"Have you found that big idiot yet?"
Okamoto Saburo, supported by his subordinates, sat on a giant boulder along the shore, with many soft cushions placed beneath him.
At this moment, Okamoto Saburo's legs had already gone completely numb and lost all feeling. This was mainly because, after falling into the sea earlier, he had been stalked by a sea monster that pursued him the whole way. If the commotion hadn't been so loud that the ship following behind discovered them, he would have ended up buried at the bottom of the sea.
After this experience, Okamoto Saburo hated Arataki Itto to the extreme. Disregarding their previous cooperation agreement, he set foot on Watatsumi Island.
"Not yet, Boss! The brothers are searching all over the place. They definitely wouldn't dare to run too far inside. I'm sure we'll find him in no time!"
"Useless! You're all useless!"
Hearing this reply, Okamoto Saburo immediately flew into a rage. He clenched his fist and swung it at the man who had spoken. However, because his strength was so pitifully low, the attack ended up as a "tiny fist patting the chest," and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
"B-Boss, is it finally my turn?"
As he spoke, a blush of shyness crept across the man's face.
These Nobushi had lived quite comfortably back when they were fighting the Shogunate on Watatsumi Island. If they lacked supplies, they simply raided them. Although the commoners' supplies weren't great, they were better than nothing.
When they lacked women, they would raid and seize them. Because of the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, even Narukami Island didn't have much power to suppress them.
But times had changed, and their lives had become truly difficult. Besides, they had been reckless in the past, and all the women they had captured had already been played to death. Now that their desires were building up, they could only find a way to "digest" it internally.
Since they couldn't become the boss, they could at least try to compete for the boss's man.
Back when they had women, they never had the chance. Now that they did, they wanted to make some progress...
"Get lost, get lost, get lost!"
Okamoto Saburo roared. The man's shy expression nearly made him vomit up his dinner from the previous night. He should have looked at what he looked like, resembling a piece of black charcoal and completely bald; only a blind man would have any feelings for him.
"Boss, we've found them!"
Suddenly, a shout came from the distance.
"Boss, I found them!"
Upon hearing these words, Okamoto Saburo's face lit up with joy, and he immediately struggled to turn his completely emptied body around.
"What? You found them? Where are they?"
"Right behind me, they're charging over... AHH!"
Just as the man finished speaking, he was sent flying by a huge bull, letting out a howl that sounded both blissful and agonized.
Seeing this scene, Okamoto Saburo instantly recalled the terror of being fucked by a bull, and he immediately reached out to cover his own buttocks. That unprecedented feeling was still fresh in his memory.
However, after Okamoto Saburo quickly recovered, his face immediately flushed crimson with rage.
"Attack! All of you, attack and kill them!"
"I'm going to cut off their heads and use them as chamber pots!"
Upon hearing Okamoto Saburo's order, all the Nobushi near him charged forward with katanas and hand crossbows.
"Come and test my blade!" "Just this one strike!" "Fall before me!" "AHHH—"
The Nobushi were soon sent flying back, wailing in agony. They piled up like a small mountain around the ferociously grinning Okamoto Saburo, whose expression instantly froze.
How can this be? We're losing this fast?!
"Yo, this guy looks a little familiar!"
Arataki Itto's towering figure cast a shadow over Okamoto Saburo. The large, black club on his shoulder seemed to be dripping blood. Seeing that demonic smile, Okamoto Saburo's legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Y-You must have the wrong person. We've never met before."
"Oh, I remember now!"
Arataki Itto's eyes suddenly lit up, and he slapped Okamoto Saburo's shoulder with his left hand. The crushing force sent him to his knees, his bones groaning with a sickening crunch. His shoulder was engulfed in excruciating pain, completely immobilized.
"Isn't this the guy who gave us a boat?!"
After speaking, Arataki Itto pointed to the largest ship along the shore. It was the one the three of them had used to arrive at Watatsumi Island. It had been damaged in the previous battle, but now all the repairs had been completed.
"Hahaha, did you chase us all the way here just to give our boat a tune-up? How thoughtful of you!"
After saying that, Arataki Itto slapped Okamoto Saburo's shoulder hard several more times, this time pressing Okamoto Saburo's head directly into the dirt, and he passed out.
