Bear School Astartes

"You don't seem to care at all about today's awards."

Seated together at the edge of the Rōnin Longhouse, Lady Butterfly exhaled a puff of smoke, tapped her cigarette pipe, and glanced at Lann.

At this moment, the Demon Hunter was completely ignoring the lively atmosphere inside the room, leaning lazily against the bamboo of the longhouse's wooden corridor, boredly watching outside.

Upon hearing Lady Butterfly's question, he retorted without turning his head.

"What else? The awards won't be given to me, and even if they were, I wouldn't want them. I'm not going to stay here just because of some land or titles. You understand, right, Lady Butterfly?"

The elderly woman nodded unsurprisingly.

"Indeed, a man with so many skills from the Ming Country, who has traveled to the Southern Barbarians and then returned again. How could someone like that be stopped by a few pieces of land in Iwami Country?"

"Oh? Now you're certain that I'm from the Ming Country?"

"Before, I was doubtful." The elderly woman shrugged.

"I didn't think you were from the Inner Mansion, but I did think proclaiming yourself as a Ming Country person was a way to elevate yourself. But last night... how to put it?"

Lady Butterfly scraped her chin with her thumb and forefinger, organizing her words.

"I've met a few Ming merchants who crossed the sea. The feeling you gave me last night was very similar to theirs. Things we don't care about, or can't care about, you see at a glance. But things we struggle with, you can entirely disregard."

"So you can cut to the chase when solving problems?"

Lann remained expressionless in response to this rhetoric.

Yes, yes, no matter how much you flatter me, I won't feel proud.

If it weren't for last night, I wouldn't have known that you guys even have trouble speaking properly!

Problems that could be solved with good communication nearly allowed a clearly suspicious guy like the Owl to have it all in this enigmatic and half-revealed context!

Lann recalled how, the previous night, he felt somewhat speechless witnessing the scene where the wolf and Butterfly drew their blades without a word.

In daily life, these Japanese folks seem pretty normal.

But once at the critical point under immense pressure, they seem to become extreme and quick to judge, very stubborn.

And you couldn't tell from their expressions; anyone unknowing might think they had planned it all out after careful thought!

Is this a national character?

"The rewards that the Hirate family can currently offer you are nothing special, which is understandable. But you should at least ask for something, just as a courtesy. Don't let outsiders say the Hirate family treats their most significant contributor as nothing."

Calling Lann the most important contributor, that was true.

Even if most people weren't aware of what happened in the hidden Buddhist Hall, at least last night he rallied the troops and eliminated over eighty percent of the bandits.

The title of the greatest contributor is firmly his to wear.

"Sir, we need guidance! Guidance! That Light Body Skill, along with other assorted skills."

Mentos timely reminded the host in his mind.

The tone was like a buddy urging you to buy an extra bag of snacks at the store.

Thus, the Demon Hunter naturally said to Lady Butterfly.

"If there's gold, that's best, but I doubt Iwami Country is a place with any gold mines... Just continue to teach me those Lonely Shadow Group ninja techniques. You've been fighting each other for so many years, you must have learned something from them, right?"

Ninjas live in the dark by secrets, learning the local ninja techniques of Iwami, Lann himself thought it unlikely to be granted. But the enemy's techniques should be no problem.

Unexpectedly, Butterfly nodded decisively.

"Your talent, I've heard a bit about it from the wolf... quite frightening. But now it seems you're stuck on the Light Body Skill? No problem, I'll personally teach you. But if that's all, it might seem a bit stingy on the Hirate family's part..."

The elderly woman tilted her head in thought, then calmly uttered a name.

"Iwami Style."

Lann blinked his eyes, mouth slightly agape, turning to look at the seemingly ordinary elderly woman.

"Adding the Iwami Style should just about cover it. You practice the Southern Barbarian Swordsmanship, right? This time, let me show you our Iwami sword that dominates East Japan."

Lann's lips curved into a smile, clicking his tongue.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'm genuinely surprised."

"Stay surprised, the Iwami Style won't disappoint you."

----------

The reconstruction of Hirata Manor began the afternoon after the meeting.

The peasants within the manor were busy constructing small shacks for temporary residence.

If these weren't completed, most would end up sleeping amongst the ruins tonight.

It was already late autumn, and while the heat from last night's fire still lingered, after a night of psychological shock, if they caught a cold, likely another batch of people would fall to illness.

But such matters were not something the samurai lords would concern themselves with.

Now, most of the reinforcements from Iwami Castle had been incorporated into Hirata Manor's defense system.

While the more elite forces, both from outside and within Hirata Manor, would again be sent out. Serving as scouts for warnings and troops for chasing bandits.

The Hirate family, being a clan conferred rank after the Warring Country War in Iwami, facing such severe damage and no retaliation would undoubtedly lead to mockery.

For the aristocratic class, losing face equates to losing life.

Lann's contributions were acknowledged in the meeting, despite not receiving any tangible rewards like land, he was granted the title of warrior.

Once the inner residence was slightly cleared, Lann would move to live there.

Not that he disliked the poor and loved the rich, wanting to move out of the longhouse.

In fact, it was the otherwise humble Rōnins' now overly respectful treatment of Lann that made him uncomfortable.

Before, even though Lann was a manager in terms of responsibility, those ronin could still joke with him, since 'responsibility' wasn't 'class'.

But once the title of 'warrior' was attached, such everyday communication ceased to exist.

In Japan, class distinction can be tangibly felt once it appears.

Lann, at this time alone, floated aimlessly in a small boat on the Longquan River.

He was among the bandit chasers but due to his undeniable combat prowess, he operated solo.

Bandits, to Lann, were uninteresting. This time out, he chiefly intended to confirm something he might have imagined hearing while going downstream last night.

At that time, time was tight, there was no chance to stop the boat to investigate.

But given Lann's current physical condition, unless affected by external factors, hallucinations seemed unlikely.

His curiosity was piqued.

As he traveled upstream, it wasn't long before that familiar sound reappeared.

"Ah, indeed, it is the aura of the Treasure Carp Scale! Young man, would you like to do some business?"