The Fourth Zaldizko 19 Ryoko

"You think that's sharp enough?" I grimaced.

"This sword is never sharp enough." She soberly answered, and tacked on a slight she couldn't stop herself from saying. "Kind of like you."

"Oi!" I frowned and sighed away further reactions to her sarcasm.

"How'd you get in with the knights anyway?" I casually asked her and flinched at her steely gaze, almost as sharp as her sword.

A thick silence hung between us (despite Death's playing of Twinkle Star) until she broke it with a heavy sigh.

"Luck, mainly." She answered and told me her tale.

Her mother, Lyra, was once a leader to a prosperous Neska Gudari Head Family in Gonade. Lyra had been married to the leader of a wealthy and influential swordsmith family that fashioned weapons for the royal household at Armia Gardens. It was how she had met Brystagg during her many official visits to the royal palace, shadowing her husband as his bodyguard as well as his wife.

"My Oji and Otōsan's business pretty much monopolised the High King's armoury. Fashioning tamahagane into their official blades. Business boomed when soldiers kept commenting on their kills being quick and easy with a Katanaka. Lots of non-military people wanted one as well. The king wasn't making my Old Man's business exclusive, so they also got work that way." She continued.

"Katanaka?" I c.o.c.ked my head to onside with a perplexed expression.

"It was a nick name those soldiers gave my Otōsan and Oji's katana's. Their family name is Tanaka."

When the High King died in battle at Tempra years back. Royal strongholds and many family businesses found themselves going through a civil contention between the two succeeding high princes. As loyalties between High Prince Brystagg was tested with his brother High Prince Sirius, so were the loyalties between Ryoko's father and his year-younger brother.

It made matters worse when Lyra sided with Brystagg and her husband was not inclined to betray Sirius due to his backing from many influential strongholds.

"My Oji kind of didn't care for that political bulls.h.i.t, which p.i.s.sed off Otōsan who wanted his backing to convince my mother against supporting Brystagg."

Ryoko didn't have much memory from what had transpired between her parents and uncle. A lot of her knowledge was obviously gained after the fact as she grew older and was able to understand more of her Oji's rambles.

What she remembered was Lyra hugging her a fond farewell as she took her last a.s.signment to Armia.

"She was meant to a.s.sa.s.sinate someone. Now that I think of it, could've been that Brystagg."

All that Ryoko could gather from her Oji was that her mother's last a.s.signment came from the current High King of Sol. It was the a.s.signment that saw to her sudden disappearance.

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"All this time I thought she was dead. Guess she followed that Brystagg to the Labyrinth in the end." Ryoko sighed.

She stopped sharpening her blade and stowed it away in her belt sheath. Her voice continued to tell on her family past, almost like her mind was on a loop that wasn't going to stop until her story was told.

Once Lyra was out of the picture, life was hard for Ryoko when the family's second in charge, Eve, a.s.sumed the Leader position. She starved Ryoko, gave her terrible and deadly ch.o.r.es, and made sure kids bullied her every day. Eve had also been having an affair with Ryoko's father in order to cement her claim as head of the family. Her father's family were financial sponsors to the Neska Gudari, so had a lot of sway on how their business was proposed. No one said anything against their affair and their marriage not long after Lyra's disappearance. Especially when Eve advocated for Sirius.

Ryoko was suddenly an outcast child without family support. Within a Neska Gudari household, she was a walking target. Her situation was similar to Small Cap's when he lost his place in his family and was almost eaten to death upon his attempt to return.

"To save me and my cousin Ryuu, my uncle accepted a post in Apocalypse from that batty Admiral to be the Order's official swordsmith. I naturally accepted a place in the order when I saw what they were trying to achieve." Ryoko finished off her explanation.

"What are they trying to achieve?" I lightly asked, but curious to the Order's actual purpose.

"Balance and order." Ryoko coolly answered.

"I guess that's cool, since you got to meet Lita." I grinned.

Ryoko flashed me a wry look. She sighed and fixed her gaze on Saku and War's play-fighting.

"Yeah. She's my girl." Her gaze turned to me with a c.o.c.ky look in her eyes.

"Hey, you like our Colonel, don't you?" She threw me off guard.

"Well, um, sure he's a descent leader, and a Colonel at his age. Guess that's quite impressive." I innocently answered.

She chuckled. "I meant, you want to sleep with him and touch him in naughty places."

"Whadda h.e.l.l? I would never! That's so b.l.o.o.d.y crude!" I frowned. It bothered me that everyone was so G.o.dd.a.m.n knowing at who my heart yearned for. Her comment was especially distasteful.

She continued to chuckle, knowingly, and slapped my back. "You're such a maiden."

Fortunately, our conversation was interrupted by the sound of the library doors being opened.