"Boss, stop playing around, we need to go!"
Hearing Kuki Shinobu's urging from not far away, Arataki Itto snorted in annoyance, looking at Okamoto Saburo with a malevolent gaze, feeling that letting him off so cheaply was a shame.
The Arataki Gang recruited people who couldn't make a living in their daily lives, and a large portion of them were involved in situations related to the Nobushi who caused trouble. As the boss of the Arataki Gang, he would naturally not be soft-hearted toward such scum.
Of course, the Nobushi were also many people who truly couldn't make a living and did not cause trouble out of inner malice. Even when robbing, they would not take human lives. After the Shogunate's situation stabilized, these Nobushi had basically surrendered. Because it was considered that they were also desperate before, the crimes they committed were largely waived.
"Coming, coming!"
Arataki Itto caught up with the others in a few steps, and then the four of them boarded the ship together. Before leaving the island, they emptied all the cannonballs on the ship toward the Nobushi along the coast. Soon, a large area of fire appeared along the coast, burning away the sins committed by the Nobushi in the flames.
Whether it was luck or misfortune, Okamoto Saburo still had one last breath in him even after being at the center of the cannonfire. He was found by the Shogunate Army on Watatsumi Island and brought before Sasayuri.
"Save, save me, we have a partnership..."
Sasayuri looked at the barely human Okamoto Saburo and frowned.
"Kill him."
He held no regard for these Nobushi either. It was just that he hadn't had the chance before, so now that the opportunity was presented, he wouldn't pass it up.
"Yes!"
"No, you can't do this, this is a breach of contract..."
"Puff!"
With a slight sound, Okamoto Saburo fell to the ground, convulsed a few times, and then fell completely silent.
"A breach of contract? What does it matter if it's a breach of contract for people like you who never keep their word?"
Sasayuri spoke coldly, his eyes full of disgust.
Another person was the one who had chosen to cooperate with these Nobushi. Since he needed the other party's help, he naturally could not object. Otherwise, he would have taken the Shogunate Army and completely crushed this group of Nobushi long ago...
-
"Yo, this is truly rare. I didn't expect you to come find me on your own."
Inside the Fortress of Meropide, Tartaglia looked at Arlecchino, who had sought him out, with some surprise.
"Don't tell me you want to fight me?"
"It so happens that I've improved a lot fighting those Gardemeks lately, and I'm really curious how much the gap between you and me has narrowed."
"Wanna practice at the Pankration Ring?"
"No, you're too weak, I'm not interested."
After hearing Arlecchino's words, Tartaglia immediately couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Hey, hey, how can you look down on me like this before we've even fought?"
"Maybe you're even weaker than me now!"
Tartaglia tried to provoke Arlecchino's competitiveness using reverse psychology, but Arlecchino didn't fall for it at all.
"Only when you can no longer find joy in those toys will you even have a fraction of the strength to spar with me."
As Arlecchino spoke, a murderous intent so thick it seemed to materialize as a physical substance instantly erupted from her body, and her eyes became even deeper and redder. For a fleeting moment, Tartaglia seemed to see a blood-red sun behind her.
"You're actually still hiding your strength..."
Tartaglia looked at Arlecchino with immense wariness, and also with a hidden thrill deep within.
"It seems you're not very keen on improving your rank."
"Heh, it's not just me. Capitano hides his strength no less than I do."
Arlecchino chuckled softly, then retracted the murderous intent from her body. Everything returned to tranquility, as if the previous scene had never happened.
"After all, rank is meaningless to us."
After hearing Arlecchino's words, Tartaglia nodded.
"It's easy to talk tough when you're ranked higher!"
"But aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?"
After speaking, Tartaglia also released a terrifying aura formed by the combination of his Vision and Delusion. Although it couldn't compare to the power Arlecchino had just shown, the gap was not insurmountable.
"And the Gardemeks aren't toys right now. You should really reconsider what you said earlier after trying to challenge twenty Gardemeks at once."
At this moment, a look of surprise appeared on Arlecchino's face.
"You have indeed exceeded my expectations."
