Inside a carriage specifically cleared out to hold prisoners, the first man Misono Mika persuaded to surrender vividly recounted the sinister intentions of Kawakami Shunsuke.
Whenever he reached a critical point in the story, the bystanders broke out into curses, wishing they could rush forward and bite a piece of flesh off Kawakami right then and there.
"Damn it, I never should have boarded that sinking ship. Even if the beautiful and kind Lady Mika doesn't lower herself to deal with us villains, we can't act as if the mistakes we committed never happened."
"You're right. Once our punishment ends, we must find a way to redeem ourselves and help relieve Lady Mika's worries!"
"Kawakami Shunsuke actually dared to oppose Lady Mika; he probably doesn't even know how to write the word 'death'."
...
Those inside the cell praised Mika's kindness while denouncing Kawakami's local shamelessness.
Whether they truly recognized their errors or genuinely loved and respected Mika as they claimed was something perhaps only they knew in their hearts.
While the crowd remained filled with righteous indignation, two samurai walked in escorting a half-dead man who lost both arms.
Upon seeing the man's face, the prison suddenly fell silent. All the prisoners stared at him intently.
The cell door opened, and Kawakami Shunsuke was tossed inside.
One of the samurai shouted to the prisoners within, "Listen up. Lady Mika specifically ordered that this man stay alive until sunset, so show some restraint. Don't go and play him to death!"
Finishing his piece, he swept a look of disgust over the prone Kawakami—who jolted awake from the impact—locked the door, and turned to leave.
He worried that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to resist stepping forward to give the man a few more kicks.
It wasn't enough that Kawakami provoked Mika for his own selfish desires; to escape liquidation, he planned to tie the lives of everyone on the Koutetsujou to his own.
Dragging everyone down with him was hateful to the extreme.
On the Koutetsujou, no one didn't hate Kawakami Shunsuke.
"Hiss... bastards, how dare you treat me like this..."
Kawakami endured the pain from his wounds and grumbled as he struggled to crawl up from the floor.
After he sat up, he suddenly sensed something wrong.
Kawakami scanned his surroundings and found himself surrounded by a crowd.
Facing these fierce and malicious individuals, he felt his heart tighten in fear.
"W-W-What... what do you want?!"
Kawakami seemed to forget the pain of his injuries, his face a mask of terror as he scooted his buttocks back repeatedly.
"Don't worry. We're going to take very good care of you next."
The prisoners, who long since hated Kawakami to the bone, swarmed him. They began finding every possible way to torture him, venting the anger in their hearts.
For a time, Kawakami's screams and pleas for mercy never ceased, causing the samurai guarding the group to wear expressions of satisfaction.
He deserved it!
★ ★ ★
Cockpit.
After the crisis was resolved, Mika looked at the master key in her hand.
A samurai searched Kawakami Shunsuke and found it, but he did not return it to Yomogawa Ayame; instead, he placed it in Mika's hands.
Besides starting the Koutetsujou, the master key represented the handover of power.
'Is no one going to ask me for this key?'
Mika inconspicuously scanned everyone present, wanting to see their reactions to her holding the master key.
First was Yomogawa Ayame, who was currently using a water bag to ice her slightly reddened cheek.
She seemed to have just recovered from the nightmare, appearing somewhat dazed.
Occasionally, she cast grateful glances toward Mika like a devoted fan, showing no current reaction to the master key.
Mika then checked the reactions of Kurusu and the remaining retainers.
Kurusu continued to stand guard by Ayame's side with utmost duty. Seeing Mika look over, he stepped forward with tears of gratitude to offer his thanks.
"I am immensely grateful for your help. If there is anything you need from me in the future, please do not hesitate to command!"
"Really?"
"Is there something I may do for you?!"
Seeing Kurusu's stiff and formal manner, Mika suddenly had an interesting idea. She instructed, "Then go and help me train Ikoma. As my guard, his strength is far too weak. He's practically useless."
Kurusu's face stiffened at the mention of Ikoma, but he set aside his personal stance and seriously agreed, "Please rest assured. I will work hard to train him into a qualified guard!"
After asking Ayame for leave and receiving permission, he turned to search for Ikoma.
It had to be said that while his personality was a bit rigid, his initiative was excellent.
"Can those two really get along?"
Mumei watched his departing back, doubting whether those two would actually start a fight.
"That's exactly why I specifically had him train Ikoma. Only when two people who can't stand each other are forced together can a different kind of spark fly."
"Lady Mika... you aren't just planning to use them for your amusement, are you? I think I'm starting to understand you a little..."
"You guessed a bit right, though I truly hope they can become friends."
Mika smiled and patted Mumei's head, saying softly, "Mumei has made great progress this time. You can already see through some of my thoughts. Good insight."
"Stop treating me like a child."
Mumei pouted, somewhat dissatisfied with Mika patting her head.
Even though she said that, her heart jumped with joy upon hearing Mika's praise.
Feeling the warm palm atop her head, Mumei narrowed her eyes and slowly began to enjoy it.
After teasing the slightly tsundere little girl a few more times, Mika withdrew her right hand and asked the retainers looking her way, "Do you have any questions?"
The retainers glanced at one another before one mustered the courage to stand and explain, "Lady Mika, do we need the Koutetsujou to change routes immediately? The Yamagoe route is not safe."
With Mika's strength, there was no need to worry about such things.
As long as she was willing, protecting the entire Koutetsujou was no problem.
However, as old foxes, they couldn't do anything as stupid as making assumptions.
The Kabane on the Yamagoe route posed no threat to Mika, but they had to bring the matter up.
They had to let Mika decide!
If she decided not to change the route, it meant she was willing to bear the risks of this path and would step in to help at the critical moment.
This was what they wanted to see.
If she chose to change it, they could only obey, even if their current food and water reserves might not last until the next station.
The situation changed. They could no longer bypass Mika to decide the future direction of the Koutetsujou like before.
The fact that the master key wasn't returned to Ayame showed that some among the samurai were beginning to seek refuge with Mika.
These retainers couldn't stop it, so they could only pretend to know nothing and proactively seek Mika's favor.
If you can't beat them, join them.