”
“Explain the situation! If I can help, I will. Is your masked face related to these circumstances?”
“It’s just that my battle scars make my face unbearable to look at,” the Grim Reaper replied, scratching his Skull Mask with his index finger and addressing the Divine Shield.
“You don’t need to use such a formal address. Call me Ashes, Ashes.”
“Understood. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Thank you, Ashes.”
Even though she had told him to call her by name, she felt strangely flustered when he actually did.
In such moments, she would utter biting remarks as a way to cover her embarrassment. It was a reflection of her truly unamenable nature.
“Hmph. I don’t need thanks from a secretive person. If you truly want to show gratitude, then honestly explain the situation.”
Ignoring her own inability to be straightforward, Ashes pressed the Grim Reaper. She seemed adept at putting things aside.
“I’m playing the role of a mysterious dandy. A man full of mystery is the current trend, you see.”
Ashes thought this was an obvious lie, but she wasn’t entirely convinced.
She was unconcerned with fads and trends, a woman completely unrelated to such words.
To borrow the words of her liege, who enjoyed reading women’s fashion magazines, it would be the privilege of those gifted with beauty that needed no chasing after trends.
“I haven’t heard of such a fad. Ah, speaking of trends, I happened to acquire something called ‘Warring Daimyo Daiginjo,’ a celebrated sake popular in the Izuruha Nations. So, um… Since we’ve become colleagues, ‘even if it’s just in name,’ perhaps we could drink together to deepen our camaraderie?”
Ashes, who disliked lying, had consciously told this lie. It wasn’t by chance that she had obtained the celebrated Izuruha sake.
Seeing the Grim Reaper’s puzzled expression as he tilted his head, Ashes, without being asked anything, began to quickly make excuses.
“No, no! That’s not it! It’s not just the two of us, me and you. It’s a get-together with Quester and Clifford too! It’s, it’s, it’s not weird, is it! Even if by some chance… no, ‘given that’ we are colleagues!”
“If that’s the case, I’ll gladly accept. After all, we are ‘supposed to be,’ ‘even if just in name,’ ‘to a degree,’ colleagues.”
“What is that… ‘supposed to be,’ ‘even if just in name,’ ‘to a degree’ sort of strange way of speaking!”
Although she had said all those words herself, her flustered mind had forgotten.
“Hahaha, why don’t you wait to get red-faced until after you’ve had some drinks? Your face is redder than the sunset!”
“I, I’m not red at all! I will not tolerate insults to a knight!”
That was her third lie, the lie of someone who claimed to hate falsehoods.
