"That's impossible—hya!"
"Don't be so quick to retort or refuse, okay?"
Hii Kōri's figure momentarily pressed against the desk, cutting off Rōran's queen's unspoken refusal with a short gasp.
Shunshin—she had some understanding of it from outside intelligence. But that black mask suddenly approached, along with the humming, indistinguishable sound, was still too oppressive.
"Your Majesty is quite intellectual, so you should be able to imagine how the ensuing conversation will go."
Hii Kōri braced his hands on the desk, vaulted over it, then placed his hands on the queen's shoulders. With a light buckle, he made her slump back into the chair.
Then, unhurriedly, he sat on the desk. One hand picked up the short blade lying on the desktop, casually twirling it between his fingers; the other picked up the document the queen had just been reviewing, scanning it line by line.
"You refuse my request, so I start threatening you with Rōran's citizens. Then you are forced to agree, or continue to refuse because you can't accurately measure the threat's meaning."
His voice, even processed by the mask into an indescribable mix, still clearly lacked interest—as if the documents on the desk were more engaging than this coercive conversation.
"The ultimate difference is: after I start killing, you either lead me to the Dragon Pulse, or you persist until the end, so I have to kill you and find the answer in your brain."
"If I don't find it, I'll have to meticulously search every corner of Rōran, bit by bit——"
Having said this, Hii Kōri tossed the document aside, propped his chin on his knee (leg crossed), and sighed lightly.
"Ha——if my genjutsu were decent, this wouldn't be so troublesome. Unfortunately, I do have no talent in that area. I can only use this basic coercion techniques."
He looked down through the mask at the queen slumped in the chair, biting her lip in silence.
"To be honest, I've recently done similar things that don't suit my habits."
"So don't make me waste time and energy doing things I don't enjoy again, okay?"
Rōran's queen closed her eyes, breathing slowly and muffled. Hii Kōri wasn't impatient. Encountering a robber like him, suddenly appearing and demanding the treasure upon which the nation's existence depended—anyone would need some psychological construction.
Whether resisting or agreeing, it was the same.
"...Alright. I'll take you."
After a long silence, Rōran's queen spoke, her voice as thin as foam, as if she had made up her mind.
No smell of blood had come from the entrance after all this time. Perhaps this person truly hadn't killed the guards. At this point, she could only channel her thoughts on such unrealistic hope.
In the several hundred years since its founding, under the asylum of the Dragon Pulse barrier, Rōran had indeed avoided all conflict. But this had also led all of Rōran's residents to regard this stability as a matter of course.
Even she, the leader, though aware of potential threats, had still been constrained by the duty passed down from her ancestors, harboring luck and going with the flow until now.
Perhaps from today, Rōran's way of existence would be completely transformed.
"Hmm, wise choice. Avoiding unnecessary sacrifice is also a leader's responsibility, right?"
Hii Kōri theatrically raised his hand, indicating the queen should lead the way, but couldn't resist teasing.
"...Yes. I am this country's leader; I must consider the people's safety. But if you take the Dragon Pulse, Rōran cannot continue to exist in this sand sea."
Hearing this, Rōran's queen stumbled slightly. With her back to Hii Kōri, she clenched her fists tightly, her voice carrying sorrow and sorrow.
Obviously, saying this to the person behind her—whose background she didn't know but who could easily kill her—also required courage.
"Hmm...indeed. Rōran's architecture was built entirely on the idea that 'here will always be peaceful.' Without the Dragon Pulse barrier's shelter, these towers couldn't survive the Great Sand Sea's wind and sand."
Not denying the queen's claim, Hii Kōri even depicts Rōran's upcoming predicament in more detail.
"However, actually, even without taking the Dragon Pulse, Rōran is about to face a resource crisis, isn't it?"
"I just read the documents you were approving. Although Rōran continuously develops vertically, the usable land is fixed. Now, even with the Dragon Pulse's nourishment, the foundation land is only this large. In terms of resources, it's already difficult to continue supplying all of Rōran."
"Although I don't know why you haven't further utilized the Dragon Pulse's power, I'll assume you 'can't' do so. So..."
Leaning against the desk, Hii Kōri picked up a document from the pile beside him and casually waved it.
"Your Majesty, what price do you think you would pay to save Rōran—this country you've fought to protect with the first half of your life?"
