To Be a Power in the Shadows!

She heard someone talking about counterfeit bills.

“The economic war between Mitsugoshi Company and the Great Commerce Association has begun, but the economy was boosted. And some black rumors are hidden deeply behind it.”

Today Alexia skipped a class deliberately and came here to investigate rumors of the counterfeit bills.

She knew that this morning many people exchanged bills to money. Everyone said that the Great Commerce Association would go bankrupt. This rumor spread quickly.

In the street people talked about the rumors and added inflammatory details to them. They rushed into the the Great Commerce Association quickly.

“There is something wrong happened.”

Alexia wanted to come back to capital as fast as she could and told her elder sister Iris the rumors.

Iris was in the dojo. She became a regular visitor here recently.

“Iris, I want to tell you something.”

She told all what she knew to her sister who held a sword made for practice.

But Iris just looked at her sister with her red eyes.

“Alexia, I am training and please don’t bother me.”

“Iris, today something terrible happened in the capital...!”

“Alexia, I say I am training!”

“Iris...”

Alexia turned her eyes to the sword.

“Alexia, Do you understand? I have to improve my strength. I don’t want to lose again.”

Iris lost at the Bushin Tournament that day, so she had changed a lot in various senses.

She didn’t want to feel disappointed again. It would be the first, as well as last time she lost.

Iris was eager to become stronger.

She wanted to be stronger and Alexia didn’t know when Iris started to focus on one thing only: to be stronger..

The member of [Crimson Knight Order] who liked Iris also asked why Iris changed.

Alexia thought the reason why they like Iris was Iris’s strength. But it was not only because of this.

There were some reasons more important...

“I know what you are thinking about. But please listen to me, just a moment.”

“...Is it OK? Just a moment.”

Iris put down her sword and looked at her sister.

“Mitsugoshi Company and the Great Commerce Association was contending against each other now. They made counterfeit bills...”

Alexia told her sister what had happened in the capital carefully.

But.

“...so what?”

She was not interested in it.

“I don’t care about whatever they did. It’s none of my business.”

“Iris, why...!”

“Civil officers will pay attention to it. I am a knight for whom breaking into companies to kill people is not right.”

“M...maybe it’s not your responsibility. But if you are who you used to be, you will investigate and deal with it.”

Alexia’s voice became smaller and smaller.

“I have my job. If I can’t catch shadow, I won’t retrieve people’s trust...”

Iris’s gaze shifted from Alexia who bowed her head now and she started to swing her sword.

Her sword was sharp; the magic on the sword was strong.

But Alexia thought her sword was very ugly.

“Iris...”

Alexia’s face was sad, then she left dojo alone.