To be honest, Arlecchino had completely looked down on Tartaglia's combat power shortly after he joined the Fatui. However, his talent was truly astonishing, and even she had to take notice of this rate of growth.
"So, are we going to fight?"
Tartaglia clenched his fists. Even though he knew he was most likely to lose, he still had an expectant expression.
"Forget it, there's no time."
Arlecchino shook her head, rejecting Tartaglia's proposal.
"The Jester asked me to come and ask you if you still want to go back."
"If you don't go back, he will consider you a traitor."
After hearing this, Tartaglia's expression immediately crumpled.
"Haven't I already sent a letter explaining? I have to catch the bastard who threw all that mud at me!"
"If you weren't staying in the Fortress of Meropide, I would have half-believed those words."
Arlecchino ruthlessly exposed Tartaglia, leaving him slightly embarrassed.
Indeed, if the other person were in the Fortress of Meropide, how could he need to go catch them?
Tartaglia scratched his head in annoyance. Where in Snezhnaya was it as fun as in Fontaine? Here, there were so many powerful Clockwork Meka for him to challenge at will, and he wouldn't have to pay compensation if he broke them. He was acting as a combat strength test subject right now, and all he had to do was let his power loose.
But if he returned to Snezhnaya, at most he could only play with the sluggish and single-patterned Ruin Machines, which was intolerable for Tartaglia after experiencing the power of the Gardemeks.
Or maybe just solo training, which is even more boring!
Challenging other Harbingers would be a way to relieve boredom, but that requires the other person to be willing to fight him. Just like Arlecchino in front of him, she had absolutely no intention of fighting him.
"What's going on? I'm just a small fry, so why does The Jester keep keeping an eye on me?"
"Because only half of the Harbingers are left in Snezhnaya. In my opinion, The Jester has also reached the edge of his patience."
After hearing Arlecchino's words, Tartaglia's mouth twitched. He never expected that the perfectly fine Fatui would feel like they were about to break up.
"However, The Rooster did ask me to bring you a different message."
Suddenly, Arlecchino spoke again.
"He wants you to continue staying in Fontaine, and he will also find an opportunity to send your family to Fontaine to take refuge."
"Take refuge?"
Tartaglia was somewhat surprised by Arlecchino's phrasing, and at the same time, the expression on his face became a bit more serious.
"That's what The Rooster told me, but he seemed unwilling to reveal the specific details, and no other news has leaked from Snezhnaya."
"Even with my intelligence-gathering capabilities, I couldn't uncover the reason. If The Rooster isn't joking, there's likely a major problem within Snezhnaya."
After hearing Arlecchino's words, Tartaglia frowned.
"Why wouldn't The Rooster just state the reason directly? Does even Her Majesty the Tsaritsa not know?"
Tartaglia wouldn't doubt Pulcinella, The Rooster, would betray them. After The Jester Pierro, Pulcinella was perhaps the most loyal of all.
"I don't know about that. I'm just delivering a message."
Arlecchino shook her head. In truth, she had a rough idea of the reason, but Pulcinella likely couldn't speak of it, not that he didn't want to.
But obviously, she had no obligation to explain things to Tartaglia. In fact, the only reason she was helping was in hopes that Pulcinella would slightly take care of the House of the Hearth's children in the future.
Now that Project Styx had been brought to the table, the number of future victims would grow exponentially. As the leader of the House of the Hearth, she should have faced the future crisis together with the children, but she had something she absolutely had to do, which was to resurrect her only companion in this world.
If it weren't for him back then, her heart would have been as cold and brutal as Mother, the previous leader of the House of the Hearth.
Perhaps she would still have killed Mother, but she would have become the new Mother herself.
It was the other's yearning for the light that had deeply touched her heart. Though she didn't know what light was, she was still willing to do everything in her power to find it for him.
Unfortunately, by the time she had completely transformed the House of the Hearth, he could no longer see it with his own eyes, for he had been killed by her own hands many years ago. That was also Arlecchino's greatest regret in her life, although for him, death was perhaps the greatest liberation.
Of course, Arlecchino also knew what she would need to pay to bring him back into this world. But for that person, what did it matter if she had to abandon this world?
In her heart, he was far more important than this world...