"Rozen-sama?"
"Rozen…"
"Rozen!"
At that moment, Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki—who had been watching everything from the side—hesitantly approached, each wearing an expression of unease, as if they wanted to speak but didn't know how.
"What is it?"
Rozen finally came back to his senses, still looking in the direction Raishin had gone, and turned to face the three sisters.
Their faces were filled with concern.
"Are you okay?" Komurasaki asked cautiously.
Seeing the timid look on the young girl's face, Rozen couldn't help but smile. He reached out and patted Komurasaki's head.
"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Rozen said. "This outcome… I'd more or less predicted it already."
From childhood, Raishin had always been unusually single-minded and stubborn. Otherwise, he wouldn't have abandoned magecraft—despite the opposition of everyone in the family—just because he couldn't surpass the innately gifted Akabane Tenzen. He chose to devote himself to martial arts and even ended up leaving home.
And when it came to emotions, Raishin was actually the one who valued them the most.
Even though his blood-related elder brother Tenzen possessed unparalleled talent, Raishin had never truly resented him. If he ever did feel jealous, it never caused a rift between them. On the contrary, he had always respected Tenzen and cherished their younger sister Nadeshiko even more than Rozen did. Nadeshiko's favorite brother was also Raishin—not Rozen, nor Tenzen—and that said it all.
So really, the words Raishin used to describe Rozen would have been more fitting if applied to himself.
At the very least, Rozen had never felt inferior to Tenzen, but Raishin had constantly been reminded of the vast gap between them, making it far easier for him to hold grievances.
Yet Raishin never did—until their family was annihilated, and he witnessed with his own eyes the brother he most respected kill the sister he loved most. Only then did he completely lose his mind and fall into a vortex of hatred.
These past two and a half years, the amount of suffering Raishin endured was equal to the depth of his hatred for Tenzen. The more he once respected him, the more he now wanted to kill him.
That Raishin would end up the way he was now… Rozen had already more or less anticipated it and mentally prepared himself.
However…
"Even with mental preparation, seeing your own brother turn into that… it really doesn't feel good."
Rozen muttered softly to himself.
His bitter words echoed through the surroundings.
"I thought I had matured a lot by now. Guess not."
It sounded like self-deprecation—and in return, Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki all gave him looks filled with pain and sympathy.
After all, that one sentence alone showed that when it came to emotional depth, Rozen was certainly no less than Raishin.
Thinking this, Yaya stepped forward with a guilty expression.
"I'm sorry, Rozen," she said, visibly remorseful. "I should've told you sooner that Raishin-sama would be coming here."
Those words made Rozen freeze for a moment. Then he understood.
"You all met Raishin already?"
Rozen looked toward Yaya in surprise.
But it wasn't Yaya who answered—it was Irori.
"...We met Raishin-sama during the two months after we returned to Japan."
Irori softly informed Rozen.
This made Rozen recall something.
"Don't tell me—the guard sent by the Japanese military to protect Shouko was Raishin?"
Rozen voiced his suspicion.
"Yes," Irori nodded very seriously.
In other words…
"Raishin is now with the military?"
Rozen murmured.
That would explain why he became Shouko's guard and met Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki. It also explained why their behavior had been a bit strange when Rozen previously brought up the topic of Shouko's guard.
Hinowa had also said she saw Raishin in the military camp, further confirming this.
Most likely…
"Hibari must've been a military officer from the start, which is why he brought Raishin to the camp to train. Raishin used military resources to improve himself and eventually joined, becoming their swordsman."
This time, Raishin being assigned as Shouko's guard… was probably both a surveillance measure and a strategic move. The military was likely trying to use Raishin's relationship with Rozen to sway him and bring him back into the fold.
Furthermore, the military might already know Tenzen's true identity and want to use Raishin to do something about it.
After all, Tenzen was the major culprit in the annihilation of the Akabane clan. He had extensive ties to the military in the past, and now he had fled to Britain—to the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart. That was essentially an act of betrayal against both the country and the military. There's no way they'd stay idle.
Sending Raishin here… was a calculated move with multiple purposes.
"Well played."
Rozen had to admit—it was a brilliant tactic to send Raishin.
Now, Raishin's strength was on par with Tenzen's.
In terms of power, he had reached the final stage of a Magus and attained the Mind's Eye.
In terms of skill, the sword aura he emitted had even earned recognition from Artoria [Alter].
And with that blade that Rozen had been keeping an eye on, Raishin's combat strength had likely reached tactical-level.
If Rozen guessed correctly, Raishin might have already surpassed his sword instructor, Hibari.
To achieve such a level in just two and a half years of sword training was astonishing.
But thinking further, it wasn't just two and a half years.
Before that, Raishin had spent nearly five years cultivating qi to enhance his mana, building a solid foundation. Even during the night of the clan massacre, he had already displayed decent swordsmanship—he was just completely overwhelmed by Tenzen's Automaton Doll.
Later, driven by hatred, Raishin's accumulated skills finally bore fruit during the past two and a half years, allowing him to reach the Mind's Eye.
Rozen knew well: once someone acquired the Mind's Eye, their ability to comprehend and learn increased exponentially.
It was thanks to the Mind's Eye that Rozen had enhanced his magical insight and mastered so many techniques. Similarly, Kurogane Ikki developed both Blade Steal and Perfect Vision after attaining the Mind's Eye, allowing him to instantly learn opponents' sword skills, identify and correct their flaws, and reconstruct them into superior techniques. He could even effortlessly perceive and read all of his opponent's movements—an absolutely broken ability.
In such circumstances, it was no wonder Raishin had developed such powerful sword aura, and his level of swordsmanship was also clearly extraordinary.
A Raishin like this was more than capable of keeping an eye on Shouko, deterring any would-be troublemakers, and making her wary of acting out. Rozen himself wouldn't easily oppose Raishin's surveillance, and if Raishin were to try something against Tenzen… he just might succeed.
That was probably why Shouko felt secure enough to leave Irori and Komurasaki with Rozen.
Firstly, she had high confidence in Raishin's strength and believed he could guarantee her safety. Secondly, due to Raishin and Rozen's bond, she likely trusted Raishin wouldn't harm her. Leaving Irori and Komurasaki with Rozen was also a way to protect them from being seized by the military.
"What should we do next, Rozen?"
Yaya asked.
Rozen didn't hesitate.
"We're going to see Magnus."