325 40 Honsen Nihonkaisen Kaisan-eachai (1/2)

--January ago. ”The Taverna, Lute.

In the crowded restaurant today, there was an unusual combination of seats.

Izuna in his place. Next to her is Futa.

Mochisuke is absent today. In his place, in front of him, were the twin guards that Futa and Prim were friends with.

Let's have a drink with the guys today.

By chance, the conversation led to a drink at Izuna's favorite restaurant.

Bill and Ben had taken care of me during the explosion that had just occurred in this restaurant.

They are two young people who smile lazily at the smiling face of Anise, the shopkeeper's daughter, and cheer when Mirabelle sings.

With Bill and Ben in front of them, the conversation suddenly turned to personal matters.

The story of Futa's arrival in the capital.

And Izuna's story of how she arrived at the capital in need of money as well.

Then both of them revealed an unexpected fact.

”We're drifters, too.

”Drifter?　Oh, so you're not from the Kingdom?

Ben scratches his head as Izuna asks with an ale in her hand.

It's a little more complicated than that. I'm sure you're from the Kingdom. I'm sure you're from the kingdom, but when the war was going on, there was really no food, no real jobs, and my dad and his friends were having a shitty time.

”When Ben and I were kids... There was no money, and the whole family was on the ropes. So, yeah, I understand a little bit of what you guys are talking about. I'm sure it's harder for you guys because you were alone and you had things on your mind.

The end of exile. What you were holding on to.

Futa and Izuna both narrowed their eyes a little as if they were thinking about something.

But I can only imagine how hard life must have been for both Bill and Ben at that time.

Children are helpless.

They are powerless to make a living, and can only continue to destroy the food their parents have worked so hard to earn.

I wonder what such days have given them in their past.

”We wanted a job, you know. I wanted a job. I wanted to see if there was anything we could do. But back then, King's Landing was pretty bad. There was no work at all.

With that, he stirs up his ale and looks around the store with a sincere smile.

He sees not only the smiling sign girls serving the customers and the divas tossing in tips for their songs.

He sees not only the sign girls serving the customers with smiles, or the divas tossing tips to the singers, but also the workers who have finished their work for the day and are eating their drinks with a sense of refreshment, or the people who have a vision of what they will do tomorrow.

In the old days, you never went to a bar, that's all I can say.

But at least there was a view that Ben had never seen before.

”The Guards,” he said. I've heard that 'guards' were originally supposed to be stationed at the royal castle, not the capital.

Bill's murmur was met with an honest ”huh” from Futa.

And it used to be a job for nobles and knights. That changed when I came to this town. It was just before the death of the previous king. It became a job that we commoners could get.

”...... And you two?

Yeah. ...... I don't know. We didn't have any money, that's the main reason. But you know what?

His hand swam in the air as if he was having trouble speaking.

Ben took over Bill's words.

'It's hard being an exile. You don't know where you're going to go tomorrow, or if you're even going to live today. Compared to that life, the hard life in King's Landing seemed like a blessing in disguise. So, well, I'm just thankful for King's Landing.

I'm sure you'll understand.

I'm not sure what to say.

In the end, the feeling is the same.

It's a good idea if you can give something back to King's Landing.

How the twin guards became guards.

I'm sure it's nothing special. If anything, Futa and Izuna have similar motives.

But that's why King's Landing is the place for everyone...

--Arena Spectacular.

Right after the signal to start the match.

The commentator couldn't help but shout out as the battle situation began to move.

”Whoa!　It's the Shadow Blade Brothers who have suddenly made their move!　It's a stance that completely ignores Richter and aims for the flux at once!

”Not a bad idea. Because...

It's not a bad idea, because--” ”Oh, wow!” the audience gasped as Futa and Pasta joined in on the commentary. The room buzzed with excitement.

It's understandable.

The battlefield began with two against two. And then, as if to destroy the board, Bill and Ben stepped back and attacked Flux.

”Aha!

”Aah!

Bill roars. Ben catches his breath.

He lowers his stance and attacks Flux with both short swords, thrusting up from below.

There are several reasons for this. First, he's using Mr. Richter's fighting style against him. The first reason is that I'm taking advantage of Richter's fighting style. His fighting style is to either stand firm and intercept or to go head to head with the enemy. It's literally ”dueling. So to put it another way.

The corners of Richter's mouth lifted.

The emotions that welled up in him were not anger or frustration.

Richter L. Klingbloom is the Lord Treasurer.

He is a representative of the ”nobility” that is reluctantly familiar to all the commoners and nobles of King's Landing. It is not every day that a mad dog like Aylan neglects himself for the sake of victory.

Many are in a position to make discoveries for themselves. You may be disadvantaged as a result, but that's about it.

What I'm trying to say is that I was thinking of the ”commoners” or ”guards” who pull you down from the stage to win.

”You've got it ......!

And. With a strange feeling of enjoyment that spilled over.

I'm not sure what to make of that. I'm sure you've heard of it.

I'm not sure.　That's the worst thing you can do in a two-on-two situation, as we've learned in the two games so far: .......

That's right. You're right. So whether or not you can overturn it depends on the flux that you have to deal with after being made one on two.

Bill swings.

Ben takes a stance.

The legs are still moving, and the sword is one of the first to strike the momentum.

As fast as they are, their movements seem to be in a flow. There was no wasted time in their every movement, but rather, they seemed to be slipping in and out of sight. Rather than guards, their fighting style is more like assassins.

”Sorry, kid!

Bill barked.

Right in front of him, Flux's eyes glow gold!

”Hey brother, I've been thinking about Bill and Ben's fight so far. ”Hey bro, I've been thinking about Bill and Ben's fights so far and how they don't fight like guards.”

”Yeah. Apparently they came from a family of assassins. But they got into trouble and drifted to King's Landing, and they grew up here.

Recalling the conversation they once had at the taverna, Futa muttered to himself as he looked at the game.

Their father was apparently not a very respected businessman.

He stole and beat up his enemies. They were useful in war, and they had their own sense of righteousness and evil, but in the end, war took a lot out of a country.

So much so that their father even lost what he stole.

He became a refugee and came to this city. Bill and Ben could have done the same job under their father's tutelage.

Considering how safe the city was back then, they could have gone rogue and survived.