Rōran's queen had not expected that this mysterious ninja, based solely on the few documents on her desk, could speculate Rōran's situation to this extent.
Weren't ninjas just mercenaries who accepted missions? How was he so familiar with government affairs? Could it be that this person was also the leader of some organization or ninja village?
"...Anything."
With such complex thoughts, she realized her soft spot had been thoroughly grasped.
Even with the mask, Rōran's queen could still feel that eager gaze on her self.
She licked her slightly dry lips, closed her eyes, and turned away.
"As long as you protect Rōran—no, this country doesn't matter—as long as you protect Rōran's people, I can give you anything you want."
"Hmm, anything? Then..."
Deliberately drawing out his words, Hii Kōri suddenly, without warning, approached the queen and lightly placed his arm on her shoulder.
"Become mine."
Her breath caught. Her body trembled.
Although this was an expected answer, actually hearing these words still made her feel complicated.
She had a daughter, but her husband had died young. She had been entangled with government affairs for many years. Rōran's queen hadn't considered such matters for a long time.
"To be able to utilize limited resources to this extent, Your Majesty is quite talented in economics."
Yet Hii Kōri completely gave the queen no room to continue thinking. Although he was still teasingly twirling a strand of her hair around his finger, his gaze unconsciously looked into the distance.
Earlier, when preparing the supplies and vehicle for exploring the Great Sand Sea, he had specifically contacted Sakaki Tatsuma. That guy's appearance—like he'd been drained by a succubus—made Hii Kōri a bit worried that this loud-laughing curly-haired fellow might be exhausted at his desk.
After all, not everyone could, like Hii Kōri, rely on pure spiritual energy and exploratory desire, plus the energy conversion efficiency from his transcendent digestive system (obtained through binding vows) and continuous Reverse Cursed Technique, to offset physical fatigue.
"Hot Sand's Rose... heard of it?"
Hii Kōri suddenly mentioned a name, his finger still unconsciously winding that strand of hair.
"That's the Chamber of Commerce under my name. Although initially it was just an additional way to earn funds, well... the momentum of its development in recent years has been slightly too fast."
He raised his free hand, pinching two fingers together in a gesture that would enrage Koreans.
"...A... Chamber of Commerce?"
The queen's expression turned subtle. Judging by her thoroughly reddened ears, her thoughts had been clearly biased by Hii Kōri's highly suggestive words. She lightly coughed twice, trying to relieve her embarrassment.
But she had indeed heard of the name "Hot Sand's Rose."
It was an emerging chamber of commerce that, taking advantage of the recent ninja war, had used various unheard-of economic and "physical" means to easily defeat many established chambers of commerce, like a hegemon devouring a large number of industries, rapidly developing.
If that chamber of commerce was indeed under this person's name, it made sense that he could deduce Rōran's situation from just a few documents.
As for whether this was deceptive rhetoric...
Not to mention the proposal was his—she was already willing to offer everything in exchange for her people's safety. What point would there be in lying to her now?
"The guy managing that side is indeed very capable. But you can probably understand—whether organization or country, when rapidly developing and expanding like a balloon, it's easy to become unwieldy, accumulating a lot of trouble in various aspects of work."
"Nowadays, it has nothing to do with personal ability. When the workload reaches this level, unfinished work is just unfinished. So, I need to find a trustworthy and capable assistant for my dear friend, to prevent him from dying exhausted."
"Trustworthy... huh."
The queen repeated softly, her tone carrying unmistakable sarcasm.
You was a robber who came to seize what Rōran relied on for existence, just threatening her with Rōran's people, and now turning around to talk about "trust."
Even though Rōran's queen was prepared to offer even herself, she momentarily found it hard to accept this downright shameless rhetoric.
This guy was still wearing a mask, even now!
"Nothing hard to understand. Ninja clans certainly have their own industries. But if it expands to this extent, the Daimyō would hardly sit still."
Hii Kōri, however, was quite confident. He released the queen's shoulder and sat in a chair formed from shadows, leisurely explained:
"I temporarily have no plans to rebel, so the chamber of commerce must be clearly demarcated from me—an active ninja—and the ninja village. Many things can only be handled by specific individuals."
"And now that I've mastered the means to invade the Dragon Pulse barrier and know Rōran's location, you have no room for betrayal. After all, Your Majesty is a queen who loves her subjects."
"Similarly, since you'll later be exposed to much core information about the Chamber of Commerce, to avoid my current largest income source collapsing, I'll also try my best to help Rōran to stabilize your mindset."
"How about it? Not a bad deal, right?"
Relationships built on the fact that each holds the other's weaknesses are often more reliable than those based on friendship or interests. Because such relationships require no maintenance, both parties can instead be more relaxed.
That was Hii Kōri's view.
"Or are you the type who finds physical relations more reliable?"
Sitting in the chair, Hii Kōri tilted his head and added this supplement.
Reminded again of her recent misunderstanding, the queen showed a reaction Hii Kōri found quite cute.
"Nothing of the sort!"
"And how is this equality? You're taking the Dragon Pulse—there won't even be a Rōran left!"
Probably unsettled by this series of impacts, the queen's composure was completely shattered, and she was rather aggrievedly sobbed.
"Hmm? Did I say I was taking the Dragon Pulse?"
"What?"
Hearing Hii Kōri's response, the queen suddenly felt her perception might have bias.
Come to think of it, he hadn't said he would "take away" the Dragon Pulse. But the earlier threat...
This was, of course, intentional on Hii Kōri's part.
Lu Xun once said that Chinese temperament always tends to compromise. For example, if you say the room is too dark and suggest opening a skylight, everyone will certainly disagree. But if you advocate tearing off the roof, they will come to compromise and be willing to open the skylight.
But this "tear off the roof" effect was certainly not limited to Chinese.
Since he didn't know Rōran's specific situation, Hii Kōri hadn't prepared any plan initially.
Coming to find Rōran's ruler was also a form of path dependency.
However, after querying some intelligence about the queen from the guards' memories, he began refining his action plan and objectives.
Rōran's existence was indeed quite an excellent barrier for the Dragon Pulse itself. This barrier, heaven-made, was something even Hii Kōri lacked confidence in reproducing.
So, after deciding on his lifelong project—using the Dragon Pulse as a starting point to try to re-hatch the star soul—he also needed to maximize the continuation of Rōran, or rather, the Dragon Pulse barrier.
Even without those factors, Hii Kōri probably wouldn't have chosen to destroy Rōran's environment.
Rōran's natural environment and customs certainly couldn't be reproduced, nor did he have any desire to explore them.
But correspondingly, the attraction of such a unique case to a researcher needed no elaboration.
The Dragon Pulse had to stay. Rōran—he wanted it!
And this bloodline of the queen, connected to the Dragon Pulse, of course also had to be in his hands.
With all of Rōran combined unable to fight Hii Kōri, using some harsher threats first, then proactively conceding—this carrot-and-stick approach worked very well.
He just hadn't expected the queen to be willing to offer even the Dragon Pulse and herself to protect Rōran's people.
Such love for the people? Then what more can I say? Deal!
As for inviting the queen to join the chamber of commerce, that was indeed a spur-of-the-moment idea after reading Rōran's government documents. To maintain such a shitpile of legacy code to this extent, she was indeed quite capable in finance and politics.
Wasting such talent would be sent from heaven.
"Although it's somewhat forced buying and selling, I've offered corresponding compensation."
Hii Kōri walked to one end of the office and pushed open a window, revealing a courtyard. Looking down, sunlight, refracted by the prism at the top, conducted down along the mirrored inner walls to the deepest part.
Courtyards and gardens in ordinary buildings mostly served as public social spaces. But for Rōran's tower-style complex, this function of making up for light deficiency was more valuable.
"So don't think of me as a robber~"
His voice echoed in the courtyard, no longer that it is difficult to discern the mix, but his original tone with the unique clarity of youth.
Turning around, Hii Kōri removed his mask, revealing a sly smile, and handed the queen a document.
It was a contract, based on the "binding vow" system in jujutsu, mixed with technical logic such as talismans, sealing, and curses. By signing one's name, both parties would suffer punishment if they violated the contract.
Due to its strong correlation with Yin Release and cursed energy, such contracts didn't need prior drafting. Contact would copy all terms from consciousness onto the paper.
As to whether the person producing the contract might play tricks—well, that was a matter of opinion.
Isn't that right, devils?
Completely unaware of this, the queen took the contract. Her gaze swept over the terms. She subconsciously wanted to analyze them, then realized she had no choice, unconsciously biting her lip.
She looked at Hii Kōri's name already written at the signature line, took a deep breath, and solemnly signed her own.
Akane.
***
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